The Internal Security Forces thwarted an attempt to smuggle 3 kilograms of narcotic pills from Rafik Hariri International Airport to Qatar, the National News Agency reported on Wednesday.

It said ISF officers searched the bag of a traveler which it identified only with his initials as A.B. when they felt suspicious about him.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir will travel to Doha on Monday to hold talks with the Qatari emir, the official SUNA news agency reported.

"The president will hold talks with His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, emir of Qatar, dealing with the promotion of bilateral relations between the two countries and issues of common interest," SUNA said.

Belgian bank KBC announced on Monday a deal to sell Luxembourg unit KBL to a Qatar investment group for 1.05 billion euros ($1.41 billion), finding a new buyer after a deal with India's Hinduja group fell through.

KBC group chief executive Jan Vanhevel said the sale will allow the Belgian bank to release capital, reduce its risk profile and further focus on its core markets in Belgian and Central and Eastern Europe.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou met on Saturday Qatar's emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and the country's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jasim al-Thani to plan new investments in Greece.

"We have built a very strong bond of mutual respect, and we Greeks are especially pleased that this bond leads to investments in our country," Papandreou said following the meeting with the Emir of Qatar.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani said Monday that Syrians are determined to keep protesting against President Bashar Assad's regime despite a deadly crackdown.

"The killing is nearly daily. But it's clear that the Syrian people will not turn back on their demands," Sheikh Hamad told pan-Arab news channel al-Jazeera.

Libyan rebels prepared Monday to launch an assault to capture strongman Moammar Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte and win full control of Libya, while scrambling to get war-ravaged Tripoli back on its feet.

Sirte is the elusive Gadhafi's last bastion after rebels smashed his forces in Tripoli and seized his Bab al-Aziziya headquarters.

The emir of Qatar criticized Syria for using force against protesters demanding democratic change, describing the approach as fruitless and urging serious reforms, QNA state news agency said Friday.

"All of us, who stood by Syria in its difficult times, have tried to encourage our brothers in Syria to make real reforms," said Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who was on a visit to Iran.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani is expected Thursday night in Tehran for talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an official told Agence France Presse, without providing further details.

It marks the first visit to Tehran by one of the leaders of Gulf monarchies following the political crisis in the tiny kingdom of Bahrain.

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader Fouad Saniora has stressed that the suspects in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s murder have guarantees and they are still suspects.

In remarks to pan-Arab daily al-Hayat in Doha, Saniora said: “From the start we said we want justice and don’t mean by it any type of revenge because in the past three decades Lebanon has lost two presidents, three prime ministers and several ministers and intellectuals.”

The London 2012 Olympic Village has become Qatar's latest acquisition in world sport.

The property company of the Arab state's royal family and British developer Delancey have signed a 557 million-pound ($906 million) joint agreement to buy and manage the athletes village as private housing after next year's Olympics.