Russia, Iran and Qatar made the first serious moves Tuesday toward forming an OPEC-style cartel on natural gas, raising concerns that Moscow could boost its influence over energy markets spanning from Europe to South Asia.
Such an alliance would have little direct impact on the United States, which imports virtually no natural gas from Russia [...]

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Lebanon’s factions appear to have halted a nascent civil war — at least temporarily — with an agreement struck Wednesday in Qatar between the Western-backed government of Fouad Siniora and the Syrian-backed Shiite Muslim militia Hezbollah. But the peace deal cannot fairly be called a compromise. Hezbollah won That’s the result of its stunning military [...]

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Iranian judiciary chief Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi told leaders of the Gulf Arab state of Qatar on Wednesday that his country was willing to put its controversial nuclear expertise at the service of all Muslim states.
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DOHA, Qatar - Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni arrived here Sunday to attend the 8th annual Doha Forum on Democracy, Development and Free Trade, at which she has been invited to give a keynote speech. Senior Lebanese and Iranian officials responded by canceling their participation.
“The Arab states cannot continue sitting on the fence when it comes [...]

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This time, however, the beneficiaries of the oil-price explosion are driving the demand for gold. Research by the World Gold Council shows that Qatar, the gas-rich Gulf state, has been buying about one tonne of gold - worth more than $34million today - every month for at least the past year.
Russia, a large producer of [...]

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The Saudi-Gulf bloc collapsed about six weeks ago when Qatar, in an unprecedented move and without consulting the other Gulf states, invited Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to attend the summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Doha. (The Saudi magazine Al-Majalla called this collapse “the end of the American game.” [3] ) The Gulf [...]

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For years, Israel was the only country in the entire Middle East with a nuclear program. That’s about to change. The list of Arab states that are actively pursuing nuclear power, or seriously considering doing so, is a long one: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen and the seven [...]

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Two years ago, the leaders of Saudi Arabia told international atomic regulators that they could foresee no need for the kingdom to develop nuclear power. Today, they are scrambling to hire atomic contractors, buy nuclear hardware and build support for a regional system of reactors.
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The newly interested states [in nuclear power] include Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, [...]

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Russia, Iran, Qatar, Venezuela, and other members of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (G.E.C.F.) met in Doha on April 9 amidst Western fears that Moscow may encourage the birth of a “gas O.P.E.C.” Western decision-makers fear that such a new organization could give producers of natural gas an advantage over consumers.
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Qatar is to launch the first market for trade in liquefied natural gas (LNG) amid fears that the world’s gas-exporting countries are forging closer links that could lead to the formation of a gas cartel.
The Gulf emirate is seeking to capture global trade in the world’s fastest-growing energy commodity with the creation of an LNG [...]

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ABU DHABI [MENL] — The State Department has expressed concern over the prospects of anti-American unrest in Qatar.
Officials said after years of banning political activity, Qatar has decided to allow occasional political protests in the Gulf Cooperation Council state. They said these demonstrations could quickly turn into threats against Americans in the emirate.
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