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Bashar Al-Assad's regime in Syria has been readmitted to the Arab League after more than a bloody decade on the sidelines, after Saudi Arabia and the UAE orchestrated a vote in favour ahead of a 19 May summit in Jeddah. Regional opposition to Syria hasn't disappeared, but Qatar and Kuwait decided not to stand in the way of readmission, in a further indication of Riyadh's new-found desire to flex its diplomatic muscles whatever western allies might think.

Stephen Peter Day was a committed Arabist, while also being a guardian of British national interests – positions the diplomat, who has died aged 85, saw as complementary rather than incompatible. His conflicts could be with elements of the British establishment rather than with foreign governments, groups and individuals with whom he engaged with ease.

Manama has agreed to establish diplomatic relations with two Pacific Island countries, Samoa and Nauru, in late April and May.

Fujairah and others census counting: Fujairah is preparing for the first part of its latest census, with teams of field workers due to visit all parts of the emirate starting in May, including residential and commercial premises and other facilities. A second phase is due to be carried out in Q1 2024, when the population will be counted. The project is being supervised by Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Mohammed Al-Sharqi.

Iran officially welcomed Syria’s return to the League of Arab States, but the eagerness with which Damascus is accepting the renewed Arab hospitality may be a cause for concern in Tehran, which has been one of the Assad regime’s few consistent supporters throughout the civil war.

MBC Group Holdings, a British Virgin Islands-registered company connected to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ibrahim family, has submitted a petition to a Cayman Islands court to wind up its partnership with a son of Saudi Arabia's late King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz. The move offers an insight into how lucrative deals were awarded in the later years of Abdullah’s reign and how those deals were treated when King Salman Bin Abdelaziz took over in 2015.

Khalifa anniversary: The UAE marked the first anniversary of the death of president Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan on 13 May. Khalifa had been in office since November 2004, but had largely been sidelined after suffering a stroke in early 2014. His half-brother Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) was already the dominant figure in UAE politics and since replacing Khalifa as head of state has further entrenched the position of his branch of the family.

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.

Gulf officials who attended the coronation of Britain's King Charles III include Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, UAE Vice President Mansour Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Saudi Arabia's minister of state Prince Turki Bin Mohammed Bin Fahd,  and Oman's culture, sports and youth minister Sayyid Theyazin Bin Haitham Al-Said.

Algerian foreign affairs and national community abroad minister Ahmed Attaf arrived in the Saudi city of Jeddah on 15 May for bilateral talks and preparations for the planned League of Arab States summit, to be held on 19 May.

Iraq has been hosting reconciliation talks between Iranian and Egyptian officials which should lead to the reestablishment of diplomatic relations "in the near future".

A son of the late Saudi Prince Talal Bin Abdelaziz, Prince Mohammed Bin Talal, in early May married a daughter of Dr Khaled Al-Fadal. Mohammed's brothers include businessman Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and Asir governor Prince Turki Bin Talal.

Several sons of former Saudi crown prince Muqrin Bin Abdelaziz attended a wedding in Jeddah in late April between a daughter of Sheikh Gharam Allah Bin Rashid Al-Zanan Al-Zahrani and a man from the Al-Gharsan. Muqrin's sons present included Princes Fahd, Faisal and Bandar.

Almost 5,000 people have been evacuated from Sudan to Saudi Arabia since fighting broke out between rival generals in Khartoum on 15 April, the vast majority of them citizens of other countries.

The Islamic Republic has largely suppressed the wave of protests that emerged in September after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, but the opaque political system remains under pressure, both from the Iranian public and from signs of internal division. The tensions point to a period of uncertainty ahead of the eventual succession to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene.