Massive Canyon Found Beneath Greenland Ice Sheet

Massive Canyon Found Beneath Greenland Ice Sheet, Scientists have discovered a hidden canyon in Greenland that is 750 kilometers long and as deep as the Grand Canyon in the United States.

Scientists pieced together radar data collected by airplanes over decades to build a picture of the canyon hidden from view by ice and snow.

They believe the canyon was a major pathway for water before it was covered by the ice sheet some 4 million years ago.

Even today, the mega-canyon still transports water that melted from glaciers to the edge of the ice sheet and into the ocean.

The canyon originates in the center of Greenland and runs to its northern coast.

James Van Der Beek

James Van Der Beek, James Van Der Beek's brood is getting bigger! The actor's wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, is pregnant with the couple's third child, she announced on her blog on Friday, Aug. 30.

"James and I are happy to report that we are expecting our third child this winter!" the self-proclaimed "professional mom" wrote. "Nesting mode is starting to kick in. I've been getting rid of clutter, reconfiguring rooms, reorganizing EVERYTHING, etc...My mind doesn't stop."

Married since 2010, the Dawson's Creek alum and his wife are already parents to two kids, daughter Olivia, 2, and son Joshua, 17 months. Both are eager to welcome a new little sibling.

"All the craziness, exhaustion, and moodiness aside, James and I are beyond elated and feeling so incredibly blessed," Kimberly wrote. "Olivia and Joshua are in on the news and seem to be excited about a baby coming into the family."

Then, in a note to her husband, she enthused: "James, thank you for being the loving, caring, and understanding husband and father that you are."

Indeed, Van Der Beek, 36, seems to have mastered the whole family man act. "He's amazing...He's a real guy," his wife gushed to Us Weekly at a parenting event in May. "He's very manly and sexy, and he's also got this sensitive side to him that [makes] him a great husband, a great dad. He's an honest guy."

James is very, very hands-on," she continued. "People would be really surprised. He wakes up at night with the kids. He gives me breaks. He wakes up in the morning with them. He makes pancakes on Sundays."
"The pancakes I make are gluten-free," the Don't Trust the B actor clarified. "They are gluten-free banana pancakes with blueberries. I've been making them only since I've had kids...I can't even put the joy I have being a dad into words. I really can't."

Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones split

Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones split, The big celeb news of the morning: Michael Douglas, 68, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, 43, are separating.

The star couple is splitting after almost 13 years.

Zeta-Jones' publicist, Cece Yorke and Douglas' publicist, Allen Burry, tell USA TODAY in a statement, "Catherine and Michael are taking some time apart to evaluate and work on their marriage. There will be no further comment."

The two haven't been seen together since April, says People magazine, and in recent days he's been relaxing on a yacht and playing golf in Sardinia, says the Daily Mail.

They have had a rough few years, weathering his battle with throat cancer and her battle with bipolar II disorder.

And most recently, Douglas' comments about HPV possibly causing his cancer are said to have not gone over well with her. He issued a statement clarifying that he was not saying he got it from her.

Earlier this month, celeb rags began buzzing about a divorce. The Aug. 12 edition of Star magazine claimed Douglas had moved out.

Douglas and Zeta-Jones, who have two children — Dylan, 13, and Carys, 10 — decided to spend time apart soon after he came back from the Cannes Film Festival in May, says People. The magazine also reports that neither side has filed divorce papers. And "those close to the couple hold out hope" the two can work things out.

Doctor: Valerie Harper's cancer close to remission

Doctor: Valerie Harper's cancer close to remission, Valerie Harper's doctor says the actress' brain cancer is getting close to remission.

The 74-year-old former sitcom star had announced in March that she had an incurable form of cancer and was given as little as three months to live. She's still here — and working, hired for a TV movie that filmed this month.

Valerie Harper's great gift to us
Valerie Harper gets a big surprise on "The Talk"
Jason Bateman's touching message to Valerie Harper
Dr. Jeremy Rudnick said Thursday on NBC's "Today" show that Harper has defied the odds. But he says the problem is that Harper's prognosis can change at any time.

He and Harper agree that life is about buying time.

The Imperial House of Japan

The Imperial House of Japan, The , also referred to as the Imperial Family, or the Yamato Dynasty, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the emperor is the symbol of the state and unity of the people. Other members of the imperial family perform ceremonial and social duties, but have no role in the affairs of government. The duties as an emperor are passed down the line to children and their children's children and so on.

The Japanese monarchy is the oldest continuous hereditary monarchy in the world still in existence. The imperial house recognizes 125 legitimate monarchs since the accession of Emperor Jimmu (traditionally dated to February 11, 660 BC), including the reigning emperor, Akihito; see its family tree.

Emperor of Japan: The of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. He is also the highest authority of the Shinto religion. Under Japan's present constitution, the Emperor is the "symbol of the state and the unity of the people," and is ...

Constitution of Japan: The has been the founding legal document of Japan since 1947. The constitution provides for a parliamentary system of government and guarantees certain fundamental rights. Under its terms the Emperor of Japan is "the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people" and exercises a purely ceremon...

Emperor: An emperor (from the Latin "imperator") is a (male) monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress is the female equivalent. As a title, "empress" may indicate the wife of an emperor (empress consort) or a woman who rules in her own right (empress regnan...

Japan: Nippon-koku or Nihon-koku...

Monarchy: A monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, who is the head of state, often for life or until abdication, and "is wholly set apart from all other members of the state." The person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch. It was a c..

Saudi arabia prince defects

Saudi arabia prince defects, A Saudi Prince known as Khalid Bin Farhan al-Saud has decided to leave the royal family, saying the regime does not consider God’s rules.

On Saturday, Khalid Bin Farhan said “With pride, I announce my defection from al-Saudi family in Saudi Arabia… This regime in Saudi Arabia does not stand by God’s rules or even [the country’s] established rules and its policies, decisions and actions are totally based on [the] personal will of its leaders.”

He also slammed the royal family as well as the leaders in the kingdom, saying “All that is said in Saudi Arabia about respecting law and religion rules is factitious, so that they can lie and pretend that the regime obeys Islamic rules.”

The prince went on to say that the royal family has rejected all calls for reform by people’s representatives and used violence as well as suppression against them.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, mainly its Eastern Province, has been witnessing anti-regime protests on an almost daily basis since February 2011.

The primary demands of the protesters were the release of all political prisoners, freedom of expression and assembly, and an end to widespread discrimination.

However, the demonstrations turned into protests against the repressive Al Saud regime, especially after November 2011, when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others in the province.

Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter, with the black gold accounting for 90 percent of the country’s exports, but it struggles with problems such as poverty and unemployment. 

The royal family of Saudi Arabia

The royal family of Saudi Arabia, Prince Khalid Bin Farhan Al-Saud has announced his defection from Al Saud royal family through a statement, calling on other princes to break their silence and reveal the truth for sake of God.

In his statement on Saturday, the Saudi prince referred to his ‘sufferings’ under reign of Al Saud regime describing them as bitter experiences that will be revealed by the Saudi twitter writer Mujtahid and Saudi activist Saad al-Faqih, who is currently living in London.

He said he thanked God that helped him understand the truth about Saudi regime through a “direct horrible personal experience” so that he could have a taste of what people suffered from throughout the country.

“With pride, I announce my defection from Al Saudi family in Saudi Arabia,” he wrote in his statement.

“This regime in Saudi Arabia does not stand by God’s rules or even (country’s) established rules and its policies, decisions, and actions are totally based on personal will of its leaders.”

“All that is said in Saudi Arabia about respecting law and religion rules are factitious so that they can lie and pretend that the regime obeys Islamic rules.”

He criticized the royal family for considering the country as its own property while silencing all voices from inside and outside the government calling for any change and reforms.

Khalid Bin Farhan said the ruling family has deliberately pulled the country to the current condition where cries of oppressed people are ignored. “They don’t think about anything but their personal benefits and do not care for country’s and people’s interests or even national security,” he added.

H warned that current problems of the Saudi Arabia are not “temporary or superficial” and they do not end at unemployment, low wages and unjustified distribution of common wealth, facilities and services.

“The problems are deep and real,” he said adding that they are concerned with political and financial corruption and abuse of power by the regime and fraud in the parliament and judiciary system.

The Saudi prince said everything that the pro-reform opposition says about country’s political, economical, judiciary, social and security condition as well as their abuse of religious values are true and “the situation is even worse than what is said in criticisms”.

He called on all those who cared for the future of the country to join him and the reform stream and break their silence on Al Saud corruptions.

