Saudi Miss Moral Beauty pageant

Saudi beauty queen Aya Ali al-Mulla trounced 274 rivals to win a crown, jewelry, cash and a trip to Malaysia, and all without showing her face, Saudi media reported on Friday.

With her face and body completely covered by the black head-to-toe abaya mandatory in the conservative Muslim kingdom, 18-year-old Mullah was named 'Queen of Beautiful Morals' late on Thursday, newspapers said.

There was none of the swimsuit and evening gown competitions and heavy media coverage of beauty pageants elsewhere when the contest was decided in the eastern city of Safwa.

Instead, the winner and the two runner-up princesses had to undergo a three-month test of their dutifulness to their parents and family, and their service to society.

This included a battery of personal, cultural, social and psychological tests, Al-Watan reported.

It was unclear exactly what Mullah did to pip her rivals in the huge field, but Al-Watan reported that the high school graduate had good grades and hopes to go into medicine.

She raked in a 5,000-riyal (1,333-dollar) prize, a pearl necklace, diamond watch, diamond necklace, and a free ticket to Malaysia with her win.

The 20-year-old first runner-up, one of triplets, had already won an education ministry-sponsored 'I love you, my country' competition.

The second runner-up, a high school student aged 15, was cited for taking care of her home and family during the week because her mother works far from home and can only return on weekends.

Beauty contests focused on physical beauty are non-existent in segregated Saudi Arabia, where women can not mix with unrelated men, and must appear in public completely covered - even in photographs.

Miss Moral Beauty pageant organiser Khadra al-Mubarak kept the focus on inner beauty, as defined by Islamic standards of Saudi Arabia.

'The real winner in this competition is the society. The winners represent the culture of the society and its high Islamic morals,' Mubarak said, according to Al-Watan.

Nawras Twin Towers Jeddah

Keppel Land, one of Asia's leading property developers, feels the time is right to invest and develop a premium site in Saudi Arabia. This is despite the fact that economic uncertainties and stock market volatility continue to weigh down sentiments in the property market.

The reason is that population growth and an increasingly robust middle class are fueling a boom in high-end real estate development in Saudi Arabia, where government reforms are encouraging dynamic construction activity.

With the Jeddah Municipality's recent move to develop the Jeddah Corniche into one of the world's striking seafront developments, Keppel Land, one of whose specialties is seafront property development, saw an opportunity to make a major foray into the Kingdom's real estate sector.

The project is a 300-meter high waterfront development, consisting of two landmark residential towers with more than 900 luxury apartments, designed to meet the demand in the Kingdom's niche market of luxury lifestyle.

The residential complex will feature all the amenities and technological advancement of the 21st Century.

It is being developed by Keppel Al Numu, the recently formed joint venture between Keppel Land and the Saudi Economic and Development Company (SEDCO).

The company will handle the project from start to finish -- beginning from the first half of next year and complete it by 2013. The project is expected to cost around SR3 billion.

Keppel Land Group is excited about their first venture in the Kingdom, and this was reflected in Group Chief Executive Officer Kevin Wong's assessment. "We are excited that our venture into Saudi Arabia is a landmark waterfront development in Jeddah, the Kingdom's commercial and recreation hub, and our experience and expertise in developing large-scale integrated lifestyle developments will stand us in good stead in Jeddah."

Ang Wee Gee, executive director & CEO, international, of Keppel Land International Ltd. -- an arm of the Keppel Land Group, too echoed this sentiment. "With strong economic growth and accelerated economic reforms in the Kingdom, Jeddah has enjoyed high growth in real estate in recent years," he said.

"Jeddah's north corniche is a prime real estate location with its long sea frontage and cluster of new lifestyle developments. The city is also seeing a growing trend toward high-rise luxury apartments designed and developed by reputable developers. This is where Keppel Land will bring its superior quality in execution and management to bear on this new market," Ang said.

He was also cautiously optimistic about the project being completed on time despite the global economic crisis taking its toll on every region. "I am optimistic because of the core strength of the Keppel Land Group. Also our partners in this project are strong," he said.

"The global financial crisis will definitely impact everyone and many countries have slipped into recession or technical recession and this will slow growth and investments," Ang said.

SON OF OSAMA BIN LADEN OMER BIN LADEN

He is the fourth eldest son among nineteen children of Osama bin Laden.His wife is 24 years older than him, with five grandchildren. This is second marrige of Omer bin Laden and his wife Zaina had been married five times previously befor marring Omer .

The couple announced their divorce in September 2007. At the time Zaina said she did not regard herself as divorced and that the divorce under duress did not have legal standing under Sharia law. After 2 weeks Zaina and Omar decided not to part and would not let threats destroy their marriage.

Omar has said he doesn't criticize his father and has said that Osama bin Laden is just trying to defend the Islamic world, and that his father is not a terrorist "because history tells you he's not".

The Real Food Party in Saudi Arabia

SURPRISING ROCK IN SAUDI ARABIA

Friends, see this miracle...........it's unbelievable !!!

Surprising Rock A huge rock in a village of Al-Hassa region, SAUDI ARABIA raises 11 cms from the ground level once in a year during the month of April and stays elevated for about 30 minutes !!!

They say that 17 years ago, one terrorist was shot dead behind this rock as he was hidden there. This encounter happened in the month of April 1989. You can see the fresh blood stains on the rock. Most surprisingly, when the rock raises from the ground, these stains become darker, fresher and wet. Local residents tried to wipe off the stains several times, but after some time it appears again on the rock automatically..... isn't it astounding ?