Qatar gov\'t employees get hefty salary raise

The oil-rich Qatar has raised salaries and pensions for its citizens, state-run Qatar news agency reported Wednesday, citing a decision by the Qatari Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. The basic salary and pensions of Qatari civilian employees were increased by 60 percent as of Sept. 1. Military officers received a 120 percent raise and military personnel of other ranks received a 50 percent increase, the news service said. The total salary increases will amount to 10 billion riyals (2. 75 billion U.S. dollars) per year, it added. Qatar has the world\'s largest per capita production and huge reserves of both oil and natural gas. The main drivers for its rapid growth are attributed to ongoing increases in production and exports of liquefied natural gas, oil, petrochemicals and related industries.