Qatar: Abdullah Bin Hamad named deputy emir

Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani issued a decree on 11 November appointing his half-brother Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Thani as deputy emir of Qatar. Tamim had already stipulated in an emiri order in April that Abdullah should assume his duties when he was abroad; the latest decision seems to be increasing the remit of that role. Tamim, whose children are still young (the eldest, Hamad, was born in 2008), has yet to appoint an heir apparent; the assumption has been that he would appoint a caretaker until they come of age.