By Jordyn Phelps & RYAN STRUYK ABC news

President Trump signed a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia on Saturday, the initial day of his first foreign trip since taking office. “That was a tremendous day. Tremendous investments in the United States,” Trump said. “Hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States and jobs, jobs, jobs,” he said. The agreement commits Saudi Arabia to buying military equipment from the U.S. and to hiring American companies to build such equipment in Saudi Arabia, according to Gary Cohn, the president’s chief economic adviser. The deal includes tanks and helicopters for border security, ships for coastal security, intelligence-gathering aircraft, a missile-defense radar system and cybersecurity tools, according to the State Department.

In a joint press appearance on Saturday with the Saudi foreign minister, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson praised the pact as a “historic moment in U.S.-Saudi relations.” He also expressed an openness to talks with Iran. “I’ve never shut off the phone to anyone that wants to talk or have a productive conversation,” he said. “At this point, I have no plans to call my counterpart in Iran, although in all likelihood we will talk at the right time.”. Tillerson said the pact sends a “very strong message to our common enemies” on trying to disrupt “violent extremist messaging” and “financing of terrorism.” He also said the deal “lowers the cost to the American people of providing security in this region.”

The Trump administration has been working to finalize the deal over the past several months. White House press secretary Sean Spicer called the deal “huge news for U.S. companies and American workers who will benefit” in a tweet on Saturday morning. This is huge news for US companies and American workers who will benefit #jobs https://t.co/9RarqOwVAy — Sean Spicer (@PressSec) May 20, 2017

Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner personally called the president of Lockheed Martin, a major supplier of U.S. military equipment, in order to negotiate a lower price for the radar system, according to the New York Times. “This package of defense equipment and services supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of malign Iranian influence and Iranian related threats. Additionally, it bolsters the Kingdom’s ability to provide for its own security and continue contributing to counterterrorism operations across the region, reducing the burden on U.S. military forces,” the State Department said in a statement. A White House official added that in addition to demonstrating the U.S. commitment to Saudi Arabia “and our Gulf partners,” it also expands “opportunities for American companies in the region, and supporting tens of thousands of new jobs in the U.S. defense industrial base.”

by ABC news Alexander Mallin and Adam Kelsey –

President Trump on his first foreign trip has arrived at the Royal Court Palace in Saudi Arabia where he will begin a full day of meetings with the country’s royalty. The president was greeted by King Salman and honored with an elaborate red carpet ceremony. A Saudi military band then played the Star-Spangled Banner. The White House staff with the president — Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Steve Bannon, Reince Priebus, Joe Hagin, Hope Hicks, Dan Scavino, Sean Spicer and Dina Powell — all shook hands with Trump and King Salman as they arrived. Trump was also presented with the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Saudi nation’s highest honor. After the award was bestowed, the president and king spoke briefly. Their conversation at one point touched on Syria, with King Salman heard noting that the now war-torn country used to be an advanced nation and pondering how quickly a country can be destroyed.

“Syria too used to be one of the most advanced countries,” the king said. “We used to get our professors from Syria. They served our kingdom. Unfortunately, they too brought destruction to their own country. You could destroy a country in mere seconds, but it takes a lot of effort.” President Donald Trump arrived in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh Saturday morning, marking the kick-off of his first foreign trip as president.

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

The ceremony at the palace came after the president and first lady Melania Trump landed at King Khalid International Airport around 9:45 a.m. local time after an overnight flight from Washington on Air Force One.The Trumps descended down a set of stairs from the plane onto a red carpet, where they were greeted by King Salman. Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Trump exited the jet from the back steps, prior to the president. Ivanka wore an ankle-length dresss

AP Photo/Evan Vucci

At the airport, King Salman joined the president for a walk down a red carpet, with the Saudi Royal Guard lined up at attention along either side with trumpets playing. Jets also flew overhead, leaving behind a stream of smoke in red, white and blue. The first lady followed behind, dressed in a flowing black jumpsuit and a gold belt.The president and first lady then walked into the terminal where a coffee reception with King Salman was held. The pair spoke through an interpreter inside the terminal, according to The Associated Press.

by Arab News RIYADH: US President Donald Trump Saturday dined at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh during an official luncheon hosted by King Salman. Arab News can reveal that the American president, his wife Melania and daughter Ivanka were treated to an extravagant meal, replete with cuisines from around the world. First up on the mouthwatering […]

The most hospitable country in the Middle East is also one of the most beautiful.

