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Authorities in Slovenia have launched an investigation after a bronze statue of former U.S. First Lady Melania Trump was stolen from near her hometown, Sevnica. The life-size statue, installed in 2020 during Donald Trump’s presidency, was placed near the central Slovenian town where Melania, born Melanija Knavs in 1970, grew up. It had replaced a previous wooden version that was destroyed in an arson attack earlier the same year. Police spokesperson Alenka Drenik Rangus confirmed on Friday that officials were alerted to the statue’s disappearance on Tuesday and are actively working to identify the culprits. Local media reported that the bronze sculpture was sawed off at the ankles and removed from the site. Franja Kranjc, an employee at a local bakery in Sevnica that sells cakes named after Melania Trump, said the statue was not widely admired. “I don’t think anyone was really proud of it — not even the first lady herself. So maybe it’s just as well that it’s gone,” he commented. The original wooden version, carved from a linden tree, depicted Melania in a light blue dress similar to the one she wore during the 2017 presidential inauguration. The bronze replacement, however, bore little resemblance to her.

New Jersey Transit train engineers went on strike Friday, leaving an estimated 350,000 commuters in New Jersey and New York City to seek other means to reach their destinations or consider staying home. Groups of picketers gathered in front of transit headquarters in Newark and at the Hoboken Terminal, carrying signs that said “Locomotive Engineers on Strike” and “NJ Transit: Millions for Penthouse Views Nothing for Train Crews.” Passing drivers honked their horns. The walkout comes after the latest round of negotiations on Thursday didn’t produce an agreement. It is the state’s first transit strike in more than 40 years and comes a month after union members overwhelmingly rejected a labor agreement with management. Fire at a former UK military base kills 2 firefighters and a civilian “We presented them the last proposal; they rejected it and walked away with two hours left on the clock," said Tom Haas, general chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. NJ Transit CEO Kris Kolluri described the situation as a “pause in the conversations.” “I certainly expect to pick back up these conversations as soon as possible,” he said late Thursday during a joint news conference with New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. “If they’re willing to meet tonight, I’ll meet them again tonight. If they want to meet tomorrow morning, I’ll do it again. Because I think this is an imminently workable problem. The question is, do they have the willingness to come to a solution.” NJ governor says deal needs to be fair to employees and affordable Murphy said it was important to “reach a final deal that is both fair to employees and at the same time affordable to New Jersey’s commuters and taxpayers.” "Again, we cannot ignore the agency’s fiscal realities,” Murphy said. The announcement came after 15 hours of nonstop contract talks, according to the union. NJ Transit — the nation’s third-largest transit system — operates buses and rail in the state, providing nearly 1 million weekday trips, including into New York City. The walkout halts all NJ Transit commuter trains, which provide heavily used public transit routes between New York City’s Penn Station on one side of the Hudson River and communities in northern New Jersey on the other, as well as the Newark airport, which has grappled with unrelated delays of its own recently. The agency had announced contingency plans in recent days, saying it planned to increase bus service, but warned riders that the buses would only add “very limited” capacity to existing New York commuter bus routes in close proximity to rail stations and would not start running until Monday. The agency also will contract with private carriers to operate bus service from key regional park-and-ride locations during weekday peak periods. Commuters are urged to work from home, if possible, during strike However, the agency noted that the buses would not be able to handle close to the same number of passengers — only about 20% of current rail customers — so it urged people who could work from home to do so. Opulence, business deals and a $400M plane from Qatar: Takeaways from Trump’s Mideast tour Even the threat of it had already caused travel disruptions. Amid the uncertainty, the transit agency canceled train and bus service for Shakira concerts Thursday and Friday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The parties met Monday with a federal mediation board in Washington to discuss the matter, and a mediator was present during Thursday’s talks. Kolluri said Thursday night that the mediation boardhas suggested a Sunday morning meeting to resume talks. Wages are the key sticking point of negotiations Wages have been the main sticking point of the negotiations between the agency and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen that wants to see its members earn wages comparable to other passenger railroads in the area. The union says its members earn an average salary of $113,000 a year and says an agreement could be reached if agency CEO Kris Kolluri agrees to an average yearly salary of $170,000. NJ Transit leadership, though, disputes the union’s data, saying the engineers have average total earnings of $135,000 annually, with the highest earners exceeding $200,000. Kolluri and Murphy said Thursday night that the problem isn’t so much whether both sides can agree to a wage increase, but whether they can do so under terms that wouldn’t then trigger other unions to demand similar increases and create a financially unfeasible situation for NJ Transit. Congress has the power to intervene and block the strike and force the union to accept a deal, but lawmakers have not shown a willingness to do that this time like they did in 2022 to prevent a national freight railroad strike. The union has seen steady attrition in its ranks at NJ Transit as more of its members leave to take better-paying jobs at other railroads. The number of NJ Transit engineers has shrunk from 500 several months ago to about 450 today.

