The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Qatar

  • I made my mark running for Qatar – Ogunode

    I made my mark running for Qatar – Ogunode

    Asia’s fastest man, Femi Ogunode has insisted he will always give back to Nigeria regardless of the fact that he was literally not allowed to blossom in the country and only made his mark after switching nationality to Qatar.

    Recently in Akure, Ondo State, Ogunode through his Foundation organised an Athletics Challenge which gave a platform for youngsters across the country to showcase their talents and also get mouth-watering prizes for their efforts.

    He said:“I believe in giving back to people. While I was growing up I saw how young athletes suffered to make a head way in athletics. Nobody gave us a chance to showcase our talent. Last year,I thought within myself that it was time to give back to the society, especially the young athletes as it seems that the body in charge of athletics here in Nigeria has better things to do than develop the sport at the grassroots level. So I decided that if I start this foundation, I will be helping athletics at the grassroots level, having watched the youngsters compete at the Sports Complex of the Federal University of Technology, FUTA.”

    Ogunode said Nigeria remains blessed with talents that should not be allowed to rot away.

    “I saw many that would be the future of Nigeria if programmes are organised to help them and develop the potential they have. If they can keep them together and organise training camps for them, they will shine at the world stage,” Ogunode posited

    Going forward, Ogunode said he has plans to keep some of the best talents he has discovered together and ready for competitions in the future.

  • Quadri seeded for Qatar Open

    Quadri seeded for Qatar Open

    Having put the disappointment of the Kuwait Open behind him, Nigeria’s Aruna Quadri will return to the table this week at the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) World Tour tagged ‘Qatar Open’ as the ITTF Star Player has been seeded among the top 16 players of the tournament.

    With Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov seeded number one by the organisers, Quadri, the only African player in the competition, is seeded number 13 and he is expected to kick-start his campaign from the main draw of the men’s singles event.

    Strangely, Egyptian players are conspicuously missing despite an exceptional performance by Omar Assar at the just concluded Kuwait Open.

    Quadri told SportingLife that the stress he went through before the Kuwait Open may have contributed to his lackluster performance in Kuwait.

    “I had a terrible time travelling to Kuwait for the tournament because when I got to Germany, all the airlines were on strike and I could not get a direct link to Kuwait. So, I had to buy another ticket to be able to make it on time to Kuwait. Before I got the ticket, it was getting late. But on getting to Kuwait, my luggage was missing, so I had to wait at the airport to get it because all my equipment was in the bag. It was late before I could get the luggage and I had to start looking for a hotel to sleep that night. So, for me, all this contributed immensely to my inability to move well on table,” he explained.

    Nevertheless, he said he is fully in shape for the Qatar Open, which serves off tomorrow at the Qatar Women Sports Committee Hall in Aspire Zone, Doha.

    As the second super series in the ITTF World Tour, $220,000, the Qatar Open will further afford Quadri the opportunity to redeem himself after his unimpressive performance in 2015.

    Meanwhile, defending champions of Lagos ITTF World Tour, Egypt’s duo of Omar Assar and Nadeen El-Dawatly have expressed their willingness to retain the titles next month.

    With all the expected players already confirmed for the five-day championship, Assar, who recently won the ITTF Africa Senior Championship in Cairo said he would be willing to return to Lagos to hold on to the title.

    From 2013, when the tournament was staged, Assar has clinched the title by beating Nigeria’s Segun Toriola in 2013 and also beating compatriot, El-Sayed Lashin in 2014 and the world number 43 is hoping to tantalise the Lagos fans with his entertaining style of play.

    Also, El-Dawlatly, who finished in third place at the ITTF Africa Senior Championship, is hoping to return to Lagos where she defeated her compatriot, Dina Meshref to clinch her first World Tour title.

  • Qatar ‘wants Pep Guardiola for 2022 World Cup’

    Qatar ‘wants Pep Guardiola for 2022 World Cup’

    Qatar want Bayern Munich head coach Pep Guardiola to lead the country at the 2022 World Cup, according to reports in Germany.

    Guardiola’s face adorns the front of Sport Bild on Wednesday morning, with the paper claiming that he could be the subject of a lucrative approach from the Gulf nation.

    Guardiola, who won 14 major honours in just four seasons as Barcelona boss, spent a spell in Qatar towards the end of his playing career, representing Al-Ahli in the Qatar Stars League between 2003 and 2005.

    He was also an ambassador for the country’s controversial bid for the 2022 World Cup and only recently endorsed the 2022 tournament as he took Bayern to Qatar for a warm-weather training camp.

    “The people in Qatar have to help the country to make the event the best that is possible,” he said. “The world will be watching and I hope the people here can help out to show the world that they are capable of hosting the biggest event in football.

    “FIFA has always tried to look for new areas to promote the sport. They went to South Africa in 2010 and in 2022 they have decided to come here. It’s a good step to come to this part of the world. It will help the rest of the world to know this part. Football at the end is a great opportunity to meet different cultures.”

