When Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud — MbS — assumed power in Saudia Arabia, he did so without the endorsement of an election. The idea is unknown in this family-run kingdom, where power is inherited and uncontestable.

THAILAND’S revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej is the world’s richest royal, according to a Forbes magazine list, dominated by Middle Eastern monarchs riding high on surging oil prices.

A Brunei government agency says it has successfully forced the sultan’s disgraced brother to disclose details of his bank accounts in a bid to end a multi-billion-dollar fraud scandal.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of oil-rich, jungle-covered Brunei has married a former Malaysian TV journalist, making her the second wife of one of the world’s richest men.

A PRINCE who is heir to the fabulous fortune of the oil-rich sultanate of Brunei married a 17-year-old half-Swiss commoner yesterday in Asia’s wedding of the year, attended by royalty and dignitaries from around the world.