His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani participated in the opening session of the 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate.text-box { float:right; width:500px; padding:10px; border:1pt solid black; margin-top: 10px; margin-right: 15px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 20px;}@media only screen and (max-width: 767px) {.text-box {width: 65%;}}Amir highlights Qatar's active rolein work on climate changeHis Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani stressed Friday that Qatar is an active partner and player in international work on climate, adding that the country will continue to honour its commitments to combat the negative and dangerous repercussions of climate change.His Highness said in a post on X that he participated yesterday in COP28 in Dubai and thanked his brother HH President of the United Arab Emirates Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan for hosting the conference. His Highness then stressed the State of Qatar's active role and partnership in international work on climate change, adding that the country will continue with the international community its role of honouring its commitments to fight the negative and dangerous repercussions of climate change.Change (COP28), which was held on Friday in Expo City Dubai of the sisterly United Arab Emirates.A number of leaders of countries, heads of governments, delegations, and representatives of regional and international organizations also participated in the session.The session was attended by HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, a number of Their Excellencies members of the official delegation accompanying His Highness the Amir, Their Excellencies members of delegations, senior officials and guests of the summit.

Many fans will remember the family of five desert rodents unveiled as the official mascots of the Asian Cup Qatar 2023 from 2011. Saboog, Tmbki, Freha, Zkriti and Traeneh will once again be the face of Asia’s most prestigious football tournament, after making their debut twelve years ago when Qatar last hosted the AFC Asian Cup. The familiar characters were presented as mascots for the Asian Cup Qatar 2023 at a special ceremony at the Barahat Msheireb in Doha.For Hassan al-Kuwari, Marketing and Communications Executive Director of the Asian Cup Qatar 2023 Local Organising Committee (LOC), the return of the mascots to this year’s edition of the tournament is a testament to a long legacy of excellence in hosting mega sporting events in Qatar.“The mascots of the 2023 Asian Cup invoke wonderful memories from 2011, but also embody the excitement and energy of what will certainly be an amazing competition,” said al-Kuwari. “The five characters are inspired by Qatar’s natural environment and present us with yet another wonderful opportunity to showcase our culture and heritage to football fans from around the world.”The characters are the creation of Qatari artist Ahmed al-Maadheed. When working on the characters, al-Maadheed wanted to attribute different characteristics to each of the family members, much like the different roles football players take on during a football match. The artist also wanted to create a set of characters that resemble a traditional household in Qatar, while paying tribute to all four corners of country.“From the very beginning, we wanted to do something that inspired families and young people to be a part of the Asian Cup,” said al-Maadheed. “We wanted to do dig deep into our rich ecological heritage and find an animal that could represent the best of what happens on the pitch and also in our daily lives, and that was the jerboa.”Al-Maadheed added: “We decided to present a family of jerboas, each with its own distinctive personality, as a way of acknowledging the importance of teamwork in football, but also acknowledging the importance of family life to societies in Qatar.”The characters have been brought to life for the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 through an anime-inspired animation produced by Katara Studios. In the buildup to the event, and throughout the tournament, which takes place between January 12 and February 10, 2024, audiences will be treated to an animated work that invokes the nostalgia of iconic cartoons of the past. The animation was directed by Fahad al-Kuwari, with the song performed by Qatari artist Dana al-Meer and the legendary Tarek Al Arabi Tourgane.The mascots of the Asian Cup Qatar 2023 are Saboog, Tmbki, Freha, Zkriti and Traeneh. Since first making an appearance 2011, they have grown up, matured, and are now ready for a new edition of the AFC Asian Cup.The first in the series of five mascots is Saboog, the blue colored son of the family. His name is derived from the commonly used word to refer to the jerboa in Qatar. Second is Freha, the pink-colored eldest daughter of the family named after an area with the same name in the north of Qatar. Third is Tmbiki, a yellow-colored younger son named after the Timbic region in the east of the country. The parents are Zikriti and Traeneh, a green-colored father and a purple-colored mother respectively. They are named after Zikrit in Qatar’s west, and Tranaa in the north of the country.

