A UN body investigating discrimination complaints lodged by Qatar against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia concluded its work following the resolution of these disputes, according to an announcement Thursday. The ad hoc Conciliation Commission was established by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in the wake of a diplomatic crisis between the neighbouring Gulf nations, nearly eight years ago.  "I hope that the consensus found by Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia to discontinue the proceedings is the result of a genuine dialogue between the parties to end the dispute which arose in 2018 concerning allegations of racial discrimination," CERD Chair Verene Shepherd said. In June 2017, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic and economic ties with Qatar, citing "support for terrorism." The following March, Qatar submitted complaints against the UAE and Saudi Arabia to CERD, marking a first in the UN Committee's history. The authorities claimed that political and economic sanctions, including the blockade of its borders, were directed at Qatari citizens solely based on their nationality, without legitimate justification. CERD monitors the global implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which entered into force more than 50 years ago. Read more: French prime minister unveils plans to tackle racism Two ad hoc conciliation commissions were appointed in February 2020 to discuss the complaints. The committee commended all countries concerned for their cooperation towards reaching an amicable settlement to the racial discrimination disputes.  Qatar and the UAE had both requested and agreed to end their proceedings at an ad hoc conciliation commission meeting on January 26. The second commission involving Saudi Arabia wrapped up last year following an agreement by both parties. CERD has registered another case, Palestine against Israel, which is still pending. 

The Bayern Munich team flew to Qatar on Friday for its winter training camp amid uncertainty over the club’s contentious sponsorship agreement with the Persian Gulf country. State-owned Qatar Airways’ lucrative advertising deal is due to expire at the end of the season and there is pressure on the Bavarian powerhouse from its own fans not to extend it. Many Bayern supporters feel it’s damaging to the club’s reputation to take money from a country associated with human rights abuses. The issue has long been a source of contention between Bayern and its own fans, who have consistently campaigned against the sponsorship agreement. Members of the Bayern ultra-fan groups, Munich’s Red Pride and Club. No. 12, displayed banners at games condemning what they say is the “sports washing” of human rights abuses in Qatar through Bayern’s publicity for the sheikhdom. “We continue to stand by our position that we’re absolutely against an extension of the sponsorship agreement,” Alexander Salzweger from Club No. 12 told The Associated Press this week. “In contrast to previous years, it’s no longer about an early termination, which would have been more than complicated, but not extending the sponsorship.” Bayern did not respond to requests for comment. Fans previously called on Bayern to prematurely end the sponsorship deal. The club’s 2021 AGM ended in tumult and anger when members booed the club’s directors for refusing to discuss the issue. Bayern president Herbert Hainer apologized at the following AGM last November when he said he made “mistakes” in not allowing a discussion at the previous meeting. Read more: Bayern Munich vs Barcelona 2022: Match preview, lineups, predictions, where to watch Club No. 12 organized a public meeting in Munich in 2020 titled “Qatar, human rights and FC Bayern” featuring two migrant workers who spoke of their experiences constructing stadiums for the World Cup. Bayern was invited to send a representative but did not respond to organizers. The team plays with Qatar Airways on the sleeves of the players’ jerseys. The club receives 10 million euros ($10.5 million) a year from its five-year deal with the Qatari carrier. That arrangement was signed in 2018, replacing Bayern’s previous sponsorship deal with Doha Airport. The club has been holding mid-season training camps in the Persian Gulf country since 2011, though plans to train there in 2022 and 2021 were scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic. Bayern CEO Oliver Kahn said in November that the club was deferring its decision on whether to extend its deal with Qatar Airways. “We will continue to discuss the issue intensively after the World Cup and find a solution for FC Bayern,” Kahn told members at the AGM. Read more: Barcelona set to sign striker Lewandowski from Bayern Munich There has been no news on the issue from the club since.

