QATAR-GULF CRISIS: ALL THE LATEST UPDATES
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| file photo - AFP |
UAE, Saudi introduce VAT. A common agreement on
value-added tax (VAT) for the GCC region will officially come into effect
January 1, 2018, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates announcing
actual implementation, Kuwait's News Agency reported on Sunday.
Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman, reportedly decided to delay
introducing VAT until later in 2018 and 2019.
QCB reserves increase. The Qatar central bank's
international reserves and foreign currency liquidity rose slightly in
November, official data showed on Sunday.
The reserves and liquidity, a measure of the central bank’s ability to
support the riyal currency, increased to $36.9bn last month from $36.1bn in
October.
Qatar, Saudi deny
"coup" report. Qatar's embassy issued a statement on Wednesday
denying Turkish media reports of Turkish soldiers foiling an attempted military
coup staged by Saudi Arabia. The embassy said the reports were baseless.
Saudi Arabia's embassy in Ankara issued a similar statement denying the
report.
Kuwait says GCC to keep
operating despite crisis. Despite the spat the GCC's work "will not be
frozen or disrupted," Khaled al-Jarallah, the deputy foreign minister said
on Wednesday.
Kuwait is expected to hold a conference that will bring together parliament
speakers from the Gulf region on January 8 and 9.
Turkey sends new soldiers to
Qatar.
On Tuesday, a group of Turkish soldiers arrived at a military base in Doha,
according to Qatar’s Defense Ministry.The soldiers will join another group
which previously arrived at Tariq bin Ziyad military base in the Gulf state.
Qatar's emir concludes West
Africa tour. On Monday, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani concluded his trip around
West Africa to Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, and Ghana.
"In Ghana, we have laid down the basis for a broader partnership,
along with HE President Nana Akufo-Addo, paving the way to important bilateral
projects in vital areas such as air transport, sport and food security,"
the Emir tweeted.
Qatar stocks fell in 2017. Bloomberg reported on
Sunday that Qatar's stock exchange index is near its lowest in eight years,
down by 18 percent in 2017.
Qatar won't compete in chess
tournament. Qatar will not compete in the World Rapid and Blitz Chess
Championships hosted by Saudi Arabia in Riyadh from December 26-30.
According to the Qatar Chess Federation, their top national team will
not compete in the tournament, because the organisers demanded that "the
players not display the Qatari flag at any stage during the competition".
#Qatar has signed an agreement for the education of 600,000 children in support of #Mali gov. efforts in the fight against terrorism. We believe that education is crucial for tackling the root causes of terrorism.— Ù…Øمد بن عبدالرØمن (@MBA_AlThani_) December 24, 2017
36 fighter jets.The US Department of Defense
has announced on Friday that Boeing has been awarded a $6.2bn contract to
manufacture 36 F-15 fighter jets for Qatar's air force.
Saudi footballers shun
media.
Politics has overshadowed football after Saudi Arabia's team refused to talk to
the press on Thursday due to the presence of Qatar-based news channels,
including Al Jazeera.
Gulf Cup begins. The 23rd edition of the
tournament that was to be held in Qatar starts on December 22 in Kuwait. The
tournament will see Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain and
the UAE competing for the title.
Kuwait's Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Minister of Commerce
and Industry Khaled al-Roudhan welcomed on Thursday the arrival of missions of
all GCC member states to the football cup as "the most important sign of
success".
Saudi permanently closes
land border. According to a document issued by Saudi Arabia's customs directorate
on Tuesday, the Salwa border gate has been permanently closed since Monday
night.
Qatar's finances boosted. The Qatar Financial Centre
(QFC) is seeing a surge in business as Qataris register more of their assets at
home and multinationals boost their local presence, its chief executive Yousuf
al-Jaida told Reuters.
This reflects nervousness among the country's elite that investments
registered abroad could be frozen, as well as a desire by international
companies to maintain close ties with the world's biggest liquefied gas
producer, the chief executive said.
QCB launches investigation. "We will not stand by
while our country is attacked in this manner," Qatar's central bank
governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud Al Thani said on Tuesday, according to
Reuters, adding that the central bank had hired New York-based law firm Paul,
Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP to lead the investigation.
Qatar celebrates National
Day. Qatar
celebrated its National Day on Sunday amid the ongoing Gulf diplomatic crisis.
In a show of support for Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Qatar set a
new Guinness World Record on Sunday for having the highest number of people
take part in the creation of a portrait of him dubbed the 'Dignity Image',
Qatar's Interior Ministry announced.
SOURCE : AL JAZEERA NEWS
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