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Red Sea attacks: Houthi forces launched missile and drone attacks against three commercial ships and a United States Navy vessel in the southern Red Sea on 3 December. The first attack targeted Bahamas-flagged bulk cargo ship Unity Explorer at 9:15 am Sanaa time, but the missile missed. Later in the day Unity Explorer was hit by another missile, causing minor damage.
In a noticeable uptick in President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan’s recent overseas travel, MBZ has gone to Azerbaijan and India to cement commercial ties, in his first visit to another Brics member since the UAE joined the big emerging economies’ club at the start of the year.
Sharjah is looking to upgrade its infrastructure and increase capacity at its airport with a record budget worth $11bn announced for 2024. The independently-minded emirate has stood out among its UAE peers in its attitude to the Israel-Palestine conflict and much else.
Former finance minister Ali Sherif Al-Emadi has been fined almost $17bn and given a 20-year sentence by a Qatari court for money laundering and other charges. The court also sentenced Sheikh Nawaf Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani to six years in prison and fined him $227m for misuse of public funds.
A five-year contract for Bahrain Steel to supply Emirates Steel Arkan with iron ore pellets appears to be motivated by both commercial and geopolitical considerations, with the Abu Dhabi government-owned steel-maker saying it was designed to “strengthen economic ties within the GCC”.
Emir Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah’s first cabinet retained just three ministers from the previous administration in Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Al-Sabah’s new government. However, many of the new ministers have served in cabinets before as shown in GSN’s round-up of the new administration’s CVs.
Sharjah's ruler has removed his brother from his posts of crown prince, deputy ruler and deputy chairman of Sharjah's supreme council.
Edge is to use its extensive surveillance technologies for a six-month anti-crime initiative in São Paulo; the very active UAE state-owned defence conglomerate has also agreed a tie-up with Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar.
The reinstatement of Shaikh Sultan bin Muhammad al Qasimi to the rulership of the emirate of Sharjah, within days of his deposition by his elder brother, Shaikh Abdelziz, may give some heart to the handful of convinced federalists in the United Arab Emirates.
The second former US Navy frigate to join the Royal Bahrain Naval Force has arrived in Manama.
In a rare inward investment into Yemen, Oman’s Salalah Mills is paying $6.5m for a 50% stake in a grain mills and silos business in Mukalla, Hadhramaut government, which it will run with an unnamed Yemeni partner.
The Islamic Republic has largely suppressed the wave of protests that emerged in September after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, but the opaque political system remains under pressure, both from the Iranian public and from signs of internal division. The tensions point to a period of uncertainty ahead of the eventual succession to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene.
Iran’s famously mercurial presidential elections proved as unpredictable as ever on 14 June, when the moderate conservative cleric Hassan Rouhani swept to victory, winning over 50% of the vote in a poll that also saw an unexpectedly high turnout of 72%. The streets of Tehran and other major cities were transformed into street parties, with thousands of young people and families honking horns, blaring music and chanting support for the country’s imprisoned opposition leaders.
Palestinian visits, South Korea trip, Deaths and marriages, Al-Madina column, Turkey visit, Europe tour, Afghanistan comments, Malaga football club, Visitors, Napolitano talks on Yemen
UAE foreign trade minister Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al-Qasimi has held talks with US assistant secretary of commerce Suresh Kumar.
