Chinese pandas arrive in Qatar ahead of World Cup

{O/C} {And finally}

China is best known for its "panda diplomacy", and a pair of giant Chinese pandas sent as lovely presents has arrived in Qatar just in time for next month's World Cup.

{RVO}

They are -- four-year-old Jing Jing, a male panda given the Arabic name Suhail, and three-year-old female Si Hai, now dubbed Thuraya.

Much like humans the pandas are undergoing quarantine for at least twenty-one days before visitors will be allowed to see them.

China's ambassador to Qatar said the new indoor panda enclosure, one of the most commodious and modern in the world, resembles conditions in the dense forests of China's mountainous Sichuan province.

This year's World Cup will begin on November 20th.