Qatar diplomatic crisis: All the latest updates

The latest news after Arab Gulf countries cut diplomatic ties with Qatar and suspended Doha-bound flights.

SUMMARY

• Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Yemen, eastern government of Libya, Maldives, Mauritius, Mauritania, and Senegal cut diplomatic ties with Qatar
• Jordan and Djibouti downgrade diplomatic relations with Qatar
• US: No change planned for military base
• Qatari aviation, exports, banks affected

The latest developments since several Arab nations cut ties with Qatar on Monday morning. (All times local.)

To jump to the first update on Thursday, click here

11:44 – Qatari stock market rebounds

• Qatar’s stock index rebounded in early trade on Thursday after losing 9.7 percent since the start of the diplomatic crisis earlier this week. The market was up 2.5 percent with all 17 companies that have a market capitalisation of over $1bn rebounding. On Wednesday, the international agency Standard and Poor’s announced that it had lowered its rating on Qatar’s long-term debt to AA-minus because of the regional dispute. S&P said the severing of diplomatic and business links “will exacerbate Qatar’s external vulnerabilities and could put pressure on economic growth and fiscal” stability.

10:15am – UAE postal group suspends all services to Qatar

• Emirates Post Group has halted postal services to Qatar from all of its postal offices in the United Arab Emirates until further notice, the country’s state news agency reported. All as yet undelivered items will be returned with the corresponding postal fees according to procedures and regulations.

8:00am – France’s Macron calls all sides to ‘pursue dialogue’

• For the second time in 24 hours, French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday held a phone conversation with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss efforts to solve the crisis in the Gulf. Macron expressed France’s readiness to act as a mediator and stressed the importance of dialogue in order to preserve stability in the region. The French president also spoke to Saudi King Salman and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and “invited all parties to pursue dialogue”.

5:25am – Qatar’s defence ministry plays down border report

• A news report that Qatar’s military was put on high alert on the country’s southern border with Saudi Arabia is downplayed. “The ministry of defence is always on alert to protect the borders of the state of Qatar from a 360-degree approach – land, sea and air – 24 hours a day, every day of the year,” said a ministry statement sent to Al Jazeera.

3:40am – Trump calls UAE’s crown prince over crisis

• US President Donald Trump spoke with Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates, a White House statement said. “Most importantly, the leaders agreed on the importance of implementing agreements reached in Riyadh to counter extremism and to combat the funding of terrorist groups. Additionally, the president emphasised the importance of maintaining a united Gulf Cooperation Council to promote regional stability, but never at the expense of eliminating funding for radical extremism or defeating terrorism.”

2:30am Thursday – US talking to all sides involved in Gulf crisis

• “We are continuing to talk to multiple members in the region. We’ll continue to do that and monitor it,” Sarah Sanders, deputy White House press secretary, told reporters aboard Air Force One.

11:50pm – Kuwait’s Emir departs from Qatar after a brief visit

• Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah has departed from Qatar’s capital Doha after meeting Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to discuss the GCC crisis.

11:15pm – Bahrain foreign minister says all options open on Qatar

• Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s foreign minister, said according to the Saudi newspaper Mecca: “The emir of Kuwait is a messenger of good, but the policies of Qatar have not granted his endeavours success. We will not hesitate to protect our interests and the road is open to any options to protect ourselves from Qatar.”

9:30pm – Kuwait’s Emir arrives in Qatar

• Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah has arrived in Qatar’s capital of Doha after a short trip to Dubai in an effort to mediate a solution to the Gulf diplomatic spat.

8:25pm – Media watchdog condemns Saudi closure of Al Jazeera office

• Reporters Without Borders has condemned Saudi Arabia’s decision to close the Riyadh office of Qatar’s Al Jazeera media network.
• The media rights group, also known as RSF, said Al Jazeera was a “collateral victim of (the) diplomatic offensive against Qatar”.

8:20pm – Qatar’s National Committee for Human Rights demands end of sanctions

• The government body said: “Such decisions violate the private ownership rights since thousands in the GCC own residences, factories and business within the GCC and the travel ban will prevent them from attending to their business and carrying out their business and access to their properties. These sanctions also violate the citizens within the GCC their rights to health and work access.”
• It also said: “National Committee for Human Rights in Qatar warn of more violations that may take place that can affect the peace and security of the GCC as a whole and the dangerous repercussions that these sanctions will lead to.”

