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Qatar Postpones Iraq Friendly After Sacking Coach

Qatar says it has postponed Wednesday's friendly match against Iraq after sacking coach Milovan Rajevac and replacing him with Brazilian Sebastiao Lazaroni.

The unexpected departure of Rajevac came late Sunday after Qatar was beaten by Vietnam last month in the second leg of its 2014 World Cup qualifier. It still advanced 4-2 on aggregate.

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Group Buying Websites Battle for Middle East Shoppers with Online Bargains

Shoppers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are among the wealthiest and most discerning in the world. Most major malls in Dubai, for instance, feature couture retailers usually associated in the United States with upscale fashion districts. It is not an uncommon sight to see shoppers with several large shopping bags, loaded into a cart just as a family buying groceries would, only the purchases being Gucci shoes and Louis Vuitton handbags. According to Business Monitor International, U.S.$31 billion worth of retail sales are expected this year in the UAE, and will top U.S.$41 billion in less than five years.

As there is more total retail space supply in the country than its entire population -- according to retail surveys, an estimated 5.75 million square meters by the end of 2014, or 1.27 square meters of shopping space for every UAE resident -- online retail has struggled to find room. Because of concerns about fraud, 45% of UAE shoppers said they would not buy online, according to a survey this year by MasterCard.

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Arab Unrest, High Food Prices Cast Pall on Ramadan

From Syria to Libya and Egypt, the uprisings and unrest gripping the Arab world have cast a pall on the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month when the traditional focus on piety will likely be eclipsed by more unrest.

Food prices — part of the economic hardships that catalyzed the ouster of the Egyptian and Tunisian leaders — are still climbing. And protesters have shown little patience for conciliatory gestures by governments after decades of empty promises.

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Opposition Sources: Riyadh Informed Miqati that He is Not Welcome in Saudi

Riyadh has informed Prime Minister Najib Miqati that he is not welcome in Saudi Arabia, revealed opposition sources to the daily Ad Diyar on Sunday.

They added that Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat was charged with relaying this message to the premier.

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Bin Hammam Determined Not to Be FIFA's Fall Guy

Mohamed Bin Hammam arrives in Zurich on Thursday desperate to save his career, as FIFA bid to draw a line beneath a corruption scandal that has blackened the image of the world's biggest sport.

The 62-year-old stands accused of attempting to bribe Caribbean football officials to vote for him in the FIFA presidential election with cash gifts of $40,000 each, during a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) summit in May.

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Syria Apologizes to Qatar for Embassy Attack

Syria has apologized to Qatar for an attack by demonstrators on its embassy in Damascus that prompted it to suspend work in the strife-torn country, an official in Doha said on Wednesday.

"Syria has sent a letter of apology to the Qatari ministry of foreign affairs," the Qatari official said on condition of anonymity.

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Qatari Ambassador Quits Syria

Qatar's ambassador to Damascus, Zayed al-Khayarine, has quit Syria and the embassy has suspended its work, an official from the Qatari delegation told Agence France Presse on Monday.

"The diplomats have left Syria and work has been suspended until further notice," the official said, declining to be identified.

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Mulberry Bags Surging Profits, Eyes International Expansion

British luxury handbag maker Mulberry said Thursday that annual profits more than quadrupled, as the group celebrated its 40th anniversary with stunning sales growth and eyed more global expansion.

Pre-tax earnings rocketed by a staggering 358 percent to £23.3 million ($37.6 million, 26.6 million Euros) in the 12 months to the end of March, Mulberry said in a results statement.

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Yemen Warns Qatar over Dissident Funding

Yemen said Wednesday it intercepted financial transfers made through Qatar to fund dissidents, warning the energy rich Gulf state to stop supporting divisions in the strife-torn country.

"The authorities have discovered transactions made through Qatar and the mediator in this is our former ambassador (in Cairo) Abdulwali al-Shumeiri," deputy information minister Abdo al-Janadi told reporters.

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Reconsider Qatar World Cup, Says German Football chief

The head of Germany's football federation, Theo Zwanziger, called Wednesday for FIFA to re-examine the awarding of the 2022 World Cup to Qatar over bribery allegations.

"I think there is a significant degree of suspicion that one cannot just dismiss," Zwanziger told ZDF public television when asked about calls for the sport's world governing body to take away the event from Qatar.

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