General

Rescuers continued to search Thursday for the missing following Tuesday’s massive blast at Beirut’s port, while visiting French President Emmanuel Macron warned the country would continue to weaken without serious reforms. The Health Ministry said the number of dead has risen to 137, along with more than 5,000 people injured in the explosion. Officials expect the death toll will rise. Macron in Beirut  Macron visited Beirut Thursday to meet with political leaders. France, the former colonial power in Lebanon, is sending emergency doctors and several tons of medical equipment. Macron’s visit came amid mounting anger against Lebanon’s various political groups that have ruled the country since the end of the 15-year civil war in 1990. Long-serving politicians are widely viewed as ...

Emmanuel Macron said Thursday that he would organize an international conference to raise funds for Lebanon, but he warned Lebanese leaders that they would not be getting “blank checks.” Macron was the first foreign leader to visit Lebanon after Tuesday’s massive blast at the port of Beirut that left large parts of the city in a shambles of wrecked buildings, burned-out cars and dust. Macron said Thursday that any money to help Beirut recover must come with what he called a “new political order” to replace a “system that no longer has the trust of its people.” “If reforms are not carried out, Lebanon will continue to sink,” he said during a news conference. “What is also needed here is political change. This explosion should be the start of a new era.” Macron said financial hel...

Riyadh, Under the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and based on his keenness to stand by the brothers in Lebanon and to provide aid and assistance to the brotherly Lebanese people following the explosion that occurred in the Port of Beirut, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will provide urgent humanitarian assistance through King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), in solidarity with the brotherly Lebanese people, in the face of the aftermath of this painful disaster.   Source: Saudi Press Agency

Makkah, Sheikh Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Suwdais, the President General of the General President of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet Mosque Affairs reaffirmed here today that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) through the history, has displayed stances along the sides of Islamic countries and Muslims, especially, as they undergo through crises and catastrophes. KSA, he added, always spares no effort in backing up Arab, Islamic and world countries and peoples during calamities, crises and disasters, emanating from either wars or natural catastrophes, pointing out that the Kingdom, the government as well as the people, are standing up to support our distressed brethren, all over the world, as that is the very tenet of the Kingdom since its inception by the Founder King Abdulaziz bin A...

WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s latest warning that China would destabilize the Middle East by deepening ties with U.S. foe Iran is raising questions about how far Beijing will go to boost its partner Tehran in an emerging deal that would heighten U.S.-China tensions. “China’s entry into Iran will destabilize the Middle East. It’ll put Israel at risk. It’ll put the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Emirates at risk as well,” Pompeo told U.S. TV network Fox News in a Sunday interview, as he urged the three U.S. allies and other regional countries to beware of Beijing, one of Washington’s main international rivals. “Iran remains the world’s largest state sponsor of terror, and to have access to weapons systems and commerce and money flowing from the Chinese Communist P...

Lebanon’s Cabinet declared a two-week state of emergency Wednesday in Beirut and ordered the military to place under house arrest anyone  involved in warehousing the explosive material that detonated at the city’s port. The declaration effectively gives the military full powers after Tuesday’s massive explosion. The exact cause of the blast was not clear, but Lebanese officials put the focus on what they said was tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at port warehouses for the past six years. The explosion devastated entire neighborhoods, killing at least 135 people and injuring more than 5,000 others, Health Minister Hamad Hassan said Wednesday. Beirut Gov. Marwan Abboud said the “apocalyptic situation” has left an estimated 300,000 people homeless. Rescue crews con...

Upon the directives of Jordan's King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maj. Gen. Yousef Hneiti instructed the Royal Medical Services and other relevant JAF departments to prepare a military field hospital to be dispatched to Lebanon. King Abdullah’s directives come on the heels of the tragic blast that hit the Beirut port on Tuesday, claiming scores of lives and injuring thousands. The hospital, which will be dispatched Thursday and will be fully equipped for conducting surgery, will include all medical specialties to serve the people of Lebanon and mitigate the burden on Lebanese medical facilities. It will include 48 beds, 10 ICU beds, two operating rooms, and an X-ray lab, with 160 staff members. Hospi...

Khartoum, Sudan affirmed that it is following with appreciation the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to achieve the security and stability in Yemen and push all Yemeni parties to accept the political solutions to reach a comprehensive political solution. In a statement issued today, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs praised the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's proposal as a mechanism to accelerate the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement, between the Yemeni government and the Southern Transitional Council. It expressed its hope that the implementation of the proposal of the mechanism will lead to the full implementation of the Riyadh Agreement and support the efforts of the UN envoy to Yemen to reach the comprehensive political solution in Yemen.   Source: Saudi ...

Riyadh, The Regional Consultative Meeting for religious leaders and institutions, policy makers and experts from Asia was concluded today in Vienna. The meeting was held virtually by the organizing partners for the Religious Values Forum, which will be held in Riyadh next October ahead of the G20 Leaders Summit, including King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), the G20 Interfaith Association, and the National Follow-up Committee of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Initiative for Dialogue among Followers of Religions and Cultures. During the meeting, the participants discussed a number of issues related to the religious values of the G20 this year in accordance with...