Urban Point partners with The Westin Doha Hotel & Spa, Le Royal Méridien, InterContinental Doha, and St. Regis
Already home to Qatar's largest collection of offers and brands, Urban Point continues to set the standard for accessible luxury. From renowned resorts like Sheraton Grand Doha and Four Seasons Doha to these new additions, the app now connects users to an extraordinary selection of five-star hotels and world-class dining venues.
These partnerships empower Urban Point members to enjoy monthly renewing Buy 1 Get 1 Free offers on exquisite brunches, spa treatments, beach day passes, and signature dining experiences across Qatar's most iconic properties.
Some of the country's most celebrated restaurants are also part of this expansion. Members can access offers at Sabai Thai, the award-winning Thai restaurant at The Westin Doha; Nobu, the globally renowned Japanese restaurant at Four Seasons Doha; and Mykonos, the beachfront Greek favourite at InterContinental Doha, among many others.
Ooredoo customers can gain free access to Urban Point from the Ooredoo app. Ooredoo Shahry+ and Qatarna+ customers, Aamali 200+ customers and Hala users who recharge for QR 65+ credits are eligible for free Urban Point subscription.
Download the Urban Point app today to explore the largest collection of offers across Qatar!
Source & cover image credit: Press Release
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Qatar Tribune
9 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Japan's Ishiba vows to stay to tackle inflation, US tariffs despite election loss
Agencies Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Monday he would remain in office to address key challenges, including surging prices and steep U.S. tariffs, despite his coalition's election loss over the weekend that left it with a minority in both chambers of parliament and sparked calls for his resignation. Ishiba's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior coalition partner Komeito were short three seats to maintain a majority in the 248-seat upper house in Sunday's vote. Though the LDP is still the leading party, its ruling coalition is now a minority in both houses of the Diet, or parliament, which makes it difficult for the coalition to pass any legislation. The loss of a majority in Sunday's election does not immediately lead to a change of government because the upper house lacks the power to file a no-confidence motion against a leader. With opposition too fractured to form a united front powerful enough to topple the ruling coalition, Ishiba is under more pressure to step down from ultraconservative rivals in his own party. Ishiba said he takes the result seriously but that his priority is to avoid creating a political vacuum and to tackle impending challenges, including the Aug. 1 deadline for a tariff deal with the U.S. 'While I painfully feel my serious responsibility over the election results, I believe I must also fulfill my responsibility I bear for the country and the people so as not to cause politics to stall or go adrift,' Ishiba said. 'Challenges such as global situation and natural disaster won't wait for a better political situation.' His chief tariff negotiator, Economic Minister Ryosei Akazawa, is heading to Washington for his eighth round of talks. The prime minister hopes to reach a mutually beneficial deal and meet with U.S. President Donald Trump 'as soon as possible,' he said. Sunday's vote comes after Ishiba's coalition lost a majority in the October lower house election, stung by past corruption scandals, and his unpopular government has since been forced into making concessions to the opposition to get legislation through parliament. It has been unable to quickly deliver effective measures to mitigate rising prices, including Japan's traditional staple of rice, and dwindling wages. Trump has added to the pressure, complaining about a lack of progress in trade negotiations and the lack of sales of U.S. autos and American-grown rice to Japan despite a shortfall in domestic stocks of the grain. A 25% tariff due to take effect Aug. 1 has been another blow for Ishiba. At a news conference Monday, Ishiba said his LDP and the Komeito have agreed to stick with their coalition while seeking further cooperation from opposition parties. Ishiba resisted calls for his resignation and did not say how much longer he planned to stay on. He is sticking around for the country and the people, not for self-interest, 'to put the pressing issues on a path to a solution,' he said. Voters frustrated with price increases exceeding the pace of wage hikes, especially younger people who have long felt ignored by the ruling government's focus on senior voters, rapidly turned to emerging conservative and right-wing populist parties. Established liberal to centrist parties, including the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, gained little ground. The Democratic Party for the People quadrupled its seats by campaigning for higher take-home pay. The right-wing Sanseito, running on a 'Japanese First' platform that puts tougher regulations on foreigners and brakes on gender and sexual diversity, surged to number three in the opposition. The LDP has lost support due to the people's discontent over the party's measures for rising prices, foreign residents and other reasons and that he will 'quickly analyze the results and learn the lesson,' Ishiba said. None of the opposition parties said they want to form a full-fledged alliance with the governing coalition, but are open to cooperating on policy. CDPJ leader Yoshihiko Noda told broadcaster NHK that his priority is to form an alliance among the opposition. 'Public opinion clearly said 'no' to the Ishiba government,' Noda said. Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya told NHK late Sunday he is open to cooperating with the ruling bloc on conservative policies. While he said his party did better than expected, he would wait to gain more seats in the other house in the next election and attempt to form a multi-party coalition like in Europe. The Sanseito party's stance encouraged the spread of xenophobic rhetoric in the campaign and on social media, while also attracting people who are struggling with economic woes and looking for targets to vent their discontent and anxiety, experts say. The language triggered protests from rights activists and alarmed foreign residents.
