German Chancellor Angela Merkel will host Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani for talks on September 15, in what will be his first trip to a western capital since his country sank into crisis.

Qatar has sent only dozens of its citizens across the border to Saudi Arabia for this week's hajj pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites because of the increasingly bitter crisis between the Gulf neighbors.

Qatar has approved a law limiting domestic staff to a maximum of 10 hours' work a day, the first such protection for thousands of household maids, nannies and cooks in the emirate.

The Qatari foreign minister on Thursday welcomed Saudi Arabia's decision to reopen the two countries' border to Muslim pilgrims, while lashing out at Riyadh's "politicisation" of religious freedoms.

Qatar announced on Wednesday a five-billion-euro order for seven warships from Italy in the midst of a nearly two-month diplomatic crisis with neighboring Saudi Arabia and its allies.

Qatar Airways announced on Thursday that it had won exemption from a U.S. ban on passengers taking laptops and tablet computers on flights from its Doha hub.

Qatar's foreign minister called for "dialogue" on Wednesday to resolve the Gulf diplomatic crisis, accusing Arab states that have cut ties with Qatar of trying to undermine the nation's sovereignty.

Egypt will host the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on Wednesday to discuss the crisis with Qatar, Cairo's foreign ministry said. 

Bahrain's foreign minister on Monday accused Qatar of a "military escalation" in the Gulf diplomatic crisis, an apparent reference to Doha's allowing Turkish troops on its territory.

Qatar Airways said Sunday its net profits rose by almost 22 percent in the last financial year that ended in March, before the diplomatic fallout with its Gulf neighbors.