Day: September 16, 2021

Categories
Athletic

QOC holds a workshop to prepare Team Qatar 2030 plan with sports clubs

DOHA- H.E. President of the Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani held a workshop with presidents and executive directors of sports clubs on Thursday to discuss Qatar’s strategy to prepare national teams for the Doha 2030 Asian Games.

The workshop was attended by H.E. Minister of Culture and Sports Salah bin Ghanem Al-Ali, H.E. QOC Secretary-General Jassim bin Rashid Al-Buainain and Directors of QOC Departments.

During the workshop, H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani encouraged the sports clubs to begin preparing the Qatari national teams for Doha 2030 Asian Games to secure the best possible results during the games in line with Qatar’s sports renaissance and the unlimited support for our wise leadership.

The QOC President lauded the huge efforts of sports clubs and their contribution to developing team Qatar athletes and helping them accomplish more achievements including the historic achievements in Tokyo 2020 Olympics when Qatar claimed two gold medals and one bronze medal.

H.E. Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani stressed the importance of coordinating between the QOC, the Ministry of Culture and Sports, sports clubs and sports federation to achieve the objectives of team Qatar strategy and to prepare Qatari athletes for Doha 2030 Asian Games.

For his part, H.E. Minister of Culture and Sports Salah bin Ghanem Al Ali commended the cooperation between sports clubs and federations to secure more achievements.

Team Qatar strategy aims to build a strategic framework and systematic plans to develop athletes’ performance and provide them with their needs.

It also helps the QOC measure, follow up and evaluate their performance to ensure the achievement of the interim goals and main results.

Source: Qatar Olympic Committee

Categories
Athletic

Qatar defeat Australia in Asian Volleyball Championship

Chiba, Japan, Qatar gained a good start at the Quarterfinal stage of the 21st Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship, with a 3-0 win (25-20, 25-20, 25-21) against Australia on Thursday afternoon at the Chiba Port Arena.

Youssef Oughlaf, Belal Nabel Abunabot, and Nikola Vasic were Qatar’s main scorers as they combined for a total of 37 points.

Australia started the match with their system running, activating a strong middle with captain Nehemiah Mote, while Thomas Edgar held fort at right wing. They also showed how tight they could play in transition, given their adept floor defense.

Qatar needed to find a way to work around their opponents’ quality but committed costly errors on attack. They tried serving better as captain Ibrahim Ibrahim managed three aces, to come within a point, 13-12. They also activated the middle attack to add to Oughlaf’s right wing mission. As their opponents suffered from errors, Qatar took the first set, 25-20.

The Qatar side enforced their middle game further with Abunabot upfront. They also earned off their opponent’s numerous attack miscues and service errors. During extended sequences, setter Milos Stevanovic made good decisions to ultimately enable his hitters toward a good swing. Oughlaf operated with more energy and consistency from the right flank, which helped Qatar succeed with 25-20 in the second set.

In the third set, Australia changed up their right-wing hitter to Curtis Stockton, who was able to connect on several plays. Max Staples and Edgar were set up from the left side, but the Volleyroos could not seem to get their rhythm going. They needed to control the middle more to increase their chances of getting back in the match.

Qatar found good benefit from Vasic who swung from the flanks and also played fantastic game on the receive. He scored the final point for Qatar’s 25-21 finish in the final set.

On Friday, Qatar will face China, with Australia playing the hosts Japan in the main event at Chiba Port Arena.

Source: Qatar Olympic Committee

Categories
Arts

Expo 2020 Dubai to welcome millions of international visitors safely and responsibly with enhanced entry measures

Amid renewed demand for international travel as Expo 2020 Dubai prepares to welcome millions of visitors to the largest global gathering since the start of the pandemic, organisers have announced enhanced entry measures to ensure a safe and exceptional event.

Visitors aged 18 and above will be required to present proof of any vaccine recognised by their national government or a negative PCR test taken within the previous 72 hours. Non-vaccinated ticket-holders who have not been tested within this period can test at the PCR testing facility adjacent to the Expo 2020 Dubai site. Moving forward, a network of testing centres across the city will be available and can be found on the Expo 2020 Dubai website. On presentation of any valid Expo 2020 Dubai ticket, alongside an Expo 1-Day or Multi-Day Pass, the PCR test will be free of charge.

Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director-General of Expo 2020 Dubai, said, “The UAE continues to drive the global tourism recovery, and Expo 2020 Dubai will be the only global gathering of this size and cultural diversity since the start of COVID-19. By updating our vaccination and testing requirements, we are opening up a world of discovery and education for every visitor from every corner of the planet, enabling the world to experience Expo 2020’s incredible offering in a safe and secure manner.

“As we prepare to welcome tourists to the UAE and visitors to Expo 2020 Dubai, we need to build on our successes in combating COVID 19, where we have seen a decline of nearly 84 percent in cases in the past eight months. Our commitment to the health and safety of all visitors, participants and staff will remain our number one priority. We will continue to follow the guidance of the leading science and medical experts, adjusting our measures as appropriate in our commitment to hosting an exceptional experience that all the world can enjoy. This enhanced measure is responsible, agile and necessary as we prepare to open our doors to the world.”