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, The Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, known as 'the Shop', was established in 1741 to educate the military branch of the Board of Ordnance to produce officers for the Artillery and Engineers. The two corps were referred to as the Ordnance Corps until 1856. Because there was strong competition to be selected to be selected as an Engineering officer, due to the good career prospects and interesting appointments, it was very much in the interest of gentleman cadets to study for their commissions. As regiments and corps were spun off on their own, so they maintained the same competitive system: sappers, gunners, signals and the tank corps. The RMA, Woolwich, remained open until 1939.

In 1939, on the outbreak of World War II, RMA Woolwich closed and its senior students were commissioned into the artillery, engineers and signals. The remainder were sent to the territorial Officer Cadet Training Units. (Up to 1939 both RMA and RMC were fee-paying establishments.)

The Royal Military College (RMC), established in 1800 was intended by Maj Gen John Gaspard le Marchant to be an Academy of three parts: a senior department for staff officer training, a legion for the sons of soldiers in the ranks, and a junior department for the training of gentleman cadets.

Interestingly, only the previous year (1799) a school had been set up in High Wycombe and was operated by a French officer, General Jarry, on what amounts to a private finance initiative. This school was to teach staff duties to junior officers. The Private Finance Initiative shortcomings soon became clear and the school eventually became the Senior Department of the RMC in 1801. It remained at High Wycombe until 1814, moving to Farnham for seven years, and thence to Sandhurst, becoming Staff College in 1858.

The RMC's Junior Department opened in 1802 at Great Marlow, but it was soon clear that the accommodation was unsatisfactory. William Pit had recently purchased Sandhurst Park, on the Exeter coaching road. It would be far enough away from London to prevent cadets becoming "distracted" by the lights of London. RMC moved into its purpose-built building, Old College, in 1812.

RMC, Sandhurst, closed briefly in 1870 when the system of purchasing commissions was abolished, as the purchase system had been the main reason for attending the RMC - its successful cadets obtained their first commissions free. From 1877 competitive examination led to the appointment to a cadetship rather than a commission; RMC became the normal route to a regular commission.

The India Military Seminary at Addiscombe, near Croydon, trained the officers of the East India Company's army. The seminary closed in the 1870s when the company's forces were transferred to the Crown. This caused the building of the two tridents at the back of Old College to accommodate gentlemen cadets for the Indian Army.

New College was completed in 1912, built as a result of the enlargement accompanying the general shake-up accompanying public outcry over the shape of the army after the Boer War.

At the outbreak of World War II, RMA Woolwich and RMC were closed and RMC students were either commissioned or remained at Sandhurst where they joined either the cavalry or infantry OCTU.

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) opened its doors in 1947 in the former RMC at Sandhurst.

Short Service officer cadets and university graduates were trained separately at Mons College. Aldershot, until 1972, as a follow-on from arrangements for National Service short service officers who would not attend the full course for regular officers at RMAS.

Woman Officer Cadets were originally trained at the Women's Royal Army Corps College at Bagshot. Their training was moved to RMAS in 1984 and they were later integrated into the standard training courses of the Academy.

In 1992 a new one-year Common Commissioning Course was introduced, becoming the single point of entry for commissioned service in the British Army for all except clerical and medical officers.

Jordanian royal family

Jordanian royal family,  A barnstorming Stratford, Ont. woman with a daredevil streak and a passion for adventure has quietly become a member of Jordan’s royal family.

Aerobatic pilot Basmah Hasan became Princess Basmah in January after she wed Prince Hamzah of Jordan’s Hashemite royal family.

Hamzah is the son of the late King Hussein and his American-born wife, Queen Noor, and a senior officer in Jordan’s armed forces. He is the half-brother of the current King, Abdullah II, and for a short time had been Crown Prince before being replaced by his nephew in 2004.

The couple met while 33-year-old Hasan was working as the chief pilot at the Royal Aero Sports Club of Jordan last year. She had blazed a trail in the skies over the Arab world by becoming the first certified aerobatic pilot and a certified glider pilot in the country.

The prince, 32, was a fixed-wing pilot trained at Britain’s Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

“She fell in love with this man, madly in love with him, they’re very much in love,” says sister Yasmen Hasan of Ottawa, the family’s spokesperson.

“You can just see it. When you’re in the room with them it’s electric. She happened to fall in love with a man who’s a prince, but it’s the man she’s with, that’s who she’s dedicated her life to, and him to her, and he just happened to have that title and come from that family.”

Hasan had moved to Jordan in 2004, leaving her mathematics studies at the University of Western Ontario to pursue a dream of becoming a pilot. Her parents Mike and Halloul were from affluent Jordanian families, their four children were born in Canada.

Sister Yasmen, who lives in Ottawa, says Basmah always had the spirit of adventure.

“In high school, she started cycling and going different places like Panama and doing tours, and she used to go to Grand Bend (Ont.) to skydive for the weekend,” said Hasan.

“She’s a totally adventurous person, but she’s the most humble, graceful, gracious, intelligent person you’re ever going to meet. She fits perfectly with the (royal) family, she really does.”

Basmah Hasan kept adding up her pilot credentials, learning how to do aerial manoeuvres, how to fly engineless soaring aircraft, how to fly commercial and jump planes and how to ferry planes to other countries. She is also a certified flight instructor who has taken other women under her wing.

In a 2011 interview with Australia’s Aviator magazine, Hasan spoke candidly about her love of flight.

“Aerobatic flying is blood pumping, exciting, thrilling, challenging, and in my opinion unmatched by any other sport in terms of adrenaline and skill,” she said.

“It has been compared to driving a racing car in three dimensions. It pushes skills to the ultimate, and completely changes your perceptions of time.”

The Hasan family was thrown into another dimension as they received notice late last year that Basmah was to become a royal.

Sister Yasmen calls the whole wedding “surreal,” as she and her family stood alongside King Abdullah II, his wife Queen Rania, and Queen Noor for the nuptials. The small ceremony took place at Hasan’s grandfather’s home in Amman, the same place where their parents had been married in 1976.

The new Princess Basmah al Hussein wore a blush, beaded and embroidered dress picked out for her by elegant new mother-in-law Queen Noor.

Yasmen Hasan says while the experience was unusual, the fact her sister was marrying a Jordanian and making her life there was not. Father Mike was a restaurant owner and businessman around southern Ontario, but her parents made it a point to keep strong ties to their homeland.

“We’re very proud Jordanians, it’s our heritage, we went every summer,” said Hasan.

“We’ve always been in love with that country, as much as we love being Canadian first. For her to blend the two cultures and upbringing and experience together was pretty remarkable.”

What’s next for the high-flying princess is not clear. The Jordanian royal family jealously guards its privacy, and even her sister knows few details about Basmah’s immediate plans.

“She’s just very happy, and she’s started her life with him a few months ago and that’s it, that’s all I know. She’s happy to be in Jordan. It’s been her home for the last seven years and she’s happy it’s now part of her life permanently.”

King Abdullah has been under pressure to introduce democratic reforms, Jordan’s constitutional monarchy not immune to the Arab Spring that swept the region. Protests have gone on in Jordan for the past year-and-a-half, aimed at loosening the royal family’s grip on government.

Last week, Jordan’s Parliament passed a law to encourage a true multi-party system in the country, rather than one that favoured the King’s political allies. Parliamentary elections are scheduled for later this year.

Al-Thani family ruled since 1825

Al-Thani family ruled since 1825, The Al Thani were among a tribal group, which had settled for a long time at Gebrin oasis in southern Najd before they arrived in Qatar during the early 18th Century. Initially they stayed in the north of the peninsula before moving to Doha in the mid 19th century under the leadership of Mohammad Bin Thani. The family of Al Thani is a branch of the Arab tribe Tamim, whose descent can be traced back to Mudar Bin Nizar. This tribe inhabited the eastern parts of the Arabian Peninsula. The name of Al Thani is derived from that of the family’s ancestor, Thani Bin Mohammad, father of Mohammad Bin Thani, who was the first shaikh to rule over the Qatar peninsula during the mid 19th century.

Shaikh Mohammad Bin Thani
1850-1878
In 1847, the Al Thani Family moved from Fuwairat, a small coastal community to Doha, under the leadership of Mohammad Bin Thani. He was born in Fuwairat and upon the death of his father, Thani Ibn Mohammad, became the leader of his tribe at Fuwairat. Eventually, Mohammad Bin Thani extended his influence throughout Qatar and strengthened his position externally too by making alliance with Faisal Bin Turki, the Emir of the second Saudi state, who himself paid a visit to Qatar in early 1851.

By the early 1860s Shaikh Mohammad Bin Thani emerged as the most important figure in Qatar and influential in the Arabian Peninsula. On 12 September 1868, he signed a Treaty with Colonel Lewis Pelly, British Resident in the Gulf, which recognised the independence of Qatar.

