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UAE minister of state Sheikh Shakhbout Bin Nahyan Al-Nahyan and his Qatari counterpart Mohammed Bin Abdelaziz Bin Saleh Al-Khulaifi led their countries' delegations at the fourth meeting of the Quint Group on Somalia, held in Ankara. Others in the meeting included representatives of Somalia, Türkiye, the UK and the US.

Iran's parliament issued a report recommending that possession of equipment for the satellite internet service Starlink should be made a criminal offence. Deputies have also called for Iran to develop its own low-orbit internet satellite system, in co-operation with China and Russia.

The inclusion for the first time of an Arab party in an Israeli governing coalition adds a new dimension to the normalisation deals struck by Bahrain and the UAE last year and could enable further outreach to the Gulf.

Qatar Airways reported in July its highest-ever revenues, confirming the Fifa World Cup’s impact in November and December. However, while the group's revenues were up 45% year-on-year to QR76.3bn ($21bn), net profits were down 21% at QR4.4bn.

The United States’ decision to withdraw its funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was intended by President Donald Trump to add to pressure on the Palestinian National Authority (PA) to buy into his administration’s ‘ultimate deal’ to reach a very Israel-friendly accommodation on decades of conflict in the region. Trump’s 31 August decision may also have been intended to add to pressure on other donors to pay more – Germany and Japan are already among those to commit new funds to UNRWA.

Qatari forays into Gaza have provided essential funding, important support and channels of communication for Hamas, a party rooted in the Muslim Brotherhood’s tradition that a majority of Gulf Co-operation Council members now shun. But that does not mean Qatari intervention is immune to local controversies. These have recently focused in speculation that Doha was looking to build an ‘embassy’ in Gaza, located – it is alleged – on the foundations of late Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat’s compound in Gaza City.

The handover of apartments at Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani City, at Khan Younis in southern Gaza, is the latest high-profile invocation of Qatar’s readiness to splash cash on reconstruction efforts in the besieged Palestinian territory. A commitment that now runs into the hundreds of millions of dollars may also betoken a keener political interest from Doha in the territory, just as US policy on the Palestinian issue is in flux.

Saudi Arabia's former deputy defence minister Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Bin Abdelaziz is facing another legal challenge in London's Commercial Court after Dublin-based Yuntian 10 Leasing Company, owned by China Minsheng Bank, filed a case against him relating to a Boeing 787 leased by Bermuda’s Dream Aircraft, on which the prince provided personal guarantees.

Saudi state Public Investment Fund (PIF) has agreed a joint venture with South Korea's Hyundai Motor Company to set up a $500m vehicle manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia. PIF will hold 70% of the venture, with Hyundai taking the other 30%. 

Palestinian entrepreneurs are trying to harness investment from the large diaspora resident in the Gulf. Gulf markets are also a lure for exports, but tough customs constraints make it difficult to make money from tangible goods

Jordanian anxiety levels ratcheted up in December, in the wake of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s clandestine flight to Saudi Arabia for a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) at Neom. Despite deep rifts within the House of Saud over how to approach the issue of normalisation – on the cusp of a change at the White House – Jordan’s King Abdullah II fears the Saudi leadership is aiming to extract some major concessions from Israel in return for diplomatic recognition.

Now Arafat has gone, his detractors in the Gulf could provide more substantial backing for the Palestinians as part of a wider peace effort.

Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al-Baker announced his retirement after 27 years at the helm – during which time the national carrier has been transformed beyond recognition. He will be replaced by Hamad International Airport chief operating officer Badr Mohammed Al-Meer.

The Riyadh-based Hevolution Foundation, set up in 2018 and now jointly run by Princess Haya Bint Khalid Bin Bandar Al-Saud and former Mayo Clinic endocrinologist Mehmood Khan, is due to hold its inaugural Global Healthspan Summit in late November. The event will focus on extending healthy years of life and announce investments in the sector. 

Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum launched a generative artificial intelligence (AI) competition in early November, with prizes of AED1m ($272,000) available for winners of the Global Prompt Engineering Championship.