8:15pm – Trump holds a phone conversation with Qatar’s Emir

• US President Donald Trump has spoken by telephone with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, expressing readiness to participate in the efforts to resolve the crisis in the GCC.
• The White House statement: “The president emphasised the importance of all countries in the region working together to prevent the financing of terrorist organisations and stop the promotion of extremist ideology. The president reiterated that a united Gulf Cooperation Council and a strong United States-Gulf Cooperation Council partnership are critical to defeating terrorism and promoting regional stability. The president offered to help the parties resolve their differences, including through a meeting at the White House if necessary.”

8pm – Turkish parliament approves troop deployment in Qatar

• Turkey’s parliament has approved a legislation allowing its troops to be deployed to a Turkish military base in Qatar.
• The bill, first drafted in May, passed with 240 votes in favour, largely with support from the ruling AK Party and nationalist opposition MHP.

7:50pm – Top Emirati diplomat says leaked emails were true

• Anwar Gargash, the UAE foreign minister, has acknowledged that leaked emails published by news outlets from Emirati ambassador to the US were true.

7:40pm – Kuwait’s Emir meets two top officials in the UAE

• Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah met in Dubai with Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to try and mediate a growing diplomatic rift over Qatar. No details have emerged about their discussions.

7:30pm – Senegal cuts diplomatic ties with Qatar

• Senegal’s foreign ministry has recalled its ambassador from Qatar, saying it was acting in solidarity with other countries in the Gulf who had cut diplomatic ties with Doha.

7pm – Turkey debates law for military support for Qatar

• Turkey’s parliament has begun debating legislation for increased military cooperation with Qatar in an apparent move to support the country amid its dispute with Saudi Arabia and other regional nations.
• Separate bills for the training of military personnel and the deployment of troops to a Turkish military base in Qatar were moved up parliament’s agenda on Wednesday.

5:10pm – Qatar brings stranded passengers from Saudi via Oman

• Qatar Airways has chartered three flights on Oman Air to bring passengers from Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah to Qatar’s Doha. All passengers arrived safely home via Oman’s capital Muscat late on Tuesday, the airline said on Wednesday.
• The airline has also organised a flight with Kuwait Airlines on Wednesday to transport remaining passengers from Saudi Arabia to Doha via Kuwait. The flight will depart at 19:15 local time on Wednesday.
• Qatar Airways said it is supporting its staff affected by the situation in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the Kingdom of Bahrain and Egypt due to suspension of operations in those countries.
• All passengers booked on affected flights will be provided with alternative options, including the option of a full refund on any unused tickets and free rebooking to the nearest alternative Qatar Airways network destination.

5pm – Emirati diplomat: “Nothing to negotiate” with Qatar

• Anwar Gargash, the foreign minister of the UAE, has said “there’s nothing to negotiate” with Qatar, signaling Arab countries trying to isolate Doha won’t back down.

4:15pm – France urges Qatar to answer neighbours’ questions

• Christophe Castaner, the French government spokesman, said his country was not taking sides in the Gulf spat, but said “Qatar must be completely transparent and answer precisely the questions that have been asked notably by its neighbours”.

4pm – Turkish exporters ready to meet Qatar’s food, water demand

• Mehmet Buyukeksi, chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM), has said that exporters stood ready to fill the gap after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia cut trade ties with Qatar.

1:50pm – UAE port ‘eases restrictions’

• Abu Dhabi Petroleum Ports Authority has eased restrictions on cargoes going to and from Qatar, Reuters news agency reports.

• A new circular states all vessels carrying the Qatari flag and vessels owned or operated by Qatar are not allowed into its petroleum port, removing a reference to vessels arriving from or destined to Qatar.

1:30pm – UAE wants change in Qatar’s policies

• The UAE wants to change Qatar’s policies, not “its regime”, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said citing a government official.

12:30pm – Kuwait emir heading to Abu Dhabi

• Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah has flown to Abu Dhabi to continue talks on resolving the Gulf crisis.

WATCH: Kuwaiti Emir returns from Saudi

11am – Moscow: No proof Russian hackers involved in Qatar crisis

• Moscow has dismissed allegations that Russian hackers helped spark the diplomatic crisis around Qatar, after CNN reported that US officials believed they planted a false news story.