In 1871, he made a request to the Ottomans at Ala Hasa for protection against any external attack and in the following year Ottoman occupation of Doha had been completed. In the year 1876, he handed over the administrative responsibility to his son Shaikh Jasem Bin Mohammad Bin Thani due to old age. He died in 1878.

Shaikh Jasem Bin Mohammad Al Thani
1876-1913
Shaikh Jasem Bin Mohammad Bin Thani was born around 1825 and took the full responsibility of Qatar in 1876. He was given the Ottoman title of Qaim Maqam (Deputy Governor). Ottoman attempts to increase their power in Qatar by appointing Ottoman officials including administrators at Zubara, Doha, Wakrah and Khor Al Odaid and by establishing a Custom House at Doha and strengthening their garrison there led to open war with Shaikh Jasem in March 1893. In the battle of Wabah, which was fought 15 kilometres west of Doha, the Ottomans were defeated, effectively ensuring Qatar’s autonomy. Shaikh Jasem died in July 1913 and is widely regarded as the founder of modern Qatar.

Shaikh Abdullah Bin Jasem Al Thani
1913-1948
Shaikh Abdullah Bin Jasem Al Thani was born in Doha in 1880 and, on 17 July 1913, became the ruler of Qatar. Britain and the Ottoman Empire accorded their recognition to Shaikh Abdullah and his successors’ ruler over the whole of the Qatari Peninsula.
The Ottomans also renounced all their rights to Qatar and, following the outbreak of the First World War, Shaikh Abdullah forced them to abandon Doha in 1915.

On November 3 1916, Britain, in order to bring Qatar under its Trucial System of Administration, signed a Treaty with Shaikh Abdullah. While Shaikh Abdullah agreed not to enter into any relations with any other power without prior consent of the British Government, Percy Zakhariah Cox, the Political Resident in the Gulf, who signed the Treaty on behalf of his government, guaranteed the protection of Qatar “from all aggression by sea”.

Following British recognition of Shaikh Hamad, the second son of Shaikh Abdullah as the Heir Apparent of Qatar, Shaikh Abdullah signed the first Oil Concession Agreement with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company on 17 May 1935.
Accordingly, in October 1938, drilling of the first well in Qatar began and the discovery of oil was made at Dukhan structure in January 1940.

However, the oil wells were capped because of the development of the Second World War. On 30 June 1948, Shaikh Abdullah appointed Shaikh Ali Bin Abdullah Al Thani as the Deputy Ruler following the death of Shaikh Hamad on 27 May 1948. He died on 25 April 1957.
Shaikh Ali Bin Abdullah Al Thani
1948-1960
Shaikh Ali Bin Abdullah Al Thani, who was born around 1896, became the Ruler of Qatar following the abdication of Shaikh Abdullah in favour of him on August 20, 1948. On December 31, 1949, the first shipment of onshore Qatari oil was made from Mesaieed terminal, marking Qatar’s entry into the oil age. On September 1, 1952, a new agreement was signed between him and the Iraq Petroleum Company (later Qatar Petroleum Company), under which Qatar acquired 50 per cent of profits from oil exports. Shaikh Ali took steps to establish an effective administrative system to manage the growing economy. Shaikh Ali abdicated on 24 October 1960, in favour of his son, Shaikh Ahmad Bin Ali Bin Abdullah Al Thani.

He died on August 31, 1974
Shaikh Ahmad Bin Ali Al Thani
1960-1972
Shaikh Ahmad Bin Ali Bin Abdullah Al Thani was born around 1920 in Doha, becoming Ruler of Qatar on October 24 1960. On the same date Shaikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al Thani was appointed as the Heir Apparent and Deputy Ruler.

Shaikh Ahmad’s rule witnessed the growing economic activities in the country as the result of the discovery of a large number of oil fields in Qatar. With the growth of oil economy, Qatar moved rapidly towards the introduction of modern administrative system. Shaikh Ahmad established the Ministry of Finance in November 1960 and Shaikh Khalifa was appointed as the first Minister of Finance. Following the British Labour Government’s announcement, in January 1968, of its withdrawal from east of Suez, terminating the Treaties of Protection with the Gulf Rulers and their failure to form a Confederation of the Nine Gulf States, Qatar moved forward by forming a cabinet.

On April 2, 1970, the Provisional Constitution for Qatar was promulgated and the first Council of Ministers of the country was formed on 28 May 1970. The independence of Qatar as a sovereign state, terminating the Anglo-Qatari Treaty of 1916, was declared on September 3 1971. Shaikh Ahmad died on 25 November 1977.
Shaikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al Thani
1972-1995
Shaikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al Thani was born in Rayyan in 1932, becoming the Ruler of Qatar on February 22 1972 and starting a process of the reorganising the government.

The first task of Shaikh Khalifa was to appoint a Foreign Minister and an adviser to advise the Emir in the day-to-day affairs of the country. On April 19 1972, he amended the Constitution and enlarged the Cabinet by appointing more ministers.

Diplomatic relations were also established with a number of the foreign countries at ambassadorial level. In the middle of 1991, production of gas in the Qatar North Field, the world’s largest single field of non-associated gas commenced, which has proven reserves of non associated gas of around 250 trillion cubic feet and probable reserves of 500 trillion cubic feet. While the search for finding more oil deposits in Qatar continued, Qatar built an industrial base in order to reduce dependence on the oil sector. In June 1995, the administration of Qatar was transferred to the Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Bin Hamad Al Thani.

Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Bin Hamad Al Thani
1995-
Shaikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani became the new Emir of the State of Qatar on June 26, 1995. Shaikh Hamad was acclaimed Crown Prince in 1977 and at the same time was appointed Minister of Defence.

In the early 1980’s he led the Supreme Planning Council, which sets Qatar’s basic economic and social policies. Since 1992, Shaikh Hamad has selected Qatar’s cabinet and been responsible for administering the country’s day-to-day affairs. He has also led the development of Qatar’s oil and natural gas resources. He was born in 1952, began his education in Qatar and attended Sandhurst Military Academy in England.

A keen sportsman and an accomplished diver, Shaikh Hamad has played an active role in promoting and developing athletics in Qatar. His activism has enhanced the country’s involvement and performance in a number of international competitions, including: winning an Olympic medal in track and field; hosting a wide variety of international sporting events such as the GCC, Asian and World Youth soccer championships; and initiating the Qatar Open Tennis Championship which has grown to become one of two premier tennis competitions in the Middle East. He is credited with expanding Qatar’s influence on the global stage.

The royal family of Qatar

The royal family of Qatar, A former jockey working for the Qatari royal family was allegedly beaten up by one of Queen Elizabeth’s riders in an argument over a woman.

John Maxse required hospital treatment for a suspected broken eye socket, broken collarbone and broken nose following the alleged attack in London’s Newmarket on Sunday, the Daily Mail reported.

Jonathan Nolan, 32, who is a rider for the Queen’s trainer Sir Michael Stoute, has reportedly been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent.

Maxse is a prominent figure in horseracing and was formerly the public face of the British Horseracing Authority and Jockey Club.

He now works as a communications consultant for Qatar Racing, the horse investment firm owned by the Qatari royal family, according to the newspaper.

When asked whether the alleged assault was due to him having an affair with Nolan’s girlfriend, Maxse told the Daily Mail the woman involved was Nolan’s ex-girlfriend.

He joked on Twitter than he looked like the film character Rocky Balboa and wrote: “You know those times when you live through something potentially life changing but it’s just a bit too “big & heavy” for Twitter?”

The royal family of Bhutan

The royal family of Bhutan, Dungkar, the northern-most village of Kurtoe, has long been renowned not only
as the birth place of Bhutan's royal family but as a land blessed by Guru Rimpoche, and the site of several nyes (sacred places) such as Rinchen Bumpa and Belyul Khenpajong. According to Lam Neten of Lhuenste Rabdey, history has it that Guru Rimpoche meditated in a Dra-phu (meditation cave) on the face of a steep cliff overlooking Dungkar - what we now know as Rinchen Bumpa - from across the Kurichhu river.

A little further south, nestled higher up in the mountains, it is believed that there is a hidden sacred abode of Guru Rimpoche, which will be revealed at a pre-ordained time, for the preservation of the Dharma.

Dungkar was also visited many times by Terton Pemalingpa, the great treasure revealer of Bhutan, who lived in the 15th century. A lhakhang built by Pemalingpa on a flat stretch of land near the riverbed of Kurichhu, is known as Goeshog Pang (meadow resembling the spread wings of an vulture). Goeshog Pang is one of the most sacred sites in Kurtoe.

