Qatar’s foreign minister has rushed to London to urge Boris Johnson to condemn the air embargo imposed on the Gulf state, amid an unprecedented regional dispute with its neighbours. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, who was due to meet the UK foreign secretary on Monday, said: “We are asking Britain, the US and all other countries to condemn the illegal measures such as the air embargo and the break-up of families. Families and kids are begin torn apart.”

Qatar is facing a diplomatic and economic embargo imposed by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, over allegations – that it denies –of supporting terrorism. Thani said the allegations were a smokescreen for an attack on Qatar’s independent foreign policy. Only 0.3% of foreign fighters come from Qatar, and none have been involved in a terrorist attack in the Gulf or elsewhere.(guardian)…[+]