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The volume of seizures of the amphetamine-like stimulant Captagon by Saudi border guards appears to have dropped sharply over the past year – it could be a sign the diplomatic rapprochement with Syria (the main source of the illegal drug) is bearing fruit, or it may just be that the authorities are being less transparent.
Distantly related to Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, Sheikh Ali announced plans to set up a $500m family office in the Chinese territory in March, but that now appears to have been pushed back until late May.
Four export deals have been signed by Oman LNG since mid-April, covering more than 4m t/yr of liquefied natural gas supplies and taking the total deal flow so far this year to 4.6m t/yr.
Some $35bn worth of potential deals were announced during the Omani leader’s two-day state visit to neighbouring UAE, with the project to develop a rail link between Sohar port and Abu Dhabi now officially up and running – and among measures that could help improve previously sometimes strained relations.
Lana Nusseibeh has stepped down as the UAE’s permanent representative to the Untied Nations, after more than a decade in New York, notably while the UAE filled a seat on the Security Council in 2022/23.
Qatar and the UAE have thrown their weight behind plans to develop a trade route linking Europe and the Gulf via Iraq – a move which suggests Abu Dhabi may be looking more seriously at potential alternatives to the India-Europe trade corridor running through Israel, which it had backed prior to the Gaza war.
Sheikh Saeed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan was born in 1965 to Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan’s wife Sheikha Aisha Bint Ali Al-Darmarki (of the Dhawahir tribe); six years later, Sheikh Zayed would become the founding president of the UAE.
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.
Born to Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan’s prominent wife Sheikha Mozah Bint Suhail Bin Awaidha Al-Khaili in 1969, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Zayed died when a microlight aircraft he was learning to fly crashed in Morocco on 26 March 2010.
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) is to develop a 2GW offshore wind project in Bahrain and is also part of the winning consortium for a 1.5GW solar power plant in its home market.
Bahraini foreign affairs minister Abdullatif Bin Rashid Al-Zayani has held talks with his counterparts in Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar, as well as Syria and Lebanon, ahead of the Arab League summit on 16 May.
King Salman Bin Abdelaziz had what officials described as a routine check-up at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah on 24 April, leaving the hospital on the same day.
The Capital Market Authority has found 13 investors guilty of violating the Capital Market Law. Among those fined was former ambassador Turki Bin Abdullah Al-Dakhil.
The drone attack claimed by Bahrain’s Saraya Al-Ashtar on a transport company’s base at the Israeli port of Eilat in late April may have been carried out by allied Iraqi militia group Kataib Hizbollah, according to analysts.
Dubai has revived plans to turn Al-Maktoum International into the world’s largest airport, pointing to a huge projected upturn in regional carriers’ business in coming decades and the commercial emirate’s determination to counter the challenge posed by regional rivals.