As a journalist, I have tremendous respect for Jason Rezaian, the former Washington Post Tehran bureau chief, who was unfairly convicted of espionage and was held for 544 days in an Iranian jail.

You can run, you can hide — but you cannot escape justice for ever. This is the message that the killing of Daesh founder and leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi should send to terrorists worldwide who may have, for a moment, thought that his crimes could go unpunished.

Cordial business, trading and cultural relations have long existed between Japan and the Arab world. Japan is one of the region’s most important economic and diplomatic partners.

The atmosphere at Al-Yamamah Palace was bright and congenial. Saudi Arabia rolled out the red carpet to demonstrate the importance of the guest, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, his entourage, and the visit itself — his first in 12 years.

Too many people now claim to have been friends of the late Jamal Khashoggi. Of course, my cynicism is in no way intended to cast doubt on the popularity of Abu Salah (as his true friends called him), for God knows he was a gentle, generous and just man.

This Saudi National Day, Arab News celebrates the future of Saudi Arabia by reviving its past. In particular, we go back to 1979 — a year in which cataclysmic events took place that changed the Kingdom, as well as the whole region.