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| Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad 'to hand power to son' | Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad 'to hand power to son' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani is to announce he is ceding power to his son, reports say. | The Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani is to announce he is ceding power to his son, reports say. |
| Rumours had been circulating for days that Crown Prince Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, 33, was being prepared to take over leadership of the Gulf emirate. | Rumours had been circulating for days that Crown Prince Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, 33, was being prepared to take over leadership of the Gulf emirate. |
| The Qatar-based al-Jazeera television station reported that Sheikh Hamad told a meeting of the "ruling family and top advisers" of his decision on Monday. | The Qatar-based al-Jazeera television station reported that Sheikh Hamad told a meeting of the "ruling family and top advisers" of his decision on Monday. |
| A formal announcement is expected on Monday evening. | A formal announcement is expected on Monday evening. |
| A cabinet reshuffle is also expected as part of the changes in the government line-up. | |
| Qatar has been dominated by the Al-Thani family for almost 150 years. Sheikh Hamad took power in 1995 when he deposed his father to become emir. | |
| Since then he has introduced some liberalising reforms and in recent years has made Qatar a major player in regional diplomacy. |