Argentina’s dramatic victory over France in penalty kicks in the World Cup final was the second most-watched soccer match of any kind in the United States. The early numbers from Nielsen, Fox and Telemundo show Sunday’s match had an English- and Spanish-language combined audience of 25,783,000. That trails the 26.7 million that tuned in to the 2015 Women’s World Cup final, when the U.S. beat Japan 5-2 in a match that aired in prime time for most of the United States because the tournament was held in Canada. Fox’s numbers from Sunday should increase when the “match-only” rating is released later Tuesday. The 16,783,000 average released by Fox and Nielsen includes some pre- and post-match coverage. The high viewership comes as the U.S., Canada and Mexico are set to host the 2026 World Cup. Read more: Millions jam Buenos Aires streets to celebrate World Cup win Argentina’s first World Cup title since 1986 was Fox’s most-watched match of the tournament, surpassing the 15,491,000 that watched the Americans 0-0 draw with England during group-stage play on Nov. 25. Sunday’s combined audience was a 31% increase over the 2018 final, which averaged 17.83 million on Fox and Telemundo. Fox’s audience increased 25.5% from four years ago, when France defeated Croatia in the final. Telemundo’s total audience of 9 million is a 65% jump from 2018. Nearly one-third — 2.96 million — streamed Sunday’s match on Peacock and Telemundo’s digital services, which made it the most-streamed World Cup match in U.S. history, regardless of language. By comparison, the 6.04 million who watched on Telemundo was triple the 1.9 million that watched the network’s broadcast of Super Bowl 57 earlier this year. Read more: Argentines erupt in joy after epic World Cup final While the Super Bowl continues to lead championship viewing — this year’s game had a combined audience of 112.3 million — the World Cup final did outdraw other sports. Game 5 of the World Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros averaged 12.77 million on Fox, and was the most-viewed game of the six-game series. The series-clinching games of the NBA Finals and NHL’s Stanley Cup finals averaged 13.99 million and 5.8 million, respectively, on ABC.

Morocco’s national soccer team is set to return home Tuesday after accomplishing the see mingly impossible feat of finishing fourth at the World Cup in Qatar. Tens of thousands of Moroccans were expected to turn out to greet the players. As the first African or Arab team to reach the World Cup semifinals, the Moroccan team, known as the Atlas Lions, made history and was one of the big success stories of this year’s tournament, the first hosted by an Arab nation. Big crowds were in the streets of the Moroccan capital, Rabat, and the rest of the North African kingdom for the homecoming. After the team beat former European colonial powers Belgium, Spain and Portugal, it lost to France in the semifinals. Its record-setting performance means the players are likely to receive a hero’s welcome. “Morocco’s run in the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be remembered in the history books as one of the most exciting campaigns since the tournament’s inception,” café owner Reda Ghazi, 27, told The Associated Press. “It was the dream of every Moroccan to win something, especially because Morocco is a country where the passion for football is overwhelming.” After their plane touches down, the players are set to ride an open-top bus through the major avenues of the capital. The royal court said Monday that King Mohammed VI would receive the team at the palace in Rabat “to celebrate their great and historic accomplishment.” Morocco finished fourth in the competition after losing to Croatia 1-2 in the third-place play-off on Saturday, exceeding the expectations of most Moroccans. “I still can’t wrap my head around what happened in this World Cup,” added student Anour El Berkaoui, 23. “The team has now set the bar so high that we won’t be happy with anything less than winning the upcoming African Cup of Nations.” Read more: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022: Morocco top Group F with win over Canada The Moroccan team charmed many Arab soccer fans who saw in the team a reflection of themselves. Players waved the Palestinian flag after their wins and celebrated on the field with their mothers and children. The team also galvanized support across Africa. “As an African team, we broke a lot of records and made the whole continent proud,” Rabat resident Omar Zorgane said . “Morocco as a whole will gain a lot from this year’s World Cup, from tourism to getting the attention of other countries to possibly hosting one of the biggest tournaments in the world in the future,” he said. Read more: France vs Morocco Semi-Final Preview: FIFA World Cup 2022

