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Saudi billionaire and nephew to the King, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud announced Monday that he and his investment company will pump $300 million into the social networking site, Twitter.
 Click here for more photos “We believe that social media will fundamentally change the media industry landscape in the coming years. Twitter will capture and monetize this positive trend,” Ahmed Halawani, the Kingdom Holding Co. executive director of private equity and international investments, said in a statement.
Prince Alwaleed has a history investing in the media, particularly with News Corp. With this investment, he now owns 3 percent of Twitter. It is unknown at this point how much he will control it. The micro blogging site had a lot to do with this year’s Arab Spring, which saw demonstrations across the Arab world, bringing down four leaders.
Alwaleed, who ranked as the 26th wealthiest man in the world, probably took up investing Twitter possibly because of it being high profiled.
“It is … an investment into a well recognized brand with future growth potential,” said Said Hirsh, a Mideast economist.
According to Fortune, the Prince did not directly invest into Twitter, but bought shares from existing investors.
Sources: AP, TIME
 Click here to see more images The Saudi royal court announced Thursday that its interior minister, Prince Nayef, was named as the heir to the monarchy.
Nayef was appointed by King Abdullah bin Abdulziz al Saud after the monarch met with the Allegiance Council, which was set up in 2006 to make succession issues less complicated.
This news comes as no surprise since it was widely believed Nayef would become first in line after the death of Crown Prince Sultan last Saturday.
However, some progressives in the oil rich Kingdom might be disappointed since the new Crown Prince often sides with the ultra-conservative Wahhabi clerics in Saudi Arabia. Nayef has made no secret that he does not support King Abdullah’s reforms, such as giving women the right to vote.
Its likely that if Crown Prince Nayef succeeds the aging Abdullah in becoming King, he would reverse the reforms.
Source: Reuters
At the Imam Turki bin Abdullah mosque in Riyadh Tuesday, male members of the Saudi royal family, plus Arab and Muslim leaders from around the world, said good-bye to Crown Prince Sultan, who died in the United States Saturday.
 Click here to view more images The remains of the late heir was draped in his brown cloak as it was carried through the mosque before prayers were said.
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Sultan’s brother, was present, though he was wheelchair bound and wore a surgical mask over his face. Many wonder how long the King, who is believed to be 88 years old and has had health problems, will last and how his death will effect Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter.
Already there is speculation over who will be the next Crown Prince. It is widely believed that the interior minister, Prince Nayef, will become that.
But then, who would become the Interior Minister? And who will fill that person’s space, and so on.
Despite his health problems, the King still has enormous power in Saudi Arabia. It is he who will name the new defense minister, which was one of Crown Prince Sultan’s positions. Supposedly, Sultan’s son, Prince Khaled, will take that role. He has been deputy defense minister for 10 years.
But then again, Riyadh governor, Prince Salman, could become the defense minister, since he is the most senior royal after the King and Prince Nayef.
Problem for many ordinary Saudis is that these royals are in their 70s and 80s, far older and more conservative then the younger population.
“We need young blood,” said a Jeddah resident in his 50s. “If they appoint another crown prince from (this generation) we will find ourselves in the same position in a few years because they are all old and we worry that the young ones may later struggle over power.”
In the meantime, the royal house of Saud will mourn its second most senior member – as well as a member of its family.
“He was a refuge for us at times of difficulties,” Prince Nayef told Saudi Television. “I have felt King Abdullah’s love toward Prince Sultan.”
“We had wished that the King should not go to the airport and take part in the funeral considering his health but when we realized the place Sultan occupied in his heart we supported the idea,” he said.
The foreign royals at Crown Prince Sultan’s funeral included the King of Jordan, Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, Crown Prince Billah of Brunei, and Prince Moulay Rashid of Morocco. The heads of states included President Hamad Karzai of Afghanistan and Chairman of Egyptian Military Council Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi.
In the coming days, Spain’s Prince Felipe, Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will be among the foreign delegations coming to Riyadh to personally offer their condolences to King Abdullah.