Pemalingpa also built two sacred chortens, the renowned Phu-Sangda Chorten and Dha-Jangchub Chorten, and brought forth a drup-chu (sacred spring) which still flows today from under a tree near the house of the Dungkar Choejey (hereditary nobles).
The Dungkar Nagtshang was founded as a centre for the Peling tradition in the later half of the 16th century by Drekha and Lankha, the twin sons of Pemalingpa's grandson, Kuenga Gyaltshen.

According to legends, the three older brothers of the twins were approached by the powerful local deity, Aum Wangchen Zangmo, to establish the centre, opposite her abode, on a ridge shaped like a Dungkar (conch). Hence the Nagtshang and its surroundings are known as Dungkar.

In keeping with the purpose of building the Dungkar Nagtshang, as a centre of the Peling tradition, rituals dedicated to Goempo Jatsha is performed even to this day, on the first day of the eleventh lunar month, culminating in a three-day Tshechu (mask dance festival) from the ninth day to the eleventh day.

The dances are all Terchhams (treasure dances), that were once choreographed by Pemalingpa himself.

The family members of the Dungkar Nagtshang, being descendants of a great personage like Pemalingpa, are known as Dungkar Choejey.

Two prominent sons of the Dungkar Choejey were Pila Goempo Wangyel and his older brother, Pala Gyaltshen. Pila, who was born in 1782, went to Gangtoe Goemba to stay with the Gangtoe Trulku Sizhi Namgyel. He led the army of Zhabdrung Jigme Drakpa when the Zhabdrung and Sungtruel Yeshi Gyaltshen were in conflict. After living in western Bhutan for several years, he returned to Dungkar and lived separately at Khetangbi Nagtshang on a hill overlooking the Dungkar Nagtshang.

Pila had five sons, one of which was Jigme Namgyel, born in 1825, who became the dynamic and powerful Trongsa Penlop. Jigme Namgyel successfully led Bhutanese forces against the British in Dewangiri, and laid the foundation for the emergence of the Wangchuck dynasty and the start of a new era of peace and stability in Bhutan after many years of internal strife and conflict.

Khetangbi Nagtshang was rebuilt and expanded during Jigme Namgyel's time by his sister, Ashi Tshewang Dem. It has since been known as the Jigme Namgyel Nagtshang and is looked after, today, by the Lhuentse Rabdey. Religious ceremonies in keeping with the traditions established in the time of Pila Goenpo Wangyal and Trongsa Penlop Jigme Namgyel are still being performed to this day.

Thai royal family

Thai royal family, When Chinese President Hu Jintao landed at LA/Ontario International Airport in June, he was the most high-profile visitor in several years. But Hu wasn't the first Asian head of state to use Ontario's airport.

Exactly 53 years earlier, the king and queen of Thailand flew into Ontario. Unlike Hu, who traveled to Rancho Mirage for a summit with President Barack Obama, the Thai royal family settled in for a weeklong stay.

Using a home in La Verne as their base, the royal couple and their four children saw the sights in Southern California. Much of their expansive retinue, meanwhile, lodged in Upland.

Ontario, Upland and La Verne? This is a perfect Daily Bulletin story.

I learned about their visit in an appropriately oddball way some years ago, via Charles Phoenix's book "Cruising the Pomona Valley 1930 Thru 1970." His entry on the all-American Betsy Ross ice cream parlor in Pomona said the location was visited by the royal family of Thailand in 1960. "The monumental occasion was commemorated by adding the 'Crown Jewel' sundae to the menu," Phoenix wrote.

Ontario, Upland, La Verne and Pomona? This keeps getting better.

It took me years to get around to it, but I remained curious about the royal family's sojourn, and eventually, with the help of Kelly Zackmann of the Ontario Library, Allan Lagumbay of the Pomona Library, our newsroom's morgue of Progress-Bulletin stories, the Upland Public Library's microfilmed copies of the Upland News and Galen Beery of the La Verne Historical Society, I was able to piece together the story.

The main question: Why did the king and queen of Thailand stay in La Verne? Did they hear it was nice there this time of year?

Henry Kearns extended the invitation. He was an undersecretary of commerce for international affairs under President Eisenhower, and he owned a 60-acre property in the La Verne foothills.

This wasn't unprecedented: Unusual as it may seem, the King of Siam, which later became Thailand, may have visited La Verne in 1926, and the prince, princess and son definitely visited in 1931. Both instances involved a local man named Ralph Lewis, who had connections in both Hollywood and the Orient.

La Verne: gateway to the Pacific Rim.

Kearns' invitation was accepted. And on June 19, the Thai royalty arrived.

"A U.S. transport plane glided out of the dark sky to land at Ontario International Airport Saturday night in a moment of international importance for Ontario, marking the visit of a king and queen -- the royalty of Thailand," the Daily Report wrote the next day.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit were greeted by Mayor Dan Mikesell, State Department officials and Thai citizens, who bowed low to their ruler.

The couple's four children, ages 2, 5, 8 and 9, arrived separately a few days earlier at Los Angeles International Airport when Ontario was fogged in. They were driven directly to the Kearns ranch, 4431 Wheeler-La Verne Road.

The king, 32, was born in Massachusetts while his father studied medicine at Harvard University. He took the throne at 18, in 1946, when his brother was assassinated. The queen, 28, was a fashion plate who never wore the same dress twice; she arrived with 200 outfits, valued at $40,000 and tended to by three ladies-in-waiting.

(In the constitutional monarchy, akin to England's, the couple, now in their 80s, still preside over Thailand, and the king is the world's longest-serving monarch.)

In their nine-day stay in Southern California, the family would visit Paramount and Desilu studios, Disneyland, Santa Barbara and Vandenburg Air Force Base. They toured the Mobil oil refinery in Torrance and the Douglas Aircraft plant in Santa Monica.

The stay wasn't without its unusual and remarkable incidents.

At Paramount Studios, Thailand's king and queen met America's king, Elvis Presley, who was filming "G.I. Blues." Publicity photos of the moment, which is nearly as odd as Presley's Oval Office meeting with President Richard Nixon, can be bought on eBay.

"Cruising the Pomona Valley's" Phoenix told me recently that it was on the way back to La Verne from meeting Elvis that the royal family pulled over for ice cream in Pomona. He learned that detail from a 1990s interview with the widow of the founder of Betsy Ross. Well, it was June, which is excellent ice cream weather, and they had four children.

In Pasadena, the king sat in on a jam session with his favorite drummer, Ben Pollack.

"The jazz-loving monarch, who plays saxophone and clarinet, exchanged hotlicks with the drummer in a Pasadena home," the Daily Report wrote. "Pollack reassembled his old combo for the regal occasion."

At Disneyland, where the family was escorted by Walt Disney himself, the king was entertained at lunch by a jazz combo that played five of his compositions. At home, the king had a 13-piece jazz band that performed an hourlong show each week from the palace radio station.

Tragedy struck during the Disneyland jaunt.

At the happiest place on Earth, the family's public relations man, 42, collapsed of a heart attack and died. Stone Funeral Home in Upland handled the arrangements and shipped his ashes back to Thailand.

A story on the services in the Upland News carried the never-to-be-repeated headline "Thailand King Gets Haircut in Upland."

"The King of Thailand slipped quietly into an Upland barber shop for a haircut last Thursday morning, discussed his native country with Elmer Hershberger, then continued on to Stone Funeral Home..." the story began.

The unnamed barber shop was in the Vons center on Foothill Boulevard. Hershberger, for the record, gave the king "a regular feather edge American style haircut."

Elvis would have been impressed.

Much of the family's entourage, numbering more than 35, was ensconced at the Uplander Inn, on Foothill Boulevard at Euclid Avenue.

Little is known of the family's stay in La Verne. The Kearns decamped for Balboa, turning over their estate and colonial-style home to the royal family and leaving behind some jazz records and instruments for the king.

The king and queen one day accepted an invitation to visit James and Zella Worden just up the road, walking up to their home hand in hand, admiring the rose garden.

On June 27, the unofficial portion of their visit over, the royal couple boarded a flight to Pittsburgh where they were met by President Eisenhower. Before they departed Ontario, the queen was presented with a bouquet of red and white carnations by the Upland chapter of the American Red Cross, in recognition of her presidency of the Red Cross in Thailand. Paula Makabe, 14, of Upland High School presented the bouquet. Thirteen Civil Air Patrol cadets of the Old Baldy Squadron helped put the luggage aboard the plane and formed an honor guard.

The children stayed behind at the Kearns ranch during their parents' tour of the United States. Following a stop in San Francisco, the couple returned to Ontario the morning of July 14. They had a farewell luncheon at the Kearns Ranch, where they made presentations to the Highway Patrol and Sheriff's Department, specifically the San Dimas station, which had protected them.

That afternoon, the family and their retinue left for Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, where they departed for Switzerland and a 13-nation European tour.

