Dutch Crown Prince Speaks At World Water Week Monday, Aug 18 2008

Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands was one of the 2,500 dignitaries at the annual World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, which began on Monday. At the first meeting, the Crown Prince gave a speech about the dangers of sanitation, health and other water related issues.

“Sanitation is one of the biggest scandals of all times. It’s something that we have to put on our radar screen,” insisted Crown Prince Willem-Alexander.

He said some “7,500 people die every day due to this lack of sanitation,” pointing out that “the situation is the same as seven years ago.”

The Dutch Crown Prince even compared the listening dignitaries and renouned professors at the meeting to the athletes at the Olympics.

“I see similarities between these athletes and yourselves. You show the same commitment and willpower. And the Olympic Dream is also your dream: ‘to strive for a bright future of mankind’”, he said.

“Speaking of the Games, did you know that Beijing has invested more than eight billion US dollars in sewers and waste water treatment?”, the Crown Prince asked.

World Water Week is a discussion about ways to improve sanitation around the world, especially in poorer nations. The dignitaries at World Water Week include British professor John Anthony Allan, winner of the 2008 Stockholm Water Prize.

But the Dutch Crown Prince, who chairs the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation, was one who had a lot to say about the issue.

Willem-Alexander talked about the massive improvements made in Asia and Latin America over sanitation, but said there was still ”a long way to go” and underlined the need to break taboos about sanitation.

Willem-Alexander noted improvements in Africa, although ‘the increase cannot keep pace with population growth. More people means more waste. It’s that simple,” he said in his opening remarks.

“I have spent this crucial year travelling all over the world”, the Prince said. “We are getting a lot of positive responses to our call for action. Governments and organisations are recognising sanitation issues and are showing their commitment to dealing with them by placing the subject high on the political agenda.”

He listed some of the remarkable results, and a less tangible and so perhaps more difficult, challenge: “The year has made great strides in breaking the sanitation taboo by bringing unmentionable subjects like toilets and feces out of the shadows and into the open. UNSGAB will continue to ‘call a spade a spade’ – or perhaps I should say ‘a toilet a toilet’”

 Almost half of the world’s population lacks proper toilet facilities, a situation that can have dire consequences on public health and which poses a challenge to resolve since water is becoming an increasingly scarce resource.

Climate change, soaring population numbers and the rapid economic development of Asia and Africa have all put a strain on the world’s water supply.

Twenty percent of the planet’s population face water shortages, a figure that is expected to hit 30 percent by 2025, according to the United Nations which has declared 2008 the International Year of Sanitation.

 

 

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Crown Princess Mary Arrives In Tasmania Monday, Aug 18 2008

She could have been any ordinary airplane passenger - if you think leaving four rows empty for yourself and your young children ordinary.

That is what it was like for Crown Princess Mary of Denmark in her 22 hour plane ride to her hometown of Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. She is there for a family vacation with her relatives that should last 10 days. With her are her two children, 2 year old Prince Christian, and 15 month-old Isabella.

Also with Mary are 18 suitcases, 2 prams and a nanny. Husband Crown Prince Frederik is still at the Olympics, and will reunite with his family on August 26th.

Crown Princess Mary was originally with Frederik for the beginning of the Games, but then she went home a few days ago to collect her children and luggage for the trip back to Australia.

Fellow passengers had no idea they were sharing their flight with the princess.

“The first four rows were completely empty,” Queensland tourist Lloyd Fox said.

“We had no idea she was even on board until we landed in Hobart and noticed the cars, and she was allowed to get off before the rest of us.”

As Princess Mary emerged from the Jetstar flight carrying Christian, who was struggling to get out of his mother’s arms, Isabella was being carried by her nanny.

The family arrived at the West Hobart home of Mary’s older sister Jane Stephens’ just before noon, and family emerged later to collect 18 bags of luggage from Tasmanian police who had accompanied the family on their flight.

Christian, who turns three in October, came out on to the front veranda later to run around with his aunt Patricia Bailey.

 This is the first trip to Australia for Christian’s little sister, Isabella.

 

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Hawaiian Protestors Occupy Palace Monday, Aug 18 2008

About 20 protestors were arrested after they occupied the historic Iolani Palace, the home of Hawaii’s last monarch. The demonstrators were rallying against what they called U.S. occupation of their land.

The takeover began late on Friday and lasted for two hours before state police entered the palace grounds to bring it to an end. Officials said that 22 people had been arrested and 14 charged with trespassing. Others faced charges of burglary after forcing their way into the building, allegedly knocking aside and slightly hurting one employee along the way.

