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It is not just financial management and governance that is worrying the professional classes and other stakeholders in Dubai. There is growing concern about the education system, which the commercial emirate has until very recently insisted it manages itself.

Gulf Co-operation Council states have long been the focus of efforts by US administrations and their regional military structure Central Command (Centcom) to enforce the Pax Americana. But with some GCC allies already feeling distanced from high-level contacts in Washington, the resignation of General Stanley McChrystal as head of US Forces and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, and his replacement by Centcom commander General David Petraeus, threatens to leave them feeling even more distanced from the US civil-military relationship.

By and large, Oman reacted quickly and efficiently to the cyclone that struck the Sultanate in early June

Ten people have been killed in clashes between northern Houthi rebels and government-allied tribesmen

Expatriates in the Gulf are used to horror stories about exit permits refused, passports withheld and people being held indefinitely under house arrest, but most accept it as one of the risks of working in a developing country

Sharjah-based company’s oil and gas exploration deal with Rosneft will focus on the Mena region

It has long been fashionable in Iraq to state that Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Co-Operation Council states represent a ‘hidden hand’ in Iraqi politics, backing various potential proxies by bankrolling their campaigns. The renewed prominence of Iyad Allawi has strengthened this view, leading many Iraqi politicians and commentators to complain about the degree of Saudi influence over the political campaigns of Sunni groups like Allawi’s Iraqiya list.

If Iran acquires an advanced, ‘double-digit’ surface-to-air missile (SAM) from Russia or China, the only aircraft capable of operating safely within its airspace would be the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor.

Controversy has erupted in Saudi Arabia over the position of Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, head of the Mecca branch of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice. He first hit the headlines late last year after an interview in Okaz newspaper in which he spoke openly about ikhtilat, the mixing of unrelated men and women,

RAK-P has announced a Dh29.5m ($8m) profit for 2009 and Dh30.5m for Q1 10. The company made a loss of Dh210.7m in 2008.

The little-known Al-Mal Bank, based in Doha, has had its licence revoked by the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) for breach of regulations.

India’s Financial Express newspaper reported that Oman has become the first country in West Asia to place an order for guns with an Indian supplier.

Public tensions have died down following reports of a skirmish between Emirati and Saudi vessels that was blamed on a dispute over the route of the Dolphin pipeline which brings Qatari gas to the UAE

Doha has backtracked on proposals to scrap its visa-on-arrival scheme– which would have meant visitors from 33 countries having to apply in advance for a tourism or short-stay visa.

A three-day military exercise by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) ground, air and naval units, which began on 22 April, was intended to test a range of Iranian-built missiles and other equipment.