Secondary school students from 58 countries will gather in Qatar this week to match wits at the 22nd World Schools Debating Championships (WSDC), the premier international competition for secondary school debaters which takes place from February 8th to 18th, 2010, with a grand opening ceremony to be held February 09, 2010 at Marriott Hotel Doha.

Qatar, which had won the honor of hosting the 2010 championship after beating off strong competition from several countries, is the first Arab nation to host the World Schools Debating Championships. WSDC 2010 will be held at 15 of the most prominent educational institutions in Qatar, and will attract major names and experts from around the debating world.

When most of us think of convention centers, we think of big empty spaces that are certainly not very environmentally friendly.

That’s not the case for the next generation of centers — case in point, the very cool looking Qatar National Convention Center. The striking 177,000 square meter structure is seeking a LEED Gold Rating, a first for a building of its type in the region.

When it’s completed next year the center will boast 3,700 square meters of solar panels in addition to a host of other resource-saving features.

Read more here: http://www.inhabitat...

Doha, February 07 (QNA) - A total of 4,689 new hotel rooms are expected to be added to the Qatari hospitality market during this year, the latest data by the Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) has revealed. Forty one new hotels will be operational by the end of 2010, the agency said, according to the Peninsula newspaper. Last year the number of available hotel rooms in the country increased by 25 percent compared to the previous year. Officials said this year looked to be even stronger because of the delays some projects faced due to liquidity pressures of the global financial crisis. "The global economic crisis has taken its toll on the world tourism sector," Ahmed Abdullah Al Nuaimi, QTA chairman, told the paper.

There you go QL friends.

You got to see this.. I never saw anything like this in Qatar before...

(Mod : more information on the Rydges Qatar here.)

I guess traveling is still going to be remain expensive...
Here's hoping that maybe they will re-evaluate the currency peg. The American Dollar is just not getting it's act together.

Single currency ‘may take’ up to 7 years

By Nour Abuzant
The proposed single Gulf currency may take up to seven years to become a reality, a senior GCC official has said.

http://gulf-times.co...

I have been trying to find someone at Aspire that can give me information about the climbing facility. It has been constructed for over a year but is still not open to anyone. So far, I have emailed and called 3 contacts there that have not been able to help me or really even fully answer my questions. There are a few others looking for the same info (about 30 or more) but we cant get it.

So, if you know ANYone that works for Aspire and might be able to help point us in the right direction please post here or PM me. Thanks!

The food festival is a good concept but the dishes need a lot more quality improvement, creativity and variety to attract the taste buds of people.

The fish was good but it would have tasted better if it was served warm.

The spring roll tasted light and refreshing but did not come with the right sauce

Yaki Tori looked good in the menu but the chicken was tough and powdery

Mashed potato with spinach tasted average

14 months after TallG posted this thread, about the fate of the Rydges Hotel in Doha: http://www.qatarlivi... ,

there are no doubts anymore. The Rydges Hotel is no more.

R.I.P, Rydges!

"Today's madness in Doha" by VEE6

I've read a little into it, but I'd rather know more about the experience from someone who's already done it.

If I want to study Arabic in Qatar, what are the best universities to go to?

Im trying to send flowers to my fiancée in Doha, from abroad. Finding a reliable high end / luxury florist or flower delivery service in Doha is daunting. I have used one I discovered over the internet called flowersqatar.net
- which worked well the first time, but a later order proved disappointing. There must be a boutique flower shop somewhere in one of the large hotels perhaps?
Any help would be much appreciated