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Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (MBR) has appointed his son Sheikh Ahmed Bin Mohammed as second deputy ruler of the emirate, while also naming existing deputy Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed as first deputy ruler.

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.

Al Jazeera Media Network said its journalist Hisham Abdelaziz was released from custody in Egypt on 1 May, after spending almost four years in pre-trial detention.

Iran - which has substantial ammunition production capability as a legacy of its 1980-88 war with Iraq - is reportedly sending ammunition to Russia across the Caspian Sea for use in its Ukraine war.

Turkey has agreed to host an Iranian interests section at its embassy in Tirana, some eight months after Tehran and Albania broke off diplomatic relations.

The outbreak of fighting between rival generals in Sudan in mid-April has been met with an increasingly active diplomatic stance by Saudi Arabia, which has taken a clear lead among Gulf countries in responding to the crisis  – offering further evidence of the new approach being taken to international relations by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS).

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani travelled to London to attend the coronation ceremony of King Charles III on 6 May. Also to attend the service was Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and Oman's culture, sports and youth minister Sayyid Theyazin Bin Haitham Al-Said. It was not clear who would attend from the UAE or Saudi Arabia.

The issue leads with an article examining the tensions within the Iranian elite stemming from public and internal criticism of the regime. GSN looks into cabinet changes, repression and economic challenges. Saudi drug policy is also explored in response to a new campaign addressing the smuggling of narcotics including fenethylline hydrochloride better known by the brand name Captagon. Defence and security coverage analyses Iraqi Kurdistan's Peshmerga reform, the launch of two new divisions and the ongoing control of these forces by the KDP and PUK. Royals watch investigates the promotion of Bahrain's Nasser Bin Hamad. This issue's View article goes into Saudi Arabia's use of the Sudan crisis for diplomatic aims, examining the new 'Saudi first' approach the Crown Prince is implementing. Risk Management Reports are on Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Aramco announced late April that a first shipment of low-carbon ammonia had arrived in Japan, where it will be used for power generation. The ammonia was produced by Sabic Agri-Nutrients, with feedstock from Aramco, and was sold to Fuji Oil Company for use at its Sodegaura refinery in Chiba, east of Tokyo.

The Saudi authorities have launched a new anti-drugs campaign, amid continued concern about the use of narcotics, in particular fenethylline hydrochloride, an amphetamine better known by the brand name Captagon, which is being smuggled in large quantities into Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.

Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah formally dissolved the National Assembly (parliament) via decree on 1 May, setting in motion the move towards another general election.

The High Court in London has issued a summary judgement against Prince Fahd Bin Sultan Bin Abdelaziz in his dispute with Credit Suisse over a loan for his yacht Sarafsa. Mr Justice Bright ruled in favour of the Swiss bank on 31 March and set out his reasoning in a full statement on 5 April, saying the prince had no real prospect of succeeding in defending his position if the case went to trial.

Dubai Ruler and federal Prime Minister and Vice President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (MBR)'s daughter Sheikha Latifa Bint Mohammed Al-Maktoum was the focus of an extensive article in the New Yorker magazine, which focused on her failed attempt to flee Dubai in 2018 and her subsequent fate.

A Yemen Coast Guard officer was killed in an exchange of fire with private security guards on the luxury yacht Kalizma off the coast of Al-Mahra governorate late April. A guard on the Cook Islands-flagged Kalizma was also wounded.

The attack on Iranian Assembly of Experts (Majles-e Khobregân-e Rahbari) member Ayatollah Abbas Ali Soleimani Esbukolai late April brought to the fore the question of who might lead Iran in the future.