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HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani met Saturday with Commander of the United States Central Command, Admiral Charles Bradford Cooper, who is visiting the country.During the meeting, they discussed the close strategic relations between Qatar and the United States of America and ways to support and strengthen them, particularly in the areas of military and defence cooperation, in addition to a number of topics of common interest.

HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani met with US Vice-President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington Friday.The meeting addressed the close strategic relations between Qatar and the US of America and ways to advance them, in addition to discussing developments in the region.During the meeting, Vance affirmed his solidarity with Qatar, noting that diplomatic solutions are capable of resolving outstanding issues in the region.He appreciated Qatar's tireless mediation efforts and its effective role in bringing peace to the region, emphasising that Qatar is a reliable strategic ally of the US .For his part, HE Sheikh Mohammed affirmed that Qatar will take all measures to protect its security and safeguard its sovereignty in the face of the blatant Israeli attack.He expressed Qatar's appreciation for its close partnership with the US and its support for Qatar's sovereignty and its efforts to achieve peace in the region.

Nepal's first female chief justice named interim headShops reopen, cars back on roads in KathmanduAuthorities begin handing over bodies of those killedSushila Karki, a former chief justice, will become the first woman to lead Nepal, to be sworn in as interim leader later on Friday after violent anti-graft protests forced Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resign, the president's office said.President Ramchandra Paudel's office announced Karki's appointment following negotiations between Paudel, army chief Ashok Raj Sigdel and the protesters who led Nepal's worst upheaval in years.Fifty-one people were killed and more than 1,300 injured this week in the anti-graft protests by the 'Gen Z' movement, named for the age of its mainly young supporters.The protest was sparked by a social media ban that has since been rolled back. The violence subsided only after Oli resigned on Tuesday.Karki, 73, would take the oath of office at 9:15 p.m. local time (1530 GMT), said Archana Khadka Adhikari, information officer at the president's office. Two other ministers would also be sworn in along with her, local TV channels reported.The only woman to have served as chief justice, Karki was the preferred choice of the protesters who cite her reputation for honesty and integrity and a stance against corruption.She held the top judicial post for about a year until mid-2017.Nepal has grappled with political and economic instability since the abolition of its monarchy in 2008, while a lack of jobs drives millions to seek work in other countries and send money home.As the country of 30 million people inched back to normality on Friday - with shops reopened, cars back on roads, and police replacing the guns they wielded earlier this week with batons - families reclaimed bodies of those killed in the protests.Some roads were still blocked, although streets were patrolled by fewer soldiers than before."While his friends backed off (from the protests), he decided to go ahead," Karuna Budhathoki said of her 23-year-old nephew, as she waited to collect his body at Kathmandu's Teaching Hospital."We were told he was brought dead to the hospital."Another protester who died, Ashab Alam Thakurai, 24, had been married only a month earlier, his relatives said."The last we spoke to him ... he said he was stuck with the protest. After that we could not contact him ... eventually we found him in the morgue," said his uncle, Zulfikar Alam.

Nepal's prime minister resigned on Tuesday, a day after one of the deadliest crackdowns on protesters in years saw at least 19 people killed. "I have resigned from the post of prime minister with effect from today in order to take further steps towards a political solution and resolution of the problems," KP Sharma Oli said in a letter to the president. The protests, which began on Monday with demands that the government lifts a ban on social media and tackles corruption, reignited despite the apps going back online. At least 19 people were killed on Monday, and Amnesty International said live ammunition had been used against protesters. Oli, 73, began his fourth term last year after his Communist Party forged a coalition government with the centre-left Nepali Congress in the often-volatile parliament. Dissatisfaction has grown with political instability, corruption, and slow economic development in the Himalayan nation of 30 million people. People aged 15-40 make up nearly 43 percent of the population, according to government statistics while unemployment hovers around 10 percent and GDP per capita is just $1,447, according to the World Bank. The country became a federal republic in 2008 after a decade-long civil war and a peace deal that saw the Maoists brought into government, and the abolishment of the monarchy. Since then, a revolving door of ageing prime ministers and a culture of horse-trading have fuelled public perceptions that the government is out of touch. Since Friday, videos contrasting the struggles of ordinary Nepalis with the children of politicians flaunting luxury goods and expensive vacations have gone viral on TikTok, which was not blocked.

