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The western media remain focused on the prospects for US troop drawdowns and the Status of Forces Agreement, but on the ground it is the Arab/Kurdish confrontation that threatens to have even greater long-term significance, as federal troops and Peshmerga face off in northern cities, and a new Sunni politics emerges

MPs have called for an investigation into procedures at the 17 May legislative elections, after a Constitutional Court ruling annulled the election of two MPs over discrepancies with the vote count. The court ruling means that tribal, independent candidates Mubarak Al-Waalan Al-Mutairi

Princess Luluwa Bint Abdelaziz died at the age of 80; Late Ramadan travels; Charitable work

Dubai provides the widest range of requests for trade and project risk insurance within the GCC markets, while Saudi Arabia provides underwriters with the largest volumes of political risk insurance (PRI) exposure, according to London-based insurer Aspen Insurance UK,

Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas investment arm is talking tough as it seeks to exponentially increase its already substantial portfolio with acquisitions at home and abroad. International Petroleum Investment Company is showing itself to be a tough negotiator in its talks with Spain’s Banco Santander

GSN has braved a welter of forums, brown bag lunches and fundraisers to get a closer look at the Obama and McCain camps’ regional policy plans. The conclusion: the candidates’ Middle East manifestos are largely similar, with the emphasis on toughness and smart diplomacy. Obama is more focused on Afghanistan, while McCain remains Iraq-minded

Domestic human rights campaigns and international pressure have combined to persuade an increasingly image-conscious government down the path of a reform that has social and economic implications for the whole region.

John Leonard Monterona, Middle East co-ordinator for Migrante, a leading independent organisation representing Filipino expatriate workers, told GSN his group would like to see sponsorship completely abolished.

The sustained discrimination meted out to the Saudi Ismaili population concentrated in Najran province – frequently reported by opposition sources over recent years – has been chronicled in detail by the internationally respected advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW).

Spanish sporting giant Real Madrid (RM)’s president Ramon Calderón has been in talks with Ajman Crown Prince Sheikh Ammar Bin Humaid Al-Nuaimi with the idea of training talented young Emirati footballers in Spain, as well as opening RM football schools in the UAE.

Following on plans to establish an investment fund with Indonesia (GSN 835/15), Qatar and Vietnam have announced a $1bn fund to invest in various sectors including agriculture. According to Vietnamese ambassador Phung The Long, Qatar Investment Authority will provide 90% of the fund’s equity. “We have exchanged

An Iraqi-led operation in Diyala province shows how Baghdad’s most intractable opponents are being squeezed. Operation Bashaer Al-Khair (Omens of Prosperity) kicked off three days earlier than anticipated in Diyala province, but otherwise came as no surprise. After other supposedly intractable security blackspots had been tackled this year – first Basra, then Baghdad’s Sadr City, then Mosul and

The US Department of Defence has approved the sale to Saudi Arabia of 12 AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters built by The Boeing Company, in a deal valued at up to $598m.

The senior Al-Thani leadership has been busy on the international front. Following a visit to Tehran by Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Qatar denied it had invited Iran to attend this year’s December Gulf Co-operation Council summit.

Falcon Petroleum Ltd, a company with Middle Eastern backing registered in Cyprus, has been awarded three blocks in Ethiopia’s Amhara Regional State. Ethiopian Minister of Mines and Energy Alemayehu Tegenu said the contract envisaged an exploration period of four years and a 25-year production period, and