Country Risk Rating

The leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Tareq al-Thahab, was killed in the southern Yemeni town of Rada on February 15. According to CNN , al-Thahab was killed by his... 2012-02-24

In early February the UAE central bank instructed financial institutions in the country to stop issuing letters of credit to finance trade with Iran, in a further sign that international... 2012-02-24

A Sunni youth group organised a rally in central Manama, Bahrain, on February 21 and warned the government against entering into talks with the Shia-led opposition parties. The government... 2012-02-24

The Qatari government was excluded from a meeting organised by Saudi Arabia to discuss the smuggling of Iranian arms to Lebanese Shi'a group Hezbollah, since Riyadh considers it "unreliable"... 2012-02-23

Rumours that outgoing Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh would go into exile in Oman following his departure from Sana'a have proved to be unfounded. Diplomats in Muscat had claimed... 2012-01-31

Riot police in the city of Jahra used tear gas to disperse hundreds of protestors on January 14, according to witnesses cited by the Associated Foreign Press . The demonstrators were... 2012-01-31

Iran is ready to revive talks with the U.S. and other world powers on its nuclear programme, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on January 26. Talks broke off over a year ago.... 2012-01-30

Saudi police arrested nine people in the eastern governorate of Qatif on January 24, according to government officials. The region is a centre of the country's Shi'a Muslim minority.... 2012-01-30

The website of the Central Bank of the UAE was temporarily shut down in January following reports that Israeli hackers attacked the site. Israeli hackers also claimed to have dismantled... 2012-01-27

Violence has intensified in Bahrain between protestors and police following a call on January 20 by Shi'a cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim to 'crush' the police. The protestors carried out... 2012-01-27