Category: Europe

President Donald Trump's proposed victory arch in the capital includes an observation deck at the top — but it's unclear how anyone will access the monument, which is planned for the middle of a busy roundabout in Washington, D.C.
The 250-foot structure, a source of controversy for months, is scheduled to be reviewed Thursday by a federal panel, a step that could clear the way for construction to begin.
The arch, which bears a strong resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, would be built in Memorial Circle, a roundabout at the end of Arlington Memorial Bridge, which spans the Potomac River and connectsVirginia to the capital.
Architectural drawings released by federal officials in April reveal a towering white arch outfitted with internal stairs and elevators to carry visitors to an open-air terrace overlooking the city.
“This vantage point, which affords visitors 360-degree views of Washington, D.C., and Virginia, raises the human above the traffic,” Nicolas Leo Charbon..

Donald Trump derailed a White House event about “clean coal” to go on a rant about his ongoing beautification efforts in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, marking yet another moment where those efforts have distracted the president from more serious policy discussions.
A Thursday afternoon event billed as an announcement about a new investment in U.S. coal plants began with Trump immediately launching into a spiel for the assembled White House press about his efforts to overhaul the Lincoln Memorial, complete with a video showing water flowing into the newly-repainted Reflection Pool. The president then shifted to his future plans: An idea for a “promenade” to extend down the other side of the building to the Potomac River.
“We’re doing something that just came up, we have a little breaking news here,” Trump teased. “We’re going to be doing that, it’s a promenade. They want to call it the Trump promenade.”
His explanation for the planned renovations followed: “At the Lincoln Memorial, the ..

A significant coastal development project in Albania, associated with Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, is encountering increasing opposition.
Albania's government champions the Adriatic coast development as a transformative venture for the nation, aiming to boost its high-end tourism sector and support its bid for European Union membership.
However, the project, which encompasses an abandoned island and a stretch of seafront on Albania’s southern coast, has sparked criticism from environmental groups and detractors of the long-serving Socialist Prime Minister, Edi Rama.
Kushner and Ivanka Trump found the site on a barefoot hikeThe luxury project has two components: a coastal development in the Narta Lagoon area, which is a wildlife reserve, and a smaller resort on the nearby uninhabited island of Sazan, a communist-era military base.
The planned development of hotels, apartments, villas and a marina is linked to Kushner and Trump’s daughter, Ivanka Trump.
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President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed questions on whether the shaky ceasefire with Iran is holding by suggesting that the definition of a ceasefire is different in the Middle East region.
Asked whether the ceasefire is still in place after Iran fired missiles against targets in Kuwait, Trump replied that there was “a reason” for the exchange of fire.
“We've been hitting them pretty hard, a little bit, so there is a reason for certain things, and there's usually a reason that sometimes makes sense. Some, but they did something for not a big deal. We got it, we nipped it in the bud very quickly, as we do with the greatest military in the world, but some people would say they were slightly provoked because we took a strong action for a different reason, so they were reciprocating,” he said.
“It's a different part of the world, you know. I'd say in that part a ceasefire is when you're shooting in a more moderate manner.”
The president added later that “any..

Trump says U.S. left Iran's military 'alone'Key officials from Donald Trump’s administration will face a series of congressional hearings Tuesday as they plead for funding while facing a firestorm of criticism over the president’s agenda.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche are all testifying in budget hearings amid heightened scrutiny over the war in Iran and the administration’s mass deportation campaign.
Blanche is also expected to face questions about the president’s much-maligned $1.8 billion compensation fund for his political allies and how the Department of Justice is handling investigations into Jeffrey Epstein.
Last week, former Attorney General Pam Bondi told lawmakers during a close-door deposition that she delegated oversight of the so-called Epstein files to her now-former deputy, who is also the president’s former criminal defense attorney.
A nearly $72 billion budget bill — ..

President Donald Trump may have shelved plans for his $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund — part of a broader settlement resolving his unprecedented $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service — but one controversial element remains intact, according to a new report.
Last week, a federal judge in the capital temporarily blocked the Trump administration from “taking any further action pursuant to the creation or operation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund,” designed to pay out victims of alleged government wrongdoing.
On Monday, the Department of Justice said it would comply with the court order and halt the creation of the $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded cache, which critics have derided as a no-strings-attached “slush fund” for Trump’s allies.
However, a separate provision in the settlement is poised to proceed: one granting Trump and his family broad tax amnesty, The Daily Beast reported.
A representative for the president’s legal team told the outlet that an agreement barr..