Source: BBC
Security & Justice
Watch: Israeli Army Blows Up Village Near the Border
The Israeli army is still blowing up entire villages or neighborhoods, especially those near the border.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Hezbollah Says Launched ‘Big Rocket Salvo’ at Israel’s Safed
Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah group said it fired rockets at the northern Israeli city of Safed on Monday, the latest attack in more than a month of war.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Opinion
The Emptying of Baalbek Is a Moment to Take Stock
“Large numbers of people continue to flee their homes every day, as Israel’s military operations in Lebanon have been going on unabated.” These disturbing words could be from almost any news report about Israel’s invasion of its northern neighbour over the past month. However, they can be found in a report by the Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre issued on July 27, 2006.
Saturday, November 2, 2024
A Future Without Hezbollah
At the end of September, when Israel’s campaign to destroy Hezbollah was reaching its height, I met one of the group’s supporters in a seaside café in western Beirut. He was a middle-aged man with a thin white beard and the spent look of someone who had not slept for days. He was an academic of sorts, not a fighter, but his ties to Hezbollah were deep and long-standing.
Thursday, October 31, 2024
Sports
Tottenham Forward Son Heung-min Crowned Asia’s International Player of the Year
Tottenham forward Son Heung-min was crowned as Asia’s International Player of the Year for the fourth time by the Asian Football Confederation at its annual awards ceremony Tuesday.
Wednesday, October 30, 2024
Real Madrid Launch Investigation into Racist Insults After El Clasico Defeat
Real Madrid has launched an investigation into racist insults directed at players during Saturday’s 4-0 home loss to Barcelona in LaLiga, it said on Sunday.
Monday, October 28, 2024
Tuesday 19 March 2024 15:00:06
Lionel Messi: Fans to Get 50% Refund for No-Show Match in Hong Kong
Lionel Messi's Hong Kong fans who bought tickets to a friendly that he skipped at the last minute will get a 50% refund, the match organiser said.
Messi's absence from the game in February, which he blamed on an injury, sent Chinse fans seething for weeks.
Ticketholders applying for refunds must agree not to pursue legal action, Tatler Asia said.
The refunds could cost up to HK$56m (£5.6m; $7.1m), the publication said.
Fans had paid up to HK$4,880 each to watch the 36-year-old Argentine footballer but Messi remained on the bench throughout the match.
Some 38,000 spectators at the sold-out Hong Kong Stadium booed and demanded refunds at the end of the game.
Tatler Asia had said it was told only at halftime that Messi would not be playing and that they "immediately" informed the government about it.
Hong Kong authorities said they requested Messi to "explore other remedies" such as appearing on the field to interact with fans but to no avail.
Messi played in Japan days after. He said he regretted not being able to play in Hong Kong due to a "swollen and painful" groin injury.
This only enraged his fans further and fuelled conspiracy theories. State media outlet Global Times accused the footballer and his club Inter Miami of "political motives" with the aim of "embarrassing" Hong Kong.
Messi rejected these claims, stressing that he holds a "special affection" for the people of China.
The backlash against him lasted for weeks and saw Chinese officials cancelling two Argentine friendlies due to take place in the country this month.
This stood in contrast to the roaring welcome Messi received in June last year, when Argentina played Australia in a friendly at the Beijing's Worker's Stadium.
Tatler Asia said those seeking refunds would have to accept certain conditions, which include not pursuing "proceedings before any court of law, tribunal [or] regulatory authority".
Under fire for its handling of the event, it also withdrew its application for a HK$16m government grant.