British royal family

British royal family, There's always a moment after major events involving the British monarchy -- Jubilee, wedding, birth, what have you -- when sort of a collective royal hangover sets in. We laugh as we see news stories about our over-the-top fascination with a seemingly trivial development (It was the hottest day in seven years! This lady's cake melted!) We wonder why it is the royal family captivates us so, anyway.

Some people go a step further, arguing that we shouldn't just pay less attention to the majestic goings-on, we should do away with the non-democratically-elected head of state altogether -- even if their role is largely ceremonial. Over at Gawker, Hamilton Nolan published an impassioned plea for the monarchy to end, likening it to the mafia and saying it siphons needed revenue away from millions of unemployed Britons, or any number of other, more worthy causes.

"For the sake of all that is holy, please allow this Royal Baby to grow up free of the clutches of this crime family, lest its innocence be lost," he wrote.

Calls for the U.K. to abolish the monarchy and become a republic are ever-present, but they tend to tick up during big, royal-centric events. Still, about 80 percent of Britons approve of the monarchy fairly consistently.

And that may be for good reason -- there's at least some evidence that the monarchy brings in heaps of tourism revenue.

According to Buckingham Palace, sustaining the royal family costs Britons 53 pence, or about 81 cents, per person, per year. The total came to about 33.3 million pounds (about $51.1 million) for 2012-2013, according to the Palace, up from 32.4 million pounds the previous year.

However, the awesomely titled Sir Alan Reid, Keeper of the Privy Purse, noted that figure is actually down by 24 percent from 2008-2009, for what it's worth.

But some British republicans -- those who want to abolish the monarchy -- say the actual cost is much higher, once you factor in things like security detail and the cost of preparing for royal visits. Their figure is about 200 million pounds, or $307 million.

The group Republic broke it down to include things like 3.9 million pounds for travel, half a million pounds for Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles, and some 400,000 pounds for public relations.

The royal couple's bundle of joy will drive up that cost, of course, as babies tend to do. The price of delivery at the duchess's birthing suite in St. Mary's hospital reportedly costs 10,000 pounds, or about $15,300. "Of course, that doesn't include the reported pre-delivery yoga classes at Kensington Palace or visits to private birthing coaches," the Christian Science Monitor noted.

But there's an upside to shelling out for a tradition that some think should have gone the way of the penny-farthing or the Puffing Billy.

The British tourism agency has reported that the royal family generates close to 500 million pounds, or about $767 million, every year in tourism revenue, drawing visitors to historic royal sites like the Tower of London, Windsor Castle, and Buckingham Palace. The country's tourism agency says that of the 30 million foreign visitors who came to Britain in 2010, 5.8 million visited a castle .

Tourism is the third-biggest industry in the U.K., the tourism board claims, and supports about 2.6 million jobs -- or about one in 12.

Baby Cambridge is set to boost consumer spending even more, according to Britain's Center for Retail Research, to the tune of $383 million. (Commemorative tea cups or iPhone covers, anyone?) The chief U.K. economist at the consulting firm IHS Global Insight also predicts that the birth would have an "overwhelmingly positive" economic impact.

What's more, a British firm called Brand Finance, which evaluates "intangible assets," said the royal wedding alone boosted London's economy by 107 million pounds ($165 million) through "accommodation, travel, and nightlife," even while factoring in the economic drag of time off work.

Judging solely from those statistics (which obviously vary in their methodology), it does seem like the monarchy pays for itself, at least in the years that feature familial mega-events.

Now, Nolan and others argue that tourists would continue to flock to attractions like Buckingham Palace and the Tower of London even if the royal family no longer existed (they still sometimes live in the Palace, but not the Tower). And Nolan says the royals don't put in enough effort to earn their -- admittedly really lavish -- income.

The Royal Family does not "work" for that money. The Royal Family does not sit inside Buckingham Palace from 9-5 every day, posing for pictures with tourists for $25 a pop. And even if they were, we certainly wouldn't pay them $50 million a year for that.

To be fair, the royals do "work," in a sense: they put on charity events, they travel to meet with foreign dignitaries, and occasionally they have military duties (William is in the Royal Air Force) -- but the question of how much they should be paid for that is a different debate. And most countries spend on ceremony that isn't strictly essential, which is why American kids roll eggs down the White House lawn every year, to name just one example.

Leaving that aside, I agree that it's unfair to prop up an uber-rich family in a world full of deprivation. But I'm skeptical that England's attractions could still draw the same numbers of tourists without the physical monarchs in place. Sure, people would still visit African savannas if they didn't have elephants, but probably not as many, or as often. Similarly, the royal family acts as a sort of charismatic megafauna for the entire royalty-tourism ecosystem.

That doesn't necessarily mean that the Crown is a legitimate institution, just that it's a significant part of what makes England an international destination. Without the royals, Buckingham Palace would be just a less-spectacular Versailles. With them, we have the closest thing we can get to a fairy tale, or if you prefer, an alternative historical universe, one where the traditions Americans abandoned from our start live on. Tourists have paid for sillier things.

Swazi Royal Family

Swazi Royal Family, The Kingdom of Swaziland is located between South Africa and Mozambique. It has a population of over 1 million people, but the average life expectancy is less than 40 years due in large part to the AIDS epidemic. In 1999, Swaziland's King Mswati declared AIDS a national disaster.

Swaziland's king rules jointly with his mother, who is called the Indlovukazi ("Queen Mother" or "She Elephant)". The king traditionally has many wives. According to the Swaziland National Trust Commission, the king's first two wives, called ritual wives, are chosen for him from specific clans by councilors. After that, the king can choose his own wives.

When the king dies, the royal family meets to choose a new Indlovukazi, usually from among the late king's wives (but not his ritual wives). Traditionally, the woman who is chosen should have only one son, who in time becomes the new king.

Swaziland's Sobhuza II was born in 1899 and became paramount chief when he was a few months old, with his grandmother, Labotsibeni, as Queen Mother and regent. At that time Swaziland was a British protectorate. When it gained its independence in 1968, Sobhuza II became king. He remained king until his death in 1982, making his total reign -- more than 82 years -- one of the longest in world history.

After the death of King Sobhuza II, his son Makhosetive was chosen to be the next king. Due to an apparent dispute within the royal family, the late king's wife Dzeliwe Shongwe acted at first as regent, but was later replaced by replaced by Makhosetive's mother, Ntombi Latfwala. In 1986, Makhosetive was crowned King Mswati III with his mother as the Indlovukazi. They continue to reign today.

King Mswati, an absolute monarch, has been named one of the world's worst dictators by Parade Magazine. As of 2008, he is believed to have 13 wives. In 2002, a woman sued to try to prevent the king from marrying her then-teenaged daughter, Zena Mahlangu, saying the girl had been abducted, but the king nonetheless married Zena in 2004. Some of the king's other wives have reportedly left him.

The world’s heaviest monarch

The world’s heaviest monarch, The world's biggest and heaviest ruler in the smallest kingdom has died at the age of 88.

The people of the South Pacific island of Tonga are mourning the death of King Tupou IV following a reign of 41 years. His eldest son, Crown Prince Tupouto will ascend to the throne.

Twenty-stone King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV of Tonga made international headlines in 1976 when he entered the Guinness Book of Records as the world's heaviest monarch weighing in at 209 kg (32 st).

He had since shed a substantial amount of weight, particularly over the past decade, when he worked out three times a week and dropped to 130 kg (20.5st).

Details of his health problems have not been released, but he was believed to have been suffering from heart disease, diabetes and associated ailments.

Because of ill-health, he has spent most of the past year in Auckland, where he owns a residence, making frequent visits to hospital.

He was Tonga's first university graduate and is ferociously knowledgeable about subjects such as Napoleon and the American Civil War.

Public buildings were yesterday being draped with black and purple as a mark of respect and the 106,000 Polynesian inhabitants of Tonga's 170 coral-island archipelago, a former British protectorate, began what will be a year of mourning.

His 57-year-old eldest son, Crown Prince Tupouto'a, known for his love of dressing up in military uniforms and driving around the main island in a London cab, was sworn in as the new king in a brief ceremony yesterday, but it may be another 12 months before a full coronation.

The world was told of the death of King Tupou, who passed away from what is believed to be a kidney disease, when the Tongan government made a formal announcement which needed no explanation.

"The sun has set in the kingdom of Tonga," it said, confirming the news that the king's subjects had been expecting as he clung to life 1500 miles away in a New Zealand Hospital.

He will be remembered for his tight control over Tonga's semi-feudal political system during his 41-year reign, which made him the world's fourth-longest serving monarch.

But he will also be remembered, bizarrely, for his enormous weight.

His royal throne had to be specially strengthened and it was said that whenever he flew he needed two airline seats to accommodate his girth.

