NEWSWORTHY
FIFA chief Gianni Infantino in favor of 48-team Qatar World Cup
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said expanding the 2022 World Cup to 48 teams was "feasible" on Wednesday, as hosts Qatar pledged to come to a decision in the early part of next year. Infantino told Asian Football Confederation officials that he was in favor of ...
U.S.-led coalition airstrike targets mosque used by Islamic State as command center
An airstrike by the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group targeted a mosque in Syria last week because it was determined to be an insurgent command-and-control center, the U.S. said Sunday. The coalition said in a statement that while the law of war protects ...
Qatar suffers flooding as almost a year's worth of rain falls in one day
Qatar was hit by widespread flash flooding on Saturday as the desert state received almost a year's worth of rainfall in one day. Roads became impassable, air traffic was disrupted and homes were flooded, while shops and universities closed. Qatar broadcaster Al Jazeera's senior meteorologist, Steff ...
Taliban statement confirms meeting with U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad held in Qatar
A Taliban delegation has met with U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Qatar to discuss ending the Afghan conflict, the militant group said Saturday, in the first official confirmation of talks between the two sides. The landmark meeting was held as Khalilzad seeks to coordinate efforts ...
Workers in Qatar World Cup final city went unpaid for months: Amnesty
Dozens of migrants working on Qatar's $45 billion World Cup final city of Lusail have gone unpaid for months, Amnesty International said Wednesday, the latest rights accusation against the 2022 tournament host. Mercury MENA "failed to pay its workers thousands of dollars in wages and ...
A Saudi official hinted Friday the kingdom was moving forward with a plan to dig a canal that would turn the neighboring Qatari peninsula into an island, amid a diplomatic feud between the Gulf nations. "I am impatiently waiting for details on the implementation of ...
One year on, Qatar crisis creates 'new' Persian Gulf with no winners
The year-old dispute between Qatar and its neighbors is forging a "new" Persian Gulf, potentially transforming what was a stable region of the Arab world, experts warn. It has shattered old alliances and rendered the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council practically obsolete, pushing Qatar toward Turkey ...
Trump lawyer Michael Cohen sought $1 million from Qatar in late 2016: Washington Post
U.S. President Donald Trump's longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, asked the Qatari government for at least $1 million in December 2016 in exchange for access or insight into the Trump administration, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday. Qatar turned down Cohen's offer, made weeks before ...
Qatar-linked firm poised to purchase distressed Kushner NYC skyscraper: NYT
The company owned by the family of President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is close to receiving a bailout of its flagship New York building from a company with ties to Qatar, The New York Times reported Thursday. Kushner Companies is in advanced talks with ...
Japan's Mizuho loses Saudi bond role in ongoing Gulf rift with Qatar
Japan's Mizuho Securities has lost a bond mandate for Saudi Arabia, on top of another for Qatar, banking sources said, highlighting how international banks have been caught up in Qatar's ongoing dispute with its neighbours. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, last ...
Arab leaders demand probe into Syria chemical attacks, condemn Iran
An Arab League summit called on Sunday for an international probe into the "criminal" use of chemical weapons in Syria and condemned what it saw as Iran's interference in the affairs of other countries. Saudi Arabia and Iran have for decades been locked in a ...
Qatar's emir reportedly open to Trump-hosted talks to defuse regional crisis
Qatar's ruler said he is ready for U.S.-hosted direct talks aimed at solving the worst diplomatic crisis in the gulf in years but has yet to hear a response to U.S. President Donald Trump's invitation to the four Arab states boycotting Doha. Speaking to U.S. ...
