Risk Watch
Four GCC states signed a pact on 7 June creating a monetary union. It comes as a confidence-building measure after the shock decision by the UAE to not be part of it....
Kuwait-Iraqi relations have deteriorated after Iraqi legislators proposed to stop paying compensations for Kuwait, in response to Kuwait’s refusal to agree to Iraq exiting the UN’s chapter 7....
Oman has simplified its corporate tax laws to woe foreign investors, offering a fixed 12 percent tax on all corporations working in Oman....
GDP in Bulgaria fell by 3.5% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2009. Unemployment likely to become a rising economic as well as social problem, especially in the manufacturing industry....
The interim government’s inauguration provisionally ended the political crisis, but the debate concerning the Treaty of Lisbon is still going on....
The recession has hit Slovakia more seriously than expected, possibly affecting governing party Smer, so the European elections will serve as a test....
Starting EU accession talks, visa regime liberalization and decentralization in IPA funds management are the three priorities of Macedonia....
The Polish authorities remain committed to the 2009 state budget, primarily by cutting expenditure at the state level, but lacking the will to act firmly, a higher budget deficit is expected....
FDI saw a 13.9% drop in the first trimester of 2009 in Romania. As previously expected, after the first quarter the country’s economy took a steep downward direction....
The royal pardon of Shiite opposition leaders in Bahrain diffuses what could have potentially evolved into the most serious crisis between the Shiite and Sunni communities of Bahrain....
Two high-profile court cases in the Dubai courts are likely to further erode the credibility of the Dubai real-estate market. ...
Recent tensions between the Doha Centre for Media Freedom and its political sponsor, the wife of the Emir of Qatar, has raised questions about the freedom of press in Qatar....
The hostilities in the Sa’ada region between government forces and Houthi rebels further undermines the very shaky truce. Reports of Al Qaeda involvement undermines the government’s authority....
The delay in the launching of the GCC common currency amid reports of differences between member states increases the likelihood of scrapping the project altogether....
Al Qaeda are intensifying their attacks in Yemen. It is becoming the government’s main challenge as, unlike other previous
threats, it is active all over the country....
The King has personally intervened to end the crisis between the government and parliament over the inflation allowance. Provisions for the inflation allowance will be included in the budget....
The Emir dissolved the parliament and accepted the resignation of the government. Polls indicate a similar parliament. Plans to pass the economic stimulus package as an emergency measure emerge....
The King of Saudi Arabia has announced the appointment of his half-brother Prince Nayef as second deputy premier, effectively making him third in line to the throne....
Hungarian PM Not Concerned About ‘Getting Sacked’ (May 10)
Jung, gebildet, rechtsradikal (May 2)
Hungary elects PM's close ally Ader as president (May 2)
Un fidèle d'Orban à la présidence hongroise (May 2)
Ader Tapped for Hungarian President as Orban Picks Ally (April 16)
