QATA R
4 Friday, November 27, 2020
H
E the Minister of Cul-
ture and Sports Salah
bin Ghanem bin Nasser
al-Ali opened the European
Drive-In Film Festival yesterday
evening, along with a number of
European ambassadors.
The three-day fi lm festival,
which ends tomorrow, is tak-
ing place at Doha Festival City
(DHFC)’s new VIP parking area.
Sweden’s ambassador to Qatar
Anders Bengtcén welcomed the
guests, saying: “Culture plays a
fundamental role in the relations
between people and countries,
bridging communication and
building integrated communities
to support openness and mutual
understanding.”
Citizens and residents of Qa-
tar can enjoy foreign-language
fi lms with English subtitles from
nine European countries: Aus-
tria, Belgium, Czechia, Germany,
Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal,
Sweden, and Switzerland.
It is an initiative where “guests
can share a safe yet exciting cin-
ematic experience and sense cul-
tural togetherness”, according to
a press statement by the organis-
ers.
The categories of the movies
range from family to drama and
comedy.
The festival has opened with
the premiere screening of a
Swedish fi lm, The 100-year-old
Man Who Climbed Out the Win-
dow and Disappeared, a drama
comedy about a man who hashad a very rich life and who did
not want to celebrate his 100th
birthday.
Tickets for screenings have
been off ered free of charge to the
general public.
All tickets have been booked,
“which is a testament to the
cultural interest among Qatar’s
citizens and residents alike, and
a great showcase of community
spirit”, the statement adds.Besides HE the Minister of
Culture al-Ali and ambassador
Bengtcén, the opening ceremony
was attended by Austria’s am-
bassador to Qatar Karin Ficht-
inger-Grohe, Céline Ganseman
(deputy head of mission at the
embassy of Belgium), Italian
ambassador Alessandro Prunas,
German ambassador Dr Claudius
Fischbach, Ilyaas Sherally (the
second secretary at the embassyof the Netherlands), Portuguese
ambassador António Alves de
Carvalho, Swiss ambassador
Edgar Dörig, Jihad Zarkout (as-
sistant general manager of Ba-
wabat Al-Shamal Real Estate
Company [DHFC]), and Zaher
Abou Khamis, general business
manager of Nestlé Qatar.
A press conference was also
held yesterday to mark the occa-
sion.European Drive-In Film Festival opens
HE the Minister of Culture and Sports Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali at the inauguration of the
European Drive-In Film Festival, along with a number of diplomats and other off icials. PICTURE: Shaji
KayamkulamHonour for enriching local music scene
HE the Minister of Culture and Sports
Salah bin Ghanem bin Nasser al-Ali has
honoured Dr Marzouq Bashir and Saqr
Salih, in recognition of their contribution
to the Qatar music scene over the years,
during the Qatari Song Night event at Al
Mayassa Theatre, Qatar National
Convention Centre. The two-day event,
organised by the Music Aff airs Centre at
the Ministry of Culture and Sports,
concluded on Wednesday. The event saw
the participation of several distinguished
Qatari and Arab artistes. The minister had
earlier honoured Mohamed Rashed and
Hamed al-Namaa at the event for their
contribution to the Qatar music scene.D
oha-based Mexican art-
ist and photographer
Juan Miguel Ramirez, aka
“Icaro”, has framed a stunning
depiction of the deep-rooted
links between Arab and Mexican
cultures with his paintings being
showcased at the Melody of Arts
exhibition, Katara Art Centre.
“Mexico and Qatar have a lot
of similarities, they are very close
and this exhibition allows me to
express the way I see the history
of the country (Qatar),” he told
Gulf Times yesterday at the show,
which was attended by Mexico’s
ambassador to Qatar, Graciela
Gomez Garcia.
The artist noted that he uses
watermelon in a number of his
works as a symbol to express
his perception about a certain
subject – Qatar’s history and
heritage refl ected in museums,
buildings and architecture in
particular.
“I see watermelons as boats,
as movements, and it is also very
similar to humans – a major part
of the body is made of water as
we know,” said Icaro, who arrived
in Qatar 14 years ago.
He is a member of the Interna-
tional Artists of Doha and found-
er member of Latin American
Artists in Qatar (2017).
One of the pieces at the exhi-
bition portrays the early life of
Qataris, who were professional
fi shermen and pearl divers, while
another piece is the artist’s rep-
resentation of the Al Zubarah
town.
