Source: beIN
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 2 August 2022 16:48:46
South American Countries Set to Launch Official 2030 World Cup Bid
Four South American countries will on Tuesday launch an unprecedented joint bid to host the 2030 World Cup with the hope of bringing the global showpiece back to its first home.
Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay and Chile's intention to bid has long been in the making.
More than three years ago they committed to create a local organizing committee to co-ordinate with South American football's governing body CONMEBOL to plan their bid.
But it has taken until now for the "Juntos 2030" (Together 2030) bid to be made official.
It centers on the desire to "bring the World Cup back to its original home: South America," said CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez.
The very first edition of the World Cup in 1930 was held in Uruguay and won by the hosts, beating their neighbors Argentina 4-2 in the final.
The joint South American bid aims to stage the 2030 final in the very same Centenario stadium that hosted the first title match 100 years earlier.
"For us it should be called the 2030 Centenary World Cup," said Uruguay's sports minister Sebastian Bauza.
"What we have to focus on is the Centenary World Cup. The 100 year celebration of the first World Cup will be here. Back to the legend, back to its roots!"
Should it be successful, though, the two tournaments could not be more different.
In 1930 there were only 13 teams and the entire tournament was played in the same city -- Montevideo -- in just three stadiums.
In 2030 there will be 48 teams with around 15 stadiums used across the four countries.
If successful it would be the first time that as many as four countries host the World Cup.
The 2026 tournament has already been awarded to three countries -- Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Despite the Latin American region being one of the worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic, Chile's sports minister Alexandra Benado insisted in an interview published on Monday that all four countries remain in a position to host the tournament.
"Our proposal will be austere and sustainable and will meet FIFA's demands," Benado told El Mercurio newspaper.
The joint South American bid will likely come up against at least two other proposals.
Spain and Portugal have officially submitted a joint bid while Morocco have repeatedly insisted they will bid to become only the second ever African country to host the finals.
The United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland decided in February to abandon a joint bid that would have seen five FIFA member federations hosting the tournament.