Source: Reuters, Arab News
The heir to the Saudi monarchy died at a New York hospital overnight Saturday. Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al-Saud was being treated for an illness, though it is not official what kind. He was in his late 80s.
 Click here for more images at Daylife.com The palace said King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz is in “deep sorrow” as he mourns the death of not only his heir, but his half brother.
The AP reports that a funeral is being prepared for Tuesday at a Riyadh mosque.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made this statement about the heir’s death. “The crown prince was a strong leader and a good friend to the United States over many years as well as a tireless champion for his country. He will be missed,” Clinton said from Tajikistan on a Central Asia tour. “Our relationship with Saudi Arabia is strong and enduring and we will look forward to working with the leadership for many years to come.”
The death of Crown Prince Sultan stirs up the succession line in Saudi Arabia, which goes from brother to brother rather than father to son like most monarchies. It is most likely the interior minister Prince Nayef will be named the new heir to the Saudi monarchy.
But how a Crown Prince is chosen is tricky. There is a chance that King Abdullah will leave the decision up to the Allegiance Council, which he created and is made up of his brothers, half-brothers and nephews. But he could also hand pick his successor himself.
The death of Sultan also makes many realize that there could be a new King soon. Abdullah, believed to be 88 years old, is in poor health, having gone for his second back surgery in less than a year.
Having a new King of Saudi Arabia would mean many of reforms Abdullah brought to the oil rich country would be rolled back. The reforms include giving women the right to vote. Prince Nayef is close to the Kingdom’s strict Wahhabi clerics and doesn’t support many of his brother’s reforms.
Source: AP, CNN
This month has seen health problems arise for the most senior members of the House of Saud: King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Sultan. Both in their 80s, these two both have had health issues for a while.
 Click here for photo gallery at Daylife.com This Monday saw the 88 year old King go in for surgery on his back at the King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh. He had work done the ligaments around his third vertebra.
“The surgery, thanks be to God, was successful,” the royal court statement, carried by the Saudi state news agency, said.
This is the latest back operation for Abdullah. Last year, he had a procedure done to fix a herniated disc in New York City.
Speaking of New York, Abdullah’s heir, his half brother Crown Prince Sultan, is in the Big Apple at the New York Presbyterian Hospital where he is rumored to be terminally ill. Sultan was treated in the U.S. before for cancer.
The ailments of the monarch and heir is once again raising questions over what will happen to Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil exporter, when both are gone – which could happen in the near future.
King Abdullah has taken numerous steps towards equality for women, such as giving them the right to vote in 2015. But once he dies, his decrees can change. Prince Nayef, who is the Interior Minister and is second in line to monarchy, has very conservative views and has publically said he is against women driving, another issue on Saudi Arabian minds.
Sources: Reuters, NPR
Princess Basma of Saudi Arabia, the daughter of Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz, spoke about the Arab Spring, how the West is targeting the region, and where her country went wrong with Bahrain.
 Read the original article here According to the Islam Times, Basma, a niece of Saudi King Abdullah, said that Saudi Arabia wrongfully intervened in Bahrain during its protests earlier this year.
“We have to logically think of public policy and not the one currently being used; interference in Bahrain was not suitable and Riyadh realized that.”
She then said her country’s intervention in Yemen was because of large Yemeni communities in the desert kingdom, and there had been problems between the two nations. The Princess pointed out that it was best for Saudi Arabia to intervene in Yemen because “they better interfere with the aim of reform due to what knowledge the possess in the region, since they won’t let foreign troops to place their hands once more on their resources in a colonial manner as they did in the past century” as Islam Times reported.
Basma also warned Western countries are looking to get its hands on the Middle East’s natural resources and is looking to harm its Islamic history and identity.
Next, the Princess talked about the Arab Spring, which hasn’t rocked her country as much as it did for many other Arab countries. She spoke of her concern that there is no real leader in these movements.
