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The war in Syria is spreading to Lebanon and fitting increasingly neatly into the narrative of a broader Arab-Persian cold war, with Sunni fighters in Syria and Lebanon using the language of a sectarian ‘clash of civilisations’.

The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating allegations of bribery involving Iraqi government officials, a US contractor and a Kuwaiti-based but Iraqi-owned subcontractor linked to former prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki. The corruption claims – which first emerged in filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in late 2018 by Caliburn International – centre around Balad Air Base, where Caliburn subsidiary Sallyport Global Services has won a series of large contracts in recent years.

Philippines construction company EEI Corporation has announced a 91% decline in its Q2 2016 net profit, due to heavy losses at its Saudi affiliate Al-Rushaid Construction Company (ARCC), of which it owns 49%. ARCC was established in 1993 by EEI and Al-Khobar-based Al-Rushaid Petroleum Investment Company (now Al-Rushaid Group), which owns the remaining 51%. ARCC has reported a loss of P248.8m ($5.3m) stemming from a delayed project which became the subject of arbitration.

Abu Dhabi launched a competitive bidding process for the first time on 10 April, covering four onshore and two offshore oil and gas blocks. The blocks are between 2,500km2 and 6,300km2 each and in total cover close to 30,000km2. Some discoveries have already been made in these areas and across the six blocks there are 310 targeted reservoirs from 110 prospects and leads. Some blocks are said to contain significant potential for unconventional resources.

Falcon Private Bank, a boutique Swiss bank owned by Abu Dhabi-based Aabar Investments, has lost its licence in Singapore and been fined $5.5m by the authorities in Singapore and Switzerland, amid heavy criticism of its role in the scandal involving 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the loss of the bank’s licence and a S$4.3m ($3.1m) fine on 11 October, citing Falcon Bank’s “serious failures in anti-money laundering controls and improper conduct by senior management” in relation to transactions associated with 1MDB.

Attempts to reassure world markets that the emirate’s debt is no more than $80bn have been overshadowed by the revelation that Dubai World alone owes $59.3bn. Last November, Emaar Properties chairman Mohammed Ali Alabbar – for long a key ally of UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (MBR) – attempted to reassure financial markets that Dubai’s debt was no more than $80bn. It now appears the figure is higher.

A former senior diplomat in the Middle East, Thomas Hurd has formally taken over as director-general of the UK’s Office of Security and Counter Terrorism (OSCT). In January it was announced he would replace Charles Farr, who now chairs the Joint Intelligence Committee. A son of former Conservative foreign secretary Lord (Douglas) Hurd of Westwell, Hurd has three children from his marriage to Catherine ‘Sian’ Hurd né Aubrey, who died in a fall from the roof of their New York apartment in May 2011 as the family was preparing to move back to London after Hurd’s three years at the United Nations Security Council.

Operators such as Genel Energy (Genel) and Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP), two of the main oil production and export companies in Iraqi Kurdistan, will have viewed the Baghdad-Erbil deal as good for business; shares in both companies were briefly lifted by the deal’s announcement and, as the deal was being made, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) followed through on its November promise to make an initial payment of $75m to producers for exports.

It may finally be crunch time in Iraq for ExxonMobil, which in late 2011 led the charge north when it became the first major to sign a contract for exploration blocks in Iraqi Kurdistan. After months of back and forth, and meetings between chairman Rex Tillerson and (separately) Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki and Kurdish Prime Minister Massoud Barzani on 21 and 22 January, Exxon has apparently been told to decide once and for all between its 60% stake in the $50bn West Qurna 1 project in the south and its production-sharing agreements in blocks still being explored in Iraqi Kurdistan (Al Qush, Arbat East, Baeshiqa, Betwata, Pirmam and Qara Hanjeer).

King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz returned earlier than expected from his recuperative private holiday in Morocco, arriving in Jeddah on 14 June. A statement on the state news agency said he had concluded his “private holiday and recovery period… due to the repercussions of the events that are currently taking place in the region”.

Building on the spirit of enhanced co-operation, Egypt is considering importing liquified natural gas (LNG) from Qatar, according to the state-run Qatar News Agency (QNA).

Masraf Al Rayan’s board has nine members – seven elected by the General Assembly and two appointed by the main founders, Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company and Qatar’s General Retirement and Social Insurance Authority (GRSIA).

The execution of 47 Islamist militants the authorities had linked to terrorism was filled with symbolism: for Riyadh it marked the kingdom’s determination to show zero tolerance of terrorism and extremist Sunni or Shia takfiri (deviant) ideology; in Iran it was seen as yet another provocation against the region’s Shiite populations, leading radicals to invade Saudi legations in Tehran and Mashhad.

The UAE suspended its participation in air strikes on Islamic State in December, after Jordanian pilot Muath Al-Kasasbeh was captured by the extremists, according to unnamed US officials quoted by The New York Times (NYT) on 3 February. The news comes a day after it emerged that Kasasbeh, whose F-16 crashed over north-eastern Syria, was burnt alive by members of Islamic State. According to the NYT, the UAE – whose joining of the coalition against Islamic State was much publicised – wants the Pentagon to improve its search and rescue efforts, in case other pilots are downed.

With an election looming, and continued Shia and Kurdish opposition, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki’s efforts to bring Sunnis into the political fold are proving difficult and costly. Sunnis are complaining that Baghdad is inconsistent, and at times unfair, in its approach to Awakening and Sons of Iraq groups across the country