The Lonely Planet travel guide once suggested Qatar might be the most boring place on Earth. But you couldn't call it boring today — even if the nightlife should carry a public-mirth warning.
Outside the Irish Bar at the Doha Sheraton, a bouncer electronically scans the passports of arriving patrons. I asked whether he wanted to see my boarding pass as well, but he just blinked at me. He probably gets a lot of that.
Doha is not a party town, to be sure. It's less Sandance and more Think Tank. The red carpets and velvet ropes are as likely to be for thought leaders as for celebrities.
But for the sort of folk who like to give keynote speeches on knowledge-based economies and "new Silk Roads", this is the Ibiza of the Gulf.
Even the Taliban come here for weekend breaks. They like it so much they're opening an office - perhaps with a receptionist wearing a black turban and headset, reading Hello!between calls.
It's easy to forget that without the foreigners, this is a country of fewer than 300,000 very rich people. That is slightly more than the population of Belfast, where the Taliban are not currently represented, or slightly less than Kandahar, where they are.
Like a bantamweight with a George Foreman jab, Qatar has started to punch above its weight on the world stage. But its ambitions at home are just as great - and ironically in this case, the country's vast wealth has become more of a hindrance than a help.
Along with most of its Gulf neighbours, Qatar wants to be a knowledge economy, and there are regiments of tweedy types in campuses across Doha happy to tell the Qataris how to do it.
Knowledge economies are all the rage as the old manufacturing and exporting empires of the West try to prolong their dancing days and stave off incontinent dotage for another generation or two.
Knowledge economies are even more coveted by Gulf states. In the West, it's about dwindling competitiveness. Here, it's about dwindling hydrocarbons. But knowledge economies may not be all they're cracked up to be. Ireland had a great one just before everyone emigrated.
Now there's more craic to be had on karaoke night at the Doha Irish bar, where you will meet plenty of exiles singing knowledge-based ballads from the old country. Ireland was able to build its knowledge economy by churning out thousands of well-educated graduates who until the 1990s had looked forward only to emigration or, if they were lucky, low-paid jobs at home.
But the problem with attempting this in a country with the world's richest people is not teaching the knowledge, it's finding anyone who wants to learn it. Other Gulf states face the same difficulty.
How do you convince such affluent school leavers to sacrifice a safe and well-paid government job for a tough science or maths-based degree?
And how do you produce them in sufficient numbers to attract the sort of multinationals that invested in Ireland? Answering that question might be better left to the Doha Debates.
But it seems clear that you don't get there by increasing public wages by 60 per cent overnight when your people are already the richest in the world. Yet that is precisely what Qatar did six months ago.
Now it seems hard to imagine Qatari schoolkids grappling with the kind of career dilemmas that may have bothered Robert Frost, the American poet, who once famously mused on the decisions we reach at the crossroads of life.
Convincing them that the path to knowledge has a better claim over the one that goes to easy street will be the real challenge - and the one that makes all the difference for the architects of Qatar's knowledge-based future.
Until then, young Qataris will be more than happy to take the road more travelled. The only choice will be whether to use the Porsche or the Range Rover.
scronin@thenational.ae
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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- Sharjah v Al Wasl, 5.20pm
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Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
The specs: McLaren 600LT
Price, base: Dh914,000
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 600hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 620Nm @ 5,500rpm
Fuel economy 12.2.L / 100km
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
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FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Elvis
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No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
THE%20HOLDOVERS
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The Travel Diaries of Albert Einstein The Far East, Palestine, and Spain, 1922 – 1923
Editor Ze’ev Rosenkranz
Princeton
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
