Qatar - The African Mirror

Oct

2022

“Qatar detains, mistreats LGBT people ahead of World Cup”

SECURITY forces in Qatar arbitrarily arrested and abused LGBT Qataris as recently as last month, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday, in the run-up to hosting soccer's World Cup which has put a spotlight on human rights issues in the Gulf Arab state. Homosexuality is illegal in the conservative Muslim country, and some soccer stars have raised concerns over the rights of fans travelling for the event, especially LGBT+ individuals and women, whom rights groups say Qatari laws discriminate against. A Qatari official said in a statement that HRW's allegations "contain information that is categorically and unequivocally false," without…

Oct

2022

By The African Mirror

Messi names France and Brazil as favourites to win World Cup

SPORT

ARGENTINA captain Lionel Messi has said defending champions France and Brazil are the favourites to win the World Cup in Qatar as they have a core group of players who have played together for a long time. Messi said Brazil, Germany, France, England and Spain are always labelled favourites to win but the 35-year-old forward feels France and Brazil are the best two teams going into the November 20 - December 18 tournament. "We always say the same great teams ... but, if I have to choose, Brazil and France are the two great candidates to win the World Cup,"…

Oct

2022

By The African Mirror

Qatar World Cup ticket sales near 3 million, says Infantino

SPORT

TICKET sales for the soccer World Cup are approaching the three million mark ahead of the tournament kicking off in Qatar on November 20, FIFA president Gianni Infantino and event organisers said. The top 10 purchasing countries of the 2.89 million tickets sold are Qatar, the United States, Saudi Arabia, England, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, France, Brazil and Germany, FIFA's World Cup Chief Operating Officer Colin Smith told a news conference in Doha. "There is currently either low or no availability for matches," Smith said. Infantino, addressing the conference in a recorded video, said 240,000 hospitality packages had…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Kenyan charged in Qatar

NEWS

QATAR’S public prosecution has charged a Kenyan man who has written about migrant rights in the Gulf Arab state with receiving payment to spread disinformation, the government's communication office (GCO) has announced. Malcolm Bidali, who had been writing under a pseudonym, was arrested on May 5 for violating Qatar's security laws, according to a Qatari official. Rights groups have voiced concern that his detention may be in reprisal for human rights work. "Mr Bidali has been formally charged with offences related to payments received by a foreign agent for the creation and distribution of disinformation within the State of Qatar,"…

Jan

2021

By The African Mirror

Egypt and Qatar resume diplomatic ties

NEWS

EGYPT and Qatar have agreed to resume diplomatic relations, the Egyptian foreign ministry said, making Cairo the first country to officially do so under an Arab deal to end a long-running dispute with Doha. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt agreed earlier this month to restore diplomatic, trade and travel ties severed in 2017 over allegations Qatar supported terrorism, a charge that Doha denies. "The Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Qatar exchanged two official memoranda, in virtue of which the two countries agreed to resume diplomatic relations," a Foreign Ministry statement said. Saudi Arabia's…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

First-ever Bafana and Banyana Supporters Club in the Middle East launched

SPORT

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER THE South African Football Association (SAFA) and the South Africans in Qatar (SAIQ) community group today officially launched and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish the first Bafana Bafana and Banyana Banyana Supporters’ Club in the Middle East. The announcement made in Johannesburg and Doha today – exactly two years to the day before the kickoff of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar – was attended by SAFA President Dr Danny Jordaan, Qatar Football Association General Secretary, Mansoor Al Ansari, and South Africa’s Ambassador to Qatar, HE Faizel Moosa. The MoU is part of…