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Khalid Bin Mohammed's star has been rising for some time, as his father has awarded him a string of senior jobs, but even as the 'Bani Fatima' further consolidate their power, President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed’s favoured son still had to overcome competition from powerful rivals to secure the position of the UAE's heir-apparent.

Baghdad deal: Federal Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani said on 13 March that Baghdad and Erbil had reached “a comprehensive agreement” on their outstanding differences, including oil revenues. He said a deal had been reached for all Kurdish oil revenues to be placed in a bank account “without any deductions”. Those funds could be spent by the Kurdistan authorities, subject to supervision by the federal government.

The United States Senate confirmed Michael Ratney as ambassador to Saudi Arabia in a vote mid-March. Ratney has previously served as US special envoy for Syria, consul general in Jerusalem and acting deputy assistant secretary for the Levant and Israel and Palestinian Affairs.

Election law: Iraq’s parliament voted on 20 March to maintain the number of seats in the chamber at 329 for the next election. Five seats will be reserved for Christians, with one seat each reserved for the Sabean-Mandaean, Shabak, Faily Kurd and Yazidi minorities.

Russian and Chinese vessels joined their Iranian counterparts in a naval exercise off Chah Bahar in the Gulf of Oman in mid-March. After two days of air defence and anti-hijacking drills, the exercise concluded with a fleet review on 19 March.

The Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF) took delivery of the first of its Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 fighter jets in March, becoming the first in the Gulf to add the aircraft to its fleet.

A joint venture of Singapore’s Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) and China’s Jinko Power Technology has won a contract to build, own and operate the 500MW Manah Solar II independent power project (IPP) in Manah, under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP).

The Qatar Fund For Development (QFFD) signed an agreement with Afghanistan's Ministry of Education for a project to support 30,000 out-of-school children, half of them girls.

The United States Naval Forces Central Command (Navcent) held the 18-day International Maritime Exercise 23 (IMX23) in late February and early March, with an opening ceremony for the operational phase held at US 5th Fleet’s headquarters in Bahrain.

Bahraini officials issued an apology to the Cyprus House of Representatives’ speaker Annita Demetriou, after she complained that the flag of the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) had been displayed alongside other national flags at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, held in Manama.

Turkmenistan’s President Serdar Berdimuhamedow was in Doha to oversee the opening of his country’s embassy, some 27 years after diplomatic relations were established between the two gas-rich countries and nine years after Qatar opened its embassy in Ashgabat.

The Qatar Emiri Air Force (QEAF) and the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) are to continue operating their joint Typhoon squadron for a further two years, based at RAF Coningsby in the UK.

Bahrain's Royal Endurance Team captain Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa was presented with the Order of Ahmad Al-Fateh at an event in Manama, held to mark his recent win in the 160km race of the FEI Endurance World Championships in the UAE.

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) began the annual process of prisoner pardons to mark Ramadan, by ordering the release of 1,025 inmates. Such pardons are a staple of UAE life, but the number of people pardoned this year is substantially higher than last year.

The UAE has withdrawn from the race to hold the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in 2026 and instead thrown its support behind Qatar’s bid.