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Ruling family member Sheikha Hamda Al-Nahyan and seven of her daughters were convicted by a Belgian court on 23 June of human trafficking offences which took place nearly ten years ago. The eight – who did not appear in court throughout the proceedings – received 15-month suspended sentences and fines of €165,000, with half the sum suspended. The accused were charged with ill-treating their servants at the luxury Conrad hotel (now called Steigenberger Wiltcher’s) in Brussels, where they stayed for several months in 2007-08.

Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani’s trip to Europe resulted in a number of potentially significant co-operation agreements being signed, bolstering Doha’s diplomatic and security position at a time when it feels vulnerable to regional antagonism. On 7 March, Sheikh Tamim witnessed the signing of a military and security co-operation agreement with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) at its Brussels headquarters, which will allow Nato forces and personnel to enter Qatar and to use Al-Udeid Air Base.

Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani spent mid-February in South America. He and foreign minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al-Thani visited three countries, meeting Peruvian President Ollanta Humala, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Ecuadorian leader Rafael Correa, and signing agreements.

Sheikh Zayed Bin Hamdan Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, was injured in a mid-August helicopter crash in Yemen. The crash resulted in four fatalities – one each from Al-Ain, Ras Al-Khaimah, Fujairah and Ajman. The 27-year-old sheikh is a grandson of late UAE president Sheikh Zayed and one of the six sons of former deputy prime minister (now the ruler’s representative in the Western region) Hamdan Bin Zayed. Sheikh Zayed graduated from Sandhurst in 2009 and served in the Presidential Guard. He recently married a daughter of Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed.

Oman’s Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al-Said remains in Germany, where he went for medical tests on 9 July. The Royal Court line is that he is in “sound health”; an 18 August statement said he would continue having tests “over the coming period in accordance with a specific medical programme”, and that he was running Oman from his residence in Germany.There are also less reassuring reports of the sultan’s condition, although it is hard to divorce fact from rumour. As GSN reported in July, several sources believe he has cancer; one said weight loss and a considerable deterioration in his health had prompted the transfer to Germany, and that he was being cared for by US doctors.

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ) held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron on Paris on 21 November. While in the French capital, MBZ also met prime minister Edouard Philippe and armed forces minister Florence Parly. In a joint statement the two sides said they had agreed to organise a year-long French-Emirati Season in 2021 to mark the UAE’s 50th anniversary.

Princess Deena Aljuhani Abdelaziz, the Saudi businesswoman married to Prince Sultan Bin Fahd Bin Nasir, has been fired from her role as editor-in-chief of Vogue Arabia after just two issues, due to differences in approach with the publisher Condé Nast International.

Emir Sheikh Hamad: Travel and meetings, Sheikh Hamad: QNB resignation , Mohammed Bin Hamad: FIFA bid

Sheikh Khalid Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has married a daughter of Education Minister Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al-Nahayan.

Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is being increasing isolated from his usual retinue of courtiers, advisors and consultants GSN understands, as a precautionary measure due to the coronavirus pandemic. While directly in control of day-to-day operations and in good health, strict isolation measures have meant his only direct contact with the cabinet is now through prime minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah at his main office at Dar Salwa. Emir Sheikh Sabah underwent extensive medical checks in New York last year

King Salman Bin Abdelaziz Al-Saud spent the first week of December on a tour of Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) neighbours, visiting the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. Travelling with the king was a large entourage including Mecca governor Prince Khalid Al-Faisal. Local media coverage was full of praise for the visits, noting the depth of ties and strong foundations between Riyadh and its neighbours, and state leaders were equally flattering.

Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa met President Donald Trump at the White House on 17 September. Trump offered fulsome support, saying “our relationship has never been stronger than it is right now”. The talks focused on security and trade. Trump told reporters “we have a tremendous relationship militarily, but we also have a tremendous economic relationship, trade, and we’re going to be discussing all of those things.”

Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani held talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey at the presidential palace in Ankara on 15 January. The two close allies discussed how they might strengthen their existing strategic co-operation and recent events related to the Syrian war and the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

On 27 June 1995, the news that Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani had deposed his father, Qatar’s then emir Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al-Thani, made news bulletins across the world. A palace coup makes for good headlines: flanked by loyal officers, Hamad, then 43, told the cabinet: “I am not happy with what has happened but it had to be done and I had to do it.” His father, who was in a luxury hotel in Zurich at the time, described the usurpation as the “abnormal behaviour of an ignorant man”, though his protests faded as the level of support for Hamad became clear.

Princess Nazha Bint Saud Bin Abdelaziz Al-Saud died on 26 June. Her funeral prayers were held at Imam Turki Bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh the following day.