Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump waves at an election night watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida. AFP
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump waves at an election night watch party in West Palm Beach, Florida. AFP

2025 - The return of Donald Trump

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Updated 19 April 2025
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2025 - The return of Donald Trump

2025 - The return of Donald Trump
  • The master of ‘shock and awe’ has once again made the Middle East a priority

WASHINGTON D.C.: For a newspaper covering the Middle East, there is no shortage of moments vying for selection as the most significant news event of 2025.

Scarcely a day passes without a fresh development in the ongoing conflict triggered by the Hamas terror attack on Israel in October 2023, which inaugurated a cascade of tragedies throughout the region.

Hamas continues to hold Israelis hostage, keeping them and their families suffering unspeakably. Hamas’s refusal to turn the hostages over and surrender has trapped civilians in war’s crossfire, effectively holding Gazans hostage too, rather than allowing Gaza to rebuild free from the grip and tyranny of terrorists. Tens of thousands of civilians have lost their lives.

Yet what has transpired in America may soon be seen by historians and geopolitical analysts alike as the most significant event to have taken place in 2025 — with seismic repercussions for the Middle East and, indeed, the entire world.

It does not minimize the importance of the latest in a series of generational tragedies ensnaring Palestinians and Israelis, to suggest that a political event that took place more than 9,500 kilometers away is itself a generational story.

From a purely American perspective, the inauguration and return to the White House of Donald J. Trump on Jan. 20 this year was, without doubt, the single most remarkable political comeback in US history.

Elected president for the first time in November 2016, Trump’s political career appeared finished — at least to his detractors — when Democratic candidate Joe Biden was sworn in on Jan. 20, 2021.

How we wrote it




With the flashy headline “He’s Back,” Arab News featured Donald Trump’s win, leading with Arab leaders’ congratulations.

Trump, however, then did what only one other American president has done before. Returning to the fray, in November 2024 he handily defeated Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee and, in so doing, became only the second president, after Grover Cleveland in the late 19th century, to win two non-consecutive terms of office.

In January this year, buoyed by his large Electoral College victory and popular vote mandate — and with the Republican party, now largely shaped in his image, controlling both houses of Congress — President Trump hit the ground running. His four years out of power allowed him to further hone and develop the ideas and policies that would build on the successes of his first term.

His first two months back in the Oval Office have been a blur of activity that has left observers at home and abroad stunned, some frustrated and many impressed. World leaders are scrambling to understand and adapt to a dynamic new US administration determined to put America, and Americans, first in all things. Perhaps these observers and leaders forgot that this was what Trump said he would do, and that it is his job.

On March 10, the White House issued a statement titled “50 wins in 50 days,” highlighting Trump’s achievements to date. Many of these were, of course, domestic in nature, addressing concerns close to the heart of his support base: controlling immigration; cutting bureaucratic red tape, waste and fraud; appointing Elon Musk to run a new Department of Government Efficiency; ending federal diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; and much more.

But ever since his first term, when he ushered in the Abraham Accords, Trump has harbored a determination to bring peace to the Middle East — or at least those parts of the Middle East in which that is realistically achievable — and in 2025 he has wasted no time returning to that ambition.

Key Dates

  • 1

    Trump produces and stars in reality TV series ‘The Apprentice,’ in which contestants compete to earn his approval and land a job with a 6-figure salary in his organization.

    Timeline Image Jan. 8, 2004

  • 2

    Trump declared US president after defeating Democrat rival Hilary Trump declared US president after defeating Democrat rival Hilary Clinton with 57.2 percent of Electoral College vote.

    Timeline Image Nov. 8, 2016

  • 3

    Trump visits Saudi Arabia at start of his first international trip as president. He meets King Salman, as well as Arab and GCC leaders.

    Timeline Image May 20, 2017

  • 4

    Trump recognizes Jerusalem as capital of Israel, moves the US Embassy there from Tel Aviv.

    Timeline Image Dec. 6, 2017

  • 5

    US withdraws from the Iran nuclear deal, which aimed to restrict the country’s nuclear-research program in exchange for sanctions relief.

  • 6

    Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani killed by US drone strike in Baghdad, a mission ordered by Trump.

