Donald Trump is on a visit to the Middle East and had a handshake with Syria's president, which is pretty controversial.

His trip was a substantial diplomatic engagement that will have significant impact on the region. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said he will lift long-standing sanctions on Syria that severed the country from the global financial system under toppled former President Bashar al-Assad.

Trump skirted the ongoing tragedy in Gaza, bypassed Israel and offered no new initiatives on Iran’s nuclear program.

Five months after its liberation from the police state of Bashar al-Assad, Syria sometimes looks like a country in civil war. Sectarian clashes have turned into street battles with rockets and mortars.

Trump headed to Doha on Wednesday to be feted by a monarchy that Netanyahu accused less than a fortnight ago of “playing both sides” in Gaza and refusing to take sides against “Hamas’s barbarism”. Asked en route whether his trip had sidelined Israel, Trump said it had not.

Gulf leaders called for ending the Israeli war on Gaza and supporting Syria during their summit on Wednesday with US President Donald Trump in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. The Gulf-US summit was held during Trump’s current regional tour, his first overseas trip since taking office in January.