BurdenedBy MOBIN PANDIT

DOHA: Inflation and other finan-cial pressures are taking their tollon families in Qatar, with some eventaking out personal bank loans tomake ends meet.

Limited and middle income fami-lies have so far had easy access topersonal loans to relieve the burdenof mounting inflation.

This may not be the case as commer-cial banks in the country are becomingincreasingly cautious due to the wors-ening world financial situation.

The banks are not going to remainas liberal as they have been in therecent past in personal credit dispen-sation due to an impending liquid-ity crunch, a senior banker, who didnot wish to be identified, told The

 Peninsula yesterday.And, worse, with the galloping infla-

tion showing no signs of easing, middleand lower-middle income families haveno option but to bear the burden.

“Inflation is rising. I think it ismore than 15 percent pre sently,” saidDr Nasser Al Shafi, a well-knownfinancial analyst who works in thegovernment sector.

  The banks are not going

to remain as liberal as

they have been in the

recent past in personal

credit dispensation due

to a possible impending

liquidity crunch.

  Some people are in heavy

debt. And many residents

have left after taking

huge loans.

Personal loans

Editor’s letter

Welcome to the new-look The Peninsula.

Our commitment to serious news, both local andoverseas, remains the same. Our news team — encom-

passing local, business and sports as well as the bestnews photographers in Qatar, will continue to bring you

the hard-hitting, relevant and inormative coverage youhave come to expect rom The Peninsula.

The Peninsula’s new design is intended to enhance

our content and make or a better experience or you,the reader. We have made many changes to betterconnect with and meet the needs o our growing and

increasingly diverse readership.We have chosen a new typeace – one that is mod-

ern and active as well as pleasing to the eye. We haveadded more colour and inographics and simplifedthe design to emphasise news and inormation rather

than decoration.We have increased the number o pages to 48 and

broken the newspaper into our distinct sections –

News, Business, Sport and Oasis in order to bring youmore news relevant to your lie.

The Peninsula has entered into exclusive arrange-ments with newspapers around the globe to bring youup-to-date inormation.

We have joined orces with the world’s mostrespected business newspaper, The Financial Times, 

to bring you their exclusive news and analysis in theseturbulent times.

To better serve our multicultural readership, we

have also signed deals with respected newspapersThe Times of India and The Philippine Star .

We are turning our weekly Oasis into a daily liestylesection with many interesting pages to read. Eachday o the week will be dedicated to a specifc issue

– Women, Health, Technology, Schools, Travel andMotoring. This new approach means we can coverthese topics in depth.

 Also inside Oasis you will fnd Eating Out, DohaScene and Doha’s frst comprehensive and most read-

able TV guide. We have beeed up our entertainmentcoverage to bring you the best o Hollywood, Bollywood

and Filipino showbiz news. We have also overhauled

our puzzles, adding or the frst time Samurai, whichhas taken the world by storm.

On Fridays, we will carry Oasis Weekend , an

expanded version o the daily pull-out with more in-depth eatures.

This major re-design, reects months o discussionand research as well as hard work by many people.

The redesign process was started by Mohammed Abdo and spearheaded by our own designer Abraham

 Augusthy. We give our special thanks to Nigel Gourlay,whose guidance and assistance was immeasur-

able. The team at The Peninsula would also like to

acknowledge the support and guidance o our GeneralManager, Abdul Lati Al Mahmoud, who has been withus every step o the way.

We will continue to respond to you, our valued read-ers. So please let us know your views, both positiveand negative. You can email us at: editor@thepenin-

sulaqatar.comWe have more new and exciting projects in the

pipeline which will be unveiled in the days and weeksto come.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your frst taste o

the new-look The Peninsula!

Rachel Morris

Managing Editor

SIGN OF CHANGE: New white street signs that are clearly visible even at night have come up on the major roads of Doha recently. (ABDUL BASIT)

Hala chargesto be slashed

DOHA: The Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, isarriving here on an official visitthis evening.

During his 24-hour stay, heis expected to call on The Emir,H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa AlThani, and discuss issues of bilateral,regional and global importance.

According to sources in theIndian embassy in Doha, thereis a likelihood Singh may alsoraise issues related to the Indiancommunity here. A meeting withPrime Minister and ForeignMinister, H E Sheikh Hamad binJassem bin Jabor Al Thani, is alsolined up. THE PENINSULA

Some people are in heavy debt. Andmany residents have disappeared aftertaking huge loans, said the banker.Nationals are burdened more withmortgage and credit card loans.

“But, thankfully, indebtedness is nota major problem in our communities sofar. It’s manageable,” said Al Shafi.

Social activist and businessmanHassan Al Jefairi does not agree withAl Shafi and says: “Indebtedness is defi-nitely increasing and causing financial

and emotional strain to people. A largenumber of families are in debt. Creditcards are their saviours.”

