QATAR: Govt given new deadline on Gulf demands

Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states have given Qatar an extra two days to accept a list of demands or face further sanctions. They accuse Qatar of destabilising the region by supporting extremism and terrorism – which it denies. They also want Qatar to shut the Al Jazeera TV network, close a Turkish military […]

Saudi Arabia and three other Arab states have given Qatar an extra two days to accept a list of demands or face further sanctions. They accuse Qatar of destabilising the region by supporting extremism and terrorism – which it denies.

They also want Qatar to shut the Al Jazeera TV network, close a Turkish military base and scale down Iran ties. Qatar has responded formally but no details have been released. It has said the demands break international law.

The initial deadline for Qatar to agree to the group’s 13 demands expired on Sunday.

Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman al-Thani was in Kuwait on Monday to hand over a formal response in the form of a letter from the emir of Qatar to the emir of Kuwait, the main mediator in the Gulf crisis.