    Guardiola won the domestic double in his first season at Bayern and the Bavarian giants top the Bundesliga table at present as well as remaining in contention in the Champions League and German Cup.

    Euro Papers: Barcelona & Real Madrid in all-out war for world’s most wanted player – Eurosport

    However, his future is often subject to debate, with his current deal running until 2016 and reports in January suggesting that Guardiola could even walk away from Bayern at the end of the current season.

    It has long been thought that Guardiola’s next port of call will be the Premier League, having spoken openly of his admiration for clubs like Manchester United.

    But Qatar have huge financial resources at their disposal and are keen to vastly improve the standard of the national team’s play ahead of the tournament they will host in 2022.

  • Ezekiel Imoh dazzles on debut in Qatar

    Ezekiel Imoh dazzles on debut in Qatar

    Ezekiel Imoh scored a goal on his league debut for Qatari club Al Arabi as they beat Al Khor 3-1 on the opening day of action Thursday night.

    Imoh, who cost his Qatari club a whopping five million Euros,was outstanding as his speed and skills committed the opponents’ defence to give away a penalty early in the match.

    Wearing the no 39 jersey, the Nigeria striker opened his goals account in Qatar in the 35th minute, when he cashed in on a defensive mix-up.

    But for poor marksmanship he could well have crowned his debut with a hat-trick as he fluffed two other clear chances in front of goal.

    Imoh,the son of a security man in Lagos,was most sought after by several European clubs after his goals for top Belgian club Standard Liege, but opted for the cash offered by Al Arabi.

  • Mersin Ä°dmanyurdu ponder move for Kalu Uche

    Mersin Ä°dmanyurdu ponder move for Kalu Uche

    Newly promoted Turkish Super Lig side Mersin Idmanyurdu are in the market for a new forward before the resumption of the championship.

    They have encountered difficulties in the pursuit of Anglo- Nigerian forward Carlton Cole and Spartak Moscow’s Wellinton.

    Fanatik writes on its electronic edition that the scouting department has turned its attention to Kalu Uche, who is currently on the books of El Jaish in the Qatar Stars League.

    The Super Eagles attacker might have severed ties with Kasimpasa in acrimonious circumstances before his shift to the Gulf.

    But that has not damaged his reputation one bit, having netted 19 goals during the 2012 – 2013 season to finish as the second top scorer in the league.

    The globetrotter, in football terms, has donned the colours of clubs in Spain, Switzerland, Poland, France, Turkey and Qatar.

  • Syria Rebels free kidnapped nuns

    A GROUP of Greek Orthodox nuns held for three months by rebels in Syria after being taken from their convent in Maaloula have arrived back in Damascus.

    The nuns were brought to the Lebanese border town of Arsal early yesterday where they were handed over to Lebanese officials and then driven to Syria.

    They said they were tired, but that they had been mostly well treated.

    They were freed as part of a prisoner exchange involving some 150 women and children held by the Syrian government.

    The deal was negotiated by officials from Qatar and Lebanon.

    The release of the nuns took several hours more than expected, and at one point the deal appeared on the verge of collapse.

    General Abbas Ibrahim, the director of Lebanon’s General Security agency who played a key role in mediating the deal, said the kidnappers tried to secure better terms at the last minute.

    He said he ordered the officers in charge of receiving the nuns to walk away when the captors demanded more prisoners than the agreed 150 be set free.

    “I knew they’d call back,” he told journalists gathered in Jdeidet Yaboos.

    The nuns and their attendants, exhausted but apparently well after their ordeal, were brought through a rebel border crossing to Arsal, a town the north-eastern Bekaa Valley, early yesterday.

     

    They were then quickly taken to the nearby official border point and handed over to the Syrian authorities.

     

    Damascus Governor Hafez Makhlouf was among the officials who greeted the nuns before they were driven to the Greek Orthodox patriarchate.

     

    It is believed they were held by the al-Nusra Front, a jihadist rebel group affiliated to al-Qaeda.

     

    Mother Pelagia Sayyaf, head of the Mar Takla monastery in Maaloula, said the nuns had been treated well.

     

    “God did not leave us,” she told reporters. “The [al-Nusra] Front was good to us… but we took off our crosses because we were in the wrong place to wear them.”

     

    After their capture in Maaloula in December, they were reported to have been moved to Yabroud, a rebel-held town near Lebanon’s border that is currently the focus of a major campaign by the Syrian army and fighters from the Lebanese Shia Islamist movement, Hezbollah.

  • EU okays Qatar stake in UK airport operator

    Spanish infrastrucure firm Ferrovial has said its deal to sell 10.62 per cent of Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd, formerly BAA Ltd, to Qatar Holding for £478million ($769million) has been completed after obtaining approval from the European Union’s competition authorities.

    The deal, announced in August, was pending authorisation by the competition authorities but has now been given the nod after ascertaining that the trasaction complied with EU legislation on mergers and acquisitions.

    Inigo Meiras, Chief executive Officer, Ferrovial, said in a statement: “This transaction fulfills two objectives for us: it allows us to maintain our position as the principal shareholder and industrial partner of Heathrow Airport Holdings, and it further strengthens our liquidity situation.”

