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President Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who died on 13 May, lived through a period of extraordinary change for his country. Born at a time when pre-oil Abu Dhabi was relatively isolated and under British protection, he played a key role in the emergence of the UAE on the regional and world stage.

GSN provides profiles for three of the key figures in Oman’s ruling family: Sayyid Shihab Bin Tariq Al-Said, Sayyid Taimur Bin Assad Bin Tariq Al-Said and Sayyid Badr Bin Hamad Bin Hamood Al-Busaidi.

Much recent attention has focused on King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa’s fourth son, Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad, who – in his mid-30s – is nearly 20 years younger than his half-brother Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad.

Personally popular with fellow rulers for his relaxed style, but often criticized for flaws in Bahrain’s management and its troubled relations with its majority Shia population, King Hamad Bin Isa Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa has ruled Bahrain for 22 years, first as emir and, since 2002, as its self-declared king.

Crown Prince Salman is the eldest son of King Hamad, from his first marriage to Sheikha Sabika Bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa. Born in October 1969, Salman was schooled in Bahrain and then obtained degrees from the American University in Washington DC (BA political science, 1992) and Queen’s College, Cambridge (MPhil history and philosophy of science, 1994). He was appointed crown prince when his father became emir in March 1999.

GSN profiles Abu Dhabi power-broker Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (TBZ), a son of the late UAE President Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan from his marriage to Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Al-Ketbi.

Who were the main attendees at Saudi deputy defence minister Prince Khalid Bin Salman’s virtual meeting with Chinese national defence minister General Wei Fenghe? GSN runs the names, and explains their significance.

Abdullah Al-Owais has been given a senior role in the powerful Presidency of State Security. GSN reports on the move and spotlights key officials in the PSS hierarchy

Industry and mineral resources minister Bandar Al-Khorayef entered government in 2019 as head of the newly formed Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, which was created when the three-year-old Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources was split apart

As yet another government gears up to address the emirate’s pressing economic and political problems, GSN profiles the members of Kuwait’s new cabinet. including nine newcomers and three portfolio changes

During his visit to Oman in early January, Saudi chief of general staff Fayyad Bin Hamid Al-Ruwaili met a number of key officials. Who were they?

Saudi chief of general staff Fayyad Bin Hamid Al-Ruwaili visited Oman from 2-4 January for talks with senior officials including deputy prime minister for defence affairs Sayyid Shihab Bin Tariq Al-Said and the Sultan’s Armed Forces chief of staff Abdullah Bin Khamis Bin Abdullah Al-Raisi.

Walid Abukhaled – appointed Saudi Arabian Military Industries (Sami) chief executive in August 2020 after serving as acting chief executive for several months (following Andreas Schwer’s departure), he joined the group in September 2019 as chief strategy and business development officer. This followed a career at BAE Systems, AEC, General Electric and Northrup Grumman.

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.

Having built up a list of local construction firms working on the giga-projects, GSN has analysed the shareholding records for several contractors, using data provided by Diligencia in a partnership to help sharpen understanding of those involved. It shows that the companies most heavily involved are often decades old, with the exception of Saudi Real Estate Infrastructure Company (Binyah). They are mainly in private hands (Red Sea International is an exception) and often held by generations of the same family.