Sports

07 July 2022; MEMO: Qatar's World Cup stadium stands are set to be alcohol-free, with beer sales outside arenas only allowed before and after some matches, a source with knowledge of plans for the soccer tournament said, Reuters reports.

This year's World Cup is the first to be held in a Muslim country with strict controls on alcohol, presenting unique challenges for organisers of an event often associated with beer drinking fans and sponsored by global brewing brands.

29 June 2022; MEMO: Hotel operator, Accor, is recruiting 12,000 temporary overseas employees to operate 65,000 empty rooms in apartments and homes in Qatar as temporary fan housing for the 2022 soccer World Cup, its Chairman and CEO, Sébastien Bazin, told Reuters.

Qatar is working to avoid an accommodation shortage during the tournament and has hired Accor, Europe's largest hotel operator, to manage the temporary operation.

22 June 2022; MEMO: Tanzania's Maasai people have faced a violent crackdown from police over the past two weeks, amid plans to evict them from their ancestral homeland in parts of the Serengeti National Park to make way for trophy hunting and conservation zones.

Human rights organisations and the Maasai people have accused Tanzanian police of using teargas, live bullets and beating protestors who oppose the planned development in the Ngorongoro district near the village of Ololosokwani.

14 June 2022; MEMO: Qatar plans to pitch 1,000 "Bedouin style" tents in the desert for World Cup soccer fans, organisers said on Tuesday, as the State hopes to attract 1.2 million visitors, nearly half of its population, for the 28-day tournament in November and December, Reuters reports.

Tents will spring up on the stark desert landscapes surrounding Doha, to offer visitors an authentic taste of Qatari camping, said Omar Al-Jaber, head of accommodation at tournament organiser, The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy.

23 May 2022; MEMO: The 2022 World Cup hosted by Qatar is expected to be watched by five billion people around the world, FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, said on Monday, Reuters reports.

The TV audience for the 2018 World Cup in Russia was a record-breaking 3.5 billion people.

Qatar, a small but wealthy Gulf Arab State, will host the first World Cup in the Middle East, starting late November.

20 May 2022; MEMO: Qatar hopes to welcome the world to Doha for the soccer World Cup but also "we expect and we want people to respect our culture", Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani said on Friday in Berlin when asked about gay people attending the tournament, Reuters reports.

The Gulf, Muslim-majority State will host the first World Cup in the Middle East for a month from late November.

Kathmandu; 17 May 2022 (UMMN): Akke Rahman has officially become the UK's first British Bangladeshi Muslim to climb Mount Everest. He reached the 8,849-metre summit during the early hours of Friday.

The 39-year-old from Oldham started his ascent in April to lift cash for a charity supporting destitute ladies, males and kids of Afghanistan, Syria, Rohingya and from different locations impacted by warfare, battle, catastrophe and poverty.

Beijing, May 6 (PTI) The 2022 Asian Games, which were scheduled to take place in Hangzhou in September, were on Friday postponed amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in China.

According to state-run CGTN TV, the Olympic Council of Asia has postponed the 19th edition of the multi-sports Games, the second biggest sporting event after the Olympics in size.

The Games were scheduled to take place from September 10-25 in the capital of Zhejiang province, about 175 kilometres southwest of Shanghai.

11 April 2022; MEMO: Jordanian fencing player on Saturday refused to face an Israeli opponent in the Junior and Cadet group of the World Fencing Championships held in Dubai; one week after a Kuwaiti fencing player pulled out of the competition for the same reason.

29 March 2022; MEMO: The Formula 1 season opened over the weekend with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, but not without a major controversy as drivers threatened to boycott the race. Unease and dissent over the decision to go ahead with the race despite Friday's bombing ten miles from the circuit has once again pit commercial demands against ethical and safety concerns.