Venezuela’s Maduro meets Qatar’s ruling emir on Mideast trip

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has met with Qatar’s ruling emir as part of his Mideast tour. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani posted a photo on social media of the two meeting on Wednesday, saying they “discussed prospects for enhancing cooperation between our two countries in various fields for the good and interest of our two friendly peoples.” Maduro’s visit comes after he traveled to Iran for meetings over the weekend, including with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He visited the small, oil-rich nation of Kuwait on Monday. Maduro is on a Eurasia tour after President Joe Biden decided not to invite him to the Summit of the Americas, which began Thursday. His earlier stops included Algeria and Turkey.