Saudi Crown Prince, British Foreign Secretary Discuss Regional Developments

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron in Riyadh. (SPA)
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron in Riyadh. (SPA)
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Saudi Crown Prince, British Foreign Secretary Discuss Regional Developments

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron in Riyadh. (SPA)
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron in Riyadh. (SPA)

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held talks on Wednesday in Riyadh with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, focusing on regional developments and efforts to achieve security and stability.

The two sides reviewed aspects of bilateral relations and means to strengthen and develop areas of joint cooperation.

The meeting was attended by the Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and Dr. Musaed Al-Aiban, Minister of State and National Security Advisor, in addition to the British minister of Middle Eastern Affairs, Tariq Ahmad, and Neil Crompton, British Ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Cameron also met in Riyadh with the head of Yemen’s Presidential Council, Rashad al-Alimi, who called on the international community to adopt stricter punitive measures against the Houthis.

He noted that those must include working for the implementation of international resolutions and supporting the legitimate government to restore the institutions, liberate Al-Hodeidah and prevent the flow of Iranian weapons to the rebel group.

Prior to his visit to Riyadh, Cameron held talks in Muscat with Oman’s Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi. In media statements, he noted that his country and Oman were working together to promote stability in the Middle East and alleviate tension.



Etidal, Telegram Remove Over 2 Million Extremist Posts During Hajj

Etidal and Telegram have been collaborating since 2022 to prevent and combat terrorism and violent extremism (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Etidal and Telegram have been collaborating since 2022 to prevent and combat terrorism and violent extremism (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Etidal, Telegram Remove Over 2 Million Extremist Posts During Hajj

Etidal and Telegram have been collaborating since 2022 to prevent and combat terrorism and violent extremism (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Etidal and Telegram have been collaborating since 2022 to prevent and combat terrorism and violent extremism (Asharq Al-Awsat)

During this year’s Hajj season, the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal) and Telegram removed over 2 million pieces of extremist content.

Etidal and Telegram also noted a 12.82% increase in propaganda activity from ISIS, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, and al-Qaeda in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter, a trend that typically spikes during Hajj.

Etidal has been collaborating with Telegram on preventing and countering terrorism and violent extremism by reviewing online content posted in Arabic.

Both organizations have agreed to expand their coordination to detect and remove Arabic material glorifying terrorism.

On June 17, the start of Hajj, extremist propaganda was at its peak. The partnership between Etidal and Telegram led to the removal of more than 18 million pieces of extremist content and the closure of 660 terrorist-linked channels in the second quarter of 2024.

The joint efforts targeted three groups: ISIS, with 14.8 million pieces of content removed and 305 channels shut down; Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), with 3.5 million pieces removed and 281 channels closed; and al-Qaeda, with 231,354 pieces removed and 74 channels shut down.

Among items referred were media files — PDFs, videos, and audio — uploaded by the groups on Telegram and public Telegram channels hosting the material.

The cooperation agreement between Etidal and Telegram aims to protect the platform’s users from extremist content, ideological influences, and attempts to exploit the platform in trading the content.

Since February 2022, the partnership between Etidal and Telegram has removed nearly 94 million pieces of extremist content and closed over 14,000 channels.

Etidal, launched in May 2017 by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and other world leaders in Riyadh, focuses on monitoring and blocking extremist content.