Asian Cup to Go Ahead Despite Middle East TensionAsia's top soccer competition, Asian Cup 2000, will go ahead as scheduled in Lebanon despite rising tensions in the Middle East, organisers said on Tuesday in Beirut.After a meeting of the organising committee, Lebanese Minister of Sports Mohamed Youssef Beydoun said his country was ready to host the 12-team competition that kicks off on Thursday. "The championship is not for Lebanon only, it is for all the Asian continent," Beydoun told reporters. "The competition will take place on schedule without any changes." Palestinian-Israeli clashes and the capture of three Israeli soldiers on the Lebanon border by Muslim guerrillas have raised tensions across the region while heightening fears of Israeli retaliatory strikes into Lebanon. [Source: chinadaily.com.cn] |
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