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Among a host of valuable bases in the UAE are:

Foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan led the UAE delegation to the G20 summit in Cannes

A coalition of seven human rights groups has shed light on some of the inflammatory statements that led to the prosecution of five activists on charges that include threatening state security, as it criticised the trial for being “fundamentally unfair”.

As the UAE builds defence capabilities and US backing helps the region stand up to the Iranian threat, the possibility of an Emirati gambit in the Abu Musa and Tunb islands seems more credible

Dubai’s economy started to register growth in 2010, with GDP growing by 2.2%, and 4% growth is expected in the current year, though increasing uncertainties over the performance of US and European economies may dampen expectations.

The health of UAE president and Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has long been the subject of speculation – he was abroad last year for medical treatment in a Swiss clinic.  He has also never been the most charismatic of world leaders, usually only appearing in the press after sending cables of condolences/congratulations or departing for his autumn/winter private hunting trips in Kazakhstan. 

While Qatar basks in the glory of its successful involvement in the campaign to bring an end to Colonel Muammar Qadhafi’s rule, the big challenge for the emirate’s leadership may yet be to come.

Abu Dhabi foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has been in Queensland, where he helped to mark the state of construction for a new cyclone shelter in the coastal town of Proserpine. 

Trade and energy minister Yukio Edano has been in Abu Dhabi in an attempt to shore up Japan’s position as the emirate’s largest crude customer.

The Arab Spring appears not to have had much direct impact on the federation, but it is clear from the authorities’ response to some apparently well-mannered domestic criticisms of the UAE’s political and judicial processes, as well as fulsome support for the Bahraini monarchy, that this is not a country about to embrace reform eagerly.

With the fervour of the Arab Spring on its doorstep, one might have expected the democratic spirit to have rubbed off on the UAE, with those able to vote in its second ever election on 24 September taking the opportunity to elect representatives for the Federal National Council (FNC).

Despite international condemnation, continued street protests and sanctions, combined with escalating economic problems, Bashar Al-Assad’s government has dug in as the Syrian uprising pushes on into its sixth month. But the signs are that Assad’s hold on power is tenuous and Gulf states have revised their policies as a consequence

The United Arab Emirates will see a hugely increased vote when its second ever elections to choose members of the Federal National Council (FNC) take place on 24 September.

While the Dubai PR machine seeks to persuade the outside world that all is well following the commercial emirate’s debt crisis, the senior Al-Maktoum leadership has looked to itself to take a leading role in dragging injured financial institutions back to health. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (MBR) has, in many respects, adopted a conservative response to cleaning up after the debt bubble, which burst in late 2008 and continues to make waves.

According to JP Morgan, Dubai is recovering faster from the financial crisis than expected. Unrest in Bahrain in March accelerated temporary relocations to Dubai and Dubai World restructuring signalled to investors that the emirate was serious about reducing debt.