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A member of Italy’s Carabinieri military police who was kidnapped on 29 July has been freed by his captors.

When devastating earthquakes hit Iran’s north-east on 11 August, questions were raised about the impact of sanctions on the rescue of survivors. “Helicopters had to suspend rescue operations during the night as Iran — under international sanctions over its nuclear programme — is barred from purchasing night-vision material,” the New York Times wrote on 12 August.

King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa arrived in Jordan on 27 August to discuss Syria and bilateral co-operation with King Abdullah II.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) has exploited the weakness of central government, and last year seized several southern areas. The US has been backing a major offensive against AQAP in recent months, with considerable success: in June, security forces regained control of regions held by Ansar Al-Sharia, an AQAP affiliate.

Lured by a combination of extraordinary prospectivity and attractive fiscal terms, international oil companies (IOCs) are more and more prepared to discount the political risks of signing production-sharing contracts (PSCs) with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), even though those risks are increasing exponentially with the growing acrimony between Erbil and Baghdad.

Asir governor Prince Faisal, now the only prominent son of King Khalid, has chaired the first meeting of the Asir Region Youth Council. Following protests by students at King Khalid University in Abha in March, he promised that a council made up of 40 male and female youths would be formed.

Prince Miteb, Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) commander and King Abdullah’s son, was in Qassim just before the start of Ramadan, where he visited a SANG base.

Bahrain is in the midst of a political crisis that began in February 2011,when protesters, inspired by events elsewhere in the region, took to the streets to demand political change. The uprising was largely crushed, but protests have continued on a smaller scale, and political demands on the side of the protesters have, if anything, hardened.

Prince Mohammed, who during the reign of his father King Saud was a favourite to succeed him, died in early July. Born in the 1930s, he had a long career in government, serving as royal chamberlain and diwan head in the 1950s and defence minister in the early 1960s. He was Baha Province governor for some two decades before stepping down in August 2010 (GSN 884/8, 849/5).

On 15 June, the UAE officially inaugurated a strategic oil pipeline linking Abu Dhabi and Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman,which will allow 1.5m b/d of crude to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.The $3.3bn 370km Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline is not expected to run at capacity, but combined with expanded storage in Fujairah would allow the UAE to continue exporting crude should Iranian threats to close the Strait be realised.

After much suspense (and presumably some arm twisting), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on 12 July that Saudi Arabia was sending two women to participate in the London Olympic Games that begin on 27 July (GSN 927/15). Riyadh submitted the names of judoka Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani and runner Sarah Attar just before the 9 July deadline, meaning that, for the first time, all 205 competing teams will field at least one woman.

Saudi development and land trading company Dar Al-Arkan, at the centre of a very public dispute between two prominent businessmen (GSN 921/12), announced on 14 July that it would repay its second sukuk (Islamic bond) of four, repaying SAR3.75bn ($1bn) to Deutsche Bank.

Following his early July meeting in Doha with Tunisian interior minister Ali Laarayedh (GSN 927/7), heir apparent Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad has visited Tunisia for two days of talks.

On 18 July, a brazen attack which stateTV blamed on a suicide bomber killed defence minister Daoud Rajha and Assad’s brother-inlaw Assef Shawkat, who were at a meeting of ministers and senior security personnel in Damascus.

Qatar has a self-imposed moratorium on developing new hydrocarbon projects until 2015, a policy which will see hydrocarbons income slow in the coming years. Non-hydrocarbon growth is predicted to rise (to around 9% in 2011, according to the IMF) on the back of manufacturing, financial services, trade and hotels.