Region

Gulf and Red Sea Regions

Stories under this heading cover the Gulf and the Red Sea regions, including the Arabian Peninsula, Iran and the countries bordering the Red Sea.

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Qatar holds its first ever legislative elections

Qatar holds its first ever legislative elections

Qatar has concluded its first-ever elections for the Shura Council – a consultative assembly that helps the Emir draft legislature, monitor the ministerial performance and approve the national budget. Qataris voted for 30 members out of the 45 seat council. The other 15 members will be chosen directly by the Emir. 
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Opinion
Opinion: In the South Caucasus, Tehran has its red lines too

Opinion: In the South Caucasus, Tehran has its red lines too

For 30 years, Iran has adopted a cautious approach to developments in the South Caucasus, wary of the risk of encirclement. Iran's current massive military drills on the border with Azerbaijan are meant to send a signal that Tehran has its red lines too, argues Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed for commonspace.eu
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Ethiopia expels seven UN officials accusing them of hindering aid

Ethiopia expels seven UN officials accusing them of hindering aid

The Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday (30 September) told seven senior UN officials to leave the country within the next 72 hours accusing them of 'meddling in internal affairs. The decision to expel came two days after the UN Humanitarian Chief, Martin Griffiths, warned of a government man-made blockade of aid that would likely lead to a famine.
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Biden’s top security advisor visits Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Biden’s top security advisor visits Saudi Arabia and the UAE

US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, travelled to Saudi Arabia on Monday (27 September) to and later will travel to the UAE to discuss a range of “regional and global challenges”. With Yemen expected to be a key topic in the discussions, the Yemeni PM travelled back to Yemen.
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MEPs praise Qatar for its migrant reforms

MEPs praise Qatar for its migrant reforms

A delegation visiting Qatar from the European Parliament praised the country for its progress in labour reforms and also for its humanitarian efforts to help Afghan refugees. The MEPs met Prime Minister and Minister of Interior HE Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani and a number of other officials and civil society representatives over the last few days. 
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IAEA makes small gains in talks with Iran, but Vienna talks remain stalled

IAEA makes small gains in talks with Iran, but Vienna talks remain stalled

After the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director admitted that the agency had “a major communication breakdown” with Iran, a meeting resulted in an interim agreement to store monitoring data. The Iranian nuclear talks are expected to resume but the determination of actors to reach a deal is not yet clear.