The third edition of the Asian Airgun Championship in Doha from December 16-22 will also double up as the qualification event for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games to be held in Singapore next year.

“The Youth Olympics has a similar qualification criterion as the Olympics. The Asian Airgun event is the only tournament where Indian youth can qualify for the Singapore event,” said national coach Sunny Thomas. “We have some very good shooters who can make it to Singapore and among them Ayonika Paul, Shruti Bhattepatil and Neha Sapte are the frontrunners,” said Thomas.

Doha, Nov 14 : England manager Fabio Capello has blocked plans for a lavish party before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, saying he doesn’t believe there is anything to celebrate.

The proposed idea of organizing a gala bash ahead of the flight to South Africa next June was instantly rejected by Capello as something that could not be part of the pre-World Cup agenda for his squad, The Mirror reports.

World number one Serena Williams of the United States has made into the semifinals of the women's singles event of the US $4.5 million Sony Ericsson WTA Championships in Doha.

The top seeded Serena defeated Russian Elena Dementieva in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinal to become first player to reach into the last four of the tournament.

Speaking to the media, Serena said that Dementieva is really a good and fittest player in the tournament, and her game will definitely become better and better in the upcoming years.

Doha, Qatar - Heartbroken Russian Dinara Safina may miss the start of 2010 in Australia due to the back problem which forced her from the Sony Ericsson Championships this week.

The player who lost the year-end number one ranking to Serena Williams after being forced to withdraw a few minutes into her opening group match, said doctors have told her to rest for up to a month.

That kind of scheduling could surely derail any preparation for the Australian Open starting in mid-January.

Doha, Qatar  - Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will again start their tennis seasons with New Year's appearances at the Capitala World Championship before heading to Australia to prepare for the Grand Slam.

Officials at the December 31-January 2 event announced Monday that they have secured the top two in the world for a three-day, six-player tournament won last year by Scot Andy Murray over Nadal.

Doha (Qatar), July 29 : Recent excavations conducted in Qatar has resulted in a substantial number of new sites being discovered and significantly more archaeological research in the region, which may revamp the whole history of the nation written so far.

According to a report in The Peninsula On-line, there has been a notable increase in the amount of archaeological field work being conducted in Qatar covering the ancient to the Islamic periods.

The research is bringing important new information to light.

Doha: ­ Doha Taxi drivers know when someone asks to be dropped at the City Centre mall in the Qatari capital, they've got some serious money to spend.

It happens all the time. With a population of just 1.5 million, as well as massive gas and oil reserves, Qatar has the highest GDP per person in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund.

The City Centre mall is one of several in the Qatari capital where those with cash in hand can go to find glittering things that would not be out of place on the Paris Champs Elysees.

Doha - At least 5,000 fans were able to hear Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias live late Wednesday at his first-ever Doha concert.

To his fans' amusement, Iglesias, who turns 34 on Friday, performed many of his famous songs such as Love to See you Cry, Ping Pong Song and Say It.

On stage, the Latin heartthrob expressed his happiness at being in Qatar for the first time. Many in the international audience, with ages ranging from children to grandparents, waved glowing sticks and swayed to Latin rhythms.

Doha  - Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa knows the new Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, well.

In the 1990s, Mussa was Egypt's foreign minister when Netanyahu was Israel's prime minister. And while the two men share a taste for fine Cuban cigars and other small indulgences, and though the countries they represented in the 1990s had been at peace for more than a decade, the two were often at odds on politics.

Little has changed today.

Doha - Arab and Latin American leaders gathered in Doha, Qatar on Tuesday to boost economic ties, but it was Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, long the darling of the Arab world for his defiance of the United States and his stances during Israel's wars in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, who grabbed the headlines.

Doha  - Leaders at an Arab League summit in Qatar on Monday were unanimous in their appeals for Arab unity - but that message was almost lost amid high-profile disputes between member states and the sensational appearance of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir despite an international warrant for his arrest.

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Mussa, delivering the summit's conclusions, affirmed the 22-member body's support for al-Bashir in his confrontation with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the UN Security Council.

Doha  - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, speaking at an Arab League summit in Qatar on Monday, said that divisions among Arab states "harm Iraq," and called on Arab countries to play a greater role in rebuilding Iraq.

"We call for the adoption of a common Arab strategy based on a partnership of all the Arab family," al-Maliki said. "We are against the policy of alliances which runs against a unified Arab position ... and harms Iraq."

Doha - Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi, in his closing remarks to the Arab League summit in Qatar on Monday, said Arab countries could not recognize Israel until it gave up its nuclear weapons and agreed to allow Palestinian refugees to return to their homes.

"We cannot recognize Israel while they have nuclear weapons and we have modest weapons," Gaddafi said. "And we should insist on the return of the displaced. We cannot recognize Israel until they agree to these two demands."

Doha - Arab League Secretary-General Amr Mussa on Monday formally expressed the body's support for Sudanese President Omar al- Bashir in his confrontation with the International Criminal Court and the UN Security Council.

In his final remarks Monday night, al-Bashir thanked the assembled Arab leaders for their support against "the court's unjust decision."

"We will spare no effort in establishing peace and security in every corner of Sudan," al-Bashir added.

Doha  - Egyptian Minister of State for Legal Affairs Mufid Shehab, representing his country at an Arab League summit in Qatar in lieu of President Hosny Mubarak, on Monday called on Arab media to "abide by the truth."

"Egypt can let go of any minor disputes," Shehab said. "But that does not give others the right to engage in underhanded attacks."

Doha  - Leaders gathered for an Arab League summit in Qatar on Monday were unanimous in their appeals for Arab unity, but that message was almost lost amid high-profile disputes between member states and the sensational appearance of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir despite an international warrant for his arrest.

Sudan confirmed al-Bashir's attendance at Monday's summit only hours after judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of crimes against humanity on March 4.

Doha - Egyptian Minister of State for Legal Affairs Mufid Shehab, representing his country at an Arab League summit in Qatar in lieu of President Hosny Mubarak, on Monday called on Arab media to "abide by the truth."

"Egypt can let go of any minor disputes," Shehab said. "But that does not give others the right to engage in underhanded attacks."

Doha - Leaders from the Arab world were meeting in Qatar on Monday for the 21st regular Arab League Summit where the issue of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was expected to dominate.

Al-Bashir, who is the subject of an international arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity, was among the first to arrive in the Qatari capital Doha.

In all, some 17 out of the 22 Arab leaders and among others United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon were due to participate in discussion on a range of issues.

Doha/Cairo - Egyptian and Qatari diplomats on Saturday shrugged off the decision of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to absent himself from the annual Arab League summit in Doha scheduled for Monday.

The announcement that Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit made in Cairo early Saturday to declare Mubarak's decision to delegate Moufid Shehab, a cabinet minister, to head the Egyptian delegation to the summit was simply, in both capitals, expected.

Doha  - Arab League summits often go like a bad wedding party. Everything begins grandly, but then rapidly slides into farce. Either one erratic leader storms out at a perceived slight, or another bores everyone else to sleep. Now and then the guests call each other names.

But on Monday, when the two-day summit begins in the Sheraton Hotel in the Qatari capital of Doha, a little more interest should be expected. The summit promises to be one of the most crucial Arab League gatherings in recent years, and one of the most controversial.