Arabian Peninsula

QATAR'S latest act of defiance is likely to cause anger as its damaging dispute with Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries continues.

Qatar restored full diplomatic relations with Iran early on Thursday and promised to send its ambassador back to Tehran — a move that flies in the face of the demands issued by neighbouring Arab nations.

Qatar's foreign ministry on Thursday announced the embassy for Chad was closed in retaliation for Chad's decision to cut diplomatic ties. Qatar gave personnel 72 hours to leave the country, Anadolu Agency reported.

Qatari pilgrims began arriving in Saudi Arabia yesterday, Saudi media reported, after Riyadh said it was opening up its border and airports for those attending the annual haj pilgrimage despite a diplomatic rift that cut travel ties.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Qatar Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi is on a working visit to Bulgaria today within his Balkan tour, reported 24 Chasa Newspaper.

Sultan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi is one of the most prominent representatives of the Qatari diplomatic service and is the second senior officer of the Foreign Ministry of Qatar.

He was part of the Crown Prince's office.

Panicked residents fled one of the tallest towers in Dubai early Aug. 4 after a fire ripped through it, the second blaze to hit the skyscraper in as many years.

Authorities said no casualties were reported from the blaze which erupted in the middle to upper floors of The Torch, once the tallest residential development in the world.

A massive fire has broken out at Dubai's 1,105ft tall Torch Tower, writes The Independent. 

The blaze is thought to have started at around 1am local time (10pm BST) before shooting up one side of the 86-storey building.
Footage captured from the scene shows the flames illuminating the night's sky with debris cascading down onto the streets below.

Turkey asked Qatar, which has been under a  blockade by Arab countries since June, to join hands for sustainable food production, the Turkish economy minister said on Aug. 3.

Nihat Zeybekci, proposed that Turkey, instead of sending finished goods to Qatar, could send raw materials, which Qatar could process at its own plants.

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The Qatari authorities have accused Saudi Arabia of jeopardizing the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca of Qatari pilgrims by refusing to guarantee their safety.

Saudi Arabia and its allies have been boycotting Qatar since June 5, accusing it of backing extremist groups and of ties to Shiite Iran, in the region's worst diplomatic crisis in years.

Arab states boycotting Qatar said on July 30 they would make no compromises in their demand that Doha change its policies, as a crisis that has split the Gulf approaches its third month.