Fatima Garcia donned a headscarf and a black abaya — a long, loose-fitting robe — over her clothes as she walked into a mosque in Doha to learn about Islam. In Qatar to enjoy the World Cup with friends, the Salvadoran visitor took a day off from soccer to go sightseeing at the Katara mosque, where preachers have been introducing Islam in multiple languages to curious fans from around the world. “Qatar is my first exposure to Islam,” Garcia said inside the house of prayer, also known as the blue mosque for its beautiful turquoise tiles. “Qatar has been a life-changing adventure because it gives you a perspective on different cultures.” Hundreds of thousands of visitors have come to Qatar during the World Cup. For many it's their first visit to a Muslim country. Those who don't venture far beyond the stadiums and Doha's glitzy hotels will have only limited exposure to the country's religion, such as hearing the call to prayer at a distance or witnessing Muslims prostrate at prayer rooms in stadiums, airports and hotels. But for those who are curious to find out more about Islam, Qatari authorities and religious officials are eager to help. Local mosques are offering multilingual tours to visitors and the Islamic Cultural Center in Doha offers a virtual reality tour of the holy city of Mecca. Booths at tourist sites hand out free copies of the Quran and brochures about Islam are available in hotel lobbies. Billboards have been set up across Doha featuring U.S. Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammed and other Muslim personalities as part of a campaign encouraging people to explore Islam. “Why during the World Cup? Everyone is coming here from across the world to Qatar, a Muslim country, and it’s an opportunity to educate people about the faith,” said Abu Huraira, a volunteer for the campaign by the Explore Islam Foundation and the Islam & Muslims Initiative. Qatari officials say they hope the tournament will help provide visitors with a better understanding of their culture and that of the larger region. Qatar follows an ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam known as Wahhabism. But unlike neighboring Saudi Arabia, where adherence to Wahhabism led to strict segregation of unmarried men and women, banned women from driving and kept concerts, cinemas and even yoga off-limits for decades, Qatar has long sponsored the arts, allowed women to participate in high levels of governance and encouraged tourists to feel at ease. The World Cup host, though, has faced intense criticism over human rights issues, including the treatment of migrant workers, and accusations of “sportswashing” or attempting to use the event’s prestige to remake its image. Qatari officials have argued that the nation’s progress and achievements are being overlooked. The ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, said some of the criticism against the first Arab and Muslim country to host the World Cup included “fabrications and double standards.” The Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs and the host country’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy did not respond to requests for comment. Read more: FIFA World Cup 2022: All you need to know about Qatar's laws, customs Back inside the ornate Ottoman-style Katara mosque, Riffat Ishfaq, a guide from Pakistan, told Garcia that it was designed by Turkish interior designer Zeynep Fadillioglu, whose first name is the Turkish form of the name of the eldest daughter of the Prophet Muhammed. The tiles had been handmade, Ishfaq said; the columns were covered with leather and the domed roof contained gold. By the end of the tour, Garcia also learned why women dress modestly in Islam and the origins of the religion. “We want to tell people about Islam. We feel pride in our identity,” Ishfaq said, before telling Garcia to keep the abaya as a parting gift. “This helps to dispel misconceptions.” Nearby, Sergio Morales, a Guatemalan who had come for the whole tournament, finished listening to a tour and walked out of the mosque to a booth located at the entrance where he asked for a free copy of the Quran. “Today I became interested because the guided tour was in Spanish and I could understand it all,” he said. “There should be guides in Spanish in every mosque because there are so many Latin American people coming to these countries.” Booths with free Qurans and booklets introducing the religion in several languages are also available in the winding cobbled alleys of Souq Waqif, the capital’s oldest bazaar where stores hawk spices and perfumes, scented oils and