The employee who was hurt claims Honolulu police refused to intervene on grounds, saying the palace is out of their jurisdiction.

Gov. Linda Lingle said Saturday that there would be an investigation into the police response to the takeover.

Kippen de Alba Chu, executive director of the Friends of Iolani Palace, said he and other staff members were locked down in the palace and a nearby administration building during the takeover.

“They’ve got a king, and the king wants to sit on the throne,” de Alba Chu said.

The palace, built in 1882 when the archipelago was still a constitutional monarchy, is symbolic for a variety of political protest groups on the islands who insist that Hawaii should secede from the United States and become a kingdom again.

A group identifying its leader as King Akahi Nui claimed responsibility for the latest incursion. They distributed an “occupation public information bulletin” after the break -in.

It stated that “Majesty Akahi Nui, the King of Hawaii, has now reoccupied the throne of Hawaii. The Kingdom of Hawaii is now re-enacted”. King Nui says he was crowned in 1998.

Several Native Hawaiian organizations have rival claims to sovereignty over the islands.

Another group occupied the palace grounds in April and has been allowed to come back every week since then with a permit.

Hawaii was a constitutional monarchy until 1893, when an American group overthrew Queen Liliuokalani and made Hawaii a U.S. territory. The Queen was imprisoned in Iolani Palace after the takeover. The islands became a state in 1959.

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Norwegian King Knights Penguin Sunday, Aug 17 2008

Being knighted by a King is a great honor, but would a penguin by aware of this?

Maybe one, that of Nils Olav, the three foot tall penguin knighted by King Harald of Norway. He became the first black-and-white pint-sized Norwegian Sir with wings after inspecting the Norwegian King’s Guard, which is visiting Edinburgh for the annual Military Tattoo.

“We have a long-standing history with the Norwegian King’s Guard and it is something we are extremely proud of,” said David Windmill, head of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the owners of Edinburgh Zoo where the penguin lives.

The bird first became an honorary member of the Norwegian regiment in the 1970s, when a lieutenant called Nils Egelien visited the Scottish Zoo. Norway’s head of state was then King Olav V.

On Friday he was granted the highest honour yet, when a guardsman dubbed a sword on each side of his head — where his shoulders should be — to confirm his regimental knighthood.

After the ceremony, Nils walked out to cheers and applause at a special ceremony held at his home in Edinburgh Zoo on Friday.

On his best behaviour, the proud bird waddled out to “inspect” the 130 Royal Guardsmen on parade before being dubbed on his shoulders to confirm his knighthood. A medal was also attached to his wing.

Unable to attend the ceremony, King Harald, sent his own message of congratulations. Calling him “our trusty and well-beloved” Nils, he declared the penguin to be “in every way qualified to receive the honour and dignity of knighthood”.

Norwegian King’s guardsman Captain Rune Wiik added: “We are extremely proud of Nils Olav and pleased that an enduring part of the Royal Guard is resident in Scotland helping to further strengthen ties between our two countries.”

To view a video of the knighted penguin, click here

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Crown Prince Felipe In Paraguay Saturday, Aug 16 2008

Spain’s royal heir has taken a break from the Olympics to travel to Paraguay for the inuaguration of President Fernando Lugo.

Crown Prince Felipe attended, along with several heads of state, including Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.

The ceremony was a major step for Paraguay. The election of the leftist ex-bishop Lugo marked the end of six decades of one-party rule in a key step in the poor South American nation’s democratic transformation.

“Today Paraguay breaks with its reputation for corruption, breaks with the few feudal lords of the past,” said Lugo, who shaved off most of his trademark beard but stuck with a goatee for the ceremony.

Paraguay was once a Spanish colony until May 1811 when independence was declared.

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Royals Come And Go At Beijing Olympics Saturday, Aug 16 2008

It’s the changing of the guard at the Olympics, only in a different matter. Some of the dozens of royals who attended the opening of the Beijing Games have left for royal duties elsewhere, and are being replaced by family members and other royals.

The Spanish royal family is one such switch. Crown Prince Felipe and Crown Princess Letizia attended the beginnings of these Games, but have now left. They are being replaced by Queen Sofia, and her daughter Infanta Cristina and her husband Inaki Urdangarin, a former Olympian himself. The Infanta and Inaki met during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Another royal couple that met at the Olympics are King Carl Gustaf XVI and Queen Silvia of Sweden. They met during the 1972 Munich Games when King Carl represented Sweden, and Silvia was working as a translator. The Swedish royals have been absent from Beijing Games until now, right in time for the track and field events where Sweden is expected to do well.

