QATARSUCKS and the world is watching!

Qatar, the richest nation on earth, is also the fattest with half of all adults obese and 17 per cent of the population suffering from diabetes. By comparison America, which is often assumed to be the fattest, looks positively slim with a third of adults obese and eight per cent diabetic.

Out of a population of 1.7million, just 250,000 are native Qataris, who, in the space of just two generations have switched from a tribal existence to living in air conditioned villas being waited on by armies of servants.

It goes without saying that Qatar's economy and entire way of life depends heavily on the efforts of foreign workers. Less known, however, are the abuses and rights violations these workers are increasingly subject to. Sadly, no resolution is in sight.

The Prague City Court has issued an international warrant for the arrest of Qatari Prince Hamid bin Abdal Sani, who was sentenced to 2.5 years for sex with underage girls in the Czech Republic in 2005, but the verdict is not valid yet, court spokeswoman Martina Lhotakova told CTK Tuesday.

The appeals panel has failed to deliver the court decision and writ of summons to Sani. The trial, which was to start a year ago, has been adjourned several times.

FIFA, the organizing body of World Cup soccer, shot the ball into their own net this week by choosing tiny Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup over Australia, Japan, South Korea, and in the final round, the United States.

MANILA, Philippines—Over a pound heavier and still healthy despite a bout of sore eyes, baby George Francis will soon be in the arms of his mother, who left him in an airplane’s trash bin a month ago.

The mother, who has suffered through much anguish and sleepless nights since returning to the country, is now determined to raise the child she initially rejected, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said Tuesday.

Baby George’s mother, Soliman said, had been raped and it was the DSWD’s position that no charges should be pressed against her because she was a victim herself.

"I am a Qatari and I don't mind that you're insulting us that much, because I see that you've suffered when you came here and it's very probable that you did... I also detest how the youth here have turned out, the majority of them are stuck up and ignorant and only care for superficial things but I'd like to justify why they act that way...

Gulf countries are fast turning into destinations for women trafficking even though government policy does ‘not encourage’ women to seek jobs there.

Women and children are trafficked, especially for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor in countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and UAE. These facts were revealed even as Nepal marked the fourth National Day against Human Trafficking with the theme of ‘Let’s do away with gender-based violence and put an end to human trafficking’ today.

Citizens of Qatar appear to have it made. They tend to drive big cars, live in big houses and get big loans to pay for big watches and an outsize lifestyle. They have an army of laborers from the developing world to build a sparkling skyline and to work whatever jobs they feel are beneath them. And their nation has enough oil and gas to keep the good times rolling for decades.

So why do so many people here seem so angry?

When art history professor Lisa Clayton posted a sarcastic rant Friday about Qatari youth on a popular online forum for expatriates in the country, she was not expecting to spark a national cultural war.