Arab world

    Shared concern about Iran was driving Israel and many Arab states closer and demanded that Tehran immediately cease military and financial backing of "terrorists and militias", said Donald Trump in Israel. In stressing threats from Iran, Trump echoed a theme laid out during weekend meetings in Saudi Arabia with Muslim leaders from around the world, many wary of the Islamic Republic's growing regional influence and financial muscle. Trump has vowed to do whatever necessary to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians, dubbing a peace accord the ultimate deal. But ahead of his Holy Land visit, he gave little indication of how he could revive talks that collapsed in 2014. Trump received a warm welcome in Riyadh from Arab leaders, especially over his tough line on Tehra...

    US President Donald Trump, who is on first foreign trip in Israel after Saudi Arabia, is hoping for smooth visit. Trump and his wife Melania Trump, when they touched down in Israeli land, were spotted walking down the red carpet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife. Donald Trump tried to hold Melania’s hand but she slapped away. However, it is unclear, whether Melania intentionally pushed Trump’s hand away, or it was miscommunication between them. Also, during the inauguration of US President on January 20, when Trump turned to speak Melania—failed to suppress distasteful frowns. Later, Trump, wife Melania, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner visited Western Wall in Jerusalem. Trump becomes the first sitting U.S. president to visit one of Ju...

    Jordan's King Abdullah II, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, U.S. President Donald Trump and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan pose for a photo during… A picture of Donald Trump, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi with their hands on a glowing orb has the internet confused—prompting comparisons with Lord of the Rings, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace and other films. In reality, the widely shared photograph depicts Trump, King Salman and al-Sissi at the opening of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh. During the center’s opening ceremony, the leaders placed their hands on the globe in a gesture of solidarity to launch the center. Saudi Arabia was the initial stop on Trump’s fi...

    US President Donald Trump along with other male White House officials participated in a ceremonial sword dance in Saudi Arabia outside the Murabba Palace, the media reported. Trump arrived in Riyadh accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump on Saturday on a two-day trip, beginning his first foreign trip as President that includes visits to Israel, the Vatican City, Belgium and Italy where he is to take part in NATO and G7 summits. Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner were also travelling as part of the presidential entourage. Video of the dance shows Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross dancing with swords perched on their shoulders as part of a line of men in traditional Saudi garb ahead of a state dinner, reports CNN. Trump, ...

    US asset management giant Blackstone and Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund announced Saturday they are launching a US$40 billion investment vehicle to finance infrastructure renovation in the United States. The announcement comes as President Donald Trump, who has promised to invest US$1 trillion in a major infrastructure plan in the United States, visits Saudi Arabia during his first trip abroad. The Saudi Public Investment Fund [PIF] will contribute $20 billion to the new vehicle, while the remaining US$20 billion will be raised from other investors, Blackstone said in a statement without providing details on the timeframe. Ultimately, this new fund aims to invest US$100 billion in infrastructure projects, “principally” in the United States, according to the rele...

    US President Donald Trump landed in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh on Saturday for the start his first foreign tour since taking office. A red carpet was rolled out and staircase rolled up to Air Force One minutes after it landed shortly before 9:50 am (0650 GMT) local time. Trump and his wife Melania, who dressed conservatively in black but did not cover her hair, walked side-by-side to the tarmac where they both shook hands with Saudi King Salman. Trump will hold talks with leaders in the kingdom later Saturday and is to give a speech on hopes for a peaceful vision of Islam to some 50 Arab and Muslim leaders on Sunday. The Republican president was to be accompanied by the first lady, First Daughter and presidential adviser Ivanka Trump and son-in-law and senior advisor Ja...

    Security authorities in Saudi Arabia said they would reward anyone who reports residency or labour violations involving expatriates. The reward could reach up to 50,000 Saudi Riyals, Jamaan Bin Ahmad Al Ghamidi, consultant to public security, said at a town hall meeting with officials, tribe leaders, and education and media figures in Al Baha in the south west of the kingdom. However, Al Ghamidi warned there would be zero tolerance towards anyone who employs or harbours any foreigner staying illegally in the country. He said that conniving with the violators in any way would be strictly addressed, explaining that their presence in the country was a high security, economic, social and health risk. The campaign has been successful in Al Baha where so far, 1,350 foreigners ha...

    Indian Islamic preacher, Dr Zakir Naik, who is wanted by authorities in Delhi for alleged terrorist offences, has been granted citizenship by Saudi Arabia. Arab sources reported that King Salman had intervened to grant Naik Saudi citizenship to protect him from arrest by the International Police Organisation, Interpol. Last month, Indian courts issued a second arrest warrant for Dr Naik in connection with his alleged role in a terror-related case and over money laundering allegations. Naik, who was on tour at the time, decided not to return to India and remained in Malaysia where permanent residency status was granted to him five years ago by the Malaysian government. India had made several terrorism related charges against the prominent Islamic Scholar Zakir Naik because ...

    Iranians poured into polling stations on Friday to give their verdict on  and his troubled efforts to rebuild ties with the world and kick-start the struggling economy. Rouhani, a 68-year-old moderate cleric who spearheaded a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, has sought to frame the election as a choice between greater civil liberties and ‘extremism’. But he faces stiff competition from hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi, 56, who has positioned himself as a defender of the poor and called for a much tougher line with the West. We are still not pleased with the situation, but in the four years of Rouhani there has been a relative improvement and I’m voting to keep that, said Alireza Nikpour, a 40-year-old photographer in Tehran. The president and his popular foreign mini...

    Eight princesses are facing trial after they were accused of trafficking servants into Belgium and treating them in an inhumane way. Princess Sheikha al-Nahyan and her seven daughters, from the United Arab Emirates (UEA), travelled to Belgium regularly and brought with them at least 20 servants, all women, to wait on them hand and foot 24 hours a day. One servant went to the police after escaping from the luxury suite in the Conrad Hotel in Brussels where the princesses were staying in 2008. She claimed her and her peers were working long hours, sometimes without enough food, did not have beds to sleep on and were not in possession of visas, Deutsche Welle reports. Belgian police launched an investigation and found the women were living in inhumane conditions. The eight pr...