Sultan Haitham's eldest son is set to become Oman's first Crown Prince, in accordance with legislation which establishes succession from ruler to the eldest son.
Oxford-educated Dhi Yazan bin Haitham was born in 1990 and will likely be a popular choice with Oman's young population.
He currently holds the post of minister of culture, sports and youth, named to the role when his father restructured the government in August 2020. Before his appointment he served in Oman's UK embassy from 2018, a continuation of a foreign ministry role he began in 2013.
On Monday, Sultan Haitham issued a new basic law outlining a revised succession plan and creating the role of Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince will act in the place of the Sultan in the event of a "temporary impediment" that prevents the monarch from exercising his duties.
The law stipulates the Crown Prince must be a male descendant of Sultan Turki bin Sultan and have Omani Muslim parents.
"Bringing him early on to a government post and settling a clearer succession procedure gives him an ample training ground and is good news for investors, neighbours, and Oman," said Bader Al Saif, assistant professor of history at Kuwait University.
Sultan Haitham's second son is Bilarab bin Haitham, five years younger than Dhi Yazan bin Haitham. Currently, he holds no official position.
The Sultan also has two daughters.
"It will be obviously one of his two sons. For me, either of them are a perfect successor," said Ali Al Rawahi, 32, an electrical engineer. "I know the chosen one will be groomed well to take over the job. They both have pleasant personalities, are highly spoken of, well-mannered and very responsible young men."
Dr Salim Al Salmi, a retired Sultan Qaboos University researcher, said: "Sayyid Dhi Yazan is the most likely one to take over from his father. He is acquiring experience in the Cabinet and it looks like he is being groomed for the top job."
Oman after Qaboos: Sultan Haitham's first year of rule
Omanis quietly marked the first anniversary of Sultan Qaboos's death on Sunday.
No official ceremonies were held, but state-run Oman television broadcast a programme about his legacy.
Sultan Qaboos, who ruled Oman from 1970 to 2020, came to power at the age of 29. A moderniser with respect for Oman’s traditions, the graduate of Britain's Sandhurst military academy transformed the country into a respected international player.
He was succeeded by Sultan Haitham, his cousin, on January 11, 2020.
In his first year, Sultan Haitham revamped the government, streamlining it from 26 to 19 ministries.
He also approved a 2040 economic vision aimed at diversifying Oman's income away from oil revenue.
No Shame
Lily Allen
(Parlophone)
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Lexus LX700h specs
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Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
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Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
Fighting with My Family
Director: Stephen Merchant
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Florence Pugh, Thomas Whilley, Tori Ellen Ross, Jack Lowden, Olivia Bernstone, Elroy Powell
Four stars
Results:
5pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic (PA) Prestige Dh 110,000 1.400m | Winner: AF Mouthirah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic (PA) Prestige Dh 110,000 1,400m | Winner: AF Saab, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 1,600m | Winner: Majd Al Gharbia, Saif Al Balushi, Ridha ben Attia
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (PA) Listed Dh 180,000 1,600m | Winner: RB Money To Burn, Pat Cosgrave, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh 70,000 2,200m | Winner: AF Kafu, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 2,400m | Winner: Brass Ring, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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'Falling%20for%20Christmas'
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Meydan card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (PA) Group 1 US$65,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.05pm: Conditions (TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
7.40pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) $100,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,200m
8.50pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-1 (TB) Group 2 $350,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
4/5 stars
