[Produced with Reuters colleague Charlotte Bruneau and published here on November 28, 2022]
DOHA, Nov 28 (Reuters) – The first World Cup in the Middle East has become a showcase for the political tensions crisscrossing one of the world’s most volatile regions and the ambiguous role often played by host nation Qatar in its crises.
Continue reading[Produced with Reuters colleagues Martin Petty and Charlotte Bruneau and published here on November 25, 2022]
AL RAYYAN, Qatar, Nov 25 (Reuters) – Iran’s national soccer team sang during the playing of their national anthem at their second World Cup match against Wales on Friday having refrained from doing so in their opening game earlier this week in apparent support for protesters back home.
Continue reading[Published here on November 24, 2022]
DOHA, Nov 24 (Reuters) – A hummus recipe and cashier countertop are the only surviving elements of the original ‘Beirut’ restaurant, which opened its doors in Qatar in 1960 and has since tracked the capital Doha’s metamorphosis from dusty outpost to hosting soccer’s World Cup.
Continue reading[Produced with Reuters colleague Charlotte Bruneau and published here on November 21 2022]
DOHA, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Taking selfies from the stands and sitting on the grassy pitch, thousands of migrant workers gathered in a Doha stadium to watch the opening match of the first World Cup in the Middle East.
Continue reading[Published here on November 21, 2022]
DOHA, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Arab soccer fans at the first World Cup in the Middle East are shunning Israeli journalists in Qatar trying to interview them, illustrating challenges facing wider “warm peace” ambitions two years after some Gulf states forged formal ties with Israel.
Continue reading[Produced with Reuters colleague Riham Alkousaa and published here on November 18, 2022]
DOHA/BERLIN, Nov 18 (Reuters) – Syrian lawyer Amrou Sabahi had hoped to spend his first World Cup at the heart of the action, working behind the scenes at the stadiums in Qatar, the first Arab country to hold the crowning event of soccer.
But when the tournament kicks off on Sunday, the 27-year-old will be watching from Spain, where he lives as a refugee, after his application to attend the Cup, was rejected.
Continue reading[Published here on March 8, 2022]
BEIRUT, March 8 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Nathaly Daou zigzags through an underground fabric store in Beirut, pulling out bolts of neon Lycra and patterned polyester before settling on a roll of white cotton.
Continue reading[Produced with my colleague Avi Asher-Schapiro and published here on March 7, 2022]
BEIRUT/LOS ANGELES, March 7 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Before Omar leaves home in the morning, he carefully uninstalls the apps on his phone one by one – no WhatsApp, no Facebook, no Grindr.
Continue reading[Produced with my colleagues Tala Ramadan in Beirut and Menna Farouk in Cairo, and published here on February 28, 2022]
ADEN/CAIRO, Feb 28 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The war in Ukraine may be unfolding several thousand miles away, but 32-year-old Ilham fears her family will feel its consequences on their dinner table in Yemen.
Continue reading[Published here January 27, 2022]
Pilots at Qatar Airways say the state-owned airline is under-counting their work hours and ignoring complaints of fatigue – a safety breach that hurts staff health and risks passenger lives.
The testimony demonstrates how worker abuse extends even to the Gulf nation’s high-skill industries, as Qatar Airways (QA) tries to minimise crew downtime.
Continue reading
MAYA GEBEILY 