WASHINGTON: Where in the world is Melania Trump? Back in Washington in a sharply tailored outfit that exudes international woman of mystery as her husband once again becomes president of the United States.
Wearing a long navy coat and matching wide-brimmed hat — which shielded her eyes in most photos and hindered her commander-in-chief husband’s attempts to give her a peck before his swearing-in — Melania’s fit drew snark on social media and a flurry of comparisons to a 1980s video game character.
“Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?” quipped the Internet, referring to the franchise that spun off into a popular 1990s geography game show for kids, and featured a criminal mastermind dressed in a long, carmine trench coat and eye-obscuring fedora.
Melania Trump’s coat and skirt were silk wool Adam Lippes, an independent American designer based in New York, an ensemble paired with an ivory blouse tightly wrapped at the Slovenian-born former model’s neck.
“The tradition of the presidential inauguration embodies the beauty of American democracy and today we had the honor to dress our first lady, Mrs. Melania Trump,” said Lippes in a statement that emphasized American manufacturing over political ideology.
“Mrs. Trump’s outfit was created by some of America’s finest craftsmen and I take great pride in showing such work to the world.”
The hat was by New York milliner Eric Javits.
“She cut the figure of a mafia widow or high-ranking member of an obscure religious order, and a bit of ‘My Fair Lady,’ wrote Rachel Tashjian, style critic for The Washington Post.
American first ladies don’t get much of a voice — but their sartorial choices are broadcast to the world and scrutinized for subtext and statements.
The late Rosalynn Carter, for example, drew strong reactions by wearing a dress she had already worn — gasp! — when her husband Jimmy was inaugurated in 1977.
The point was to show empathy for the economic struggles of Americans — but sometimes what the people really want is aspirational glamor.
In recent years first ladies have routinely turned to independent designers for inaugural events: in 2021, Jill Biden wore a sparkling blue coat-and-dress combo by Markarian, a small brand in New York.
Michelle Obama made waves in 2009 in a lemon-colored outfit by Isabel Toledo, wearing Thom Browne at her husband’s second swearing-in. She wore gowns by Jason Wu to both series of inaugural balls.
Melania Trump, for her part, channeled Jackie Kennedy to kick off her first turn in the White House, wearing Ralph Lauren — a heritage-brand favorite on both sides of the political aisle — to the daytime events in 2017.
She swapped her powder-blue cashmere dress and matching asymmetrical bolero jacket with opera gloves for a silk crepe gown by Herve Pierre that year, both looks that signaled a sense of buoyancy as she began her new role as a political wife.
Her shadowy-chic 2025 look marks a sharp departure as she enters tenure two.
“For her second round as first lady, the fashion game — the tool she brandishes most often and most forcefully, even if the public sometimes struggles to divine her sartorial messages — is likely to be one of steely, precise armor, of clothes with brash and exacting tailoring,” wrote the Post’s Tashjian.
“For the past year, she has worn a wardrobe of mostly black, but this does not seem intended to make her disappear into the background.”
Melania Trump brings steely fashion game back to Washington
https://arab.news/998d3
Melania Trump brings steely fashion game back to Washington
- American first ladies don’t get much of a voice — but their sartorial choices are broadcast to the world and scrutinized for subtext and statements
Renowned Kenyan human rights activist arrested
- “The police have come to our home and are taking my husband, talking of terrorism and arson!” his wife said
- Hussein Khalid, director of rights group Vocal Africa, confirmed the arrest on X
NAIROBI: Kenyan human rights campaigner Boniface Mwangi was arrested at his home in the east African country, the latest in a long series of arrests, his wife and an NGO said on Saturday.
The prominent activist and former photojournalist has been detained on many occasions, including in May when he was abducted in Tanzania and allegedly tortured by security forces over several days.
“The police have come to our home and are taking my husband, talking of terrorism and arson! They’ve taken his gadgets and said they are taking him to DCI HQ,” said his wife Njeri Mwangi on X, referring to the headquarters of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.
The announcement of the arrest, with no clear accusations so far, quickly sparked a wave of condemnation on social media.
Hussein Khalid, director of rights group Vocal Africa, confirmed the arrest on X and said he was following the case “to understand the reasons” for the detention.
