Author: ALJAZEERA

Amman, Jordan – For Mohammad Trakhan, a cafe owner in Amman, tennis has always been the sport of choice despite living in a football-mad country. He demonstrates his passion for the game by swinging an imaginary racquet before squeezing a glass of fresh orange juice at his colourful rustic cafe perched upon a hill in the Jordanian capital. This week, however, the 37-year-old has shifted his focus to football. Jordan are in the Asian Cup final for the first time in their history and Trakhan, the reluctant football fan, predicts a 3-1 win for his side over favourites Qatar. Football…

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At least 10 children among the dead as fears of an Israeli ground assault intensify in southern Gaza.The Israeli military has killed at least 28 Palestinians in strikes on Rafah immediately after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signalled that an invasion of the city in southern Gaza may be close. Three air raids on residential homes in the Rafah area killed at least 28 people overnight into Saturday, according to a health official and The Associated Press journalists who saw the bodies arriving at hospitals. As with many previous Israeli air raids, each attack reportedly killed multiple members of three families,…

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The drone strike hit a car 35km (22 miles) from the Lebanese capital, Beirut.An Israeli drone raid that hit a car 35km (22 miles) from the Lebanese capital, Beirut, has killed at least two people, but a Hamas official who was the target survived the attack, security sources told Al Jazeera. Two missiles fired by an Israeli drone hit the Hamas official’s vehicle in the coastal town of Jadra on Saturday and two bystanders were killed in the attack, Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reported from Beirut. The two victims were civilians, a Lebanese Civil Defence official told the AFP news…

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Qatar successfully defended their Asian Cup crown after beating Jordan 3-1 on Saturday at Lusail Stadium where Akram Afif converted three penalties as the hosts won their second continental title. Jordan were playing in their first Asian Cup final and seeking their first major trophy, but it was Qatar who prevailed in front of 86,492 fans including Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. After Afif opened the score in the 22nd minute with a penalty kick, Jordan’s attack pressed but could not break through until the second half, when in the 67th minute,…

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Mourners gathering at public funerals in Sanaa say they remain resolute in their position on Israel’s war on Gaza.Seventeen Houthi fighters have been killed in United States and British attacks, the Yemeni rebel group has said through its official media, following public funerals in the capital Sanaa. “The bodies of a number of martyrs of the nation and the armed and security forces who were martyred as a result of the bombing of the American-British aggression were carried through Sanaa today in a solemn funeral procession,” a Houthi official media said on Saturday, listing their names. The US and United…

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Iran has never sought war in the region, the country’s foreign minister has said on a visit to Lebanon to discuss Israel’s war on Gaza and its impact on regional security. “Iran and Lebanon confirm that war is not the solution, and that we absolutely never sought to expand it,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-abdollahian said at a news conference alongside Abdallah Bou Habib, Lebanon’s foreign minister, in Beirut on Saturday. However, he threatened that any widespread attack by Israel on Lebanon would be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “last day”. His visit to Beirut came as the United States and…

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