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%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20<p>Qatar is mourning the tragic loss of 13 lives following the June 21 explosion and fire at the Barzan local gas supply facility in Ras Laffan Industrial City. </p><p> </p><p>The deceased were of Indian and Pakistani nationalities, while 66 others of Qatari, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Kenyan, Ghanaian, Tanzanian, Nigerian, and Nepalese nationalities sustained injuries. None of the injured are in life threatening condition, according to Minister of State for Energy Affairs His Excellency Saad bin Sherida al Kaabi. </p><p> </p><p>Speaking to the media Monday, al Kaabi, who is also president and CEO of QatarEnergy, extended condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of those who lost their lives. </p><p> </p><p>Al-Kaabi said QatarEnergy extends its heartfelt condolences to the families, friends, and colleagues of those who lost their lives, and prays for the swift recovery of those injured. QatarEnergy pledges its full support to those affected by this tragedy, he also said. </p><p> </p><p>The minister stressed that the incident was an operational accident and not sabotage or hostile in nature. He explained that the Barzan plant had been shut since December 2025 for urgent maintenance and was restarted only two days before the accident. </p><p> </p><p>“The fire was quickly and fully extinguished by QatarEnergy Emergency Response Team and Qatar Civil Defence,” he noted. </p><p> </p><p>Despite the tragedy, al Kaabi emphasised that QatarEnergy’s LNG facilities, Ras Laffan Port, and logistical operations remain unaffected. </p><p> </p><p>“We have ample supplies of gas to make up for the loss from different projects and different capabilities that we have. So we don’t see any shortage. It will not affect anything regarding exports. It will not affect anything regarding our local requirements,” he said. </p><p> </p><p>Clarifying damage assessment and repair timelines, al Kaabi differentiated the Barzan incident from the earlier attack on QatarEnergy’s LNG trains at Ras Laffan, which involved proprietary cryogenic units requiring “three to five years” to replace. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s a different gas plant and a different area of the plant that was damaged,” he explained, underscoring QatarEnergy’s commitment to transparency in announcing definitive timelines once investigations are complete. </p><p> </p><p>He also dismissed concerns about environmental impact, confirming that “there is no loss of containment and there’s no environmental impact.” </p><p> </p><p>In its official statement, QatarEnergy said work is underway to assess the damage to Barzan and neighbouring facilities. It reiterated that LNG facilities, Ras Laffan Port, other logistics operations, and export capabilities remain unaffected as a result of the explosion and fire.</p>%20%20%20%20<p>Related%20Story</p>
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On International Telecommunication and Knowledge Society Day, Doha Information Continues Its Virtual Management Amid World Demanding situations in Generation Get right of entry to – Record
Doha, Would possibly 16 (QNA) – World disparities in web get admission to are presenting an escalating problem to world efforts aimed toward selling equality and reaching the Sustainable Construction Targets, as gaps in virtual accessibility persist throughout other social demographics and countries.
The problem takes middle level on International Telecommunication and Knowledge Society Day, noticed every year on Would possibly 17. The 2026 theme, “Digital Lifelines: Strengthening Resilience in a Connected World,” underscores the important function of virtual infrastructure as a foundational pillar supporting important products and services and bolstering societal resilience in an more and more attached international.
By contrast backdrop, the world observance serves as a reminder of the pressing want to offer protection to the virtual applied sciences that underpin crucial societal purposes and important infrastructure. Mavens be aware this may also be completed thru a complete framework agreed upon through all United International locations member states. This kind of framework would outline not unusual parameters for virtual agree with and safety inside a shared imaginative and prescient for virtual cooperation rooted in common values.
Inside this framework, world organizations and telecommunications mavens are calling for the reinforcement of virtual lifelines to verify a extra interconnected and resilient international. As reliance on protected communique networks grows, those lifelines—comprising terrestrial networks, submarine cables, satellites, and information methods—now shape the core infrastructure of recent societies and economies.
Conversely, regardless of some great benefits of virtual applied sciences, the opportunity of misuse stays top. Rogue actors can bypass regulations and violate human rights thru unauthorized get admission to to private information and the deployment of surveillance applied sciences. This possibility has brought about standard calls to put human rights on the middle of regulatory frameworks and law.
“Digital technology is shaping history,” United International locations Secretary-Common Antonio Guterres stated in a observation marking International Telecommunication and Knowledge Society Day. “But it also raises profound questions about the human future, human rights, equality, and security in our societies.”
Guterres added that addressing those demanding situations is dependent upon the power of numerous stakeholders to paintings jointly to maximise some great benefits of generation whilst mitigating its dangers and unfavorable packages.
