Qatar has voted to end its limited elections for legislative seats.

President Joe Biden has said the Israel-Palestinian conflict can’t go back to the “status quo” before Hamas’ brutal surprise attack on Oct. 7 and Israel’s devastating response in Gaza.

The gas-rich nation of Qatar has become a key intermediary over the fate of more than 200 hostages held by Hamas militants after their unprecedented attack on Israel over two weeks ago.

The expanded World Cup in North America has gotten even more supersized.

A Swiss newspaper says a spying operation on behalf of World Cup host Qatar bugged a 2017 hotel meeting between FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Switzerland’s then-attorney general.

Gulf Arab leaders and others in the Mideast are meeting in Saudi Arabia as part of a state visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The World Cup began in Qatar 12 years after the tiny gulf nation secured the rights.

Fans are pouring into Qatar to watch and be part of the first World Cup in the Middle East.

The World Cup in Qatar will be the first to feature an Olympics-style opening ceremony when it begins on Sunday.

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter says picking Qatar to host the World Cup was a mistake 12 years ago.

Soccer's top officials have urged the 32 teams preparing for the most political World Cup in the modern to focus on the game in Qatar and avoid handing out lessons in morality.

Qatar has summoned the German ambassador over remarks by Germany’s interior minister, who appeared to criticize the decision to award the World Cup to the Gulf Arab nation because of its human rights record.

Qatar’s ruling emir has lashed out at criticism of his country over its hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, describing it as an “unprecedented campaign” targeting the first Arab nation to hold the tournament.

The first World Cup in the Middle East is only one month away.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz planted a tree at a mangrove park in the United Arab Emirates in a token nod to environmentalism during a two-day visit to the Gulf region focused mainly on securing new fossil fuel supplies and forging fresh alliances against Russia.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has arrived in Saudi Arabia for the first stop of a two-day, three-country visit aimed at striking new energy deals and forging fresh alliances.

An advocacy group says Qatar arrested at least 60 foreign workers who protested going months without their pay and deported some of them.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is kicking off a three-nation trip to Africa that will include stops in Senegal, Niger and South Africa.

Qatar has committed to investing 4.7 billion euros ($4.9 billion) in Spain as the European country launches an economic overhaul with its share of European Union pandemic recovery funds.

The most controversial World Cup ever will feature in Qatar the most politically charged matchups.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on energy-rich nations to increase their production of oil and natural gas to counteract the loss of Russian supplies amid sanctions over Moscow’s war on his country.

Iran’s president has arrived in Qatar and was welcomed in an official ceremony by the country’s ruling emir.

For all the talk of a diplomatic boycott, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has managed to attract a globe-spanning roster of presidents, royals and other dignitaries to the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in letters to seven governors, is reaffirming the need for members of their states' Army and Air National Guards to get the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine or lose their Guard status.

The White House says President Joe Biden will meet with Senate Judiciary Committee leaders on Tuesday to discuss the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court vacancy and the president’s promise to nominate a Black woman to the high court.

Boeing says it has landed a huge new order for planes from Middle Eastern carrier Qatar Airways.

President Joe Biden on Monday designated Qatar a major non-NATO ally, a largely symbolic honor but one that was meant to convey his administration’s gratitude for the tiny Persian Gulf nation’s assistance during last year’s U.S. evacuations in Afghanistan and assistance in ending last year’s Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Biden announced the designation during a meeting with the ruling leader of Qatar at the White House on Monday.

President Joe Biden will host the ruling emir of Qatar at the White House on Monday.

Saudi Arabia’s crown prince is in Qatar for the first time since the kingdom rallied other Arab states to end their yearslong rift and embargo on the tiny Persian Gulf country.

Lebanon’s president has arrived in Qatar to attend the opening ceremony of an Arab soccer tournament amid an unprecedented diplomatic crisis between Beirut and oil-rich Gulf nations.

The ruling emir of Qatar has urged world leaders gathered at the United Nations against turning their backs on Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers.

Arab heads of state and senior officials from the region including archenemies Iran and Saudi Arabia are meeting at a conference hosted by Iraq.

Al Thani's arrival in the kingdoms ancient desert city of Al-Ula on Tuesday was broadcast live on Saudi TV. Saudi Arabia announced the reopening of its airspace and borders with Qatar earlier this week. National carrier Qatar Airways said it had started to reroute some flights through Saudi airspace, with the first flight cruising over Saudi skies from Doha to Johannesburg, South Africa on Thursday night. The four Arab states severed commercial and diplomatic ties with Qatar in 2017, accusing the country of cozying up to Iran and financing extremist groups in the region, charges that Doha denies. The boycott only pushed Qatar closer to Iran, for instance by forcing Qatar Airways to change routes through Iranian skies.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan told reporters after the summit that diplomatic relations would be restored in full with Qatar, although no time frame was given. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are primarily concerned about Qatar’s ties with Iran. The rift between Abu Dhabi and Doha has been deepest, with the UAE and Qatar at sharp ideological odds. Egypt’s foreign minister also attended the meeting of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. Qatar's only land border with Saudi Arabia, which it relied on for the import of dairy products, construction materials and other goods, has been mostly closed since June 2017.

The Saudi border, which Qatar relied on for the import of dairy products, construction materials and other goods, opened briefly during the past three years to allow Qataris into Saudi Arabia to perform the Islamic hajj pilgrimage. The rift between Abu Dhabi and Doha has been deepest, with the UAE and Qatar at sharp ideological odds. This year, Egypt’s president has also been invited to attend the summit of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, which comprises Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar. “Saudi Arabia could frame a partial détente, which allows Qatari civilian planes to fly over Saudi airspace and de-escalates the information war, as proof of ‘new thinking’ in Riyadh,” Ramani said ahead of the announcement. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are primarily concerned with Qatar's close ties with regional foe Iran.

The prince represented an older style of Gulf leadership, one that granted patronage and favors for support of the Sunni Al Khalifa family. That style would be challenged in the 2011 protests by the island’s Shiite majority and others, who demonstrated against him over long-running corruption allegations surrounding his rule. Under an informal arrangement, Sheikh Isa handled the island’s diplomacy and ceremonial duties while Prince Khalifa ran the government and economy. But while other hard-line members of the Al Khalifa family actively pushed for a confrontation with Shiites, Prince Khalifa maintained contacts with those the government opposed. “Khalifa bin Salman could and did work with both Sunni and Shia, especially through his relations with Bahrain’s business community,” Diwan said.

The new Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, center, performs the constitutional oath at the Kuwaiti National Assembly in Kuwait, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020. Kuwait's Sheikh Nawaf was sworn in Wednesday as the ruling emir of the tiny oil-rich country, propelled to power by the death of his half-brother after a long career in the security services. At age 83, Sheikh Nawaf is not expected to deviate from the diplomatic path charted by his predecessor, the late Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah. Sheikh Nawaf and other mourners sprinkled dirt atop the body as it was finally lowered into the soil. After the ceremony, Sheikh Nawaf, in his flowing robe, strode into a black Mercedes as groups of soldiers delivered a crisp salute.