    As part of this same transaction, Qatar Holding also acquired stakes of 5.63 percent of FGP Topco from Britannia Airport Partners and 3.75 per cent from GIC.

    Qatar now owns 20 percent of Heathrow Airport Holdings in a deal worth a total of £900million.

    Ferrovial’s indirect stake in Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd has declined to 33.65 per cent.

    Qatar Holding will join the boards of FGP Topco Ltd and Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd after the regulator approval.

    At the time of the deal announcement, Qatar Holding said it maintained its view that the United Kingdom remains an “attractive investment destination and there is long-term fundamental strength in the British economy”.

    A consortium including Ferrovial acquired Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd, then called BAA, in June 2006.

  • Ahead of Africa Youth Championship (ayc) Flying Eagles train in Faro, Qatar

    Ahead of Africa Youth Championship (ayc) Flying Eagles train in Faro, Qatar

    Nigeria U20s will train in Faro, Portugal, as well as in Qatar ahead of the defence of the AYC title in Algeria in March.

    Spokesman of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ademola Olajire, disclosed Tuesday in Abuja that the Flying Eagles’ training will be in three phases.

    They are expected to open camp in Abuja next month during which they will play an international friendly before they fly out to faro, Portugal, for more training. They are also scheduled to train in Qatar because it has a similar weather to that of Algeria. The Flying Eagles are drawn in Group B of the eight-nation tournament, which begins on March 16.

    Their first round opponents are DR Congo, Gabon and Mali. The semi-finalists will qualify for the 2013 FIFA U20 World Cup in Turkey.

  • Qatar Summit to address C

    The role of education in preparing young people for the world of work will be a key theme at the fourth World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE).

    The summit, billed to hold in Doha, Qatar, between November 13 and 15, will among other issues, address the appalling unemployment rate globally vis-a-vis how well education is equipping students for the labour market.

    A debate on the topic will be moderated by Michael Trucano, Senior Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Education Policy Specialist of the World Bank, who conducts research on the issue. He is also the principal contributor to the World Bank’s influential EduTech blog.

     

     

     

    A second WISE book, Learning a Living: Radical Innovation in Education for Work which explores the relationship between education, innovation, work and the workforce will be launched at the event.

    It examines the skills gap and highlights 15 case studies from diverse societies and economies which are finding new ways to bridge it.

    More than 1,000 innovators from more than 100 countries, including educationists, representatives of governments and NGOs, business leaders and social entrepreneurs, will discuss new ideas and practices at the forthcoming event.

    Prominent countries attending the summit include South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, USA, China, France.

    Education Minister, Prof Ruqayyat Ahmed Rufa’i will lead Nigeria’s delegation to the event

     

  • 248 escape death at MMIA as Qatar Air makes emergency landing

    248 escape death at MMIA as Qatar Air makes emergency landing

    Panic swept through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, yesterday following a distress call from an in- bound Qatar Airways plane intimating the control tower of difficulty in its tyres retracting for landing.

    On board the Airbus A330 were 248 passengers.

    The message from the pilot of flight QR592 from Doha to Lagos soon sparked a flurry of activities in the aviation sector which is desperate to rebuild its image in the aftermath of the June 3, 2012 crash of Dana plane in Lagos which claimed over 153 lives.

    The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) alerted the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) which in turn mobilized the Army, Police, Civil Defence, Road Safety, the Medics, Federal Fire Service, State Fire service and Julius Berger fire Unit.

    Their response was swift.

    By 11.30am they had all assembled in strategic places at the airport and quickly broke into three groups and apportioned responsibilities accordingly.

    In group one were eight firemen and NEMA officials fully equipped with fire fighting gadgets. They were positioned where the plane was to touch down and their duty was to put out any fire that might break out.

    Next to them, in the second group, were medical and para-medical personnel who were to administer first aid treatment on those on board the plane after evacuation and before referral to appropriate hospitals, while in the third group were FRSC, Civil Defence and Police officers who were deployed on emergency routes that might be needed to get victims to the hospital.

    The main routes were airport to the nearby Lagos State University Teaching Hospital and airport to the Nigerian Air Force medical centre.

    But by the time the plane eventually landed at 12.57 there was no need to put the plan into use as the tyres retracted after several attempts by the pilot.

    The passengers were not even aware of what was going on until they disembarked.

    “The plane has landed safely,” said Harold Demuren, the Director general of the NCAA said, adding: “We lost one of the tyres.”

    The aircraft landed at the cargo terminal and was then towed to an area where passengers were able to disembark.

    He said that no passengers were injured during the emergency landing and that one of the plane’s tyres had to be replaced. A mechanic at the airport said one of the plane’s left tyres was flat.

    Three passengers who were on board said the crew had made no announcements about the mechanical problem during the flight.

    “They landed safely. There was no problem. I didn’t notice any other thing,” said Raphael Ashala, 30, a Nigerian who was on his way back from a Doha business trip.

    One of the tyres was said to have burst shortly after take- off from Doha.