    Timeline Image Jan 3, 2020

  • 7

    Trump poses with Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the three countries normalize relations in historic Abraham Accords. Morocco follows suit in December, and Sudan in January 2021.

    Timeline Image Sept. 15, 2020

  • 8

    Trump wins second term in historic comeback that defies impeachments and felony convictions.

    Timeline Image Nov. 4, 2024

During those first 50 days, President Trump restored pressure on Iran; redesignated the Houthis in Yemen as terrorists, unleashing a series of airstrikes to end their attacks on Red Sea shipping; and proposed a bold plan for peace and prosperity in Gaza.

Since the president’s return to office, one of the major questions surrounding his administration has been how it will handle foreign affairs. There are, of course, many factors at play, including the extraordinary complexity of regions experiencing conflict.

But having served as his envoy to Middle East during his first term, and having worked closely with him for 20 years prior to that, I have observed how the fundamental approach that defines President Trump’s diplomatic philosophy remains consistent: speak truth even when others are mired in diplomatic platitudes, envision deals that provide all parties with realistic achievements, and focus on what they truly need rather than what they publicly demand or what their leaders promise.

President Trump approaches problems from a realistic perspective and seeks to fix them, not to adhere to conventions. He deals with the here and now, not the state of the world years ago, nor as we wish it to be. He treats conventional wisdom as a reflection of possibly outdated truths.

I witnessed firsthand how conventional wisdom can become an obstacle to progress, particularly when it calcifies into dogma that resists adjustment.

I still recall the skepticism that preceded our efforts on the Abraham Accords. John Kerry, the former US secretary of state, exemplified the entrenched thinking dominating Middle East diplomacy with his dismissive “no, no, no” regarding the question of whether Arab-Israeli peace was possible without first resolving the Palestinian issue. He had mistaken an unscientific consensus for an immutable truth.

By ignoring failed consensuses and focusing instead on shared interests and possibilities, President Trump proved Kerry wrong, wrong, wrong.

This success was not accidental but resulted from President Trump’s deliberate strategy of challenging assumptions, speaking honestly about realities on the ground, and letting new thinking flourish.




Trump is rushed offstage during his presidential campaign’s Pennsylvania rally after an assassination attempt. Getty Images

For today’s challenges, particularly the devastating Russia-Ukraine war, this approach offers great promise.

Bringing in new US partners as conflict mediators is a valuable element of Trump’s global strategy. Saudi Arabia’s emerging role as a diplomatic broker presents an opportunity that aligns with President Trump’s preference for unconventional pathways to peace.

Nations without the historical baggage of failed negotiations can secure trust and buy-in from opposing sides precisely because they represent a clean slate. The Saudis, and the leaders of other Gulf states, such as the UAE and Qatar, are also generally immune to the Western condition of calcified dogma, allowing them to think more pragmatically on many issues.

Within the Middle East, the core American interests remain clear: foster peace between nations, combat terrorism, and contain disorder. I expect President Trump to seek opportunities for the reduction and elimination of regional conflicts with pragmatic optimism, and I am optimistic about the potential for breakthroughs precisely because his plain truths force potential partners to snap out of diplomatic complacency.

There are areas of the Middle East, such as Lebanon and Syria, where Trump’s methods might finally help them turn the corner and build a better future. It has been decades since that was even a possibility.

Sometimes, meaningful progress requires disrupting expectations. In diplomacy, the most profound achievements often come not from refining existing processes but from fundamentally reimagining what is possible.

My money is on Trump knowing how to put the pieces together. He simply gets things done.

Will Donald Trump’s return to the White House still appear to have been the most significant event of 2025 when this year draws to a close? I think so. I think it will be the most significant event for many years to come, both domestically and abroad.

As the White House statement on March 10 noted, “President Trump is just getting started.”

  • Jason Greenblatt was the White House Middle East envoy in the first Trump administration. He is the author of the widely acclaimed book ‘In the Path of Abraham,’ and director of Arab-Israel diplomacy for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.


