The Arabian Peninsula (Arabic: شبه الجزيرة العربية šibh al-jazīrat al-ʻarabīya or جزيرة العرب Ǧazīrat al 'Arab‎) is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km² (1,250,000 mi²). The area is an important part of the Asian continent and plays a critical geopolitical role of the Middle East and Arab World due to its vast reserves of oil and natural gas. The peninsula formed as a result of the rifting of the Red Sea between 56-23 million years ago, and is bordered by the Red Sea to the west, the Persian Gulf to the northeast, and the Indian Ocean to the southeast.

The Arabian Peninsula is located in the Asia continent and bounded by (clockwise) the Persian Gulf on the northeast, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman on the east, the Arabian Sea on the southeast and south, the Gulf of Aden on the south, the Bab-el-Mandeb strait on the southwest, and the Red Sea on the southwest and west. The northern portion of the peninsula merges with the Syrian Desert with no clear border line, although the northern boundary of the Arabian Peninsula is generally considered to be the northern borders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al Saud, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, (Arabic: عبد الله بن عبد العزيز آل سعود‎ ‘Abd ullāh ibn ‘Abd al-‘Azīz Āl Su‘ūd) (born August 1, 1924) is the King of Saudi Arabia. He succeeded to the throne on August 1, 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, King Fahd.

Abdullah is the tenth son of King Abdulaziz. He is, after his half-brothers Prince Bandar and Prince Musaid, the third eldest of the living sons of Abdulaziz. He stands 180 cm (5 ft 11 inch).

King Abdullah’s mother is a فهدة العاصي الشريم Al-Rashidi, longtime rivals of the Al Saud. His mother, Fahda, descended from the powerful Shammar tribe and was the daughter of former Shammar tribe chief, Asi Shuraim.

Madawi al Rasheed argues that his maternal roots and his experience of an early speech impediment led to delay in his rise to higher status among the other sons of King Abdulaziz.

King Abdullah's first public office was as a Mayor of Mecca.

In 1963, Abdullah was made commander of Saudi National Guard (SANG). This post allowed him to secure his position in the House of Saud. SANG which had based on the Ikhwan became a modern army force under his command. Beginning by 1985, SANG also sponsors the Janadiriyah festival that institutionalized the traditional folk dances, camel races and tribal heritage.

Tessa Jane Munt (born 16 October 1959) is a British Liberal Democrat politician. She is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Wells in Somerset.

Munt was the candidate for South Suffolk in the 2001 General Election, when she came third with 24.9% of the votes. She also stood for Ipswich at the 2001 Ipswich by-election, coming third with 22.4% of the vote. After moving to Somerset, she stood for Wells in the 2005 General Election, coming second to incumbent MP David Heathcoat-Amory with 37.8% of the vote. Munt won the Wells seat in the 2010 General Election with a majority of 800 over Heathcoat-Amory, who admitted that his involvement in the United Kingdom Parliamentary expenses scandal played a part in his defeat.

Munt is a party whip in the House of Commons, although she threatened to resign from the post if the Trident nuclear missile system was renewed.

In July 2010, newspapers revealed details of an investigation by Sedgemoor District Council into her claims of council tax single person discount while having more than one other adult male registered to vote at her home, including a local GP, the broadcaster Andy Kershaw and the media advisor for the family of Madeleine McCann. On 6 September 2010, Sedgemoor District Council said that there were now no criminal proceedings regarding to the single person discount on Council Tax and Munt was thus cleared of any wrongdoing, though it then became apparent that she had paid the disputed amount to Sedgemoor District Council.

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States. Raised on the South Side of Chicago, Obama attended Princeton University and Harvard Law School before returning to Chicago and to work at the law firm Sidley Austin, where she met her future husband. Subsequently, she worked as part of the staff of Chicago mayor Richard M. Daley, and for the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Throughout 2007 and 2008, she helped campaign for her husband's presidential bid and delivered a keynote address at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She is the mother of two daughters, Malia and Sasha, and is the sister of Craig Robinson, men's basketball coach at Oregon State University. As the wife of a Senator, and later the First Lady, she has become a fashion icon and role model for women, and an advocate for poverty awareness, nutrition and healthy eating.

Rachel Anne Maddow (pronounced /ˈmædoʊ/; born April 1, 1973) is an American television host, political commentator, and author. Maddow hosts a nightly television show, The Rachel Maddow Show, on MSNBC. Her syndicated talk radio program of the same name aired on Air America Radio. Maddow is the first openly gay anchor of a prime-time news program in the United States.

Asked about her political views by the Valley Advocate, Maddow replied, "I'm undoubtedly a liberal, which means that I'm in almost total agreement with the Eisenhower-era Republican party platform."

Maddow was born in Castro Valley, California. Her father, Robert B. "Bob" Maddow, is a former United States Air Force captain who resigned his commission the year before her birth and found civilian work as a lawyer for the East Bay Municipal Utility District. Her mother, Elaine Maddow (née Gosse), is a school program administrator from Newfoundland, Canada. She has one older brother, David. Her father is of Russian and Dutch descent and her mother is of English and Irish ancestry. Maddow's mother was raised a strict Roman Catholic, and Maddow herself grew up in a community that her mother has described as "very conservative." Maddow was a competitive athlete and played three sports in high school. Referencing John Hughes films, she describes herself in high school as "a cross between the jock and the antisocial girl."