In the 1990s he headed up a national fitness campaign to fight obesity which is a major problem in the island kingdom, dubbed 'The Friendly Isles' by English explorer Captain James Cook.

The king shed a third of his weight, and succeeded in encouraging many Tongans to do the same.

Tupou took over the monarchy in 1965 on the death of his mother, Queen Salote, and quickly set about modernising the archipelago's education system and its infrastructure, but he and the royal family controlled the country's political system and most of the economy, which is dependent upon farming, fishing and remittances from expatriate Tongans, most of whom live in New Zealand.

Five years after his coronation, Tonga ceased to be a British protectorate and became fully independent, while remaining within the Commonwealth.

While he had the respect of most of his subjects and other leaders throughout the South Pacific, King Tupou found himself on the receiving end of increasing dissent in recent years.

Just last year, thousands of people took to the streets to demand democracy and public ownership of key assets.

Shortly after the country's first pro-democracy party was founded, the King's youngest son, Prince Ulukalala Lavaka Ata was appointed Prime Minister, increasing the power of the royal family.

The man who has now acceded to the throne, Crown Prince Tupouto'a, is a controversial figure because of his ownership of some of the country's biggest businesses, controlling the only power company, brewery and mobile phone company.

Yesterday as the country began its months of mourning, Mr Sione Fonua, editor of a local magazine, said the king would be remembered for helping to modernise the country, while preserving its culture.

"His Majesty's vision was the right prescription at the right time for a country still yet merged in feudal and common thinking," he said.

The formal announcement of the King Tupou IV's death stated: "The sun has set in the Kingdom of Tonga."

It said the king was surrounded by his wife Queen Halaevalu Mata'aho and members of the royal family. The body of the late king, accompanied by royal family members, has since been removed from the hospital.

It was to be taken to the Tongan royal residence in Auckland where it would lie in state for one night. This was to allow thousands of Tongan residents of New Zealand to pay respects to their late monarch.

A New Zealand air force airplane will then fly the body back to Tonga on Wednesday where it will lie in state. Details of his funeral were still to finalized, Fielakepa said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said the people of Tonga had revered the king throughout his 41-year reign.

She said King Tupou IV, who assumed the throne in 1965 after the death of his mother Queen Salote Tupou, had presided over Tonga's transformation into a fully fledged member of the Commonwealth and the United Nations as an independent sovereign state, she said.

He had followed a path of peace and stability for his country, she added. "While retaining the important cultural heritage and institutions of Tonga, he also sought to place Tonga in a position to take advantage of the benefits of economic globalization. Achieving this difficult balance will be perhaps the king's greatest legacy for Tonga," Clark said in a statement.

Flags on New Zealand government buildings were to fly at half staff Monday and on the day of the funeral as a mark of respect to the king, she noted. 

The Tongan Royal Family

The Tongan Royal Family, If the Guinness Book of Records is anything to go by, the tiny South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga has two claims to fame. First, a tortoise given to the royal family by Captain Cook that lived for nearly two centuries. And second, the world’s heaviest monarch – King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV.

Now 85 years old and somewhat slimmed on doctor’s orders, the King is still an imposing presence. His six-foot-three-inch frame is stooped over walking sticks but his hand, proffered to foreign guests, is like a massive ham. His ordinary subjects, known as ‘commoners’, are more likely to approach him on hands and knees.

Taufa’ahau ascended the throne after the death of his mother, Queen Sälote, in 1965. He has four children – three sons and a daughter. The eldest, Crown Prince Tupouto’a, is an unmarried playboy in his 50s who lives in a grand palace on the outskirts of the capital Nuku’alofa. He tootles around the island in a black, chauffeur-driven London taxi. But his real passions are computer games, toy soldiers and playing with radio-controlled boats in his private swimming pool. He prefers a lavish Western-style military uniform to conventional Polynesian dress and he is already planning his own coronation. Asked whether the Crown Prince will make a good king, his father replies: ‘Maybe.’

The King’s second son was disowned years ago for marrying against his father’s will. His youngest son, Lavaka, is the people’s favourite. He is Prime Minister at the King’s pleasure, having succeeded the King’s cousin, the King’s brother and before that, the King himself.

Like their dad, the Crown Prince and his sister, Princess Pilolevu, are both fabulously wealthy. They own Tongan telecommunications, electricity and insurance companies and a good chunk of the Kingdom’s real estate. The Princess, tall and elegant, lives in a palace opposite the Crown Prince’s, guarded by a pair of sculpted Bengal tigers.

Tonga is an archipelago of scattered islands about two-thirds of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand. It has a population of 107,000 – another 100,000 Tongans live overseas, mostly in Australia, New Zealand/Aotearoa and the US. The Kingdom relies heavily on foreign aid and remittances from citizens working abroad.

In 2000 the Crown Prince tried to sell the rights to his people’s’ genetic information – potentially worth millions – to Autogen, an Australian biotech company then run by the Aussie entrepreneur, Joseph (‘Diamond Joe’) Gutnick. The deal eventually fell through but only after a huge public outcry. Negotiations had taken place without any public debate or consultation.

This was not the first time the Royal Family had tried to line their own pockets. In the 1980s the King peddled Tongan passports, mostly to Asian customers. Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos were among the buyers. Unlike the King’s other get-rich-quick schemes this one was a roaring success. Nearly $26 million was raised, equal to more than half the Government’s annual budget. Adamant the money would not be ‘wasted’ on public works the King parked it offshore, where it eventually came to the attention of an enterprising US Buddhist named Jesse Bogdonoff. He persuaded the King to allow him to invest the passport profits and to appoint him as the Tongan Court’s first jester. The money all but disappeared and Bogdonoff was tried for fraud, negligence and conspiracy. The King has faced no censure for his part in this scheme – thanks mainly to ‘retrospective amendments’ to the constitution.

But selling passports may be just a start. His Majesty has also considered paving over a coral reef to make a helipad, converting sea water into gas by the power of prayer, building a space-tourism launching site and importing 30 million used car tyres for fuel. Another scheme to import four million litres of toxic waste for cash was halted when the nation’s doctors threatened to leave in protest.

The only kingdom in the Pacific, Tonga is currently facing a constitutional crisis. Its ruling family has repeatedly defied the constitution and the courts by suppressing the only independent Tongan-language newspaper. The bi-weekly Taimi ’o Tonga (Times of Tonga) is published in Auckland, New Zealand/Aotearoa, and sells 40,000 copies on the islands. Despite years of police harassment the Taimi still reports on the scandals of the royal family, an irritant for the King and his offspring. In February the Government issued a ban on the ‘import or possession’ of any part of the paper and the paper’s owner/editor Kalafi Moala was labelled a ‘foreigner’. (He is an expatriate with dual Tongan/US citizenship.)

Moala took the matter to the Tongan Supreme Court where the ban was declared unlawful. Press freedom is protected ‘forever’ by Tonga’s 1875 Constitution. Undeterred, the Privy Council, appointed by the King, issued another ban and declared it exempt from judicial review.

Lopeti Senituli, Director of the Tongan Human Rights and Democracy Movement, was charged with contempt of court for discussing the ban on television. ‘This goes beyond freedom of speech,’ says Senituli. ‘The whole issue goes to the very root of the structure of government in Tonga.’

Princely Family of Liechtenstein art collection

Princely Family of Liechtenstein art collection, Collecting can be a transmissible disease. In the Liechtenstein royal family the affection goes back to their ancestor Hartmann von Liechtenstein (1544-85). The principality, known for its welcoming banks, was only established in 1719, though the princes actually went on living in Vienna and buying lots of paintings, as well as many other items, on show at the Liechtenstein museum in Vienna.

The Palais Lumière in Evian, on the shores of Lake Geneva, is exhibiting an impressive selection of works from the collection with 70 paintings, 20 sculptures and 15 pieces of furniture. We lingered for a moment in front of a copy by Brueghel the Younger of one of his father's most famous paintings, Census at Bethlehem, in which the Virgin Mary on her ass and Joseph, bearing his saw, arrive in a snow-covered village in Flanders, then stopped to admire Mars and Rhea Silvia by Peter Paul Rubens. It brims over with energy and colour, Mars's red mantle swelling with erotic fury in response to the folded, yellow robes of the vestal virgin, surprised in her sleep.

Another Rubens followed, featuring a suitably horned satyr holding a basket of fruit, which suggests that the Liechtensteins had the same saucy taste as their Habsburg sovereigns. But a third piece, The Lamentation of Christ, tempered our suspicions.

