A football fan waves the flag of Saudi Arabia during the friendly football match between Iraq and Saudi Arabia at the Basra Sports city stadium in Basra on February 28, 2018. Haidar Mohammed Ali / AFP
A football fan waves the flag of Saudi Arabia during the friendly football match between Iraq and Saudi Arabia at the Basra Sports city stadium in Basra on February 28, 2018. Haidar Mohammed Ali / AFP

King Salman of Saudi Arabia promises football stadium for Iraq



King Salman of Saudi Arabia said he will build Iraq a football stadium following a friendly match between the two countries’ teams for the first time in almost four decades last week.

King Salman and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi discussed over the phone on Monday the "successful" football match and ways to strengthen ties between their two countries, said a statement released by Mr Al Abadi's office.

“The King of Saudi Arabia expressed his happiness following the successful friendly match, saying it was an opportunity to gift Iraq a stadium and renew co-operation between the two nations,” said the statement.

“Al Abadi, in turn, said he was thankful for the game, stressing the importance of working with the kingdom to strengthen relations and on the big turnout to the game, which is something healthy and positive.”

The two leaders also discussed the Iraqi-Saudi Joint Coordination Council – a body created last October to improve strategic relations and help rebuild devastated areas retaken from ISIL in Iraq.

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Read more

Better relations are the goal in Iraq-Saudi football friendly

Iraqi-Saudi friendly match aims to lift Fifa embargo

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After the defeat of the extremist group in December, Baghdad is seeking to reconcile with Riyadh not only in political and economic matters but also in sports.

Last week's friendly match – which resulted in 4-1 victory for Iraq – supports Baghdad's bid to overturn a ban imposed by Fifa, football's world governing body, on hosting international games.

The war-torn country has not hosted competitive international football matches for almost all of the last 30 years – ever since its 1990 invasion of Kuwait triggered an embargo. It was lifted briefly in 2012, but a power outage during a match against Jordan in the Iraqi Kurdish capital of Erbil led Fifa to reinstate it. Fifa will decide whether to lift the ban later in March.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Nato's secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance plans to step up training of Iraq's armed forces.

He said the aim of setting up military academies was to ensure that ISIL "is never able to come back in the way we have seen before".

Nato is part of a global alliance that drove the extremist group from large areas in Syria and Iraq.

Arabian Gulf League fixtures:

Friday:

  • Emirates v Hatta, 5.15pm
  • Al Wahda v Al Dhafra, 5.25pm
  • Al Ain v Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, 8.15pm

Saturday:

  • Dibba v Ajman, 5.15pm
  • Sharjah v Al Wasl, 5.20pm
  • Al Jazira v Al Nasr, 8.15pm

Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.

The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.

The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.

The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.

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Other key dates
  • Finals draw: December 2
  • Finals (including semi-finals and third-placed game): June 5–9, 2019
  • Euro 2020 play-off draw: November 22, 2019
  • Euro 2020 play-offs: March 26–31, 2020
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

How to help

Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Key figures in the life of the fort

Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.

Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.

Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.

Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.

Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae

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