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Conflict and popular protest in central Yemen call into question the Riyadh Agreement’s future, as the uneasy alliance between the Saudi-backed, internationally-recognised Hadi government and the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council comes under new pressure with potentially wide-ranging consequences.

Protests have been continuing across Iran, following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in Tehran in September. More than 150 people are thought to have been killed by security forces in what has, to date, been a failed attempt to restore control. While it is not yet an existential crisis for the state, the protests could build up further momentum.

The Kuwaiti government has proposed cuts to capital spending but sharp rises in current expenditure as part of its budget for fiscal year 2023/24, which starts on 1 April. 

Kuwaiti sources believe it is likely the government will resort to another unconstitutional resignation and cabinet reshuffle to avoid facing members of parliament (MP)’s calls for debt relief and other populist measures.

The Riyadh summit convened by the GCC delivered more than expected, with the formation of a new Yemeni governing council which provides a united front against the Houthis.

Having successfully expelled forces linked to the Al-Islah Party from Yemen’s oil-rich Shabwa province in 2022, pro-Southern Transition Council (STC) groups are now aiming to remove the last remnants of fighters from the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated group from Wadi Hadramawt – a strategically-important 640km-long valley at the centre of Hadramawt province.

Saudi Arabia is keen to end the costly war on its southern border, but has yet to find a way out while also ensuring its security and preserving Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s reputation. The Biden administration could contribute to the conflict’s resolution, provided it can reach a new understanding with Iran. In the meantime, many are profiting from the conflict, with large-scale smuggling from Oman and the UAE bringing arms and much more into the conflict zone.

A list of the 22 members of Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani's cabinet, covering agriculture, communications, culture, defence, education, electricity, finance, foreign affairs, health, higher education and scientific research, industry and minerals, interior, justice, labour and social affairs, migration and displacement, oil, planning, trade, transport, water resources, and youth and sports.

Sheikh Ahmed Al-Nawaf Al-Sabah takes over as Kuwait’s sixth prime minister in two decades, but he is widely expected to relinquish the position as soon as new parliamentary elections can be held in the coming months, leaving Kuwaitis none the wiser about the future direction of government policy.

Kuwait may be heading for its fifth general election in ten years, after Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah said the National Assembly (parliament) would be dissolved. The authorities are hoping a fresh vote will break the political logjam the country has found itself in since early April.

Kuwait held its 13th Municipal Council elections on 21 May, with 38 candidates competing, including one woman. Some 438,283 Kuwaitis were eligible to vote.

Defence minister Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah and interior minister Sheikh Ahmed Mansour Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah sparked another political crisis in Kuwait, by issuing a joint resignation statement on 16 February. They said necessary reforms were impossible to achieve under the prevailing political circumstances.

Justice minister Jamal Al-Jalawi has come under pressure from members of parliament (MPs) over an extradition agreement signed with the UK in 2017 to bring disgraced former Public Institution for Social Security director Fahad Al-Rajaan back to Kuwait.

Any progress in the National Assembly (parliament) has been put on hold by the government’s resignation on 9 November, following the amnesty. The session on 9 November was supposed to be critical, with 11 grillings of ministers scheduled, including health minister Basel Al-Sabah, commerce and industry minister Abdullah Al-Salman and defence minister Hamad Jaber Al-Sabah.

The Saudi government has been accused of trying to control information about the kingdom posted on online encyclopaedia Wikipedia, with indications that other governments may be making similar efforts to burnish their image.