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King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain were among of the leaders from the 19 Latin American and Iberian countries to attend the 19th annual Ibero-American Summit in Estoril, Portugal. They attended the summit’s inauguration last night, and it was the King who met with some of the leaders in attendance.
 AP Photo/Armando Franca Before the inauguration, Juan Carlos met with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. The two men held a private discussion, and did not tell reporters about what they talked about.
The opening of the summit included a dinner at the Jeronimos Monastery. Portugal’s President and Prime Minister played host.
Monday morning, King Juan Carlos met with another South American leader, this time Brazilian President Lula da Silva. There was no private talks this time. The King also had breakfast with the presidents of several Central American countries.
After the breakfast, it was time for the summit’s first meeting. The topic for this year is “Innovation and Knowledge.”
There are usually 22 countries taking part in the Ibero-American Summit, but this year there are only 19. Absent is Venezuelan leader, Hugo Chavez. Two years ago, he was memorably told to “shut up” by King Juan Carlos for interrupting the Spanish Prime Minister. It is not known why Chavez is not in attendance this time.
While this was all going on, Queen Sofia and the other first ladies took part in the Accompanying Persons Program. That meant a tour of the region of Estoril, which is outside of Lisbon. The group saw Cabo da Roca and the National Palace at Sintra.
Tonight, there will be a dinner for the participants. Nothing fancy or gala-like. The summit will conclude tomorrow.
The man who is second in line to Japan’s Chrysanthemum Throne turned 44 Monday. Prince Akishino gave a press conference to mark this occasion.
 AP Photo/The Imperial Household Agency of Japan One of the things he mentioned during the conference was how the Japanese taxpayers would benefit from a smaller imperial family. Under current regulations, the number of people who belong the family will decrease.
“From the point of view of the financial burden on the country, it is no bad thing,” Akishino told reporters.
He did point out, however, that there would be less people able to carry out engagements.
Japan is now dealing with a deep debt and is making budget cuts of over $1 trillion. The government is trying to prevent another recession.
In addition, Prince Akishino suggested during the press conference that members of the imperial family should have their say in its future. ‘‘I think it might be necessary to have the process of listening to the opinions of the crown prince and other parties concerned.”
As Dubai’s debt worsens, its ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum may have to turn to its oil-rich fellow emirate, Abu Dhabi for help.
 MARWAN NAAMANI/AFP/Getty Images/FILE But will that emirate assist Dubai again? Abu Dhabi already helped Dubai earlier this year with a $10 billion bailout when the global recession first hit. Sheikh Mohammed has always said the two emirates have tight bonds, but how the two will ride out this financial crisis will determine that.
“Differences between the two city-states remain on how to approach the economy and the financial crisis,” said Hani Sabra of Eurasia Group, a U.S.-based research firm. “But now Abu Dhabi is obviously the more dominant emirate.”
When Dubai announced its debt payment was being put on hold, two Abu-Dhabi banks bought $5 billion Dubai bonds, but nothing more.
“I guess Abu Dhabi is saying there will be no blank check for Dubai,” said Jane Kinninmont, a London-based specialist on Gulf economies at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
Just this month, Sheikh Mohammed insisted that all was well with Dubai’s finances and told media critics to “shut up.” Most of the plans he had for Dubai’s development – such as real-estate on the artificial island Palm Jumeirah, and other major property plans – have been put on hold. As a result, Dubai has become the biggest symbol of the global property bubble bursting. Its financial woes have some wondering if another crisis is on the way.
Next week may display that. The global stock markets reopen on Monday, following the shockwaves Dubai caused on Friday. Wednesdaay is the UAE’s national day. Whether Abu Dhabi is willing to help its neighbor remains to be seen.
“There is no point throwing good money into Dubai‘s black holes,” said Christopher Davidson, an expert in Emirate affairs at Britain’s Durham University. “These are mistakes of Sheikh Mohammed and he needs to deal with them.”
On the eve of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, King Abdullah II of Jordan gave a televised speech to the country. In it, he encouraged his people on the Hashemite Kingdom’s progress and even acknowledged the Palestinians.
 Reuters/Youssef Allan “Brothers and sisters, members of the one Jordanian family,” the King said. “Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you. It is my pleasure, on the eve of the Eid Al Adha, an occasion that is special to all Muslims, to send you all and Arab and Muslim nations greetings and good wishes.”
“I also join you in sending special wishes to our brothers and sisters west of the river, who have not experienced the pleasure of Eid for many decades and continue to suffer the injustice of occupation and absence of justice,” King Abdullah continued. “We greet them on this day and emphasize that we stand by their side and will continue to support them in their quest for their legitimate rights, especially their right to freedom and to establish their independent state on their national soil.”
After making those points, the monarch went on to talk about Jordan’s economic, social and political progress. He said he was fully aware of the daily struggles many Jordanian face each day and carried their burden. “Work continues within a clear work plan to improve conditions and achieve the best for you and our country. I will settle for nothing less than the best for you.”
Overall, it was a short speech. After acknowledging the people’s economic struggles, King Abdullah wished the country a happy Eid.
Eid al-Adha is when Muslims commemorate Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son as commanded by God. Muslims sacrifice goats, camels, sheep and other animals in remembrance of God giving Abraham an animal in place of his son once he saw Abraham’s obedience.