Qatar Tribune
10 hours ago
- Qatar Tribune
Markets caught between earnings optimism, tariff fears
Agencies Stock markets largely rose on Monday, as traders focused on upbeat US corporate news, but President Donald Trump's August 1 deadline for ramped-up tariffs still weighed on European indices. New York extended its positive trajectory from the previous week, which had also pulled Asia higher. In Europe, London and Frankfurt rose, but Paris sank. 'As we start a new week, the focus is once again on tariffs and earnings reports,' said Kathleen Brooks, research director at trading group XTB. Investors in US equities have been encouraged by forecast-beating results from major corporations, against only a modest uptick in inflation that suggested Trump's tariffs impact was not yet a worry. But analysts warned the picture could change if Trump made good on his threat to slap higher tariffs on major US trading partners the European Union, Canada and Mexico. Brooks and others stressed 'the clock is ticking' towards August 1, when a bruising US-EU trade war could be unleashed. Brussels has readied reprisals against a range of US imports—including on Boeing planes and bourbon—should no breakthrough come in its negotiations with Washington. Trump has threatened 30-percent tariffs on EU goods, which would rise further if Brussels retaliated. 'The upcoming US tariff deadline, which is due to kick in a week this Friday, continues to cast a long shadow, particularly across the EU,' said David Morrison, senior market analyst at Trade Nation. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CBS News over the weekend he was 'confident' a trade deal would be reached with the EU. But Jochen Stanzl, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, said that any agreement would likely be 'only a framework deal... requiring further negotiations on the details'. 'Realistically, there is a high probability that uncertainty will persist beyond August 1,' he said. That uncertainty will be part of the European Central Bank's calculus as it meets this week. Expectations are for it to hold eurozone interest rates steady, pausing a long cycle of easing. Asia's equities advance was led by Hong Kong and came after strong earnings from Taiwanese chip giant TSMC and news that US titan Nvidia will be allowed to export key semiconductors to China. The yen strengthened against the dollar after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba vowed to stay on even after his ruling coalition lost its majority in the upper house in elections on Sunday. Ishiba, too, is struggling to reach a trade deal with Trump, who has threatened tariffs of 25 percent on goods from Japan.
