The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture has lifted a temporary ban on the import of live birds, hatching eggs and chicks from six countries due to highly pathogenic avian influenza including Togo, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Tunisia, Kuwait, and Spain except Spanish Catalonia region. The Director General of Animal Risk Assessment Department at the Ministry Dr. Sanad Al-Harbi pointed out that the Ministry lifted the ban after receiving reports from the World Organization for Animal Health on non-registration of new hot spots of avian influenza in the past three months in these countries.