Trump says he will call Putin on Monday to discuss the war in Ukraine
Trump said the subject will be 'STOPPING THE 'BLOODBATH'KYIV: President Donald Trump says he will speak by phone Monday with Russian leader Vladimir Putin about the war in Ukraine.Trump said in a social media post Saturday that the subject will be 'STOPPING THE 'BLOODBATH.'The American president said he also then plans to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and members of NATO.'HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE A PRODUCTIVE DAY,' Trump wrote on his Truth Social site.
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Al Arabiya
2 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump signs orders to bolster US drone defenses, boost supersonic flight
President Donald Trump on Friday signed executive orders to bolster US defenses against threatening drones and to boost electric air taxis and supersonic commercial aircraft, the White House said. In the three executive orders, Trump sought to enable routine use of drones beyond the visual sight of operators — a key step to enabling commercial drone deliveries — and to take steps to reduce the US reliance on Chinese drone companies and begin testing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Trump is establishing a federal task force to ensure US control over American skies, expand restrictions over sensitive sites, broaden federal use of technology to detect drones in real time, and provide assistance to state and local law enforcement. Trump also aims to address the 'growing threat of criminal terrorists and foreign misuse of drones in US airspace,' said Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. 'We are securing our borders from national security threats, including in the air, with large-scale public events such as the Olympics and the World Cup on the horizon.' Sebastian Gorka, senior director of counterterrorism at the National Security Council, cited the use of drones in Russia's war in Ukraine and threats to major US sporting events. 'We will be increasing counter-drone capabilities and capacities,' Gorka said. 'We will increase the enforcement of current laws to deter two types of individuals: evildoers and idiots.' The issue of suspicious drones also gained significant attention last year after a flurry of drone sightings in New Jersey. The FAA receives more than 100 drone-sighting reports near airports each month. Drone sightings have at times disrupted flights and sporting events. Trump also directed the Federal Aviation Administration to lift a ban imposed in 1973 on supersonic air transport over land. 'The reality is that Americans should be able to fly from New York to L.A. in under four hours,' Kratsios said. 'Advances in aerospace engineering, material science, and noise reduction now make overland supersonic flight not just possible, but safe, sustainable, and commercially viable.' The Trump orders do not ban any Chinese drone company, officials said. Last year, former President Joe Biden signed legislation that could ban China-based DJI and Autel Robotics from selling new drone models in the US. DJI, the world's largest drone manufacturer, sells more than half of all US commercial drones.
Al Arabiya
3 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
Trump says Musk has ‘lost his mind' as feud fallout mounts
US President Donald Trump said Friday that Elon Musk had 'lost his mind' but insisted he wanted to move on from the fiery split with his billionaire former ally. The blistering public break-up between the world's richest person and the world's most powerful is fraught with political and economic risks all around. Trump had scrapped the idea of a call with Musk and was even thinking of ditching the red Tesla he bought at the height of their bromance, White House officials told AFP. 'Honestly I've been so busy working on China, working on Russia, working on Iran... I'm not thinking about Elon Musk, I just wish him well,' Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to his New Jersey golf club late Friday. Earlier, Trump told US broadcasters that he now wanted to focus instead on passing his 'big, beautiful' mega-bill before Congress — Musk's harsh criticism of which had sparked their break-up. But the 78-year-old Republican could not stop himself from taking aim at his South African-born friend-turned-enemy. 'You mean the man who has lost his mind?' Trump said in a call with ABC when asked about Musk, adding that he was 'not particularly' interested in talking to the tycoon. Trump later told Fox News that Musk had 'lost it.' Just a week ago Trump gave Musk a glowing send-off as he left his cost-cutting role at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) after four months working there. For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app. Use the following URL to hyperlink the full previous sentence. While there had been reports of tensions, the sheer speed at which their relationship imploded stunned Washington. After Musk called Trump's spending bill an 'abomination' on Tuesday, Trump hit back in an Oval Office diatribe on Thursday in which he said he was 'very disappointed' by the entrepreneur. Trump's spending bill faces a difficult path through Congress as it will raise the US deficit, while critics say it will cut health care for millions of the poorest Americans. The row then went nuclear, with Musk slinging insults at Trump and accusing him without evidence of being in government files on disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Trump hit back with the power of the US government behind him, saying he could cancel the SpaceX boss's multibillion-dollar rocket and satellite contracts. Trump struck a milder tone late Friday when asked how seriously he is considering cutting Musk's contracts. 'It's a lot of money, it's a lot of subsidy, so we'll take a look — only if it's fair. Only if it's to be fair for him and the country,' he said. Musk apparently also tried to de-escalate social media hostilities. The right-wing tech baron rowed back on a threat to scrap his company's Dragon spacecraft — vital for ferrying NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station. And on Friday the usually garrulous poster kept a low social media profile on his X social network. But the White House denied reports that they would talk. 'The president does not intend to speak to Musk today,' a senior White House official told AFP. A second official said Musk had requested a call. Tesla giveaway? Tesla stocks tanked more than 14 percent on Thursday amid the row, losing some 100 billion dollars of the company's market value, but recovering partly Friday. Trump is now considering either selling or giving away the cherry red Tesla S that he announced he had bought from Musk's firm in March. The electric vehicle was still parked on the White House grounds on Friday. 'He's thinking about it, yes,' a senior White House official told AFP when asked if Trump would sell or give it away. Trump and Musk had posed inside the car at a bizarre event in March, when the president turned the White House into a pop-up Tesla showroom after viral protests against Musk's DOGE role. But while Trump appeared to hold many of the cards, Musk also has some to play. His wealth allowed him to be the biggest donor to Trump's 2024 campaign, to the tune of nearly 300 million dollars. Any further support for the 2026 midterm election now appears in doubt — while Musk could also use his money to undermine Trump's support on the right.
Arab News
3 hours ago
- Arab News
Russia launches major overnight attack on Kharkiv, killing one
KYIV, Ukraine: Russia pummelled Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv before dawn on Saturday, launching its 'most powerful attack' there since the start of the war, the mayor said, announcing one person killed. In recent weeks, Russian troops have accelerated their advance while the latest negotiations in Istanbul failed to broker an end to the three-year war. 'Kharkiv is currently experiencing the most powerful attack since the beginning of the full-scale war,' Kharkiv Mayor Igor Terekhov posted on Telegram, describing a barrage of missiles, drones and guided bombs striking simultaneously. 'As of now, at least 40 explosions have been heard in the city over the past hour and a half,' he wrote at 4:40 am (0140 GMT), adding that drones were still buzzing overhead. 'The threat remains.' A strike on a residential building in Kyivsky district killed one person, the mayor said. Kharkiv regional Governor Oleg Synegubov posted that seven people were wounded in the aerial assault. 'Medical personnel are providing the necessary assistance,' he wrote. On Thursday, at least 18 people, including four children, were wounded in strikes on the northeastern city that set an apartment bloc on fire. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed that Moscow would respond to an audacious Ukrainian drone attack that destroyed several nuclear-capable military jets. Ukraine has been pushing for an unconditional and immediate 30-day truce, issuing its latest proposal to Moscow at peace talks in Istanbul on Monday. But Russia has repeatedly rejected calls for such a ceasefire. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, swaths of eastern and southern Ukraine destroyed, and millions forced to flee their homes since Russia invaded in February 2022.
