Amnesty International demanded the release of a UAE national after activists on social media called on the state to free Ghanem Abdullah Mattar, who has been arrested for sympathizing with Qatar.

The four countries boycotting Qatar said that the secret documents revealed by US-based CNN support their stance concerning Qatar.

Qatar made a series of secret agreements with its Gulf neighbors in 2013 and 2014 barring support for opposition and hostile groups in those nations, as well as in Egypt and Yemen.

More than a month since the start of the diplomatic crisis gripping the Gulf, hopes of a swift resolution seem as remote as a summer downpour in the desert.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in Mosul on Sunday and congratulated the armed forces for their "victory" over Islamic State after nearly nine months of urban warfare, bringing an end to jihadist rule in the city.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has called on Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf allies to end their blockade and siege of Qatar, playing down the possibility of a military escalation between the two sides.

Iraqi security forces expect to take full control of Mosul in the coming hours as Islamic State's defensive lines collapse in its former de facto capital in Iraq, state television reported on Saturday.

At dusk, young Qataris gather outside the house of a ruling family member in Doha to sign a portrait of Qatar's emir mounted on a giant billboard.

Qatar on Friday dismissed as "baseless" accusations that it was financing terrorism, in its first public response to a statement from four Arab states which are leading a boycott against the tiny emirate.

Qatar expressed its regret over the statements made by the four “siege countries” and said it contains “false accusations”. Qatar said in a statement on Friday (July 7, 2017) that “statement of siege countries has false accusations and defamation against the stable foundations of relations between nations”.

The four Arab states leading the boycott against Qatar said late on Thursday that Doha's refusal of their demands to resolve a Gulf diplomatic crisis is proof of its links to terror groups and that they would enact new measures against it.

The United States is increasingly concerned that a rift between Qatar and other Arab states is at an impasse and could drag on for a long time or intensify, the U.S. State Department said on Thursday.

President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday reaffirmed Turkey's support for Qatar in its dispute with four other Arab states, saying their demands against the tiny Gulf nation were unacceptable.

Foreign funding for Islamist extremism in Britain mostly originates from Saudi Arabia, a think-tank report said on Wednesday in claims that were branded as "categorically false" by the Saudi embassy.

Qatar announced plans for a steep rise in Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) production capacity on Tuesday that suggested it was ready for a protracted dispute with Gulf neighbors, but Doha said it was doing all it could to reach agreement.

Foreign ministers from the four Arab states leading the boycott of Qatar expressed disappointment on Wednesday with the tiny Gulf nation's "negative" response to their demands, but did not announce new sanctions against Doha.

Qatar's foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, arrived in Kuwait on Monday to deliver a response to the demands of Arab states which have cut ties with it.

U.S. President Donald Trump spoke separately to the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar on Sunday to discuss his "concerns about the ongoing dispute" between Qatar and its Gulf and Arab neighbors, the White House said.

Saudi Arabia and three allies accusing Qatar of supporting terrorism have agreed to a request by Kuwait to extend by 48 hours Sunday's deadline for Doha to comply, according to a joint statement on Saudi state news agency SPA.

Qatar's foreign minister will formally give Kuwait's ruler the country's response to demands by Saudi Arabia and other Arab allies that Doha cease its alleged support for terrorism, state news agency QNA said, without indicating what that reply may be.