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The UAE Air Force and Defence Command has requested a further ten Chinook CH-47F cargo helicopters to add to its fleet, at a cost of around $830m. The order was approved by the US State Department on 7 November. The helicopters will be built by Boeing Helicopters Aircraft Company, with engines made by Honeywell Engine Company. The deal includes ten US contractors travelling to the UAE for five years of delivery, training and support. The UAE Air Force already has 20 Chinooks in place.

The new parliament’s pro-government character appears to be translating into greater levels of achievement. The assembly has already pushed through a number of bills and motions, including approving the much delayed draft law to privatise Kuwait Airways Corporation.

On 18 July, a brazen attack which stateTV blamed on a suicide bomber killed defence minister Daoud Rajha and Assad’s brother-inlaw Assef Shawkat, who were at a meeting of ministers and senior security personnel in Damascus.

It has been more than a year-a-half since the start of Syria’s conflict.What began as a popular uprising against President Bashar Al-Assad has deteriorated into a bloody conflict; in June, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) declared it a “non-international armed conflict” – in lay terms, a civil war.

POLITICS: Saudi Arabia is the giant of the Gulf Co-operation Council, not least because of its massive oil wealth. Established in 1932, the kingdom is an absolute monarchy. To date, all rulers have been sons of Abdelaziz Bin Saud, the first monarch; a few younger family members have recently taken more senior positions, but there is much speculation about what will happen when the aged first generation of Al-Saud eventually cede control. Reigning nonagenarian King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz took over in 2005 on the death of his brother Fahd, and has overseen some reform of education and the judiciary. He faces many problems, including a poor underclass, booming population, high unemployment and unrest in Shiite communities in the Eastern Province. Foreign policy is driven by the desire to maintain regional hegemony and to compete with Iran. Riyadh’s relationship with Washington has been stormy at times, but is sustained by a mutual dependence. Saudi Arabia has a poor record on human rights, and severely restricts freedom of expression. Despite small advances, women’s rights continue to be limited: women may not drive, and must have permission from a male guardian to travel, work or enrol in higher education. King Abdullah has said women will be fully involved in the four-yearly municipal council elections (the country’s only polls) and, in early 2013,

Established in 1971, the federation of seven emirates – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al-Quwain is economically liberal and progressive, but remains politically conservative. Ultimate control is held by the emirate rulers, led by oil-rich, politically savvy Abu Dhabi and regional/global commercial hub Dubai. The federal government has legislative and executive jurisdiction over sectors including foreign affairs, security, defence, education, health, currency, electricity and immigration. Each emirate retains considerable economic independence and control over mineral rights and revenues. Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (since founding president Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al- Nahyan’s death in 2004) is federal president. Each ruler sits on the Supreme Council, the highest executive and legislative authority. The Council of Ministers makes most federal decisions, while the Federal National Council (FNC) acts as an advisory council. FNC elections were held in October.

It is almost a decade since the last war in Iraq, and more than a year since the formal withdrawal of US troops in 2011. Relative stability has returned, but is threatened by ongoing violence and political turmoil. Bloody attacks continue to disrupt daily life: independent monitor Iraq Body Count documented 4,471 civilian deaths from violence in 2012,much lower than the 29,000 killed in 2006, but higher than in 2011.

The political environment has deteriorated. King Hamad seems to believe that his regime can survive only if it recovers popular consent. But he is troubled by deteriorating communal politics, and faces opposition from within Al- Khalifa ranks.

Violent episodes continue to threaten the good running of the economy and society, and the government remains dependent on strong US support to maintain security, despite the formal withdrawal of US forces on 1 September 2010.

Politics: Established in 1971, the federation of seven emirates – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras Al-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm Al-Quwain is economically liberal and progressive, but remains politically conservative. Ultimate control is held by the emirate rulers, led by oil-rich, politically savvy Abu Dhabi and regional/global commercial hub Dubai. The federal government has legislative and executive jurisdiction over sectors including foreign affairs, security, defence, education, health, currency, electricity and immigration. Each emirate retains considerable economic independence and control over mineral rights and revenues. Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (since founding president Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan’s death in 2004) is federal president. Each ruler sits on the Supreme Council, the highest executive and legislative authority. The Council of Ministers makes most federal decisions, while the Federal National Council (FNC) acts as an advisory council. FNC elections were held in October.

Saudi Arabia has announced a number of job creation packages in H1 11. For example the cabinet meeting of 14 June announced that the Ministry of Interior’s General Directorate of Civil Defence will take on 6,187 new positions. The authorities hope to create some 1.22m new jobs between 2010-14, of which 1.12 should be for Saudi nationals.

In royal decrees issued on 29 February, Sultan Qaboos reshuffled the cabinet for the third time in just over a year, removing the unpopular information minister Hamad Bin Mohammed Al-Rashdi and justice minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al-Hinai.

Qatar has been largely unaffected by the wave of protests and calls for reform throughout the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) and wider Middle East. There have been no recorded protests, and the Qatari government has not followed other GCC countries in announcing measures to address domestic issues.

Bahrain is in the midst of a political crisis that began in February 2011,when protesters, inspired by events elsewhere in the region, took to the streets to demand political change. The uprising was largely crushed, but protests have continued on a smaller scale, and political demands on the side of the protesters have, if anything, hardened.

Insurgent attacks continue to expose Iraq’s fragility. Dozens of civilians have already been killed in 2013, including 27 Shiites killed by a suicide bomber as they waited at a bus stop to return home from Arbaeen rites in Kerbala. In mid-December, dozens were killed in a series of attacks in disputed northern territories at the heart of a Kurdish-Iraqi standoff. Pressure has been building there since November, when Baghdad set up a new military command, to the outcry of the Kurdish Regional Government. There have also been massive anti-government street protests by Sunnis in recent weeks, prompted by grievances including marginalisation, anti-terrorism laws and the state of public services.