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Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani's government has launched Iraq down a perilous fiscal path, with an extravagant three-year budget for 2023-25 which gained Council of Representatives (Majlis an-Nuwwab or parliament) approval.

Former Kuwait Projects Company (Kipco) vice chairman Faisal Al-Ayar’s attempt to recover $840,000 from his son-in-law – who is in divorce proceedings with Al-Ayar’s daughter – has been dismissed by an Abu Dhabi court for lack of jurisdiction, mirroring a similar ruling in Dubai.

Conservatives are trying to claim some scalps among their political opponents as a battle to clamp down on money laundering continues to build momentum. Among those in the firing line are foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Majlis-e Shura-ye Eslami (parliament) speaker Ali Larijani. Iran is under pressure from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to pass a comprehensive set of rules to curb money laundering and financing of terrorist groups by February.

Alpha Dhabi Holding – the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX)-listed investment firm linked to national security advisor Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan – said it had bought a 36.4% stake in National Corporation for Tourism and Hotels (NCTH) for AED730m ($199m), becoming the largest shareholder in the local hotel owner and operator.

Prince Turki Bin Salman has been appointed chairman of Saudi Research and Marketing Group (SRMG), replacing his brother Faisal Bin Salman, who was appointed Medina governor in January. SRMG owns Al-Sharq Al-Awsat and Arab News.

Iraq is buffeted by regional conflicts and domestic political and economic pressures; the dinar remains stressed and the population even more so. This is the first of a much-expanded series of GSN Risk management reports, in an online format intended to provide easy-to-access updates, analysis and contexts as a point of entry into this complex, often opaque region.

Noor Bint Ali Al-Khulaif was appointed to head the EDB in mid-February, taking over from Khalid Humaidan who is now governor of Central Bank of Bahrain.

Kerman blast: Around 100 people were killed and nearly 300 injured in two explosions at a cemetery in the southern city of Kerman on 3 January, at an event marking the fourth anniversary of IRGC Quds force leader Qasem Soleimani’s death in a United States drone strike.

Kuwait Finance House was the target of a complex fraud attempt in which a fictitious arbitration award was presented to the High Court in London and used to secure court orders to seize almost $90m in assets.

A relatively rare phone call between Bahrain’s King Hamad and Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim on 3 March followed signs of progress being made on the long-delayed Friendship Bridge project to create a physical link between the sometimes feuding neighbours.

The UAE's new National Media Office in Abu Dhabi adds another layer of 'Bani Fatima' reporting to Presidential Court minister Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and chaired by President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed’s nephew and son-in-law Sheikh Zayed Bin Hamdan Al-Nahyan.

Abu Dhabi Executive Office chairman Sheikh Khalid Bin Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan visited the  headquarters of Japanese energy company Inpex, which works closely with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) in exploration and production in the UAE.

The Saudi government’s Public Investment Fund has been signing contracts with more lobbying and communications specialists, as it continues to face political scrutiny over its investments in the United States.

A deal between Abu Dhabi giant Adnoc and UK major BP to co-invest in Egyptian gas assets highlights how wealthy Gulf national oil companies are seeking lower-carbon expansion opportunities across Africa, with actors from Qatar and Kuwait also among those on the hunt.

Bahrain’s Mumtalakat sovereign wealth fund has reportedly invested a further $38m into McLaren, just weeks after the luxury sportscar maker had said a full recapitalisation had been completed.