silk scarves. Just steps from there, World Cup visitors walked into the spiral-like building of the Abdullah Bin Zaid Al-Mahmoud Islamic Cultural Center, for a tour and a visit to the mosque, where people gathered for Friday prayer. Carlos Bustos, Mireya Arias and their sons, 8-year-old Jacobo and 13-year-old Matias toured the cultural center. The Colombian family read information on large placards about the contributions of the Islamic world to medicine, science, math and architecture. “What we've seen is that they've made an effort to change the image that we have in the West of seeing Islam. It's breaking that barrier,” said Carlos Bustos, who along with his sons had dressed in traditional Qatari clothes. “They've told us that we're very different but we see more similarities than differences,” he said. His wife, Mireya Arias, admired the devotion of Muslims to their faith and how they follow the call to prayer. She also appreciated the efforts made by Qatar to introduce visitors to Islam. Read more: Qatar ready to open Mideast’s first FIFA World Cup before leaders, fans “They've used a lot of strategies to get closer to visitors, for us to understand and learn,” she said. “When you're on the buses that take you to the (World Cup) stadiums, you point to a QR code and it gives you explanations about the Quran.” Doha’s Museum of Islamic Art also offers glimpses into religious beliefs and rituals. Visitors can read about the five pillars of Islam — the profession of faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting and hajj or pilgrimage — or learn about hajj rituals and different funerary practices in the Islamic world. “The more you understand this Islamic culture, the more fascinating it is,” said Jose Antonio Tinoco, a Brazilian museum visitor, who wore his country's soccer jersey. “The most important part of the museum for me was the part on Islam.”  

The Greatest Show on Earth has come to the very end. Lionel Messi’s Argentina became the first team to qualify for the final after defeating Croatia 3-0 in the first semi-final of the World Cup. Now, fans are dreaming of seeing the trophy in Lionel Messi’s hand. The Qatar World Cup might be Lionel Messi’s last appearance in the tournament. Can Messi lift the trophy for Argentina after 36 years? Can Argentina win the 2022 Football World Cup? Argentina’s Chances and Potentials to Win the World Cup Argentina has reached another World Cup final after eight years. After winning Copa America in 2021 under Lionel Scaloni, Argentina started dreaming of winning the World Cup. But this dream once sounded like a struggle. After losing to Saudi Arabia in the first match, many experts reminded Argentina of what happened to them in the 2002 World Cup in Asia. But, it seems Scaloni has learned from the past, which is proved by their performance in the last 5 matches of this World Cup. And apparently that the loss against Saudi Arabia has opened their eyes. After that, Argentina won over Mexico, Poland, Australia, Netherlands, and Croatia. Now they are facing the toughest team of this World Cup, France, who are having an incredible pace with some of the best players such as Mbappe, Olivier Giroud, and Aurélien Tchouaméni. They will be a real obstacle to Argentina’s win. However, Argentina has a very strong and talented team, and their recent performance has been consistent too. This year Argentina has played 16 international matches, including the World Cup. And Argentina has not lost any matches except for Saudi Arab’s upset. That being said, Argentina has been very consistent throughout the year and seems to win the World Cup at any cost. Additionally, After 11 months of Argentina’s Copa America winning, they also won the intercontinental supremacy battle, ‘La Finalissima’, against the Euro winners Italy. After that, Argentina’s 2022 World Cup dream gained more strength. Argentina is now one of the biggest favorites. Considering the opponent, France’s current pace and record, Argentina’s chance of winning the World Cup becomes low. But an incredible performance from some players such as Messi and Emiliano Martínez will surely increase Argentina’s Chances. Read More: Messi evokes Maradona comparisons on road to World Cup final Which Players May Increase Argentina’s Chance of Winning? Argentina has been dependent on Messi throughout the last decade. But this year, the team has reduced its dependency on Messi. And there are other players who can impact Argentina’s overall performance. But no one can ignore Messi. His presence gives the ultimate strength to the team. However, Messi could not fulfill his dream in the previous four World Cups. This year Messi seems to be unstoppable. This football