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On 28 October, Kuwait’s Court of Appeals upheld a ten-year prison sentence handed out in June 2012 to blogger Hamad Al-Naqi for comments he made on Twitter that were deemed insulting to the Prophet Mohammed (GSN 926/6, 924/5). Al-Naqi, who was 26 at the time of his initial trial, was also accused of insulting the kings of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and of provoking sectarian tensions. He has always denied the charges, and told police his Twitter account was hacked.

Recently elected President Barham Salih began a three-day visit to the UK on 25 June. His programme included an audience with Queen Elizabeth II and bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Theresa May and foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt. The delegation – including foreign minister Mohammed Ali Al-Hakim and health minister Aladin Alwan – were also offered a dinner at Lancaster House and engagements at Parliament.

Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al-Said on 14 November hosted US Secretary of State John Kerry for a meeting on regional issues and dinner at the Bait Al-Barakah royal palace (see Politics). The meeting was attended by minister responsible for foreign affairs Yousuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah, commerce minister Dr Ali Bin Masoud Bin Ali Al-Sunaidi and minister responsible for financial affairs Darwish Bin Ismail Al-Balushi.

Crown Prince and interior minister Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef on 10 February received a medal from the new US Central Intelligence Agency head Michael Pompeo, in recognition of his counter-terrorism work.

On 27 November, Crown Prince Salman said King Abdullah was “well and in good health” after back surgery on 17 November. A day earlier, Salman had “reassured” Saudis about the king’s health at a cabinet meeting.

The space for political debate in Gulf countries continues to be tightened, with political opponents targeted with arrests and long prison sentences. Among the most recent incidents, in the UAE, prominent human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor was sentenced in late May by the State Security Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court to ten years in jail for insulting the “status and prestige of the UAE and its symbols” via postings on social media.

‘Success’ for president’s treatment

Despite Gulf producers’ success in forcing the price of crude up to around $70 a barrel, the strains of several years of lower oil prices are ever more apparent, even for the richest Gulf states. Adding to the pressure, several governments have had to shoulder the burden of huge military expenditure in Yemen and the cost of unprecedented diplomatic and other ‘soft power’ initiatives, as hydrocarbons revenues dropped away. These trends have driven a new burst of policy-making creativity in the UAE.

The Ministry of Finance in Muscat has been forced to deny a report by the Reuters news wire that the sultanate has held talks with Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia over placing a multi-billion dollar deposit with Central Bank of Oman (CBO) to help fill a hole in public finances. Citing Qatari and Omani sources, Reuters said the move would help to shore up CBO’s foreign exchange reserves and head off pressure on the rial. However, Muscat dismissed the story, releasing a statement on 10 January which said “there have not been any negations… the sultanate has enough reserves”. It added that the rial did not face any risks.

The headquarters for the new maritime security mission for the Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman and Bab El Mandeb Strait was inaugurated in Bahrain on 7 November. Coalition Task Force (CTF) Sentinel’s new command centre will be led by US Rear Admiral Alvin Holsey. The force will include contributions from Australia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, UK and US. The mission is linked to the International Maritime Security Construct, which is supported by a number of countries, including Israel and Albania.

Minister of state for artificial intelligence (since October 2017) Omar Bin Sultan Al-Olama has enlisted in the UAE Armed Forces’ 13th cohort of conscripts for his 16 months’ military service. The freshly shaven-headed minister told his Twitter followers on 12 January he was honoured to enlist and serve the nation, describing it as “the greatest pride of my life.” It is not clear what impact the 29 year-old’s absence from his regular job will make to the federal government’s plans to adopt artificial intelligence.

Wisconsin-based Oshkosh Defense has won a $378m US Department of Defence contract to provide 1,543 medium tactical vehicles for Iraq, Somalia and Cameroon. It has also won a $17.1m contract to sell 54 trailers for carrying tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APCs), along with spare parts and manuals, to Oman, Iraq and Jordan. Each 635NL trailer can carry one M1 Abrams or M60 Patton tank or two M113 armoured APCs.

Germany has become the second European country in a month to block arms exports to countries involved in the Yemen conflict. The decision was made as part of talks to form a governing coalition between Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) party and the smaller, centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). On 3 January, Norway announced it had suspended arms sales to the UAE following an assessment of the UAE’s involvement in the Yemen conflict; Oslo had already barred sales to Saudi Arabia.

The security vacuum in Yemen has continued to expand as political factions battle for control of the security forces. Insecurity is plaguing central provinces such as Dhamar, where, on 24 November, deputy governor Abdullah Mayseri was kidnapped, and Taizz, where Mohammed Moneer, a nephew of governor Shawqi Ahmed Hayel, remains in the hands of kidnappers. There have also been a number of violent attacks in Sanaa, including the killing of a Belarussian defence contractor by gunmen on a motorbike on 26 November.

It emerged in September that Qatari art dealer Sheikh Saud Bin Mohammed must pay London-based SJ Berwin £261,279 in unpaid fees for advice given when his assets were frozen following a 2012 court case. Sheikh Saud was sued in the UK High Court in November 2012 by a group of dealers who said he had dishonoured a pledge to pay $19.7m for a coin collection sold at a New York auction in January 2012 (GSN 936/8, 935/10). Sheikh Saud was likened by the dealers’ QC, Jeffrey Gruder of Essex Court Chambers, to an “inveterate gambler” who could not stop himself spending millions on objects of his desire before walking away from his obligations.