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Doha has introduced a new law restricting the already limited room for free speech. A recent amendment to the penal code, Article 136, allows for fines of QR100,000 ($27,400) and five years imprisonment for “anyone who broadcasts, publishes, or republishes false or biased rumours, statements, or news, or inflammatory propaganda… with the intent to harm national interests, stir up public opinion, or infringe on the social system or the public system of the state”.

Qatari Prime Minister and foreign affairs minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani has reportedly sold a Mayfair property to an unnamed relative in a $49m deal finalised in the autumn, while back in Doha, he has been working the diplomatic channels as Qatar tries to leverage its connections with Hamas and Israel to secure an end to the Gaza war.

Emir Sheikh Mishaal’s announcement suspending the National Assembly for up to four years is an effort to break the gridlock between the elected chamber and the appointed government that has stymied change for so many years, but critics fear a new period of repression – and some are planning to flee Kuwait. Whether Mishaal can ‘correct the path’ or will be forced to back down may depend on internal dynamics within the ruling Al-Sabah family.

The late January appointment of Emiri Diwan chief Sheikh Khalid Bin Khalifa Bin Abdelaziz Bin Jassim Bin Mohammed Al-Thani as Qatar’s prime minister marks a further stage in the growing centralisation of power around the Emiri Diwan since 2013, when Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani took over from his now ‘father emir’, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani. In keeping with the style of Emir Sheikh Tamim’s rule, the transition from long-serving prime minister and interior minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Bin Khalifa Al-Thani’s safe pair of hands at the head of government to Khalid Bin Khalifa was a low key affair.

Sheikh Khalid Bin Khalifa Al-Thani (prime minister and interior minister): appointed premier in January 2020, replacing Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al-Thani who had held the position since Sheikh Tamim became emir in 2013.

Role: Al-Rayyan Sports Club president Born in 2000, Sheikh Al-Qaqa is former Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani’s youngest son with his third wife Sheikha Noura Bint Khalid Bin Hamad Al-Thani. His full brothers are Deputy Ruler Sheikh Abdullah, Sheikh Khalid and Sheikh Thani. 

Role: Qatar University assistant professor The most prominent of the Father Emir’s daughters with his first wife Sheikha Mariam, Dr Hessa Bint Hamad Al-Thani is assistant professor of education sciences at Qatar University and former dean of the College of Education.

Khalid Bin Salman held talks with defence minister Admiral Dong Jun and Central Military Commission vice-chairman Zhang Youxia in the Chinese capital on 25 June.

After more than four years on the throne, Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said is slowly and steadily remodelling Oman’s economy, while maintaining a tight grip on the political arena.

Energy giant Saudi Aramco has signed $25bn worth of contracts to expand its natural gas facilities in the kingdom, while also making a series of oil and gas discoveries in the Eastern Province and Empty Quarter, in a clear sign that the kingdom remains committed to fully exploiting its hydrocarbon reserves.

Sheikh Abdelaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani has been named chairman of the Al-Quds Fund and Endowment’s board of trustees, replacing Saudi Prince Turki Al-Faisal, who has been named honorary chairman of the fund.

United Al-Saqer Group, best known for its car dealerships, has bought into UK visual effects studio DNEG – the second major UAE-UK media deal in a matter of months.

Potential deals in Australia and Rwanda would add to a portfolio that already includes stakes in British Airways, Cathay Pacific and China Southern, and is part of a strategy to boost traffic through Doha’s Hamad International Airport.

Role: Minister of state for interior affairs Sheikh Abdelaziz was appointed deputy commander of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya) in 2017. In an early-2020 reshuffle, he was promoted to Lekhwiya commander and Ministry of Interior undersecretary.

Dubai-based logistics giant DP World has created an investment joint venture with UK development finance institution CDC Group. DP World will contribute its stakes in the ports of Dakar in Senegal, Sokhna in Egypt and Berbera in the unrecognised Republic of Somaliland to the venture and says it expects to invest a further $1bn through the platform in the coming years.