Member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation

A road and rail corridor connecting war-torn Afghanistan with Turkey and Europe was signed off by officials from five countries on Nov. 15 in Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat.

Months into a dispute that has seen Doha cut off from Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Qatar's emir said Nov. 174 his country was "a thousand times better off" without them.

Saad Hariri, whose resignation as Lebanon’s prime minister a week ago sent shockwaves across the region, said on Nov. 12 he is “free” in Saudi Arabia and will return to Lebanon “very soon.”

Saudi Arabia said on Nov. 13 that the Saudi-led coalition fighting Shiite rebels in Yemen will begin reopening airports and seaports in the Arab world’s poorest country, days after closing them over a rebel ballistic missile attack on Riyadh.

The Saudi-led coalition’s easing of its blockade on famine-threatened Yemen is “a step in the right direction” but does not go far enough, the European Union and United Nations said.

Shiite rebels in Yemen threatened on Nov. 7 to attack ports and airports in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, raising the stakes in a flare-up between Riyadh and Tehran.

Qatar signed a military technical cooperation agreement and memorandum of understanding on air defense and military supplies with Russia on Thursday, a statement from the Qatari defense ministry said, quoted by Reuters. 

Social media platform Snapchat has blocked access to Al Jazeera content in Saudi Arabia, reported BBC. 

Snapchat said it was asked by the Saudi authorities to remove the Qatari-backed broadcaster's Discover Publisher Channel because it violated local laws.

Qatar is in an ongoing dispute with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE.

A Saudi-led bloc of countries hostile to Qatar on Sept. 8 challenged statements by the Kuwaiti emir, denying his mediation has seen progress in finding a solution to the Gulf dispute.

Saudi Arabia as well as the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain cut ties with Qatar in June, accusing it of bankrolling Islamist extremist groups.

Conflicts in the Middle East have increased the export of Bulgarian weapons by almost 60% in 2016, reaching record levels not seen since the end of Communism.

According to official data, our country has exported goods worth more than € 1 billion in 2016, compared with € 642 million in 2015 and € 402 million in 2014.