The Liechtensteins take pride in their forebears, giving rise to a gallery of portraits. We were struck by Joseph Wenzel I von Liechtenstein, who having been inducted into the Order of the Golden Fleece in 1740 decided to commission a work by Hyacinthe Rigaud, then the most fashionable portraitist in Paris. The profusion of drapes tend to conceal the princely figure, but he was apparently so pleased with the result that, in addition to his fee, he gave the painter a diamond-incrusted gold snuffbox.

In another register we were moved by the face of Marie Franziska von Liechtenstein, painted a century later, clasping her doll as she slept. She was only two when Friedrich von Amerling did this portrait.

The Liechtenstein collection also includes humble, anonymous figures, some painted by Frans Hals. His Portrait of a Man is a masterpiece, a symphony of blacks and greys.

At another level the exhibition's curators, the head of the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna Johann Kräftner and art historian Caroline Messensee, offer a glimpse of the changing tastes of a central European royal family over a period of almost 500 years.

Princely Family of Liechtenstein

Princely Family of Liechtenstein, His Serene Highness Prince Hans-Adam II was born on 14 February 1945, as the eldest son of His Serene Highness Prince Franz Josef II von und zu Liechtenstein and Her Serene Highness Princess Gina. The name Hans-Adam forms an apt link between history and the present day, for Ruling Prince Hans-Adam of Liechtenstein was the founder of the State through his purchases of the Lordship of Schellenberg (1699) and the County of Vaduz (1712).

Hans-Adam spent his youth with his parents and brothers and sister at Vaduz Castle. He attended the primary school in Vaduz along with the local children of his age and he also joined the Vaduz scouts.

In 1972 His Serene Highness the Ruling Prince Franz Josef issued a general power of attorney entrusting the Hereditary Prince Hans-Adam with the management and administration of the whole of the Princely House's property. Since then, with his profound experience, the Hereditary Prince has run the finances of the House with tremendous success.

According to the Constitution of the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Prince is the Head of State and exercises his sovereign authority in conformity with the provisions of the Constitution.

In 1984 Prince Franz Joseph II appointed Hereditary Prince Hans-Adam as his representative to carry out all the everyday affairs of state performed by the sovereign.

On 13 November 1989, Prince Franz Joseph II died at the age of 83 and was succeeded by his eldest son who took the title Prince Hans-Adam II.

His Serene Highness the Prince follows all political, economic and social developments in Liechtenstein with keen interest. His main interests lie in the economic and financial plans and problems of the State, the commuities, and the national economy as a whole, as well as issues of foreign policy. Through numerous contacts and intensive reading the Prince maintains a further, related sphere of interest, namely the economic and political development of Europe.

Her Serene Highness the Princess was born on 14 April 1940 in Prague, as Countess Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau; she was the fourth of seven children of Count Dipl.Ing. Ferdinand Carl Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau and Countess Henriette, whose maiden title was Countess of Ledebur-Wicheln.

On 30th July 1967, Hereditary Prince Hans-Adam and the Countess Marie Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau was married.
The couple has four children:

Hereditary Prince Alois, born 11 June 1968
Prince Maximilian, born 16 May 1969
Prince Constantin, born 15 March 1972
Princess Tatjana, born 10 April 1973
The Princess is interested primarily in Liechtenstein's social institutions. She is President of the Liechtenstein Red Cross and President of the Society for Orthopaedic Aid. She is also interested in art and culture and concerns herself with matters relating to education and upbringing.

By participating in public events of the most varied nature, the Prince and the Princess show their affection for Liechtenstein as well as their interest in political, economic, cultural and sports-related developments within the Principality.

Prince Alois, the eldest son of the then Hereditary Princely Couple Hans-Adam and Hereditary Princess Marie of Liechtenstein was born on 11 June 1968 in Zurich and was given the names Alois Philipp Maria. The newly born Prince received his first name in memory of his great grandfather Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, the father of the Ruling Prince at that time, Franz Josef II.

Prince Alois spent his youth at Vaduz Castle, together with his parents, brothers and sister, and grandparents. He attended the primary school in Vaduz-Ebenholz and entered the Liechtenstein Grammar School in 1979. He passed the Matura examination (Type business unit, literature and history section) in the spring of 1987.

Subsequently, he entered the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, Great Britain, where he completed his officer's training. On receiving his commission as second lieutenant, he served for six months in the Coldstream Guards in Hong Kong and London.

In October 1988, Prince Alois enrolled as a student of jurisprudence at Salzburg University. He completed the four year course (1993 - 1996) with a master's degree.

As the eldest son of the Ruling Prince, Hereditary Prince Alois is destined to be the Successor to the Throne, in accordance with the laws of the House of Liechtenstein. For this reason he has been prepared since early childhood for his future office as Head of State. His father assumed control as Deputy of the Ruling Prince Franz Josef II on 26 August 1984. As his Deputy, he required his son at an early stage to attend political discussions and deliberations with representatives of the Government and entrusted him with representational duties. On 15 August 1990, on the occasion of the declaration of allegiance, Prince Hans-Adam II and Hereditary Prince Alois jointly swore to uphold the Constitution.

On 3rd July 1993, HSH Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein was married to HRH Duchess Sophie of Bavaria. Owing to the stay abroad of the Hereditary Princely Couple, their first child was born on 24 May 1995 in London; he was given the names Joseph Wenzel Maximilian Maria. Princess Marie Caroline Elizabeth Immaculata was born in Grabs (Switzerland) on 17 October 1996.

The private interests of the Hereditary Prince centre on sport, especially tennis and skiing. Politics, history, art and science are other fields in which he has a keen interest.

The Liechtenstein Family is one oft he oldest noble families of Austria. With Hugo of Liechtenstein, a bearer of this name is first mentioned in 1136. He was of free noble descent and called himself after Liechtenstein Castle, situated to the south of Vienna. Various hypotheses exist concerning his ancestors: descent from the Lords of Donauwörth is assumed on the one hand and, on the other, in more recent times, a line of descent from the Lords of Machland, the so-called Haderichs.

Hugo of Liechtenstein and, somewhat later, Albrecht of Liechtenstein, owned property to the south of Vienna, they probably already owned estates on the northeast border of Lower Austria. Filation of the Liechtensteiners began with certainty in the next generation, although relationship of this generation to Hugo and Albrecht cannot be established.

The year 1249 was important for the family; in that year Heinrich of Liechtenstein obtained the Lordship of Nikolsburg in South Moravia as free property, an acquisition of great political significance. Resulting from this, the family acquired a substantial possession within the territory of the Wenzel crown. The importance of that acquisiton was demostrated in 1392, when Johann I of Liechtenstein, Chamberlain of the Royal Household of the Habsburg Duke Albrecht III, after nearly 30 years of government leadership on the Duke's behalf, lost, together with his family, virtually all the family's possessions south of the Danube, probably as the result of the Habsburg's power political aspirations. During the following decades the family strove, by means of new acquisitions, to consolidate the possessions in Lower Austria. In South Moravia in particular the domain was further extended.

In the thirteenth century the family divided into three lines, the Liechtenstein, the Rohrauer and the Petroneller. The two last named lines became extinct already in the next generation and in consequence a great deal of family property was lost. A similar course of events took place at the beginning of the sixteenth century when, with the Family Covenant of 1504, three lines were formed, a Steyregger, a Feldsberger and a Nikolsburger line. Only the Feldsberger line survived longer than a few generations, but this time, well considered family laws ensured that the property of the lines becoming extinct devolved upon the survivors.

In the sixteenth century the family turned to the new faith and entered as ardent supporters into the Anabaptism movement of the so-called "Moravian Brothers".

Around the turn of the sixteenth to the seventeenth century, the three sons of Hartmann of Liechtenstein, Karl, Maximilian and Gundaker initated a new period of family history. They converted to the Roman Catholic faith. In the year 1606 Karl received the appointment of the Grand Count Palatinate, in 1608 the rank of Herediatry Prince, in 1623 his brothers were elevated to the rank of Hereditary Imperial Prince. The brothers Karl, Maximilian and Gundaker succeeded in enlarging the Liechtenstein property many times over. In the critical hours of the history of the Habsburgs, in the second decade of the seventeenth century, the House of Liechtenstein stood by the Habsburgs and the decisive victory against the Bohemian rebels in 1620 was achieved with the intervention of the brothers Karl and Maximilian.

From the time of the attainment of the title of Imperial Prince, the House of Liechtenstein strove to acquire territory having imperial immediacy; however, it was nearly one hundred years before Karl's grandson, Prince Johann Adam (1657- 1712) purchased in 1699 and 1712 the territories Schellenberg and Vaduz in Swabia which, with a diploma dated the 23 January 1799, were raised to rank of Imperial Principality of Liechtenstein.

After the male line of Prince Karl l became extinct in 1712, Anton Florian, a descendant of Gundaker, became the Ruling Prince. Whereas in the eighteenth century the country tended to be rather of peripheral interest - at that time the family continued to reside in Austria - it occupied an increasingly central position following its attainment of sovereignty in 1806 and in the twentieth century it became the residence of the Ruling Princes.

