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Media wars hamper Qatari-Egypt relations

As Qatari and Egyptian media outlets engage in a bitter tug-of-war, diplomatic efforts continue at senior levels to tone down the rhetoric.
Al Jazeera journalist Mohammed Fahmy stands behind bars at a court in Cairo May 15, 2014. The trial of three Al Jazeera journalists, including Fahmy, accused of aiding of a "terrorist organisation" has been postponed to May 22 after the judge on Thursday authorised the defence to examine the evidence being held by the prosecution. The Qatar-based television network's journalists - Peter Greste, an Australian, Mohamed Fahmy, a Canadian-Egyptian national, and Baher Mohamed, an Egyptian - were detained in Cair
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CAIRO — Practical steps were recently taken to reach a detente in Egyptian-Qatari relations, but the media have hampered those efforts.

In fact, in what seemed like a positive step, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi over a friendly UN General Assembly lunch, in which Sisi issued statements regarding Qatar and Arab initiatives toward reconciliation.

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