Latest Qatar government News
Qatar suspends its mediation efforts on Gaza and the Hamas office there may have to leave
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Qatar has suspended its key mediation efforts between Hamas and Israel, it said Saturday, after growing frustration with the lack of progress on a cease-fire deal for Gaza. It wasn't immediately clear whether the remaining Hamas leadership hosted by...
Qataris votes to end limited polls for legislative seats in shadow of US election
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar voted Tuesday to end its limited elections for legislative seats, passing a measure to end the country's short-lived experiment in electing members of the advisory Shura Council. Voting took place as the world's attention focused on the...
Here's a look at what came out of Blinken's 11th trip to the Middle East
LONDON (AP) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken's weeklong trip to the Middle East ended unexpectedly in London on Friday, but the lack of a cease-fire breakthrough for Gaza came as no surprise to U.S. and Arab officials, who described the growing regional conflicts as a “nightmare.” ...
Middle East latest: Blinken in Doha to discuss Gaza cease-fire with Qatari officials
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Doha on Thursday to meet with Qatari officials who have been key mediators for Hamas, as the U.S. struggles to break the logjam of cease-fire negotiations between Israel and the militant group. Blinken is on his 11th trip to the Middle...
Qatar's ruler says his nation will vote on abandoning legislative elections after just one poll
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar's ruling emir said Tuesday his small, energy-rich nation will hold a referendum on ending a short-lived experiment in electing members of the country's advisory Shura Council. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani offered no immediate timeline...
A Saudi cartoonist has been sentenced to 23 years in prison, activists say
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Saudi cartoonist who once drew for a Qatari newspaper as a yearslong diplomatic crisis engulfed Doha has been sentenced to 23 years in prison, an activist group says. The sentence for Mohammed al-Ghamdi marks the latest in a widening judicial...
US sees a window for a new push to break political deadlock in Lebanon to ease conflict
WASHINGTON (AP) — With Israel’s sabotage and military operations in Lebanon taking out many of Hezbollah’s senior leaders, some in Washington and elsewhere believe there may be a window for a new push to break the political deadlock in Lebanon to try to ease escalating war. To...
Southern European leaders want Lebanon's army to reassert itself in the country's south
PAPHOS, Cyprus (AP) — The leaders of nine southern European Union countries on Friday pledged support for Lebanon’s armed forces to reassert control over the country’s southern territory in hopes of bringing peace to an area plagued by fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. In...
Qatar is the second Muslim nation whose citizens can travel to the US without a visa
NEW YORK (AP) — The Gulf nation of Qatar on Tuesday became just the second Muslim-majority country to be admitted into a program that allows its citizens to travel to the United States without first obtaining a U.S. visa. The departments of State and Homeland Security jointly...
Biden adviser meets with Qatari leaders to discuss Israel-Hamas negotiations
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s top Middle East adviser on Tuesday held talks in Doha with senior Qatari leaders on the efforts to complete a cease-fire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, as well as on the Qatari prime minister's meeting this week with Iran’s president,...
