Uzbekistan and Hungary agreed to form an enhanced strategic partnership
The US Senate has confirmed Charles Kushner, the father of President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, to serve as ambassador to France.
The 70-year-old real estate developer, who received a presidential pardon from Trump in December 2020 over convictions for witness tampering and tax evasion, was confirmed by a 51-45 vote in the Senate on Monday.
When Trump announced his desire to nominate Kushner in November, the US president called him "a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, and dealmaker." Kushner's son Jared is a former White House adviser who is married to Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka.
At his confirmation hearing on 1 May before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kushner was asked about his criminal past. He was sentenced in 2005 to two years in prison after pleading guilty to 18 counts.
"My misjudgement and mistake was over 20 years ago," Kushner told the hearing.
"Since then, I've been pardoned by President Trump. But I don't sit here before you today and tell you I'm a perfect person. I am not a perfect person. I made a very very very serious mistake, and I paid a very heavy price for that mistake," he added.
Former New Jersey governor and Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie — who brought the charges against Kushner when he was a US attorney in the early 2000s — said his case was "one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes" he ever prosecuted.
Kushner will go to France as the relationship between the two traditional allies, and between Washington and the rest of Europe, has been strained over Trump's trade policies and the US position on Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
At his confirmation hearing, Kushner said he would work closely with France to "bring greater balance to our important economic relationship" and also encourage France to "invest more in its defence capabilities, as well as lead the EU to align with the US vision of increased European commitments to security."
It is unclear how Kushner's appointment will be received in France. After Trump announced his nomination in November, Gérard Araud, a former French ambassador to the US, was among several people to express scepticism or criticism over the decision.
"Needless to say, he has no knowledge of our country. At least he will have access to the president. We console ourselves as best we can," Araud wrote in a post on X.
Senator Cory Booker, who represents Kushner's home state of New Jersey, was the lone Democrat to vote in favour on Monday. One Republican, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted against it.
Uzbekistan and Hungary have agreed to form an enhanced strategic partnership. The treaty was signed by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on Tuesday afternoon in Budapest.
The two countries have also concluded agreements at ministerial level: an extradition treaty, a treaty on cooperation in disaster management and one on climate protection, and an agreement on Hungary's participation in the construction of nuclear power plants in Uzbekistan.
The Central Asian country has sent a large delegation to Budapest, with the President, four ministers and several businessmen visiting the Hungarian capital. On Tuesday morning, members of the delegation held talks with Minister of National Economy Márton Nagy and Hungarian businessmen on cooperation opportunities.
'One of the very developed areas in Hungary is fishery, and we have a huge opportunity in Uzbekistan. In the past few years, we brought Hungarian companies and Hungarian genotypes of fish, but in this visit, we are developing with Hungarian companies a new program to establish more extensive and intensive projects" - the minister of agriculture of Uzbekistan, Ibrokhim Abdurakhmonov told Euronews.
The Uzbek head of state, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev also held talks with the Hungarian speaker of the Parliament. At the meeting, László Kövér said that they would like to extend the strategic partnership to closer cooperation between the two parliaments.
A group of 68 immigrants from Honduras and Colombia returned to their countries of origin on Monday from Texas as part of a new initiative by the Trump administration.
The programme promotes the departure of people in an irregular migratory situation in what the Trump administration is calling "voluntary deportations."
In early May, the US government offered a payment of $1,000 (€889) to undocumented migrants who made the choice to leave the country voluntarily.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed on Monday that the first departure flight marks the beginning of the so-called "Project Homecoming" plan.
According to Noem, the action is not part of the usual Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations, but a voluntary and assisted process.
In a post on his X account, Noem said, "If you are in this country illegally, deport yourself NOW and preserve your opportunity to potentially return the legal and correct way."
"If you don't, you will be subject to fines, arrest, deportation and never be allowed to return," she added.
Participants in the programme used a CBP Home application to formalise their departure and received the money promised to support their return.
Upon arrival in both Honduras and Colombia, migrants were met with local assistance.
The Hondurans were also included in the 'Hermano, Hermana, Vuelve a Casa' programme, which provides a $100 voucher (€89) for adults, including food aid and job orientation.
Colombian returnees were assisted by the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare (ICBF) and the Department for Social Prosperity (DPS) — agencies in charge of facilitating social and economic reintegration.
The programme is part of the new immigration policies promoted by Donald Trump since the start of his second term in office in January, with the aim of reducing irregular immigration in the country.
His offer to allow migrants to depart voluntarily has been matched with highly-publicised detentions in the US and flying a couple hundred of Venezuelan migrants to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.
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