• “We’re getting tired of reacting to unsubstantiated banalities,” Andrei Krutskikh, a Kremlin advisor on cybersecurity, told the Interfax news agency.

• “Whatever happens it is hackers. It’s a stale claim and as ever there is zero evidence, and conclusions are drawn before the incident is even investigated,” he said.

9:50am – Etihad Airways: Qataris barred from travel/transit via UAE 

• Abu Dhabi state-owned Etihad Airways said all travellers holding Qatari passports are currently prohibited from travelling to or transiting through the United Arab Emirates as part of government instructions.

• Expatriates residing in Qatar and in possession of a Qatari residence visa will also not be eligible for visa on arrival in the UAE, Etihad spokesman said in an email.

8:30am – UAE bans show of sympathy towards Qatar 

• “Strict and firm action will be taken against anyone who shows sympathy or any form of bias towards Qatar, or against anyone who objects to the position of the United Arab Emirates, whether it be through the means of social media, or any type of written, visual or verbal form,” Gulf News quoted UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi as saying.

• Offenders could be punished with a jail term of up to 15 years and a fine of at least 500,000 dirhams ($136,000), Gulf News reported.

7:40am – Hamas ‘shocked’ by Saudi comments on Qatar

• Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Paris on Tuesday that Qatar must sever ties with Hamas and its historic parent, the Muslim Brotherhood.

• Hamas said in a statement early on Wednesday that Jubeir’s remarks “constitute a shock for our Palestinian people and the Arab and Islamic nations.”

6:30am – Qataris banned from Qantas flights to Dubai 

• Qatari nationals will not be allowed to board Qantas flights to Dubai because the UAE has banned them from passing through its airports, an executive at the Australian airline has said.

• The UAE had already said Qatari nationals would not be allowed to enter the country or cross its points of entry, although the practical effects on airline passengers had been unclear until now.

5:10am – Mauritanians protest in front of Qatar embassy

• In a show of solidarity with Qatar, people in capital Nouakchott demonstrated outside of the Qatari embassy against its government’s decision to severe ties with the Gulf state.

4:05am – Qatari ambassador to US discusses crisis

• “All these issues are based on fabricated allegations. There is no proof,” Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani told Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi.

• “There’s proof that Qatar is combating terrorism. In Riyadh, Qatar was commended on that. Our commitment to the US is a solid commitment, and our commitment to the region is also solid, so this is not a question,” the ambassador said.

1:56am – Qatar’s gas exports unaffected

• ExxonMobil Corp says production and exports of liquefied natural gas from Qatar have not been affected.

• The growing diplomatic rift has raised concerns about global access to Qatar’s LNG, especially after some regional ports in the Gulf said they would not accept Qatari-flagged vessels.

1:48am – Trump talks to Saudi King Salman

• “The two leaders discussed the critical goals of preventing the financing of terrorist organisations and eliminating the promotion of extremism by any nation in the region,” according to a White House statement.

• “The president underscored that a united Gulf Cooperation Council is critical to defeating terrorism and promoting regional stability.”

1:35am – Mauritania breaks diplomatic ties with Qatar

• “The state of Qatar has linked its policies … in support of terrorist organisations and the propagation of extremist ideas,” said a statement from the ministry of foreign affairs of the West African country, a member of the Arab League.

1:10am – Pentagon chief speaks to Qatar’s defence minister

• US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis has spoken by phone with his Qatari counterpart. No details of the talks were given, Reuters news agency quoted a source as saying.
• The Pentagon earlier renewed praise of Qatar for hosting a vital US air base and for its “enduring commitment to regional security”.

00:30am – Moroccan airline halts Doha transit flights

• Royal Air Maroc (RAM) has announced that it had to suspend transit flights via Doha to and from UAE, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Egypt due to the cancellation of flights from Qatar to these countries.

• RAM’s direct flights continue to operate to and from Qatar to Morocco.

To jump to the first update on Tuesday, click here.

11:51pm – Erdogan criticises Qatar sanctions, wants stronger ties

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said “the sanctions taken against Qatar are not good”.

• “Turkey will continue and develop our ties with Qatar, as with all our friends who have supported us in the most difficult moments,” he added in reference to last year’s failed coup.

11:20pm – Jordan downgrades relations with Qatar

• Jordan has said it will downgrade its diplomatic representation with Qatar after examining the “cause of the crisis” in the Gulf.

