Qatar

19 August 2022; MEMO: The international football governing body FIFA said that 2.45 million tickets have been sold for the 2022 World Cup which is set to be held in Qatar.

17 August 2022; MEMO: South Korea and Qatar announced, on Wednesday, that their citizens will no longer require visas to visit each other's country, local media said, Anadolu News Agency reports.

The announcement was made during a meeting between South Korean Foreign Minister, Park Jin, and his Qatari counterpart, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in Seoul, where both top diplomats signed the visa waiver agreement, Yonhap News Agency reported.

18 August 2022; MEMO: Traders in Qatar can face a fine of up to $274,650 (one million Qatari riyals) if they are found selling or displaying goods that are deemed to be non-compliant with Islamic values, according to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI).

Other forms of punishment may include administrative closure for a period of three months or the revocation of commercial licences.

13 August 2022; MEMO: Qatar has accepted Hamas's request to rebuild Palestinian homes destroyed by the Israeli occupation during the latest three-day offensive on the besieged Gaza Strip.

In a statement, Hamas disclosed that Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Bin Abdul-Rahman told Hamas Chief Ismail Haniyeh that Qatar accepted his request to rebuild the destroyed homes.

The Qatari prime minister told Haniyeh that his country would carry out the reconstruction via the Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

11 August 2022; MEMO: The official Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup hospitality booking website has listed Palestine as a country option instead of Israel.

DOHA (Qatar), Aug 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Chad’s military leader will sign a deal on Monday with more than 40 opposition groups to launch national peace talks, but the central African country’s main rebel outfit has refused to take part.

Under the accord, to be signed in the Qatari capital Doha, talks aimed at paving the way for a presidential election will start on Aug 20.

Since March, Qatar has been mediating between opposition groups and the military government of Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, a general who seized power after his father died in a battle with rebels last year.

31 July 2022; MEMO: As part of efforts to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, Qatar has imposed a ban on selected cash transactions exceeding the value of $13,732 (QAR 50, 000).

Transaction values exceeding QAR 50,000 must be made via credit card, debit card, cheque or bank transfer. The new ruling was announced by Qatar's Central Bank (QCB) on Twitter earlier in the week and applies to the sale, purchase and rental of all types of properties, in addition to their modifications.

15 July 2022; MEMO: Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani on Friday congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the occasion of his country's Democracy and National Unity Day.

"The Emir of Qatar sent a cable of congratulations to President of the Republic of Turkiye, Erdogan, on the occasion of the National Day of Democracy and National Unity," Qatar News Agency reported.

Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Thani also sent similar congratulations to the president of Turkiye on the same occasion.

07 July 2022; MEMO: Qatar's World Cup stadium stands are set to be alcohol-free, with beer sales outside arenas only allowed before and after some matches, a source with knowledge of plans for the soccer tournament said, Reuters reports.

This year's World Cup is the first to be held in a Muslim country with strict controls on alcohol, presenting unique challenges for organisers of an event often associated with beer drinking fans and sponsored by global brewing brands.

06 July 2022; MEMO: Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, on Wednesday, rejected US claims that Tehran has made new "extravagant demands" during indirect talks in Doha to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, Anadolu News Agency reports.