Four Arab states have sent Qatar a list of 13 demands it must meet if it wants them to lift their sanctions. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are asking the Gulf state to shut down its broadcaster, Al Jazeera. They are also asking Qatar to reduce ties with Iran and close … Read more
Following the declaration of Gulf and Arab states to boycott Qatar, which broke out two weeks ago, and the decision to take measures against the emirate, the Palestinians decided to be neutral to avoid more losses of aligning to one side against the other. However, Palestinian observers expressed deep concern over the consequences of the … Read more
Turkey is intensifying its diplomatic efforts to mediate the crisis between Qatar and several Arab countries, but experts say the results could be limited due to its one-sided pro-Doha stance. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has just concluded a whirlwind tour of three Gulf nations, including Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, as part of Turkey’s … Read more
A court in Cairo has recommended the death penalty for 30 people convicted of involvement in the killing of Egypt’s top public prosecutor. Hisham Barakat was assassinated in a car bomb attack in June 2015. He was the most senior state official to be killed by militants in recent years. Mr Barakat had sent thousands … Read more
The media have consistently, for far too long, maintained shallow, hollow and horrific reportage on the terror perpetrated by miscreants who claim to be fighting for the sake of Islam. The stock-in-trade of the media has been the broadcast of grievious sights of killings, maimings, bombings and mass destructions with these very people alluding to … Read more
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan requested the full removal of a Saudi-led blockade of Qatar after approving the deployment of Turkish troops there, saying Riyadh needed to put brotherhood ahead of animosity. Erdogan said isolating Qatar would not resolve any regional problems and vowed to do everything in his power to help end the regional crisis. … Read more
The diplomatic crisis surrounding the Gulf escalated further Friday after Saudi Arabia and its allies placed a number of Qataris and Doha-based organisations on a “terror list”. As many as 18 individuals were named, including members of Qatar’s royal family and a former minister. Also named were Doha-based Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi and … Read more
Qatar on Friday dismissed as “baseless” a terrorism blacklist published by Saudi Arabia and its allies which linked individuals and organisations in Doha to support for Islamist militant groups. The emirate was responding just hours after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain published a list of 59 people and entities linked to … Read more
Turkey is keen to support its close ally Qatar in a diplomatic crisis with Doha’s Gulf neighbours, but has found itself with little room to manoeuvre given its ties with Riyadh, analysts say. “This is a most unwanted crisis for Turkey given its close relationship with both Qatar and Saudi Arabia,” Sinan Ulgen, chairman of … Read more
Qatar has called its tanks into action and warned neighbours that it will open fire on any ships that come into its waters. The country’s military has been put on its highest alert level after an economic and diplomatic blockade was placed on it by other Gulf State nations over its alleged support for terrorists. … Read more
Efforts to resolve a diplomatic dispute pitting Saudi Arabia and its allies against Qatar intensified Thursday, after Washington offered to mediate the biggest crisis to grip the Gulf in years. As Kuwait’s emir shuttled between Gulf capitals for talks, US President Donald Trump offered to host a White House meeting if necessary, in a change … Read more
President Donald Trump called Qatar’s emir Wednesday and offered his services as a mediator in a damaging feud between the emirate and its Gulf neighbors. Trump’s call to Qatari ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, a key US ally, came a day after he accused the country of funding terror. ‘The president offered to … Read more
A senior Emirati official insisted on Wednesday that Gulf Arab states were not seeking regime change in Doha, as tensions built in a bitter feud between Qatar and its neighbours. Speaking to AFP in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates’ state minister for foreign affairs Anwar Gargash accused Qatar of being “the main champion of extremism … Read more
US President Donald Trump has called the king of Saudi Arabia to urge Gulf unity amid an escalating dispute over Qatar’s alleged support for militants. “His message was that we need unity in the region to fight extremist ideology and terrorist financing,” a US official told Reuters news agency. Earlier, he said the Saudis’ move … Read more
In a series of morning tweets, President Donald Trump threw Washington’s relations with Doha into deep crisis on Tuesday and raised doubts about the future of the largest US air base in the Middle East. Trump publicly accused key regional ally Qatar of funding extremism, while tacitly backing a blockade of the emirate, home to … Read more
Here are the main developments that led to the unprecedented crisis between Qatar and its Gulf neighbours: On May 20, 2017, Qatar says it is the victim of a smear campaign and rejects accusations of it supporting “terrorism” ahead of a landmark visit by US President Donald Trump to Saudi Arabia. Trump and Saudi King … Read more
Qatar-based broadcaster Al-Jazeera said Tuesday Saudi Arabia’s decision to shut its office in the kingdom as part of the diplomatic crisis in the Gulf was “unjustified”. In a statement, the global news channel condemned Riyadh’s move and called on Saudi Arabia to allow its journalists to continue to work “free of intimidation and threats”. “We … Read more
The unprecedented crisis between Qatar and four of its Gulf neighbours including Saudi Arabia is causing a conflict of loyalties for a number of countries which have good relations with both sides. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Egypt and the Maldives on Monday broke off diplomatic and trade relations with Qatar, accusing … Read more
A ban on Qatari flights imposed by Saudi Arabia and its allies took effect Tuesday as first efforts were made to resolve the biggest feud to hit the Arab world in years. Saudi Arabia and allies including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on Monday, accusing … Read more
The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday that Qatar would need to provide a “guaranteed roadmap” before it would consider mending ties. Along with neighbouring Saudi Arabia and its closest allies, the UAE severed relations with Qatar on Monday, suspending all flights and giving Qataris 14 days to leave in the biggest diplomatic crisis to … Read more