The 4.4 million euro deal marks the QPI’s first investment in Greece.

Qatar Petroleum (QP), a state-owned corporation established in 1974, is responsible for all phases of the oil and gas industry in Qatar.

According to Gulf Times, Qatar’s Energy and Industry Minister Mohamed bin Saleh Al-Sada also attended the agreement’s signing ceremony yesterday in Doha.

“The power sector is growing steadily worldwide,” Mohammed Saleh Al Sada said at a press conference in Doha late yesterday.

“We have already built capacity internally here in Qatar, but we are interested in extending our investment elsewhere.”

The agreement was also signed, by Nasser Al Jaidah, CEO of QPI, and George Peristeris, CEO of GEK TERNA Group.

The energy-rich Gulf emirate in January announced during a visit by Samaras that it planned to invest up to a billion euros in a joint fund with Athens to bolster recession-hit Greek industry.

The Greek investment scheme is similar to a Qatari plan to invest in Italian companies, which was announced during a visit by Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Monti to Doha last November.

Samaras had originally intended to visit Qatar in November but delayed the trip because Athens was locked in talks to obtain aid from its international lenders.

TERNA was founded in 1972 and since then it has been actively involved in the implementation of a broad spectrum of public and private projects of considerable budget and complex know-how, such as the construction of Railway and Highway networks.

Today, TERNA is the construction company of GEK TERNA Group.

The fifth Implementation Follow-up Commission (IFC) wrapped up in Doha, Qatar, on 9 April to review the progress made so far in the implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).

“We are on the right track and peace is the solution,” said the Chairperson for the Implementation Follow-up Commission (IFC), Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud, who is also the deputy Prime Minister of the State of Qatar and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs.

On 14 July 2011, the Sudanese Government – which has been fighting rebel groups in Darfur since 2003 – signed the DDPD with the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), and more recently with the Justice and Equality Movement led by Mohamed Bashar (JEM-Bashar).

The agreement focuses on seven areas: human rights; power-sharing; wealth-sharing; justice and reconciliation; compensation of refugees and internally displaced persons; ceasefire and security arrangements; and internal dialogue and consultation.

It is overseen by a follow-up committee that includes Mohamed Ibn Chambas – the head of the joint African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and Joint Chief Mediator for the AU and UN – and representatives of the AU, the Sudanese Government, armed movements, the Qatari Government mediation and other organizations and governments.

The committee meets regularly to review the progress made so far in implementing the DDPD.

During the latest meeting, representatives from more than 15 countries acknowledged the continued cooperation between the Government of Sudan and the LJM, and reaffirmed the international community’s support to the DDPD as the only framework for peace in Darfur.

“The DDPD has greatly contributed to the decline in levels of violence and to bringing security that large parts of Darfur are enjoying today,” said IFC Chairperson Al Mahmoud, speaking to the media after the meeting.

“It is crucial to preserve and build on the various accomplishments made so far to achieve a sustainable peace in the region,” he added.

He called on the hold-out movements to walk in the footsteps of the Justice and Equality Movement-Sudan (JEM-Sudan) and join the peace process on the basis of the DDPD.

The meeting came one day after a pledging conference which organizers had hoped would raise $7.2 billion to cover reconstruction and development of Darfur over a six-year period.

Meanwhile, thousands of civilians are seeking protection, many of them with their livestock, near joint AU-UN peacekeeping teams in Muhajeria and Labado, East Darfur State, after attacks and “possible air strikes” on the towns.

UNAMID has condemned the 6 April attacks. The peacekeeping mission is working with UN agencies to ascertain the best means of supporting aid delivery to the population, particularly the civilians concentrated around the team site.

“The Darfur Development Strategy acknowledges that while current conditions may not be perfect, ‘the people are ready for change’,” the Secretary-General said in his message to the Conference.

The international donor forum hosted by Qatar wrapped up today after two days of pledging which organizers had hoped would raise $7.2 billion to cover reconstruction and development of Darfur over a six-year period. According to reports, at least $3.7 billion was pledged.

“We share a collective commitment to achieving a comprehensive and inclusive peace for the people of Darfur. Resolving the conflict there remains critical to consolidating peace and stability for Sudan as a whole,” said Mr. Ban.

He noted that the long-stalled effort to find a political solution to the conflict reached a turning point last July with the adoption of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur by the Government of Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement.

Last month, the Justice and Equality Movement-Sudan also agreed to sign on to the Doha Document.

Mr. Ban also urged the Government to cooperate in facilitating the work of the African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), humanitarian actors and international development partners throughout Darfur, while respecting human rights.