The hashtag #FreeBonifaceMwangi was circulating widely on social media.
On May 19, Mwangi was arrested along with award-winning Ugandan journalist and activist Agather Atuhaire in Tanzania’s economic capital, Dar es Salaam.
They were in the country to offer support to Tanzanian opposition figure Tundu Lissu, facing a potential death sentence in a treason trial, ahead of elections in October.
They were detained for several days and both accused police officers of acts of torture and sexual assault, and this week filed a case with the East African Court of Justice (EACJ).
Since the beginning of a large protest movement in Kenya in June 2024, President William Ruto has faced sharp criticism over a series of abductions and police violence.
Human rights organization allege that more than 100 people have been killed since the beginning of last year’s anti-government rallies, which were harshly suppressed.
Protests on July 7 were the deadliest in a year, with at least 38 deaths, including a 12-year-old girl.
UK govt facing legal action over refusal to evacuate sick children from Gaza
- Lawsuit against Foreign Office, Home Office revolves around three children requiring treatment
- UK govt says that it already contributes significant sums to aid children in Gaza
LONDON: The UK government is facing a legal challenge over its decision not to medically evacuate critically ill Palestinian children from Gaza, amid mounting pressure from campaigners and humanitarian groups, it was reported on Saturday.
According to a report by The Guardian, the legal action, which has been brought by law firm Leigh Day on behalf of three young children, will argue that British ministers have failed to account for the dire lack of medical options in Gaza, where thousands remain in urgent need of life-saving treatment.
The UK government has already supported healthcare for over half a million people in the Palestinian territories, including through field hospitals and medical supplies, and has facilitated access to the UK for some children through privately funded initiatives.
However, the claimants argue that current arrangements fall short of addressing the humanitarian emergency.
“The UK government has explained its failure to facilitate medical evacuations from Gaza on the basis that it supports treatment options in Gaza and the surrounding region and that there are visas available for privately funded medical treatment in the UK. However, these mechanisms are profoundly inadequate to meet the urgent needs of children in Gaza,” said Carolin Ott, the Leigh Day lawyer leading the legal action.
The case has been filed against both the Foreign Office and the Home Office, and revolves around three children, one aged two, and two siblings aged five, who require urgent medical attention unavailable in Gaza.
The two-year-old, referred to as Child Y, suffers from an arteriovenous malformation in his cheek, which causes daily bleeding and has left him in critical condition.
The other two children, both known as Child S, have the chronic kidney condition cystinosis nephropathy that has already led to kidney failure. One of the siblings can no longer walk, according to The Guardian report.
Campaigners say the UK’s current approach contrasts strongly with its actions in other conflicts, notably its evacuation of children during the Bosnian war and, more recently, from Ukraine.
The government, however, points to its ongoing humanitarian contributions, including a £7.5 million ($10 million) medical support package announced in May, as well as its support for Project Pure Hope, a UK-based initiative that successfully arranged for two children from Gaza to receive treatment in Britain earlier this year.
“We have helped several children with complex paediatric conditions access privately funded medical care in the UK, supporting an initiative by Project Pure Hope,” a government spokesperson said.
Legal documents submitted as part of the action reportedly indicate that Project Pure Hope requested the establishment of a UK-funded evacuation route from Gaza for medical cases, but that request was declined.
A spokesperson for the government added: “We have been clear the situation in Gaza is intolerable and that there must be an immediate ceasefire. We urge Israel to let vital humanitarian aid in and allow Gazans to receive urgent healthcare, including allowing the sick and wounded to temporarily leave the Gaza Strip to receive treatment.”
According to health officials in Gaza, more than 17,000 of the 58,000 Palestinians killed since Oct. 7, 2023, have been children.
The World Health Organization estimates that up to 12,500 patients in Gaza require evacuation for treatment.
As of April 10, over 7,200 patients had been moved out of the territory to destinations including Egypt, the UAE, Qatar, the EU, and the US. Nearly 5,000 of those evacuated were children.
Dr. Hani Isleem, project coordinator for Medecins Sans Frontieres, which has helped evacuate 22 patients, said that international reluctance to do more remained a serious obstacle.
