Jasmine Paolini wins Wimbledon's longest women's semifinal and faces Barbora Krejcikova next

LONDON (AP) — Jasmine Paolini kept coming back, kept coming back, kept coming back, against Donna Vekic in what would become the longest Wimbledon women's semifinal on record — after dropping the opening set, after being two games from defeat in each of the last two sets, after twice trailing by a break in the third.

And all the while, this is what Paolini kept telling herself Thursday: “Try, point by point” and “Fight for every ball.”

Paolini never had won a match at the All England Club until last week and now will participate in her second consecutive Grand Slam final, thanks to a rollicking 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (10-8) victory over the unseeded Vekic across 2 hours, 51 minutes on Centre Court.

“This match,” said the No. 7-seeded Paolini, who faces No. 31 Barbora Krejcikova for the title, “I will remember forever.”

As will many of the thousands who were present or the millions watching on TV.

“It was,” Paolini said, “a rollercoaster of emotions.”

The same could be said of the second semifinal, which lasted 44 fewer minutes but contained its own share of plot twists as 2021 French Open champion Krejcikova came back to eliminate 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Whoever wins on Saturday will be the eighth woman to leave the All England Club with the title in the past eight editions of the tournament.

Krejcikova trailed 4-0 at the start, reeled off four of five games to take the second set, then earned the pivotal break to move ahead 5-3 in the third against Rybakina, who entered the day with a 19-2 career mark at the All England Club.

“During the second set, somewhere in the middle, I was getting my momentum,” Krejcikova said. “And when I broke her, I started to be in a zone — and I didn’t want to leave the zone.”

Still, it couldn't approach the drama produced by Paolini and Vekic.

Consider: Vekic, making her debut in a Slam semifinal, ended up claiming more points (118-111), delivering more winners (42-26) and breaking serve more often (4-3).

“She was hitting winners everywhere,” Paolini said.

But Paolini never went away, eventually converting her third match point when Vekic sent a forehand wide. This showing on the grass courts at Wimbledon follows Paolini’s runner-up finish to Iga Swiatek on the red clay at the French Open last month.

Paolini, a 28-year-old from Italy, is the first woman to get to the title matches at Roland Garros and the All England Club in the same season since Serena Williams in 2016.

“These last months have been crazy for me,” Paolini said with a laugh.

Her win was anything but easy. Exhausting would be a more appropriate word.

Vekic often was in obvious distress, crying between points and while sitting in her changeover chair late in the third set — because, she said afterward, of pain in an arm and a leg — and often looked up at her guest box with a flushed face. She iced her right forearm between games.

“I thought I was going to die in the third set,” said Vekic, who repeatedly closed her eyes, sighed or shook her head during her news conference.

“I didn’t know how,” she said, “I could keep playing.”

How surprising is Paolini’s recent surge?

She never had managed to make it past the second round at any major tournament — losing in the first or second round in 16 appearances in a row — until she got to the fourth round at the Australian Open in January.

And then there’s this: Paolini’s career record at Wimbledon was 0-3 until this fortnight. Indeed, she did not own a single tour-level win on grass anywhere until a tuneup event at Eastbourne last month.

Krejcikova, a 28-year-old from the Czech Republic, is not nearly as out-of-nowhere, given that she has been a Grand Slam champion and ranked No. 2 in singles, as well as a seven-time major champ and No. 1 in doubles. She's also now 6-2 at major tournaments against past Slam champs.

Her mentor, the late Jana Novotna, won Wimbledon in 1998, and Krejcikova teared up while speaking about her influence.

“I have so many beautiful memories, and when I step on the court here, I’m just fighting for every single ball, because I think that’s what she would want me to do,” Krejcikova said. “I just miss her very much. I miss her so much.”

Like Krejcikova, Paolini needed about 1 1/2 sets to get going. Her never-give-up attitude was apparent at 4-all in the second, when she sprinted with her back to the net to put her racket on a lob, somehow getting it back over the net, and Vekic badly missed an overhead.

Paolini held there to lead 5-4, then broke for the set with a forehand winner, looked up at her guest box — where her relatives and her doubles partner, Sara Errani, were on their feet — and screamed, “Forza!” (“Let’s go!”)

