Oman's first lady attended the graduation of hundreds of women police officers on Sunday.
On a crisp winter morning in mountainous Nizwa to the south of Muscat, Ahad Al Busaidiyah, the wife of Sultan Haitham, looked on as Royal Oman Police recruits pledged their allegiance.
The recruits were graduates of Sultan Qaboos Academy for Police Sciences.
The graduates sung the Royal Oman Police anthem, took the oath of allegiance and repeated three times “Long live His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik”, their supreme commander.
The first lady honoured a number of graduating officers who were top of their class.
Sayyida Al Busaidiyah has taken on a series of public roles since Sultan Haitham became head of state in January 2020, following the death of Sultan Qaboos, one of the world's longest-serving monarchs.
The first lady of Oman - in pictures
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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