Saudi arabia

Saudi Arabia and the Dilemma of Recognizing Israel

With a pending Gaza ceasefire and Donald Trump returning as US president, Saudi Arabia's de facto leader must now decide whether to recognize Israel before a Palestinian state is created. For Trump, normalization of Israeli-Saudi ties would be the deal of all deals. But Riyadh has insisted a Palestinian state must be established before such a ...

Macron and Bin Salman Pledge 'Full Support' for Forming a Strong Lebanese Government

French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have pledged “full support” for the formation of a “strong government” in Lebanon, the Élysée Palace announced on Thursday, following a phone call between the two leaders. During the call on Wednesday, they stated that they would “fully support the ...

Saudi Prepares for Another Hajj Pilgrimage Under Extreme Heat

The deaths of 1,300 pilgrims during the hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca, in Saudi Arabia last year underscored the urgent need to mitigate dangers posed by extreme heat, with crowd management an essential first step, analysts say. Temperatures soared to 51.8 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit) in the holy city of Mecca last June as 1.8 million ...

Five-star Barca Smash Real Madrid to Win Spanish Super Cup

Barcelona hammered rivals Real Madrid 5-2 in a wild Spanish Super Cup Clasico final in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to win the first trophy of the Hansi Flick era. Kylian Mbappe put Madrid ahead but a dominant Barcelona hit five in response before their goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off in the second half. Madrid were hoping to avenge their ...

Real Madrid Must Avoid Mistakes from Clasico Thrashing Says Ancelotti

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said his players could avenge their thrashing earlier this season by Barcelona to win the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday, if they avoided making the same mistakes. Hansi Flick's Barcelona routed Los Blancos 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in October in La Liga, although a slump before the winter break helped Real ...

President Aoun Invited to Riyadh by Saudi Crown Prince

The Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, called on Saturday President Joseph Aoun to congratulate him on becoming president and invited him to visit Saudi Arabia. Along with Qatar, Egypt, France and the United States, Saudi Arabia played an important role in resolving the presidential deadlock. Lebanon had been without a president since ...

Barcelona Defeat Bilbao to Spanish Super Cup Final

Young starlets Gavi and Lamine Yamal fired Barcelona, without Dani Olmo after his licence to play was revoked, into the Spanish Super Cup final with a 2-0 win against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday. Spanish playmaker Olmo was cleared to play again on a temporary basis before the game but the decision came too late for him or Pau Victor, in the same ...

Stormy Start to the 13th Session to Elect a President

The thirteenth session for the election of a President of the Republic opened with a dispute between those who contest the election of the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, General Joseph Aoun, who enjoys a large parliamentary majority, and those who want Lebanon to finally have a President. MP Melhem Khalaf, an ally of the Speaker of the House, ...

Late Abraham Winner Gives Milan Italian SuperCup Win Over Inter

Tammy Abraham grabbed a late winner as AC Milan came from two goals down to beat defending champions Inter Milan 3-2 and lift the Italian Super Cup trophy in Riyadh on Monday. Inter looked on course for a fourth consecutive trophy in the tournament after goals from Lautaro Martinez and and Mehdi Taremi either side of the break in Saudi ...

New Syria Foreign Minister Begins First Visit to UAE

Syria's new foreign minister Asaad al-Shibani landed in the United Arab Emirates Monday on his first visit to the country since rebels toppled president Bashar al-Assad last month, official news agency SANA said. "Shibani, accompanied by defense minister Murhaf Abu Qasra and intelligence chief Anas Khattab, has arrived in the United Arab ...

The Saudi Delegation Visits Lebanese Officials

The Saudi delegation, led by Prince Yazeed bin Farhan, who oversees the Saudi committee handling the Lebanon file, arrived in Beirut on Friday evening. The delegation has been meeting with political officials and is scheduled to meet with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri today in Ain al-Tineh. The delegation is expected to hold discussions with ...