Fresh from his confirmation as America’s new secretary of state, Mike Pompeo announced promptly that he is traveling to Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel in a trip that starts on Thursday night.
Less than an hour after the Senate passed his appointment as the 70th Secretary of State by 57 to 42 votes, the state department announced that Mr Pompeo will travel to Brussels, Riyadh, Jerusalem, and Amman, on a trip that will continue until Monday.
“[Mr Pompeo] looks forward to meeting key Allies and partners on his first official trip as secretary of state” the statement said.
His first stopover will be in Brussels on Friday where he “will meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and participate in the NATO foreign ministerial meeting,” the statement said.
“The secretary will then travel to the Middle East, where he will meet with Saudi, Israeli, and Jordanian leaders to discuss critical regional and bilateral issues.”
The trip to the Middle East comes as the Trump administration is reviewing its options on Syria and in addressing the Iran nuclear deal ahead of the May 12 deadline. Mr Pompeo travelled to Saudi Arabia last year as CIA director.
Afghanistan fixtures
- v Australia, today
- v Sri Lanka, Tuesday
- v New Zealand, Saturday,
- v South Africa, June 15
- v England, June 18
- v India, June 22
- v Bangladesh, June 24
- v Pakistan, June 29
- v West Indies, July 4
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Scoreline
Syria 1-1 Australia
Syria Al Somah 85'
Australia Kruse 40'
French Touch
Carla Bruni
(Verve)
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Heather, the Totality
Matthew Weiner,
Canongate
Women & Power: A Manifesto
Mary Beard
Profile Books and London Review of Books
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The Light of the Moon
Director: Jessica M Thompson
Starring: Stephanie Beatriz, Michael Stahl-David
Three stars
The biog
Name: James Mullan
Nationality: Irish
Family: Wife, Pom; and daughters Kate, 18, and Ciara, 13, who attend Jumeirah English Speaking School (JESS)
Favourite book or author: “That’s a really difficult question. I’m a big fan of Donna Tartt, The Secret History. I’d recommend that, go and have a read of that.”
Dream: “It would be to continue to have fun and to work with really interesting people, which I have been very fortunate to do for a lot of my life. I just enjoy working with very smart, fun people.”
The biog
Name: Atheja Ali Busaibah
Date of birth: 15 November, 1951
Favourite books: Ihsan Abdel Quddous books, such as “The Sun will Never Set”
Hobbies: Reading and writing poetry
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