Vekic, playing her fifth three-setter in six matches, headed to the locker room before the last set, recalibrated and came out strong. She broke in the opening game, helped by a forehand return winner on a second serve, followed by Paolini’s missed forehand on an 11-stroke exchange.

Soon Vekic led 3-1. After a later trade of breaks, she was up 4-3.

“I believed I could win,” Vekic said, “until the end.”

But Paolini steadied herself, her racket and her resolve — and now gets a second chance to play for her first Slam trophy.

There was something else on her mind as she got ready to head to the locker room, though.

“Now I’m going to the ice bath,” Paolini said, “because my legs are a little bit tired.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic plays a forehand return to Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan during their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan plays a reacts during her semifinal match against Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic reacts after defeating Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Jasmine Paolini of Italy celebrates after defeating Donna Vekic of Croatia in their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Sara Erani, left, and Jacqueline Paolini, mother of Jasmine react following her semifinal win over Donna Vekic of Croatia at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Donna Vekic of Croatia plays a forehand return to Jasmine Paolini of Italy during their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Jasmine Paolini of Italy reacts during her semifinal match against Donna Vekic of Croatia at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Donna Vekic of Croatia serves to Jasmine Paolini of Italy during their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Jasmine Paolini of Italy plays a forehand return to Donna Vekic of Croatia during their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Donna Vekic of Croatia plays a forehand return to Jasmine Paolini of Italy during their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Jasmine Paolini of Italy reacts during her semifinal match against Donna Vekic of Croatia at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Donna Vekic of Croatia plays places a bag of ice on her wrist during a break in her semifinal against Jasmine Paolini of Italy at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Donna Vekic of Croatia reacts after loosing a point against Jasmine Paolini of Italy during their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Jasmine Paolini of Italy plays a forehand return to Donna Vekic of Croatia during their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Jasmine Paolini of Italy reacts during her semifinal match against Donna Vekic of Croatia at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Jasmine Paolini of Italy celebrates winning a point against Donna Vekic of Croatia during their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Donna Vekic of Croatia reacts after winning a point against Jasmine Paolini of Italy during their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Jasmine Paolini of Italy celebrates after defeating Donna Vekic of Croatia in their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Barbora Krejcikova, left, of the Czech Republic is congratulated by Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan following their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic celebrates after defeating Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Jasmine Paolini of Italy celebrates after defeating Donna Vekic of Croatia in their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Jasmine Paolini of Italy, left, and Donna Vekic of Croatia get each other at the net after the end of their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. Paolini won the match and advances to the final.(AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Donna Vekic of Croatia reacts after loosing a point against Jasmine Paolini of Italy during their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic reacts during her semifinal match against Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Jasmine Paolini of Italy celebrates after defeating Donna Vekic of Croatia in their semifinal match at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Thursday, July 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)

President Donald Trump on Thursday visited a U.S. base installation at the center of American involvement in the Middle East as he uses his four-day visit to Gulf states to reject the “interventionism” of America’s past in the region.

In other parts of the Middle East violence flared in the West Bank, and a hospital in southern Gaza said 54 people have been killed in overnight airstrikes on the city of Khan Younis.

Trump spoke of American military strength as he addressed troops at Qatar’s al-Udeid Air Base, which was a major staging ground during the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also supported the recent U.S. air campaign against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, though the strikes themselves came from two aircraft carriers in the region.

The president has held up Gulf nations like Saudi Arabia and Qatar as models for economic development in a region plagued by conflict as he works to entice Iran to come to terms with his administration on a deal to curb its nuclear program.

The President also meets business leaders in Qatar before heading to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Here's the latest:

As he made his way from Doha Qatar to Abu Dhabi, United Emirates, on Thursday, the president reminded reporters about Joe Biden’s 2022 fist bump with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

During that encounter, Biden awkwardly greeted the crown prince with a fist bump, a moment roundly criticized by human rights activists, who were already upset at Biden’s decision to meet with the Saudi leader.

Trump noted that while in Saudi Arabia and Qatar this week, he’s shaken many hands.