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- Qatar Tribune
Japan voters see little hope for tariff reprieve in Mazda's hometown
Agencies When car maker Mazda sneezes, everyone catches a cold, say people in its hometown of Hiroshima in western Japan, but these days, auto parts maker Yuji Yamaguchi fears a deep chill is on the way. 'If Mazda builds fewer cars, our orders will drop,' said Yamaguchi, whose 110-year-old firm, Nanjo Auto Interior, has almost 1,000 employees making door panels and other parts for the automaker, which accounts for more than 90% of its sales. 'The key thing is whether we can remain profitable with lower volumes.' The economic engine of Hiroshima, a manufacturing hub 800 km (500 miles) southwest of Tokyo, Mazda faces U.S. tariffs of 25% on automobiles, a dispiriting prospect for an electorate already battling inflation and a weak economy. Japan votes on Sunday in an upper house election that looks set to weaken the grip on power of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who has failed to win a tariff reprieve from the United States, its closest ally and a crucial trade partner. 'I have no expectations for the Japanese government anymore,' said Yamaguchi, a great-grandson of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda. 'I'm past frustration and have just resigned myself to things.' As people in Hiroshima and other auto manufacturing regions, brace for the inevitable fall-out from tariffs, Yamaguchi said he had little hope the government could turn the tide. President Donald Trump has given no sign of relenting on his tariffs, and has even hinted at raising those against Japan. Mazda, which saw U.S. sales fall 18.6% in May on the year and by 6.5% in June, is one of the Japanese car makers most exposed to U.S. tariffs. Imports bring in the bulk of Mazda's American sales, but the importance of the wider industry for Japan is almost impossible to overstate. After Japan ceded global leadership in chips and consumer electronics, its auto industry has grown to make up about 28% of the roughly $145 billion worth of goods shipped to the United States last year. There are more than 68,000 companies in Japan's auto supply chain, a July survey by research firm Teikoku Data Bank showed, and the JAMA industry group says they employ 5.6 million people, or about 8% of the labour force. 'A supply chain is hard to rebuild once broken,' said Hideki Tsuchikawa, research head at Teikoku Databank's branch in Hiroshima, which his firm estimates is home to more than 2,000 auto suppliers. 'Automobiles are a core national industry. Government support is essential.' The tariffs could cost Mazda and other smaller Japanese automakers U.S. market share lost to bigger rivals, said Julie Boote, an autos analyst at Pelham Smithers Associates in London. Mazda, headquartered in Hiroshima, where it has assembly plants, has so far declined to give a full-year earnings outlook, citing the uncertainty of tariffs. In a statement, Mazda told Reuters its top priority was to protect suppliers, dealers and employees as it looked to overcome the tariff impact. It anticipated significant impact in the short term, the company said, adding it was taking all possible steps, such as asking for government countermeasures. It is hard to say whether the uncertainty will further deepen voter anger over time, or how much opposition parties will be able to chip away at Ishiba's support as they look to tap into voter discontent. For the auto industry there seems to be no recourse except to return to a well-worn playbook of cost-cutting perfected during Japan's years of stop-start economic growth. No overtime means no extra money for drinking, said Koji Sasaki, the 54-year-old owner of a bar in the town of Fuchu close to Mazda's headquarters, where the automaker's employees usually form the bulk of customers. Their numbers have dropped in recent months, with some regulars apologizing for making fewer visits, he said. Drinking in Sasaki's bar on a recent July evening was company veteran Toshiyuki Shimizu, 45, who said Mazda had already cut back on overtime and business travel for employees. 'We used to bring junior staff along on business trips, but now I often go alone,' said Akira Ichigi, a 32-year-old Mazda colleague, adding that the limits denied junior employees valuable experience acquired on such trips. Mazda has set up a tariff strategy team that was meeting each week in Hiroshima, said one company insider, speaking on condition of anonymity. But Mazda faced constraints in finding ways to tackle the tariffs from a labour shortage in the United States, that kept it from boosting capacity at its sole plant there, operated with Toyota, the source added. Mazda said overtime cuts and a business travel review were part of its drive to cut 100 billion yen in costs. Essential travel continued, but it was evaluating whether accompanying staff were necessary, it said. The company set up a team to monitor tariffs and was working with suppliers and dealers, it said, adding that key to increasing supply to the U.S. market were its efforts to tackle labour shortages and strengthen the supply chain. For now, parts supplier Yamaguchi said he was not considering specific steps to counter the tariffs. 'In business, we need to have long-term vision,' Yamaguchi said, likening the moment to the COVID-19 pandemic, when his company posted a loss in 2020 but returned to profit the next year by working to boost efficiency rather than cutting costs. 'If we don't invest in 2025, we might miss opportunities.'