magician has been creating records throughout the tournament. Sometimes broke the late football legends Diego Maradona or Gabriel Batista’s records and sometimes jumped into their records. With his extraordinary performance, Messi won four man-of-the-match awards in this tournament. So, it will be difficult for Argentina to win if France stops Messi. Apart from Messi, if one player can help Argentina, he is the goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez. From COPA to the World Cup, Martinez has proved his class. He has played 24 matches for the national team so far. He has been playing regularly since the beginning of this World Cup. But in the quarterfinal, He introduced himself more aesthetically, as he stopped the Netherlands in the quarterfinal. Power, perfect movement, impeccable skill, balance, and excellent diving are the qualities that a good goalkeeper should possess, and Emi has all of these qualities. Experts say the presence of these qualities or materials in Martinez is excellent. Argentina now has 100% on him. Now experts are also reminding Argentina’s former goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea. Argentina’s Goycochea was the talk of the town in the 1990s, just as Martinez was about guarding Argentina’s goalpost. Read Mode: ‘To finish this way is brilliant’: Messi’s last dance, last chance for World Cup glory Final Words Argentina is always on the list of favorites in the World Cup, and having Lionel Messi in the team boosts their chances. After winning the World Cup in 1978 and 1986, Argentina played the finals in 1990 and 2014. This time, Argentina has lit the expectations based on Messi.  Yet a dismal performance in the 2018 World Cup and then a shaky Argentina in the first one and half years under Lionel Scaloni did not have any hope as ‘hot favorites for the World Cup. But everything changed when Argentina won the 2021 Copa America. Now, Argentina is one match away from proving themselves. 

Croatia knocked Brazil out of the World Cup on Friday, beating the five-time champions 4-2 in a penalty shootout to reach the semifinals for the second straight time. Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic saved a penalty attempt by Rodrygo and Marquinhos later hit the post. The match had finished 1-1 after extra time, with both goals coming in the additional 30 minutes. Neymar scored late in the first half of extra time to give Brazil the lead, but Croatia equalized when Bruno Petkovic scored in the 117th. Neymar’s goal moved him into a tie with Pelé as Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 77 goals. Croatia will next face either Argentina or the Netherlands to try to return to the World Cup final four years after losing the title to France. Read more: Brazil vs Croatia Quarter-final Preview: FIFA World Cup 2022

In addition to hosting the football World Cup, Qatar is also staging a very distinct competition. The long-legged beauties are competing to be named the most gorgeous in what has been dubbed a “Camel Beauty World Cup” that includes camels from all of the Gulf states. The event is taking place at the Qatar Camel Mzayen Club in Ash-Shahaniyah. Depending on their age and breed, the competing camels are separated into various groups, reports Reuters. “We did a camel beauty World Cup,” Mzayen Club president Hamad Jaber Al Athba told the news agencys. The premise is similar to the football World Cup, he said. The camels were paraded in front of an indoor crowd while they sipped coffee and munched on treats. Read more: Camels in Qatar feel the pressure from World Cup tourists There is severe competition among the several camel varieties. “The dimensions of the body, the head, and the placement of the ears are used to evaluate black camels. However, with the Maghateer-type camel, we look for proportionality, and the lips should be curled in addition to the ears sliding down rather than standing straight,” Al Athba remarked. However, in order to prevent cheating and ensure that the camels have not had any surgical improvements, experts use X-rays to inspect the animals before the tournament starts. Forthy-three contestants were eliminated from a Saudi Arabian camel beauty pageant last year due to the use of botox and other cosmetic improvements, sparking a cheating scandal. Read more: The tale of ending use of Bangladeshi children as camel jockeys In recent years, organisers have cracked down on cosmetic improvements, a practise that has survived despite severe penalties and fierce competition. The modifications are intended to create the camels’ droopier lips and more sculpted humps, which are essential features in the Camel Beauty World Cup pageant staged in Qatar.

