Another Qatari pretender falls away

The always unlikely attempt by Qatar’s GCC-3 rivals to push Sheikh Abdullah Bin Ali Al-Thani as an alternative ruler to Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad hit a wall on 14 January when the 48-year-old businessman was reported to have left the UAE. Sheikh Abdullah’s widely publicised departure came shortly after he appeared in a video claiming he was being held against his will in Abu Dhabi.Sheikh Abdullah emerged from obscurity as the Qatar crisis unfolded