MUSCAT // The US defence secretary Robert Gates flew to Oman yesterday to hold talks with Sultan Qaboos about Iran's nuclear programme before heading to the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast.
The talks were expected to cover international concern over Iran, the growing terror threat in Oman's neighbour, Yemen, as well as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a senior US defence official told reporters.
The visit was mainly a courtesy call as Oman celebrates the 40th anniversary of the reign of Sultan Qaboos, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Oman, which has good relations with the United States and Iran, played a key role in brokering the release of one of three US hikers accused by the Tehran government of straying from Iraq into Iran's territory.
Muscat has been pressing for the release of the two remaining hikers, held since July last year.
The sultan has also appealed for a diplomatic solution to the dispute over Iran's uranium enrichment programme, which Washington believes is part of a clandestine attempt to build nuclear weapons.
The approach by the US president, Barack Obama, stresses diplomacy and "holding Iran's feet to the fire with sanctions", and Oman had a useful role to play on the issue, said the official, briefing reporters on Mr Gates's plane en route to Muscat.
"The sultan has been very proactive in pushing for a diplomatic solution and so that's helpful," said the official, who described Sultan Qaboos as "among the region's most erudite and insightful leaders".
The visit comes amid the disclosure of hundreds of thousands of secret US diplomatic memos on the WikiLeaks website, including cables that portray Arab leaders deeply threatened by Iran's nuclear ambitions and urging Washington to take military action.
The WikiLeaks documents could come up in the talks as US officials have sought to reassure allies around the world upset by the leaked files, which included embarrassing revelations and harsh assessments of an array of leaders.
The main purpose of Mr Gates's visit was to spend time on the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, to get a first-hand look at operations in support of the war in Afghanistan, officials said.
"It will be the secretary's first visit to a deployed aircraft carrier since taking the job four years ago," the press secretary, Geoff Morrell, said.
Mr Gates planned to thank the ship's crew "for the difference they're making for the troops on the ground", he said.
The crew of the carrier and other naval ships in the area "are largely unseen and unheralded, but they are greatly appreciated by our troops fighting in Afghanistan, and by extension the American people at home".
Nearly 100,000 US forces on the ground in Afghanistan rely on fighter jets based on the carrier and elsewhere to carry out air strikes.
The defence official who briefed reporters on the plane said the secretary's trip to the carrier was not designed "to signal any particular message" to Iran.
Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs
A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.
The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.
Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.
Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.
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2009 Berlin
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100m Disqualified in final for false start
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4x100m relay Gold
2013 Moscow
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2015 Beijing
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
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Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners