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Ras Al-Khaimah’s Ruler Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr travelled to Xiamen, Fujian province on 6 September to deliver a speech to a trade fair and meet officials and business executives, ahead of the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the UAE and China.

Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani travelled to Ankara in early August for talks on defence co-operation with Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The previous month, Türkiye had sent additional naval vessels and fighter jets to the Gulf country in what may be a sign of nervousness in Doha about what a second Trump presidential term might mean for its security.

After years of minimal progress, plans to introduce personal income tax in Oman appear to be moving forward, with a draft law passed from the lower house of parliament to the upper house in late June. If it goes ahead, it will be the first income tax in the GCC and could provide a model for Muscat’s neighbours to follow.

Given his position as the only moderate standing in the presidential election, Masoud Pezeshkian was not expected to win the race to become the Islamic Republic’s next president. Having jumped that hurdle, he now faces a daunting set of domestic and international policy challenges.

With great power competition rising between the US and China over the development of artificial intelligence, the major Gulf economies are being forced by Washington to pick a side. The UAE appears to have come down firmly in favour of working with American AI firms, while Saudi Arabia has been divesting its American AI investments and striking deals with Chinese rivals.

Two months after Majles-e Khobregan-e Rahbari (Assembly of Experts) elections, 93 year-old Mohammad Movahedi Kermani has been named to lead the sometimes influential body.

Kuwait Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah formed his new cabinet just two days after parliament was suspended, with most of the key figures retained from ex-premier Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah’s previous government. Although the usual limits on cabinet size are also now suspended, this government is smaller than usual with only 13 members.

Born in 1952, Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah went to secondary school in Lebanon, before earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance from the University of Illinois in the United States in 1976.

As the GCC region’s big economic powers vie for global business, Dubai is reviving plans to turn Al-Maktoum International into the world’s largest airport, not least preparing for the challenge posed by Saudi Arabia’s eye-watering aviation strategy. The Dubai megaproject’s revival comes as Riyadh pushes to grab a big slice of the international aviation market – if Saudi carriers can overcome the challenge of securing sufficient planes, pilots and passengers needed to meet the kingdom’s hugely ambitious plans.

Born to Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan’s wife Amina Bint Saleh Al-Darmaki in 1967, Sheikh Nasser Bin Zayed died in June 2008 when travelling in a helicopter which crashed into the Gulf.

Sheikh Khalid Bin Zayed is the youngest son of President Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan with his wife Sheikha Mozah Bint Suhail Bin Awaidha Al-Khaili.

Sheikh Falah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan was born in 1970, a son of Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan (who became the UAE’s founding president a year later) and his wife Sheikha Aisha Bint Ali Al-Darmarki (of the Dhawahir tribe).

The fourth election in as many years seems unlikely to lead to any dramatic change in Kuwait’s slow-burning political crisis, as most members of the outgoing parliament retained their seats and Abdulkarim Al-Kandari – whose comments about Emir Sheikh Mishaal precipitated the latest poll – increased his vote, suggesting voters were happy to reward the authorities’ outspoken critics.

Edge’s radar venture will target non-Nato customers, in a similar arrangement to a recent agreement between Edge and Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri to manufacture frigates in Abu Dhabi

The UAE has set its sights on carving out a leading international role in artificial intelligence, with national security advisor Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Khaled Bin Mohammed vying for national AI leadership – but the pursuit of the powerful technology is also causing friction with the US