Search results

Following a Houthi drone attack on Tel Aviv and an Israeli strike on Yemen’s Hodeidah port, as well as renewed fighting on a number of frontlines in Yemen’s own war, there are concerns that the situation in the country is once again at risk of spiralling out of control.

Masoud Pezeshkian was formally endorsed by Rahbar (Supreme Leader) Ali Khamenei on 28 July, followed by a public ceremony two days later. However, any chance of being able to ease into the new job ended abruptly with Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran in the early hours of 31 July. The region is still awaiting Iran’s response.

The appointment of Sheikh Theyab Bin Tahnoun Bin Mohammed Al-Nahyan as chairman of the Dubai Financial Market-listed construction company Drake & Scull International is part of the business rehabilitation of a veteran gulf contracting company.

Persistent budget deficits and the rapid depletion of the General Reserve Fund are prompting the Kuwaiti government to consider some potentially unpopular moves to restrict state spending.

A dispute between art collector Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdullah Al-Thani and other family members behind the Al-Thani Foundation over the world’s largest cut blue diamond, the Idol’s Eye, is heading for the High Court in London.

The former Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Menendez was convicted on 16 July for accepting cash, gold and other assets, with prosecutors accusing him of “selling his office to the highest bidder”.

After years of minimal progress, plans to introduce personal income tax in Oman appear to be moving forward, with a draft law passed from the lower house of parliament to the upper house in late June. If it goes ahead, it will be the first income tax in the GCC and could provide a model for Muscat’s neighbours to follow.

Bahrain’s ambassador Mohammed Al-Ghatam presented his credentials to Qatar’s minister of state for foreign affairs Soltan Bin Saad Al-Muraikhi in Doha on 28 July.

Azerbaijan has reopened its embassy in Tehran, almost 18 months after the diplomatic mission was shuttered following an armed assault.

Elections to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s parliament are due to be held on 20 October, some two years later than originally planned. A total of 13 parties have registered to compete in the poll, but the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) are expected to remain the dominant force.

The Qatar Fund for Development is providing a grant for the $12m Qatar Square development in Tirana, which will include exhibition spaces, shops and a park.

Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al-Nahyan will chair the new Smart and Autonomous Systems Council, which will act as a regulator and aim to attract investment into a sector which encompasses everything from self-driving cars to smart oil well technology and military weapons.

A rare by-election is being held in early September, following a court ruling to strip Mohammed Al-Hussaini of his seat in the Council of Representatives because he held citizenship of a second country.

Bahraini national security advisor gave fulsome backing to the four-year-old Abraham Accords, saying “We would encourage others to join”, while speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in the United States.

Air Vice Marshal Sabah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah was appointed deputy chief of staff of the Kuwait Army, via an emiri order.