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Amid the attention garnered by the UAE with the COP28 climate change summit in Dubai, a number of female members of Gulf royal families have been getting involved in the environmental debates.

The prospect of the UAE vice president gaining control of the influential right-wing newspaper is causing concern among many in the UK’s ruling Conservative Party – and may yet be thwarted by an official investigation. But the prospective deal highlights how Mansour Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan is steadily expanding his international media portfolio, increasing Abu Dhabi’s soft power in the process.

Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum led the way on prisoner pardons ahead of the UAE’s 52nd National Day on 2 December, ordering 1,249 inmates to be freed from the emirate’s prisons on 29 November. UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan released a further 1,018 prisoners.

The Royal Court announced on 1 December the death of Prince Mamdouh Bin Abdelaziz, a half-brother of King Salman Bin Abdelaziz. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) performed the funeral prayers at the Grand Mosque in Mecca on the same day.

The Riyadh-based Hevolution Foundation, set up in 2018 and now jointly run by Princess Haya Bint Khalid Bin Bandar Al-Saud and former Mayo Clinic endocrinologist Mehmood Khan, is due to hold its inaugural Global Healthspan Summit in late November. The event will focus on extending healthy years of life and announce investments in the sector. 

Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said presided over the opening of the eighth term of the Council of Oman (parliament) on 14 November. On 18 November, he reviewed a miliary parade at Adam Air Base in Dakhiliya Governorate, held to mark Oman's 53rd National Day.

Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa was given a refresher flying course in November. King Hamad, who among other titles is supreme commander of the country’s armed forces, graduated as a helicopter pilot in January 1978.

Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum launched a generative artificial intelligence (AI) competition in early November, with prizes of AED1m ($272,000) available for winners of the Global Prompt Engineering Championship.

Emirati Sheikh Rashid Bin Ahmed Al-Maktoum and his British wife Natalie Lankester announced they were expecting a third child. Rashid Bin Ahmed is a professional show jumper, while his wife represents the UAE in dressage competitions; together they run the DXB Horses team. 

Prominent Saudi businessman Sheikh Mohammed Bin Issa Al-Jaber has lost a long-running case against the founders of Al-Arabiya television channel over a disputed $30m payment. 

Sheikh Khalid Bin Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has attempted to cement his status within the political arena and strengthen his profile among local citizens since he was named Abu Dhabi’s crown prince on 29 March, in a move which put the 41 year-old first in line to succeed his father, President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (MBZ). 

Bahrain's recently-appointed Civil Service Bureau president Sheikh Daij Bin Salman Bin Daij Al-Khalifaheld talks with Prime Minister and Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa at Gudaibiya Palace late October. 

Sheikh Theyab Bin Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, son of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, travelled to Muscat in early November.

Bahrain's King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa pulled out of attending the finals of the sixth Nasser Bin Hamad Marine Heritage Season, held at the Bahrain National Museum's outdoor arena on 4 November. No reason was given for his withdrawal.

Oman's Sultan Haitham Al-Said appointed new governors to three of the sultanate's 11 provinces:  Masoud Said Hashim Al-Hashmi for South Al-Batinah, Mahmoud Yahya Sulaiman Al-Thuhli for North Al-Sharqiyah, and Sheikh Ahmed Musallam Suhail Jidad Al-Kithiri for Al-Wusta.