Newborns guaranteed Sh201,895 monthly deposit - Doha Notebook Day 11
The front page of the Gulf Times of Wednesday, November 30, 2022.
Three English daily newspapers published here
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New media has disrupted the legacy institutions particularly the newspaper. Circulations figures in different countries across the world are falling with some organisations folding up entirely. Others continue to survive under a difficult environment as readers shift their preferences and advertisers follow them. It is now a question of when rather than if they will fold, at least for the physical paper. As a traditional scribe, I am pleased to note that Qatar has three mass circulating English daily newspapers still surviving on the stands. The largest circulating one is the broadsheet Qatar Times. The others are the Peninsular and the Qatar Tribune.
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Every newborn guaranteed Sh201,895 monthly bank deposit
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Once a Qatari child is born, the state begins its obligation to care for the new arrival. In addition to the healthcare provided, the government opens a bank account for the newborn and begins depositing QR6,000 (about Sh201,895) every month until the child becomes an adult, when he or she will be free to access the money for their personal use. Perhaps as a strategy to encourage the population to bear children, the state funds weddings. A Qatari adult thus has no reason not to marry unless they have truly failed to find a life partner or want to be celibate for life.
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Qatari football can be traced back to 1960
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Just like in Kenya, national administration of Qatari football started in the early 1960s. Whereas the Kenya Football Association was formed in 1962, the Qatar Football Association was formed in 1960 and became affiliated to Fifa three years later. However, the national Qatari team played its first official match in 1970 against Bahrain in the biennial Gulf Cup, losing 2-1. In comparison, Kenya played their first international match way back on May 1, 1926, drawing 1-1 with Uganda in the annual Gossage Cup. Kenya’s first international victory was 2-1 against Uganda two days later. Qatar registered their first win in 1974, a 4-0 thrashing of Oman in the Gulf Cup.