Many nationals took bank loans to buy Qatari shares when the equitymarket was doing well some six monthsago. “They have lost heavily since themarket index has dipped hugely since,”claimed Al Jefairi.

“Yes, a number of people evensold off their properties to invest inlocal stocks,” confirmed prominentpsychiatrist Dr Taher Shaltoot of the Hamad Medical Corporation.“We have been seeing more casesof depression since the inflationary

pressure began mounting,” he said.According to him, more people, bothnationals and residents, are fearingwhat lies ahead.

Elders in resident communities saymost limited-income people have senttheir families home to cope with therising prices. The heads of these fam-ilies are now living a spartan life.

This is especially true of Indiansand Pakistanis, say Sam Bashir andFiroz Khan Afridi. “Since spirallingrents have been a major contribu-tor to higher inflation, many peoplemoved into single accommodation,”added Afridi. THE PENINSULA

Indonesia executes Bali bombers

DOHA: Call charges for Qtel’s Hala prepaidservice will be slashed from today as part of a massive overhaul. Customers using the pay-as-you-go system will benefit “immediately”as the changes will go live from today, sourceshave told The Peninsula.

In the most wide-ranging set of enhancementssince the Hala service was launched in 2000, callcharges will be dramatically reduced and a rangeof new services introduced.

Qtel is upping the ante with a wave of promo-tions and special packages to face competitionfrom Vodafone Qatar, which will start operationsin March 2009.

The changes follow exhaustive surveyingof Qtel customers and the recent success of 

Indian PMarriving today

TEACHER: Russia’s Nadia Petrova shows how it’s done to a group of children during a

tennis clinic at the Khalifa Tennis Complex. See also pages 33 & 34 (QASSIM RAHMATULLAH)

Downturn a treatfor therapistsLondon’s masseurs, physiothera-pists and alternative therapists areseeing a surge in demand for theirservices as the economic downturnsends City workers’ stress levelssoaring. Anna Abrahams, who pro-vides massage sessions in homesand workplaces across the capi-tal, said she is the busiest she has been since starting her business,Inspired London.

In a sign of growing competi-tion for the “pampering pound”,she plans to double her team of six qualified masseurs to copewith increased demand, particu-larly from large corporate clients.“It used to be only the forward-thinking companies looking for us but now everyone is more open totry these things,” she said.

“It has immediate effects. Peoplewill feel calmer and they will be morealert. People are realising that it does

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Volume 13Number 4052Sunday9 November 200811 Dhul-Qa’ada 1429Price: QR2Subscription Price: QR1.8

Oasis Sports 33

Website http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/  Email editor@thepeninsulaqatar.com • advertising@thepeninsulaqatar.com Tel 4557714 ( Editorial) • 4557852 / 4557854 ( Advertising )  Address D-Ring Road P.O. Box: 3488 Doha Qatar

Obsessed withchildhoodchildhoodobesityobesity

  Young gun

 

Young gunreachesreachesDoha finalDoha final

CILACAP: Three radicals sentenced todeath for the Bali bombings which killed202 people were executed by firing squadearly this morning in Indonesia.

“At around 00.15am (8.15pm yester-day in Qatar) the three convicted menon death row, Amrozi, Mukhlas andImam Samudra, were executed by fir-ing squad,” said the attorney general’soffice spokesman Jasman Panjaitan.

“The autopsy results show that allthree are dead. The family members arenow bathing the bodies,” he said.

Amrozi, 47, his brother Mukhlas,48, and ringleader Imam Samudra, 38,were killed with shots to the heart inan orange grove near their prison onNusakambangan island off Java.

A brother of Mukhlas and Amrozi —the latter dubbed the “smiling assassin”

for his courtroom antics — said thefamily had been informed.

“May our brothers, God willing, beinvited by green birds to heaven now,”Mohammad Chozin told reporters in thefamily’s village of Tenggulun, east Java.

Some 200 radicals had gatheredat the village, amid fears of a violentmilitant backlash across the mainlyMuslim country. AFP

Indonesia executes Bali bombersof Qtel customers and the recent success of “packages” targeting Qatar’s multiculturalexpatriate communities.

During the summer and Ramadan periods,more than a million people benefited from therange of offers, including cheaper calls at night,which comprised the most diverse Qatar-basedcustomer campaign in the company’s history.

As the entry of the second mobile service pro-vider gets closer, customers can expect manymore special promotions and price wars inthe near future. THE PENINSULA

alert. People are realising that it doeshave very real benefits and it is agreat morale boost.” Increased cor-porate bookings - Inspired London’sare up 50 percent this year - are not  just due to enlightened employers.Health and safety legislation meansthat companies could face litiga-tion if they fail to help stressed-outemployees. FINANCIAL TIMES

See also pages 26 & 27