President Donald Trump used the first major foreign trip of his second term to outline a vision for restoring global stability that is grounded in pragmatism and self-interest rather than values, holding out U.S. ties to wealthy Gulf countries as a model for America’s longtime foes. His four-day swing through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which ends Friday, put a spotlight on Trump’s transactional approach to foreign affairs as he was feted by autocratic rulers with a trio of lavish state visits where there was heavy emphasis on economic and security partnerships. His trip played out against the backdrop of stubborn global conflicts, including Gaza and Ukraine, that showed the limits of his influence. But Trump insisted he was turning the page on American “interventionalism” in the region as he moved to recognize the new government in Syria for the first time and prodded Iran to engage on nuclear talks before it’s too late. Some takeaways from Trump’s travels: Trump marveled at Gulf state opulence but held his tongue on human rights Presidential trips to the Middle East usually feature at least some public calls for authoritarian governments to improve their human rights efforts. Not this one, as Trump celebrated his business deals with Gulf royals and admired their wealth. Trump toured the marble and gilded palaces of Gulf rulers and deemed them “perfecto” and “very hard to buy.” He praised the “gleaming marvels” of the skyline in Saudi Arabia. And he groused about the “much less impressive” Air Force One. In Trump’s remarks at a VIP business conference in Riyadh, he went out of his way to distance himself from the actions of past administrations, the days when he said American officials would fly in “in beautiful planes, giving you lectures on how to live and how to govern your own affairs.” Rights advocates took that as a pledge of nonintervention, swearing off some of the pressure past U.S. presidents have brought to bear on partners to varying degrees to ease up on detentions, suppression of critics and other issues. Israeli strikes kill at least 64 people in Gaza as Trump wraps up his Middle East visit “It’s absolute support for absolute monarchy,” said Saudi exile Abdullah Alaoudh. His father, a Saudi cleric with a wide following there, is imprisoned in the kingdom. Some rights advocates said Trump officials gave them private assurances the administration was working on behalf of detained Americans and rights advocates. Tommy Pigott, a deputy spokesman at the State Department, declined to say whether Trump raised those or other rights issues in discussions with Gulf royals. Thwarted by Putin While Trump was in the Mideast, Vladimir Putin opted to skip direct peace talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy despite the U.S. president’s strong calls for them to meet face to face. Trump has been pushing Putin and Zelenskyy to move with greater haste to end Russia’s grinding war in Ukraine. But after it became clear Putin wouldn’t be attending talks in Turkey this week and would instead be sending underlings to Istanbul, an annoyed Trump insisted he knew all along that it was highly likely Putin would be a no-show. “I don’t believe anything’s going to happen whether you like it or not, until he and I get together,” Trump said. “But we’re going to have to get it solved because too many people are dying.” As he wrapped up his visit on Friday, Trump said the face-to-face would happen “as soon as we can set it up.” Trump was scheduled to fly back to Washington on Friday, but tried to keep people guessing until the end. He teased late Thursday that he would be heading to a “destination unknown” — “probably” Washington, he added. His opaque language stoked speculation that he might make a drop-by to Turkey. But on Friday morning, he told reporters he needed to get back to Washington. His daughter Tiffany had her first child while the president has been away. “I would actually leave here and go,” Trump said. “I do want to see my beautiful grandson.”   On Syria sanctions, Trump takes a leap of faith Just two months ago, the Trump administration wasn’t sold on Syria’s interim government led by Ahmad al-Sharaa, the onetime al-Qaida-affiliated insurgent. They worried the Syrian president didn’t have the legitimacy to govern the country’s ethnically diverse population. Clashes broke out in early March, killing hundreds and targeting many more members of the Alawite religious minority to which the ousted Syrian leader Basher Assad belongs. The moment gave the Trump White House pause about easing sanctions on Syria. But Trump signaled Monday that he was having a change of heart and was moving toward lifting the Syria sanctions. A day later, he announced the move during an address to Gulf leaders. Trump then took it another step by agreeing to meet al-Sharaa. Trump said he was impressed with al-Sharaa, who not that long ago had a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head. The president called him a “young, attractive guy” with a “very strong past.” Trump said it was recommendations from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that nudged him to take a chance on al-Sharra. “President Erdogan called me and said: ‘Is there any way you could do that? Because if you don’t do that, they don’t have a chance,’” Trump said. “So, I did it.”    