UK renationalizes first train operator under Labour reforms

Updated 1 min 53 sec ago
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UK renationalizes first train operator under Labour reforms

UK renationalizes first train operator under Labour reforms
LONDON: A private train operator servicing parts of southern England, including London, on Sunday became the first to be returned to public ownership under a government plan to renationalize Britain’s much-maligned railways.
All UK rail operators are due to be renationalized within the next two years in a key policy launched by Prime Minister Keir Starmer following his Labour party’s return to government last July after 14 years in opposition.
“South Western Railway is now under public ownership. And this is just the start,” Starmer said on X, formerly Twitter, naming the service kickstarting his government’s plan.
He vowed the renationalization “will put passengers first,” with “better services, with simpler ticketing, on more comfortable trains.”
Train passengers in Britain suffer from frequent cancelations, in addition to high ticket prices and regular confusion over which services they can be used on.
The privatization of rail operations took place in the mid-1990s under the Conservative prime minister of the time, John Major, but the rail network remained public, run by Network Rail.
Four of the 14 operators in England are already run by the state owing to poor performance in recent years, but this was originally meant to be a temporary fix before a return to the private sector.
Labour triumphed over the Conservative party in elections last year, with its manifesto including promises to fix the country’s ailing transport services.
Legislation was approved in November to bring rail operators into public ownership when the private companies’ contracts expire — or sooner in the event of poor management — and be managed by “Great British Railways.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said in a statement that will end “30 years of fragmentation,” but warned that “change isn’t going to happen overnight.”


“We’ve always been clear that public ownership isn’t a silver bullet, but we are really firing this starting gun in that race for a truly 21st-century railway, and that does mean refocusing away from private profit and toward the public good,” she added.
In an example of how passengers might not immediately notice much difference, South Western’s first service under public ownership on Sunday was set to include a rail replacement bus because of engineering work.
Government figures show that the equivalent of four percent of train services in Britain were canceled in the year to April 26.
The rate was three percent for South Western.
Rail unions — which have staged a stream of strikes in recent years over pay and conditions due to a cost-of-living crisis — welcomed the state takeover.
“We’re delighted that Britain’s railways are being brought back where they belong — into the public sector,” said Mick Whelan, general secretary of union Aslef.
“Everyone in the rail industry knows that privatization... didn’t, and doesn’t, work,” he added.
Two operators serving towns and cities in southeastern and eastern England are next to be brought back into public ownership by late 2025.
All the current contracts are set to expire by 2027.
UK media reported that the renationalization of South Western means a third of journeys are now on publicly owned services.
The government has said renationalization will save up to £150 million ($200 million) per year because it will no longer have to pay compensation fees to rail operators.
The main rail operators in Scotland and Wales, where transport policy is handled by the devolved administrations in Edinburgh and Cardiff, are also state-owned.

UK renationalizes first train operator under Labour reforms

Updated 4 min 40 sec ago
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UK renationalizes first train operator under Labour reforms

UK renationalizes first train operator under Labour reforms
LONDON: A private train operator servicing parts of southern England, including London, on Sunday became the first to be returned to public ownership under a government plan to renationalize Britain’s much-maligned railways.
All UK rail operators are due to be renationalized within the next two years in a key policy launched by Prime Minister Keir Starmer following his Labour party’s return to government last July after 14 years in opposition.
“South Western Railway is now under public ownership. And this is just the start,” Starmer said on X, formerly Twitter, naming the service kickstarting his government’s plan.
He vowed the renationalization “will put passengers first,” with “better services, with simpler ticketing, on more comfortable trains.”
Train passengers in Britain suffer from frequent cancelations, in addition to high ticket prices and regular confusion over which services they can be used on.
The privatization of rail operations took place in the mid-1990s under the Conservative prime minister of the time, John Major, but the rail network remained public, run by Network Rail.
Four of the 14 operators in England are already run by the state owing to poor performance in recent years, but this was originally meant to be a temporary fix before a return to the private sector.
Labour triumphed over the Conservative party in elections last year, with its manifesto including promises to fix the country’s ailing transport services.
Legislation was approved in November to bring rail operators into public ownership when the private companies’ contracts expire — or sooner in the event of poor management — and be managed by “Great British Railways.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said in a statement that will end “30 years of fragmentation,” but warned that “change isn’t going to happen overnight.”


