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It is almost a year since 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested in Tehran for failing to adhere to Iran's strict dress code for women. She died in police custody on 16 September, prompting nationwide outrage which soon morphed into the "Women, Life, Freedom" protest movement. The Iranian government has been nervously preparing for the anniversary of Amini's death, by targeting protestors and their supporters.

The Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh has sentenced retired teacher Mohammed Al-Ghamdi to death for a series of tweets in which he criticised corruption and unemployment levels and called for the release of political prisoners.

Sheikh Zayed Bin Khalifa Bin Sultan Bin Shakhboot Al-Nahyan was sworn in as the UAE's ambassador to Qatar. He is a great-grandson of former ruler Shakbout Bin Sultan, and is married to a daughter of Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, a son of the late President Sheikh Khalifa.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS)'s mother Fahda Bint Falah Bin Sultan Al-Hithlain arrived in Morocco for a holiday in August, according to local media reports. Her presence in public is very rarely recorded.

Gulf royal families have generally been closely associated with only a narrow range of traditional preferred sports – including camel racing, horse racing and falconry – but younger Saudi princes and princesses now occupy senior positions in bodies overseeing a far wider range of pursuits, from motorsport and esports to triathlons and diving. Their efforts to promote sports and attract international events feed into Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman's economic and social diversification drive.

At least three Al-Saud princes called on UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) to offer their condolences on the recent death of his brother Sheikh Saeed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

Saudi Prince Turki Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Kabir died aged 70. Funeral prayers were held at Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh. With a PhD in political science from the University of London, he had a long career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Qatari Sheikh Al-Qaqa Bin Hamad Al-Thani – Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani’s youngest half-brother – was elected president of Al-Rayyan Sports Club.

Securing workable energy, economic and security relations with Turkey has even greater urgency for Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government as the KRG says it can no longer afford to pay its employees’ salaries due to the closure since late March of the vital crude oil export pipeline.

To the chagrin of GCC leaders and some others, the UK continues to resist pressure to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp as a terrorist organisation, even as it unveils plans for more far-reaching sanctions on Iran.

Sheikh Saeed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan died on 27 July, five days after the UAE's Presidential Court said he had an unspecified "health problem". Funeral prayers were held at Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed the First Mosque in Al-Bateen. President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) announced three days of mourning for his half-brother.

Saudi Arabia is trying to leverage its burgeoning relationship with China to further its aims in Yemen. And Chinese officials have expressed some interest in getting involved. However, the UAE views the idea of greater Chinese involvement as an attempt to undermine its position.

Former senior Parastin intelligence agency officer Brigadier General Mohammed Mirza Sindi was killed in Zakho, Iraq's Dohuk governorate, when the car he was travelling in exploded. Parastin has close links to the Kurdistan Democratic Party.

There has been fresh speculation about the health of King Salman Bin Abdelaziz, after dissident Saudi blogger Mujtahidd claimed the monarch had not attended a cabinet meeting since 23 May and that images purporting to show him at two meetings since then had been fabricated.

UAE state minister for foreign affairs Sheikh Shakhbut Bin Nahyan Al-Nahyan has been increasingly active on the African continent, since his four-year stint as ambassador to Saudi Arabia ended in 2021.