Protests in Yemen grew fiercer and a reported 27 people are believed to have been killed since the demonstrations began a few weeks ago.

Fighting between forces loyal to Libya’s leader Muammar Gaddafi and his opponents intensified. Gaddafi remains in control of Tripoli and is battling to seize back towns under rebel control.

An estimated 100,000 refugees fleeing Libya are believed to be in makeshift camps across the borders with Egypt and Tunisia. The UN suspended Libya from the Human Rights Council and the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into possible crimes against humanity committed by Libya’s leaders.

Protests by jobless and ill-paid workers in the Oman port of Sohar resulted in one death. Days later, thousands of Omanis took to the streets in support of Sultan Qaboos, who has promised reform.

Stockmarkets throughout the Middle-East tumbled amid continuing instability in the region. Saudi Arabia’s index fell to a 23-month low, while Dubai and Kuwait hit six-year lows.

Al-Qaeda’s offshoot in Yemen in believed to be behind a foiled plot of blowing up 2 cargo planes headed for the USA. Explosives were found hidden in printer-ink cartridges, addressed to synagogues in Chicago.

A string of bombings in Iraq resulted in the highest week’s death toll since American troops left the country at the end of August. At least 117 civilians were killed by insurgents during a five-day period.

At least 13 African refugees fleeing to Yemen died in the Gulf of Aden when their boat sank during a rescue operation by an American warship.

A ten-month moratorium on Israeli settlement building in the West Bank expired and was not renewed by Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu. Palestinian leaders said they will decide at a meeting on October 4th whether or not they will continue peace talks.

The emirate of Dubai managed to raise $1.25 billion in a two-part bond sale which was heavily oversubscribed.

Lebanon’s parliament passed a law which allows Palestinian refugees to work legally. The law gives 400,000 Palestinians the same rights as other foreign workers and ends years of discrimination which limited them to the most menial jobs.

Dubai’s DP World, a large operator of ports, said recovering world-trade volumes has boosted its first-half profits by 17% to $219m.

Dubai-based airline Emirates announced an order of 30 Boeing 777 passenger jets, a deal worth $9.1 billion. The announcement comes just a month after the company placed a record $11.5 billion order for 32 Airbus A380 super-jumbos.

An internal Israeli military investigation concluded that “mistakes were made…at a relatively senior level” during the raid of the ‘Gaza flotilla’ in late May.

Nakheel, a property developer owned by Dubai World, met with creditors in an attempt to renegotiate its $10.5 bn in bank debt. Dubai World caused a scare on the financial markets last November after announcing a freeze on debt repayments.

Dubai World reached an agreement with its creditors to restructure $23.5 billion of debt. It emphasised that government support was no longer required. The state-owned conglomerate scared markets last November when it requested a six-month standstill on debt repayments.

Saudi forces announced the arrest of 113 people suspected of having ties to Al-Qaeda.

The foreign secretary of Britain denounced the Israeli secret service Mossad for forging passports in the name of 12 British citizens for an operation targeting the execution of an Hamas official in Dubai.

Barack Obama received Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in the White House, in a period of a chilled relationship between the USA and Israel. Obama is said to be hardening his stance on recent Israeli settlement pushes in the East Jerusalem.

US-Syrian diplomatic relations are being restored as the US nominated its first ambassador to Syria in five years.

An parliamentary panel in Iraq recommended that some 500 candidates should not be allowed to participate in a general election due in March, due to alleged past ties to the Baath party. Sectarian tensions resulted.

It was leaked that Abu Dhabi’s bailout of (Dubai) state-backed Dubai World was only half of the USD 10bn which was previously reported, as USD 5bn was a prior credit commitment. The announcement fueled fears about Dubai’s rescue.