“We haven’t been able to train rulers to take power after the demise of the current rulers, and we should have raised new generations to take over governance every four years similar to what happens in democratic countries.”
In Saudi Arabia, Basma is an advocate for women’s rights.
Source: Islam Times
An historic announcement came Sunday for Saudi Arabia – its female citizens will be granted the right to vote for its next elections in 2015. King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud also is allowing women to run for local office and serve on the Shura Council, his advisory board.
 View more images at Daylife.com He made the announcement to the Shura Council, saying, “Because we refuse to marginalize women in society in all roles that comply with sharia [Islamic law], we have decided … to involve women in the Shura Council as members, starting from the next term.”
“Balanced modernization, which falls within our Islamic values, is an important demand in an era where there is no place for defeatist or hesitant people,” he said.
“Muslim women in our Islamic history have demonstrated positions that expressed correct opinions and advice.”
While many are applauding the King’s latest move to breakaway from the ultra-conservative ways of Saudi Arabia, there are some who are not pleased. Firstly, there are conservatives who disagree with this decree.
There are also women who disappointed that they cannot vote in this week’s elections, and will have to wait four years.
“Why not tomorrow?” asked prominent Saudi feminist Wajeha al-Hawaidar. “I think the King doesn’t want to shake the country, but we look around us and we think it is a shame … when we are still pondering how to meet simple women’s rights.”
Although King Abdullah has advanced women’s status in the desert kingdom since his reign began in 2005, women still cannot drive, can be flogged for adultery, and must be accompanied by a male relative when in public, often with their faces veiled.
But still, the King has built the first co-educational university in the country, and granted 120,000 scholarships for students, many of them female, to study abroad. The only problem with the latter is that the women have to have the permission of a male guardian to travel outside of Saudi Arabia.
Lubna Hussain, a Saudi writer had this to say about today’s decree: “The King is implementing the reform promises he made when he became leader. It shows he is not willing to pander to religious fundamentalists … who are quite weakened and don’t seem to have the voice they used to.”
However, those fundamentalists may not be weakened for long. King Abdullah is ailing at 87 years old, and some of those in line to the Saudi monarchy sympathize with the conservative Wahhabi clerics. Prince Nayif bin Abdulaziz, the interior minister, who is believed to be second in line behind Crown Prince Sultan, is one of them.
Overall, some Saudis see the grant for women to vote as sort of ironic.
“It’s a mixed feeling. On one hand he opens the door for her and on the other hand she is still banned from driving,” said Mohammad Fahad Qahtani, a college professor and human rights advocate. “It doesn’t save her from horrible treatment by government agencies and the courts. It’s a symbolic gesture, but it is in no way enough to improve the lives of women.”
Sources: AP, Los Angeles Times
This weekend, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal released several documents to the media which refute allegations that he raped a young model aboard his yacht docked in Ibiza, Spain in August 2008. Last week, a Spanish court re-opened the case which was originally closed due to a lack of evidence.
 View more images of Prince Alwaleed at Daylife.com The documents Prince Alwaleed’s private office sent to Royalty in the News include a scan of his passport, which is marked for France in August 2008, and scans of yacht navigation logs, again showing Alwaleed’s yacht, Kingdom 5-KR, was not ever docked in Spain during that time.
The Prince’s private office also released statement from Heba Fatani, the Sr Executive Manager of the Corporate Communications department of Kingdom Holding Company. Fatani is quoted as saying Alwaleed was with his wife, Princess Ameerah, and daughter, Princess Reem, at the time and was also surrounded by French security while being in multiple public places in France.
In addition, Fatani says, “While the Prince is a committed advocate for women and has empathy for any assault victim, he was simply not present” in Ibiza as the alleged victim claims.
Also speaking out is Alwaleed’s wife, Princess Ameerah. According to the AFP, she has said this about the rape allegations:
“I was with my husband outside of Spain the day these allegations took place in Ibiza.”
“Quite simply we were not there. We were together in the French city of Cannes. I was with him all the time, and we were with at least 30 people,” she said.
