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DOHA: FIFA World Cup final venue Lusail Stadium has achieved a five-star rating under the Global Sustainability Assessment System, the Qatar News Agency reported.  

The rating system is administered by the Gulf Organisation for Research & Development.

The 80,000-person capacity venue has several environmentally friendly features, including water-saving systems.

The roof is made from PTFE, a material that protects the stadium from warm winds and keeps out dust. This sustainability feature allows enough light for the pitch to grow while providing shade to reduce the burden on the stadium's air conditioning.

Its design, inspired by the interplay of light and shadow, is based on the fanar lantern to depict the Arab and Islamic world's golden age of art and craftsmanship.

Lusail received a five-star GSAS Design & Build rating and a Class A* GSAS Construction Management rating.

The certificates were presented to executives from the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy at a special event on Monday.

They included deputy director general Ghanim Al-Kuwari, sustainability executive director Bodour Al-Meer, and sustainability communications manager Jassim Al-Jaidah.

“This recognition from GORD is an important part of our FIFA World Cup journey,” said Al-Kuwari. “Sustainability has been central to our plans from the start as we are determined to develop venues that boost local communities here in Qatar long after the tournament. We are very proud to receive these awards and pay tribute to everyone involved in the construction of Lusail Stadium, an incredible venue that will host the biggest international football match on the planet, the FIFA World Cup final later this year."

Al-Meer said achieving these ratings was a testament to the hard work of the project team to prioritize sustainability features from the design phase through to construction and operation.

“In addition to the roof, the project site has conserved 40 percent more water than conventional stadium developments thanks to efficient fixtures and leak detection systems,” he said.

GORD founding chairman Dr. Yousef Alhorr said Lusail Stadium had set a “new precedent” in environmental excellence, guided by the SC's sustainability strategy, by meeting the “exacting” GSAS standards.

“We congratulate the SC for advancing climate action by successfully translating green building principles into impactful practices. This is testament to the strong commitment to sustainability which has been apparent from before ground was broken at Lusail and other venues,” he said.

The chairman said Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup was a milestone as all of its stadiums would be designed, built, and operated in line with the highest sustainability standards, as well as obtaining a certificate from a neutral party to abide by these standards.

The two-stage process of obtaining sustainability certificates took time and effort, Alhorr said.

The first stage was the evaluation process, which included field visits throughout the project’s estimated seven to eight-year lifespan to ensure the building specifications aligned with the construction.

The second stage was the review of thousands of documents by the office to ensure the accuracy of the information and the credibility of adherence to the required standards.

Obtaining the highest classifications was challenging as it required the project to adhere to environmental sustainability standards which entailed 50 sub-criteria, Alhorr added.

The sub-criteria were organized into eight major axes: Energy efficiency, water consumption, environmentally friendly materials, location, urban communication, indoor and outdoor environment, and operating practices.

Lusail Stadium project manager Tamim Al-Abed said the stadium's receipt of two sustainability certificates confirmed the committee's efforts to implement World Cup projects sustainably, adding that Qatar had delivered on its promises to adhere to strict sustainability standards throughout all stages of stadium construction.

He said the most important criteria that contributed to Lusail Stadium receiving the certificates were the selection of building materials, operating equipment, and cooling devices in the stadium in an energy-efficient manner, transferring exports sustainably, and monitoring and controlling waste, electricity consumption, dust and noise during the construction period.

He also said the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 would be a green tournament because it considered sustainability requirements at all stages of project implementation, beginning with design and ending with project delivery and operation.

Lusail Stadium will host 10 matches, beginning with Argentina against Saudi Arabia on Nov. 22 and concluding with the final on Dec. 18, which is also Qatar National Day.

It will house several civic facilities for the local community after the tournaments.

Any seats removed from the venue could be donated to countries without adequate sporting infrastructure.

The eight stadiums hosting matches during the World Cup have also achieved a minimum four-star rating under GSAS.

DUBAI: Iraqi security forces destroyed a major stronghold that belonged to Daesh in the west of Mosul, state news agency (INA) reported. 

In a statement, the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) said it had located the hideout in the Adaiya Mountains in west of Mosul through a security operation.

The hideout housed the group’s "technical equipment, packages, documents and logistical materials,” said the PMF’s statement.

DUBAI: Iraq has agreed to allow the entry of 500,000 Iranian pilgrims through Al-Sheeb port to perform the Arbaeen pilgrimage of Imam Hussein, state news agency (INA) reported. 

Iraqi authorities said they have taken the necessary security and health preparations to receive the pilgrims through the port on the Iran-Iraq border. 

