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Anti-corruption committee, Marriages

Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) citizens already have the same rights as Saudis when it comes to owning and trading shares on the Tadawul. Although the market is now due to be opened up to those from outside the region, plenty of restrictions will remain in place as to who can invest and how much money they can put in.Under the draft proposals set out by the Capital Market Authority (CMA) in 2014, only qualified foreign investors (QFIs) will be allowed to invest.

Saudi Arabia has arrested 18 people it accuses of spying for a foreign country, including one Iranian, one Lebanese and 16 Saudis. On 19 March, the interior ministry said that the suspects had “gathered information on vital installations which they provided to the country” they had been working for, and that they would be handed over to judicial authorities.

When Saudi-watchers get together, conversation will soon turn to questions that can become an obsession: who will be the next Saudi monarch, who will succeed him and when will this happen? The onset of illness associated with old age cannot help the

On 13 May, Lieutenant Colonel Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, who is commander of the Royal Guard, visited the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he attended the inauguration of King Hamad Hall and met a number of Gulf cadets. Sheikh Nasser, a Sandhurst graduate himself (GSN 928/8), is married to the daughter of Dubai ruler Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum. He was welcomed by Sandhurst Commandant Major General Timothy Evans.

Riyadh has appointed more than a dozen new ambassadors in a shake-up of its diplomatic presence around the world, with some significant postings changing hands. Among them, fluent German-speaking Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Bin Abdullah has taken over from Prince Khalid Bin Bandar Bin Sultan as ambassador to Berlin. This follows a breakdown in relations between the two countries over arms sales and human rights – a situation that has only recently been mended. Prince Mansour Bin Nasser Bin AbdElaziz got a plum post as ambassador to Switzerland.

Central Bank of the UAE’s initial $10bn investment in Dubai’s $20bn five-year refinancing package confirms that Abu Dhabi has no intention of cutting adrift the commercial emirate; the senior emirate will gain from maintaining stability in the federation

Most of the Gulf Co-operation Council states have small, relatively well-trained and equipped armed forces, but continue to rely on each other and international allies to guarantee their security. In a climate of regional insecurity, the GCC has been busy modernising its defence equipment, paying billions of dollars for purchases and upgrades. The following items are among those bought in the last few years, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ report The Military Balance 2015.KUWAIT: A $263m upgrade of 72 Patriot missile systems, from PAC-2 to PAC-3, from the US’ Lockheed Martin. Ordered in 2013, the upgrade is expected to be delivered by 2015.

Prince Bandar Bin Abdelaziz died on 28 July according to a statement from the Royal Court. Funeral prayers for King Salman Bin Abdelaziz’s older half-brother were held the following day at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Condolences immediately poured in from other Gulf ruling family members. Prince Bandar – the eldest surviving son of King Abdelaziz (Ibn Saud) – had maintained a low profile for years; some sources referred to him as ‘reclusive’.

The cabinet approved draft laws on income tax and value-added tax (VAT) at a meeting on 3 May chaired by prime minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani. The new income tax law replaces existing statutes which provide an exemption for non-Qatari investors from tax on profits of some companies and investment funds. The VAT law is in line with the wider Gulf Co-operation Council plan to impose the sales tax from 2018.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has defied Baghdad and surprised analysts by publishing every production-sharing contract (PSC) it has signed since 2004.

By squirreling away its recent fiscal surpluses, Oman has stayed snugly insulated from the worst chills of the global financial crisis, with both the credit standing of local companies and the sovereign outlook still viewed very favourably by rating agencies and credit insurers.

When a 'terror plot' emerges everyone is quick to rush in with their interpretation of the (usually shadowy) events. "An armed cell related to a regional government" was reportedly uncovered over the summer in the northern emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah (RAK). Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida,

National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has been forced to deny claims that Tehran has abandoned plans for its much-delayed and much-vaunted Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC). The local Tasnim News Agency reported on 14 February that MP, and member of parliament’s energy commission, Hedayatollah Khademi had said “the new model of oil contracts has been shelved” due to flaws in the proposed contract model and that “no contract has been signed under these new models.” However, NIOC chief executive Ali Kardor has insisted the IPC is still moving ahead, attributing the delays to the “high sensitivity” of the issues involved.