“Hundreds of witnesses can confirm that we were in Cannes, just as there are dozens of proofs that we were not in Ibiza in 2008.”
The reason why this case has been reopened is because a provincial court overturned the ruling to close the case, and an Ibiza court wanted to formally request assistance from the Saudi authorities to take a statement.
Source: AFP, Private Office of HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal
A court in Spain is once again looking into allegations that Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal raped a young model aboard a yacht three years ago off Ibiza. The case was originally closed due to lack of evidence, but its been reopened after a Balearic Island provincial court overruled the decision.
 Click for original photo at Daylife.com According to the model, who’s name has not been released, she was with Prince Alwaleed – the nephew of King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and one of the world’s richest men – at a Ibiza nightclub, but blacked out at one point. She then woke up in the bedroom of his luxury yacht with the Prince on top of her.
“I didn’t drink much, but I think there was something in my glass,” she said in an SMS text message at 5:12am August 13 2008, according to witness Benedicto Moreno Venecia.
The Prince strongly denies the allegations.
“These allegations are completely and utterly false. The alleged encounter simply never happened. Indeed, the events could not have happened,” said the statement published on Alwaleed’s Kingdom Holding Company website. “Neither His Royal Highness nor his lawyers were informed or aware of any complaint filed in Ibiza in 2008 or that the same complaint was dismissed in 2010.”
“Not only was Prince Alwaleed not in Ibiza at any time in 2008 but has not been in Ibiza for over a decade. Further Prince Alwaleed’s yacht, Kingdom 5KR was not in Ibiza in 2008 nor has Prince Alwaleed ever charted a yacht in Ibiza,” the statement goes on.
Alwaleed “was nowhere near Ibiza when the alleged events took place. As relevant travel records and itinerary confirm, he was in the presence of dozens of people at that time, including his family, and not in Spain.”
Kingdom Holding Company spokeswoman Heba Fatani added that “there have been many examples of people impersonating Prince Alwaleed over the Internet and elsewhere for their own purposes.”
However, according to Spain’s National Toxicology Institute, traces of semen was found in the model’s genital area and there was nordazepam, metronidazol and caffeine in her urine, after she filed the complaint the next day.
As of now, the court has requested Saudi Arabian authorities “to take a statement from the accused,” the spokeswoman said in an email. But the request “has not been completed yet because the judge has given a deadline to the parties to formulate in writing the questions they want to raise,” the spokeswoman said.
The model’s lawyer, Javiet Beloqui wants Prince Alwaleed to provide a DNA sample to compare it to the semen found on his client.
“If he is innocent, it is all over and if not, he will be charged with rape,” Beloqui said. “It is as simple as that.”
Sources: AFP, AP
Human rights activists and politicians are criticizing the University of Indonesia’s decision to award the King of Saudi Arabia with a doctorate degree. While the higher education institution says King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud has made headway with global peace and human rights in his country, there are many who think the King could work on the latter, especially when it comes to foreign workers in the oil rich kingdom.
 Click here for more images at Daylife.com The controversy stems from the recent beheading of Ruyati binti Satubi, an Indonesian maid, who murdered her employer after repeatedly being tortured and abused. A 2011 Human Rights Watch report said other Indonesia migrant workers in Saudi Arabia “frequently endure forced confinement, food deprivation and severe psychological, physical and sexual abuse”.
1.5 million Indonesians work as maids in the country – and there’s 23 of them currently on death row.
So it is understandable that the rector of the University of Indonesia, Gumilar Rusliwa Somantri, is facing strong criticism from Indonesians from all backgrounds. Some professors, alumni and students are calling for his resignation.
However, there are some Indonesians residing in Saudi Arabia, who attended the University, are praising the decision to give King Abdullah the doctorate degree. They point to the King’s charity to children orphaned by the 2004 tsunami that struck Banda Aceh. They also say awarding the King would help Saudi Arabian – Indonesian bilateral ties.
Source: Jakarta Post, University World News
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