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Iraq’s Kurds have long hoped for a foreign sponsor to underwrite their independence, and Turkey has emerged as the latest potential saviour. Geopolitical and energy designs are the backdrop to an increasingly tight relationship with Ankara – and an increasingly difficult one with Iran

The US Senate has accused HSBC of becoming a conduit for suspicious or illegal funds, including those of Saudi Arabian businesses it says are linked to terrorism and Iranians trying to circumvent sanctions.

Qatar has bought two buildings in Paris worth a combined €600m plus ($760m), one of which houses the Figaro Group and satellite offices of the US embassy.

The Grand Court of the Cayman Islands has ruled in favour of Ahmad Hamad Al-Gosaibi and Brothers (AHAB), instructing Maan Al-Sanea to pay the Al-Gosaibis $2.5bn, by way of interim payment.

Deputy prime minister Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan remains on the ascendancy. Also minister of presidential affairs, he is close to half-brother UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, and is married to Sheikha Manal Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the eldest child of UAE vice president, prime minister and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.

Gulf Finance House (GFH) has appointed Hisham Alrayes as acting chief executive, the bank said in a statement on 17 April. Alrayes was previously chief investment officer and takes over from Ted Pretty, who joined the bank in 2009 (GSN 872/11). Alrayes has been at GFH since 2007, and is also chairman of Cemena Holding Company, Gulf Holding Company and Bashaer Fund, GFH said.

The network of Saudi families in business was shaken to its core in 2009, when Saudi billionaire Maan Al-Sanea and the prominent Al-Gosaibi group fell out with each other, and a debt pile of billions of dollars emerged.

Kuwait has named 37-year-old Mohammad Yusif Al-Hashel as governor of the Central Bank of Kuwait. Hashel has been acting governor since Salem Abdulaziz Al-Sabah – who had been in the position for 25 years – resigned on 13 February, apparently because of objections to a rapid rise in government spending (GSN 918/8).

Plenty of financial issues remain to be resolved, and analysts observe that Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MBR) is still less prominent on the world stage than he was before becoming UAE premier in 2006. But something of the old strut is returning to Dubai.

In royal decrees issued on 29 February, Sultan Qaboos reshuffled the cabinet for the third time in just over a year, removing the unpopular information minister Hamad Bin Mohammed Al-Rashdi and justice minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al-Hinai.

Confidence in the Iranian banking system has been damaged by the Amir Mansour Aria Group corruption scandal, which emerged last September when it was claimed that shadowy but well-connected businessman Amir-Mansour Kosravi (also known as Mah-Afarid Kosravi) had fraudulently acquired $2.8bn from leading local banks.

Saudi foreign policy ultimately rests largely in the hands of individuals; it is character-driven, personalised and must be viewed through the network of alliances and tensions that knit the delicate balance in Riyadh. GSN takes a look at some of the main characters likely to be influencing foreign policy.

It is not just in diplomatic circles that Qatar punches above its weight. The small Gulf country of around 1.9m people has topped Forbes’ list of the world’s richest countries, published on 22 February.

UK-based metals magnate Victor Dahdaleh and former Aluminium Bahrain (Alba) chief executive Bruce Hall, charged in connection with an alleged scam to defraud Alba, appeared in court in London on 2 March for a procedural hearing.

New president Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi has his work cut out if he is to make a break with the regime of his predecessor. As he begins his first term, GSN surveys the many high-profile associates of Ali Abdullah Saleh who remain at the top of the military, government and business