UAE inaugurates first French-made Rafale fighter jet in Paris

LONDON: The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani arrived in Damascus on Thursday, becoming the first Arab leader to visit Syria since the collapse of Bashar Assad’s regime.

Ahmed Al-Sharaa, declared interim president of Syria during a conference on Wednesday evening, welcomed Sheikh Tamim at Damascus International Airport on his arrival.

Syrian Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Bashir, Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani, and Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra were also present.

Qatar supported Syrian opposition factions during the country’s 13-year civil war before Assad fled Damascus for Moscow in early December.

Sheikh Tamim’s visit marks a significant resumption of Qatari-Syrian relations, with Qatar expected to play a major role in reconstruction, according to the Qatar News Agency.

Political analyst and author Khaled Walid Mahmoud told QNA that Shiekh Tamim’s visit is “highly symbolic and historically significant, being the first by an Arab leader since the fall of the former regime.”

The visit could reopen diplomatic channels and support a sustainable political resolution in Damascus, highlighting Qatar’s strong ties with the US and Turkiye, as well as its role as a trusted mediator in Syria and the Middle East, he added.

Qatar will play a crucial role in the reconstruction of Syria, especially in key sectors such as energy, transportation, and housing, which were devasted by the civil war.

Ahmed Qassim Hussein, a researcher at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, told QNA that the emir’s visit signals an evolving Qatari role in Syria’s political, economic, and security spheres.

Qatar’s support for the new Syrian leadership led by the insurgent-turned-president Al-Sharaa was evident in its decision to reopen the embassy in Damascus following its closure in 2011.

He said that “(the visit) reflects Qatar’s commitment to restoring diplomatic relations and fostering cooperation with Syria,” adding that Doha is guiding the Syrian leadership in navigating Syria’s transitional phase and fostering long-term stability.

RABAT: Morocco has halted imports of feed grains from Germany following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, the head of Morocco’s grain trade federation (FNCL) said on Thursday.
The import suspension affected “all untreated plant-based feed intended for animal consumption from Germany due to the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak there,” Omar Yacoubi told Reuters.
A source at Morocco’s food safety agency ONSSA confirmed that plant-based imports from Germany for animal feed had been “suspended” until Germany is declared free of foot and mouth again or certifies local regions that are free of the disease.
Germany announced its first outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in nearly 40 years on Jan. 10 in a herd of water buffalo near Berlin in the Brandenburg region. That remains the only reported case so far.
The outbreak has led to trade restrictions from some countries including Britain on livestock-related goods from Germany.
Germany’s agriculture ministry said on Jan. 13 that the loss of Germany’s status as a country free of foot-and-mouth disease meant exporting a wide range of farm products outside the European Union would no longer be possible.
Traders have reported that exporters have sourced some feed barley cargoes for Morocco in France instead of Germany in response to the trade restriction.
However, other importing countries were still accepting German feed grain and one cargo of German barley initially sold for Morocco would be shipped to Tunisia, traders said.
Foot-and-mouth disease is a highly infectious virus that causes fever and mouth blisters in cloven-hoofed ruminants, such as cattle, swine, sheep and goats, but poses no danger to humans.
The disease occurs regularly in parts of the world including in Africa but Morocco has not recorded an outbreak since 2019.