Iraq wins opening Asian Cup match

The Asian Cup football tournament has kicked off in Lebanon with a comfortable two-nil win for Iraq over Thailand. Iraq's goals came from Qahtan Chatir and Haidar Mahmood in front of a sparse crowd. The twelve-day tournament is going ahead despite security concerns in Lebanon over escalating tension in the Middle East.

Some three-thousand security personnel, including soldiers, are reported to have been assigned to the Asian Cup games.

Lebanon play Iran later today.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service