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said he is pleased his side have evolved from last season despite criticism that the Gunners lack the same spark. Arteta’s men sit top of the Premier League and are into the last 16 of the Champions League after thrashing Lens 6-0 on Wednesday.But that display of attacking prowess has been a rarity this season as Arsenal have relied on their defensive solidity to move to the top of the table. Four of their nine Premier League wins have been by a 1-0 scoreline, including last weekend’s at Brentford.By contrast, an unexpected title challenge by Arteta’s men last season was built around the explosive form of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard. But Arsenal eventually fell short of a first league crown in 19 years as Manchester City stormed clear in the final weeks of the season. “This team is going to be different to last season and hopefully very different to next season,” said Arteta yesterday. “That’s part of the evolution. Leaving some of the things in the past to the new things. That has a transition. We want to still be competitive and win matches and I think the team is competing really well.”Wolves travel to the Emirates today hoping their luck will turn after a series of controversial refereeing calls have gone against them this season. Arteta also fumed after Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat Newcastle last month, branding the decision to award Anthony Gordon’s winning goal as “embarrassing” and a “disgrace”.But he disagreed with Wolves boss Gary O’Neil, who said he has now given up on VAR and would like it removed from the game. “I think we can improve it and we are trying to do that,” Arteta added. “Technology is taking a huge responsibility in games and it needs time. If we use it the right way - we are listening to people, we are open, we are humble and we are trying to be constructive - I think we will get to a really, really good place.”Ten Hag urges United to ‘rise to the occasion’ against NewcastleManchester United must eliminate individual errors and play at their highest level when they travel to face top-four rivals Newcastle United in a Premier League clash today, manager Erik ten Hag said. United, who are sixth in the league standings with 24 points – one ahead of seventh-placed Newcastle, were held to a 3-3 draw in the Champions League by Galatasaray on Wednesday, in which goalkeeper Andre Onana made two costly errors.Ten Hag said his side had played well against Galatasaray, but admitted that they still needed to raise their level, telling reporters: “We have to do some things better. Eliminate individual errors, defensive transition, but we can sort this out and I would be more concerned if we didn’t play well. I really respect (Newcastle). It’s a difficult team to play but it’s a good challenge and I like to play against them. We have to rise to the occasion and be at our best against them because the way they play is very organised.”Ten Hag’s counterpart Eddie Howe said he was relishing the prospect of facing United at St James’ Park, telling a press conference: “I think they are very good games. We respect their team and their manager. They are an outstanding team and I think these games against the bigger clubs are always very difficult and always decided by fine margins. In big moments you are looking for big players to step up and potentially win you the game. I think that is the situation we are in, but we know we are going to have to be at our very best to win.”Howe also provided an injury update on Sean Longstaff and Joe Willock, saying both players would not feature against United.Meanwhile, Early pacesetters Tottenham desperately need to arrest their slide after three straight defeats but champions Manchester City are their next port of call. Ange Postecoglou’s team, unbeaten in their first 10 games, have developed the costly habit of letting leads slip - losing to Chelsea, Wolves and Aston Villa despite scoring first each time.Postecoglou is grappling with a lengthy list of absentees and suffered another blow with the loss of midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, expected to be out until February after suffering a serious ankle injury against Villa. City last week showed a chink in their armour, failing to win at home in any competition for the first time this year when they were held 1-1 by Liverpool.But Erling Haaland notched his 50th Premier League goal in just his 48th game at the Etihad – obliterating Andy Cole’s record – and this week became the quickest player to 40 Champions League goals with his strike against RB Leipzig.FixturesToday (1500 GMT unless stated): Arsenal v Wolves, Brentford v Luton, Burnley v Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest v Everton (1730), Newcastle v Manchester United (2000)Tomorrow: (1400 unless stated): Bournemouth v Aston Villa, Chelsea v Brighton, Liverpool v Fulham, West Ham v Crystal Palace, Manchester City v Tottenham (1630)