ARABINFOCUS

                                                            INSULT ALL MUSLIMS Arab and Muslim countries have strongly condemned the heinous act of burning a copy of the torn book, the Koran, which occurred this Wednesday in Sweden; an insult to the Muslim world allowed by the Swedish police. The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdom's strong condemnation and denunciation on Wednesday of an extremist's burning of a copy of the Qur'an at the Stockholm Central Mosque in Sweden during the Eid Al-Adha holiday. “These hateful and repeated acts cannot be accepted with any justification, and they clearly incite hated, exclusion and racism, and directly contradict international efforts seeking to spread the values of tolerance, moderation and rejection of extremism, and undermine the necessary mutual respect for relations between...

        ARABINFOCUS wishes you a very happy Eid El Adha

      USA-EU DEMAND ISRAEL TO ACCOUNT FOR SETTLEMENT VIOLENCE The United States and the European Union have held Israel accountable for the extreme violence unleashed by Jewish settlers against the Palestinian people in West Bank settlements. The UN Security Council called for restraint on all sides to reduce emerging violence in occupied territories. Israel's defense minister, Yoav Gallant, and a senior Palestinian official have discussed violence in the occupied West Bank, with Gallant's office saying he offered reassurance about Israel's intention to crack down on Israeli settlers who have attacked Palestinian communities. But the reality is that the settlers do not stop attacking the Palestinians, attacking their homes, destroying their vehicles that they use to go to work, threatening to kill them; they show their weapons against them and utter insults. The announcement on Tuesday that discussions had taken place between Israeli and Palestinian officials comes amid m...

                            BEGINNING OF A NEW HAJJ FOR MILLIONS OF PILGRIM A new Hajj began this Sunday for millions of Muslims from all over the world, in a reiterated show of faith and obedience that govern the precepts of Islam. An extraordinary spectacle in Mecca around the Kaaba. It is the first tawaf (circumambulation of the Kaaba) that pilgrims undertake after assuming the state of ihram, a sacred state of ritual consecration. This tawaf signifies the pilgrims' arrival in Makkah, the spiritual center of Islam and the focal point of the Hajj pilgrimage. The number of pilgrims this year is expected to break records at more than 2.5 million. “This year, we will witness the largest Hajj pilgrimage in history,” said an official at the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

                                                                             A CIVIL WAR IN RUSSIA? Nobody believes that a civil war in Russia is possible because of the situation in Ukraine. But it is clear that Vladimir Putin is being criticized by the head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigokhine, and quite possibly by some generals who are at the front and do not dare to say it in public. Putin believed that the invasion of Ukraine would be a path of roses for the Russian armed forces, and it has been the opposite. The two big problems have been and still are: the resistance of the Ukrainians, and secondly the decision of the Western countries, the United States in the lead, not to drop Zelensky. Putin has undoubtedly been wrong, but he finds himself in a dead end because he refuses to negoti...

                                                    WAVE OF VIOLENCE IN WEST BANK Once again the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir (extreme right) has called for killing Palestinians whom he considers "terrorists" and destroying their homes. “We need a military operation, we need to flatten buildings, we need targeted killings,” Itamar Ben-Gvir told parliament on Wednesday We are witnessing a wave of violence in the West Bank that, chronologically, began when the Israeli armed forces forced their way into the Palestinian camp in Jenin and killed seven people. The reaction was immediate. Palestinian radicals attacked a roadside restaurant, killing 4 people. An act of revenge that is very unfortunate, although you have to understand the situation in the West Bank. "That's how you act against terrorism," added Ben-Gvir, one of the hard-right...

                                 THE SITUATION IN THE WEST BANK IS SERIOUS The situation that has been going on in the West Bank for days has acquired a very serious bias that endangers coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis. Following a fresh assault on the Jenin refugee camp by Israeli forces, a group of radical Palestinian extremists carried out an attack that killed four Jews on Tuesday. The two extremists were killed by the Tsahal military. As a result, Israeli settlers attacked several Palestinian towns. In Naplouse, a hundred settlers entered the houses, vandalizing them and terrorizing the inhabitants. At the same time, they set fire to 140 Palestinian-owned vehicles. The assault on Jenin, with a death toll of 6 Palestinians, was severely condemned by Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. According to the Hebrew State army, the Eli settlement incident was carried out by “terrorists assoc...

