QatarEnergy signed an agreement with China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) for the construction of 18 ultra-modern QC-Max size LNG vessels, at a cost of $6bn, marking a significant addition to its historic LNG fleet expansion programme.The new vessels, with a capacity of 271,000 cubic meters each, will be constructed at China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard, a CSSC wholly-owned subsidiary, and will feature state-of-the-art technological innovation and environmental performance.The agreement was signed in Beijing by HE the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, also the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, and by Chen Jianliang, chairman of Hudong‐Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co Ltd and Li Hongtao, chairman of China Shipbuilding Trading Co Ltd during a special ceremony attended by senior executives from QatarEnergy, QatarEnergy LNG, and CSSC.The signing ceremony also was attended by a number of senior Chinese government officials as well as Mohamed Abdullah al-Dehaimi, Qatar’s Ambassador in China.Speaking at the ceremony, al-Kaabi, said: “With a total value of almost $6bn for these ultra-modern, largest ever LNG vessels by size, the agreement we signed today is the industry’s largest single shipbuilding contract ever.”HE Minister Al-Kaabi added: “It is our honour to continue working with China State Shipbuilding Corporation and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard to develop and build some of the top-tier LNG vessels renowned for their exceptional environmental qualities. And as we take this important step together, I would like to affirm QatarEnergy’s determination to live up to our commitment to provide a safe and reliable energy source in the form of LNG, while always giving priority to environmental sustainability.”Al-Kaabi also highlighted that 12 conventional-size LNG vessels are currently under construction at Hudong-Zhonghua, and that delivery of the first such vessels is expected by the third quarter of this year.Eight of the 18 QC-Max size LNG vessels will be delivered in 2028 and 2029, while the other ten will be delivered in 2030 and 2031.Last month, QatarEnergy announced the signing of Time Charter Party agreements for a total of 104 conventional-size vessels (174,000 cubic meters) constituting the largest shipbuilding and leasing program ever in the history of the industry.This new milestone further highlights the ever-growing co-operation between China and Qatar, especially in the energy sector.In 2023, Qatari LNG supplies to its main customers in China reached almost 17mn tons. Also in 2023, Qatar was also one of the major suppliers of Crude Oil (equivalent of 8.6mn tons), Naphtha (2.3mn tons), LPG (2.2mn tons), Helium (650mn cubic feet), and fertilisers, polymers and chemicals (1.6mn tons) to the Chinese market.The year 2023 also witnessed the participation of two of China’s national energy companies as partners in Qatar’s prized North Field Expansion projects with Sinopec acquiring a 1.25% interest in the North Field East project and a 1.875% interest in the North Field South project, while at the same time signing 27-year LNG sales and purchase agreements for a total of 7mn tons per year.CNPC in turn, has acquired a 1.25% interest in the North Field East project and signed a 27-year LNG sales and purchase agreement for 4mn tons per year.

Unesco, in collaboration with Qatar National Committee for Unesco, and Al Jazeera Media Institute organised the second two-day National Consultation in Qatar on Media and Information Literacy (MIL) that kicked off on Monday at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE).The second MIL is intended to build on the first national consultation organised in 2019, and for broadening the scope of discussion through a multi stakeholder approach.In the opening speech, Dr Ali al-Maarifi, secretary general of Qatar National Commission to Unesco, said: “This consultation is aiming at better understanding the MIL framework in the country, identify areas where support is needed, and build a plan of action to support MIL development and dissemination in Qatar.”The first panel discussion was an introduction to MIL and overview of MIL initiatives in Qatar. This was followed by a panel discussion titled 'The role of the media in promoting MIL', where Faisal Abdulhameed al-Mudahka, Gulf Times Editor-in-Chief and Iman al-Kaabi, director, Qatar Media Center; Jaber al-Harami, Editor-in-Chief, Al Sharq Newspaper; and Kamel Hamidou, associate professor, Department of Media, Qatar University, focused on MIL in journalism and journalism education.Al-Mudahka said: “There are three stages, first making the news. If you are capable of making the news but you do not have a means of transmitting it. Today, the old media i.e. newspapers, radio, and even the current media, including social media, have a specific industry and know how, which is represented by algorithms. Do we know how to deal with it? Because if we don't know how to deal with it, we won't be able to disseminate the news. For this reason, new names (for journalists) are emerging, because they are using modern ways and media."Today, the recipient in the Middle East, Qatar, or the region in general is between 17 and 30 years old. Do we have professionals who address (speak) to this age group? Or has this class left the media which we deal with or produce?Then there is no issue of lack of trust but it is the lack of use of technology."In recent years, those working in the media in Qatar have become more confused and experienced at the same time. For example, the topic of the World Cup can be divided into three components: media literacy, because we faced many media campaigns and fake news. Did the public in the Middle East or in Qatar have media literacy? No, They looked at the big institutions, BBC, CNN, with no suspicion. How we dealt with them, whether the local press, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, or the Arab press, which has a national or patriotic feeling or support for Qatar or the World Cup? It was always defending Qatar."Here you find the official bearing all the burden, and he finds himself explaining why we hosted the World Cup, and explaining the goal or a specific policy that reduces the impact of attacks or electronic flies. Secondly, media literacy: Do our students or the age group targeted by the campaign have the idea that there is/are so-called electronic flies or algorithms used by parties that pay huge sums of money to spread this false news?"If we look at Covid-19, we still see this news on X. I am glad that we are discussing MIL because in Qatar we are located in an important geopolitical region, and in an active country. Among the news, the lie about Covid-19 is that you will recover if you drink bleach. Someone died because of this fake news, and it has become a political issue. Does the public know about this? We are not talking about the level of Qatar and whether I trust the press or not? There is a large media wave."We move to Qatari mediation and the war in Gaza. If we look at it as a case study, many people believe that you have a just cause and in which resolutions were taken by the United Nations, but sometimes we see the Israeli narrative winning because it has an electronic army, it has a program, it is proficient in algorithms, and it has an army of people against the Palestinian cause. But at the same time, we see that this narrative has changed, and there is awareness in universities because students understand, and the new generation understands and sees that this news is false. This narrative is no longer as true as its promoters want."I am happy to debate this important topic, which is the topic of the hour, even if we are late in bringing it up. MIL is an important and complex topic for understanding fake news, for instance how to verify images via GPS, and whether the demonstrations whose images have been disseminated are true or false, and the process of verifying them via Google and other techniques to verify the authenticity of the news are all very important.This is the fourth time in Qatar that we have been exposed to media campaigns and electronic flies because the state is active. If it were a normal state, we would not be exposed to such attacks, but we are always at the center of the decision and in an important geopolitical area,” al-Mudahka concluded.

Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, has tried to send a “business as usual” message since his deputy was arrested on a bribery charge. But the widening scandal looks bad for him too, and is seen as a push by a rival clan to dilute his power.On the surface, the timing of the detention on Tuesday of Timur Ivanov, one of Shoigu’s 12 deputy ministers, was unexpected, coming when Russia is waging war in Ukraine and the authorities have made discrediting the army a jailable offence.Allegations of graft funding a lifestyle way beyond his means made against 48-year-old Ivanov by the late opposition politician Alexei Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation had been in the public domain for more than a year with no apparent fallout.Yet this week state TV suddenly showed Russians a perplexed-looking Ivanov — who denies wrongdoing — dressed in full military uniform, standing in a clear plastic courtroom cage of the type that so many Kremlin foes have occupied before him.His arrest, say Russian political analysts including some former insiders, shows how the war is shaping infighting between the “clans” that jostle for wealth and influence in Russia’s sharp-elbowed political system.The clans — alliances of like-minded officials or business people — centre around the military, the intelligence and law enforcement agencies, the military-industrial complex and also include a group of people from President Vladimir Putin’s native St Petersburg who have known him personally for many years.“Someone in the elite didn’t like the fact that Shoigu had grown stronger,” Tatiana Stanovaya, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, told Reuters.“This doesn’t come from Putin, but from people who are close to Putin who think that Shoigu has overplayed his hand. It’s simply a battle against someone and a ministry that has got too powerful and an attempt to balance the situation.”Abbas Gallyamov, a former Kremlin speechwriter who is now designated as a “foreign agent” by the authorities, said he too saw the arrest as an attack on Shoigu that would weaken him.“Ivanov is one of the closest people to Shoigu. His arrest on the eve of the appointment of a new government suggests that the current minister’s chances of staying in his chair are sharply declining,” he said.Ivanov was arrested as a result of an investigation by the counter-intelligence arm of the FSB security service, according to Russian state media.Ivanov’s is the highest-profile corruption case since Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022. State media have reported that Shoigu has removed Ivanov from his post.The scandal comes just two weeks before Putin is inaugurated for a fifth presidential term and before a government reshuffle expected next month at which Shoigu’s job will, in theory, be up for grabs.Ivanov was in charge of lucrative army construction and procurement contracts and is accused of taking huge bribes in the form of services worth, according to Russian media reports, at least 1 billion roubles ($10.8mn) in return for handing out defence ministry contracts to certain companies.While few are willing to bet Shoigu will lose his job because of the scandal, given his loyalty to Putin, Ivanov’s arrest is seen as a reversal for his boss, who’s influence and access to the Kremlin chief has been elevated by his key role in the Ukraine war.The Moscow Times cited a senior government official as calling the arrest a serious blow to Shoigu’s camp and cited a source close to the defence ministry as saying that the arrest was more about politics and “Sergei Shoigu’s weakening position” than about Ivanov.Shoigu and the top army brass have at times been the focus of vicious criticism from Russian war bloggers and nationalists who have accused him, particularly after a string of retreats in 2022, of incompetence.Shoigu survived an abortive coup led by Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, since killed in a plane crash, who in June last year orchestrated a march on Moscow to try to topple him, but his authority was damaged. Putin said the events could have plunged Russia into civil war.Shoigu had since managed to win back Putin’s trust, but the arrest of his deputy is a renewed setback.“It indirectly damages Shoigu. Questions arise. How is it that a person who was close to him and who he brought on managed to steal so much under Shoigu’s own nose?” said Carnegie’s Stanovaya.Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, has forecast that Shoigu, in post since 2012, will keep his job regardless.“Everyone is wondering — could this be a signal to Shoigu that he will not be in the next government after 7 May?” Markov wrote on his official blog.“Calm down. He will be. Shoigu has created a new army since the disastrous year of 2022 which repelled the offensive of the Ukrainian army in 2023. And in 2024, the army is already advancing.”There is much about the background to Ivanov’s arrest that remains unknown. Multiple theories are circulating in Moscow about whether the bribery accusation is the whole story, with unconfirmed media reports that he may also be accused of state treason, something his lawyer has denied.Some have suggested that it was perhaps his love of a Western lifestyle at a time when Putin says Russia is engaged in an existential struggle with the West that may have been his downfall.Others believe his family’s fondness for luxury European holidays, yacht rentals, Rolls-Royce cars and opulent parties was fine before the war but was now seen as “feasting at a time of plague”, a Russian literary reference.Shoigu has remained silent on the scandal, inspecting a space launch facility this week as if nothing had happened.The Kremlin has told journalists to rely solely on official sources and has said that the often vast construction projects which Ivanov oversaw — such as the reconstruction of the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol — will not be affected. — Reuters