Tag Archives: Qatar
Hamas refuses to let Qatar pay Gaza salaries
In November Qatar began a six-month, $ 150 million program to fund the wages and shipments of fuel for power generation in Gaza. The staggered payments, widely seen as a Qatari bid to increase its regional role, need Israel’s permission to get through – an involvement that has riled many among Hamas’ Islamist leadership. Khalil Al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official in Gaza, said on Thursday Israel had broken previous agreements brokered by Qatar and Egypt.
Taliban say they hold talks with U.S. Afghan envoy in Qatar
KABUL/PESHAWAR,Pakistan (Reuters) – The Taliban met U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Qatar on Monday, the militant group said, days after threatening to pull out of Afghan peace talks and hours after Taliban fighters killed more than 100 members of the Afghan security forces. “Talks between Taliban leaders and U.S. officials have started today in Qatar,” Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a statement.
Qatar Ruler Says Talks With Saudi Begin Only When Embargo Lifted
“Our position on the solution hasn’t changed,” Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said at a conference in Doha on Saturday. Last week, Sheikh Tamim spurned an invitation from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to attend a gathering of Gulf monarchies, which was seen as a sign of thawing relations after 18 months of Qatar’s boycott by the kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. The overture came as Saudi Arabia sought to defuse pressure over the killing of a vocal critic in Istanbul.
Qatar emir skips Saudi-hosted summit with Gulf rivals
Qatar’s emir skipped a summit in Saudi Arabia on Sunday with fellow Arab Gulf leaders whose boycott of the small but energy-flush neighbour has sparked a major regional diplomatic row. Riyadh is hosting the annual gathering as crises rumble on over the 18-month-old dispute with Doha, the war in Yemen and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia’s consulate in Istanbul. The regional powerhouse had invited Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to attend the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council talks, but the foreign ministry in Doha said he would not go.
Qatar may benefit from Khashoggi fallout: analysts
Global diplomatic fallout from the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate may help Qatar in its political stand-off with the kingdom, experts said. The backlash may force Riyadh to ease sweeping sanctions imposed on Doha since the dispute erupted between the former Gulf allies in June 2017. The killing of Khashoggi — who was critical of the Saudi government and its blockade of Qatar — may convince sceptics that Doha’s claims of Saudi “aggression” were justified, according to analysts.
Qatar Airways commits to Iran flights despite sanctions
US sanctions on Iran will not impact Qatar Airways’ flights to the Islamic republic, the airline’s boss Akbar al-Baker said on Monday. Speaking at a high-profile business conference in the Qatari capital Doha, Baker said services to Iran would continue despite a tightening economic and political squeeze on Iran by Washington. “Aviation is not a sanctioned industry, Qatar Airways will continue to operate into the cities we are currently operating in Iran,” he said.
Turkey's Erdogan defends gift of luxury plane from Emir of Qatar
President Tayyip Erdogan has defended his decision to accept a luxury plane from Qatar at a time of economic hardship, saying it was a gift, not a purchase, and that it had been donated to the Turkish state, not to him personally. State broadcaster TRT Haber said last week the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani had given Erdogan the aircraft, which Turkish media said was a Boeing 747, sparking criticism from Turkey’s opposition. A lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Sezgin Tanrikulu, had expressed concern that the aircraft had been bought rather than donated, noting that Turkey was in an economic crisis, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.
Erdogan says luxury jumbo is 'gift' from Qatar emir
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the emir of Qatar gave a luxury jumbo jet as a “gift” to Turkey, rejecting opposition claims the plane had been bought in a costly purchase for the presidency. In comments published Monday, Erdogan said Turkey had shown interest in buying the on-sale Boeing 747-8 plane — reportedly worth around $ 400 million — but Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani insisted on offering the plane as a gift. When the Qatar emir was informed of this he gave it as a gift, saying ‘I won’t take money from Turkey.
Saudi Arabia hints at plan to turn Qatar into an island
A Saudi official hinted Friday the kingdom was moving forward with a plan to dig a canal that would turn the neighbouring Qatari peninsula into an island, amid a diplomatic feud between the Gulf nations. “I am impatiently waiting for details on the implementation of the Salwa island project, a great, historic project that will change the geography of the region,” Saud al-Qahtani, a senior adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said on Twitter. The plan, which would physically separate the Qatari peninsula from the Saudi mainland, is the latest stress point in a highly fractious 14-month long dispute between the two states.
Trump fundraiser expands U.S. lawsuit accusing Qatar of hacking his emails
A fundraiser for U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday added several defendants to a lawsuit claiming the Persian Gulf state of Qatar hacked his email accounts and shared the contents with news organizations. Elliott Broidy, whose access to Trump has been the subject of press coverage in the United States in recent months, sued Qatar in federal court in Los Angeles in March. On Thursday, he filed an amended complaint adding as defendants the brother of the Qatari ruler and Ahmed al-Rumaihi, a former head of investments at the Qatari sovereign wealth fund.
