Safinaz Nur, the mother of Prince Khalid Bin Saad Bin Abdelaziz, died in August, aged 85. Khalid’s father, Saad, who died in 1993, was the tenth son of King Abdelaziz.
Allegiance Commission chairman Prince Mishaal Bin Abdelaziz is apparently still in Europe after going to Geneva in late August (GSN 928/8). He had previously spent just one month in the Kingdom after visiting Switzerland in July and spending a month in New York on ‘special leave’.
Foreign minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, who is recuperating in Los Angeles after surgery, spoke to his US counterpart, Hillary Clinton, on 15 September, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
Heir apparent Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani held talks in Doha on 18 September with Ismail Tello, vice chairman of the standing committee of China’s National People’s Congress.
Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa met UK defence secretary Philip Hammond and Middle East adviser Simon Mayall at Al-Riffa Palace in Manama on 11 September.
UAE president and Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Sharjah ruler Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi visited the UAE’s Olympic mission at the 2012 London Paralympic Games.
Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani has agreed to expel Sakher El Materi, the son-in-law of former Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, from the country, the Tunisian News Agency (Tap) reported on 10 September.
Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has donated 80 falcons from the conservation project Pro-Falcon Farm to the Abu Dhabi International Hunting and Equestrian Exhibition (Adihex).
Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal is convalescing in Los Angeles following an operation to remove an intestinal obstruction. According to local media, the Saudi foreign ministry said on 10 September: “He is in good health and he is right now in Los Angeles where he will spend some weeks to recover before returning home.”
The UK’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) accepted a controversial £3m ($4.8m) donation from Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa despite ongoing protests and human rights abuses in the kingdom, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ) reported this month.
The King’s son, deputy foreign minister Prince Abdelaziz, has won a civil law suit against the City of Los Angeles related to his plans to build three large family homes in Benedict Canyon, near Beverly Hills.
King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz flew to Morocco on 27 August on “special leave”, landing in Casablanca with a large retinue including Prince Miqrin Bin Abdelaziz, recently appointed adviser, finance minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf and education minister Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah Bin Mohammed
Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal has undergone surgery to remove an intestinal obstruction, according to the official Saudi Press Agency. Photographs were released on 20 August of King Abdullah, accompanied by Crown Prince Salman, visiting Prince Saud at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah.
Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani was in Paris on 22 August to meet President François Hollande.
King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa arrived in Jordan on 27 August to discuss Syria and bilateral co-operation with King Abdullah II.
