The United States confirmed Tuesday that its envoy is meeting in Qatar with the Taliban, seeking to negotiate an end to the Afghanistan war despite a new major attack claimed by the insurgents.

Qatar's foreign minister ruled out on Monday the possibility of re-opening an embassy in Damascus, in line with some other Gulf countries, calling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a war criminal.

Qatar called Saturday for a new regional alliance following the failure of the four-decade-old Gulf Cooperation Council to resolve an 18-month rift between the emirate and its neighbours.

The tiny, energy-rich Arab nation of Qatar announced on Monday it would withdraw from OPEC, mixing its aspirations to increase production outside of the cartel's constraints with the politics of slighting the Saudi-dominated group amid the kingdom's boycott of Doha.

The surprise announcement from Qatar's minister of state for energy affairs, Saad Sherida al-Kaabi, again throws into question the role of the cartel after needing non-members to push through a production cut in 2016 after prices crashed below $30 a barrel.

Long-awaited reform of Qatar's controversial exit visa system, which requires foreign workers to obtain their bosses' permission to leave the country, came into force on Sunday, the government said.

"Law No. 13 of 2018... regulating the entry, exit and residency of expatriates is being implemented starting today," the interior ministry announced on Twitter.

Global diplomatic fallout from the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate may help Qatar in its political stand-off with the kingdom, experts said.

A Taliban delegation has met with US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in Qatar to discuss ending the Afghan conflict, the militant group said Saturday, in the first official confirmation of talks between the two sides.

The Turkish lira is rebounding from record losses a day after Qatar pledged US$15 billion in investments to help Turkey's economy.

The currency strengthened some 3 percent against the dollar on Thursday, trading at around 5.75 per dollar, hours before Turkey's treasury and finance minister were scheduled to reassure international investors about the economy.

Just a 10-minute drive from the International Labor Organization's new office in the Qatari capital, Nabin explains how his employer has not paid his wages in two months.

Qatar Petroleum aims to boost Doha's gas production by more than 20 percent with a contract awarded to Japanese Chiyoda, the state-owned energy giant has said.