On a countrywide degree, the Ministry of Communications and Knowledge Generation continues to advance a strategic imaginative and prescient aimed toward positioning the rustic as a world chief in virtual transformation.
Thru a sequence of projects, Doha Information has established itself some of the international’s maximum digitally complex countries. The rustic’s technique depends upon a strong infrastructure built-in with state of the art applied sciences, together with synthetic intelligence and blockchain.
Moreover, the ministry additionally specializes in virtual literacy and cybersecurity, aiming to make certain that all individuals of society can interact safely throughout virtual platforms, fostering a protected and inclusive virtual atmosphere.
Talking at the significance of the virtual sector and the sensible implications of its deployment, Director of the Virtual Innovation Division on the Ministry of Communications and Knowledge Generation (MCIT), Eman Al Kuwari, stated virtual innovation constitutes a central pillar within the nation’s efforts to expand a knowledge-based virtual financial system, consistent with the rules of the Virtual Schedule 2030, which goals to give a contribution QR 40 billion to the non-oil financial system and generate 26,000 jobs.
In remarks to the Doha Information Information Company (QNA), Al Kuwari stated the ministry is imposing this change thru built-in pillars: advancing the efficiency of important sectors through increasing the usage of synthetic intelligence, and enabling a nationally attached innovation ecosystem related to international markets and methods.
Al Kuwari added that the ministry has bolstered strategic partnerships with primary generation corporations, together with Microsoft, Google Cloud, Oracle and Scale AI, whilst additionally deepening cooperation with the non-public and educational sectors thru virtual transformation places of work throughout a number of key industries.
Al Kuwari famous that one of the important achievements in entrepreneurship has been the inclusion of greater than 521 startups within the Virtual Incubation Middle, with the ones corporations securing greater than QR 747 million in investment. She added that startups from 78 international locations have additionally been drawn to Doha Information, producing revenues exceeding QR 670 million. She stated the 2030 Virtual Schedule had won reputation from the United International locations as one of the most main world practices in virtual transformation.
For her section, Director of the Virtual Society and Virtual Competencies Division at MCIT, Duha Al Buhendi, stated the ministry is dedicated to fostering a extra digitally ready society thru funding in virtual talents building and strengthening nationwide functions to satisfy the calls for of the virtual long run.
Al Buhendi advised QNA that the ministry is growing projects and techniques concentrated on more than a few segments of society to make stronger virtual readiness and align talents with hard work marketplace wishes.
She stated one of the most ministry’s maximum outstanding projects is the Doha Information Virtual Academy, which delivered greater than 330 coaching techniques remaining 12 months, reaping rewards over 5,700 workers from greater than 90 entities, in partnership with 17 international generation suppliers.
She added that projects comparable to Studio 5 and the virtual protection undertaking Protected Area have contributed to selling virtual consciousness and fostering a tradition of innovation and on-line protection amongst kids, early life, oldsters and academics.
Doha Information ranks first globally within the Virtual Accessibility Rights Analysis (DARE) Index for 2020, issued through the World Initiative for Inclusive ICTs, referred to as G3ict, which tracks international locations’ growth in making data and communications generation obtainable to all, consistent with Article 9 of the Conference at the Rights of Individuals with Disabilities.
Doha Information additionally ranked first globally in web penetration, with a fee of 99 % in 2021, in keeping with the “Digital 2021: Global Overview Report,” issued through Hootsuite, which coated greater than 230 international locations and territories. As well as, the rustic ranked 3rd within the Arab international within the 2023 Govt Digital and Cellular Products and services Adulthood Index (GEMS).
In the similar context, Doha Information positioned 3rd amongst Arab international locations within the 2023 ICT Construction Index, which coated 169 international locations and is in line with 10 signs measuring common and significant connectivity in addition to the standard of web get admission to.
With regards to achievements, Doha Information won the International Summit Award for Arabic virtual content material thru the federal government portal Hukoomi within the class of e-government and open information in 2011 and 2013. The Ministry of Communications and Knowledge Generation additionally won ISO/IEC 27001 certification in 2018 following an evaluate of knowledge safety methods in shared authorities products and services.
In 2020, the ministry won the “Champion” award from the International Summit at the Knowledge Society for the Protected Area platform within the class of “Building Confidence and Security in the Use of ICTs.”
In 2021, the TASMU platform received a International Summit Awards award within the class of “Government and Citizen Engagement,” decided on amongst 40 winners from just about 800 nominations representing greater than 100 international locations. (QNA)