• The country also revoked the license of Al Jazeera media network, Jordan’s government spokesman Mohammad al-Momani said.

10pm – Kuwaiti Emir departs for Saudi

• Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah flies to Saudi Arabia to meet King Salman.

• Al Sabah had asked Qatar’s emir to postpone speech, to give time to solve the crisis.

WATCH: Kuwaiti Emir returns from Saudi

9:13pm – Saudi Arabia: Qatar must “change policies”

• Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has said the damage caused by economic measures taken by some Arab states against Qatar should convince it change its policies.

• Qatar must end its support for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, the foreign minister said.

• “We believe that common sense and logic and will convince Qatar to take the right steps,” Adel al-Jubeir said in Paris.

• “The decisions that were made were very strong and will have a fairly large cost on Qatar and we do not believe that Qataris want to sustain those costs.”

8:30pm – IATA calls for restoring air links with Qatar

• The International Air Transport Association has called on the countries that acted against Qatar to restore air links with the country, warning of major travel disruptions.

• “Of course, we accept that countries have the right to close their borders,” said IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac. “But connectivity with Qatar must be restored as quickly as possible.”

7:25pm – French president keen to seek resolution of Gulf spat

• The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, has told Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in a phone conversation that he plans to seek ways to reduce tensions between Qatar and its neighbours.

7:22pm – Pentagon grateful to Qatar

• Pentagon has said the US military is grateful for Qatar’s support of US army presence in the country and “enduring commitment to regional security”.
• The spokesperson declined to comment on US President Donald Trump’s tweets.

4:45pm – Trump tweets on Qatar again

• US President Donald Trump on Twitter: “So good to see the Saudi Arabia visit with the King and 50 countries already paying off.”
• “They said they would take a hard line on funding extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!”

3:45pm – Philippines bars workers travel to Qatar

• The Philippine government temporarily has suspended the deployment of Filipino workers to Qatar, the labour secretary said. Silvestre Bello said there was no plan yet to repatriate more than 200,000 Filipino workers in Qatar.

3:06pm – US President Donald Trump tweets

• For the first time since the crisis unfolded, Trump has weighed in. His tweet: “During my recent trip to the Middle East I stated that there can no longer be funding of Radical Ideology. Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!”

12:20pm – Saudi suspends Qatar Airways licence

• According to the Saudi press, transport authorities in Saudi have cancelled Qatar Airways’ licence to operate in Saudi Arabia.

• The authorities have also decided to close all Qatar’s Airways offices in the kingdom.

11:50am – BeIn sports network appears blocked in UAE

• Authorities and telecommunications companies did not provide further details. BeIN acquired Al Jazeera’s sports channels in 2013.

11:20am – UAE demands guarantees before mending Qatar ties

• “We need a guaranteed roadmap to rebuild confidence after our covenants were broken,” UAE State Minister for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said on Twitter.

• Gargash accused Doha of turning to “money and media and partisanship and extremism” in a series of tweets early on Tuesday. Qatar has denied the allegations.

10:00am – Qatar stocks rebound in early trade

• Qatar’s stock market rebounded in early trade on Tuesday after plunging 7.3 percent on Monday.
• The Qatari stock index was up 2.7 percent after half an hour of trade; it rose as much as 3.2 percent at one stage.

9:20am – Aluminium exports from Qatar blocked

• Exports of aluminium from the Qatalum metals plant in Qatar have been blocked by the UAE, Norway’s Norsk Hydro said.

• Norsk Hydro owns a 50 percent stake on the Qatalum joint venture, which produces more than 600,000 tonnes per year of primary aluminium to customers in Asia, Europe and the United States.

• “Most Qatalum shipments normally go through the large Jebel Ali port in UAE, but this port looks to be closed for all Qatar shipments from Tuesday morning,” Norsk Hydro said in a statement.

8:23am – Qatar Airways suspends flights to UAE, Egypt, Bahrain

• Qatar Airways has cancelled flights to Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emiratesfrom Tuesday until further notice, the airline said on its website, a day after it had suspended flights to Saudi Arabia.

• The airline said passengers holding a confirmed Qatar Airways ticket to any of the four countries between June 5 and July 6 are permitted to rebook their flights up to 30 days after their current departure date.

• Qatar Airways said its offices will continue to operate as normal in affected countries until further notice.

