Egypt returns Qatar aid as relationship plummets

Egypt’s Central Bank paid back US$2bn (€1.5bn) in aid to Qatar despite its faltering economy and refused a request by Qatari airlines to increase flights, authorities said today, marking a new low in relations between the two countries.

Over the past year, Qatar gave the government of Egypt’s former President Mohammed Morsi some eight billion US dollars (€6bn) in aid as it suffered through an economic slowdown.