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The Emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, came to south Lebanon Saturday to personally see how his country’s funds are helping to rebuild the area after the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006. He was accompanied by his wife, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missned, as well as the Lebanese President, First Lady and Prime Minister.
 REUTERS/Ali Hashisho Upon arriving in the region, crowds of thousands gathered to greet the Emir. Many waved Qatar’s flag and held signs that read “Thank You, Qatar.”
“I am happy to be here, in this area that was rebuilt after it was destroyed,” Emir Hamad said in Bint Jbeil, one of the towns hit hardest by Israeli shellings.
During his visit, the Emir opened a hospital, a mosque and a church. He also visited Khiam prison, a former detention center used by Israel during the month-long conflict.
The Qatari visit came just one day after Saudi King Abdullah made an historic visit to Lebanon in order to diminish rising tensions in the country. A U.N. tribunal may indict Hezbollah members over the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and Hezbollah has said it would not hand over anyone.
The Emir brought that up during the welcoming dinner last night at Baabda Palace, where President Michel Suleiman and his wife, Wafah, reside.
“We understand the sensitivity of this moment that accompanies our visit to Lebanon, as the clouds mount, and we pray to God they will clear peacefully.”
Emir Hamad is expected to stay in Lebanon until Sunday.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Daily Star Lebanon
Since late Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud has been making brief stops in four Mideast nations in order to calm the rising tensions in Lebanon and promote Arab unity. The King’s tour began in Egypt and ended in Jordan.
 AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi While in a Sinai resort town, King Abdullah met with President Hosni Mubarak to discuss the Mideast peace process and Lebanon. Their meeting lasted only one hour.
After that, Abdullah went to Syria where he was greeted at a Damascus airport by President Bashar al-Assad. Both Syria and Saudi Arabia are easing tensions that started in 2005, when Saudi ally, Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiki Hariri, was assassinated. It is believed that a Syrian killed Hariri, which Syria firmly denies.
During their meeting, the King urged al-Assad to use his influence over Hezbollah, a Lebanese resistance movement, to avoid any conflicts.
Once the meeting was over, both leaders went to Beirut together. Although things have been tense with Syria and Lebanon, diplomatic ties have been warming up lately, with current Prime Minister Saad Hariri visiting Damascus five times since 2008.
In Beirut, King Abdullah, President al-Assad met with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman. A statement from the presidency said the leaders had discussed “ways to reinforce national accord and Lebanon’s stability” and stressed the need to avoid violence.
 AP Photo/Ahmad Omar Also at the meeting was Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah, who said the issue over a tribunal indicting a rogue Hezbollah member over Hariri’s father’s murder, was raised during the closed-door talks.
“The (meeting) discussed the tribunal decision … and how it will reflect on the situation in Lebanon,” he told Reuters. “We consider this a very sensitive and dangerous subject, (that is) putting the tribunal under Israel’s service against the resistance.”
Lebanese political analyst Suleiman Taqi al-Deen said the Saudi-Syrian visit was “important, exceptional and pre-emptive.”
“It is the first time it happens before a situation in Lebanon explodes. It is an understanding to defuse the Lebanese problem because if it explodes its consequences will be very dangerous on the region,” he told Reuters.
 REUTERS/Ali Jarekji ( After the historic meeting in Beirut, King Abdullah went next to Jordan where he met its King, also named Abdullah. There, the Saudi King told his counterpart about his talks in Lebanon, and even the Palestinian issue.
“The two leaders stressed their backing for Lebanon’s efforts to enhance its stability, security, unity and national accord,” a Jordanian palace statement said.
“Saudi Arabia and Jordan support the Palestinian people in seeking to restore their rights,” the statement went on to say. “A two-state solution is the only way to achieve security and stability in the region.”
After the Friday meeting, the Jordanian King hosted an official dinner for the Saudi King. The latter then returned to Riyadh.
The Saudi King’s Mideast tour came at a time when the results of a UN tribunal’s investigation into Hariri’s murder — expected to be announced by the end of 2010 — have sparked tensions in Lebanon.
The tense atmosphere is further hurt by threats of a war against Lebanon by Israel, who has been accusing Hezbollah of receiving weapons from Syria — a claim also echoed by the United States. Both Lebanese and Syrian officials strongly dismiss the accusations.
Sources: Xinhua, PressTV, EarthTimes, AFP, Reuters
Monaco’s 62nd annual Red Cross Ball is possibly the biggest event on the tiny principality’s social calendar. While the ball raises money for the Monegasque Red Cross foundation, it also brings out big-name celebrities, as well as Monaco’s princely family.
 Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images Like last year, Sovereign Prince Albert II, his fiancèe Charlene Wittstock, and his younger sister Princess Stephanie, arrived together at the Monte Carlo Sporting Club at about 8pm local time. And also like last year, Princess Caroline was absent from this year’s ball for reasons unknown.
The trio enjoyed a cruised themed ball, in which everything was blue and looked as if the Sporting Club was a luxury cruise liner. Performances were done by Welsh singer Tom Jones.
A piece of art which is traditionally donated to the Monaco Red Cross was revealed by Victoria Silvstedt and Julio Iglesias who drew the winning number.
Also spotted at the ball was Prince Albert’s former flame, Nicole Costa, who is the mother of his young son, Alexandre. But since the little boy was born out of wedlock, he cannot inherit the principality.
Sources: Monte Carlo SBM press release, The Royal Forums
South African President Jacob Zuma announced that six of the thirteen kingdoms in his country will be no more. He said Thursday that those monarchies were created during apartheid in order for those kings and queens to support the white-led government.
 AFP/File/Rajesh Jantilal “The apartheid regime created its own traditional leadership at the expense of authentic leadership in some communities,” Zuma said.
“It was how those in charge divided and disunited people,” he said. “We urge all communities to accept the findings in the spirit of correcting the wrongs of the past, and as part of the country’s nation-building efforts.”
Those six kingdoms will end when their rulers die. They include: the central province of Free State’s Batlokwa ba Mota and the Bakwena baMopeli monarchies, the Eastern Cape’s AmaRharhabe and the Amampondo ase-Nyandeni, and the Ndzundza Mabhoko kingdom in the eastern Mpumalanga province. The kingdom of AbaThembu base-Rhode’s King already died, and so that monarchy will be ending shortly.
The Xhosa and Zulu Kingdoms will remain.
Source: AFP, AP
As president of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), it is Princess Haya of Dubai’s position to oversee the development of equestrianism throughout the world. In Moscow Thursday, she was at the ceremonial signing of a memorandum on the development of equestrian sports, and on holding international competitions and establishment of a federal training center in Russia.
 profimedia.cz, Topfoto/RIA News, Ilya Pitalev With the Princess was Russia’s Minister of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy, Vitaly Mutko, and the Equestrian Federation of Russia (COFEPRIS), Dmitry Titov.
Haya stressed the importance of signing the memorandum, noting that “Russia has made a significant contribution to the development of equestrian sport.”
“I am very pleased that we have reached full understanding with the Equestrian Federation of Russia and the Ministry on all matters relating to the future of equestrian sports. This is truly a happy day for our federation and, in general, our sport.”
According to Titov, the Federal Center for Development of equestrian sport will produce not only Russian athletes but also to help representatives of the Baltic States and other former Soviet countries. He stressed Russia’s past victories in equestrian.
“We have had successes up to the 1980s. In dressage, a very subjective discipline, we were on a 2-3-4 head and shoulders above the other contenders,” Titov said.
Source: RIA News
Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit took part in the Olav Festival in Trondheim Wednesday, in which they did a pilgrimage to Nidaros Cathedral for the “Faith, Hope and Love” discussion. It was there that the Crown Princess chatted with minister Per Arne Dahl about the big questions in life.
 Ned Alley / Scanpix “I want to help create a conversation about the serious topics – with room for the big questions. Questions that we all have a relationship with – each in our own way,” said Mette-Marit.
Before sitting down with the minister, Mette-Marit and Haakon went on a pilgrimage which began Tuesday in Skaun and ended at the Cathedral. During the long walk, the Crown Princess got blisters on her feet and took off her shoes (that is why she is barefoot during her discussion with Dahl).
One of the reasons why Mette-Marit wanted to talk about spiritual issues so publicly is because she felt they are a big part of Norwegian culture.
“I think we all sometimes need to gather about the key issues – which applies to people at all times. This clearly did the work of the hymns. Many of the old hymns have lyrics and messages that appeal directly to the people of our time – even if they are written for several hundred years ago,” she said.
The Crown Princess also said that we all have a chance to do something good for others – and to be the best of ourselves. This is a daily task she thinks everyone must take seriously – both large and small.
“I’m using worship actively as a place for rest, reflection and a place to draw strength from. It’s nice when it can feel like a home where there is both room for fellowship and to be themselves in peace,” she said.