“We’ve always been clear that public ownership isn’t a silver bullet, but we are really firing this starting gun in that race for a truly 21st-century railway, and that does mean refocusing away from private profit and toward the public good,” she added.
In an example of how passengers might not immediately notice much difference, South Western’s first service under public ownership on Sunday was set to include a rail replacement bus because of engineering work.
Government figures show that the equivalent of four percent of train services in Britain were canceled in the year to April 26.
The rate was three percent for South Western.
Rail unions — which have staged a stream of strikes in recent years over pay and conditions due to a cost-of-living crisis — welcomed the state takeover.
“We’re delighted that Britain’s railways are being brought back where they belong — into the public sector,” said Mick Whelan, general secretary of union Aslef.
“Everyone in the rail industry knows that privatization... didn’t, and doesn’t, work,” he added.
Two operators serving towns and cities in southeastern and eastern England are next to be brought back into public ownership by late 2025.
All the current contracts are set to expire by 2027.
UK media reported that the renationalization of South Western means a third of journeys are now on publicly owned services.
The government has said renationalization will save up to £150 million ($200 million) per year because it will no longer have to pay compensation fees to rail operators.
The main rail operators in Scotland and Wales, where transport policy is handled by the devolved administrations in Edinburgh and Cardiff, are also state-owned.

Pakistani delegation demands resumption of ‘comprehensive’ dialogue with India in briefing to OIC envoys

Pakistani delegation demands resumption of ‘comprehensive’ dialogue with India in briefing to OIC envoys
Updated 24 min 24 sec ago
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Pakistani delegation demands resumption of ‘comprehensive’ dialogue with India in briefing to OIC envoys

Pakistani delegation demands resumption of ‘comprehensive’ dialogue with India in briefing to OIC envoys
  • Tensions between neighbors Pakistan, India remain high after they struck ceasefire on May 10
  • Pakistani delegation will present Islamabad’s position on Pakistan’s recent conflict with India

ISLAMABAD: A high-level Pakistani delegation set up by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this week briefed members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) at the United Nations, calling for the resumption of a “comprehensive dialogue” with India to resolve the Kashmir dispute and other issues, Pakistan’s mission to the UN said. 

Led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the nine-member parliamentary delegation arrived in New York on Monday as the first stop in a diplomatic mission to present Pakistan’s position in world capitals following Islamabad’s recent military conflict with India. The group headed by Bhutto Zardari will visit New York, Washington DC, London and Brussels. Another delegation, led by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, will also visit Moscow.

Tensions between Pakistan and India are high after they struck a ceasefire on May 10 following the most intense military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades. Both countries accuse the other of supporting militancy on each other’s soil — a charge both capitals deny.

The latest escalation last month took place following weeks of tensions after India blamed Pakistan for supporting an April 22 attack on the Kashmir territory it governs that killed 26 tourists. Pakistan denied involvement in the incident and called for an international probe. Both countries traded missiles, artillery fire and drone strikes before Washington brokered a ceasefire on May 10. 

“He [Bhutto Zardari] reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to peace, restraint, and diplomacy, and called for the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty, full respect for the ceasefire, and the resumption of a comprehensive dialogue with India, with the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute at its core,” Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations said in a statement on Monday. 

Following the attack at the Pahalgam tourist resort in April, India suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan. The move drew a sharp response from Islamabad, which said any attempts to divert or stop the flow of its waters by India would be considered an “act of war.”

About 80 percent of Pakistani farms depend on the Indus system, as do nearly all hydropower projects serving the country of some 250 million.

“Mr. Bhutto expressed grave concern at the unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — a move that Pakistan considers a blatant act of weaponizing water and a violation of international and treaty obligations,” the statement said. 

The former Pakistani foreign minister thanked OIC countries for their efforts and role aimed at de-escalation, mediation and ceasefire during the conflict. He highlighted that the only path to peace was in dialogue, engagement and diplomacy.

“Mr. Bilawal Bhutto underlined that OIC has emerged as the moral conscience of the world in these difficult times and thanked the OIC member states for their steadfast support for the people of Jammu and Kashmir,” the statement said. 

