COINCIDENCE CORNER
January: The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments approves former Foreign Office minister with responsibility for the Middle East Lord (Tariq) Ahmad to take a paid role with the King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence. Acoba notes that it is “supervised by Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs” which, given Lord Ahmad’s “oversight over the Middle East in office… could be seen to offer unfair insight” – but waves through the appointment.