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France’s opening of its new 400-600 personnel base in Abu Dhabi marks a considerable step forward to French commitment to the UAE and wider GCC. The opening of the base on 28 May was marked by high-level French diplomatic engagement, including UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and a range of other senior diplomats and military officials.

According to UK publication Horse & Hound, Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum has demanded to know why the International Equestrian Federation (FEI - an organisation whose president Princess Haya Al-Hussein is MBR’s wife) delayed notifying him of a positive dope test on his horse, Tahhan

Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan has been named as the man behind the idea to fly 30 members of the British Queen’s Household Cavalry to Abu Dhabi to perform in September

Once debate was unleashed in Iran’s election, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s maverick foreign policy came to play an important role in shaping opinion, among ordinary voters who see beyond populist sentiments to count the cost of Iran’s isolation as well as among elite players who have increasingly come to view the incumbent as a liability.

Two years into his presidency, Nicolas Sarkozy is starting to reap the rewards of an election night promise to place the Middle East among the key priorities of French foreign policy. Arab governments now see Paris as a key point of contact and leverage, a useful counterpoint to their traditionally close relations with Washington, and a strategic ally in propping up the peace process and countering the strategic challenge posed by Iran.

Sheikh Hasher Al-Maktoum’s alleged involvement in corrupt business dealings will test Dubai’s courts. With real estate scandals blighting Dubai’s image, investors will be looking to the judiciary to restore confidence.

Mubadala Development Corporation (MDC) lost Dh11.8bn ($3.23bn) in 2008, which its first ever annual report puts down to some very substantial impairment charges related to investments made during the boom years prior to the collapse in oil prices and the realisation that Abu Dhabi was not immune to the global economic downturn.

AL-MAKTOUM: Milan rumours, Manal Bint Mohammed Nin Rashid: Award

MBZ: Meets Moroccan king in Fes, Mohammed Bin Khalifa: US Treasury talks, Al -Nahyan: Big wedding, Issa Bin Zayed: German estate

Nasser Al-Shaikh, head of the Dubai government's finance department, has been removed from his post, reportedly after a dispute with a senior

Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said there had been positive progress on negotiations about the possible purchase of Rafale fighter planes, following talks between the visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy and President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

An easing in UAE market liquidity could represent an early turnaround signal for GCC trade finance markets that have experienced unwelcome contractions linked to the wider global crisis. GSN canvassed market opinion to see if talk about a speedy upturn were warranted.

Sharjah Ruler Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi’s prominent daughter Sheikha Budoor has been appointed chair of the UAE Publishers Association’s first board of directors.

Rarely do GCC disputes get more public, and it will take more than warm words from Riyadh to win back the Al-Nahyan into the currency union fold. For Abu Dhabi, bank location is the deal-breaker

While the Middle East has weathered the global recession better than most regions, the regional dynamics have altered, with the more highly leveraged economies such as Dubai losing ground to more conservative and resource-rich players, led by Saudi Arabia.