Qatar

03 Nov 2022; MEMO: Qatar has trained more than 50,000 people to provide security during the World Cup, the Interior Ministry said on Thursday, with foreign forces helping out under Qatari command, Reuters reports.

Ministry spokesperson, Jabr Hammoud Jabr Al Nuaimi, did not say which countries were taking part.

01 Nov 2022; MEMO: A gleaming white World Cup stadium looms large at the end of the street in the quiet suburban neighbourhood of Al Thumama, Reuters reports.

In three weeks, tens of thousands of soccer fans will file past the tidy villas, mosques and shops that line the route to the stadium due to host eight matches during the tournament.

29 October 2022; MEMO: Qatar has summoned the German ambassador to Doha on Friday in protest against the: "Unacceptable, reprehensible and provocative statements made by a German minister regarding the World Cup, which the former will host in three weeks."

(AP) --- A former CIA officer who spied on Qatar’s rivals to help the tiny Arab country land this year’s World Cup is now under FBI scrutiny and newly obtained documents show he offered clandestine services that went beyond soccer to try to influence U.S. policy, an Associated Press investigation found.

26 October 2022; MEMO: Qatar-based beIN, a sports broadcaster that was banned in Saudi Arabia until last year, said on Wednesday it had chosen a Saudi firm as its exclusive advertising partner in the Middle East and North Africa in a deal that a source put at some $150 million, Reuters reports.

BeIN Sports said in a statement it had signed an agreement with Riyadh-based media representation firm, SMC MC, for all its channels and including coverage of the World Cup, of which Qatar is the 2022 host.

25 October 2022; MEMO: Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani that his country has been subjected to an unprecedented smear campaign since the announcement that it would be hosting the 2022 World Cup. This is the first time the World Cup is being organised in an Arab country and in the Middle East.

The emir's statement was made during the opening of the 51st ordinary session of the elected Shura Council.

DOHA, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Qatar has faced unprecedented criticism since winning the bid to host the 2022 World Cup, some of which amounted to slander, its ruler, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, said on Tuesday.

"We initially dealt with the matter in good faith," Sheikh Tamim said in a televised policy speech, adding that some of the early criticism was constructive.

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Where to sleep? It’s among the biggest questions facing fans traveling to tiny Qatar for the World Cup amid a feverish rush for rooms in Doha. Some will sleep on cruise ships. Others will camp in the desert. Others will fly in from Dubai and elsewhere.

But in the run-up to the world’s biggest sporting event in the world’s smallest host country, the struggle for housing is hardly limited to tourists. Qatar’s real estate frenzy has sent rents skyrocketing and priced long-term residents out of their own homes, leaving many in the lurch.

(AP) --- Qatar is a devoutly apolitical place, with speech and assembly heavily restricted and a large population of foreign workers who could lose their livelihoods if they cause a stir.

But that could change next month, when an estimated 1.2 million soccer fans descend on the tiny Gulf Arab nation for the World Cup. Authorities may face calls for labor rights, LGBTQ equality and other causes in the glare of an international spotlight like no other.

20 October 2022; MEMO: Qatar is in talks with Egypt to buy $2.5 billion of state-held stakes in Vodafone Egypt, according to Bloomberg.

The Qatar Investment Authority, the Gulf state's sovereign wealth fund, plans to buy 20 per cent of Telecom Egypt's stake in Vodafone and several other unlisted companies.