Source: AFP
Security & Justice
Captured Hezbollah Operative May Have Been Israeli Double Agent, Report Suggests
The alleged senior Hezbollah operative abducted by Israeli special forces last week in Batroun may have been operating as a double agent, according to a report by The Telegraph.
Monday, November 4, 2024
Lebanon’s Probe into Israeli Raid Expected to Take Days as Security Officials Weigh Theories
Lebanese authorities are ramping up investigations into an Israeli commando raid last week in the northern coastal city of Batroun, during which Imad Amhaz, a Hezbollah official, was snatched.
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 24 October 2023 15:11:30
Saudi Gamer Prince Announces Esports World Cup
Saudi Arabia said on Monday it would organise an eSports World Cup starting next year, the latest boost to a sector Riyadh hopes will create tens of thousands of local jobs.
"The eSports World Cup is the natural next step in Saudi Arabia´s journey to become the premier global hub for gaming and eSports," the Gulf kingdom´s de facto ruler, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said in a statement.
Prince Mohammed is said to be an avid gamer partial to Call of Duty, and Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in the sector since the 38-year-old became first in line to the throne six years ago.
Last year, the crown prince announced a $38 billion investment strategy for the kingdom´s Savvy Games Group, owned by the deep-pocketed sovereign wealth fund. The goal is to create 39,000 eSports-related jobs by 2030.
Officials also want to make Saudi Arabia "an Eden for game developers" that can produce new titles "promoting Saudi and Arabic culture", according to the national eSports strategy, targeting 30 globally competitive games produced in domestic studios by 2030.
The first edition of the eSports World Cup is expected next summer, taking the place of the eight-week Gamers8 festival of eSports tournaments which this year featured a prize pool totalling $45 million.
"You can look at Gamers8 as a dry run for the eSports World Cup," said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the newly formed eSports World Cup Foundation. Tourism falls off considerably during the summer in Saudi Arabia when temperatures in the capital Riyadh clear 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) on a daily basis.