President Donald Trump said Thursday he was not surprised that Russian President Vladimir Putin will be a no-show for anticipated peace talks with Ukraine in Turkey this week. Trump had pressed for Putin and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet in Istanbul on Thursday. He brushed off Putin’s decision to not take part in the expected talks, reports AP. “I didn’t think it was possible for Putin to go if I’m not there,” Trump said in an exchange with reporters as he took part in a business roundtable with executives in Doha on the third day of his visit to the Middle East. Trump earlier this week floated potentially attending himself. The US president, however, noted on Thursday that Secretary of State Marco Rubio was already in the country for meetings with NATO counterparts. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, also plans to be in Istanbul on Friday for the anticipated Russia-Ukraine talks. The push for direct talks between Zelenskyy and Putin comes amid a flurry of negotiations aimed at producing a ceasefire agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Putin was first to propose restarting direct peace talks Thursday with Ukraine in the Turkish city that straddles Asia and Europe. Zelenskyy challenged the Kremlin leader to meet in Turkey in person. Trump marvels at wealth of his Arab hosts while he eyes White House and Air Force One upgrades But the Kremlin has said its delegation at the talks will be led by Putin’s aide, Vladimir Medinsky, and include three other officials. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Zelenskyy will only sit down with the Russian leader. Later Thursday, Trump will visit a US installation in Qatar at the center of American involvement in the Middle East. He has used his four-day visit to Gulf states to reject the “interventionism” of America’s past in the region. Trump will address troops at Qatar’s al-Udeid Air Base, which was a major staging ground during the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and supported the recent US air campaign against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis. 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. Before addressing the troops, Trump took part in a roundtable with business leaders. The group included top executives from Boeing, GE Aerospace and Al Rabban Capital.

US President Donald Trump has praised Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa as a “great” and “tough guy” during remarks to reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Doha. Reflecting on his recent meeting with al-Sharaa during his trip to Saudi Arabia, Trump described the Syrian leader as “young,” “attractive,” and a “tough guy.” He noted al-Sharaa’s past links to al-Qaeda but said the leader has a “strong past” as a “fighter.”  Trump to meet Syrian leader before visiting Qatar during Mideast trip “He’s got a real shot at pulling it together,” Trump said, adding that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shares his view. Trump also expressed optimism about the future of Syrian-Israeli relations, suggesting that normalization is possible. “But they have a lot of work to do,” he said.  Source: Al Jazeera  US, Saudi sign $142bn weapons deal during Trump visit

The administration of United States President Donald Trump says that Saudi Arabia will invest $600bn in the United States, including through technology partnerships and a weapons sales agreement worth $142bn. The White House announced the agreement on Tuesday, during US President Donald Trump’s visit to Riyadh. According to a fact sheet released by the White House, the deals represent the largest-ever weapons sale between the two nations and signify a significant step forward in bilateral cooperation. “The deals celebrated today are historic and transformative for both countries and represent a new golden era of partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia,” the fact sheet reads. Trump urges Iran toward ‘better path’ in Saudi speech, eyes new nuclear deal The $600 billion investment includes Saudi commitments to strengthen technology partnerships and increase economic collaboration with the US. The pact is seen as a deepening of long-standing economic and military ties that have spanned successive Republican and Democratic administrations. Trump’s stop in Riyadh is part of his Middle East tour, his first major international trip of his second term in office. He is scheduled to visit Qatar and the United Arab Emirates later this week to further discuss regional cooperation and economic ties. With inputs from Al Jazeera