The statement said that the OIC’s permanent representatives appreciated Pakistan’s briefing and reaffirmed their solidarity with the country. 

“They reiterated their concern over the worsening security situation in South Asia and stressed the importance of upholding the principles of the UN Charter and international law and in this regard, the sanctity of treaties, including the Indus Waters Treaty,” Pakistan’s permanent mission to the UN said. 


Over 200 inmates escape Karachi prison after earthquake, confirms Sindh Police

Over 200 inmates escape Karachi prison after earthquake, confirms Sindh Police
Updated 9 min 41 sec ago
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Over 200 inmates escape Karachi prison after earthquake, confirms Sindh Police

Over 200 inmates escape Karachi prison after earthquake, confirms Sindh Police
  • Sindh’s top cop confirms one prisoner was killed on Monday night as police attempted to maintain order during chaos
  • Prisoners managed to escape outer gate of Malir prison after it was damaged by tremors, says Sindh home minister

KARACHI: Around 213 inmates managed to escape from the Malir prison in Karachi last night after they were shifted outside their cells due to safety concerns when the city was shaken by tremors, Sindh’s top police officer said on Tuesday, confirming that one prisoner had also been killed.

Sindh Home Minister Zia-ul-Hasan Lanjar told reporters earlier that inmates at the Malir prison in Karachi panicked when tremors shook the city on Monday night. He said it became difficult to prevent around 1,000 inmates from escaping through the outer gate of the jail, which had been damaged by the quake. 

“The incident occurred when prisoners were temporarily moved out of their barracks due to safety concerns,” Inspector-General Sindh Ghulam Nabi Memon told Arab News. 

“Taking advantage of the chaos, around 1,000 inmates gathered at the jail’s main gate and 213 prisoners managed to force the gate open and flee.”

Memon said 78 of the prisoners who had managed to flee were re-arrested by police. In his interaction with reporters on Monday night, Lanjar confirmed that no “hardened criminal” had managed to escape the jail following the late-night chaos. 

Memon said Malir prison houses small-time offenders, particularly those involved in narcotics and its consumption.

“The escapees were mostly from this category and their mob mentality played a role in escaping the jail,” he said. 

He confirmed Lanjar’s statement that one prisoner had been killed as police attempted to maintain order following the jailbreak. The Sindh home minister had also said five persons, which included both prisoners and police officials, were injured in the clashes.
 


Pakistan to play in Sri Lanka at India-hosted Women’s World Cup

Pakistan to play in Sri Lanka at India-hosted Women’s World Cup
Updated 03 June 2025
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Pakistan to play in Sri Lanka at India-hosted Women’s World Cup

Pakistan to play in Sri Lanka at India-hosted Women’s World Cup
  • ICC introduced neutral venues to tournaments hosted by either neighboring India, Pakistan
  • Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan were last month involved in a four-day military conflict

NEW DELHI, India: Pakistan will play their matches at this year’s Women’s Cricket World Cup in Sri Lanka under an International Cricket Council deal that allows them to avoid playing in host nation India.

The refusal of India to travel to Pakistan for the men’s Champions Trophy earlier this year resulted in the ICC introducing neutral venues to tournaments hosted by either of the neighboring countries.

Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan were last month involved in a four-day military conflict, their worst since 1999, before a ceasefire was agreed.

Sri Lanka’s Colombo will join Indian host cities Bengaluru, Guwahati, Indore and Visakhapatnam in staging matches from September 30 until the final of the 50-over tournament on November 2, the ICC announced late on Monday.

Colombo will be Pakistan’s home for seven group games.

The first semifinal will take place in either Guwahati or Colombo, if Pakistan progress that far, on October 29 with the second semifinal a day later in Bengaluru.

The final will be in either Bengaluru or Colombo on Sunday, November 2.

“The venues for the knockouts are dependent on Pakistan qualifying,” the ICC said in a statement.

“Two alternative venues have been identified for one semifinal and the final.”

Eight teams will contest the World Cup — Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

Australia beat England by 71 runs in the final of the last Women’s World Cup, hosted by New Zealand in 2022.