“They were starving for love because our country didn’t give them love,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. “They gave him a fist bump. Remember the fist bump in Saudi Arabia? He travels all the way to Saudi Arabia … and he gives him a fist bump. That’s not what they want. They don’t want a fist bump. They want to shake his hand.”

Trump’s trip to the United Arab Emirates come as Senate Democrats push that wealthy Gulf country to stop what the U.S., U.N. and international rights groups say are arms shipments to one of the sides in Sudan’s devastating war.

The U.S. has sanctions on UAE companies over weapons deliveries to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, whose fight with a rival has uprooted millions of Sudanese and spurred atrocities and starvation. Aid groups call it one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters.

UAE’s arms deliveries also are raising the risk of a “broader conflict that could destabilize the whole region,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said this week.

Ahead of Trump’s trip, “my message to the UAE is to stop extending the aid” and work to stop the fighting, Shaheen said.

The UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula and a U.S. ally, has been repeatedly accused of arming the RSF, something it has strenuously denied despite evidence to the contrary.

The president insists he’s not disappointed with Russian President Vladimir Putin for not showing up for peace talks in Istanbul with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“I don’t believe anything’s going to happen whether you like it or not, until he and I get together,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as he traveled from Doha, Qatar, to Abu Dhabi, United Emirates, on Thursday. “But we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying.”

President Trump left Air Force One after touching down in Abu Dhabi for the last leg of his first major foreign trip.

UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan greeted Trump. A young girl standing next to the UAE leader showed Trump a huge bouquet of white flowers.

Trump will head first to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque — among the largest mosques in the world — ahead of a state visit at Qasr al-Watan palace in Abu Dhabi.

Israeli troops killed five Palestinian militants in a raid on two villages in the occupied West Bank, the military said.

The military said forces operated overnight and into Thursday in Tamun and Tubas. The military said forces exchanged fire with the militants, who it accused of planning to carry out attacks. It said it found three assault rifles in the building where the militants were located.

In a statement, Hamas said it mourned the deaths of the “resistance heroes” but stopped short of claiming them as its fighters.

The operation appeared to be unrelated to a separate attack on Wednesday night, in which an Israeli woman on her way to give birth was killed by a Palestinian gunman.

President Donald Trump’s comment Thursday about not wanting to make “nuclear dust” in a possible strike on Iranian nuclear facilities mirrors the concerns of the Gulf Arab countries he’s visiting in the Mideast this week.

The possibility of a U.S. or Israeli strike on Iranian enrichment sites has renewed long-standing fears that Gulf Arab states have about Iran’s program. In the past, they’ve worried that an accident or a strike at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant could send radioactive material into the air and spread across the Persian Gulf into their countries.

Speaking to a business forum on Thursday, Trump similarly brought up the idea.

“Iran has sort of agreed to the terms: They’re not going to make, I call it, in a friendly way, nuclear dust,” Trump said. “We’re not going to be making any nuclear dust in Iran.”

Iran has criticized the U.S. threats to strike.

Standing in front of U.S. troops at the Qatari airbase, President Donald Trump said “we let a lot of four stars go,” touting his administration’s effort to thin the military’s top ranks.

There’s long been friction between Trump and some top generals, and he’s been more emboldened to remake the command structure in his second term.

He described some military leaders as “frickin’ losers” as he addressed the rank-and-file.

The president danced for a moment to the Village People’s “YMCA" as he wrapped up his speech.

President Donald Trump is speaking to troops at the Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

He started his speech thanking troops and discussing his Mideast trip so far, then spoke about America’s military power.

“As president, my priority is to end conflicts, not start them, but I will never hesitate to wield American power if it’s necessary to defend the United States of America or our partners,” Trump said. “And this is one of our great partners right here” in Qatar.

He added: “When we’re threatened, America’s military will answer our enemies without even thinking about it. We have overwhelming strength and devastating force.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has asserted that “wokeness and weakness” allowed the wars in the world.

“We’re restoring the warrior ethos. No more political correctness,” he told U.S. troops at Al-Udeid Air Base, before President Donald Trump addresses them.

