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Abu Dhabi’s Al-Sayegh Group, best known for its electronics distribution business, has expanded its interests in Africa with a cashew processing plant.

Elections to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s parliament are due to be held on 20 October, some two years later than originally planned. A total of 13 parties have registered to compete in the poll, but the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) are expected to remain the dominant force.

Sheikha Mahra, a daughter of Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, posted a message on Instagram directed at her husband of just over a year, Sheikh Mana Al-Maktoum, saying “I divorce you”.

The former Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Menendez was convicted on 16 July for accepting cash, gold and other assets, with prosecutors accusing him of “selling his office to the highest bidder”.

Saudi Arabia has outlined the details of its bid to host the 2034 football tournament, in bid documents that were formally submitted to the sport’s governing body Fifa in late July.

Following a Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv and an Israeli strike on Yemen’s Hodeidah port, as well as renewed fighting on a number of frontlines in Yemen’s own war, there are concerns that the situation in the country is once again at risk of spiralling out of control.

Masoud Pezeshkian was formally endorsed by Rahbar (Supreme Leader) Ali Khamenei on 28 July, followed by a public ceremony two days later. However, any chance of being able to ease into the new job ended abruptly with Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in the early hours of 31 July. The region is still awaiting Iran’s response.

The federal gambling regulator awarded a licence to run the UAE’s first authorised national lottery to a relative unknown in late July, leaving existing operators searching for new business models.

Revised August 2024, this graphic illustrates the connections and relationships across key areas of Iranian politics and business. Centred around Rahbar (Supreme Leader) Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the chart shows the extent to which officials with an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC or Pasdaran) background occupy key positions across the Islamic Republic. The chart covers politics, judicial appointments, key security institutions and personnel, clerics and religious bodies and bonyads (wealthy economic foundations). Names of key individuals link through to Key Player profiles, with supporting articles from the extensive GSN archive.

The appointment of Sheikh Theyab Bin Tahnoun Bin Mohammed Al-Nahyan as chairman of the Dubai Financial Market-listed construction company Drake & Scull International is part of the business rehabilitation of a veteran gulf contracting company.

The Qatar Fund for Development is providing a grant for the $12m Qatar Square development in Tirana, which will include exhibition spaces, shops and a park.

Shell, BP, Mitsui and TotalEnergies have all signed up to take 10% stakes in the $5.5bn Ruwais LNG project. Construction work is due to start soon, with the first LNG deliveries pencilled in for 2028.

The Dubai-based low-cost carrier has complained that years of delivery delays by Boeing have “significantly impacted” its operations and are likely to negatively affect its financial performance this year.

After years of minimal progress, plans to introduce personal income tax in Oman appear to be moving forward, with a draft law passed from the lower house of parliament to the upper house in late June. If it goes ahead, it will be the first income tax in the GCC and could provide a model for Muscat’s neighbours to follow.

The Doha-based energy company has agreed to take a 20% stake in offshore Block 5 from American major Chevron – adding to an already diverse global asset portfolio.