“Some countries are reluctant to take in patients, fearing they might be perceived as facilitating ‘forced migration’ or as taking on the burden of the patients’ extended stay,” he said.
The UK government has until July 28 to respond to the legal pre-action letter, The Guardian’s report added.
Ukraine proposes fresh peace talks with Russia next week
- Zelensky said: “The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up”
- “A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace — lasting peace”
KYIV: Kyiv has proposed to Moscow a new round of peace talks next week, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday, after negotiations stalled in early June.
Two rounds of talks in Istanbul between Moscow and Kyiv have failed to result in any progress toward a ceasefire, instead yielding large-scale prisoner exchanges and deals to return the bodies of killed soldiers.
“Security Council Secretary Umerov also reported that he had proposed the next meeting with the Russian side for next week,” Zelensky said in his evening address. “The momentum of the negotiations must be stepped up,” he added.
Zelensky reiterated his readiness to have a face-to-face sitdown with Putin. “A meeting at the leadership level is needed to truly ensure peace — lasting peace,” he said.
At talks last month, Russia outlined a list of hard-line demands, including calls for Ukraine to cede more territory and to reject all forms of Western military support.
Kyiv dismissed them as unacceptable and at the time questioned the point of further negotiations if Moscow was not willing to make concessions.
The Kremlin said earlier this month it was ready to continue talks with Ukraine after US President Donald Trump gave Russia 50 days to strike a peace deal or face sanctions.
Trump also pledged to supply Kyiv with new military aid, sponsored by NATO allies, as its cities suffer ever-increasing Russian aerial attacks.
Russian strikes on Ukraine claimed another three lives Saturday.
Police arrest more than 50 Palestine Action demonstrators in London
- Protests against ban on group held across the UK including in Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol
- Hearing into legal challenge to the group’s terrorism designation to be held Monday
LONDON: More than 50 protesters have been arrested in central London supporting the banned group Palestine Action.
Protests were held across the UK on Saturday, including in Manchester, Edinburgh and Bristol after the group was outlawed as a terrorist organization.
The main demonstration was in Parliament Square in Westminster, where numerous people held up signs reading “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action.”
Supporting a proscribed group in the UK is illegal. The protesters in London were detained under Section 13 of the UK’s Terrorism Act, which carries a possible jail term of six years.
On X the Metropolitan Police stated: “55 people were arrested in Parliament Square for displaying placards in support of Palestine Action which is a proscribed group.”
Eight people were also arrested in Truro, Cornwall for a similar protest. Several others were detained in Manchester.
Defend Our Juries, the group behind the protests, said before the demonstrations that 120 people in the UK had been arrested for supporting Palestine Action so far.
The group was banned after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base at Brize Norton on June 20, causing an estimated £7 million ($9.38 million) of damage to military aircraft.
Membership of direct support for Palestine Action now carries a prison term of up to 14 years. Displaying the group’s name on clothing could lead to a six-month jail sentence.
A hearing into a permission to bring a judicial review into the ban will be held at the High Court in London on Monday.
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Tourist boat capsizes during a thunderstorm in Vietnam, leaving 34 dead, 8 people remain missing
- The Wonder Sea boat was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members
- Rescue workers saved 11 people, and recovered the dead near the site of the capsizing
HA LONG BAY, Vietnam: A boat carrying tourists capsized during a sudden thunderstorm in Vietnam on Saturday afternoon during a sightseeing excursion, killing 34 people, state media reported. Eight others remain missing.
The Wonder Sea boat was carrying 48 passengers and five crew members — all of them Vietnamese — during the tour of Ha Long Bay, a popular destination for visitors, according to the reports.
Rescue workers saved 11 people, and recovered the dead near the site of the capsizing, VNExpress newspaper said. Twenty-three people remain missing. Authorities had earlier reported that 12 people had been rescued, but later revised the figure to 11.
The boat turned upside down because of strong winds, the newspaper said. A 14-year-old boy was among the survivors, and he was rescued four hours after being trapped in the overturned hull.
The newspaper said that most of the passengers were tourists, including about 20 children, from Hanoi, the country’s capital.
A tropical storm is also moving toward the area. A national weather forecast said that Storm Wipha is expected to hit Vietnam’s northern region, including Ha Long Bay’s coast next week.
