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Sheikh Nasser Bin Abdulrahman Bin Nasser Al-Thani and his real estate company Daruna for Real Estate Brokerage Company have been awarded QR13.7m ($3.8m) in damages by the Qatar International Court, following a dispute with Qatar First Bank (QFB) over a failed plan to build workers’ accommodation north of Doha. The award was a fraction of the QR857m they had been claiming.

UAE's Fujairah Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Bin Mohammed Al-Sharqi launched the Together, Hand in Hand community initiative, to help deal with the aftermath of storms which brought heavy rain and flooding to the emirate.

UAE's Sharjah Ruler Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi’s book The Biography of the Sultans of Kilwa has been published by Al-Qasimi Publications.

Sweden’s Maha Energy has sold a 35% stake in its exploration and production sharing agreement for onshore Block 70 to Oman's local Mafraq Energy.

Italy’s Eni has made a 1-1.5 tcf gas discovery in Block 2 offshore Abu Dhabi. The find was made at the block’s first exploration well and followed an earlier find in a shallower part of the same well.

Saudi Arabia’s Royal Court advisor Ahmed Bin Abdelaziz Qattan has resumed his travels around Africa to elicit pledges of support for Riyadh’s bid to host the Expo 2030 fair.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp Navy (Nedsa) is readying its latest floating offshore support base for operational deployment.

GSN Risk Grade: D4↓ Elections delayed: The election for the Kurdistan parliament is expected to be postponed by at least six months after the existing parliament failed to agree on the details of a new election bill. In a press conference in Erbil on 28 August, MP Yemen Hawrami said the remit of the exiting parliament – which was elected in 2018 for a four-year term – would be extended by six months.

Bahrain is heading into another election for its unicameral  parliament, the Council of Representatives (Majlis Al-Nuwab), amid calls by government critics to shun the event.There are doubts about the level of voter enthusiasm even without a formal boycott, with opposition parties such as Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society and Waad (the National Democratic Action Society) still banned

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic arrived in Abu Dhabi for talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan at Qasr Al-Watan the following day. Bilateral agreements signed covered extradition, prisoner transfers, legal and judicial co-operation and a memorandum on cybersecurity.

The six-month-long truce in Yemen expired on 2 October, prompting fears of a return to clashes across all fronts. United Nations special envoy Hans Grundberg had been engaged in another round of shuttle diplomacy in the lead-up to the deadline. However, the eleventh-hour diplomacy by Grundberg failed to convince the two sides.

Diplomat Sayyid Nizar Al-Julanda Majid Al-Said has been named as Oman’s new ambassador to Italy, replacing Ahmed Salim Mohammed Ba’Omar.

Tempers are fraying over the early-October decision by members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and their allies in the Opec+ group to cut oil production. The most prominent members, Russia and Saudi Arabia, remain in a cosy alliance and western efforts to drive a wedge between Moscow and the Gulf countries have yet to show any returns. Riyadh and Abu Dhabi seem unfazed by any possible reputational risks, while they continue to sweat the global economy for revenues.

Gulf States Newsletter (GSN) provides profiles of the children of Saudi Arabia's King Salman Bin Abdelaziz, including Crown Prince and prime minister Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), his brothers Khalid and Turki, his half-brothers Fahd, Sultan, Ahmed, Abdelaziz, Faisal and Saud and his half-sister Hessa.

At least two rounds of talks have been held between Iranian and Ukrainian officials in Oman, to discuss Tehran’s supply of armed drones to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, according to GSN sources.