Asian Cup

Riyadh: The Asian Football Confederation announced the list of referees participating in officiating the matches of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, which will be hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from January 7 to February 5, 2027. The list included several Qatari referees selected to officiate the tournament matches. The list featured international referees Abdulrahman Al-Jassim and Salman Flahi, along with assistant referees Taleb Salem Al-Merri, Saud Ahmed, and Majid Hadeeres. Khamis Al-Merri was also selected to participate as part of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) team, while Abdulrahman Abdo will serve as a technical instructor, and Bandar Al-Dosari as a fitness instructor. The selection of Qatari referees to officiate the 2027 AFC Asian Cup matches underscores the presence of Qatari refereeing competencies in continental assignments, in one of the most prominent tournaments across the Asian continent.

Asian Cup

Kabul: The Taliban government said Tuesday they had released American citizens from prison in return for an Afghan fighter held in the United States. Discussions about the prisoner exchange were confirmed last year, but the swap was announced after outgoing US president Joe Biden handed over to Donald Trump, who was inaugurated on Monday. "An Afghan fighter Khan Mohammad imprisoned in America has been released in exchange for American citizens and returned to the country," the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement. The ministry said Mohammad had been serving a life sentence in the state of California after being arrested "almost two decades ago" in the eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar. Asked by AFP, the foreign ministry declined to provide further details or the number of American prisoners. US media named the Americans as William McKenty and Ryan Corbett, the latter in Taliban custody since 2022. 'New chapter' After Trump's election win in November, the Taliban government had said it hoped for a "new chapter" in ties with the United States. Taliban authorities have repeatedly said they want positive relations with every country since sweeping back to power in 2021. The Taliban government on Tuesday called the exchange "a good example of resolving issues through dialogue, expressing special gratitude for the effective role of the brotherly country of Qatar in this regard". "The Islamic Emirate views positively those actions of the United States that contribute to the normalisation and expansion of relations between the two countries," it added, using the Taliban authorities' name for their government.

Qatar 2022

Doha: The volume of real estate trading in sales contracts registered with the Real Estate Registration Department at the Ministry of Justice during the period from December 1-5, reached QR174,826,707, while the total sales contracts for the real estate bulletin for residential units during the same period reached QR64,763,879. The weekly bulletin issued by the Department stated that the list of properties traded for sale included vacant lands, residential homes, apartment buildings, a commercial building, and residential units. The sales operations were concentrated in the municipalities of Doha, Al Rayyan, Al Dhaayen, Al Wakrah, Umm Salal, Al Khor and Al Dhakira, and Al Shamal, in addition to the Pearl, Lusail 69, and Dafna 60. The volume of real estate trading in sales contracts registered with the Real Estate Registration Department at the Ministry of Justice during the period of November 24-28 reached more than QR343m.