Princess Reema bint Bandar meets President Trump, presents credentials as Saudi envoy to US

Agencies
July 9, 2019

Jeddah, Jul 9: Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, Princess Reema bint Bandar, has met with President Donald Trump and presented her credentials as the Kingdom's top diplomat in Washington.

"HRH Ambassador @rbalsaud met with @POTUS Donald J. Trump at the White House today to present her credentials as the new Ambassador of the Kingdom of #SaudiArabia to the United States," the Saudi Embassy in Washington said early Tuesday.

"HRH stated that the Saudi-U.S. partnership is essential to the interests of both countries and expressed confidence that the two countries are capable of overcoming any challenges at the regional or global levels," the embassy said.

The new ambassador also announced her meeting with the US president in a tweet.

“Presented credentials today at the White House. Conveyed the well wishes of Kingdom’s Leadership. Looking forward to working on strengthening and solidifying the historic Saudi - US partnership,” she said.

Princess Reema assumed her new office on July 4, more than two months after she was appointed to the key post, replacing Prince Khaled bin Salman, who is now the Kingdom’s deputy defense minister.

She was nominated to the post on February 23 and took her oath before King Salman in Riyadh in April, becoming Saudi Arabia's first female ambassador and the 11th Saudi diplomatic representative to Washington.

Princess Reema is no stranger to the workings of diplomats, having spent several years in the US during her youth when her father, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, was Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the country.

Before her diplomatic appointment, Princess Reema held various key positions in government as well as civic groups and private firms.

She held CEO positions for Al Hama LLC and Alfa International from 2005 and has launched her own handbag brand, Baraboux, in 2013. She also founded the private equity fund Reemiyah and co-founded Yibreen, a women’s day spa.

She is one of the founding members of the Zahra Breast Cancer Association in Riyadh and is also a member of The World Bank’s Advisory Council for the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative.

She was also vice president of women’s affairs at the General Sports Authority since 2016 before her appointment as ambassador.

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News Network
January 10,2020

New Delhi, Jan 10: An IPS officer's thumb was bitten by a woman protester when he was pushing back agitators, who were trying to march towards the Rashtrapati Bhawan here on Thursday, police sources said.

The protesters had gathered after a call was given by JNU Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh to march towards President's House to demand the removal of University's Vice Chancellor, M Jagadesh Kumar.

Ingit Pratap Singh, a 2011 batch officer, who is currently posted as the additional deputy commissioner of the southwest district, was injured in the attack.

According to sources, Singh was trying to pull a male protester when the woman, in a bid to shield her friend, bit Singh's left thumb.

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Agencies
January 14,2020

Microsoft's Indian-origin CEO Satya Nadella on Monday voiced concern over the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), saying what is happening is "sad" and he would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant create the next unicorn in India.

His comments came while speaking to editors at a Microsoft event in Manhattan where he was asked about the contentious issue of CAA which grants citizenship to persecuted non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

"I think what is happening is sad... It's just bad.... I would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant who comes to India and creates the next unicorn in India or becomes the next CEO of Infosys," Nadella was quoted as saying by Ben Smith, the Editor-in-Chief of New York-based BuzzFeed News.

In a statement issued by Microsoft India, Nadella said: "Every country will and should define its borders, protect national security and set immigration policy accordingly. And in democracies, that is something that the people and their governments will debate and define within those bounds.

"I’m shaped by my Indian heritage, growing up in a multicultural India and my immigrant experience in the United States. My hope is for an India where an immigrant can aspire to found a prosperous start-up or lead a multinational corporation benefitting Indian society and the economy at large".

The Centre last week issued a gazette notification announcing that the CAA has come into effect from January 10, 2020.

The CAA was passed by Parliament on December 11.

According to the legislation, members of Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities who have come from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan till December 31, 2014, due to religious persecution will not be treated as illegal immigrants but given Indian citizenship.

There have been widespread protests against the Act in different parts of the country.

In Uttar Pradesh, at least 19 persons were killed in anti-CAA protests.

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News Network
May 20,2020

Cairo, May 20: A senior Kuwaiti lawmaker has called for imposing a tax on expatriates’ remittances to shore up the country’s finances.

MP Khalil Al Saleh, the head of the parliament’s Human Resources Committee, has presented a draft law on the proposed tax to the legislature.

“Imposing fees on expatriates’ transfers will have a role in improving the state's revenues and diversify sources of income,” he told Al Rai newspaper.

Migrant workers transfer about 4.2 billion dinars annually from Kuwait, he added, citing figures from Kuwait’s Central Bank.

“This system is in effect in most countries of the world and in more than one Gulf country. Expats there have not objected to it. Allowing this money to exit the country is very dangerous and has a direct effect on economy,” MP Al Saleh said.

“We do not target brotherly expats because imposing symbolic fees on financial transfers will not affect their money, but will have a positive effect on the state’s sources,” he said. “This has become a necessity after the money transferred outside Kuwait has reached 4.2 billion dinars annually without the state [Kuwait] making any benefit from this.”

Foreign workers make up 3.3 million of Kuwait’s 4.6 million population.

Several Kuwaiti public figures have recently pushed for redrawing the demographic imbalance in the country, accusing expatriates of straining health facilities and increasing the Covid-19 threat.

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