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With the Obama camp keeping its cards close to its chest on key appointments and foreign policy, Gulf watchers have been left pondering what the US president elect intends to do in the region – whether Obama will opt for continuity or change, and how the anticipated strategic ‘pivot’ to Afghanistan will affect Gulf policy.

King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa’s second son Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa is suing pop star Michael Jackson in London’s Royal Courts of Justice for $7m over alleged breach of contract

Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammed’s administration is feeling the heat from defenders of traditional politics.

The impending official visit of the Jordanian royal couple to Doha signals another step in Qatar’s efforts to rebuild regional relations that were, in part at least, hurt by Al-Jazeera Satellite Channel’s irreverent reporting of regional leaderships.

Street violence flared in Bahrain during late September and October, leading to another major security hunt for a group of Shia protestors who were allegedly involved in a serious assault on three men. The crowd threw a Molotov cocktail at a car that contained three Bahraini Shia male civilians who escaped with light injuries. Bahraini security insiders told GSN the attackers believed the vehicle carried a Bahraini Secret Intelligence Service (BSIS) surveillance team. Whatever the truth - no completely independent witnesses are yet available - the incident should be seen against the background of growing tension in Bahrain, as the authorities maintain a firm line which leading opposition figures fear will only deepen disenchantment among young Shiite men.

International Petroleum Investment Company chairman and serial entrepreneur Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has again hit the headlines with his investment of some £3.5bn ($5.5bn) in Barclays Bank

In little over three years of rule, King Abdullah’s Saudi Arabia has steadily gained in diplomatic confidence. It’s not just because of its wealth that Riyadh is now a major destination on the foreign policy map for international leaders. Saudi Arabia has emerged as a partner that knows its own mind, able to forge policy that is in line with the government’s view of national self-interest but which also pushes a positive global and regional agenda.

There was a lull in the speculation over the potential bombing of Iran by the United States or - more likely - its ally Israel, with the world transfixed by Barak Obama's victory in the US presidential election. Talk of significant offensive action against Tehran became intense during the late summer, with two theories circulating on the eventuality of a strike to knock out Iran's nuclear facilities and perhaps other targets. One theory was that the outgoing Bush administration would sanction a strike as its last neo-conservative hurrah; and, two, that Israel would be emboldened to act. In September, UK daily The Guardian, added to the debate by publishing details of documents showing how Washington had sought to rein in Israeli hawks who were ready to attack.

Following early November meetings with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani (HBJ) said Qatar was willing to tackle the global financial crisis.

King Abdullah: Pakistani talks, CP Sultan: Return to Kingdom, Salman Bin Abdelaziz and sons: Meetings, Turki Al-Faisal: Speaking out in the States, Nayef Bin Abdelaziz: Iraq defence fence, Nayef Bin Abdelaziz: Pakistan hunting land, Mohammed Bin Yousef Al-Saud: Marriage

Following the Eid holiday Crown Prince Sultan travelled to Tabuk, where he announced a donation of SR10m – to be given on an annual basis – to the Prince Fahd Bin Sultan University

Nouriya Al-Sabeeh looks far from safe, as Islamists gear up for another ministerial grilling, but the wider reform drive should continue as the parliamentary opposition lacks coherence on most non-social policy issues.

Yemeni-based militants constitute one external threat to expatriates. Indeed, the prospect of establishing bases in Yemen has been mentioned prominently in militant communiqués and in Saudi government statements since 2006.

Qatar plans to host a peace conference for Darfur, where the regime of Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir is accused of conniving in human rights crimes. Al-Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court.

Emir Sheikh Hamad visited Syria in early October for talks with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad.