US officials in Moscow for talks on Washington's 30-day Ukraine ceasefire
In this episode of Global News Today, presented by Tom Burges Watson, we cover US officials arriving in Moscow for talks with Russia on a Washington-proposed 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine.
Guests:
Joel Rubin - Former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State
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Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Trump booed and cheered at the Kennedy Center while attending ‘Les Misérables'
WASHINGTON: A tuxedo-wearing President Donald Trump was booed and cheered as he took his seat for the opening night of 'Les Misérables' at the Kennedy Center, bringing his own dose of political drama to the theatrical production that was unfolding onstage. It was his first time attending a show there since becoming president, reflecting his focus on remaking the institution in his image while asserting more control over the country's cultural landscape. 'We want to bring it back, and we want to bring it back better than ever,' Trump said while walking down the red carpet with first lady Melania Trump. The Republican president has a particular affection for 'Les Misérables,' the sprawling musical set in 19th-century France, and has occasionally played its songs at his events. One of them, 'Do You Hear the People Sing?,' is a revolutionary rallying cry inspired by the 1832 rebellion against the French king. California Gov. Gavin Newsom noted Trump's attendance at the musical and posted on social media, 'Someone explain the plot to him.' Newsom, a Democrat, has been feuding with Trump over the president's decision to send National Guard troops to respond to protests in Los Angeles over his deportation policies. Opening night had a MAGA-does-Broadway feel. Ric Grenell, the Trump-appointed interim leader of the Kennedy Center, stood nearby as the president spoke to reporters. Attorney General Pam Bondi chatted with other guests. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took selfies with attendees. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, were also there. There were more precautions than usual, given the guest list, and ticketholders had their bags searched after walking through magnetometers. Canned soda was on sale for $8, while a glass of wine cost $19. Terry Gee, a bartender, bought his ticket for the show in November and didn't mind Trump's presence. It's his sixth time seeing 'Les Misérables,' and he said, 'I'm going to enjoy the show regardless.' Hannah Watkins, a nurse, only learned that Trump would be there when the Kennedy Center distributed information about extra security and she searched online to see what was happening. 'I've seen a lot of famous people so far, which is exciting,' said Watkins, who had claimed a spot near the VIP entrance with her mother. 'Honestly, we just like 'Les Mis' and are excited to be here.' However, when the lights went down and the show began, there were empty seats in the balconies and even in the orchestra section. Before Trump, presidential involvement in the Kennedy Center's affairs had been limited to naming members to the board of trustees and attending the taping of its annual honors program in the fall. But after returning to office in January, Trump stunned the arts world by firing the Kennedy Center's longtime director and board and replacing them with loyalists, who then named him as chairman. Trump promised to overhaul its programming, management and even appearance as part of an effort to put his stamp on the national arts scene. His latest moves have upset some of the center's patrons and performers. In March, the audience booed the Vances after they slipped into upper-level seats to hear the National Symphony Orchestra. Trump appointed Usha Vance to the Kennedy Center board along with Bondi, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and Fox News Channel hosts Maria Bartiromo and Laura Ingraham, among other supporters. Sales of subscription packages are said to have declined since Trump's takeover, and several touring productions, including 'Hamilton,' have canceled planned runs at the center. Actor Issa Rae and musician Rhiannon Giddens scrapped scheduled appearances, and Kennedy Center consultants including musician Ben Folds and singer Renée Fleming resigned. Understudies may have performed in some roles Wednesday night because of boycotts by 'Les Misérables' cast members, but Trump said he wasn't bothered by anyone skipping the performance. 'I couldn't care less,' he said. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has adopted a more aggressive posture toward the arts. The White House has taken steps to cancel millions of dollars in previously awarded federal humanities grants to arts and culture groups, and Trump's budget blueprint proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Trump has also targeted Smithsonian museums by signing executive orders to restrict their funding and by attempting to fire the director of the National Portrait Gallery. Trump characterized previous programming at the Kennedy Center as 'out of control with rampant political propaganda' and said it featured 'some very inappropriate shows,' including a 'Marxist anti-police performance' and 'lesbian-only Shakespeare.' The Kennedy Center, which is supported by government money and private donations, opened in 1971 and for decades has been seen as an apolitical celebration of the arts. It was first conceived in the late 1950s during the administration of Republican President Dwight Eisenhower, who backed a bill from the Democratic-led Congress calling for a National Culture Center. In the early 1960s, Democratic President John F. Kennedy launched a fundraising initiative, and his successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson, signed into law a 1964 bill renaming the project the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts. Kennedy had been assassinated the year before.
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
Trump is receptive to contacts with North Korean leader, White House says
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump would welcome communications with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after having had friendly relations with Kim during his first term, the White House said on Wednesday. 'The president remains receptive to correspondence with Kim Jong Un,' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. She was responding to a report by Seoul-based NK News, a website that monitors North Korea, that the North's delegation at the United Nations in New York had repeatedly refused to accept a letter from Trump to Kim. Trump and Kim held three summits during Trump's 2017-2021 first term and exchanged a number of what Trump called 'beautiful' letters. In June 2019, Trump briefly stepped into North Korea from the demilitarized zone with South Korea. Little progress was made, however, at reining in North Korea's nuclear program, and Trump acknowledged in March that Pyongyang is a 'nuclear power.' Since Trump's first-term summitry with Kim ended, North Korea has shown no interest in returning to talks. The attempts at rapprochement come after the election in South Korea of a new president, Lee Jae-myung, who has pledged to reopen dialogue with North Korea. As a gesture of engagement on Wednesday Lee suspended South Korean loudspeakers blasting music and messages into the North at the Demilitarized Zone along their shared border. Analysts say, however, that engaging North Korea will likely be more difficult for both Lee and Trump than it was in the US president's first term. Since then North Korea has significantly expanded its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, and developed close ties with Russia through direct support for Moscow's war in Ukraine, to which Pyongyang has provided both troops and weaponry. Kim said in a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that his country will always stand with Moscow, state media reported on Thursday.
Arab News
5 hours ago
- Arab News
US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation says 5 members killed in Hamas attack
WASHINGTON: The US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation on Wednesday accused militant group Hamas of attacking a bus carrying its staffers to an aid distribution center, saying at least five people were killed and multiple others injured. The group said in a statement that around 10 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) 'a bus carrying more than two dozen members of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation team... were brutally attacked by Hamas.' 'We are still gathering facts, but what we know is devastating: there are at least five fatalities, multiple injuries, and fear that some of our team members may have been taken hostage,' the statement read. In an email to AFP the group said all the passengers on the bus were Palestinian and all were aid workers. They were en route to GHF's distribution center in the area west of Khan Younis. 'We condemn this heinous and deliberate attack in the strongest possible terms,' the group said in its statement. 'These were aid workers. Humanitarians. Fathers, brothers, sons and friends, who were risking their lives every day to help others.' An officially private effort with opaque funding and backed by Israel, GHF began operations on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into Gaza for more than two months, sparking warnings of mass famine. But GHF's first week of operations, in which it said it had distributed more than seven million meals' worth of food, has been marred by criticism. The Israeli military faces allegations of shooting into crowds of civilians rushing to pick up aid packages near GHF sites. Israeli authorities and the GHF — which uses contracted US security — denied any such incident took place. The United Nations and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
