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Ras Al-Khaimah’s Sheikh Humaid Bin Khalid Al-Qasimi has been appointed chairman of The Rare Age Technologies, a Dubai-based group which aims to use blockchain technology to make museums and art galleries more accessible.

Russia is providing the bulk of Saudi diesel and fuel oil imports, as power generation and wider growth increase domestic demand according to recent industry reports. Saudi officials have argued this trade predates Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, but market data highlight the depth of bilateral relations.

Former senior Parastin intelligence agency officer Brigadier General Mohammed Mirza Sindi was killed in Zakho, Iraq's Dohuk governorate, when the car he was travelling in exploded. Parastin has close links to the Kurdistan Democratic Party.

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani flew to Guyana on 12 September, meeting President Irfaan Ali and overseeing the signing of economic and legal agreements. Ali was in Doha in May to open an embassy and discuss investment opportunities.

Saudi Aramco said it was buying a minority stake in liquefied natural gas (LNG) company MidOcean Energy for $500m, with an option to buy more shares in the future. It is the Saudi giant’s first international LNG investment. 

Now Arafat has gone, his detractors in the Gulf could provide more substantial backing for the Palestinians as part of a wider peace effort.

Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum launched a generative artificial intelligence (AI) competition in early November, with prizes of AED1m ($272,000) available for winners of the Global Prompt Engineering Championship.

With increasing amounts of Moscow's business now being transacted through Gulf states, impending G7 and EU sanctions on Russian diamond exports offer opportunities and risks for the Dubai Diamond Exchange, which has grown rapidly to become the largest trading hub in the world for the rough gems. 

Bahrain's recently-appointed Civil Service Bureau president Sheikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al-Khalifaheld talks with Prime Minister and Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa at Gudaibiya Palace late October. 

Kuwait recorded a KD6.5bn ($21bn) surplus for fiscal year ending 31 March 2023, its first annual surplus since 2014/15.

The Saudi government has set out SR1.25tn ($333.6bn) worth of spending plans for 2024, in a budget statement issued on 6 December.

The UAE’s first female minster.

The UAE and India agreed to do more trade in their own currencies, rather than the US dollar, in a memorandum of understanding signed mid-July during an official visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Abu Dhabi – the Indian leader's fifth trip to the country in the past eight years.

An election victory next May seems to be Presidential Hassan Rouhani’s to lose, but the big winners on the Iranian business scene continue to be the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC or Pasdaran) and other conservative factions – a harsh reality for oil majors considering investments and others hoping for a soft landing in Iran after the nuclear deal. Their powerful position signals that hardliners are in no way in retreat, even if many Iranians would like to see genuine change.

Rahbar (Supreme Leader) Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei appointed Brigadier General Amir Hatami as his advisor on army affairs on 9 February.