Search results

Sheikh Nasser Mohammed is suffering a political realignment, with the Islamic Constitutional Movement’s move from cabinet to grilling sponsor reflecting an erosion of support for his government.

Qatar Investment and Projects Development Holding Company (Qipco) and its chief executive Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdullah Al-Thani have brought an action for defamation against the unnamed owner of US-based website The Muslim Issue. The complaint, filed in the Wisconsin district court on 17 July, describes the website as a “hate site against Muslims throughout the world”. The Muslim Issue claims it has more than 26m readers.

A report on farsnews.com says that newly installed Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani is due to participate in the 4 August inauguration ceremony of Iranian president-elect Hassan Rouhani. Asharq Al-Awsat said on 29 July that representatives of 40 countries were due to attend the ceremony. Rouhani himself has tweeted (@HassanRouhani) that this is the first time foreign officials have been invited to the ceremony, and that the emir of Qatar will “certainly” attend, alongside ten presidents, three prime ministers, five heads of parliament (including Oman’s), five vice-presidents and ten foreign ministers.

King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa inaugurated a $50m National Theatre on 13 November, an elegant glass structure with a golden roof that seats 1,001 people and symbolises the union of Bahrain and sea. The theatre, commissioned long before the political crisis, was designed by France’s AS Architecture-Studio, also responsible for the Muscat Cultural Centre and Doha’s Pier Exhibition Centre.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) received Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed at Al-Shai Palace on 20 November. The official statement said their discussions ranged across economic development initiatives and co-operation in fighting terrorism and enhancing security and stability in Somalia.

The deployment of Turkish forces to Qatar as the emirate’s ‘GCC-3’ rivals ratcheted up pressure – including calls for Ankara to close the new military base it is building in Qatar – has underlined the positioning of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government as a key ally for Doha and Turkey’s wider importance in the regional balance of power. As the crisis unfolded, the Turkish parliament on 7 June ratified two agreements on stationing troops in Doha.

Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani travelled to the Rwandan capital Kigali on 9 December, just as his fellow rulers in the Gulf Co-operation Council were preparing to head to the Saudi capital Riyadh for the GCC summit. The emir was back in Africa to hand out the fourth batch of Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani International Anti-Corruption Excellence Awards at the Kigali Convention Centre. While in Rwanda, Tamim held talks with President Paul Kagame, an increasingly close ally.

Mohammed Bin Nayef Bin Abdelaziz Al-Saud (MBN) is a nephew of King Salman and, like him, from the powerful Sudairi bloc that has re-emerged as the dominant branch of the Al-Saud in the months since King Abdullah’s death. Born in 1959, he has long been thought of as a contender for the throne, and has excellent dynastic credentials, having been born to two members of the Al-Saud, the late crown prince Nayef and Jawahar Bint Abdelaziz Bin Musaid Bin Jiluwi.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s retail fuel arm Adnoc Distribution has set a price range of Dh2.35-2.95 ($0.64-0.80) per share in its initial public offering (IPO) on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). The government is planning to sell between 1.25bn and 2.5bn shares in the business, equating to 10-20% of its share capital. The sale could garner $800m-$2bn for the state. The shares are expected to list on the ADX on 13 December.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani was the most senior Gulf royal to attend the inauguration ceremony for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s second term in office – no surprise given the importance that Doha places on its alliance with Turkey in the face of hostility from other Gulf states.

The Iraqi cabinet passed the 2014 draft budget on 15 January, but its passage through parliament is facing a number of challenges. As well as complaints from the Kurds (see box, page 5), the budget’s failure to follow through on a 2013 provincial powers law stating provinces should get $5 per barrel of oil produced has provoked huge anger in the oil-producing states of southern Iraq, which are now threatening to block it in parliament.Article 2(1)(d)(2) of the budget states that provinces should receive $1 of additional revenue for each barrel of oil produced, along with $1 for every 150m3 of gas.

While they continue to grapple with the tough economic climate, Iranians who can still afford to travel by air will at least be heartened by the US treasury department’s decision to allow Boeing to sell spare aircraft parts to Iran, and for General Electric (GE) to overhaul old jet engines. But even this apparently simple gesture is complex and shrouded in some mystery.For a start, the waiver only covers equipment sold to Iran before the 1979 revolution. In most countries, these planes and engines would have been retired long ago, but Iran has not been able to buy enough replacements so the need for repairs and spare parts remains.

Aligning itself with international pressure over the nuclear issue, Tokyo has announced new sanctions against Iran, which include a ban upon any medium- to long-term (MLT) export credit cover from either Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (Nexi) and The Japan Bank for International Co-operation (JBIC).

Muscat is planning to spend OR12.9bn ($33.6bn) over the course of this year, OR400m more than forecast in the 2018 budget. According to local media reports, the budget is based on an oil price assumption of $58 a barrel, with total revenues forecast at OR10.1bn in 2019 The projected deficit of OR2.8bn is slightly lower than the OR3bn shortfall predicted in the 2018 budget.The government plans to borrow to cover most of the deficit, with OR2.4bn to be raised in international and domestic debt and the rest coming from withdrawals from reserves.

Amid all the talk of war on Iran, it is worth noting that Israeli deputy foreign minister Daniel Ayalon took the time last week to distance his country from any notion of imminent conflict.