All the members of the family living at the present time are descended from Prince Johannes I (1760 - 1836). Prince Franz Josef II (1906 - 1989), the father of the present Ruling Prince, moved his permanent domicile to Vaduz in 1938.

Prince Hans-Adam II remanaged the Family assets, already prior the death of his father. In 1984, he assumed control as Deputy of the ruling succession. The children of the marriage of Prince Hans-Adam II to Princess Marie (neé Countess Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau) are: the Herediatary Prince Alois, Prince Maximilian, Prince Constantin and Princess Tatjana. 

Protests escalate in bahrain

Protests escalate in bahrain, Formula one moves to Bahrain this weekend, with the Grand Prix again taking place against a backdrop of long-running dissent and continued protest.

In 2011 the race was shelved due to pro-democracy protests but resumed last year, despite calls for it to be axed due to human rights abuses and heavy-handed police tactics against protesters.

The run-up to Sunday's race has again witnessed an increase in protests by opposition groups and a crackdown by the Bahrain authorities, prompting fresh calls for F1 to question its annual presence in the country on ethical grounds.
Young protesters who took to the streets sounding drums have called the race "the Formula of blood".

Formula One's commercial rights holder, Bernie Ecclestone, though, has dismissed concerns about holding the race in the country, while the Bahrain government has pledged to take "appropriate" measures to ensure security.
One notable absentee from the race will be Jean Todt, as he seeks re-election as president of world motorsport governing body the FIA.

Graffiti on walls said: "No F1. Don't race on our blood."

This comes as Bahrain's main opposition bloc called for more peaceful anti-regime demonstrations across the Persian Gulf state ahead of the upcoming Formula One Grand Prix.
"I am calling on people to share peaceful protests to send a message to the world about our demand for peaceful democratic reform," said Sheikh Ali Salman, head of Bahrain's al-Wefaq opposition group, on Wednesday.
Salman further urged Bahrainis to take advantage of the spotlight shone on the kingdom due to the international racing event to showcase their message of change.

"I am against violence. Our protest is to take place today, tomorrow and on Friday," the al-Wefaq leader said.

Khalil Marzouq, a leading figure of the al-Wefaq party, also said tens of thousands of people are expected to take part in the main anti-regime demonstration, which is scheduled to be held on Friday.
"These demonstrations show that the movement continues and the demands have not been met yet. Obviously, the presence of the media for the Formula One helps shed the spotlight on Bahrain," Marzouq added.

The royal family of bahrain

The royal family of bahrain, Bahrain is a small archipelago (island group) in the Persian Gulf. It has been ruled by the al Khalifa dynasty since 1783. It became a British protectorate in the 19th century, and became independent in 1971.

The country's first elected parliament was suspended in 1975 by then-emir Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa. Bahrain became a traditional monarchy.

In 1999, Sheikh Isa died suddenly of a heart attack. His son Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa assumed the throne and moved toward democratic reform.

Bahrain officially became a constitutional monarchy in 2002. It is now called the Kingdom of Bahrain, and Sheik Hamad's title has been changed from emir to king.

There is now a democratically elected parliament, although King Hamad has the right to appoint a consultative Shura council with legislative powers equal to those of parliament. Women can run for office. Political parties are still officially banned, but political societies can back candidates in elections.

Luxembourg prime minister Juncker resigns

Luxembourg prime minister Juncker resigns, Jean-Claude Juncker, prime minister of Luxembourg and Europe's longest-serving leader, stepped down on Wednesday over his implication in a spying scandal. But both his friends and his adversaries believe a comeback is likely.

"Luxembourg is like Wuppertal," Jean-Claude Juncker once said. He was trying to project modesty. We were sitting in the tiny garden right next to his office on the ground floor of his small headquarters. Passing tourists occasionally approached the iron garden fence. A few waved and shouted, "Hello, Mr. Juncker!"

But that talk took place some time ago, and Luxembourg is not like Wuppertal. The population of the tiny country is not much greater than that of the provincial German city near Düsseldorf. But Luxembourg has a grand duke, and, above all, it has Jean-Claude Juncker, a prime minister who has been in power since 1995, whose role is something like that of an elected king, who has helped shape the policy of the entire European continent for two decades. He helped found the European Union and create the common European currency. He is sometimes known as "Mr. Euro."

With his dry sense of humor and casual ease and wit in multiple languages, he shone on the political stages in Berlin, Paris and especially Brussels. The provincial politics of his home country tended to bore him. Now they are taking their bitter revenge. After weeks of wrangling, not only with the opposition but recently also with his Social Democratic coalition partners, the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), Juncker announced on Wednesday that he would be resigning from office. "I never could have imagined that the LSAP of all people would trip me up," the prime minister said before parliament of his junior government coalition party. He said his government would meet Thursday morning and go to the palace to propose new elections to the head of state, Grand Duke Henri.

Bombings and Paramilitary

The reason for the breakup of the government is the conclusion reached by a parliamentary investigative committee after 50 sessions. It determined that political responsibility for the conditions in Luxembourg's intelligence agency (SREL) falls to the government. And that is a heavy burden, because what went on within the agency for may years would make great raw material for a spy thriller.

In the 1980s, Luxembourg spies were involved in a puzzling series of bombings, the circumstances of which remain unclear today. Together with military and intelligence agents from multiple European countries, they were part of Operation Gladio, a clandestine illegal paramilitary organization. They worked as a parallel police force within the country that did what they liked and spied on whomever they wanted, whenever they wanted. Even the prime minister, their constitutionally defined boss, could not rein them in.

According to the parliamentary report, intelligence chief Marco Mille reported to Juncker in January 2007 wearing a special high-tech wristwatch. It recorded the entire talk. The matter was extremely tricky because the conversation alluded to the possible involvement of the Grand Ducal family. But Juncker didn't bring it to their attention until the end of 2008. Even then he didn't take drastic measures. Mille remained in office until 2010, when he became head of security for Siemens.

Juncker rationalized the fact that he didn't dismiss Mille immediately despite the "extreme breach of trust" by saying that he didn't want to burden his relationship with the intelligence services. But few in Luxembourg were convinced by the explanation -- apparently not even the public prosecutor, who decided to further the investigation into the activities of SREL.

No Time, No Inclination

Juncker simply had neither the time nor the inclination to worry about the escapades of his agents, say his critics -- just as he neglected to look after many of the country's other affairs.

Juncker has been prime minister since 1995, and during 14 years of his term, he concurrently served as finance minister and, consequently, as his country's representative at the International Monetary Fund in Washington. From 2004 until January of this year, he served as chair of the Euro Group of finance ministers of euro-zone countries. The committee is quite informal, but it is actually here where the important decisions about the common currency are made. The job is extremely time-consuming and nerve-wracking.

Juncker jetted around the world and became a major political figure. Luxembourg sometimes seemed like too small a pond for such a big fish -- because Juncker is nowhere near as modest as he tries to come across. And so it was that he was deeply hurt when the German chancellor and the French president robbed him of the chance in 2009 of becoming the president of the European Council, a position more or less equivalent to being the president of the EU. Instead, they chose Herman Van Rompuy, a bland Belgian politician.

It also irritated him when EU finance ministers would criticize Luxembourg because the country defended its business model as a tax oasis and refuge. In 2009, then German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück took the lead on Luxembourg bashing when he threatened to hold a conference in Berlin on combating tax oases in which he would invite "Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria and Ouagadougou," the capital of Burkina Faso, as guests. The comparison deeply insulted Luxembourgers.

A Superman Figure

The criticism and pressure on so many fronts had its impact over the years. Juncker became grumpier and more suspicious. He has remained something of a superman figure at home in Luxembourg -- the son of a steelworker who grew up to become a major European statesman who dramatically increased global awareness of the tiny Grand Duchy. In the most recent public opinion poll taken before his resignation, Juncker had a public approval rating of 72 percent. So it's not surprising that many friends within his conservative party as well as political adversaries believe Juncker may step back into the ring and run for the office again during new elections.

There are two potential successors standing by within his Christian Social People's Party. However, neither is unflawed. Finance Minister Luc Frieden often comes across like some kind of subordinate bookkeeper, and many find Luxembourg's longtime EU commissioner, Viviane Reding, to be too much of a nag. If Juncker didn't run, it would likely provide good prospects for his junior coalition partner, Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, and his social democratic LSAP, to achieve a "historic election result" and become the country's strongest political party.

Ultimately, Juncker may have to run again for the sake of his party in order to ensure it secures a majority. Even if it would only be to boost his chances of taking over the European Council when Van Rompuy's term expires next year.