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There are many reasons for environmentalists to be suspicions about the UAE's stewardship of the upcoming UN Climate Conference COP28, but it could prove a historic mistake for the mostly western critics to underestimate the summit's president-designate Sultan Al-Jaber. While detractors fear the event is morphing into a vehicle for hydrocarbons industry lobbying, the UAE claims it is serious about renewable energy and is recruiting a potentially powerful southern alliance to its side.

The appointment of the polarising figure of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Sabah as Kuwait's defence minister in the new cabinet unveiled on 18 June could set the scene for further clashes between parliament and the executive, and could also lead to battles within the ruling family coming back into public view.

Kirkuk's location on the boundary between the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and the rest of Iraq has made it a key arena for the rivalry between Erbil and Baghdad. The region’s multi-ethnic character – a legacy of Saddam Hussein's Arabization policy – is likely to be to the fore in the run-up to provincial elections planned for December.

A final list of 110 candidates for Qatar's upcoming Central Municipal Council (CMC) elections was released by the Ministry of Interior. The slate includes four women competing for one of the 29 elected seats in the chamber. Voting will take place on 22 June. Elections to the CMC have been held every four years since 1999.

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.

His political affiliations in Qatar will be scrutinised thoroughly – although the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF)’s purchase of Newcastle United has set the bar low on whether a buyer is considered an arm of the state – but banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Al-Thani seems to have emerged as the leading bidder for Manchester United Football Club, paying a possible $6bn.

The multi-billion-dollar revamp of Saudi Arabia's domestic football league and the merger of the Saudi-backed Liv Golf with the more established PGA Tour represent the next step in Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS)'s strategy to make Saudi Arabia a central player in an emerging new world order, and himself a popular leader.

A cross-party group of British parliamentarians has launched an enquiry into the UAE's legal system and its treatment of foreign businesspeople.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman left for a state visit to France on 14 June, which will include talks with President Emmanuel Macron on 16 June and leading the Saudi delegation at the New Global Financial Pact summit on 22-23 June. In between, MBS will take part in the 19 June reception for Riyadh’s candidacy to host the Expo 2030 world fair – a project on which considerable resources have already been expended.

Ras Al-Khaimah (RAK) Ruler Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al-Qasimi made an unusual visit to Oman on 13 June for talks with Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said at Al-Baraka Palace in Muscat. While Sheikh Saud occasionally represents the UAE at regional summits, he rarely makes official overseas trips on his own behalf.

Most members of the annulled 2022 chamber retained their seats in Kuwait's 6 June National Assembly election, leaving opposition figures with a clear majority and likely to push for reforms unpalatable to the government of returning Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nawaf Al-Sabah. Adding to a complex situation is the poor health of the PM's father, Emir Sheikh Nawaf.

Tehran's concerns over the activities of Iranian anti-regime groups based in the Kurdistan region were sufficient for recently-appointed Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Akbar Ahmadian to make talks on the issue with his federal Iraqi counterpart Qassem Al-Araji an early priority – and for veiled threats about cross-border action to shut down Iraq-based dissidents if Baghdad doesn't respond.

Slow moves towards peace: Yemen remains a failed state (F on GSN’s risk grade scale), with an economy and society ravaged by war (risk grade 6). Cautious moves towards achieving a sustainable peace depend on the main belligerents buying into a credible, internationally-brokered deal. Even then, dangerous non-state actors – and more covert action by governments – will likely mean Yemen remains deeply unstable for years to come.

Regional and international organisations Arab League Summit: Saudi Arabia provided a warm welcome to President Bashar Al-Assad on Syria’s return to the League of Arab States, at the organisation’s 32nd summit, held at the King Abdullah International Conference Centre in Jeddah on 19 May.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan secured a third term as Turkey's president in late May, despite significant weaknesses in the domestic economy and a stronger than usual opposition challenge. Gulf leaders quickly called to congratulate Erdoğan and the UAE president was one of the first to do so in person – a sign that, even if they are increasingly reluctant to write blank cheques, they are still keen to do business with a country with significant economic and military potential.