“The Government of Sudan must clearly demonstrate its commitment to fulfil its financial obligations to support recovery and development in Darfur,” Mr. Ban said.

Meanwhile, thousands of civilians are seeking protection, many of them with their livestock, near joint AU-UN peacekeeping teams in Muhajeria and Labado, East Darfur State, after attacks and “possible air strikes” on the towns.

“UNAMID reaffirms its commitment to protect displaced civilians,” the Mission said in a press release.

The peacekeeping mission is working with UN agencies to ascertain the best means of supporting aid delivery to the population, particularly the civilians concentrated around the team site.

“We in UNAMID condemn the use of force seen in the attack on Muhajeria and Labado towns in East Darfur. These actions only bring further suffering to the civilian population and undermine the peace process,” said the new Head of UNAMID and Joint Chief Mediator for the AU and UN, Mohamed Ibn Chambas. He officially takes up his post today.

According to the Mission, members of the Sudan Liberation Army led by Minni Minawi attacked and seized the towns on 6 April wounding at least three civilians, including a staff member from UNAMID.

“At both locations, UNAMID personnel reported several possible air strikes and are taking steps to ascertain the number of casualties caused by the fighting,” according to information in the statement.

Established in July 2007, UNAMID has the protection of civilians as its core mandate, but is also tasked with contributing to security for humanitarian assistance, monitoring and verifying implementation of agreements and assisting with an inclusive political process, among other responsibilities.

According to UN figures estimates, some 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since the conflict between rebels, Government forces and allied militiamen erupted in 2003 and about 2.7 million others have had to flee their homes. Both sides have been accused of numerous human rights abuses.

Mortar shells struck the cafeteria of the university’s architecture department in the central Baramkeh district killing 15 people, according to the Associated Press.

State media blamed the attack on “terrorists,” while the opposition attributed it to the government.

Loaey Mikdad, a spokesman for the rebel Free Syrian Army, denied the government’s allegations that the FSA had attacked the university, he told the New York Times in a telephone interview.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported the attack but put the toll at 10 people.

“The bombing of the Damascus University School of Architecture is a crime against the sanctity of universities and student life,” The Syrian National Coalition said in a statement.

“In continuation of its heinous crimes, and after the bombing of the University of Aleppo earlier this year, the Assad regime has once again attacked students with the bombing of the School of Architecture in Damascus. Dozens of students have been killed and injured. The Syrian regime continues to commit such unprecedented crimes in hopes of rebuilding the wall of fear that the children of Daraa tore down two years ago. The regime repeats these heinous crimes with the reassurance of international silence, which the regime views as a green light.”

The university mortar attack came as Syrian officials denied accusations by the opposition that an Iranian cargo plane carrying weapons to Assad’s regime was hit as it landed at Damascus International Airport.

“Damascus International Airport Administration stressed Thursday that work is continuous in the Airport normally and regularly, as the reception of the arriving plans and the departure of those travelling I is normal,” state-run media SANA said.

It added that news circulated by some media outlets, which are partners in the bloodshed of the Syrians, regarding the airport is false and untrue.

Separately, the Syrian opposition coalition, opened its first embassy in the Qatari capital Doha on Wednesday.

Syria’s ambassador to the league, Youssef Ahmad, accused the League of replacing a legitimate state with a “monstrosity,” Syria’s state-run news agency SANA reported.

He indicated that the practices of the Arab League regarding the crisis in Syria since its beginning haven’t been related to its charter or its internal system or the principles of the joint Arab work as well as the interests of the national security.

Syria’s membership was suspended in November 2011.

Speaking at the opening session Foreign Minister Davutoğlu pointed out that the Summit marks the beginning of a new chapter in the quest of a free, democratic and prosperous Syria.

“It represents a historic milestone as the legitimate representatives of the Syrian people today have rightfully taken the seat of their country in the Arab League”, he added.

Meanwhile, Syrian National Coalition leader Khatib in addressing the summit in Doha said that he had asked US Secretary of State John Kerry to provide Patriot missile protection that covers northern Syria, and that Kerry had “promised to look into the matter.”

The White House said Tuesday that NATO would not provide Patriot missile batteries to protect rebel strongholds in Syria, AFP reported.

“I think that a Patriot missile battery would follow the definition of military assistance,” Carney said, adding that Patriot anti-missile batteries in Turkey were for self-defense only.

Even though al-Kahtib resigned from the coalition due to lack of support from the international community for help in ending the nation’s bloody conflict the Coalition hasn’t accepted his resignation.

