FinPol Digest

 Qatar welcomed more than 1.4 million visitors from around the world during the FIFA World Cup tournament which ended yesterday with Argentina beating France to lift the trophy, the Qatar News Agency has reported. The total attendance figure for all matches combined was 3.4m people. The average attendance was above 53,000 per match, more than 96 percent of the total capacity. "We organized an exceptional, impressive tournament," said Hassan Al-Thawadi, Secretary General of Qatar's Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy. "It will represent a milestone in hosting major international events," Al-Thawadi added that the historic event will leave a sustainable social, economic, and environmental legacy for the country and, in fact, the whole region. Sixty-three matches were played in eight stadiums across the 28 days of the tournament. The stadiums were all within an hour's drive of central Doha.

  Rioting broke out in Brussels on Sunday following Morocco 's victory over Belgium in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Belgian police have reported. Morocco won 2-0 in the group match. Even before the game ended, said the police, "Dozens of people, some wearing headscarves, sought to confront officers in the city center, which disturbed public security. The rioters used projectiles and sticks, and started fires on the public highway." A journalist was injured in the face by fireworks, an incident which led police to take the decision to intervene with water cannons and tear gas. About 100 police officers were involved, some of whom were also injured. The police told residents and fans to avoid certain areas of Brussels city center and closed metro stations and streets to reduce congestion. The Mayor of Belgium's capital city, Philippe Close took to Twitter to condemn "in the strongest terms the events that took place." Police officers intervened decisively, he ...

 Palestine wasn't forgotten by football fans at the opening of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar yesterday, Al-Resalah has reported. Fans chanted their support for Palestine and called for the protection of the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Arab and international football fans chanted together "With souls and blood, we sacrifice for Palestine." They also raised Palestine and Qatar flags together. Even though the Palestine national team didn't qualify for the tournament, Palestinian football supporters and pro-Palestine activists are using the World Cup to spread awareness about the Palestinian cause and expose Israeli crimes. The government of Qatar is one of the biggest supporters of the Palestinians and has provided a large space in the fan zone for the Palestinians and their supporters to raise the issue of the occupation of their land. The Palestine flag was projected onto the sides of Qatari buildings. According to Al-Resalah reporter Alaa Shamali, the sizable Palestinian pre...

 The International Association of Football Federation (FIFA) on Friday announced the ban on selling alcoholic drinks in World Cup stadiums and their vicinity, stressing that the decision was made with the host country Qatar. According to FIFA's statement on its website: "Following discussions between host country authorities and FIFA , a decision has been made to focus the sale of alcoholic beverages on the FIFA Fan Festival, other fan destinations and licensed venues, removing sales points of beer from Qatar's FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium perimeters. There is no impact to the sale of Bud Zero, which will remain available at all Qatar's World Cup stadiums." The statement added: "Host country authorities and FIFA will continue to ensure that the stadiums and surrounding areas provide an enjoyable, respectful, and pleasant experience for all fans." "The tournament organizers appreciate AB InBev's understanding and continued support to our joint com...

 Amid the growing clash between Ukraine and Russia, Qatari foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Than will be visiting Moscow to take a review of the matter.  The minister was set out for Moscow on Sunday where he was scheduled to discuss issues related to Iran and the halt in the process of nuclear talks with the United States. A source also added that the foreign minister will also discuss the situation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  The US reportedly felt Qatar be an ideal candidate to talk to Russia given it is not only an ally of the American side but also has strong relations with Russia.  This is after the ongoing process of nuclear talks is on the verge of collapsing after Russia demanded the world leaders to halt the process despite negotiations largely being concluded.  It is not hidden that the United States and Iran were close to the conclusion of the Vienna talks but after Russian aggression towards Ukraine , things didn't work ou...

 A local media report in Russia alleged that Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in talks with the Qatari emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to impose economic sanctions on Russia.  The Ukrainian president is seeking help from the rest of the world to stop the Russian movement within its territory. Ukraine is struggling to counter Moscow after last week’s announcement of a special military operation, essentially an invasion attempt.  Russia announced a full-scale offense last week on Thursday and that led many countries to come out and stand with Ukraine by imposing some bans and sanctions on the Russian side.  Qatar and Ukraine were reportedly in talks for imposing financial sanctions on Russia in order to stop its steps and aggression towards other European countries and in this case– Ukraine.  Qatar is looking to take this as an advantage and impose financial pressure on Qatar as it would target its oil sector. By doing this, Doha may aim to progres...

It has been 20 years since America witnessed its darkest day on September 9, 2001. These days saw a coordinated series of attacks on the country killing over 200 people and spreading fear in the people of the United States.  America had a tough time dealing with the horrors of this day but did you know that even though al-Qaeda as a group owned the responsibility of carrying out this attack, it was another country that was partial to be blamed for this attack.  Qatar has been engaged in supporting and funding terror activities for a very long time and even during the attack on America, it had a big role, the role that led to killing thousands of people. If we were to go back to the sequence of the events that led to the attack, an important event where Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad's visit to Qatar in 1996, cannot be missed.  Qatar has also been relentlessly protecting the 9/11 mastermind even before the attack happened and funded him for carrying out desired...

