Official State portrait of the Empress Farah Pahlavi taken in May 30, 1972 during the visit of the American President Richard Nixon in Iran. (Image scanned from the book "Memoires van een keizerin").

In the light of the political and social events happening in Iran, here is a documentary filmed by a french tv channel, France 3, where the former Empress of Iran talks about the history of her country and her own history (of course from her own perspective and point of view).

Lire Plus

Supporters surround Prince Abdul Ali Seraj, right, who is expected to announce his candidacy for the presidential election next week.

The National – News - 15 Feb 2009 – By Sarah Davison.

A western-educated prince is fast emerging as the rst choice of tribal elders for Afghanistan’s presidential election. The plain-speaking former businessman, however, has an agenda of his own – uniting the ravaged nation. Sarah Davison, Foreign Correspond

kabul Prince Abdul Ali Seraj’s coffee table is littered with little plastic bags and he is busy filling them up with dirt from his garden.

Lire Plus

Sheikh Hassan bin Rashid Al Khalifar, the lead singer and guitarist for Manakin.

The National News – 24 January 2009 – By Eugene Harnan

Bahraini prince trying to make music his career

DUBAI Could you please put your hands together for the artist formerly known as Prince.

Actually, this particular rock star still goes by the title Prince.

He may have the sun glasses, ponytail, T-shirt and jeans that are essential prerequisites for any selfrespecting musician seeking to break into the big time, but Hassan has something else that sets him apart.

He is a member of Bahrain’s ruling royal family. Known to the boys in the band as Shake, his actual name is Sheikh Hassan bin Rashid Al Khalifa. He has a fondness for riding horses, football and sport cars, but his real passion is music and his group, Manakin, which he fronts as lead singer and guitarist.

Lire Plus

Bernard Lapasset, Chairman of Rugby World Cup, left, announces the women's team of Thailand to participate in the women's rugby competition, as Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, Wife of Sheik Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum UAE Prime Minister and the ruler of Dubai, looks on, during the official draw in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Monday, Jan. 19, 2009, for the Rugby Sevens World Cup tournament which will be held from March 5-7. (AP Photo by Kamran Jebreili)

Gulf News – January 19, 2009.

Princess Haya Bint Al Hussain, wife of Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, lauded Emirates Airline’s efforts for « turning Dubai into an ideal location to showcase events » like the upcoming IRB Rugby World Cup Sevens.

Lire Plus

A handout picture released by the official Syrian news agency SANA shows some Arab leaders meeting on the sidelines of an Arab economic summit in Kuwait City on January 19, 2009. Arab leaders opened the summit today amid sharp differences over Israel's deadly offensive in the Gaza Strip and ways to deal with the regional fallout of the 22-day war. Seen in the picture are (L to R): Bahrain's King Hamad al-Khalifa, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah. (AFP/Getty Images)

R&Co – January 19, 2008.

A physician desperately in tears while speaking to a journalist. The scene, broadcasted on live by the Israeli television (channel 10), happened last friday between a Palestinian physician and an Israeli journalist. Izz el-Deen Aboul Aish, a father of 8 children, is a well-known gynecologist in Israel’s main hospital and in Gaza’s hospital, just lost his daughters who died during a tank strike. 

Lire Plus

 

 

Queen Rania of Jordan, wife of Jordan's King Abdullah II, meets with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the Beit al-Urdon palace in Amman on January 14, 2009. Ban said today there was "no time to lose" in Gaza, renewing his call for an immediate ceasefire to end Israel's deadly offensive on Hamas. Ban arrived in Amman from Cairo on the second leg of a regional tour aimed at stopping the conflict that he has slammed as "unacceptable."

January 16, 2009

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon left Amman on Thursday, wrapping up a two-day visit to the kingdom after talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Queen Rania Al-Abdullah. 

Lire Plus

Jordan's Queen Rania donates blood for Palestinians of the Gaza strip, in Amman December 30, 2008.

AFP – December 30, 2008.

Amman – Jordan’s Queen Rania donated blood on Tuesday for Palestinians in the battered Gaza Strip, where more than 350 people have been killed in a deadly four-day Israeli aerial bombardment.

Lire Plus

AFP – December 16, 2008.

A Paris appeals court on Tuesday confirmed a Saudi prince’s conviction for involvement in a cocaine smuggling gang and added a seven-million-euro (9.7-million-dollar) fine to his 10-year jail sentence.

Prince Nayef al-Shaalan was tried in absentia in the original trial last year and also failed to show up at the appeal court, which revalidated a warrant for his arrest.

Lire Plus

The International Herald Tribune – December 12, 2008 – By Tim Sebastien 

AMMAN - An odd thing happened the other day in the Arab world.

Amid all the recent backsliding on free speech and the general disinterest in democracy among Middle Eastern governments, one head of state drew a thin and highly significant line in the sand.

Typically, the other Arab states chose to ignore it, local journalists didn’t believe it and the international press had its mind on other things. But in a region where good news has become a long-forgotten curiosity, it would be unwise to let it pass unnoticed.

The man at the center of this event was King Abdullah of Jordan, who last month gathered together the chief editors of Jordan’s main newspapers and told them that from now on there would be big changes in the country’s media environment. Specifically, no more jailing of reporters for writing the wrong thing and a new mechanism would be created to protect the rights of journalists, including their access to information.

Lire Plus

AFP – December 11, 2008.

Charity will be awarded 6,000 euros

RIYADH - A Saudi charity that helps divorced and underprivileged women has won a European Union prize for human rights groups in the Gulf, the Riyadh office of the European Commission said yesterday