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 AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File It was announced Wednesday that Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei will divorce his wife of five years, Princess Azrinaz Mazhar. Rumors have been going around of a troubled marriage for a while.
The Sultan married the former Malaysian journalist in 2005 in a secret ceremony in Kuala Lumpur. They have two children, a son, Prince Abdul Wakeel, and a daughter, Princess Ameera.
This will be Hassanal Bolkiah’s second divorce. In 2003, he ended his 21 year marriage to former flight attendant Mariam Abdul Aziz.
In both cases, the royal titles for both women were revoked.
The Sultan remains married to his first wife, Anak Hajah Saleha, whom he married in 1967.
The Sultan of Brunei is one of the world’s wealthiest men, with a net worth estimated to be about $20 billion. He gets his wealth from being the absolute ruler of his oil-rich country.
Sources: AP, Brudirect
On Tuesday, the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, brought his son, Prince Abdul Mateen to the famed British military academy, Sandhurst, where the 19 year-old will take part in a 48 week cadet course.
 Infofoto Upon arriving, the Sultan and the Prince were greeted by RMA Sandhurst Commandant Major PC Marriott. The Major gave the two a tour of the academy, showing them the study halls and even Prince Abdul’s modest dormitory.
Touring Sandhurst brought back memories for the Sultan, who once trained here as a young man.
Prince Abdul Mateen will be attending the Commissioning Course for Regular Army Officers along with 200 other recruits.
The last time one of the Sultan of Brunei’s sons entered Sandhurst, he left almost as soon as he came. In late 2008, Prince Azim found the rigorous training at the academy too difficult and left after one week.
As for Abdul, he is expected to last until his 48 weeks are up in April 2011.
Fifth in line to the Bruneian throne, the Prince is the son of Hajah Mariam, who was once the Sultan’s second wife. He divorced her in 2003, stripping her of her titles.
Sources: The Brunei Times
Princess Fadzillah Lubabul Bolkiah was a guest of honor for the opening ceremonies of the 5th Special Olympics Brunei Darussalam (SOBD) on Thursday. She arrived at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex, smiling and waving to the participants.
Fadzillah was then introduced to co-chairman of the organizing committee, Dato Paduka Hj Jemat Hj Ampal, Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, who gave a speech welcoming the athletes. He also spoke of his high hopes for the Games.
“For this annual event we want to raise the profile of special athletes not only on the local scene but also internationally.”
After that, the Princess stood up and officially opened the Games. She was then introduced to and presented plaques to leaders of participating teams.
For a three day period, the SOBD will showcase 200 athletes in such sports as track and field, Bocce, football, bowling and a Young Athletes event meant for those aged 8 and younger.
The SOBD is also a chance for the athletes to be chosen to participate in the Special Olympics International World Games in Athens, Greece, being held this June.
Princess Fadzillah, age 24, is the ninth of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah’s twelve children. Her mother is the former Pengiran Isteri Mariam, whom the Sultan divorced in 2003 thus removing her of all her royal titles.
2010 is off to good start for the Sultan of Brunei. On Thursday, January 7th, he became a grandfather again when his daughter gave birth to a healthy baby girl.
Princess Hajah Majeedah, the fourth child of Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, delivered the child at 5:30pm at the compound of the Istana Nurul Iman, the official residence of the Sultan. A 17-gun salute was done in honor of the royal birth.
The new baby’s name is Raihaanah Hanaa-ul Bolqiah. She has an older brother, named Abdul Hafeez, who was born in March 2008.
Little Raihaanah’s father is Pengiran Anak Khairul Khalil Pengiran Syed Hj Jaafari.
 Infofoto
Since Sunday, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has been in Russia for a five day visit. But only now is he meeting with Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev.
 Reuters/Natalia Kolesnikova “We are bringing our cooperation to a new level, which is embodied in the opening of the Russian embassy in your country’s capital,” Dmitry Medvedev said to the Sultan.
The two leaders met at the Kremlin to discuss bilateral ties in the areas of oil and military. It has been reported by the Russian media that the country wants to have access to Brunei’s natural resources. This, despite claims that within 15-20 years, the gas and oil will be gone.
At the same time, Brunei may be looking into purchasing some Russian arms. The Sultan met with Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport on Sunday to discuss the possibility of buying weapons. He was also given a presentation on Russian weaponry and an attack helicopter.
Also today, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and Medvedev talked about increasing trade between their countries. Russia wants to amp up trade with Brunei by $50-75 million over the next few years. Medvedev also told reporters that he and the Sultan may sign a trade deal.
