General

Hail: Qatar Airways on Mondaymarks the launch of three non-stop weekly flights between Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Qatar and Hail International Airport (HAS), its 13th destination in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The new route underscores the airline’s strategic focus on expanding its presence across the Kingdom, highlighting the importance of the Saudi market in its global network. Aligned with Qatar Airways’ long-term commitment to enhancing regional connectivity, the new service is set to boost travel from Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East and Southeast Asia to the north-central region of Saudi Arabia. With the addition of Hail, Qatar Airways will now operate over 150 weekly flights to 13 Saudi destinations including Abha, AlUla, Dammam, Jeddah, Medina, NEOM, Qassim, Riyadh, Tabuk, Taif, The Red Sea, and Yanbu. Voted the World’s Best Airline by Skytrax in 2025, Qatar Airways offers passengers from across the Kingdom seamless and world-class connectivity to more than 170 destinations globally through its award-winning Doha hub, Hamad International Airport. The Hail Province, located in north-central Saudi Arabia, is known for its rich history, cultural heritage, and distinctive desert landscapes, making it an appealing destination for travellers seeking nature experiences and adventures. Historically a key stop along ancient trade and pilgrimage routes, the region is home to UNESCO World Heritage Sites featuring rock art that reflect thousands of years of human presence. Today, Hail continues to grow as an important cultural and regional centre within the Kingdom.

General

Doha, Qatar: The Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding has announced that nominations for its 12th edition are now open and running until March 31, 2026. The Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding is an independent worldwide translation award and is the most important and largest prize dedicated to translation between the Arabic language and various world languages. The award aims to support translators and recognize their pivotal role in building bridges amongst peoples. Launched in 2015, the award seeks to advance translation between Arabic and other world languages in a systematic and sustainable manner, and to contribute to raising the standards of translation and Arabization based on quality, accuracy, and intellectual value. It also aims to support cultural exchange and dialogue between Arab societies and other communities through translation. In a statement issued Monday, the award called on translators and translation-related institutions around the world to submit their nominations before the deadline, noting that applications are accepted exclusively through filling the electronic form available on the award's official website The award had previously announced the 12th edition's languages and categories in order to give translators and relevant institutions a longer period to prepare their nomination portfolios, thereby enhancing the quality of nominated works and reinforcing the award's professional and systematic character. The award includes a single book category, for which Mandarin Chinese was selected alongside English (a constant in all editions) among the most widely spoken languages. Mandarin Chinese returns to the award after being featured in two previous editions,underscoring the growing momentum in translation between the two languages. The value of the prizes for the top three positions in each single book category is USD 200,000. In the achievement category, which honors long-term cumulative efforts in the field of translation by individuals and institutions, five languages have been selected: Italian, Azerbaijani, and Fula (Fulani), in addition to English and Mandarin Chinese. The value of the achievement award in each category is USD 100,000.

General

Doha:The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) has stepped up surveillance inspections at commercial centers nationwide, coinciding with the back-to-school season. This move is part of MoCI's ongoing efforts to surveil markets and ensure suppliers comply with approved laws and regulations, as well as to detect any infractions that could compromise consumer rights. A statement by MoCI on Monday emphasized that these inspections included stationary centers, ensuring the availability of school supplies and the clarity of product prices, in addition to verifying that shelf prices match the prices charged at point-of-sale systems, and confirming the validity of promotional offers and discounts, along with the clarity of their terms and conditions. Furthermore, the inspections covered restaurants, retailers of children’s products, and consumer electronics stores to ensure compliance with commercial laws, including the accuracy of declared prices, license validity, and the absence of any counterfeit practices, with emphasis on adherence to standards that respect the public interest and uphold community norms and public trust. The ministry confirmed that periodic and seasonal inspections would continue, stressing that it would enforce the full extent of the law against violators in accordance with consumer protection law and its executive regulations. It also called on all citizens and residents to report any potential infractions or abuses in this regard.