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The State of Qatar has expressed its strong condemnation and denunciation of the shooting incident that occurred near the White House in the United States of America, which resulted in the injury of two National Guard members, affirming its full solidarity with the United States, its government and people.In a statement issued Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated the State of Qatar's firm stance rejecting violence, terrorism, and criminal acts, regardless of the motives and reasons.The Ministry also conveyed Qatar's wishes for a swift recovery for the injured. 

Members of Congress hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the US Capitol Wednesday, on the second day of a visit to Washington that has aimed to tout stronger-than-ever economic and security ties.President Donald Trump gave bin Salman a lavish welcome at the White House on Tuesday. A handful of Republican members of Congress, including House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, attended a black-tie gala dinner at the White House for bin Salman on Tuesday.Secretary of State Marco Rubio, sat near him during Tuesday's Oval Office meeting. Trump repeatedly said it was "an honour" to be friends with the Saudi leader, and the two men held hands. The crown prince arrived at Congress for a reception hosted by Johnson and attended by some Democrats as well as some of Trump's fellow Republicans.The meeting was not announced and the speaker's office did not respond to a request for comment. No similar meeting was held in the Senate. Neither Johnson nor Republican Senate Leader John Thune had the type of press opportunity, with photos and remarks, that is often held when world leaders visit the Capitol. Leaving the hour-long session with bin Salman, Mast said it had been a "fantastic" meeting that covered topics from Saudi Arabia's future internally, to Israel and Gaza, technology transfers, and efforts to thwart Chinese espionage."We covered just a lot of ground and covered a lot of ground with his royal highness at the White House last night as well," Mast told Reuters. Bin Salman, who agreed in the meeting with Trump to increase the kingdom's planned investments in the US to $1tn from $600bn, also attended an investment conference in Washington Wednesday that included CEOs from major US companies.The two sides also announced new agreements on arms sales, civil nuclear cooperation and artificial intelligence. Representative Gregory Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, attended the House reception. Afterward, he called on the Trump administration to brief Congress on the agreements and questioned whether Trump's family businesses would benefit.Trump on Tuesday vehemently denied any conflict of interest with his family's Saudi investment interests.

Syria is joining the global coalition against the Islamic State group, a US official said Monday hours after President Donald Trump welcomed his Syrian counterpart Ahmed al-Sharaa for historic White House talks.Sharaa, whose forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad late last year, was the first Syrian leader to visit the White House since the Middle Eastern country's independence in 1946.But the 43-year-old's landmark visit to the Oval Office came just days after Washington removed him from its terrorism list."During the visit, Syria announced that it is joining the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS," becoming the 90th member of the alliance and "partnering with the US to eliminate ISIS remnants and halt foreign fighter flows," a senior administration official said.According to the official, Syria will also be allowed to resume diplomatic relations with Washington "to further counterterrorism, security, and economic co-ordination." Trump said he wanted Syria to become "very successful" after more than a decade of civil war and added that he believed Sharaa "can do it, I really do." "He's a very strong leader. He comes from a very tough place, and he's a tough guy," Trump told reporters after the meeting, which was closed to press."People said he's had a rough past, we've all had rough pasts... And I think, frankly, if you didn't have a rough past, you wouldn't have a chance." Trump said Syria was a "big part" of his plan for a wider Middle East peace plan, which the US president is hoping will prop up the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza."Having a stable and successful Syria is very important to all countries in the Region," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after the meeting.Despite this, Trump would not confirm reports that Syria would sign any non-aggression pact with Israel.Afterwards Sharaa was interviewed by broadcaster Fox News, saying Syria's ongoing dispute with Israel over the Golan Heights territory would make entering peace talks difficult now. But he suggested talks facilitated by Trump and Washington could help start negotiations.The Syrian president's visit capped a remarkable turnaround for a former fighter who once had a US bounty on his head.In dramatic scenes as he left his meeting with Trump, he climbed out of his motorcade to greet crowds of supporters outside the White House, surrounded on all sides by bodyguards.Syria's presidency said on X that Sharaa and Trump discussed the bilateral relationship, "the ways to strengthen and develop it, as well as a number of regional and international issues of common interest." It published photos of Trump standing and shaking hands with a smiling Sharaa beside the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.Other pictures showed the Syrian leader sitting opposite Trump with top US officials including Vice President JD Vance, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and top US military officer Dan Caine.Since taking power, Syria's new leaders have sought to break from their violent past and present a more moderate image to ordinary Syrians and foreign powers.Sharaa's White House visit is "a hugely symbolic moment for the country's new leader, who thus marks another step in his astonishing transformation from fighter to global statesman," said Michael Hanna, US programme director at the International Crisis Group.The Syrian met Trump for the first time in Saudi Arabia during the US leader's regional tour in May. At the time the 79-year-old Trump dubbed Sharaa, 43, as "a young, attractive guy." Sharaa was expected to seek US funds for Syria, which faces significant challenges in rebuilding after 13 years of devastating civil war.After his arrival in Washington, Sharaa over the weekend met with International Monetary Fund chief Kristalina Georgieva over possible aid.Sharaa's past has caused controversy in some quarters but the State Department's decision Friday to remove him from the blacklist was widely expected.The Syrian president has also been making diplomatic outreach towards Washington's rivals. He met Russian President Vladimir Putin in October in their first meeting since the removal of Assad, a key Kremlin ally.

