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A ruling is expected in the coming weeks by Canada’s Federal Court on a case brought by Daniel Turp, a law professor and former Quebec politician, to stop the export of light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia – the latest sign of difficulty for Riyadh in buying arms from Western countries. If successful, the case will halt a C$14.8bn ($11.2bn) export order, which has been described by local daily The Globe and Mail as “the largest advanced manufacturing export contract in Canadian history”.

The death on 30 November of George HW Bush, 41st president of the United States, prompted some heartfelt expressions of sympathy from Gulf leaders, particularly in Kuwait and Iraqi Kurdistan. Images of Bush and the American flag were displayed on the iconic Kuwait Towers on the day he died. In a letter to Bush’s son, Potus 43 George W Bush, Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said “we have lost a dear friend… the Kuwaiti people will never forget him as a supporter of justice.”

Ian Fleming’s villain Auric Goldfinger reminded James Bond: ‘Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times, it’s enemy action.’ As a third Gulf hydrocarbons company this year falls victim to a cyber attack, speculation is rife over who is to blame.

Among non-GCC economies, the International Monetary Fund expects Iran to sink further into recession in 2019; the IMF predicts a 6% contraction this year, as US sanctions bite. Previously, the IMF had predicted the Islamic Republic’s economy would shrink by 3.6%. The forecast for Iraq’s GDP growth rate has been cut from 6.5% to 2.8%, which – alongside the UAE – would still make it the best-performing this year of the economies in the GSN region.

The League of Arab States summit, held in Amman in late March, was an opportunity for the Hashemite kingdom to reaffirm its loyalty to the wealthier Gulf monarchies to its south. It also provided a platform to reaffirm Jordan’s stability and valuable buffer status from the unstable countries to its north. While lacking his late father’s charisma, King Abdullah Bin Hussein has proved adroit at the diplomatic footwork needed to stradde the grittier end of the Arab world and the GCC.

The Ministry of Defence showed off its first batch of Pakistan-built Super Mushshak training aircraft by posting photos on Twitter on 19 July. The planes will be used to train pilots at Al-Attiyah Air College. Qatar signed a contract in June 2016 with Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) to buy eight of the planes.

The Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources launched its first requests for qualifications for the National Renewable Energy Programme on 20 February. It marks the start of an ambitious plan to develop 3.45GW of renewable energy by 2020 and 9.5GW by 2023. First round projects include the installation of 300MW of solar photovoltaic energy at Sakaka, in Al-Jouf province, and a 400MW wind project at Midyan, Tabuk province. The projects will be backed by a 25-year power purchase agreement for the solar scheme and a 20-year PPA for the wind project.

Whether or not Tehran is bluffing, its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz has gained enough amplitude for western powers to prepare contingency plans, according to industry sources

British Prime Minister David Cameron visited King Abdullah in Jeddah on 6 November, and was decorated with the King Abdelaziz Sash of the First Class, traditionally given to leaders of “sisterly and friendly countries”.

Thirty of parliament’s 50 seats went to candidates who have not previously been MPs. Three seats went to women – Maasouma Al-Mubarak, who has held several ministerial positions and was elected in 2009, and two newcomers, Safa Al-Hashem, who has previously worked in the higher education ministry, and lawyer Thikra Al-Rashidi.

Tehran signed a provisional deal to create a free trade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at a ceremony on the sidelines of the Astana Economic Forum in Kazakhstan on 17 May. The deal has been on the cards for some time, but reaching a full free trade agreement could take another three years, according to EAEU Economic Commission chair Tigran Sargsyan.

The Bahraini delegation to the 5-21 August Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, will be headed by the controversial Bahrain Olympic Committee president Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, who was the subject of torture allegations during the 2011 uprising. The kingdom is fielding competitors in athletics, shooting, swimming and wrestling. It is the ninth consecutive Games that Bahrain has taken part in, starting with the 1984 edition in Los Angeles.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has handed an engineering, procurement and construction contract to South Korea’s SK Engineering and Construction to build the world’s largest crude oil storage facility. Three underground storage caverns will be built deep below ground level in Fujairah, each with a capacity of 14 million barrels, giving a total storage capacity of 42 million bbl.

On 24 September, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) announced that Swiss-based Tyco International, a manufacturer of security, fire and protection products, had pleaded guilty to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Tyco will pay $26m in fines – $13.68m of which is for falsifying books and records in connection with payments by Tyco subsidiaries to government officials abroad.

The Kurdish independence referendum looked likely to go ahead as GSN was going to press, despite intense diplomatic efforts to convince the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to abandon or at least delay the vote. The poll, which is non-binding, is scheduled for 25 September. Those who have urged the KRG to put off the vote include Turkey, Iran, the United States, major European powers and the United Nations. Israel is the only country to openly support KRG President Masoud Barzani’s move.