For more than 30 years, Michael Ratney has been a steady hand helping to shape US foreign policy in the Middle East and beyond.
The career diplomat, who has served throughout the region, is headed to Riyadh as the next US ambassador to Saudi Arabia.
“He's a consummate career professional,” said Robert Jordan, who served as the US ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 2002 to 2003 under George W Bush.
“He is highly experienced in the Middle East and quite fluent in Arabic, so he's well positioned, I think, to assume this new responsibility.”
Mr Ratney started his career at the State Department in 1990 after graduating with a master's degree from George Washington University.
He has worked in missions in Qatar, Mexico, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco and Barbados. His most recent posting was in Jerusalem, where he served as chargé d’affaires at the US embassy.
“Very good, very strong, very smart,” said Gerald Feierstein, former US ambassador to Yemen under Barack Obama, who now serves as a distinguished senior fellow on diplomacy at the Middle East Institute.
Mr Feierstein worked with Mr Ratney at the State Department between 2014 and 2015.
“He brought a huge amount of background and knowledge and as well as diplomacy to the to the table,” Mr Feierstein told The National.
Before his stint in Jerusalem, Mr Ratney was the State Department’s acting deputy assistant secretary for the Levant and Israel and Palestinian affairs. From 2015 to 2017, he was the US special envoy to Syria.
He has experience leading large teams, and from 2012 to 2015, he served as the US Consul General in Jerusalem, where he led a team of 600 Americans, Israelis and Palestinians.
Mr Ratney is married to fellow senior foreign service officer Karen Sasahara, who is President Joe Biden’s nominee to be the next US ambassador to Kuwait.
He inherits a role that has not been filled since Mr Biden took office more than two years ago, something that former ambassador Mr Jordan said would make his life more difficult when he finally arrives in Riyadh.
“He's got a very heavy inbox,” Mr Jordan told The National.
“Michael will come in at a time when the Saudis are charting, at least to some degree, a new path of more independence, using their leverage, both in the region and with partnerships around the world and at a time when relations with the US are less than ideal.”
The Biden administration has had a fraught relationship with Riyadh in recent years, highlighted by an awkward meeting between Mr Biden and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah last July, where the two leaders famously fist bumped rather performing a customary handshake.
In what may be another sign of the distance between the two countries, Saudi Arabia recently turned to China to help mediate relations with Iran.
Mr Ratney is the first career diplomat to serve as ambassador to Saudi Arabia since Charles Freeman in the early 1990s.
For the past three decades, US leaders have hand-picked a series of political appointees to serve in Riyadh but having a career foreign service officer, who speaks the language and has the institutional knowledge that comes from a career working in the region, may be advantageous.
“The time may have come to return to professionals who have the gravitas, the experience and the diplomatic skills to fill the post and certainly there's every reason to believe that Ambassador Ratney will be one of those people,” said Mr Jordan.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
How has net migration to UK changed?
The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.
It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.
The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.
The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
RESULTS
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3E5pm%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWathba%20Stallions%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(Turf)%202%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAl%20Hazeez%2C%20Saif%20Al%20Balushi%20(jockey)%2C%20Khalifa%20Al%20Neyadi%20(trainer)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E5.30pm%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EShams%20Gate%20Tower%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20ES%20Sudani%2C%20Antonio%20Fresu%2C%20Hamad%20Al%20Marar%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E6pm%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Al%20Bahr%20Towers%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C200m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AF%20Musannef%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%2C%20Ernst%20Oertel%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E6.30pm%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Capital%20Gate%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shugga'A%20Baynounah%2C%20Dane%20O%E2%80%99Neill%2C%20Nisren%20Mahgoub%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E7pm%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEtihad%20Towers%20%E2%80%93%20Conditions%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAF%20Maqam%2C%20Tadhg%20O%E2%80%99Shea%2C%20Ernst%20Oertel%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E7.30pm%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fairmont%20Marina%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(TB)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EWinner%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETempesta%20D'Oro%2C%20Xavier%20Ziani%2C%20Salem%20bin%20Ghadayer%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Healthcare spending to double to $2.2 trillion rupees
Launched a 641billion-rupee federal health scheme
Allotted 200 billion rupees for the recapitalisation of state-run banks
Around 1.75 trillion rupees allotted for privatisation and stake sales in state-owned assets
Emergency phone numbers in the UAE
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
Abu%20Dhabi%E2%80%99s%20Racecard
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Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
European arms
Known EU weapons transfers to Ukraine since the war began: Germany 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. Luxembourg 100 NLAW anti-tank weapons, jeeps and 15 military tents as well as air transport capacity. Belgium 2,000 machine guns, 3,800 tons of fuel. Netherlands 200 Stinger missiles. Poland 100 mortars, 8 drones, Javelin anti-tank weapons, Grot assault rifles, munitions. Slovakia 12,000 pieces of artillery ammunition, 10 million litres of fuel, 2.4 million litres of aviation fuel and 2 Bozena de-mining systems. Estonia Javelin anti-tank weapons. Latvia Stinger surface to air missiles. Czech Republic machine guns, assault rifles, other light weapons and ammunition worth $8.57 million.
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
Afcon 2019
SEMI-FINALS
Senegal v Tunisia, 8pm
Algeria v Nigeria, 11pm
Matches are live on BeIN Sports
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
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.