NATO’s  involvement in Syria’s war until now has been to position Patriot missile batteries along the Turkish border in order to prevent any  missile launches from the Syrian side. their purpose is solely for self defense.

The meeting which was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Development Minister Notis Mitarakis and the chief executive of Qatar Holdings, Ahmad Al-Sayed, included at least seven businesses in the tourism, energy and foods sectors, based on the request made by the Qatari side.

Discussion focused on the creation of a fund to support small and medium-sized investment activity, dealing mainly with technical details regarding its structure, operation and method of financing so that it will not clash with Community law.

The agreement was reached during a visit by Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who was accompanied by his development and defence ministers and a team of Greek business leaders.

Yet while Samaras’s meeting with the government in Doha had concluded that the subsidy fund would start with 2 billion euros, half from each side, it appears that due to a lack of funds and European legislation that could raise obstacles, Greece will not necessarily have to contribute any money to an investment, daily Kathimerini reports.

Qatar is apparently also examining its possible participation in another institution that the Greek government intends to create, the Hellenic Investment Fund.

A Development ministry source told Kathimerini that the meeting discussed three ways of financing the joint fund, through which Qatar plans to subsidize Greek enterprises. These are joint funding by the Greek and Qatari states, funding only by Qatar, and funding with capital originating from Qatar as well as other countries or investment banks in other countries such as France and Germany.

Last month Qatar returned as a candidate in the international competition process to develop Hellinikon, the Greek airport site on the city’s southern coast.

Meanwhile a report in Tuesday’s Financial Times stated that the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), is not only interested in the development of the Greek capital’s former airport, but also in the operation of the new Athens International Airport, seeing it as a potential hub for Qatar Airways.

The same report notes Qatar’s interest in the Astir Palace Hotel at Vouliagmeni, southern Athens.

“Let us be under no illusion. This is a crisis. A threat to us all. Our economies. Our security. And the well-being of our children and those who will come after,” Ban said at the start of the high-level segment of the 18th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“The danger signs are all around,” he added, pointing to the unprecedented melting of icecaps, rising sea levels, and land degradation and drought in various parts of the world.

“No one is immune to climate change – rich or poor,” he stated. “It is an existential challenge for the whole human race – our way of life, our plans for the future. We must take ownership. We, collectively, are the problem. Then we should have the solutions.”

The two-week conference brings together the 195 Parties to the UNFCCC, the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Under the Protocol, 37 States – consisting of highly industrialized countries and countries undergoing the process of transition to a market economy – have legally binding emission limitation and reduction commitments.

Delegates at the two-week conference – that ends this Friday – will, among other goals, try to extend the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period expires at the end of 2012.

“I urge all Parties to work with a spirit of compromise – to take the long view and avoid getting bogged down in minutiae,” Ban told participants. “Let us ensure that we stay on track for an effective, fair, ambitious and universal climate agreement by 2015.”

The Secretary-General said he hoped for five key “deliverables” by Governments in Doha this week, beginning with the adoption of a ratifiable second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol.

“The Kyoto Protocol remains the closest we have to a global, binding climate agreement. It must continue. It is a foundation to build on. It has important institutions, including accounting and legal systems, and the framework that markets sorely need. Its continuation on 1 January 2013 would show that governments remain committed to a more robust climate regime.”

He also expected progress on long-term climate finance, and ensuring that the institutions set up in Cancun and Durban to support mitigation and adaptation by developing countries – including the Green Climate Fund and the Climate Technology Centre and Network – are fully equipped and effective.

In addition, he expected governments to demonstrate, with no ambiguity, that negotiations on a global and legally binding instrument remain on track, and to show how they intend to act on the gap between mitigation pledges and what is required to achieve the two degrees target.

Recent UN-led reports have pointed to the urgency of keeping global average temperatures from rising beyond an internationally agreed level of two degrees Celsius, beyond which climate change would have serious impacts.

“The gap can be bridged. But time is not on our side,” Ban warned.

The President of the General Assembly, Vuk Jeremic, told the meeting that addressing the problem of climate change must become a core national interest of every UN Member State.

“The window of opportunity to prevent the effects of climate change from spiralling out of our control is closing,” he said. “When future generations look upon the choices we made, let them not be forced to exclaim that we failed to act in time. Let them not have to suffer the consequences of the inability to answer the clarion call to act with conscientious foresight.”

Speaking to reporters in Doha today, Ban emphasized that “we are in a race against time,” adding that every delay will require greater future effort or will mean greater future harm.

