Trump to meet Syrian president during Gulf region visit
President Donald Trump was set to meet Syria's president in Saudi Arabia following a surprise announcement that the United States would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government despite lingering concerns about its leaders' former ties to al-Qaeda.
Despite concerns within sectors of his administration, Trump said on Tuesday during a speech in Riyadh he would lift sanctions on Syria.
The US president has agreed to say hello to interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who will be in Riyadh for meetings with the Gulf Co-operation Council.
Trump will meet Sharaa before the summit, according to a pool report from The Washington Post.
Trump's first day of a four-day swing through the Gulf region was marked by lavish ceremony and business deals, including a $US600 billion ($A940 billion) commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the US and $US142 billion in US arms sales to the kingdom.
Later on Wednesday, Trump will fly to Qatari capital Doha, where he will take part in a state visit with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and other officials.
Qatar, a key US ally, is expected to announce hundreds of billions of dollars in investments in the US.
US ally Israel has opposed sanctions relief for Syria, but Trump on Tuesday said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who are both close to the US president, encouraged him to make the move.
His interactions with Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who led rebel forces that toppled former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December, will be closely watched as observers gauge how serious Washington is about resetting its relationship with Damascus.
Sharaa renounced ties to al-Qaeda in 2016.
Trump's visit to Doha was to follow the White House's announcement this week that it plans to accept a Boeing 747-8 plane, which would be outfitted to serve as Air Force One, as a gift from the Qataris.
The luxury plane, which would be one of the most valuable gifts ever received by the US government, would eventually be donated to Trump's presidential library.
It has sparked outrage from Democrats and bipartisan security concerns.
Some officials have said it could create a perception of corruption, even absent a quid pro quo.
While the precise details of the investments Qatar plans to announce on Wednesday were unclear, Qatar Airways was expected to announce a deal to buy around 100 wide-body jets from Boeing, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Following his visit to Qatar, Trump will fly to Abu Dhabi to meet with the UAE's leaders on Thursday.
He is then slated to fly back to Washington on Friday, but he has said he could fly to Turkey instead for a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
President Donald Trump was set to meet Syria's president in Saudi Arabia following a surprise announcement that the United States would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government despite lingering concerns about its leaders' former ties to al-Qaeda.
Despite concerns within sectors of his administration, Trump said on Tuesday during a speech in Riyadh he would lift sanctions on Syria.
The US president has agreed to say hello to interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who will be in Riyadh for meetings with the Gulf Co-operation Council.
Trump will meet Sharaa before the summit, according to a pool report from The Washington Post.
Trump's first day of a four-day swing through the Gulf region was marked by lavish ceremony and business deals, including a $US600 billion ($A940 billion) commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the US and $US142 billion in US arms sales to the kingdom.
Later on Wednesday, Trump will fly to Qatari capital Doha, where he will take part in a state visit with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and other officials.
Qatar, a key US ally, is expected to announce hundreds of billions of dollars in investments in the US.
US ally Israel has opposed sanctions relief for Syria, but Trump on Tuesday said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who are both close to the US president, encouraged him to make the move.
His interactions with Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who led rebel forces that toppled former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December, will be closely watched as observers gauge how serious Washington is about resetting its relationship with Damascus.
Sharaa renounced ties to al-Qaeda in 2016.
Trump's visit to Doha was to follow the White House's announcement this week that it plans to accept a Boeing 747-8 plane, which would be outfitted to serve as Air Force One, as a gift from the Qataris.
The luxury plane, which would be one of the most valuable gifts ever received by the US government, would eventually be donated to Trump's presidential library.
It has sparked outrage from Democrats and bipartisan security concerns.
Some officials have said it could create a perception of corruption, even absent a quid pro quo.
While the precise details of the investments Qatar plans to announce on Wednesday were unclear, Qatar Airways was expected to announce a deal to buy around 100 wide-body jets from Boeing, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Following his visit to Qatar, Trump will fly to Abu Dhabi to meet with the UAE's leaders on Thursday.
He is then slated to fly back to Washington on Friday, but he has said he could fly to Turkey instead for a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
President Donald Trump was set to meet Syria's president in Saudi Arabia following a surprise announcement that the United States would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government despite lingering concerns about its leaders' former ties to al-Qaeda.
Despite concerns within sectors of his administration, Trump said on Tuesday during a speech in Riyadh he would lift sanctions on Syria.
The US president has agreed to say hello to interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who will be in Riyadh for meetings with the Gulf Co-operation Council.
Trump will meet Sharaa before the summit, according to a pool report from The Washington Post.
Trump's first day of a four-day swing through the Gulf region was marked by lavish ceremony and business deals, including a $US600 billion ($A940 billion) commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the US and $US142 billion in US arms sales to the kingdom.
Later on Wednesday, Trump will fly to Qatari capital Doha, where he will take part in a state visit with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and other officials.
Qatar, a key US ally, is expected to announce hundreds of billions of dollars in investments in the US.
US ally Israel has opposed sanctions relief for Syria, but Trump on Tuesday said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who are both close to the US president, encouraged him to make the move.
His interactions with Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who led rebel forces that toppled former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December, will be closely watched as observers gauge how serious Washington is about resetting its relationship with Damascus.
Sharaa renounced ties to al-Qaeda in 2016.
Trump's visit to Doha was to follow the White House's announcement this week that it plans to accept a Boeing 747-8 plane, which would be outfitted to serve as Air Force One, as a gift from the Qataris.
The luxury plane, which would be one of the most valuable gifts ever received by the US government, would eventually be donated to Trump's presidential library.
