JERUSALEM // Red lines.
When it comes to the Middle East, the US president, Barack Obama, is encountering them everywhere. They are painted on the ground as directional markers for visiting dignitaries, and they are in Mr Obama's and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's foreign policy rhetoric as not-to-be-crossed warnings to Syria and Iran.
As Mr Obama prepared to tour a missile battery that is part of Israel's Iron Dome defences, an aide at the Tel Aviv airport directed the president to follow the red line on the tarmac.
"Bibi's always talking to me about red lines," Mr Obama quipped, referring to Mr Netanyahu by his familiar name.
The Israeli premier has set "red lines" on Iran's nuclear development capabilities. Israel repeatedly has threatened to take military action should Iran appear to be on the verge of obtaining a bomb. The US has pushed for more time to allow diplomacy and economic penalties to run their course, though Mr Obama insists military action is an option. The issue has become a point of tension between the two allies.
Mr Obama himself has used the phrase to describe limits that could prompt action against Bashar Al Assad regime. Any use of chemical weapons by Syria's regime, Mr Obama has said, would constitute a "red line" that if breached could prompt direct US intervention. It is a threat that could be tested amid new accusations this week that the regime used chemicals in an attack in a village in the north of Syria.
Referring to the painted red lines at the airport, Mr Obama joked that it was "a psychological ploy".
Mr Netanyahu replied: "It was minutely planned."
The US president's travelling retinue is no small matter. The combination of aides and press who follow the president makes for a massive grouping of followers that are simply part of the job of being president. But if Mr Obama does not take notice, someone else in his family certainly does.
"Michelle teases me mercilessly," Mr Obama confessed to Mr Netanyahu, referring to his entourage during arrival ceremonies in Tel Aviv. "She says whenever she travels with me, it's embarrassing."
The Israeli president, Shimon Peres, presented Mr Obama with gifts during their meeting. Mr Obama received a friendship clock, which has the time in Washington on one side and the time in Jerusalem on the other, and a gold inscription of the US presidential seal. The clock was made at Adi Watches in Kibbutz Yavne, the only watch factory in the Middle East.
Mr Peres also gave the president a friendship bracelet for the first lady. It is designed as two circles, representing the two nations, with a small freedom bird on each. Mr Obama's daughters also are being sent bracelets with freedom birds.
Israelis and others awaiting Mr Obama's arrival in Israel on Wednesday were surprised to see his signature black limousine sitting on the back of a flatbed lorry.
The US secret service said the vehicle suffered mechanical problems before Mr Obama arrived but wouldn't say just what the problem was. Mechanics were examining the vehicle to figure out what happened.
The disabled limo was swapped out for a backup, and Mr Obama's busy itinerary in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on Wednesday was unaffected. The secret service says its advance teams plan ahead for these types of glitches.
"This is why we bring multiple vehicles and a mechanic on all trips," said the secret service spokesman, Brian Leary.
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
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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
The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
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Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Poacher
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UAE central contracts
Full time contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ahmed Raza, Mohammed Usman, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Sultan Ahmed, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid
Part time contracts
Aryan Lakra, Ansh Tandon, Karthik Meiyappan, Rahul Bhatia, Alishan Sharafu, CP Rizwaan, Basil Hameed, Matiullah, Fahad Nawaz, Sanchit Sharma
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