Crown Prince Haakon of Norway is expected to take over for his parents this Wednesday. Dutch Crown Prince Willem-Alexander will go to Sweden for a few days before heading back for the closing of the Games, while Crown Princess Maxima will stay at home with their three daughters.

Other royals who are IOC members are expected to stay until the very end of the Games. They include Prince Albert II of Monaco and Britain’s Princess Anne.

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Australians Apologize For Filming Crown Princess Wednesday, Aug 13 2008

Australia says it is sorry for allowing Crown Princess Mary of Denmark to be filmed while she visited the Australian delegation in the Olympic Village in Beijing on Monday. The Village forbids any sort of filming.

Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said the Danes maintained the royal visit was to be private.

“She certainly visited us,” Coates said.

“It seems there were concerns raised by the chef de mission of the Danish team, who accompanied her, that it was a condition of that visit that it be private and there be no filming within the residential area.

“We certainly weren’t aware of that condition and if that was the condition, then we are sorry that we didn’t comply with it.

“Neither her Royal Highness or Prince Frederick themselves expressed any concerns to me at the time - the chef de mission did and we asked the television crew just to back off.”

Coates went on to explain that Mary and her husband, Crown Prince Frederick did meet with the Danish athletes, before moving on to the Australian team. It was then they were filmed celebrating a birthday for one of the Aussie athletes.

It was video of the Crown Princess - who is Australian born - that sparked controversy with the Australian press which believed Mary was favoring her homeland over her adopted country.

However, the Crown Princess told Australian media she would support the Danish team all the way, even when they were competing against the Australians.

But at the same time, other reports say Mary would support Australia - only if they are not going against Denmark

 

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Royalty At The Olympics Wednesday, Aug 13 2008

When a royal does something to promote patriotism, they usually do it with ribbon cutting events, charity work or ambassador tours of other countries. But these days, the world’s royals are promoting pride in their home countries by participating in the Olympics -whether by cheering on their countrymen or actually competing.

Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and his wife Crown Princess Maxima jumped out of their seats, cheering with excitement over the Netherlands’ gold medal win in the women’s 400meter relay in swimming. If the Dutch keep it up for the remainder of the Games, they would bring more smiles and cheers to their royals.

Some royals may come from countries that are not expected to perform well in Beijing. But that has not stopped Prince Albert II of Monaco to watch the Games anyway. Along with his girlfriend, former Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock, the Prince was spotted watching a boxing match between Hicham Mesbahi of Morocco and Jonatan Romero of Colombia for the men’s bantamweight 54 kg preliminary boxing match

Britain’s Princess Anne was seen in Hong Kong, where part of the equestrian event will be held (the dressage part). She wisely put on a pair of shorts in the immense Chinese heat. The Princess Royal was once an Olympian herself, competing in the equestrian in the 1976 Montreal Games. Her daugher, Zara Philips was supposed to follow in her mother’s footsteps, but her horse was injured right before the Games.

Speaking of royals competing in the Olympics, one who is generating a lot of attention is Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the daughter of the ruler of Dubai. She became the first female from the Middle East to carry a flag during the opening ceremonies Friday. Maitha will be competing in the tae kwon do event, for the under 67kg class

One royal who is getting not so great press is Crown Princess Mary of Denmark. The Australian-born Mary has been seen repeatedly hanging out with the Australian athletes, and not the Danish. According to The Australian the Danish team has filed a complaint about this. Royalty in the News will keep you posted if anything happens due to this.

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Queen Rania Wraps YouTube Project Tuesday, Aug 12 2008

Five months after launching her YouTube channel,  Queen Rania of Jordan has finished with her series of daily interactive YouTube video and written blog postings. She did this to promote dialogue and understanding between the West and Islam.

While the Queen has admitted that her project did not at ”melt away” the stereotypes of Muslims and Arabs, it has sparked some change in attitudes.

“I’d like to think I’ve made some people pause, reflect and reconsider ideas and assumptions they held as true, but it would be naive to think that everyone who clicked on to the page, now thinks differently,” Rania told The Associated Press in an e-mail.

The site mixes the humorous with the serious. In one video, a comedian says that an American once said, “Oh, you’re Arab, but you look so nice,” when discovering his heritage. Other videos show the real-life perils – from terrorism to human rights abuses – for people in Arab countries

Rania and her husband, King Abdullah II, have worked hard to position themselves in the vanguard of new Arab leaders: young, moderate, pro-Western, and technologically savvy. An international icon, the queen has become known for using her position to advocate for social causes from education for girls to an end to honor killing in Jordan.

Then in February, she started the YouTube page and asked Westerners to send in their stereotypes about Arabs and Muslims and open a discussion on how those negative images could be changed. Rania’s first video received 1.4 million views within weeks, prompted 83 video responses from other users, and generated nearly 6,000 text comments.

“YouTube is, primarily, an entertainment network, so I did wonder if people would engage in a serious discussion,” the Queen says. “It was a leap into the unknown for me. But to be honest, everything has exceeded my expectations – the good and the bad. There’s more misunderstanding than I had appreciated, more anger, more bias, but also more interest, more support, and more engagement.”

“My favorite response is still one of the earliest ones I received: ‘Are you Michael Jordan’s wife?’ My husband found that one very funny.”

The Palestinian-born Rania said she was “very pleased” with the frank discussions and probing questions YouTube’s freedom provided. She said she witnessed “changes in attitude” mainly among the site’s returning visitors.

“If it resulted in a smile to a stranger, or a knock introducing yourself to your neighbor, then I’d be very proud,” she added.

Rania said her YouTube channel would remain online after Tuesday, and she would post “from time to time,” but less frequently.

To check out Rania’s YouTube channel, click here

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Jordan’s King Abdullah Visits Iraq Tuesday, Aug 12 2008

 Jordanian King Abdullah II became the first Arab head of state to visit Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein. It was an unannounced visit, and the King had talks with Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi Prime Minister, and vice president Abdel Mahdi. Abdullah originally planned to go to Iraq last month, but cancelled to avoid massive publicity.

The King had “frank and positive talks” with al-Maliki on relations between the two countries, the Iraqi government said in a statement. The meeting only lasted four hours, and Abdullah left Iraq before it was even announced he came. 

But Maliki seemed optimistic following the brief meeting, saying in a release statement: “This visit will open a new page in relations between the two countries which will help to maintain the stability and security in Iraq and all the region,” he said.

Ties between the two neighboring countries have been strained since the Saddam’s government collapsed. U.S. officials had been urging Abdullah to visit Iraq to bolster ties between the two countries. Jordanian officials have been concerned about the rise of a pro-Iranian Shiite government in Iraq and the loss of discounted oil, which Saddam once provided.

Al-Maliki visited Jordan in June for the first time in nearly two years, and since then, the two nations appear willing to put their differences behind them.

In addition to meeting with Al-Maliki, King Abdullah also met with vice president Abdel Mahdi. He discussed the sectarian violence with Mahdi, and said, “Uniting Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish political powers is the only way to build a unified and sovereign Iraq that would be capable of serving its people and the Arab nation.”

“Iraqi and Jordanian officials should exchange visits after this trip to discuss mechanisms for boosting bilateral relations in various fields and serve the interests of Jordan and Iraq,” the King added, in a statement released in Amman.

When Iraq visited Jordan back in June, he agreed to renew oil supplies to his cash-strapped neighbor for the next three years at discounted prices.

Jordan also agreed to ease restrictions on the entry of Iraqi students and those transiting to a third country.

Jordan hosts between 450,000 and 750,000 Iraqi refugees who have fled violence in their war-torn country, and Amman has estimated the costs of sheltering them so far at more than two billion dollars.

Jordan has also named an ambassador to Iraq, joining other Arab countries that have agreed to upgrade their relations as the Iraqi government becomes more stable and security has improved — despite sporadic attacks and ongoing military operations.

The king’s visit was seen as positive if symbolic step forward for Baghdad which is working to rebuild relations with its neighbours in the wake of five years of bloodshed that continues despite violence dipping to a four-year low.

Maliki said the visit paved the way for strengthening Iraq’s relations with other Arab countries.

King Abdullah in 2004 warned against the emergence in Iraq of a pro-Iranian government that would promote a “Shiite crescent” bringing together Iran, Iraq, Syria and Lebanon — a comment criticised by Iraqi officials.

The Sunni-ruled Arab monarchies of the region had been reluctant to upgrade ties with Iraq, not just due to violence in the country but also because of its Shiite-led government’s perceived tilt toward non-Arab Shiite Iran.

Posting based on articles from the AP and AFP.

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