“If we act together with clear purpose, we can meet this challenge. But we need to be united – governments from all regions, business and civil society. We have a clear choice: stand together, or fall together.”

George Sabra currently residing in Turkey said his election showed that the SNC was not sectarian, and he appealed for more weapons to help overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, according to the BBC.

Farouq Tayfour, a senior member of the Muslim Brotherhood, was elected his vice president.

The SNC’s 41-member general secretariat, itself newly elected, chose Sabra, who garnered 28 votes, as part of efforts to revamp the group working to oust President Bashar al-Assad.

Earlier on Friday, the umbrella group elected 11 members to sit on its executive committee.

The executive committee members included Abdel baeset Sayda, the SNC’s former head.

The SNC is set to start talks on Saturday with other Syrian factions including representatives of rebel groups inside Syria on forming a new, wider body that hopes to gain international recognition as a transitional government, as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last week called the SNC unrepresentative of opposition forces on the ground.

However, the Syrian National Council, vying to keep its leading role and under US pressure to unify, on Friday called for a delay to a decision on bringing together all groups opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.

However, a major activist network, the Local Coordination Committees quit the bloc accusing SNC of being unable to adopt a “serious ad effective reform plan” .

“Several attempts have been made by the Local Coordination Committees in Syria to push the Syrian National Council and its leadership to adopt a serious and effective general reform plan so that the SNC can assume its role as a political representative of the great people of Syria,” the Local Coordination Committees said in a statement.

“Therefore, the Local Coordination Committees hereby declares its withdrawal from the Syrian National Council.”

“I think that the cost of a foreign invasion of Syria – if it happens – would be bigger than the entire world can bear … this will have a domino effect that will affect the world from the Atlantic to the Pacific,” he said.

Earlier this week, Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron suggested that Mr Assad could be allowed safe passage out of the country in order to end the nation’s crisis.

But appearing on the Russian Arabic-language channel Russia Today, Mr Assad said “I am not a puppet. I was not made by the West to go to the West or to any other country,” he said. “I am Syrian, I was made in Syria, I have to live in Syria and die in Syria,”

It was not clear where the interview took place. The full interview will be broadcast on Friday, the TV station said.

Russia has remained one of Syria’s most loyal allies, protecting Damascus from international action at the United Nations Security Council.

Assad’s remarks coincided with a meeting in Qatar on Thursday of Syria’s fractious opposition to hammer out an agreement on a new umbrella body uniting rebel groups inside and outside Syria amid growing international pressure to form a more cohesive and representative opposition.

The Syrian National Council’s general assembly of some 420 members chose a 40-member leadership body after hours of voting at a conference held at a hotel in the Qatari capital of Doha, according to Reuters. The 40-member group is to choose an 11-member executive body and an SNC president later Thursday.

Meanwhile, two civilians, a woman and a young man, in Turkey’s Hatay border province were wounded by stray bullets fired from Syria, according to a Turkish official. According to the same source, Ankara has officially requested that NATO deploy Patriot missiles along the border with Syria, over fears that armed conflict could spill across the border.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the bombing in the village of Ziyara in the central province of Hama was carried out by Jabhat al-Nusra, an Islamist group. Activists from the area reported that the operation was in coordination with other armed rebel groups.

The attack was one of the deadliest on pro-regime forces since the start of the revolt against President Bashar al-Assadin March last year.

The observatory also reported that more than 20 rebel fighters were killed by a fighter jet air-strike on the town of Harem in the northern province of Idlib. A rebel leader in the town was also seriously injured and is thought to be dead.

State-run TV SANA and the Britain-based Observatory said a car bomb attack had also killed 11 people and wounded dozens in the west Damascus district of Mazzeh.

The rebels have scored significant gains in recent weeks and now hold swathes of territory in the country’s north, but have struggled to gain ground in and around Damascus and in the commercial hub Aleppo amid heavy bombardment from government air power, according to AFP.

The escalating conflict has added importance to a meeting of the Syrian National Council in Qatar, where Washington is pushing for an overhaul of the opposition as U.S. officials have expressed disappointment with the SNC’s inability to create a consistent plan and its lack of agreement and cooperation with different internal groups.

Syrian opposition factions were at odds Monday in talks seeking to forge unity Washington says is needed to oust the Assad regime.

The Syrian National Council, the main exiled opposition coalition, based Turkey, disagreed with a U.S.-backed proposal to set up a larger umbrella group the BBC reported.

The new group, proposed by well-known exiled dissident Riad Seif, would include representation of rebel fighters, opposition military councils and minority groups.