SAUDI ARABIA AND FRANCE OPEN INVESTMENT FORUM Within the framework of the official visit to Paris of HH the Crown Prince, Mohamed Bin Salman, France and Saudi Arabia today opened an important investment forum that will relaunch economic relations between the two countries. In this framework, investment opportunities in new technologies, tourism, culture and alternative energies will be discussed. This will give a great boost to both political and economic cooperation, according to French diplomatic sources and businessmen attending this event. Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih is leading a senior delegation at the forum to highlight the Kingdom's commitment to strengthening bilateral ties and exploring new opportunities. The clean energy transition is the topic whit speakers including Sami Al-Saadan, clean hydrogen director, Saudi Ministry of Energy; and Beatrice Buffon, chairperson, EDF International.

                                                   ALGERIA HAS THE RIGHT TO CLOSE RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA The press, inclined to constantly defend Morocco to the detriment of Algeria, has received the current visit of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to Moscow, where he was received by Putin on Thursday, with a very bad face. That same press at the service of Morocco says that Tebboune's visit will complicate relations between Algiers and Washington. It is information without proof. Just a few days ago, a delegation of senior US security and intelligence officials met with their counterparts in Algiers to establish new forms of cooperation. In the fight against terrorism, for example, the United States has always put its cooperation with Algiers first, much more effective than with Rabat and everyone knows that. The Head of State added that the "consolid...

                                WIDE UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN MBS AND MACRON The Saudi Crown Prince, Mohamed Bin Salman, met today in Paris, without witnesses, with the president, Emanuel Macron, in what is considered a full understanding on various issues that concern the two countries and the situation in the Middle East. Macron and MBS have already met twice and the fact that they ate today without witnesses demonstrates the good harmony in the bilateral relations of the two friendly countries. French sources told ARABINFOCUS that the topics the two men discussed included: Iran, Lebanon, Syria and the war in Ukraine. This is the second visit that MBS has made to Paris in the course of a year. "The meeting is important for both sides in a changing international and Middle Eastern context",

                        HH MOHAMED BIN SALMAN HOSTED BY EMANUEL MACRON The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohamed Bin Salman, is currently in Paris where he has been welcomed by the president, Emanuel Macron, in a new gesture of the good relations between the two countries. He will also head the Kingdom's delegation to the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact to be held on June 22-23. During the visit, the Crown Prince is set to participate in the Kingdom's official reception for Riyadh's candidacy to host Expo 2030, to be held in Paris on June 19. France and Saudi Arabia maintain very important cooperation on bilateral issues and those of international resonance.

                        SAUDI FOREIGN MINISTER ON VISIT TO IRAN THIS SUNDAY The Prince, Faisal Bin Farhan, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, will travel to Tehran this Sunday in a new test of the strengthening of relations between the two countries. For years relations between Riyadh and Tehran were broken, but after mediation by China, all diplomatic ties have been restored. Iran recently opened an embassy in the Saudi capital. While relations were broken, the situation in the Middle East evolved negatively, particularly in Lebanon, Yemen and Syria. Under the leadership of HH the Crown Prince, Mohamed Bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has entered a new era of friendly and strengthened relations in all countries of the Islamic area preferably.

                                                                                                     مساعدة ARABINFOCUS                                                             HELP TO ARABINFOCUS The ARABINFOCUS blog was created with three main objectives: 1.- Defend and explain the values of the civilization and culture of the Arab world. For 4 centuries the Arabs lived in Al-Andalus and were at the forefront of the world in science, astronomy, medicine, literature. They were the first in those disciplines. This heritage has to be one of the foundations of modern Arab history. From B...

                                    BERLUSCONI DIES AT 86 Silvio Berlusconi, three times Prime Minister of Italy and owner of the Mediaset media empire, the man who revolutionized telecommunications and went through hundreds of legal and personal scandals, died this Monday due to various heart complications. The billionaire businessman, who created Italy’s largest media company before transforming the political landscape, had suffered several bouts of ill health in recent months. And with him, who united politics and the person like few others, a historic era in Italian politics that began in the last decade of the last century came to a close, when for the first time the billionaire tycoon decided to go down into politics and took a turn that few they saw coming.  It has been three decades in which the four-time prime minister and founder of Mediaset dominated the public scene in his country ...

                                      SAUDI ARABIA INCREASES RELATIONS WITH CHINA Saudi Arabia is interested in significantly increasing its trade relations with China. "We do not want to compete with China, but rather cooperate with great interest," said Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman. This statement was made in the framework of the Saudi Arabia-China economic conference, opened on Sunday in Riyadh, where a series of agreements for a global value of 10,000 million dollars were signed. Relations between Riyadh and Beijing have entered a path of great improvements and decisions of a bilateral diplomatic nature, as happened with the mediation made by China for Riyadh and Tehran to reestablish relations. According to the Investment Ministry, the Saudi government signed deals with several Chinese entities for projects including a joint venture for automotive research, developmen...

                                                  A NEW WAR IN NORTH AFRICA? After Ukraine and Sudan, a new war could be declared in North Africa between Algeria and Morocco due to their rivalry to become the dominant country in this region, and their differences over the Western Sahara conflict. In a statement made this Tuesday by the Algerian Army Chief of Staff, General Said Chengriha, it was announced that the country's armed forces are going to deploy en masse on the border with Morocco "because we fear a military escalation from September". These words of the military chief have surprised observers, since both Morocco and Algeria have declared several times that they would not unleash a war with the neighboring country. But Chengriha has made reference to the military agreements established by Rabat with Israel, which include the creation of a military base...

                       HH MOHAMED BIN SALMAN RECEIVES BLINKEN The Saudi Crown Prince, Mohamed Bin Salman, received the US Secretary of State in order to coordinate aspects related to the international situation of crude oil prices, and at the same time examine bilateral relations. Blinken pointed out that bilateral relations are in line with great improvements that include human rights, a statement that, in the opinion of analysts. It does not constitute a criticism of the leaders of the Kingdom. “It is about reconciling rights, realities and ancestral customs,” a source familiar with this meeting told ARABINFOCUS. The two committed to “advance stability, security, and prosperity across the Middle East and beyond,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement after the meeting. Blinken thanked Saudi Arabia for its support during the recent evacuation of US citizens from war-torn Sudan as well as for diplo...

   SAUDI ARABIA AND VENEZUELA STUDY STRENGTHENING ENERGY RELATIONS The Saudi Crown Prince, Mohamed Bin Salman, received the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, in Jeddah, within the framework of the traditional contacts on the evolution of crude oil prices. Both countries are large producers. President Maduro arrived in Jeddah on Monday and was received by deputy governor of Makkah region Prince Badr bin Sultan. Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Eduardo Gil Pinto also met in Jeddah on Monday. They also discussed efforts in laying the foundations for international peace and security, and contributing to the achievement of global sustainable development goals. OPEC, of which the two countries are part, faces pressure from Western countries, particularly the United States, to demand that there be no cuts in production, in order to maintain so-called "attractive" prices.

                              SAUDI ARABIA AND JORDAN UNITE FAMILIES The recent marriage between the Saudi architect, Rajwa Al-Hussein, with the Crown Prince of Jordan, Hussein bin Abdullah II, will have the positive side effect of further improving relations between Saudi Arabia and the Hashemite kingdom, according to estimates by political analysts from Middle East. This link is very popular in both Kingdoms and the new marriage represents a step between modernity and the traditions that govern existence in both countries. This is a very positive element. Guests included dignitaries and royals from around the world, including the UK's Prince and Princess of Wales William and Kate Middleton; US First Lady Jill Biden; Qatar's Sheikha Moza bint Nasser; the king and queen of Malaysia; the king and queen of the Netherlands; King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain; Prince Sebastien of Luxembourg; Crown Prince Fr...

                            WHAT FUTURE FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE? In some science fiction movies you see men who, little by little, are being replaced at work by mechanoid robots. The vehicles circulate without drivers; In hospitals, surgical interventions are carried out by robotic machines that are more efficient than humans. Humans are slowly disappearing as artificial intelligence takes over civilization. Is it possible that in the future this catastrophic scenario will come to be established without being able to remedy it? In Stanley Kubrick's film “A Space Odyssey”, astronaut David Bowman still masters the “Hal9000” supercomputer and uninstalls it; it is the victory of the human over an intelligence that begins to be stronger than him. In a future world, David would be defeated and the supercomputer would kill him without feeling before allowing him to disable it. The danger is there and it begins to worry e...