Smiling U.S. and Iranian fans mingled and posed for photos outside a stadium in Doha ahead of a politically charged World Cup match on Tuesday. The atmosphere was generally festive though the political divisions among Iran fans were apparent outside Al Thumama Stadium, as they have been during previous Iran games during the tournament, with pro-government fans confronting those expressing support for the anti-government protests across Iran. Two London-based Iranians, wearing T-shirts with the slogan of protests, were repeatedly harassed while talking to an Associated Press journalist on Tuesday. One of them, who identified herself as Maryam, received a grazing slap to the face by an Iranian man following her. Security guards got between them, but did not detain the man who slapped her. Other men blew vuvuzelas at the two or filmed them. One man shouted at them in Farsi “why don’t you think Iran is good?” Maryam, who like other Iran fans declined to give her last name for fear of government reprisals, said her friends were similarly harassed at Iran-Wales match on Friday. “They can’t stop us. People are getting killed and I’m not going to get stopped by some random guy. I’m not afraid of them,” she said. Read more: Iran-US World Cup clash rife with political tension Dalia, an 18-year-old Iranian from the southern city of Ahvaz who attended the game with her parents, said Tuesday’s match had exposed divisions within her family between those still committed to supporting Iran’s national team and others who reject the players as tools of the government. The Iranian players in Qatar have declined to comment or made vague statements about the protests in Iran, which were sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman while in the custody of Iran’s morality police. “It’s so sad for me because I want to support them so badly but I just can’t,” Dalia said. Mehrdad and Eli from Arizona brought pictures of the young women killed in Iran’s protests to the match. But holding them up invited harassment, they said, so Eli kept them in her purse. They described a deep sense of unease at the stadium. “I feel like I am surrounded by IRGC agents,” said Mehrdad, referring to the country’s powerful Revolutionary Guard. “Everybody’s watching you.” Elsewhere, U.S. and Iranian fans appeared unfazed by the tensions between the two countries, posing together for photos. The two teams have played in a World Cup once before, in 1998 in France, when Iran beat the U.S. 2-1. “It has been amazing to see Americans. They are so friendly,” said Yas, a 14-year-old Iran fan from the city of Shiraz. "I hope this is a chance for people to connect and share their cultures peacefully.” Her older sister had an X written with a black marker over her lips. “She’s doing that to show we all can’t talk about the politics in our country,” Yas said. Read more: Iran shuts out noise at World Cup but United States looms The latest protests mark one of the biggest challenges to Iran’s ruling clerics since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that brought them to power. Rights groups say security forces have unleashed live ammunition and bird shot on the protesters, as well as beating and arresting them, with much of the violence captured on video. At least 452 protesters have been killed and more than 18,000 detained since the start of the unrest, according to Human Rights Activists in Iran, a group that has been monitoring the protests. Two former members of the national soccer team arrested this month in connection with the protests have been released on bail. Parviz Boroumand, a retired goalkeeper, was arrested nearly two weeks ago on charges of participating in protests in the capital, Tehran, and was accused of damaging property. Voria Ghafouri was arrested last week for “insulting the national soccer team and propagandizing against the government,” according to state-linked media.

Wives and girlfriends of England's top players reportedly toasted the Three Lions' 6-2 victory over Iran in their 2022 World Cup opener on a posh Qatar cruise liner ship, their home during the tournament. Harry Maguire's wife Fern, Jordan Pickford's partner Megan Davison, Kyle Walker's wife Annie Kilner, and Jack Grealish's girlfriend Sasha Attwood were in the group that allegedly partied with champagne and cocktails priced at $250 each and sang karaoke tunes while spending £20,000 in one go. Read: US Soccer's gesture of support for Iranian protesters "They're on a premium drinks package whilst on board the cruise liner," a source told The Sun. It was all reportedly paid for before they arrived in Qatar. The luxury cruise liner is docked in Doha for the duration of the World Cup. The group on the luxury cruise ship is among the nearly 7,000 people who have paid more than £6,000 for top-class accommodation during the tournament. Read: What happened to Morocco's first-choice GK before kickoff v Belgium? Qatar cruise liner ship includes a 643ft outdoor promenade, 14 ocean-view whirlpools, 13 dining venues, spa, wellness centre, thermal baths, a beauty salon, gym and more than 30 bars and cafes, as well as the tallest slide on any ship in the world, according to The Sun.