Whatever happened to the freedom of expression?

For instance, Swaziland's King Mswati III is the beneficiary of two funds created by his father in trust for the Swazi nation. During his reign he has absolute discretion over use of the income, which has allowed him to build palaces for each of his 13 wives and send them on worldwide shopping sprees. Yeah! enjoy yourself while your kingdom has the highest HIV infection rate in the world (26.1% of all adults) and also the lowest life expectancy. Go shopping while 69% of your people live below the poverty line CIA- The World Fact Book I won't even get into the 13 wives knowing how women are treated in Swaziland. Axmaq fooqal axmaq.

Wedding bells, divorce, lawsuits, bailouts, riots. It's been a tumultuous year for the wealthiest monarchs. The world’s wealthiest monarchs have been making a lot of news lately. Queen Elizabeth II made headlines Tuesday when she visited New York City for the first time since 1976. Properly dressed in pearls and a hat, despite the record heat, the Queen stayed long enough--apparently just five hours--to address the U.N. General Assembly and to visit Ground Zero. Just a few months earlier the Sultan of Brunei made his own splash in the big apple when he reportedly picked up 48 handbags and 24 “duck” umbrellas from the Lederer e Paris store in Manhattan. Go to Forbes.com to view the slideshow (Opens new window) Perhaps the biggest news, or shocker, came the third week in June when Prince Albert of Monaco announced his engagement to former South African Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock. The longtime bachelor, who took the throne after his father's death in 2005, may have caught wedding fever after attending Sweden's royal wedding earlier in the month, when Crown Princess Victoria married in a lavish ceremony in Stockholm. The princely nuptials deflect unwanted attention from a lawsuit brought by U.S. citizen Robert Eringer against Prince Albert for breach of contract. Eringer alleges the Prince hired him in 2002 to be his intelligence advisor to root out "corruption, money laundering and organized crime in Monaco." Asked for comment, the palace said it could not respond at this time. Meanwhile, Albert just hired a new lawyer, Gregory Craig, Obama's White House counsel for his first year in office, who previously represented would-be Reagan assassin John Hinckley Jr. and directed the team defending U.S. president Bill Clinton against impeachment. The wedding may also help to refill Monaco's coffers. The tiny principality saw a 4% decline in tourism in 2009. In a recent survey released by London-based Barclays Wealth, more than half of Monaco's citizens with over US$1 million to invest expect the economy to deteriorate. So far the prince has managed to hold his own fortune steady at US$1 billion (No. 9 on our list) based on Monaco's desirable real estate; he reportedly owns one-fourth of the principality. Though monarchs largely inherit their riches along with their titles, these royals have been buffeted by an uneven global economic recovery. The threat of sovereign defaults, a weak euro and continuing depression in real estate markets have stymied growth prospects. Even Queen Elizabeth is feeling the pinch. Her annual stipend of US$12 million was frozen in the budget doled out by the newly elected British Parliament. In its annual publication of Royal Finances, Buckingham Palace announced this month that it reduced spending by more than 3 million pounds, or 12%, in 2009-2010. “The Royal Household is acutely aware of the difficult economic climate and took early action to reduce its Civil List expenditure by 2.5% in real terms in 2009,” said Sir Alan Reid, keeper of the privy purse. “We are implementing a headcount freeze and reviewing every vacancy to see if we can avoid replacement.” Still, don’t worry too much for the queen herself. Though we don’t count the value of Buckingham Palace or the British crown jewels in her fortune (they belong to the nation), the Queen does own valuable property in England and Scotland, fine art, gems and a stamp collection, all of which is estimated to be worth a combined US$450 million. It was those valuable assets that allowed her to hold steady this past year despite the economic turmoil facing her country. She and nine others of the world’s 15 richest royals have the same fortune as they did a year ago. Collectively the group's fortune is down 9%, or $10 billion, to US$99 billion. (That is US$32 billion below their 2008 sum). This year's drop was primarily due to problems in the United Arab Emirates, the federation of seven emirates including Abu Dhabi and Dubai, which are still suffering from the collapse of real estate markets. Bank America-Merrill Lynch estimates total UAE debt of up to US$184 billion with a heavy schedule of repayments through 2013. The UAE announced plans for a federal debt management office in May. No surprise then that Dubai's Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum fared the worst. His fortune dropped US$7.5 billion this year as his Dubai Holding crumbled under a $12 billion debt burden. This comes on the heels of last year's loss of $6 billion, making him the biggest loser on Forbes' annual list of the world's 15 richest royals two years in a row. To boot, Dubai had to ask for another handout from fellow emirate Abu Dhabi in December, to the tune of US$10 billion. Abu Dhabi's ruler, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan, though not as heavily indebted, also saw his fortune shrink for the second year in a row, down $3 billion as result of last year's 40% decline in oil export earnings as well as double-digit declines in real estate and stock markets. He falls down a notch to No.4 on the list. The only other ruler to see his fortune shrink this year is Kuwait's Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah, who is trying to rein in bickering politicians in order to jump-start the country's stagnant economy. His fortune fell to US$350 million, down 12% from last year. Thailand's King Bhumibol remains the world's richest royal for the third year in a row, despite his country's riots and turmoil. Royal assets are held under Thailand's Crown Property Bureau, which benefited from stock market and real estate gains in 2009. As a result, his fortune remains stable at US$30 billion, at least for now. The rioting that broke out in March, led by protesters demanding new elections, may irreparably damage the country's tourism and investment markets. Only two rulers saw an increase in their fortunes this year. Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah invigorated the economy with his spending plan; the country is projected to record 4% growth this year. His fortune is up $1 billion to US$18 billion, moving him up a notch to No. 3 on the list. Qatar is expected to do even better: Its economy expanded 9.5% last year and is expected to jump 15% by the end of 2010. As a result, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani's (No. 8) fortune is up $400 million to US$2.4 billion. The Emir is leading Qatar's bid for the 2022 World Cup; if accepted, it's the first time the games would be staged in the Middle East. Royal wealth derives from inheritances or positions of power. All of the richest royals on this list are monarchs and serve as heads of often extended family fortunes. Many times wealth is controlled by royal families in trust for their nations or territories. For these reasons, none of the 15 royals on this list would qualify for our annual ranking of the world's billionaires. For instance, Swaziland's King Mswati III is the beneficiary of two funds created by his father in trust for the Swazi nation. During his reign he has absolute discretion over use of the income, which has allowed him to build palaces for each of his 13 wives and send them on worldwide shopping sprees. The only ruler who doesn't preside over a geographic territory is the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of the world's dispersed 15 million Ismaili Muslims. His fortune remains at US$800 million; he comes in at No.10 on the list. This is the fourth time we have published a definitive list of the world's richest royals. Monarchs of countries such as Spain and Japan failed to make the cut for the top 15. Additional reporting by Cristina von Zeppelin. Go to Forbes.com to view the slideshow

lol@ baa kaa waaleysa...kaaley KK filinkaada aad iga daba wadid iga dhaaf nooh, waxaaba noqotey Patti Stanger... Kan meel uu iga arkey magaraanayo runtii mana iska key celin karo.Xataa I offered him gelato inaan u soo gado si uu friend oo la hadlo (ala big sister program camal) yeesho... About the caanaboore, I do know sheekadaas iyo dadka lagu caayo, laakiin aniga dhinacaas maba u soconin runtii, cunugaan wuu cuqdo badan yahay and he doesn't have any friends oo la sheekesto...kikuuyuna waxaan u dhahay he celebrates Kenyatta Day oo calankiisa oo badashaa every October 20th.

Masai!

No it wasn't directed at you at all. Kan kaa koreeyana--> ceeb ma ahan caanaboore, wax laga faano ma ahan, anigaba waa leygu soo koriye (it wasn't expired though). Qof aad wacko dhaheysid maxaa ka sugeysey iney ku dhahaan? ooyin badanidaa as usual...

lol@waa wareey. I think it was a simple error on her part, nothing more. Somalida qurbaha joogta dhibaato weyn aa u taalo, siiba kuwa Uganda jooga, meel aan ku badbaadno malaha anymore thx to AS. :mad:

Elated and over the moon...taaaaankis MMA! sorry teamkaada waa laga raaye maanta...what a boring and lifeless final game it was...Germany-Uruguay match was way exciting.

Kikuuyiyoow maanta meeqa baaldi(bucket) aa ka buuxisey ilintaada? meeqa saxan oo ugali iyo sukuma aad laqdey xanaaq dartiis? meeqa canaboore aad cabtey oo adaan xitaa si fiican u walaaqin? jahwareerkaada iiga waran bal? lol

Congrats to Fooooooorlaaaaaan and Muller!

Guava maxaa iga rabtaa kaale? labadiina wax aad is dhaantiin malaha, adiga Spain aa tahey asagana waa Holland ee kiyaakarihiina Utanga la taga...hadal badanaa nimanku...

lol@getting to know each other. KK waa maxay isqarxiskaan aad soo wadid? Haatu, thats it, maanta saa u soo socotey wacko maa igu wacdey? Ka xaaxaabi sheekadaas. Better bring a backup aan ku iri cunugyaho kikuuyoga ah. Waaba Kenyati hakuu booteyo, aawe Somalidii Utanga degnayd, swahiligooda haku rifaane....

lol@KK

Good one KK because I can't answer your Q.

So you are saying you are not a "Somali" finally! I enjoy torturing you, can you blame me really? I had to take one for the team nooh! lol Your good peepz, so typically I would expect such things and I'm going to let this one slide this time. I've to live up to my name, so I'm going to ignore this hateful mail.

Naxariis wax la dhaho ma taqaanid even if it hit you in the face, marka hadalkaaga gaabi xoogaa nooh! lol@reer abti... i doubt that very much... Cowke, reer PL are ashamed of you, Landers hate you, maxaa kuu yaale meeshaan? waxba me thinks, wax isku fal me say! NZ wax u qabo since ay wax kuu qabteen.

Cowke if PL is a safe country, then why are you in NZ today? Hadal yar iyo hawl badan my neighbour boowe! Bax tag PL ee noo soo qor sheekoyiinka aad soo qortid, waa hadii aad alive tahey that is!

Cowke...I was born in Mogadisho and proud of it. Adiga baadiyo aad ku dhalatey, cuntada gacan aad ku cuni jirtey, bariis iyo hilib aad cuni jirtey, marka aniga oo magaalo ku dhashey oo fargeeto iyo qaado wax ku cuni jirey inaad reer magaalnimo ii fasirtid waa qosol gariir on my part. I love my country first, horumar waxaa lagu gaaraa qaranimo not qabiilnimo. I feel sorry for you runtii, you need help, and I hope you get it soon. Muran agteeyda kama heleysid, waayo qof lala murma matihid, waxyaabo badan aa kaa qaldan, allah haku badbaadiyo. Reer miyi oo waashey wixii la murmo aa ka daran.

Adiga lee ha daalin boowe, maanta hadaad sheekadaas la timid wax weyn aa kaa qaldan to say the least. Allah ha kuu gargaaro, thats all I can say to you, nothing more nothing less.

He is not that talented to make it to the national team!

lol@illegal immigrants... Maanta wuu soo baxey finally to say PL is a country! Hahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! Cowke Cowke! Oh my!

AS qaraminimo wax la yiraahdo ma yaqaanan, Sayidka iyo Ahmed Gurey uma dhawa marka been been yaanan isku aqrinin. Maanta hadii election la qabto, i doubt iney Somali ppl dooranaayaan those hyenas marka lets not kid ourselves. Soomaliya wadan u baahan in la muslimiyo ma ahan, we need qaranimo not muslinimo (we are already muslim), hadii ay run ka tahey calan cusub ma taagteen oo maalin walba ma toogteen dadka rayidka ah. Nin Afghanistan inuu noo taliyo dadka raba aan ku qoslaa, aduun waakaas nooh. Dad ka soo horjeeda horumarka dalkeena iyo dadkeena aa leedihiin ha noo taliyaan, what a joke indeed!

He is an amazing talent, just lacks discipline and sportsmanship. I don't think he is overrated at all, his game alone speaks for itself. Why would he opt to play for Ghana when he can play for the 4th time World Champions Azzuri is beyond me.

They can justify killing the innocent Somalis on a daily basis, at the same time they want us (Somali ppl) to support them. Laughable ideology indeed! I hope they get what they deserve!

Yes and hell to the yeah! Let them enjoy the fireworks and all the festivities...maxaa kaa halaabaayaa hadii aad tiriihdid awguuririyo? bal ii sheeg dee... nothing yaa MMA...xaasidnimada iska daa ee u buraanbur dadkaan..lol..