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

Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum’s daughters, Sheikha Latifa; Yorkshire press; purchase of champion Arab gelding

Kaupthing stake; Eid meetings, greetings; Saudi meeting

The UAE has announced its first female ambassadors with the appointment of Sheikha Najla Bint Mohammed Bin Salim Bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi to Sweden, and Dr Hassa Al-Otaiba to Spain.

University opened; Genetics project; Legal win; Princess Sarah death

Princess Luluwa Bint Abdelaziz died at the age of 80; Late Ramadan travels; Charitable work

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al-Thani, who officially returned to Qatar in early October for the funeral of his wife Sheikha Mozah Bint Ali Bin Saud Bin Abdelaziz Al-Thani, is settling in. One sign that he is here to stay is that the former emir’s palaces in Doha, which have been empty since his exile in 1995, are being renovated.