King Abdullah led Thursday night Eid prayers at the King Hussein mosque with many of his male relatives. His son and heir, Crown Prince Hussein was also in attendance.
 REUTERS/Hans Deryk Queen Elizabeth II can rest easy now. The Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines voted last night to keep her as their head of state. The people rejected a new constitution that would have removed the Queen and put a president in her place.
This comes as Her Majesty is making a rare trip to the Caribbean for a summit Thursday. She will be stopping by St Vincent at some point.
Both main political parties of St. Vincent wanted to oust Queen Elizabeth as its leader. However, two-thirds of the vote was needed for this, and 56 percent of voters chose not to have a change in its government.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines won its independence from Great Britain in 1979, but remains a member of the Commonwealth.
The lawyers for Spain’s Infanta Elena and Jaime de Marichalar admitted today to the Spanish media that the couple have signed their divorce papers. While there was no official statement from the royal court, it is clear that the eldest daughter of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia is no longer married.
 REUTERS/Juan Medina/FILE Both signed the divorce papers as a “mutual agreement”, the statements claim, which add that they “maintain a fluid dialogue on all matters relating to the common interest of their children.” Also, both “testify to the affection and regard that Don Jaime feels the Family of Her Royal Highness the Infanta, as has been well over the last two years.”
Married in Seville in 1995, Elena and Jaime separated two years ago. The couple have two children, Felipe Froilan age 11 and Victoria age 9. The children will stay with their mother while their father will have free access to them.
While it is not known why exactly the marriage fell apart, it is rumored that Jaime’s stroke in 2001 may be the reason.
The 45 year-old Infanta Elena is fourth in line to the Spanish throne.
On Tuesday, Princess Caroline of Hannover travelled to Dubai and met with Princess Haya, the wife of Sheikh Mohammed, who is both ruler of Dubai and the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates. The meeting 0f these two women focused on humanitarian issues, which the two are active in. 
After meeting and talking with Haya, Caroline went to attend a luncheon hosted by the Young President’s Organization’s (YPO) in Dubai, a structure whose primary objective is to provide young presidents of companies the opportunity to meet, exchange their knowledge and experiences.
The luncheon brought together thirty of the most eminent personalities from the world of finance.
On Wednesday, Princess Caroline attended another luncheon, this time held by the Rotary Club of Dubai at the emirate’s World Trade Center.
The reason for Caroline to be in Dubai at this time is likely for her to avoid testifying at her husband’s trial tomorrow.
This week, Jordan’s King Abdullah II dissolved the lower half of Parliament, ordered his government to amend an unpopular election law and told them to prepare for general elections two years early.
 AFP/File/Filippo Monteforte “We instruct the government to immediately start planning for parliamentary elections, which should be transparent and fair, reflecting Jordan’s reform drive,” the King told Prime Minister Nader Dahabi in a letter, a palace statement said.
“We instruct you to take all necessary measures for that purpose, including amending the elections law and developing all aspects of the electoral process.”
The electoral law being mentioned refers to a controversial 1993 one-person-one-vote law that has been unpopular with many Jordanians since its beginning. Most say it led to those with tribal affiliations to become lawmakers, rather than MPs who represent the population.
In other words, in tribal areas, MPs would represent a few thousand people, compared to the 90,000 Amman citizens represented by only one MP.
Since elections in 2007, critics have accused those elected of not tackling issues close to Jordanians, such as poverty and unemployment.
This is the second time King Abdullah II dissolved Parliament early since inheriting the throne ten years ago.
Yesterday, Norway’s Crown Princess was on hand to open the world’s first power plant to use salt to make electricity. Wearing a hardhat and work glasses, Mette-Marit was shown around the Statkraft plant, located in Tofte, outside of Oslo.
 Ragnar Singsaas/Getty Images “We are also most grateful that the Crown Princess wishes to lend her support to this milestone in our development of osmotic power,” Statkraft CEO Bard Mikkelsen, said.
The plant mixes freshwater and saltwater to generate electricity, and it promises to be eco-friendly. Statkraft, the company which owns this plant, spent 10 years researching this possibility.
Right now, the plant can only power a small kettle. But Statkraft aims to light and heat a small town by 2014.
A special membrane is used to combine fresh and salt water, and it creates what it called Osmosis power.
In theory, Osmotic plants can be built wherever fresh water runs into the sea. They also do not create any noise problems or pollution.
On Tuesday, the Queen of Jordan awarded the country’s most outstanding teachers and principals with her Award for Excellence in Education. 25 teachers and seven principals were honored at a ceremony at Amman’s University of Applied Sciences.
 The Jordan Times “Let this occasion remind us all of our responsibility towards Jordan’s next generation. As labor markets diversify, and employers’ expectations increase, your responsibility, as teachers, intensifies,” Queen Rania told the audience. “Your guidance as educators and your example as leaders are integral to re-imagining Jordan’s educational landscape and inspiring our young people to reach for new horizons.”
The 25 teachers were chosen out of 72 candidates, and the seven principals were chosen out of 19.
This year marked the first time the Queen gave out her Distinguished Principals Award, which was launched last year. It will be a bi-annual award.
The recipients of these awards earned monetary prizes. First place winners received 3,000 Jordanian Dollars while the second runner-ups got 1,500. Third place winners earned 1,000.
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