The measures align with wider strategies across the UAE, including the strict COVID-19 measures and testing programmes operated by the UAE’s world-class airports and ports. As of September 2021, the UAE has administered almost 19 million vaccination doses and fully immunised 80 percent of its population. Dubai has seen a steady influx of visitors since it reopened to tourists in July 2020, and the emirate welcomed 2.85 million visitors in the first half of 2021, with numbers predicted to accelerate in the fourth quarter, boosted by Expo 2020 Dubai and the UAE’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Dimitri Kerkentzes, Secretary-General of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the governing body of World Expos, said, “Dubai’s effective strategy to manage COVID-19 has allowed Expo 2020 Dubai preparations to progress smoothly, and the enhanced requirements announced by Expo 2020 Dubai organisers today strengthen the Expo’s goal of bringing everyone back together to join the making of a new world. In the face of the pandemic, our collective resolve for solidarity has only been strengthened as the UAE and all international participants have persevered in their commitment to realising a safe and meaningful World Expo.”

Expo’s robust plans include the mandatory vaccination of all Expo 2020 Dubai and International Participant staff, volunteers, contractors and service providers. On site sanitisation stations, mandatory face-masks both indoor and outdoor and two-metre social distancing will be maintained.

Running from 1st October 2021 until 31st March 2022, Expo 2020 Dubai will invite everyone to join the making of a new world as visitors reconnect through a six-month celebration of creativity, innovation, human progress and culture.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation

Categories
General

Taliban Not Ruling Out Holding Elections

WASHINGTON — During their two-decade-long insurgency, the Taliban cast aspersions on democratic elections, describing them as un-Islamic, and frequently attacked Afghan election workers and rallies.

But a top Taliban spokesman now says the group is not ruling out holding elections as it moves to establish a permanent government based on Islamic law, or Shariah.

In an interview with VOA’s Urdu Service, Suhail Shaheen, the top spokesman for the Taliban’s political office in Doha, Qatar, said the issue would be determined by a future constitution.

“About election or no election, let’s wait,” Shaheen said. “We have a constitution [planned] in the future, so we would have deliberation about that in the future, about when we are drafting the constitution, so that would be seen there at that time, not now.”

Shaheen’s comments came in response to a question about Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s recent call for elections in Afghanistan to determine the country’s future. Conducting elections has been a huge concern for many ethnic minorities and anti-Taliban groups in the country.

At a Tuesday news conference in Kabul, the Taliban’s new interim foreign minister, Amir Khan Mutaqi, dodged a question about elections, saying foreign countries should not interfere in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.

Taliban forces seized power on August 15 after then-President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, sparking the collapse of his government and the evacuation of more than 100,000 Afghan civilians by the U.S. and its allies.

Last week, the newly empowered Taliban announced a caretaker government largely made up of hardliners, naming Mohammad Hassan Akhund as interim prime minister. Akhund and several others in the Taliban government are on a U.N. sanctions list.

Conspicuously absent from the government were ethnic minorities and women who served in parliament or held senior government posts under the country’s nascent democracy over the past 20 years.

But the Taliban have stressed that the appointments are not permanent, indicating that women would be allowed to serve, though not in ministerial positions.

“Our leadership had to appoint some ministers in order to start the economic movement in the country and to provide the essential services to the people,” Shaheen said. “But this Cabinet is called a tentative Cabinet, not a full Cabinet or permanent Cabinet.”

Although the 2004 Constitution of Afghanistan said no law would contravene Shariah, the Taliban have said they want to rewrite or amend the charter to bring it more into line with Islamic law.

The Taliban did not hold any elections the last time they ruled Afghanistan, from 1996 to 2001.

During their insurgency, they were accused of using violence to disrupt elections, viewing them as a Western tradition at odds with Islam. In 2019, the militants attacked political rallies and other election-related activities, killing or injuring scores of civilians, according to Human Rights Watch.

In March, the Taliban rejected a proposal by Ghani to hold early elections, insisting that he step down as part of a peaceful transfer of power.

Source: Voice of America

Categories
Information

UAE, Israel convene their first joint virtual conference on R&D

Sarah bint Youssef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology, has called on the Israeli science and research circles to take advantage of the Expo 2020 Dubai platform to consolidate the presence and role of the Middle East countries on the global map of the new-age technology, innovation and scientific research.

”Science and technology contribute to introducing a paradigm shift in the industrial, medical, agricultural and other sectors, unlocking more opportunities for future growth. In the UAE, we have a model development experience in terms of investment in technology, scientific research, artificial intelligence, and 4IR,” the UAE minister told the first Emirati-Israeli virtual conference on R&D in the presence of Orit Farkash-Hacohen, Israel’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology.

Attended by representatives of scientific research institutions in the UAE and Israel, the event is part of the two nations’ joint efforts to forge a qualitative partnership in advanced technology.

Researchers from both countries held panel discussions on joint cooperation in the fields of artificial intelligence, healthcare, agritech, energy and water.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation