Princess Iman of Jordan married Jameel Thermiotis on Sunday in a ceremony on the outskirts of Amman in the first wedding of a busy year for the Hashemite royal family.
The princess, 26, is the eldest daughter of King Abdullah II and Queen Rania, who hosted the wedding at their palace in the Dabouq neighbourhood west of Amman.
She is the first of King Abdullah's four children to be married.
Crown Prince Hussein, the king's eldest son, is due to marry fiancee Rajwa Al Saif, from Saudi Arabia, on June 1.
Wearing a white dress with a long train and a lace veil, Princess Iman was escorted to the ceremony through the palace gardens by Crown Prince Hussein.
She also wore a diamond tiara reportedly owned by her grandmother, Princess Muna Al Hussein, mother of King Abdullah and second wife of the late King Hussein, who ruled from 1952 to 1999.
The wedding, parts of which were broadcast live on state television, was a rare occasion when most members of the Hashemite family were seen in public.
Under Jordan's constitution, all significant powers in the country are with the monarch, who has to be male.
At the ceremony, Princess Iman sat with Mr Thermiotis, a Venezuelan, and King Abdullah in front of a green Quran placed on a table as a palace cleric recounted how marriage is an exalted virtue in Islam.
The king, the princess and Mr Thermiotis then signed the marriage document, which declared the couple husband and wife.
The couple then walked under spears carried by Royal Honour Guards, who usually greet foreign leaders when they come on official visits to the kingdom. They jointly used an Arab sword to cut a six-layer wedding cake.
Among the first guests to arrive was Prince Hasan, the only living brother of the the late king Hussein, who is seen as an elder statesman in Jordan, and his wife, the Calcutta-born Princess Sarvath.
Queen Rania sat in the front row, along with members of the Hashemite family and Mr Thermiotis's parents and siblings. Ms Al Saif was also in attendance.
Guests included Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, as well as Sheikh Issa, son of Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad, and Intisar and Aya El Sisi, the wife and daughter of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, as well as members of Al Sabah ruling family of Kuwait.
The guests arrived at the palace to tunes played by a Jordanian army band and sat in a garden courtyard, where the brief ceremony took place.
Another band wearing white robes from the southern Jordanian city of Maan recited traditional wedding songs.
The engagement of the couple was announced by the Royal Hashemite Court in July last year.
Mr Thermiotis was born in Caracas, Venezuela, in 1994, and is of Greek descent. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and works in finance in New York.
Last week, Queen Rania shared photos from her daughter’s pre-wedding henna party.
“So much love in one room! With friends and family at Iman’s henna party yesterday,” she said.
The specs: 2018 Maserati GranTurismo/GranCabrio
Price, base Dh485,000 (GranTurismo) and Dh575,000 (GranCabrio)
Engine 4.7L V8
Transmission Six-speed automatic
Power 460hp @ 7,000rpm
Torque 520Nm @ 4,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.3L (GranTurismo) and 14.5L (GranCabrio) / 100km
Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey
Rating: 3/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
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if you go
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
SERIES INFO
Cricket World Cup League Two
Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series
Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
Table
The top three sides advance to the 2022 World Cup Qualifier.
The bottom four sides are relegated to the 2022 World Cup playoff
1 United States 8 6 2 0 0 12 0.412
2 Scotland 8 4 3 0 1 9 0.139
3 Namibia 7 4 3 0 0 8 0.008
4 Oman 6 4 2 0 0 8 -0.139
5 UAE 7 3 3 0 1 7 -0.004
6 Nepal 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 PNG 8 0 8 0 0 0 -0.458
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
ON%20TRACK
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