Authorities have also visited the border port to implement procedures that would simplify and facilitate the entry of pilgrims, INA statement said, citing officials. 

Every year, pilgrims flock to the Iraqi city of Karbala, where the shrine of Imam Hussein is located, to perform Arbaeen rituals.

Bahrain’s Undersecretary of the Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Ministry Shaikh Mohammed bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa met with the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Bahrain Khaled Elmekwad, and the Bahrain-based UN Habitat Head of Country Program Fernanda Lonardoni to discuss joint cooperation, the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported on Friday. 

The Undersecretary praised the UN’s efforts to work with local partners from both the public and private sectors, as well as civil society, to achieve the sustainable development goals, according to BNA. 

He highlighted key ministry initiatives in place that include expanding afforestation projects, developing gardens, parks and coasts, and improving intersections and streets.

For his part, Elmekwad praised Bahrain’s development strides in the field of urban development, adding that the UN would continue to cooperate with the ministry in various programs to achieve their shared goals, BNA reported. 

HEBRON: A Palestinian was shot dead Friday after stabbing an Israeli soldier at an army post near Hebron in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli army and the Palestinian health ministry said. “An assailant armed with a knife” approached a military post and stabbed a soldier, the army said in a statement, adding that another soldier opened fire and “neutralized” the assailant. It said the “moderately” wounded soldier was “evacuated to a hospital for medical attention, while fully conscious, and his family has been informed.” The Palestinian health ministry said it had been informed of the death of a young man near Hebron, but did not immediately identify him. Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, when it captured the territory from Jordan. About 475,000 Jewish settlers currently live in the West Bank in communities considered illegal by most of the international community, alongside some 2.8 million Palestinians.

DUBAI: Iran’s navy seized two American sea drones in the Red Sea before letting them go Friday, officials said, in the latest maritime incident involving the US Navy’s new drone fleet in the Mideast. Iranian state television aired footage it said came from the deck of the Iranian navy’s Jamaran destroyer, where lifejacket-wearing sailors examined two Saildrone Explorers. They tossed one overboard as another warship could be seen in the distance. State TV said the Iranian navy found “several unmanned spying vessels abandoned in the international maritime routes” on Thursday. “After two warnings to an American destroyer to prevent possible incidents, Jamaran seized the two vessels,” state TV said. “After securing the international shipping waterway, the Naval Squadron No. 84 released the vessels in a safe area.” It added: “The US Navy was warned to avoid repeating similar incidents in future.” A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the incident before the military offered a formal statement, identified the seized drones as Saildrone Explorers. Those drones are commercially available and used by a variety of clients, including scientists, to monitor open waters. Two American destroyers in the Red Sea, as well as Navy helicopters, responded to the incident, the official said. They called the Iranian destroyer over the radio and followed the vessel until it released the drones Friday morning, the official said. “We have them in our custody,” the official said. “We continue our operations across the region.” This marks the second such incident in recent days as negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers hang in the balance. The earlier incident involved Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, not its regular navy, and occurred in the Arabian Gulf. The Guard towed a Saildrone Explorer before releasing it as an American warship trailed it. Iran had criticized the US Navy for releasing a “Hollywood” video of the incident, only to do the same Friday in the Red Sea incident. The 5th Fleet launched its unmanned Task Force 59 last year. Drones used by the Navy include ultra-endurance aerial surveillance drones, surface ships like the Sea Hawk and the Sea Hunter and smaller underwater drones that resemble torpedoes. The 5th Fleet’s area of responsibility includes the crucial Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf through which 20 percent of all oil passes. It also stretches as far as the Red Sea reaches near the Suez Canal, the waterway in Egypt leading to the Mediterranean, and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait off Yemen. The region has seen a series of maritime attacks in recent years. Off Yemen in the Red Sea, bomb-laden drone boats and mines set adrift by Yemen’s Houthi rebels have damaged vessels amid that country’s yearslong war. Near the United Arab Emirates and the Strait of Hormuz, oil tankers have been seized by Iranian forces. Others have been attacked in incidents the Navy blames on Iran. Those attacks came about a year after then-President Donald Trump’s 2018 decision to unilaterally withdraw from Iran’s nuclear deal, in which sanctions on Tehran were lifted in exchange for it drastically limiting its enrichment of uranium. Negotiations to revive the accord now hang in the balance. The US cast doubt Friday on Iran’s latest written response over the talks. Iran now enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels as officials openly suggest Tehran could build a nuclear bomb if it wishes to. Iran has maintained its program is peaceful, though Western nations and international inspectors say Tehran had a military nuclear program up until 2003.