On Katara – the Cultural Vil-
lage and the Melody of Arts gal-
lery, Icaro said that the place is a
way of “expressing the old Doha”- its architecture and lighting,
and the size of the buildings,
which highlight the country’s
rich heritage.
“I am very proud and hon-
oured to be here at Katara. I
know Katara very well because
my first solo exhibition was
held here six years ago,” he
said. “This is one of the most-
friendly places to exhibit art,
a good platform for artists to
showcase their works.”
“They combine very contem-
porary art and also some kind of
furniture, and how they deal with
the local style not only from Qa-
tar but from the region as well,”
he added.
Ambassador Garcia lauded the
exhibition and the artist, saying
that Icaro is a prominent am-
bassador of Mexican culture in
Doha.
“It is always a great pleasure
to be part of some exhibition by
a Mexican artist in Qatar,” she
said. “Icaro is one of our best
ambassadors of Mexican culture
here, and I see in this wonder-
ful exhibition a combination ofelements, the evocation of what
Arab and Mexican culture have in
common.”
“One of the things I admired the
most about his vision is that you
will always fi nd elements (that are)
very Qatari, like these silhouettes
... he favours a lot of these images
of people, but at the same time you
will always have his emblematic
watermelon and the other repre-
sentation of himself, the Mexican
part,” the envoy noted.
“What we have here is con-temporary art, and it is all about
innovation, mixing techniques,
creating reality out of materials
that are not there, and present-
ing to our imagination wonderful
elements,” Garcia said. “I like his
technique, I own a couple of his
pieces, and I love the fact that he
is innovative, he uses a mixture
of diff erent elements, and again,
this is the best opportunity to
have a contemporary Mexican
artist here in Doha, presenting
this fusion with his art.”Fusion of Mexican and
Arab cultures on show
Mexico’s ambassador to Qatar Graciela Gomez Garcia says
Icaro’s exhibition is an evocation of what Arab and the Mexican
culture have in common
By Joey Aguilar
Staff Reporter
Juan Miguel Ramirez aka ‘Icaro’ with Mexico’s ambassador to Qatar, Graciela Gomez Garcia, at the
exhibition yesterday. PICTURE: ThajudeenM
all of Qatar has an-
nounced the launch of
great shopping deals,
including promotional off ers
from more than 100 leading
brands.
With something for everyone,
the shopping deals will also in-
centivise shoppers via a series of
promotions and off ers, includ-
ing discounts of more than 50%
and “buy two get one free”.
The promotion covers spe-
cial deals across a wide range of
fashion stores, such as Bershka,
Pull & Bear, Top Shop, H&M,
New Yorker, Sacoor Brothers,
DKNY, Abercombie & Fitch, and
Salam Store.
Beauty and perfumes shop-
pers will also enjoy great dis-
counts off ered by popular
brands such as Pari Gallery, The
Body Shop, Debenhams, MAC,
and Beauty Gallery.
Various footwear and sports
brands are also giving reduc-
tions, such as Aldo, Foot Locker,
Dune London, Crocs, Birken-
stock, Steve Maden, Charles &
Keith, Ecco, Kurt Geiger, Nike,
Athletes co, and Go Sports.
For the home and décor
shoppers, discounts are on
off er from leading brands,
including Home r us, Dwell,
Pottery Barn, and Villeroy &
Bosch, with a range of fantastic
off ers that will cater to every-one during this promotion.
“We are confi dent that our
shopping promotion special
deals will further enrich the
unique shopping experience
that Mall of Qatar off ers its
shoppers,” Mall of Qatar gen-
eral manager Emile Sarkis said.
“Mall of Qatar always aims to
create ‘win-win’ promotional
campaigns that achieve suc-
cess for its retail brands and re-
ward their shoppers at the same
time.”
Taking advantage of the sales
promotion, customers can lev-
erage from the great deals to
shop and get their coupons to
take part in the ongoing Shop &
Win campaign.
Mall of Qatar visitors will
need to buy a gift card of a mini-
mum value of QR300 and shop
later or spend QR300 or more in
any of the mall outlets to be eli-
gible for the weekly raffl e draw
to win a car.
Customers who buy gift cards
worth QR500, or spend QR
or more, will be entitled to par-
ticipate in the grand prize raf-
fl e draw to win one of the two
luxury cars on December 10 on
the mall’s anniversary, and on
December 18, on Qatar National
Day.
