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Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday, becoming the first foreign leader to visit the White House since Mr Trump took office.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the visit on Friday and said it would be "a working meeting and visit with the President".
The visit comes as a pause in fighting in Gaza - announced a day before former president Joe Biden left the White House - appears to be holding. Mr Biden and Mr Trump sought to take credit for the ceasefire and hostage release deal that halted a 15-month Israeli military campaign in Gaza. More than 47,400 Palestinians have been killed in strikes on the coastal enclave. The war was ignited by a Hamas attack that killed about 1,200 people, with 240 taken hostage.
"The President will be committed to the release of all remaining hostages and they should have never been taken by the brutal terrorists who took them in the first place," Ms Leavitt said. "President Trump's working meeting with the Israeli Prime Minister next week emphasises this continued support for Israel."
Mr Netanyahu visited Washington in July last year. He held talks with Mr Biden and Kamala Harris, vice president at the time, and gave a speech before Congress, where he was met with applause and standing ovations.
His visit came after Mr Biden dropped out of the presidential race. It also came at the height of anti-war protests across college campuses, who he called "Iran's useful idiots".
Pro-Palestinian groups were organising protests this time around too, calling for Mr Netanyahu to be detained, after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
Since taking office, Mr Trump has sought to highlight his support for Israel. He revoked sanctions his predecessor placed on far-right Israeli settler groups and people accused of being involved in violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.
He resumed a single shipment of 2,000-pound bombs that Mr Biden had paused over concerns that the munitions would be used in densely populated areas in Gaza.
Mr Trump has said that Egypt and Jordan would take Palestinians from Gaza – a plan Arab leaders have so far flatly rejected and Palestinians are unlikely to accept.
"I think Jordan will take people, yeah from Gaza, and I think Egypt will take them also," Mr Trump reiterated on Friday. "I heard someone say they're not going to, but I think they will. I feel confident."
The suggestion has gathered support from Israel's settler movement.
Last week, Mr Trump signed an executive order that would revoke the visas of foreign students and others who took part in pro-Palestinian protests, as part of an effort by authorities to tackle anti-Semitism. Israeli leaders have welcomed the move.
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final (first-leg score):
Juventus (1) v Ajax (1), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Match will be shown on BeIN Sports
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The biog
Age: 46
Number of Children: Four
Hobby: Reading history books
Loves: Sports
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
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