A Qatar-based Sunni Muslim group led by influential cleric Sheikh Yusef al-Qaradawi has condemned as "politicized" an Egyptian court's decision to sentence hundreds of Islamists to death.

The court on Monday imposed death sentences on 683 suspected Islamists -- including Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie -- amid a crackdown on supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi.

Energy-rich Qatar is gaining a foothold on the global cultural scene by lavishing billions of dollars on renowned artworks, but some could prove controversial in the deeply conservative Gulf monarchy.

Damien Hirst's "Miraculous Journey" -- a group of 14 bronze foetus sculptures -- makes an unlikely addition to the landscape of Doha, installed in front of a medical centre on the outskirts of the capital. Out in the middle of the desert, a large abstract sculpture by American artist Richard Serra rises up from the sand. 

Qatar confirmed on Monday it will provide $88 million to kick-start a strategy for lasting development of Sudan's Darfur, which this year has seen its worst violence in a decade.

The commitment, signed in the North Darfur capital El Fasher, comes one year after an international donors' conference in Doha secured $3.6 billion in pledges -- mostly from cash-strapped Khartoum -- to finance the six-year Darfur Development Strategy.

Israel said on Thursday it was halting negotiations with the Palestinians following their unity deal with the Hamas rulers of Gaza, as faltering U.S.-backed peace talks approached their deadline.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the agreement between the rival factions as a move that "kills peace," but senior Palestinian official Saeb Erakat blamed the demise of the process on Israeli settlement activity.

Qatar's dispute with three fellow Gulf states, which withdrew their envoys from Doha last month, is "over", the Qatari foreign minister said Wednesday, while insisting his country had made no concessions.

"The statement issued in Riyadh on April 17 was clear ... For the brothers in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) the dispute is over," Khaled Al-Attiyah told a press conference in Kuwait after a meeting with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah.

Iran brought its simmering row with the United States over its proposed U.N. ambassador to United Nations headquarters on Tuesday but failed to make any headway.

U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law Friday a bill designed to bar Iran's pick for U.N. ambassador from U.S. soil over his links to the 1979 American embassy hostage siege.

Amnesty International accused authorities in gas-rich Qatar on Wednesday of failing to protect domestic workers, citing cases of abuse, sexual violence and "forced labor".

In a report called "My sleep is my break: Exploitation of domestic labor in Qatar", Amnesty spoke of "shocking testimonies of violent abuse".

Wealthy Gulf Arab states have reached a "vague" compromise to thaw tensions over the Muslim Brotherhood with Qatar which has yet to prove its good intentions, analysts say.

Thursday's deal between the six Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers did not, however, mention the return of Saudi, Emirati, and Bahraini ambassadors withdrawn from Doha in an unprecedented move on March 5.

Gulf foreign ministers agreed a deal Thursday to end months of unprecedented tension between Qatar and other members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council over the Muslim Brotherhood.

At an extraordinary meeting in Riyadh, the ministers agreed that the policies of GCC member states should not undermine the "interests, security and stability" of each other, a statement said.

Gulf foreign ministers hold Thursday an extraordinary meeting in Riyadh in a bid to defuse tensions between Qatar and three other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, an official said.

Heavyweight Saudi Arabia, as well as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain recalled their ambassadors from Qatar last month, accusing it of meddling in their internal affairs and supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.