President Donald Trump in a speech in Saudi Arabia urged Iran to take a “new and a better path” as he pushes for a new nuclear deal. Trump said at the US-Saudi investment conference, during a four-day Middle East trip, that he wants to avoid conflict with Tehran, AP reports. “As I have shown repeatedly, I am willing to end past conflicts and forge new partnerships for a better and more stable world, even if our differences may be profound,” Trump said. The comments came as Trump kick off the Mideast trip on Tuesday with his visit to Saudi capital. The latest entreaty to Tehran comes days after Trump dispatched his special envoy Steve Witkoff to meet with Iranian officials for a fourth round of talks aimed at persuading Iran to abandon its nuclear program. “As President of the United States, my preference will always be for peace and partnership, whenever those outcomes can be achieved,” Trump said. He also said he hopes Saudi Arabia will soon join the Abraham Accords and recognize Israel “in your own time.” Trump to meet Syria’s Al-Sharaa, weighs lifting sanctions Saudi Arabia long has maintained that recognition of Israel is tied to the establishment of a Palestinian state along the lines of Israel’s 1967 borders. Under the Biden administration, there was a push for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel as part of a major diplomatic deal. However, the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel upended those plans and sent the region into one of the worst period of faces it has faced. In a separate development, the White House announced that Trump will meet Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the onetime insurgent who last year led the overthrow of former leader Bashar Assad. The U.S. has been weighing how to handle al-Sharaa since he took power in December. Gulf leaders, have rallied behind the new government in Damascus and will want Trump to follow, believing it is a bulwark against Iran’s return to influence in Syria, where it had helped prop up Assad’s government during a decade-long civil war. Trump also signed a host of economic and bilateral cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to kicked off a four-day Middle East trip with a focus on dealmaking with a key Mideast ally. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi de facto ruler, warmly greeted Trump as he stepped off Air Force One at King Khalid International Airport. The two leaders then retreated to a grand hall at the Riyadh airport, where Trump and his aides were served traditional Arabic coffee by waiting attendants wearing ceremonial gun belts. “I really believe we like each other a lot,” Trump said later during a brief appearance with the crown prince at the start of a bilateral meeting.

President Donald Trump will meet Wednesday in Saudi Arabia with Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, the onetime insurgent who last year led the overthrow of former leader Bashar Assad. “The President agreed to say hello to the Syrian President while in Saudi Arabia tomorrow," the White House said, reports AP. The US has been weighing how to handle al-Sharaa since he took power in December. Gulf leaders, have rallied behind the new government in Damascus and will want Trump to follow, believing it is a bulwark against Iran's return to influence in Syria, where it had helped prop up Assad's government during a decade-long civil war. Then-President Joe Biden left the decision to Trump, whose administration has yet to formally recognize the new Syrian government. Sanctions imposed on Damascus under Assad also remain in place. In remarks Tuesday evening in Riyadh, Trump is expected to say that “we must all hope” the al-Sharaa government “will succeed in stabilizing the country and keeping peace,” according to excerpts released by the White House. UN agencies warn Israel’s new Gaza aid plan could endanger lives As he prepared to leave Washington, Trump said he’s weighing removing sanctions on the Syrian government. “We may want to take them off of Syria, because we want to give them a fresh start,” said Trump, adding that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged him to do so. The comments marked a striking change in tone from Trump, who has been deeply skeptical of Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa. Formerly known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, al-Sharaa joined the ranks of al-Qaida insurgents battling US forces in Iraq after the US-led invasion in 2003 and still faces a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges in Iraq. Al-Sharaa, whom the US once offered $10 million for information about his whereabouts because of his links to al-Qaida, came back to his home country after the conflict began in 2011 where he led al-Qaida’s branch that used to be known as the Nusra Front. He later changed the name of his group to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and cut links with al-Qaida.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled plans to "tighten up" the UK's immigration system, vowing that migration figures will fall "significantly." Key proposals include mandatory English language tests for all visa applicants and their adult dependants, along with extending the timeframe required to gain settled status, reports BBC. Starmer also intends to curb the recruitment of foreign care workers—a move that a care home operator told the BBC would lead to "significant problems" for the industry. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch criticised the plans, claiming Labour "can't be trusted" to secure the UK’s borders. Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage accused Starmer of "making promises he can't keep." UK Parliament holds emergency session to save British Steel The measures focus on reducing legal migration, which constitutes the bulk of arrivals to the UK, and do not cover irregular arrivals such as small boat crossings. Official data shows net migration reached 728,000 in the year to June 2024.  

The United States and China have agreed to a temporary reduction in the tariffs imposed on each other’s imports. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that both nations will lower their respective tariffs by 115% for a period of 90 days. The agreement followed trade discussions held in Switzerland over the weekend, which Bessent previously called “productive and constructive.” This marked the first formal meeting between the two sides since US President Donald Trump imposed significant tariffs on Chinese goods entering the US in January. Source: BBC