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Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum

Regional tour spurs Petrobras talk; Algerian business and Congo-B visit; Spring marriage

Al Maktoums: Family wedding attracts big guns but is then postponed, MBR and others: Victory in the new sport of kings

Five country ratification is the first hurdle. Policy and structural detail will have to follow soon if markets are to take the GCC’s monetary union plan seriously.

A new briefing paper from the International Crisis Group asks: How is one to engage Damascus? France's recent experience offers useful lessons for an incoming US administration

Reports in French newspapers suggest that Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani may not have his way over a multi-million dollar renovation of the Hotel Lambert in Paris. Paris mayor Bertrand Delanoë has said the Emir’s plans for the building, built in 1639 and part of a Unesco world heritage site, include underground parking, new elevatorsand additions to the living areas. “This is a real threat to a gem of Paris heritage, the only private house from the end of Louis the XIII’s reign that remains untouched’’.

GSN canvassed opinion in the credit and political risk markets to see how financing for the wider Middle East region might be affected by the New Year conflict. GSN may not agree with all their views, but specialist analysts can move markets, and several saw the Israeli assault on Gaza as a warning to Tehran; some believed that Israel would consider military intervention in Iran over the next six months, even without US support – but only as a last resort.

Emir Sheikh Hamad: Lack of co-ordination over Gaza, Sheikh Abdelaziz: Barclays settles claim

Recent bank reports have given the Qatari economy the thumbs up. Saudi Arabia's Samba Financial Group predicted strong growth in 2009.

King Abdullah’s increasingly high-profile daughter Princess Adila has spoken about family violence in the Kingdom

Nawwaf Bin Abdelaziz: Term extended, Turki Al-Faisal: Gaza comments, Princes: Marriages, Princess Al-Jauhara: Death, Al Sudairi: Death

Kuwait and Iraq have signed their first formal military agreement since the 1990-91 occupation, as both countries build up their coastal security.

Following weeks of negotiations and delays – which prompted talks of a walkout by parliamentarians and fresh grilling threats against the prime minister – Kuwait has a new government, albeit one with only two new faces. Many MPs have responded angrily to what is in effect a minor reshuffle rather than a new government, with 12 parliamentarians staging a walkout at the National Assembly ceremony to swear in the new cabinet.

Qatar over the past few years has focused on expanding its non-oil economy, with a heavy focus on education. Following the opening of the new Museum

Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society and Haq, Bahrain’s two largest parliamentary and extra-parliamentary opposition movements, have engaged in renewed talks about a potential joint strategy, as the 2010 elections approach. Haq leader Hassan Mushaima continues to argue that now is not the time to back down over a potential election boycott.