“Sadly, over the last four years, we saw a collapse in Afghanistan. And what happened on October 7th, the war in Ukraine, violence unleashed by wokeness and weakness.”

Trump then took the stage as Lee Greenwood sang his signature song, “Proud to be an American.”

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The European Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis is out of service due to severe damage to its infrastructure and access roads from Israeli strikes, the territory’s Health Ministry said Thursday.

The shutdown halts all specialized treatments, including cardiac surgeries and cancer care in the only facility that was providing ongoing medical care to cancer patients in Gaza, the ministry added.

Israeli forces struck the European Hospital twice on Tuesday, saying it was targeting a Hamas command center beneath the facility. Six people were killed in the strike.

European Hospital director Imad al-Hout told The Associated Press there had been 200 patients in the hospital at the time of Tuesday’s strikes. They were all gradually evacuated, with the last 90 transferred to other hospitals, including Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, on Wednesday morning. Efforts were now underway to coordinate repairs to the facility, he added.

American comedian Theo Von did a set Thursday before President Donald Trump’s visit to a military base in Qatar that included references to snorting cocaine off a baby’s back.

The jokes drew laughter and some groans from the service members at Al-Udeid Air Base, home to the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command.

“Somebody put some cocaine on the baby’s back, right? I didn’t do it,” Von said. “And it wasn’t a lot of cocaine. ... It didn’t weigh the baby down, OK? And it was a mixed baby. So you can see the cocaine. I’m not doing white dust off a white child’s back, man.”

Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar is the forward headquarters of the U.S. military’s Central Command. At the base Thursday, service members listened to a comedy act ahead of Trump’s appearance. A Qatari and American flag flanked a large banner reading: “PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.”

A Qatari F-15 and an MQ-9 Reaper drone sat to the side of the stage.

Theo Von, an American comedian, did a stand up set that included making jokes about Qatar’s national dress for men, the white thobe, and everyone being named Mohammed.

“It’s like a Ku Klux sandsman,” he said.

He later made a joke about the U.S. Navy: “I’m not going to fly across the whole world just to be gay. I’m not in the Navy.” And another punch line included: “Where do you think the next 9/11 should happen?”

President Donald Trump kept up pressure Thursday on Iran, warning Tehran that a deal over its nuclear program or potentially airstrikes are the only two solutions to the diplomatic impasse.

Speaking in Qatar before business leaders, Trump said: “We’d like to see if we could solve the Iran problem in an intelligent way, as opposed to a brutal way. There’s only two: intelligent and brutal. Those are the two alternatives.”

Trump also said that Qatar’s ruling emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, had been pushing for diplomatic deal over Iran’s nuclear program. Qatar shares a massive offshore oil and gas field that’s crucial to its wealth with Iran.

“I said last night that Iran is very lucky to have the emir because he’s actually fighting for them. He doesn’t want us to do a vicious blow to Iran,” Trump said. “He says, ‘You can make a deal. You can make a deal.’ He’s really fighting. And I really mean this: I think that Iran should say a big thank you to the emir.”

At another point, Trump mused: “In the case of Iran, they make a good drone.”

President Donald Trump has suggested that India has offered to drop tariffs on U.S. goods to zero, something not immediately acknowledged by New Delhi.

Trump made the comments during a business roundtable in Doha, Qatar, on his Mideast tour, first discussing Apple’s plans to build manufacturing plants for its iPhone there.

“It’s very hard to sell into India and and they’ve offered us a deal with what basically they’re willing to literally charge us no tariff,” Trump said. India is a close partner of the U.S. and is part of the Quad, which is made up of the U.S., India, Japan and Australia, and is seen as a counterbalance to China’s expansion in the region

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he didn’t think Russian President Vladimir Putin would go to talks in Turkey with Ukraine if he wasn’t there.

Trump made the remarks at a business roundtable in Qatar on his Mideast trip.

“I didn’t think it was possible for Putin to go if I’m not there,” Trump said.

Trump had suggested he could travel there for the talks if Putin was going. On Thursday, however, Trump said: “I actually said, why would he go if I’m not going? Because I wasn’t going to go. I wasn’t planning to go. I would go, but I wasn’t planning to go. And I said, I don’t think he’s going to go if I don’t go.”