The world is left in shock after the release of a video where Afghan refugees have been pushed inside a box size room in Qatar where they are forced to use one toilet and even the most basic of facilities are absent. After the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, many residents have fled to various countries and Qatar is one of them. Little they knew about the treatment they will be getting upon crossing the border and reaching Qatar. Hundreds of Afghani refugees have been shoved into a room which is equipped with only one washroom and authorities seem to be completely ignorant about the possibilities of Covid-19 outbreak in the area. The video was shared by an Afghan news agency Asvaa and it can be clearly seen that hundreds of men and women are inside a refugee camp in Qatar and the facility lacks anything that would make it easier for refugees to survive the hot climate of the country. https://twitter.com/AsvakaNews/status/1428341343160467463?s=20 The news site claimed that the refugees...

The ambitions of Qatar are out in the open after numerous reports showed how the country has been trying to use its wealth to subjugate the most vulnerable sections of society. But what remains unknown is the extent of it.  Qatar is reaching regions, countries or people that are more impressionable than the others to execute the evil motives planned by the wealthy kingdom and its leaders. For its personal motives, the country is funding terror groups that are creating havoc throughout the world. The Muslim Brotherhood is one example. Many link the terrorist organisation to Iran or Lebanon but it is to be noted that neither of the countries is rich enough to fund the terrorist group.  The source of money that these organizations and their parts get can be traced back to Qatar. African countries, especially the north African parts, are in grave danger due to Qatar as the supreme power in Qatar is planning to use these countries to gain power and control in the region.  If y...

Over the burning issue of the Israel-Gaza attack, the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arab, Prince Faisal bin Farhan and US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken discussed developments in Palestine and the ongoing warfare on Sunday afternoon. During the phone call of two ministers along with Qatari and the Egyptian minister, they expressed grief over the rising death toll in Gaza. The numbers of death have risen to 192 including 58 children as per its health ministry while Israeli authorities have reportedly said that at least 10 people have been killed in Israel including two children.   In the phone call, all the leaders discussed the ongoing efforts to calm the tensions in Israel and bring a ceasefire. The Secretary also explicitly lamented the loss of lives of Palestinian and Israeli people and urged critical engagement of the countries to prevent the deepening of the crisis. He is also of the opinion that Palestinians and Israelis deserve equal measures of freedom, dignity, security, ...

Qatar's FM Ali Sharif Al Emadi has stated that there has been development on settling the diplomatic row that has scarred the Gulf neighbors against one another however he was unable to foresee whether advancement was possible or would completely resolve the issue.    The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Egypt forced a strategic, trade and travel ban on Qatar in June 2017, blaming Doha for supporting terror organizations and having relations with Iran,  Reuters  reported.    Qatar has many times dismissed the allegations as baseless while featuring its preparation for discourse.    "At present, there is a movement that we expect will stop this crisis," Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, additionally appointee PM, announced on Friday.   "We also believe the end of the crisis is significant for the security of the locale and purpose of our kin. This tension needs to stop based on mutual regard and citizens in the Gulf.  ...

In most media reports Qatar has been termed as a dangerous country to visit for any purpose and it becomes even more dangerous for western women, who are mostly unknown to the environment of the gulf country.  In recent days, one such incident highlighted the brutality that people and specifically women face in the country. A group of women which included as many as 13 Australian women was assaulted by Qatari authorities making the visit their worst nightmare.  One of the women came forward and spoke to a digital platform called 60 minutes Australia where she described the horrendous incident that happened to her. A nurse by profession, the woman who belonged from Victoria, Australia told that even if she feels uncomfortable sharing her story she will do it to warn people.  Her story began as she boarded her flight from a national airport in the Middle East. She was unknown to the fact that a baby of a few hours was found in the garbage and the Qataru police made all the ...

  Diplomatic relations in the Middle East, between the Gulf States and Turkey, are deteriorating. UAE Foreign Minister Anwar Gargash on Saturday condemned the presence of Turkish troops in Qatar, saying it was contributing to "severe political divisions" in the region. This is fueling diplomatic tensions between the two countries, which were at loggerheads in 2017 when the Gulf States cut ties with Qatar. The UAE's foreign minister has described Turkey's military presence in the Gulf as a state of emergency, contributing to deep divisions in the region. The minister pointed out that this strengthens the divisions in the regional governments, and does not take into account the sovereignty of the states and the interests of the Gulf and its people, so our region does not need regional protection and the establishment of traditional colonial ties. The minister described Turkey as a threat to regional security. Gargash expressed concern about Erdogan's visit to Qa...

  Here’s an interesting situation   I read that I want to share. It’s about the tangled situation in the middle east. A complicated equation in the natural gas market has been developed by Qatar, Russia, and Iran. The Middle East faces many crises under the current conditions and has become an arena for shared and conflicting interests. No one can tell for certain whether a blessing or a curse is natural resources such as gas and oil in this area.   As we take a look at the situation, In the regional gas market, a problem is now looming: Qatar plans to increase its production of gas, challenging the interests of countries such as Russia and Iran. Russia, for instance, is trying to maintain its own position as one of the world's biggest producers of gas. It’s something to look forward to what will happen in this rivalry between the said countries.