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The wily president will need all his political skills to find a way out of the present crisis, but with national unity in jeopardy Ali Abdullah Saleh seems in no mood to compromise on major issues, and jails across Yemen are filling up

Recent allegations in regional media – perhaps encouraged by senior officials in their host countries – of serious political shake-ups in the military establishment and ruling family – suggest all is not well in Qatar’s regional relations, even after a year when Doha has made serious efforts to mend fences with Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani and Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani (HBJ) travelled in late July to Morocco to visit Saudi Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdelaziz.

Dealing with a growing number of returned prisoners from Guantanamo Bay is burdening an already complex process of putting terror suspects on trial, testing relationships between states and exacerbating sectarian rifts

Like Yemen, the militant threat in Bahrain is intimately linked to Saudi Arabia. This was underlined by recent attempts to secure the extradition of three Bahrainis being held in Saudi Arabia on terrorism charges. Bahrain’s Al-Adala group (National Justice Movement) and National Detainees Committee are demanding the release of the men. The first is Guantanamo detainee Abdullah Majid Al-Naimi, who was detained by Saudi police at the King Fahd causeway on 10 October; he is one of six Bahrainis detained at Guantanamo, a surprisingly high number given Bahrain’s tiny population.

Securocrat’s nervousness at a deteriorating regional security situation was highlighted by reports that Saudi Arabia may place an order for extra Typhoon warplanes from BAE Systems. Saudi Arabia is anyway looking to develop its defence industry.

Securocrat's nervousness at a deteriorating regional security situation was highlighted by reports that Saudi Arabia may place an order for extra Typhoon warplanes from BAE Systems. Saudi Arabia is anyway looking to develop

In a partial success for German and French diplomacy, this €2bn electronic security contract award is primarily a technological security decision for a project long coveted by Paris.

President Bashar Al-Assad issued a decree on 3 June naming General Hassan Ali Turkmani assistant vice president. The US Navy is to take over the former commercial port at Mina Salman.

France’s opening of its new 400-600 personnel base in Abu Dhabi marks a considerable step forward to French commitment to the UAE and wider GCC. The opening of the base on 28 May was marked by high-level French diplomatic engagement, including UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and a range of other senior diplomats and military officials.

Once debate was unleashed in Iran’s election, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s maverick foreign policy came to play an important role in shaping opinion, among ordinary voters who see beyond populist sentiments to count the cost of Iran’s isolation as well as among elite players who have increasingly come to view the incumbent as a liability.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said there had been positive progress on negotiations about the possible purchase of Rafale fighter planes, following talks between the visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy and President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

Widening their scope of operations, Somali pirates are posing an ever greater challenge to regional governments. While energy producers are rethinking their export strategies, governments are concerned that the Horn of Africa’s instability will encroach on the Gulf region’s southern flank. Yemen is especially vulnerable as the collapse of export revenues piles further pressure on President Saleh. GSN analyses developments in the Gulf of Aden, Somalia and Yemen, and talks exclusively to the Southern Movement’s new figurehead Ali Salem Al-Baydh.

Engagement without marriage: Beltway pessimistic as Obama's team prepares to tackle Iran

France is opening its much-anticipated first permanent military base in the Gulf later this month, in Abu Dhabi, signalling its long-term strategic commitment to the region as well as further reinforcing an already close bilateral relationship.

The Maliki government faces a daunting task in the last year of its present mandate: not only must it maintain security improvements while its own forces replace departing Coalition troops, it must also create an economic renaissance in the teeth of a harsh fiscal squeeze.