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Briefly overthrew Sultan in 1987 and went into exile.

Profile of Sharjah deputy ruler Sultan Bin Ahmed Al-Qasimi.

Profile of crown prince Sultan Bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi

Profile of Sharjah's Bodour Bint Sultan

Former senior official who left government to focus on business interests.

Profile of Emir Sultan Bin Mohammed al-Qasimi

Russian President Vladimir Putin made an unexpected visit to the UAE and Saudi Arabia on 6 December – a rare foreign excursion for a leader who has tended to stay close to home since launching the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Notably, neither Gulf country is a signatory to the International Criminal Court, which in March issued an arrest warrant for Putin over Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum led the way on prisoner pardons ahead of the UAE’s 52nd National Day on 2 December, ordering 1,249 inmates to be freed from the emirate’s prisons on 29 November. UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan released a further 1,018 prisoners.

The prospect of the UAE vice president gaining control of the influential right-wing newspaper is causing concern among many in the UK’s ruling Conservative Party – and may yet be thwarted by an official investigation. But the prospective deal highlights how Mansour Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan is steadily expanding his international media portfolio, increasing Abu Dhabi’s soft power in the process.

A showcase mega-event has its downsides, even while the climate  talks place the UAE at the centre of the global stage.

A unit of International Holding Company (IHC), an investment company chaired by UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, was announced as the winning bidder for a stake in Zambia’s loss-making Mopani Copper Mines (MCM) in early December.

Risk grades: Abu Dhabi A1, Dubai A2. RAK’s Russian links: A delegation from the Ural region of Russia visited Ras Al-Khaimah in early November, comprising business owners involved in real estate, engineering services, IT development, food production and investment.

Climate goals: Ahead of the COP28 climate talks in Dubai, the UAE has set out a national action plan to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 – while also remaining a world-leading oil producer.

A 60-year operating licence for the fourth and final unit at the UAE's Barakah nuclear power plant was issued to Nawah Energy Company by the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation. The plant will have a total generation capacity of 5.6GW once complete.

Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum launched a generative artificial intelligence (AI) competition in early November, with prizes of AED1m ($272,000) available for winners of the Global Prompt Engineering Championship.