When the Sultan was not meeting with Russian leaders or its military, he was doing other duties normally done during state visits, such as laying a floral wreath at a monument in Moscow on Tuesday.
Brunei’s state visit to Russia ends tomorrow.
 AP/Jordan Royal Palace On Tuesday, King Abdullah II arrived in Brunei to start his working visit to the southeastern Asian country. He was greeted by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, along with a few other members of the Brunei royal family.
During Tuesday’s portion of his visit, King Abdullah discussed tightening bilateral ties with Brunei, particularly in the area of Islam. He pressed to the Sultan that Muslims need to show their solidarity with issues facing the Muslim world.
Sultan Hassanal praised the Jordanian King on his efforts for Mideast peace.
But perhaps the real reason why King Abdullah is in Brunei is for the 2009 International Defense Exhibition (BRIDEX), being held in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. It is the premiere military and security event for southeast Asia, where companies display their innovative technology, weapons and equipment meant for all types of defense.
Afterward, the Sultan of Brunei gave lunch to his guest.
 Jordan News Agency
The Sultan of Brunei, Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, has agreed to a new era of cooperation with Malaysia in terms of economic ties.
 - Reuters
This happened when Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, proposed to the Sultan a joint-oil exploration on Thursday. Brunei is one of the world’s leading oil exporters.
In addition to that, the two countries will together develop hi-tech hydrocarbon and hydroelectric projects. They will also help each other in the halal food and agricultural. There was even talk of doing joint investments to third countries.
This all happened as the Prime Minister ended his three day official trip to Brunei. He spoke to the press about his “very satisfactory” meetings with Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
“This annual meeting has achieved very satisfactory results. The Sultan said he looks forward to greater levels of cooperation between us.
“The agreement between our two countries to settle the land and maritime boundary demarcation is one of the big milestones … that will bring our bilateral relationship to new heights,” he said.
After spending 5 days visiting Japan, Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, continued on with their East Asian tour. This time, they went to Brunei. There they met with the Sultan, and the Gurkhas. 
Meeting the Nepalese fighters was perhaps a highlight for the Prince of Wales. His son, Prince Harry, fought along side of them during his deployment in Afghanistan earlier this year.
Charles dressed in desert combats, inspected the Gurkha troops as Camilla escaped the heat and humidity, along with other guests, in an air-conditioned marquee.
The heir to the British throne met Lance Corporal Bhim Garbuja, 25, from the 1st Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR), who had served under Prince Harry in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
He said they paid tribute to the young royal officer by presenting him with a Kukri – the Gurkha combat knife – as a token of their esteem.
 Captain Surya Gurung, from the 1st Battalion, explained that the Kukri was not often given as a gift.
“Those who we give it to, it’s because they have earned it themselves. They gave it to the prince because of his support, friendship and work with us.
“It’s not necessarily because he is a prince, it was because he was so liked by the soldiers. He contributed to the camp and raised the morale of the boys.
“He should consider himself hereafter a Gurkha. I see him as a Gurkha officer because he was there in that particular time of operations in the frontline – that really mattered,” Gurung said.
Later Charles and Camilla went on to have an audience with the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, one of the wealthies men in the world.
A state banquet was held at his palace in their honor, also attended by the sultan’s two wives, primary spouse Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha and his second partner Pengiran Isteri Azrinaz Mazhar.
Prince Charles will continue on to Indonesia this weekend on his own. Camilla will fly back to the UK, supposedly because she cannot handle hot, tropical weather.
Prince Azim of Brunei has left the prestigious military school of Sandhurst after just one week. 
The 26 year old son of the Sultan of Brunei found it difficult to adjusting to the rough and tough world of the military academy.
According to an insider, “The first couple of weeks at Sandhurst are incredibly tough. There’s nothing quite like it. But for someone to quit after a week is unheard of.”
Signs of the prince quitting came when he missed a skipped morning drill. He then went around telling fellow cadets he wanted out.
Two days later he informed his commander he was quitting the academy, packed his bags and flew home to Brunei. The commissioning course lasts nearly a year.
Sandhurst is a magnet for royals looking to train in the military. Princes William and Harry trained there, as did the Jordanian male royals.
Prince Azim is famous for his playboy lifestyle. He has rubbed shoulders with Michael Jackson, Scarlett Johannson and the Black Eyed Peas. He is also known for sending lavish gifts to such stars as Mariah Carey.
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