Seven cars have been won so
far, and 13 more are still available
until January 14, 2021.Mall of Qatar
announces ‘great
shopping deals’
Great shopping deals at Mall of Qatar.Credentials received
Chile’s ambassador to Argentina, Nicolas Monckeberg, has
received a copy of the credentials of Qatar’s non-resident
ambassador to Chile, Batal Mojab al-Dossary. Mockenberg
wished al-Dossary success in his work assignments and
continued development and growth in the bilateral relations
between the two countries.Banned pills seized at Hamad International Airport
Air Cargo Customs off icers at Hamad
International Airport (HIA) have arrested a
passenger for attempting to smuggle banned
pills into Qatar.
The General Authority of Customs (GAC)
tweeted that customs officers recovered
397 Lyrica and 46 Captagon pills from thepassenger after an inspection.
In the second week of September, the Air Cargo
Customs off icials seized 34,990 Captagon pills
concealed inside a consignment of small tables.
In July, four packs of crystal meth
(methamphetamine) weighing 734g were seized
at the HIA.From Page 1“The new company also
should be active and working
with real business and projects.
Other conditions include that
the worker must attach his res-
ignation from the old company
and a letter signed and stamped
by the new company indicating
the job off er.
“The application can be ap-
proved or rejected by the MADL-
SA after processing. In case of
approval of transfer, the worker
has to abide by the notice period
of one month for less than two
years of employment and two
months for two years or more.”
Meanwhile, al-Obaidli
stressed that the freedom to
transfer from one employer to
another is restricted and the em-
ployer has the right to object, for
instance if the transfer request is
to a competing company.
“The old employer can also
demand from the new employer
reimbursement of any expenses
incurred for the qualifi cation and
training of the worker concerned,
such as the fees for a driver’s li-
cence, in applicable cases. All such
issues should be mentioned in the
employment contract.”
Regarding the suspension of
applications for recruitment
from abroad, he explained that
it was due to the pandemic situ-
ation and lockdown across many
places in the world.
“But now with reopening of
many countries it is necessary
for us to accept new recruitment
applications as we are having
many ongoing projects in the
country and they need workers.
“All government and private
companies and entities in the
country, from all sectors will
benefi t from this, and the appli-
cation and approval will be done
according to the well known
standards applicable before.
“With regard to the travel poli-
cy, the strategy of the country shall
be followed in co-ordination with
the Ministry of Public Health and
the Ministry of Interior.
Al-Obaidli called on employers
and company owners to maintain
active communication with MADL-
SA’s relevant departments and con-
vey their concerns and remarks.From Page 1The automatic Exceptional
Entry Permit service will not
be available for residents who
are currently outside Qatar.
They are still required to obtain
the exceptional return permit
via the Qatar Portal website if
they wish to return to Qatar.
O Second: The quarantine
period will be one week only
after arrival in the country,
regardless of where a person
is coming from. Home quar-
antine will be applied to those
coming from countries onthe Ministry of Public Health
(MoPH)’s Green List. Hotel
quarantine is mandatory for
those coming from countries
that are not included on the
Green List.
The quarantine period for
those who use shared quar-
antine facilities will be two
weeks. The decision is based
on national and international
epidemiology statistics.
Based on these new proce-
dures, a Covid-19 test will be
conducted for those return-
ing from travel upon arrival
to the country in the eventthey haven’t had a test within
48 hours before travelling to
Doha by one of MoPH’s ac-
credited Covid-19 testing cen-
tres. Then, a second test will
be conducted on the sixth day
from the date of arrival.
The status on the Ehteraz
application remain yellow until
the end of the seventh day from
the date of arrival.
These decisions will come
into eff ect from Sunday, No-
vember 29. For more infor-
mation, one has to visit the
Covid-19 page on the MoPH
website.Employers’ views on job change
requests will be heard: offi cial
‘Automatic entry permits’
for ‘residents’ from Sunday
Deputy PM meets US senator
HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Aff airs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed
al-Attiyah, met US Republican Senator John Barrasso yesterday. The senator is currently visiting the
country. During the meeting, they reviewed the bilateral co-operation between the two countries,
in addition to issues of common interest. The meeting was attended by a number of senior off icers
from the armed forces. – QNA