Visiting the White House in Washington is usually a wonderful experience for tourists. The architecture is beautiful, the pillars and layout familiar from television, even if the places where the real work often takes place can appear somewhat cramped, in a building created after British troops burnt down the original White House on August 24, 1814.
These awkward bits of history nowadays resurface between American and British politicians as a kind of shared historical joke. But as world leaders try to figure out how to deal with US President Donald Trump, last week we saw three very different relationships manifest.
Mr Trump's meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron meeting was cordial yet slightly awkward. The US President's meeting with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was a warm reinvention of a new kind of "special relationship". But as the world knows – and as historians will consider for decades – the unhappy meeting between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy marks a turning point in US-European relations, with some speculating that it also prefigures the end of Nato itself.
As literally hundreds of millions of viewers saw, Mr Trump and US Vice President JD Vance berated Mr Zelenskyy over his supposed lack of gratitude for American assistance against Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the background, a small bust of Winston Churchill looked down on the roughest diplomatic show ever seen on international television.
No one can say for sure whether this was a trap set by Vance, who insulted Zelenskyy by suggesting Ukraine stages “propaganda tours” of the war zone to encourage foreign aid
The UK government minister Douglas Alexander echoed the views of millions of British and European viewers when he suggested that in standing up to Russia, Mr Zelenskyy is the bravest European leader since Churchill himself. Mr Trump appears to take a different view.
Journalists, politicians, diplomats, historians and TV viewers worldwide are still trying to make sense of what Mr Trump’s verbal blasting of Mr Zelenskyy means for Nato, transatlantic relations and the prospect of a real peace in Ukraine. There are some obvious lessons already.
First, visitors to the White House need to understand precisely why they have been invited. Mr Zelenskyy was not invited to discuss peace or security. He was invited to sign a multibillion-dollar minerals deal benefiting the US. In the Trump administration, money doesn’t talk – it shouts.
Second, Mr Trump is playing to one audience only: American voters. Mr Zelenskyy’s audience was much wider: Americans, Europeans, and of course, the Ukrainian people.
Third, visiting leaders to the Trump White House must prepare not only for the traditional meeting between heads of state and government, but for a reality TV show in which – as in The Apprentice – Mr Trump may announce: “You’re fired”.
Some commentators analysed the Zelenskyy debacle as a kind of televised ambush, led by Mr Vance, designed to irritate the obviously tired and stressed Ukrainian leader. If that was the plan, it worked. But seen in that light, we have to understand what an average American voter (or rather viewer) – if such a person exists in this complex and very diverse nation of 350 million people – may make of the meeting.
For example, an American journalist challenged Mr Zelenskyy for wearing combat clothes saying that "a lot of Americans have problems, with you not respecting the dignity of this office". Which “lot of Americans?” How many millions of viewers had he asked? None, presumably. It was just a provocative question.
Perhaps in the White House reality TV show, this journalist did not know that in 1942, Churchill, another leader in another war, also wore the combat clothes of his day at the White House. No lack of respect was involved by either leader.
Nevertheless, for tens of millions of Americans for whom Ukraine is a far-away country, of which they know little, and perhaps care even less, what they saw was a foreign leader in this shrine to American democracy getting into an ill-tempered argument with the President and Vice President of the US over allegedly being ungrateful for American military assistance.
Whether this was a trap set by Mr Vance, who insulted Mr Zelenskyy by suggesting Ukraine stages “propaganda tours” of the war zone to encourage foreign aid, no one can say for sure. But what is clear is that large sections of the American public may find it difficult to understand why they should care about the future of Ukraine.
US Senator Lindsey Graham, the South Carolina Republican, has been one of his party’s staunchest backers of Ukraine. But even he said: “I don’t know if we can ever do business with Zelenskyy again.” He called the Ukrainian leader’s behaviour in the Oval Office “disrespectful”.
Across Europe, television viewers appear to take a different message, namely that Ukraine, even if it is not part of Nato, is our frontline, too, and the Trump administration does not much care.
The most obvious question now is how far the Trump administration will – or will not – move to help ensure the survival of an independent Ukraine. But the bigger question is how far the Trump administration will also move to ensure the survival of Nato itself.
And above all, a White House meeting designed by Mr Trump to ensure a rapid move towards peace may unfortunately benefit the key player who was not present in the room: Mr Putin.
Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 366Nm
Price: Dh200,000
Malcolm & Marie
Directed by: Sam Levinson
Starring: John David Washington and Zendaya
Three stars
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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Results:
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m | Winner: AF Al Montaqem, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m | Winner: Daber W’Rsan, Connor Beasley, Jaci Wickham
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m | Winner: Bainoona, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m | Winner: AF Makerah, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 | Winner: AF Motaghatres, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,600m | Winner: Tafakhor, Ronan Whelan, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
Bahrain%20GP
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Company%20profile
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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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
The specs: 2018 Maserati Levante S
Price, base / as tested: Dh409,000 / Dh467,000
Engine: 3.0-litre V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 430hp @ 5,750rpm
Torque: 580Nm @ 4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.9L / 100km
SPEC%20SHEET
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More on animal trafficking
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
SHAITTAN
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Generation Start-up: Awok company profile
Started: 2013
Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev
Sector: e-commerce
Size: 600 plus
Stage: still in talks with VCs
Principal Investors: self-financed by founder
The years Ramadan fell in May
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Results
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Most F1 world titles
7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)
7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)
4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)
4 — Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’12, ’13)
