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The senior Al-Thani leadership has been busy on the international front. Following a visit to Tehran by Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Qatar denied it had invited Iran to attend this year’s December Gulf Co-operation Council summit.

Interest is growing in the Gulf about the potential impact of a new US administration on the region, and on the West’s long-running reliance on Middle East energy. In a first pre-election analysis, GSN examines the main camps, their advisors and general policy orientations. A second part of this analysis from Washington will follow in GSN 837, focusing on the implications of an Obama or McCain victory on what remain the key theatres of US foreign policy: Iraq, Iran and the GCC states.

Population growth is a universal feature of the Gulf Co-operation Council region at a time of booming oil-financed expansion, with a surge in construction activity and accelerating demand for services creating an almost insatiable need for labour. The GCC thus continues to suck in foreign workers to meet real present economic needs. This is also the case for some sectors in Bahrain, but there is also concern that in the small communally divided island state migration policy is serving political ends too – with potentially dangerous consequences.

MIQRIN BIN ABDELAZIZ: Pakistan venture; PRINCE ABDULLAH: Equestrian hopes dashed; PRINCE SAUD: Turkmenistan trip; PRINCESS FAWZIA: Death; AL-SAUD: Al-Shayk wedding in Riyadh; SENIOR AL-SAUDS: Various vacations

State-owned property developer Nakheel has become the latest company to uncover what appear to be incidents of fraud in Dubai’s real estate sector.

The King is sticking to a reform path, having reinforced his control over family and government power structures, but the pace of change remains cautious and even with the Kingdom awash with liquidity major challenges remain for the Saudi leadership. GSN examines the direction of Abdullah’s rule some three years after the respected elder statesman took over the top job.

Three sharia-compliant investment funds worth $10bn have been created to seek out opportunities

Qatar’s move to become the biggest shareholder in Barclays Bank continues its love affair with the City of London, although the London/Doha axis may not be an all-consuming passion. The London Stock Exchange’s failure to become Doha Securities Market’s key partner raised City eyebrows after the DSM decided that NYSE Euronext should take up one quarter of its equity, in a $250m deal, rather than the LSE, which has been 15%-owned by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), run by Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani (HBJ), since last September.

Late April saw the marriage of Sheikh Jassim Bin Khalifa Al-Thani – thought to be the Emir’s younger half-brother – to Sheikha Mariam Bint Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Ali Al-Thani.

The court of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan (MBZ) takes on a new status and a clearly defined role under reforms announced by the emirate’s Ruler and UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed.

Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa has already promoted a twenty- something, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, to heir apparent; GSN has regularly highlighted his role in the emirate’s fast-paced development.

Through history Kuwait has energetically asserted its independence, while Iraqi nationalists have jealously eyed what Saddam Hussein called his ‘Nineteenth Province’.  Cross-border connections run deep, and these are impacting on business today

UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan has taken over responsibility for border issues, including the difficult frontier dispute with a hitherto intransigent Saudi Arabia.

The accession of Dubai’s new ruler to the federal premiership has produced one of the most important government reshuffles in 35 years. It is a clear declaration of intent, a pointer to the evolution of national development strategy but also a completion of the leadership change effectively inaugurated with the November 2004 death of iconic founding president Sheikh Zayed.  

Sheikh Abdelaziz Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, the elusive elder brother of Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, has re-emerged in the US tabloid press, buying a luxury three bedroom apartment in New York’s Trump Park Avenue development for $6.2m.