It has sparked outrage from Democrats and bipartisan security concerns.
Some officials have said it could create a perception of corruption, even absent a quid pro quo.
While the precise details of the investments Qatar plans to announce on Wednesday were unclear, Qatar Airways was expected to announce a deal to buy around 100 wide-body jets from Boeing, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Following his visit to Qatar, Trump will fly to Abu Dhabi to meet with the UAE's leaders on Thursday.
He is then slated to fly back to Washington on Friday, but he has said he could fly to Turkey instead for a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
President Donald Trump was set to meet Syria's president in Saudi Arabia following a surprise announcement that the United States would lift all sanctions on the Islamist-led government despite lingering concerns about its leaders' former ties to al-Qaeda.
Despite concerns within sectors of his administration, Trump said on Tuesday during a speech in Riyadh he would lift sanctions on Syria.
The US president has agreed to say hello to interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who will be in Riyadh for meetings with the Gulf Co-operation Council.
Trump will meet Sharaa before the summit, according to a pool report from The Washington Post.
Trump's first day of a four-day swing through the Gulf region was marked by lavish ceremony and business deals, including a $US600 billion ($A940 billion) commitment from Saudi Arabia to invest in the US and $US142 billion in US arms sales to the kingdom.
Later on Wednesday, Trump will fly to Qatari capital Doha, where he will take part in a state visit with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and other officials.
Qatar, a key US ally, is expected to announce hundreds of billions of dollars in investments in the US.
US ally Israel has opposed sanctions relief for Syria, but Trump on Tuesday said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who are both close to the US president, encouraged him to make the move.
His interactions with Sharaa, a former al-Qaeda commander who led rebel forces that toppled former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in December, will be closely watched as observers gauge how serious Washington is about resetting its relationship with Damascus.
Sharaa renounced ties to al-Qaeda in 2016.
Trump's visit to Doha was to follow the White House's announcement this week that it plans to accept a Boeing 747-8 plane, which would be outfitted to serve as Air Force One, as a gift from the Qataris.
The luxury plane, which would be one of the most valuable gifts ever received by the US government, would eventually be donated to Trump's presidential library.
It has sparked outrage from Democrats and bipartisan security concerns.
Some officials have said it could create a perception of corruption, even absent a quid pro quo.
While the precise details of the investments Qatar plans to announce on Wednesday were unclear, Qatar Airways was expected to announce a deal to buy around 100 wide-body jets from Boeing, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Following his visit to Qatar, Trump will fly to Abu Dhabi to meet with the UAE's leaders on Thursday.
He is then slated to fly back to Washington on Friday, but he has said he could fly to Turkey instead for a potential meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
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"Making derogatory generalisations, calling Jews a vile and treacherous people, calling them rats and cowards ... are things which I think would be experienced by most Jews as dehumanising," he said. His barrister Peter Braham SC told the court the speeches drew on a large range of offensive tropes and were designed to threaten, humiliate and denigrate all Jewish people. The court was told Mr Haddad, who is also known as Abu Ousayd, addressed a camera and engaged with media coverage of his commentary. But his barrister Andrew Boe argued the preacher's speeches were intended for a private Muslim audience of 40 people and he was not responsible for publishing them online. He said it was unlikely any Jewish people would have come across the speeches if they had not received coverage by media organisations. "It would be analogous to a person of a prudish sensitivity seeking out pornography on the web and then complaining about being offended by it," Mr Boe said. Mr Haddad denies breaching anti-discrimination laws and claims he was delivering historical and religious lectures on historical events from the Koran and the war in Gaza. The speeches occurred in the context of a vigorous political debate characterised by an intensity of feeling on both sides and set against the background of a long religious history, Mr Boe said. He advocated for the preservation of free speech and argued the boundaries of debate couldn't be set so narrow as to exclude views which were not polite, bland or balanced. Mr Wertheim said being exposed to challenging ideas in robust conversations did not insult him "as long as they don't cross the boundary into vilification". His lawyer told the court that the Jewish community lived with "a communal memory of past persecution and which remains conscious of threats to its safety by reason of race". The hearing continues. 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"Making derogatory generalisations, calling Jews a vile and treacherous people, calling them rats and cowards ... are things which I think would be experienced by most Jews as dehumanising," he said. His barrister Peter Braham SC told the court the speeches drew on a large range of offensive tropes and were designed to threaten, humiliate and denigrate all Jewish people. The court was told Mr Haddad, who is also known as Abu Ousayd, addressed a camera and engaged with media coverage of his commentary. But his barrister Andrew Boe argued the preacher's speeches were intended for a private Muslim audience of 40 people and he was not responsible for publishing them online. He said it was unlikely any Jewish people would have come across the speeches if they had not received coverage by media organisations. "It would be analogous to a person of a prudish sensitivity seeking out pornography on the web and then complaining about being offended by it," Mr Boe said. Mr Haddad denies breaching anti-discrimination laws and claims he was delivering historical and religious lectures on historical events from the Koran and the war in Gaza. The speeches occurred in the context of a vigorous political debate characterised by an intensity of feeling on both sides and set against the background of a long religious history, Mr Boe said. He advocated for the preservation of free speech and argued the boundaries of debate couldn't be set so narrow as to exclude views which were not polite, bland or balanced. Mr Wertheim said being exposed to challenging ideas in robust conversations did not insult him "as long as they don't cross the boundary into vilification". His lawyer told the court that the Jewish community lived with "a communal memory of past persecution and which remains conscious of threats to its safety by reason of race". The hearing continues. 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