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Voter turnout for Qatar's Central Municipal Council (CMC) election on 22 June was the lowest in 20 years, with just 40.7% of those eligible to vote taking part.

Qatar's Interior minister and Lekhwiya commander Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al-Thani has been raising his profile on the regional stage.

Gulf leaders have been prominent interlocutors with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the days since an abortive mutiny by the Wagner Group mercenary force led by Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Qatar's ambassador to the United States Sheikh Meshal Bin Hamad Al-Thani took part in a ceremony marking the opening of Muhammad Ali Park in Dearborn in the west of Detroit.

Iran's foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has said he received a favourable reception to the idea of forming a new dialogue forum with Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, following a series of meetings with his counterparts around the region in June.

Qatar and the UAE reopened their embassies in each other's capitals on 19 June, saying it reflected their interest in strengthening bilateral relations. The decision also includes the reopening of Qatar’s consulate in Dubai.

An Iranian naval commander has claimed GCC states are interested in joining a new coalition to patrol regional waters. Given the concerns in many capitals about recent Iranian seizures of oil tankers that seems unlikely to progress, but the UAE has recently pulled out of the US-led Combined Maritime Forces – seemingly due to unhappiness about the amount of support Washington is willing to give to its regional partners.

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has said Qatar needs to make major improvements in its approach to tackling complex money laundering and terrorist financing cases.

His political affiliations in Qatar will be scrutinised thoroughly – although the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)’s purchase of Newcastle United has set the bar low on whether a buyer is considered an arm of the state – but banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Al-Thani seems to have emerged as the leading bidder for Manchester United Football Club, paying a possible $6bn.

The multi-billion-dollar revamp of Saudi Arabia's domestic football league and the merger of the Saudi-backed Liv Golf with the more established PGA Tour represent the next step in Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS)'s strategy to make Saudi Arabia a central player in an emerging new world order, and himself a popular leader.

A final list of 110 candidates for Qatar's upcoming Central Municipal Council (CMC) elections was released by the Ministry of Interior. The slate includes four women competing for one of the 29 elected seats in the chamber. Voting will take place on 22 June. Elections to the CMC have been held every four years since 1999.

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani went on a whistle-stop tour of central Asian republics, visiting Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan and overseeing the signing of numerous memoranda of understanding covering investment, trade, agriculture and food security, defence cooperation and more besides.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan secured a third term as Turkey's president in late May, despite significant weaknesses in the domestic economy and a stronger than usual opposition challenge. Gulf leaders quickly called to congratulate Erdoğan and the UAE president was one of the first to do so in person – a sign that, even if they are increasingly reluctant to write blank cheques, they are still keen to do business with a country with significant economic and military potential.

Qatar’s Ministry of Labour is reportedly preparing to take legal action against a company accused of leaving hundreds of workers unpaid for months. Stark Security Services, which provided security at five of the Fifa World Cup stadiums, fired hundreds of workers after the tournament ended in late 2022 but before their contracts had expired.

Fincantieri delivered the fourth and final Al-Zubarah class corvette to Qatar's Ministry of Defence. The Al-Zubarah class corvettes are 107 meters long and capable of a maximum speed of 28 knots. The flight deck can accommodate one NH90 helicopter.