President Donald Trump hosted new Polish President Karol Nawrocki Wednesday at the White House with a military flyover and an offer to send more US troops to the eastern European ally.Talks were expected to focus on efforts to end the war in Ukraine, where Trump's peacemaking efforts have been struggling to get traction.Trump called it a "stupid war" and said he thought ending it would have been "much easier" for him."It's going to get done," he vowed to reporters in the Oval Office, with Nawrocki at his side.Nawrocki, a nationalist historian and fervent Trump supporter, was in Washington for his first foreign visit as president after having visited the US leader to seek his backing during the Polish election campaign.Trump gave him a warm welcome, including an offer to boost the US military footprint in Poland."We'll put more there if they want," he said in the Oval Office. "We're with Poland all the way and we'll help Poland protect itself."Nawrocki praised the US troop presence and said it was "the first time in history" that Poland had been happy to host foreign troops, while stressing that Warsaw aims to keep increasing its own military spending within the NATO alliance.The White House said a flyover by F-16 and F-35 jets during Nawrocki's arrival commemorated the death of a Polish F-16 jet pilot killed last week while preparing for an air show.Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly said in a statement to AFP that the flyover, which featured a so-called "missing-man formation," was staged to "honour the memory of a brave Polish fighter pilot, whose life was tragically taken too soon, and capture the special relationship between our two countries."While Trump and Nawrocki see eye-to-eye politically, Poland is closely watching the US leader's peace efforts in neighbouring Ukraine, which Warsaw has largely been frozen out of.Key Nato and EU member Poland has been a strong supporter of Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion and is a vital transit country for military and humanitarian supplies, as well as host to thousands of US troops.Trump's efforts to get Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the negotiating table have so far stalled.Putin vowed during a visit to Beijing Wednesday to keep fighting in Ukraine if a peace deal cannot be reached, while Zelensky said he hoped to talk to Trump today about possible additional sanctions against Russia.Nawrocki will also be seeking fresh support from Trump amid deep political polarization in Poland between himself and his country's pro-EU government, led by former European Council chief Donald Tusk.The novice Polish president recently blocked a law extending Ukrainian refugees' rights proposed by Tusk's government. Nawrocki has also, like Trump, opposed Ukraine's desire for Nato membership.The visit is nevertheless a chance for Trump to celebrate the election of yet another right-wing ally in Europe.Trump welcomed Nawrocki to the Oval Office in June before the Polish election, with the White House posting a picture of the pair grinning and giving the thumbs-up sign.During the election campaign, Nawrocki highlighted the importance of ties with the United States and his close ties with Trump. His "Poland First, Poles First" echoed Trump's "America First" slogan.