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With Ahmadinejad finding a second wind as Khamenei endorses nationalist populism, his conservative pragmatist rivals who now dominate the Majlis risk being outmanoeuvred as president and supreme leader unite in defying international opinion over the nuclear issue and continuing a high-spending domestic policy recipe that has fuelled surging inflation.

University opened; Genetics project; Legal win; Princess Sarah death

When the renowned Doha-based Egyptian cleric and scholar Yusef Al-Qaradawi launched a fierce attack on Shiites – whom he deemed heretics – for supposedly infiltrating and undermining Sunni societies, he provoked dismay even among many of those who have hitherto listened to his views with respect. Then he chose to reaffirm his discomfiting message, dispelling any question that he could have been misquoted or misunderstood by the Egyptian newspaper Al-Masry Al-Youm on the first occasion.

The Iraqi parliament on 24 September finally passed the Provincial Powers Bill. The hotly contested legislation must still be approved by the senior leadership, but even a concerted rearguard action by opponents such as Kurdish federal President Jalal

The sustained discrimination meted out to the Saudi Ismaili population concentrated in Najran province – frequently reported by opposition sources over recent years – has been chronicled in detail by the internationally respected advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW).

GSN has braved a welter of forums, brown bag lunches and fundraisers to get a closer look at the Obama and McCain camps’ regional policy plans. The conclusion: the candidates’ Middle East manifestos are largely similar, with the emphasis on toughness and smart diplomacy. Obama is more focused on Afghanistan, while McCain remains Iraq-minded

Domestic human rights campaigns and international pressure have combined to persuade an increasingly image-conscious government down the path of a reform that has social and economic implications for the whole region.

John Leonard Monterona, Middle East co-ordinator for Migrante, a leading independent organisation representing Filipino expatriate workers, told GSN his group would like to see sponsorship completely abolished.

The western media remain focused on the prospects for US troop drawdowns and the Status of Forces Agreement, but on the ground it is the Arab/Kurdish confrontation that threatens to have even greater long-term significance, as federal troops and Peshmerga face off in northern cities, and a new Sunni politics emerges

MPs have called for an investigation into procedures at the 17 May legislative elections, after a Constitutional Court ruling annulled the election of two MPs over discrepancies with the vote count. The court ruling means that tribal, independent candidates Mubarak Al-Waalan Al-Mutairi

Princess Luluwa Bint Abdelaziz died at the age of 80; Late Ramadan travels; Charitable work

Obtaining details and confirmations remains as problematic as ever, but some sources are talking about upheavals in the Saudi military/security establishment linked to continuing dynastic struggles in the Kingdom. According to one version of events, as many as 150

Abu Dhabi’s recent attention-grabbing deals highlight the wealthiest emirate’s emergence as an increasingly high-profile force to be reckoned with – astride the world stage and within the United Arab Emirates, where a further round of shifts in the internal power balance are coming to light.

Denis McDonough – Obama’s senior foreign policy co-ordinator is a venerable ‘Beltway bandit’, a career Capitol Hill staffer. His previous job was senior fellow at CAP, a liberal-oriented think tank with many members advising Obama’s campaign and with a key focus on ending US

The takeover of one of the UK’s oldest football clubs by a previously unheard of Abu Dhabi vehicle has caused huge stirs in the UAE and in Britain – and still it remains unclear who owns the privately-held company. GSN highlights two members of the Abu Dhabi ruling family with close links to the sale.