8:00am – Erdogan holds talks on lowering tensions

• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke by phone with the leaders of Qatar, Russia, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia on lowering tensions, presidential sources said.
• “The importance of regional peace and stability was underlined in the talks, as well as the importance of focusing on the path of diplomacy and dialogue to lower the current tension,” according to the sources.

1:30am, Tuesday – Qatar’s foreign minister interview

• “For us, the strategic choice of the state of Qatar is to solve any dispute through dialogue,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani tells Al Jazeera.

• “Regarding the reasons for this escalation, honestly, we don’t know if there were real reasons for this crisis,” Qatar’s Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani tells Al Jazeera.

• “There were no indications [of a crisis] whatsoever” in the latest GCC meeting, or the American-Islamic-Arab summit.

• He said the emir of Kuwait was travelling to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to assist in “containing the crisis”.

• Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani will give a speech to the nation on Tuesday to address the situation.

• He added there’s a big question mark over the future of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

• “There was an unprecedented escalation from the [Gulf] mass media … but Qatar has not met this escalation with escalation.”

10:40pm – Kuwait calls for restraint

• Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah has called Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and “urged him for restraint and not to take any measure that could escalate” the situation in the Gulf, according to the state-run KUNA news agency.

8:30pm – Saudi banks asked to sell Qatari Riyals

• Saudi Arabia’s central bank asks local banks to sell Qatari riyals and not to buy any more, local media and Reuters report.

8:30pm – Turkey is seeking to resolve Gulf spat

• Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is “actively involved” in efforts to resolve the diplomatic spat between Qatar and its neighbours, according to Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus.

8pm – US military has “no plans” for change

• The US military’s Central Command says it has “no plans to change our posture in Qatar” amid a Gulf diplomatic crisis. Major Adrian JT Rankine-Galloway said in a statement that US military aircraft continue to fly missions in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria from Qatar’s Al-Udeid airbase.

7:30pm – Egypt airspace to close on Tuesday

• Egypt’s ministry of civil aviation has announced that the country’s airspace will be closed to Qatari flights starting Tuesday 04:00 GMT.

6:30pm – Israel praises anti-Qatar moves

• Avigdor Lieberman, Israel’s defence minister, has praised the measures against Qatar, saying: “There is no doubt that this opens very many possibilities of cooperation in the struggle against terror.”

6:25pm –  Saudi shuts Al Jazeera office 

• Saudi Arabia has shut down Al Jazeera Media Network’s local office, according to Saudi state media

5:40pm – No Qatari vessels allowed in Saudi ports

• The Saudi Ports Authority has notified shipping agents not to receive vessels carrying Qatari flags or ships owned by Qatari companies or individuals.

5:10pm – Egypt suspends air and sea links

• Egypt’s foreign ministry said in a statement the country was suspending air and sea links to Qatar, citing national security.

4:40pm – Turkey expresses ‘sorrow’

• Turkey is ready to help however it can to bring the disputes to a manageable level, said Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking at a joint news conference in Ankara.

• Cavusoglu also said: “Turkey sees the unity and solitary among Gulf states as our own unity.”

4pm – Iran’s food ‘can reach in 12 hours’

• Food shipments sent from Iran can reach Qatar in 12 hours, said Reza Nourani, chairman of the union of exporters of agricultural products.

3:30pm – UAE port to turn away Qatar-bound vessels

• UAE’s Port of Fujairah says all vessels flying the flag of Qatar or destined for Qatar will not be allowed to call at the port.

3:30pm – Iran calls for dialogue

• Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi was quoted on the ministry’s website as calling for a “clear and explicit dialogue” among the feuding nations. Iran says rising tensions among its Arab Gulf neighbours threaten the interests of everyone in the region.

3:15pm – Maldives cuts ties with Qatar

• Decision made because of the Maldives’ “firm opposition to activities that encourage terrorism and extremism”.

3:10pm – Egypt recalls ambassador

• Egypt’s foreign ministry says it has given the Qatari ambassador in Cairo 48 hours to leave the country and has ordered its own envoy in Doha to return home, also within two days.

2:50pm – Libya’s Haftar cuts ties with Qatar

• The faction led by Khalifa Haftar, one of three rival governments in Libya, announced it is cutting ties with Qatar.

• Haftar’s foreign minister accuses Qatar of “harbouring terrorism”.

2pm – Saudi closes border with Qatar

• Saudi Transport authority confirms immediate border closure with Qatar by land and by sea.

1:30pm – Saudi border line up

• Reports of trucks being lined up across the border in Saudi Arabia unable to enter Qatar.

1:20pm – Updates from FIFA

• Football’s world governing body says it remains in “regular contact with Qatar”.

• FIFA issued a short statement saying it has spoken with “the Qatar 2022 Local Organizing Committee and the Supreme Committee for Delivery Legacy handling matters relating to the 2022 FIFA World Cup”.

• It said: “We have no further comments for the time being.”

1:15pm – Air Arabia flights suspended from Tuesday

• Air Arabia, a low-cost airline based in the United Arab Emirates, said it is suspending flights to Qatar along with other Emirati airlines over a growing diplomatic crisis.

• Air Arabia says its flights will be suspended from Tuesday “until further notice”.

EXPLAINED: How diplomatic rift affects air travel

12:10pm – Saudia flights suspended from Monday

• Saudi Arabian Airlines says it is suspending flights to the Qatari capital, Doha.

• The airline, also known as Saudia, posted on Twitter that it would be halting flights from Monday morning, without elaborating.

11:05am – FlyDubai flights cancelled from Tuesday

• Dubai’s budget carrier FlyDubai says it has cancelled its flights to Qatar amid a diplomatic dispute between it and other Arab countries.

• The carrier said on Monday that, starting Tuesday, all flights would be suspended. It offered no other details.

• FlyDubai’s decision follows that of Emirates and Etihad in cancelling flights to Doha.

10:45am – Yemen cuts ties with Qatar

• Yemen’s internationally recognised government has cut relations with Qatar and says it supports the decision by the Saudi-led coalition to end Qatar’s participation in the war on the Houthis in Yemen. Qatar has been part of the coalition since March 2015.

• The government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi says it severed ties with Qatar in part over its support of extremist groups in Yemen “in contradiction with the goals announced by the countries supporting the legitimate government”.

10:20am – Emirates flights cancelled from Tuesday

• The Dubai-based airline Emirates says it is suspending flights to Qatar amid a growing diplomatic rift.

• Emirates said on its website on Monday that flights would be suspended until further notice starting Tuesday.

10am – US urges GCC unity

• US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters in Sydney: “It is important that the GCC remain a unified [front]”.

• Tillerson does not expect the rift “to have any significant impact, if any impact at all, on the unified fight against terrorism”.

• Qatar hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East.

9:55am – Qatar’s official reaction

• Qatar says there is “no legitimate justification” for four Arab nations to cut diplomatic ties.

• Qatar also says the decision is a “violation of its sovereignty”, vowing to its citizens that it will not affect them.

READ: Qatar’s reaction in full

8:35am – Etihad suspends flights from Tuesday

• Abu Dhabi-based airline Etihad said it is suspending flights to Qatar from June 6 “until further notice”.

• Etihad said its last flights would leave early Tuesday morning.

• Etihad gave no reason for the decision. It is the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates.

6:10am – UAE, Egypt cut ties with Qatar

• The United Arab Emirates and Egypt have cut diplomatic ties with Qatar.

• Both the UAE and Egypt made the announcement on their state-run news agencies within minutes of each other.

6am – Saudi cuts ties with Qatar

• Saudi Arabia says it is cutting diplomatic ties to Qatar and it has pulled all Qatari troops from the ongoing war in Yemen.

• Saudi Arabia made the announcement via its state-run Saudi Press Agency early on Monday. It appeared to be timed in concert with an earlier announcement by Bahrain similarly cutting ties.

• The dispute between Qatar and the Gulf’s Arab countries escalated recently over a hack of Qatar’s state-run news agency. It has spiralled since.

5:50am, Monday – Bahrain cuts ties with Qatar

• Bahrain says it is cutting diplomatic ties to Qatar amid a deepening rift between Gulf Arab nations.

• Bahrain’s Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement early on Monday saying it would withdraw its diplomatic mission from the Qatari capital of Doha within 48 hours and that all Qatari diplomats should leave Bahrain within the same period.

2:30am Thursday – US talking to all sides involved in Gulf crisis

• “We are continuing to talk to multiple members in the region. We’ll continue to do that and monitor it,” Sarah Sanders, deputy White House press secretary, told reporters aboard Air Force One.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies