In the most fitting ending to a week after which the No.1 ranking will change hands, the outgoing World No.1 will play the incoming World No.1 in the final of the Qatar Total Open as reported by Qatar Chronicle.

Victoria Azarenka, the current No.1, was never really in trouble in the first semifinal of the day, beating World No.4 Agnieszka Radwanska, 63 63. It was her seventh straight win over Radwanska.

Doha, February 17 – Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development (QF) plans to air its revamped radio station for the first time tomorrow, Sunday, 17 February. Boasting a diverse programming slate, QF Radio will now broadcast a range of English and Arabic shows through two dedicated channels as reported by qatarchronicle.

“We are incredibly proud of the success of QF Radio since its inauguration, and we hope this special occasion provides us with even more opportunities for greater engagement with our listeners,” said Saad Saleh Al-Hudaifi, Media Center Manager at Qatar Foundation.

Doha: Al Rayyan scored a thumping 7-3 win over lowly Al Sailiya in a 16th-round match of the Qatar Stars League at the Al Rayyan Stadium on Saturday.

A three-goal effort from Brazilian striker Nilmar, a twin strike from his compatriot playmaker Rodrigo Tabata, and goals from Ahmed Alaaedinand Abdulkarim Ali made it an easy win for the home side.

Keninha (42nd), Moumouni Dagano (60th) and Marcelo Tavares (62nd) found the target for the losers as reported by qatarchronicle.

Meanwhile, Congolese striker Dioko Kaluyituka netted a hat-trick and YahiaKebe too found the back of the net as Al Kharaitiyat crushed Al Arabi 4-0.
Elsewhere, Qatar Sports Club and Al Wakrah played out a 1-1 draw as reported by qatarchronicle.

A series of explosions in the skies of Russia's Urals region, reportedly caused by a meteor shower, has sparked panic in three major cities. Witnesses said that houses shuddered, windows were blown out and cellphones stopped working.

Office buildings in downtown Chelyabinsk are being evacuated. The regional Emergency Ministry said the phenomenon was a meteorite shower, but locals have speculated that it was a military fighter jet crash or a missile explosion.

"The explosion was so strong that some windows in our building and in the buildings that are across the road and in the city in general, the windows broke."

fog in Qatar

Qatar woke up to a a dense blanket of fog this morning, much to the delight and consternation of residents.

Expect the sun to burn through the mist by 10am or 11am, a forecaster at the Qatar Meteorology Department told Doha News.

He added that the temperature will hover around 26C (79F) today, and drop to 17C (63F) at night. Tomorrow, expect slightly warmer temperatures and no fog, he said.

Here are some of the reactions online from residents, plus some amazing photos of the fog. Drive carefully, all!

http://dohanews.co/p...

Qatar will see the commercial roll out of the ultra-fast 4G network over the next few months with the two service providers – Qtel and Vodafone reaching a crucial phase of the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) programme that will deliver the fourth generation network in the country.

Qtel is in the “final testing stage” of the 4G LTE mobile broadband network and is expecting to begin commercial launch in Doha in the coming months.

Vodafone, on the other hand, would launch a trial of LTE “in the very near future”.

LTE is a wireless broadband technology that supports roaming Internet access via mobile phones and devices and which seamlessly interworks with 2G and 3G networks as reported by qatarchronicle.

It's been a good day ..
Enjoy :]

Credit: Photos by Omar Chatriwala, Lance Cenar, Osarieme Eweka, Gazanfarulla Khan and Adam Saeed.

The Human Cannon Ball /-a-t-/ Souk Waqif

Shot from a cannon, shot with a "Canon"

Daily shows at 4:30PM & 6:30PM

Qatar is to establish an astronomy and space centre soon to provide local enthusiasts a platform to explore the celestial bodies, a senior Qatar Foundation official said yesterday.Dr Khalid al-Subai, the director of Research Co-ordination and Compliance in the Research and Development Division of Qatar Foundation , said the centre would initiate various academic and research activities in astronomy in the country.
"We have already initiated the proposal for setting up an astronomy and space centre and the details will be announced later," said al-Subai, who is also the co-chair of the conference as reported by Qatar Chronicle.

"When the centre is established, other facilities such as a planetarium and observatory facilities will be made available along with it."

Pope Benedict XVI of the Roman Catholic Church has decided to resign from his post, the Italian ANSA news agency has reported.

Benedict, the 265th Pope, began his papacy on April 19, 2005.

He will resign on February 28, a spokesperson for the Vatican said on Monday.

I am not sure about the reasons yet.

Joint Gulf force the Peninsula Shield began a 17-day exercise in Kuwait on Sunday as reported by Qatar Chronicle.

The drills are aimed at "activating the concept of joint defence... and implementing the unified defence strategy of the Gulf Cooperation Council states," Brigadier Abdulaziz al-Rayes, was cited as saying by the kuwaiti news agency KUNA as saying.

The Peninsula Shield force was formed by the six GCC member states -- Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- in 1982 as a 5,000-strong force but has since expanded to more than 30,000 troops.

Qatar - National Sports Day 2013

Lots of activities have been organized for the upcoming National Sports Day, and will be held at over two dozen venues across Qatar on 12 February 2013.

Most of the activities are organized by various companies for their own staff. There are some activities which are free, although some activities will require pre-registration.

Katara Cultural Village: Outdoor basketball, table tennis, aerobics classes and cycling (bikes provided on a first-come, first-serve basis) are among the many activities on offer here, starting from 10am and running until 5pm. There will also be movie screenings in the evening.

Spring Fest /-a-t-/ Souq Waqif

Acclaimed filmmakers Abir Bouguerra and Nissryne Dib are making a short documentary film that will take the viewer backstage at the Fluffy Tour that was held in Doha on February 2, 2013.