Diplomatic Cross

( TRT )- Director of US spy agency Gina Haspel signalled to  Turkish officials the agency had a recording of a call in which Mohammed bin Salman gave instructions to kill Jamal Khashoggi, according to a Turkish newspaper.

Global media on Thursday claimed that Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman has gone missing since April 21 attack on the royal palace in Riyadh. It is believed that he had been injured in the attack and shifted to an undisclosed location by his guards. For almost one month, where is he, no one knows it officially, as reported by Russian and Iranian media. As  Press TV  points out, the official Saudi websites have not released any new photo of bin Salman for several past weeks. The crown prince was allegedly hit by two bullets during the attack. According to local media reports, bin Salman was evacuated to a nearby bunker at a military base for his safety. bin Salman’s long disappearance has raised speculation about his health. However, no official statement regarding the disappearance came from Saudi Arabia. Some sources claimed that attack on the royal palace was part of a coup led by Saudi royals who are opposed to King Salman, whil...

Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attended the ground-breaking ceremony on Saturday of a vast entertainment resort that is at the heart of an ambitious strategy to open the economy and ease social restrictions. Qiddiya, about an hour's drive from Riyadh, is being built on a 334 sq km (8,400-acre) site, making it 2-1/2 times the size of Disney World. It will include a Six Flags theme park, water parks, motorsports, cultural events, and vacation homes. A spokesman said Qiddiya expects to attract 1.5 million visitors annually when the first phase opens in 2022. Local media have reported the cost of the infrastructure alone would reach up to 30 billion riyals ($8 billion) and the project would eventually be worth tens of billions of riyals. Little more than a week after Saudi Arabia opened its first cinema after a nearly four-decade ban, the author of the reforms, Prince Mohammed, and his father attended the lavish launch ceremony, which fe...

ما نیٹرنگ ڈسک - امریکہ کے وزیر خارجہ مائیک پومپیو مشرق وسطیٰ کے دورے کے لیے ہفتے کو سعودی عرب پہنچے تھے۔ اس دورے کا مقصد امریکہ کی طرف سے ایران پر نئی تعزیرات عائد کرنے کے لیے حمایت حاصل کرنا ہے۔ پومپیو کے بطور وزیر خارجہ حلف اٹھانے کے دو دن کے بعد ریاض، یروشلم اور عمان کا ان کا یہ دورہ ایک ایسے وقت ہورہا ہے جب صدر ڈونلڈ ٹرمپ اس بات کو فیصلہ کرنے والے ہیں کہ 2015 ء کے ایران جوہری معاہدے میں امریکہ کو شامل رہنا ہے یا اس سے الگ ہو جانا ہے۔ واضح رہے کہ امریکہ کے یورپی اتحادی فرانس، برطانیہ اور جرمنی اب بھی اس معاہدے کے حق میں ہیں۔ خبر رساں ادارے روئٹرز کی رپورٹ کے مطابق پومپیو کے ساتھ سفر کرنے والے ایک سینئر پالیسی مشیر برائن ہک نے نامہ نگاروں کو بتایا کہ  "ہم دنیا بھر کے ملکوں پر زور دے رہے ہیں کہ وہ ہر اس فرد اور ادارے پر تعزیرات عائد کریں جو ایران کے میزائل پروگرام کے ساتھ منسلک ہیں یورپی ملکوں کے ساتھ ہونے والی بات چیت کا زیادہ تر محور یہ معاملہ رہا ہے۔" ہک نے کہا کہ ایران کے حمایت یافتہ حوثی باغیوں کے طرف سے سعودی عرب میں داغے جانے والے متعدد بیلسٹک میزائل...

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has confirmed it was behind the air strike that killed the number two leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels last week, with insurgents warning they would avenge his death. “The heroes of the Royal Air Force were able to successfully target the leader of the Huthi militia Saleh al-Sammad,” Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, Prince Khaled bin Salman, tweeted late Tuesday. Sammad, head of the Huthis’ supreme political council, was killed Thursday in the western province of Hodeida, the Iran-allied rebels said. The Huthis are battling the Saudi-backed Yemeni government — and a military coalition spearheaded by Riyadh — for control of the impoverished country. Prince Khaled said the strike was overseen by his brother, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, after Sammad threatened a wave of missile strikes against Saudi Arabia. Prince Mohammed, who is also the Saudi defence minister, has been the driving force behind Riyadh’s intervention in the devastating Yemen wa...

President Assad has ruled Syria with an iron fist for nearly two decades. We take a look at his life and legacy. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad inherited power in July 2000, a month after his father, military strongman Hafez al-Assad died. But since March 2011, his rule over Syria has been under threat, with the country beset by violence that has killed an estimated 465,000 people and embroiled regional and world powers in the never-ending horror.  Despite Western and Arab countries backing the opposition, Assad has survived seven years of war and refuses to step aside. Bashar Al Asaad with Frist Lady Asmaa Al Assad Early Life And Eduction Ruling family:  Born on September 11, 1965, Bashar al-Assad is the second son of former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, and his wife Anisa. His father, Hafez, rose to power through the Syrian military and the minority Alawite political party before taking contro...

Syrian allies Russia and Iran condemn the move while the EU, Turkey, and Qatar praise the action by the UK, US and France . The Damascus sky lights up with surface-to-air missile fire-courtesy Sky News Syria In a statement, Damascus branded the move illegal. Its foreign ministry said: "The Syrian Arab Republic condemns in the strongest terms the brutal American-British-French aggression against Syria, which constitutes a flagrant violation of international law." Russia The Kremlin strongly denounced the missile strikes and said it was calling an emergency session of the UN Security Council. In a statement, it said: "Russia severely condemns the attack on Syria where Russian military are helping the lawful government in the fight with terrorism." A British Tornado GR4 jet taking off from Cyprus ahead of the strikes-Courtesy Sky News Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, branded Donald Trump, Theresa May and Emmanuel Macr...

Monitor Desk: The U.S. has blood and urine samples from the area the U.S. has blood and urine samples from the area that have tested positive for chemical weapons, according to two American officials.at have tested positive for chemical weapons, according to two American officials. Russia said Friday it had “irrefutable” evidence that the deadly Syria chemical weapons attack that has prompted the U.S. to consider airstrikes was fabricated. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference that there was a “very alarming atmosphere” over the issue and likened plans for a military response to failed action in Libya. “God forbid any other military gambles will be taken in Syria,” he said. Related Lavrov cited "irrefutable data that [this] was yet another staged event and staging was done … by the special services of one of the countries at the forefront of the anti-Russia campaign." His comments come after President Donald Trump called last Saturday’s attack...

US President, Donald Trump, has said that Saudi Arabia will have to pay if it wants US troops to remain in Syria. Speaking at a White House press conference, yesterday, President Trump said: “We’ve almost completed that task of defeating ISIS, and we’ll be making a determination very quickly, in coordination with others in the area, as to what we’ll do. “Saudi Arabia is very interested in our decision, and I said, ‘Well, you know, you want us to stay, maybe you’re going to have to pay.” Trump had earlier spoken with Saudi King, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud over the phone to discuss a range of regional issues, including a peace plan between Israelis and Palestinians and opportunities to strengthen the American-Saudi strategic partnership.