Qatar: 4,000 World Cup Huts Sent to Quake-Hit Türkiye, Syria

Workers load cabins and caravans used during the football World Cup in Qatar onto a cargo ship slated for departure from Hamad Port, on March 20, 2023, as a donation to Türkiye and Syria to house people who lost their homes in a devastating earthquake in early February. (AFP)
Workers load cabins and caravans used during the football World Cup in Qatar onto a cargo ship slated for departure from Hamad Port, on March 20, 2023, as a donation to Türkiye and Syria to house people who lost their homes in a devastating earthquake in early February. (AFP)
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Qatar: 4,000 World Cup Huts Sent to Quake-Hit Türkiye, Syria

Workers load cabins and caravans used during the football World Cup in Qatar onto a cargo ship slated for departure from Hamad Port, on March 20, 2023, as a donation to Türkiye and Syria to house people who lost their homes in a devastating earthquake in early February. (AFP)
Workers load cabins and caravans used during the football World Cup in Qatar onto a cargo ship slated for departure from Hamad Port, on March 20, 2023, as a donation to Türkiye and Syria to house people who lost their homes in a devastating earthquake in early February. (AFP)

Qatar has sent 4,000 cabins built to house fans at last year's World Cup to earthquake survivors in Türkiye and Syria, authorities said Monday.

The Associated Press watched as the latest batch of pre-fabricated cabins was loaded onto a cargo ship in the Arabian Gulf.

The Qatar Development Fund began shipping cabins last month and says it will send a total of 10,000 to house people displaced by the Feb. 6 earthquake.

Qatar says it had always planned to donate the mobile homes. They were needed to help house some of the 1.4 million fans who descended on the country during soccer’s biggest tournament late last year.

The brightly colored cabins, each with thin walls, were designed to hold one or two people with twin beds, a nightstand, a small table and chair, air conditioning, a toilet and a shower inside.

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck parts of Türkiye and Syria on Feb. 6, killing more than 52,000 people — the vast majority in Türkiye. More than 200,000 buildings in Türkiye either collapsed or were severely damaged, leaving millions homeless.

Qatar and other Gulf countries have joined the global effort to send aid to the stricken region.



Kuwait Includes 8 Lebanese Hospitals on 'Terror' List

Kuwait indicated that it had listed eight hospitals in Lebanon as part of regulations related to "combating terrorism.” KUNA
Kuwait indicated that it had listed eight hospitals in Lebanon as part of regulations related to "combating terrorism.” KUNA
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Kuwait Includes 8 Lebanese Hospitals on 'Terror' List

Kuwait indicated that it had listed eight hospitals in Lebanon as part of regulations related to "combating terrorism.” KUNA
Kuwait indicated that it had listed eight hospitals in Lebanon as part of regulations related to "combating terrorism.” KUNA

Kuwait's foreign ministry issued on Sunday a circular indicating that it had listed eight hospitals in Lebanon as part of regulations related to "combating terrorism.”

Lebanon's health ministry expressed surprise and said it would seek clarification.

It said it received the Kuwaiti statement "with great surprise", adding it had not been provided with "any information or notification from any Kuwaiti entity about this matter.”

"The hospitals mentioned in the statement are registered with the syndicate of private hospitals in Lebanon and carry out their role in providing treatment and health services to all Lebanese without exception," the ministry statement said.

It called the facilities "an essential part of the Lebanese health system,” and said it would contact the relevant authorities to request clarification and "protect Lebanon's health system.”

It noted that "Kuwait has numerous joint projects with the ministry... and has been among the most prominent countries that have stood by the health system during the successive crises that Lebanon has faced.”

The latest move was "unprecedented and inconsistent" with the Gulf country's usual approach, it added.


Saudi and Guatemalan FMs Discuss Bilateral Ties

The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs met on Sunday with his Guatemalan counterpart in Riyadh. SPA
The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs met on Sunday with his Guatemalan counterpart in Riyadh. SPA
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Saudi and Guatemalan FMs Discuss Bilateral Ties

The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs met on Sunday with his Guatemalan counterpart in Riyadh. SPA
The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs met on Sunday with his Guatemalan counterpart in Riyadh. SPA

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah met on Sunday with his Guatemalan counterpart Carlos Ramiro Martínez in Riyadh.

During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations and discussed developments of mutual interest.


Faisal bin Farhan, Barrack Discuss Developments in Syria

The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince met on Sunday with the US Special Envoy for Syria in Riyadh.(SPA)
The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince met on Sunday with the US Special Envoy for Syria in Riyadh.(SPA)
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Faisal bin Farhan, Barrack Discuss Developments in Syria

The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince met on Sunday with the US Special Envoy for Syria in Riyadh.(SPA)
The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince met on Sunday with the US Special Envoy for Syria in Riyadh.(SPA)

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah met on Sunday with US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack in Riyadh.

During the meeting, they reviewed developments in Syria.