Trump sat with GE Aerospace’s Larry Culp and Boeing Co.’s Kelly Ortberg on either side of him on Thursday. Both praised Trump for his support for the Qatar Airways order for Boeing aircraft. Ortberg called it one of the largest orders Boeing has ever had.

A hospital in southern Gaza says 54 people have been killed in overnight airstrikes on the city of Khan Younis.

An Associated Press cameraman in Khan Younis counted 10 airstrikes on the city overnight into Thursday, and saw numerous bodies taken to the morgue in the city’s Nasser Hospital. Some bodies arrived in pieces, with some body bags containing the remains of multiple people. The hospital’s morgue confirmed 54 people had been killed.

It was the second night of heavy bombing, after airstrikes Wednesday on northern and southern Gaza killed at least 70 people, including almost two dozen children.

The strikes come as U.S. President Donald Trump visits the Middle East, visiting Gulf states but not Israel. There had been widespread hope that Trump’s regional visit could usher in a ceasefire deal or renewal of humanitarian aid to Gaza. An Israeli blockade of the territory is now in its third month.

Qatar’s satellite news channel Al Jazeera long has been a powerful force in the Middle East, often taking editorial positions at odds with America’s interests in the region during the wars that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks by al-Qaida.

But during President Donald Trump’s visit to the Gulf Arab nation this week, state-funded Al Jazeera muted its typical critiques of American foreign policy.

The channel, which broadcasts in Arabic and English, broadly covered Trump’s visit in a straightforward manner, highlighting it was the first-ever trip to Qatar by a sitting American leader. Mentions of the Israel-Hamas war, which Al Jazeera often has criticized America over for its military support to Israel, did not include any critiques of U.S. policy. Instead, journalists highlighted Qatar’s role as a mediator in the war and aired comments by Qatar’s ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, calling for a ceasefire.

After a morning meeting with top U.S. and Qatari officials and American defense and aerospace business leaders, Trump heads to Al-Udeid Air Base, a U.S. installation at the center of American involvement in the Middle East. There, he will address troops and is expected to view a demonstration of American air capability.

The president then travels to the United Arab Emirates, the final leg of his first major foreign trip. He will head first to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and then to a state visit hosted at Abu Dhabi’s Qasr al-Watan palace.

The international rights group said that Israel’s plan to seize Gaza, remain in the territory and displace hundreds of thousands of people “inches closer to extermination.”

It called on the international community to speak out against the plan. It said that the new plans, coupled with the “systematic destruction” of civilian infrastructure and the block on all imports into Gaza, were cause for signatories to the Genocide Convention to act to prevent Israel’s moves. It said states should halt weapons transfers to Israel and enforce international arrest warrants against Israel’s prime minister and former defense minister, as well as review their bilateral agreements with the country.

Israel vehemently denies accusations that it is committing genocide in Gaza.

The group also called on Hamas to free the 58 hostages it still holds in Gaza, 23 of whom are believed to be alive.

A pregnant Israeli woman has died after she was shot and critically wounded in a shooting attack in the occupied West Bank, a hospital said Thursday.

Beilinson Hospital said that doctors succeeded in saving her unborn baby, who was in serious but stable condition after being delivered by caesarean section.

The Israeli military said a Palestinian assailant opened fire on a vehicle late Wednesday, wounded two civilians. Soldiers launched a search for the attacker.

It’s the latest violence in the Palestinian territory, where the Israeli military has launched a major operation that it says is meant to crack down on militancy. The operation has displaced tens of thousands of people.

Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank in months of violence that surged there after the start of the war in Gaza.

President Donald Trump speaks, seated between Kelly Ortberg President and CEO of Boeing, left, and Larry Culp, CEO of GE Aerospace during a business roundtable, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump speaks, seated between Kelly Ortberg President and CEO of Boeing, left, and Larry Culp, CEo of GE Aerospace during a business roundtable, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump gestures during a business roundtable, Thursday, May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani welcomes President Donald Trump during an official welcoming ceremony at the Amiri Diwan in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, May 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)