Qataris know the tale of their next door neighbour Dubai, who by opening its arms to the world subsumed traditional Emirati culture in favour of westernisation, and all the vices that came with it.

BBC: Qatar: regional backwater to global player

Mr Boyle also told the inquiry that he saw his next-door-neighbour Michael McDaid shot dead near the Rossville flats.

BBC: Inquiry hears IRA guns were removed

Reg was our next door neighbour in the early 80s when we lived in Andover.

BBC: Reg Presley of The Troggs dies aged 71

"Alpha Centauri B is of course a very special case - it's our next door neighbour, " said Stephane Udry of the Observatory in Geneva and senior author of the paper.

BBC: Exoplanet around Alpha Centauri is nearest-ever

Does this mean that my next door neighbour can now build their back extension even though the council rejected it a few months ago?

BBC: Local neighbourhood groups to get planning powers

One of the grumpiest countries, in fact, is probably America's next-door neighbour.

ECONOMIST: What can Latin America expect of a re-elected George Bush?

The suggestion that by then Mr Blair will have given way to his next-door-neighbour has never seemed more fanciful.

ECONOMIST: Bagehot