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The hand of Tehran – and its formidable IRGC – reaches far into the Gulf states, throwing up questions of allegiance and fears of a US or Israeli-orchestrated military strike. Each state has a different experience, and the region is divided over how to deal with subversive activities within and across its borders

The Qatar Global Security and Stability Conference’s line-up was only unveiled on the morning of the event, but was more varied than many had expected. Those on stage included well-known critics of Qatar such as former Aljazeera Media Network correspondent Mohammed Fahmy and friends of Saudi Arabia such as Daniel Kawczynski MP, who was joined on stage by fellow Conservative Party politicians Roger Evans and Iain Duncan Smith. Alan Mendoza, founder of right-wing London think-tank the Henry Jackson Society, also took part.

Towering over the London skyline, the gleam of the Shard can be seen for miles around. When Western Europe’s tallest building, a 310 metre (1,016ft) vertical city of offices, restaurants, apartments and luxury hotel rooms, is officially inaugurated on 5 July, Britons can expect a spectacle: lasers and searchlights will striate the night sky as the London Philharmonic thrashes out the dramatic crescendos of Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man.

Yemeni deputy finance minister Jalal Yaqoub took the spotlight during his visit to London for the Royal Institute of International Affairs’ Yemen Forum on 1 November. Giving interviews to major news outlets, including The Financial Times, Reuters and CNN,

France’s opening of its new 400-600 personnel base in Abu Dhabi marks a considerable step forward to French commitment to the UAE and wider GCC. The opening of the base on 28 May was marked by high-level French diplomatic engagement, including UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and a range of other senior diplomats and military officials.

Various princes have begun returning to Saudi Arabia at the conclusion of their summer holidays, including several who had been staying in Morocco with Crown Prince Sultan.

Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdelaziz returned to the kingdom on 16 March following a month-long trip. On 15 February, he went to Pakistan for a three-day visit and then to Japan for a week-long round of meetings, including with Emperor Akihito . Salman then travelled to India on 26 February, and the Maldives two days later. Most recently, he was in China, arriving on 12 March for a four-day state visit. He signed various memorandums of understanding and held talks with Chinese President Xin Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang and defence minister General Chang Wanquan.

Iraq’s Kurdish leadership says it has had enough of Iraq’s political games, accusing Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki of doing whatever he can to stymie Kurdish progress. The rift has left the Kurds looking increasingly isolated

Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah left the United States late on 26 April after his latest medical check-up

Confronted with another ratcheting up of international and regional pressure, Tehran has a number of proxy conflicts in which it can make life uncomfortable for its enemies – and President Ahmadinejad and his allies seem determined to flex their muscles over neighbouring Iraq as the US prepares for its end-year military withdrawal

Steps taken by President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi to increase support for the re-enlistment of southern officers suggest increased confidence in the executive. Although funds are yet to be secured for re-enlisting thousands of officers who were forced to retire, the president has made progress within government institutions which will allow those officers to be placed under his command. Sources told GSN the removal of the director of the Political Security Office (PSO), Ghaleb al-Qamish, and the interior minister, Abdel Qader Qahtan, in March created new opportunities for incorporating some of the southern officers reinstated by presidential decree in September 2013.

King Abdullah Bin Abdelaziz has upgraded the Saudi Arabian National Guard (Sang) to a ministry, meaning his son Prince Miteb Bin Abdullah – previously Sang commander with ministerial rank – now has his own ministry. It is the latest in a string of appointments and reshuffles which has seen a number of third-generation royals promoted, as the ageing king seeks to secure his legacy.

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.

The International Monetary Fund’s latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) report, released on 9 April, cut the IMF’s growth rate predictions for every country in the Gulf. This is due to a combination of weaker oil sector growth, geopolitical instability and the impact of slower growth in key global economies including China. Worst affected among the Gulf Co-operation Council countries was Oman.

A Saudi citizen – widely reported by the French media to be Prince Abdelaziz Bin Fahd – was carjacked in Paris on 17 August as he travelled to the airport in a convoy said to be carrying sensitive documents and large amounts of money, by some accounts more than $300,000. According to the French media, the prince had left the Four Seasons George V Hotel (which is owned by Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal’s Kingdom Holding Company), and was heading for Le Bourget airport to the north of Paris in a convoy of some dozen cars. French police said between five and eight armed, masked gunmen swooped on the convoy and made the occupants get out, driving away within a matter of seconds.