Collective Resignation from ‘Qatar Today’

A general view of buildings in Doha. Reuters file photo
A general view of buildings in Doha. Reuters file photo
TT

Collective Resignation from ‘Qatar Today’

A general view of buildings in Doha. Reuters file photo
A general view of buildings in Doha. Reuters file photo

A number of staff working for Qatar Today, which broadcasts from Doha, have submitted their resignation collectively to protest the TV channel’s policy, confusion in decision-making, and the lack of know-how in the media, sources in Doha reported on Tuesday.
 
Employees, who submitted their resignation, included the channel’s director-general, Ali Saleh Al-Khalaf, the head of the programs section, Hanan Sadeq, head of the broadcasters Ali Al-Sharshani, a number of journalists and two photographers.
 
The resigning journalists said they had submitted a collective resignation because of what they considered as “excesses, disrespect, conflicting views and confusion in decisions by parties not familiar with media work.”
 
Asharq Qatari newspaper, which published copies of the resignations, said that the decision to accept or reject them has not yet been taken.
 
Qatar Today team expressed dissatisfaction with the new administration’s policies, the intervention of parties that are not specialized in the media, and the disruption of the programs’ schedule.
 
In July, Qatar’s Ministry of Culture launched Qatar Al-Yawm on Es’hail Sat. Jassim Bin Jabr Bin Tuwar Al Kuwari is the channel’s current CEO.



Syria’s Leader Meets with Bahraini Diplomatic Delegation

The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
TT

Syria’s Leader Meets with Bahraini Diplomatic Delegation

The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa received a delegation from Bahrain on Wednesday and met with the Bahraini foreign minister, state media reported.

The visit was the latest in a flurry of diplomatic overtures by Arab countries to Syria’s new leaders after they overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning rebel offensive.

Like other Gulf countries, Bahrain had cut off diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad’s rule during the Syrian civil war, but it reopened its embassy in Damascus in 2018 and gradually restored ties with the Assad government.

Bahrain is the current head of the Arab summit, and days after Assad’s ouster it had sent a message to al-Sharaa offering its cooperation with the new authorities and saying, “We look forward to Syria regaining its authentic role in the Arab League.”