Iraq hopes fellow producers will reconsider its oil export quota to better reflect its production capacity, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said Saturday, a day ahead of an Opec+ meeting in a rare public comment by a senior Iraqi official.Iraq, the group's largest overproducer, is under pressure from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut output to compensate for having produced more than its agreed volume.It is among countries that submitted plans in April to make further oil output cuts to compensate for pumping above agreed quotas.Iraq's oil exports averaged 3.38mn barrels per day in August, according to the oil ministry. September average oil exports are expected to be between 3.4mn bpd and 3.45mn, the chief of the state oil company SOMO said on Saturday.Opec counts oil flows from Kurdistan as part of Iraq's quota.Al-Sudani previously appealed publicly for a review of Iraq's production quota in late 2022.Opec+, which includes Opec members plus Russia and other allies, has reversed its strategy of output cuts from April and has already raised quotas by some 2.5mn barrels per day, about 2.4% of world demand.The move is intended to boost market share and follows pressure from US President Donald Trump to lower oil prices.Eight countries from Opec+ are set to meet online today to consider a further output hike.Another output boost would mean Opec+, which pumps about half of the world's oil, would be starting to unwind a second layer of cuts of about 1.65mn barrels per day, or 1.6% of world demand, more than a year ahead of schedule.Responding to a question about Sunday's meeting, Iraq's Opec representative Ali Nazar said attention was focused on balancing the market, whether through increases, maintaining current production, or cuts.Separately, al-Sudani also said there would be arrangements to facilitate the entry of major oil companies to Iraq.In the past two years, Iraq has signed agreements with oil majors that had previously retreated from the country, including Chevron, France's TotalEnergies and UK oil major BP.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis Saturday announced generous income tax breaks to boost households with children, part of a tax reform worth €1.6bn ($1.87bn).The tax deductions, announced during his yearly speech on economic policy, come as his government seeks to halt a slide in popularity caused by a protracted cost of living crisis and corruption claims.Strong economic growth, a higher-than-expected budget surplus and more comprehensive tax collection will help finance the package, which will come into force in 2026, Mitsotakis said."We are all well aware that Greeks are struggling to make ends meet. Therefore our non-negotiable priority is to prop up their income," he said. After a 2009-2018 debt crisis marked by years of economic pain, Greece's economy, driven by tourism, has revived and is approaching its pre-crisis size.But Greece remains Europe's most indebted nation and disposable incomes still trail the EU average due to rising energy, food and housing prices that hurt purchasing power, despite a cumulative 35% minimum wage increase.The tax reform includes lower taxation by two percentage points for all brackets and a zero tax rate for low-income families with four children amid tumbling birth rates and rising housing costs.Mitsotakis also announced increases in pensions, while a real estate tax for remote areas will be scrapped to encourage young people to leave big cities and move to the countryside.Mitsotakis' centre-right New Democracy party has seen its ratings drop to around 22-25% in opinion polls since June from the 41% of votes it won in 2019 when it came to power on pledges to redistribute the fruits of economic growth more evenly.Thousands of people joined separate protests organised by trade unions in the city of Thessaloniki, where Mitsotakis was giving his speech, demanding higher salaries and decent living standards.

HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani received on Saturday a phone call from the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom (UK) Yvette Cooper.During the call, they discussed cooperation relations between the two countries and ways to support and strengthen them. HE Sheikh Mohammed congratulated Yvette Cooper on her appointment as Foreign Secretary, wishing her success in carrying out her duties.The call also discussed developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories, in addition to a number of issues of common concern.HE Sheikh Mohammed also stressed the need to intensify regional and international efforts to end the brutal war on the Gaza Strip, ensure the sustainable and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid to the Strip, and release prisoners and detainees.

The prime minister of Yemen's Houthi government and several other ministers were killed in an Israeli strike on the capital Sanaa, the head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council said Saturday, in the first such attack to kill senior officials.A number of others were wounded in Thursday's strike, Mahdi al-Mashat added, without providing details.Israel said on Friday that the airstrike had targeted the Iran-aligned group's chief of staff, defence minister and other senior officials and that it was verifying the outcome.Mashat's statement did not make clear whether the Houthi defence minister was among the casualties.Ahmad Ghaleb al-Rahwi became prime minister around a year ago but the de facto leader of the government was his deputy, Mohamed Moftah, who was assigned Saturday to carry out the prime minister's duties.Rahwi was seen largely as a figurehead who was not part of the inner circle of the Houthi leadership.During the last year, Israel carried out a series of assassinations targeting senior leaders and commanders of Hamas and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, significantly weakening both groups.The Houthi-run news agency Saba ran a statement from Defence Minister Mohamed al-Atifi shortly after the prime minister's death was confirmed and quoted him as saying the group was ready to confront Israel.The statement did not mention Thursday's airstrike and it was unclear if it was made before or after the attack.Atifi runs the Houthis' Missiles Brigade Group and is considered their leading missiles expert.Sources confirmed to Reuters that the energy, foreign and information ministers were among those killed.On Thursday, Israeli security sources had said the targets had been various locations where a large number of senior Houthi officials had gathered to watch a televised speech recorded by leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi.The Israeli military described the attack as a "complex operation" made possible by intelligence-gathering and air superiority."Our stance remains as it is and will remain until the aggression ends and the siege is lifted, no matter how great the challenges," Mashat said in a televised speech, adding that the group "shall take revenge."

Lebanese Prime Minister Dr Nawaf Salam met with ambassador of Qatar to Lebanon Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman al-Thani. The meeting discussed co-operation relations between the two countries and explore ways to strengthen them.