By Bill Wiatrak – The U.S. immigration officer asked me where I had flown in from. “Lebanon,” I replied. “It’s pretty dangerous over there,” he remarked.  “Actually, it’s not,” I countered. “They were some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.” The officer muttered something as he put a special mark on my embarkation card: a “random” mark, according to him, that got me a VIP pass to the special search-them-extra-good room. Lebanon has an image problem. Once considered the place to see-and-be-seen in the Mediterranean, the country suffered greatly during the civil wars that raged from 1975 to 1990. The Lebanon hostage crisis that lasted for 10 years during the height of the civil wars didn’t help matters either, while images of a bombed-out Beirut blasted across television networks deterred most tourists to the region during the 1980s and 1990s. For a very long time, it was hard to think about Lebanon without thinking of mortar shells and machine guns.

by Joseph A. Kechichian, Senior Writer – article represents opinion of the author

Beirut: Prime Minister Sa‘ad Hariri vented his frustration over failures of Lebanese politicians to reach consensus over a new electoral law. He affirmed that he would consider his government a “failure” if one isn’t reached. Politicians have been debating revising the archaic 1960 voting law since 2005 and have yet to reach consensus. According to the 1960 voting law, parliament seats are allocated by religious sects which Lebanon’s most prominent Christian parties want to amend. They say the law marginalises Christian voters, because, in the winner-take-all model Muslim voters in predominantly Christian districts cast their ballots to candidates backed by lists dominated by non-Christian parties.

By Sharon Parmet

Ara Tekian, professor and associate dean of international education at the College of Medicine, is among recipients of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. The award is given to those who “have made it their mission to share with those less fortunate their knowledge, courage and compassion, while maintaining the traditions of their ethnic heritage as they uphold the ideals and spirit of America,” according to the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, the group that gives the award. Past recipients include six U.S. presidents, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Frank Sinatra, Elie Wiesel and Rosa Parks.

The 2017 awardees, who were honored May 13 in New York City, include astronaut Buzz Aldrin, cardiologist Annapoorna Kini and CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria. Tekian was born in Beirut, Lebanon. He received his doctorate in neuroscience from the American University in Beirut in 1981 and earned a master’s in health professions education at UIC in 1983. “This was a very unique degree at the time, and UIC was one of the only universities in the world to offer it,” Tekian said.

He returned to the Middle East that year and became the founding director of the medical education department at King Saud University College of Medicine in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He later consulted for the World Health Organization and the Ministries of Health and Education to ensure that medical schools in the Middle East were adequately preparing their students to provide care in their respective countries.

In 1990, with the civil war still ongoing in his native Lebanon, Tekian left the Middle East and moved to the U.S. Tekian joined UIC in 1992 as a visiting assistant professor of medical education and was instrumental in building UIC’s international programs. Since then, he has consulted in more than 45 countries and helped establish more than a dozen medical education departments or centers. “When I moved to the U.S., I knew that I wanted to do everything I could to help the Lebanese and Armenian communities that I joined here in America,” he said. “When you have a shared history with people, and when you are an immigrant yourself, you have a very strong desire to help your people.”

For Tekian, that desire took the form of assisting Armenian and Lebanese students seeking to further their medical education in this country. To them and their families, he became known as “the Contact Person.” His extensive contacts at universities in the U.S., the Middle East and Europe helped him direct students to educational opportunities in graduate and post-graduate work. He established the UIC College of Medicine’s International Medical Education Program in 2009. “Dr. Tekian put UIC on the map in terms of medical education,” said Robert Barish, vice chancellor for health affairs. “He is one of the main reasons why we are known as innovators in medical education around the world.”

By Christine Walsh – The new Banque Libano Francaise (BLF) building in Beirut, Lebanon will feature an interesting façade, which will also have the added benefit of keeping the inside temperature at a comfortable level. The building was also designed with economic, social and environmental sustainability in mind.

The building is called The Magic Box, and it will feature a façade made of limestone, which will vary in depth around the structure. Due to this, it will work to keep the interior of the building cool during the day, and warm during the night. They will also cut chunks out of the volume of the structure to create terraces, which can be used for social gatherings. These terraces will have the added function of ventilating the interior.