Barack Obama returns back after 10-day vacation

US President Barack Obama has returned from his vacation on Martha's Vineyard where he spent a week and a half with his family and close friends.

Obama’s vacation was filled with golf outings, visits to the beach, dinners out, readings and plenty of downtime. The Obamas very seldom attended public places, according to spokesman for the president Bill Burton.

Now, Obama will involve in a new busy week. On Tuesday, August 31, he is due to deliver a nationally televised Oval Office address on Iraq to mark the end of the US combat mission there after visiting troops at Fort Bliss, a US Army base in Texas. The White House spokesperson said that in his address, President Obama will also touch upon other issues, in particular, related to Afghanistan.

Among other activities, Obama will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on the eve of the resumption of direct talks between the two leaders for the first time in 20 months.