Qatar won't back down in face of pressure: minister

Far from backing down in the face of unprecedented pressure from Gulf rivals, Qatar's foreign minister said Thursday that no other country could determine its policies. In an interview with AFP, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani described as an attempt at "collective punishment" a decision by Saudi Arabia and its allies to cut ties with Qatar over alleged financing of extremist groups. Qatar would not yield to it, he said.