In a series of early and well thought out gestures towards the Muslim and Arab worlds, Barack Obama has clearly struck a new tone from Washington, raising hopes across the region that a line can be drawn under the past eight years of tense relations.

After promising mutual respect for Muslims in his inaugural speech, and moving swiftly to address the Arab-Israeli conflict by appointing George Mitchell as special envoy (see below), Mr Obama gave his first television interview as president on Monday night to a Saudi-backed channel, the Dubai-based al-Arabiya.