International

The Chief Builder: Trump and his remodeling of the White House

The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has become – during his current administration – the “chief builder” of a renovated White House, with multiple renovation plans ranging from replacing bathrooms that he does not like or planning an Arc de Triomphe in Washington to building a giant ballroom financed by tycoons who have contributed to his campaigns.

Since his return to power last January, Trump has dedicated himself to remodeling the headquarters of the US Executive. A parade of gold-plated objects on each ledge, on the chimneys, on the door handles and on the lamps – almost identical to those of his private club in Florida, in Mar-a-Lago – are visible at every public event.

“I have always been a builder and now I am building a nation that is respected again,” Trump said this week during a dinner he sponsored for two dozen tycoons who have decided to finance, with two hundred million dollars, a ballroom for nine hundred people that the president offered as part of the 250th anniversary of the country’s founding.

Trump said that “they had always wanted a ballroom” and joked that “they didn’t have a real estate agent,” referring to himself as a project manager.

Regarding the expensive construction, Trump said that “it is the price of having access to the president,” in front of donors he described as “legends,” including the oil company Harold Hamm, a prominent financier of the Republican’s campaigns.

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At that dinner, Trump showed his guests three scale models of the new monument he plans to build, the “Trump Arc”, an arch inspired by that of Paris, located at the end of the Memorial Bridge that connects downtown Washington with Arlington.

In addition, the head of state suggested that the project could be financed with the surplus funds from the renovation of the ballroom.

However, this is a project that still needs to be approved by various state agencies and it is not clear whether the applications have been submitted.

In the quest to leave his mark on the residence of US presidents, last August, Trump premiered the new Rose Garden, a historic space on the west wing of the White House, built in 1913 and renovated by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1962.

The Republican removed the lawn from the garden and placed stone, turning it into a courtyard similar to the Mar-a Lago club, where Trump spends his breaks and holds his business events.

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The new Garden has been used for dinners with allies and recently to deliver recognitions such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which Trump posthumously awarded to the ultra-conservative activist, Charlie Kirk, murdered in September.

But the renovations have not been limited to common areas, Trump described the design of the Kennedy bathroom of the presidential suite as “not adequate”, complained about the green tones of the space and changed the Art Deco style tile for statuary marble, which – according to the president – now “better reflects the aesthetics of the civil war era.”

The renovations headed by Trump have been the subject of public scrutiny and questions about the legality of his actions in the White House, as well as his method of raising private funds for his plans, although the president and his Administration have defended themselves with a 1964 law that allows him to make aesthetic and structural changes.

The American Institute of Architects published in August its concern about Trump’s renovations, especially for the ballroom, and urged the National Capital Planning Commission to carry out rigorous controls to ensure that the project does not deviate or alter the neoclassical design of the White House.

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International

Germany says football bodies alone will decide on possible World Cup boycott

The German Football Association (DFB) and FIFA will decide with full “autonomy” whether to boycott the upcoming World Cup, which will be hosted mainly by the United States in six months, following threats made by former U.S. president Donald Trump, the German government told AFP on Tuesday.

Trump has threatened to seize Greenland and impose higher tariffs on European countries that oppose the plan, raising political tensions between the United States and Europe.

“This assessment therefore lies with the relevant federations, in this case the DFB and FIFA. The federal government will respect that decision,” Sports State Secretary Christiane Schenderlein said in a statement emailed to AFP.

AFP had asked the German government about the possibility of a boycott of the World Cup to be jointly hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

“The federal government respects the autonomy of sport. Decisions regarding participation in major sporting events or possible boycotts fall exclusively within the responsibility of the relevant sports federations, not the political sphere,” said Schenderlein, a member of the conservative CDU, the party of Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

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International

Daily Mail publisher insists reports relied on legitimate sources amid privacy trial

Two British tabloids accused of phone hacking and other forms of “unlawful information gathering” against Prince Harry and six other individuals, including singer Elton John, insisted on Tuesday that their reporting relied on legitimate sources.

Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday, sought to rebut allegations of privacy violations through illegal methods on the second day of trial at London’s High Court, following a lawsuit filed by the seven claimants.

Prince Harry, 41, who attended court hearings on both Monday and Tuesday, could be called to testify starting Wednesday in a trial expected to last up to nine weeks.

Lawyers for the claimants said the alleged illegal activities took place between 1993 and 2011, with some incidents reportedly extending as late as 2018. They argue that the tabloids hired private investigators to intercept phone calls and obtain confidential information, including detailed phone records, medical histories, and bank statements.

However, Anthony White, counsel for ANL, told the court that the trial would show the company presents “a compelling account of a pattern of lawful source acquisition” for its articles.

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White added that the claims would require the court to believe that journalists and staff at the tabloids had engaged in widespread dishonesty, which the company strongly denies.

International

Death toll from southern Spain train crash rises to 40

The death toll from the train accident that occurred on Sunday in southern Spain has risen to 40, according to investigative sources cited by EFE on Monday afternoon.

Since early Monday, search operations have focused on the damaged carriages of a Renfe train bound for Huelva, which collided with the last derailed cars of an Iryo train traveling from Málaga to Madrid after it left the tracks.

The crash has also left more than 150 people injured. Of these, 41 remain hospitalized, including 12 in intensive care units at hospitals across the Andalusia region.

More than 220 Civil Guard officers are working at the site, searching the railway line and surrounding areas for key evidence to help identify victims and determine the causes of the accident.

The tragedy has revived memories of the deadliest railway disasters in Europe in recent decades. In Spain, the most severe occurred on July 24, 2013, when an Alvia train derailed near Santiago de Compostela, killing 80 people and injuring 130 others.

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At the European level, the worst rail disaster took place on June 3, 1998, in Eschede, northern Germany, when a high-speed train struck a bridge pillar at 200 kilometers per hour, resulting in 98 deaths and 120 injuries.