Source: Kongehuset.no,
 ROYAL PRESS PHOTO OG NIELS HENRIK DAM / COLOURPRESS Most of members of the Danish royal family took part in a media photoshoot Wednesday at Gråsten Castle. Queen Margrethe II and Prince Henrik were there with their two sons, their daughters in law and their grandchildren. They were also with the Queen’s sister, Princess Benedikte and her husband, plus her grandchildren.
Absent from the event were Prince Joachim’s two eldest sons, Princes Nikolai and Felix, who are vacationing with their mother in Turkey. Also, Princess Nathalie, daughter of Benedikte, is still in Germany recuperating from delivering her son earlier this week.
 ROYAL PRESS PHOTO OG NIELS HENRIK DAM / COLOURPRESS Despite that, Prince Joachim was proud to show off his youngest son, Prince Henrik age 1, to the press. The little boy is turning into a spitting image of his mother, Princess Marie.
 ROYAL PRESS PHOTO OG NIELS HENRIK DAM / COLOURPRESS Meanwhile, Frederik and Mary were happy to pose with their two children, Prince Christian and Princess Isabella. Christian will be 5 years old this coming October, and there will be a lot of celebrations to mark that milestone. As for Isabella, age 3, she is turning into a lovely young lady – or rather, lovely young princess!
To see more pics of the Danish royals, click here and here
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a surprise visit to Amman Tuesday, when he met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II to discuss the Mideast Peace Process. Netanyahu was trying to get the King to persuade the Palestinians to resume peace talks.
 AFP/HO/Yussef Allan This visit came just three months after the King lamented to the Wall Street Journal over the Israeli leader’s actions which he felt brought relations between Israel and Jordan to new lows.
The meeting went on for more than two hours, and it focused on making “progress to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, based on a two-state solution, in a regional context,” said a statement from the Jordan News Agency, known as Petra.
Netanyahu’s office said that the meeting highlighted on “the need to ensure direct, serious and effective negotiations” toward “two states for two peoples.” The office also said that the talks addressed the need “to advance peace, security and prosperity in the region,” as well as the wish for “direct, serious and effective negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.”
The palace statement said King Abdullah asked Netanyahu to “make use of the opportunity available now to achieve peace, which constitutes a strategic interest for all sides involved.”
Once the meeting was done, the Israeli PM returned to his country and praised the Jordanian King. “We talked about promoting peace between Israel and the Palestinians and in the whole region,” Netanyahu said. “I welcome Jordan’s efforts for progress toward these goals.”
Jordan and Egypt are the only two Arab nations with peace treaties with Israel.
On Monday, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas met with King Abdullah. Afterward, Abbas told reporters that the Palestinians are not avoiding the peace talks.
“We have negotiated with Israeli governments before, more than once. Why would we avoid such talks? We are not.”
Sources: AP, CNN, AFP
The Crown Princely couple of Norway have put an end to farming at their home at Skaugum Palace in Asker, outside of Oslo.
 Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Image/FILE Over the weekend, Haakon and Mette-Marit auctioned their 48 cows because they were unable to find a custodian for their farm and they also found it economically unnecessary to maintain their livestock.
The decision lead to criticism from Norway’s farming lobby, saying it ends a royal symbolism for the country’s farmers.
“This says something about the conditions for farming in Norway,” said Brita Skallerud of the farming organization Norges Bondelag, questioning whether it’s possible to make a living from farming. She added that it was “very sad” that the royal couple were suspending livestock operations at Skaugum.
“They are very sorry for the Asker’s population that the operation be closed down. I have the impression that they feel a sense of belonging to the farm,” said farmer Torstein Alm.
Farming at Skaugum Palace has been around for three generations. Crown Prince Haakon’s parents and grandparents lived at Skaugum, and maintained the cow farm before becoming regents of Norway.
Haakon said in a statement that it was “with a heavy heart” that he had to sell his cows.
According to Aftenposten, the couple may try to rent out the land the cows used to occupy.
Sources: NewsInEnglish.no, Hadeland.net
Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark was honored as a special guest at the Academy of Couture Art in Los Angeles on Saturday, July 24. The youngest daughter of the deposed King and Queen of Greece arrived with actor Scott Elrod.
The event was hosted by Viviana Vigil of NBC’s 1st look. Runway highlights included Nouvelle Couture Collections, Tribute to Swarovski Collection, Special Collection pour Lloyd Klein Couture, Seamless Couture Collections inspired by Alexander McQueen, and much more.
27 year-old Theodora has been studying acting for quite sometime. It is believed her stage name is simply Theodora Greece.
Source: clubzone.com
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