JEDDAH: Today, Saudi Arabia's leadership is working to reverse the years of social regression triggered in part by the November 1979 siege of the Grand Mosque in Makkah. Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative conference in 2017 in Riyadh, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said: “We are returning to what we were before - a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world.” And in an interview conducted last year, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that before the Iranian Revolution and the siege of Makkah rocked the Muslim world, “we were just normal people developing like any other country in the world until the events of 1979.” If there is a specific date that

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Their Highnesses the Supreme Council Members and Rulers of the Emirates, Crown Princes, Sheikhs, and large crowd this afternoon performed funeral prayers on the body of the late H.H. Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, at the Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed The First Mosque in Al Bateen, Abu Dhabi. UAE President condoles death of Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan; three-day official mourning declared, flag flown at half-mast President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has condoled the death of his brother H.H. Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President's Representative,

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, received Bill Gates, Co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, at the Louvre Abu Dhabi. Gates is currently on a visit to the UAE to attend the "Reaching the Last Mile Forum in Abu Dhabi" held in the emirate. His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed welcomed Gates and discussed with him cooperation to deal with epidemic and communicable diseases across the world, especially polio, and the positive steps taken to achieve this goal during the past period. They also discussed the role of the forum in mobilising international efforts to assist vulnerable people in

Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (Dubai Tourism) announces an exciting new collaboration with Hollywood superstars Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson and Zoe Saldana. The project, centers around the short film 'A Story Takes Flight', which stars the actresses as themselves embarking on three journeys of exploration through Dubai, filled with inspiration, discovery, and human connections. Issam Kazim, CEO, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM) commented: “Inspired by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and Ruler of Dubai's aspirational leadership, the people of Dubai reflect

Newly-elected Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has named his brother, Mahinda, as prime minister, cementing the grip on power of a clan credited with crushing the Tamil Tigers 10 years ago. Mahinda, a two-term president himself, is due to be sworn in as prime minister on Thursday following the resignation of Ranil Wickremesinghe after his party suffered a humiliating defeat in the weekend's presidential polls. The Rajapaksa brothers are credited with brutally destroying the Tamil Tigers to end Sri Lanka's 26-year-long civil war, with the security services they controlled accused of war crimes and multiple human rights abuses. A spokesman for the new administration on Wednesday said Mahinda, 74, will be sworn in by his younger brother Gotabaya, aged 70.

Just hours after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte announced he would ban e-cigarette use, police were ordered on Wednesday to begin arresting people caught vaping in public and to confiscate the devices. The abrupt prohibition, revealed by Duterte late Tuesday, adds to a growing global backlash against a product once promoted as less harmful than smoking. Duterte called the devices “toxic” and said vaping introduced “chemicals” into the user's body. The president, a former smoker, is notorious internationally for his deadly anti-narcotics crackdown, but he has also targeted tobacco with a wide-ranging ban on smoking in public.

Saudi Arabia welcomed on Wednesday the US decision to end a sanctions waiver related to Iran's Fordow nuclear facility, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The US announced Monday it would halt sanctions waivers for Iran's Fordow plant, ending a key part of a landmark nuclear deal after Tehran said it had resumed enrichment activities.