Witkoff and Kushner to Go to Pakistan for Talks on Iran - The New York Times

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Student-led demonstrators clashed Thursday with Albanian police in the capital Tirana for a third day running, joining a broader anti-government movement launched in opposition to a major development project linked to U. S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Youths protesting Albania’s long-serving Socialist government hurled rocks at a police cordon outside the Education Ministry, and riot police responded with tear gas and water cannons. Police detained several demonstrators. The latest clashes followed riots on Wednesday when protesters attacked government buildings, banks and businesses, leaving 89 people injured including 61 police officers, according to the Health Ministry. The protests were led by student groups seeking education reforms. They have joined the so-called flamingo movement, which is calling for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama over allegations of widespread corruption and in opposition to the large luxury tourism development on Albania’s southern coast, associated with an investment firm founded by Kushner. Story continues below advertisement

Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and Middle East envoy, has held lengthy talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the premier's spokesperson has told the BBC, in a bid to restart the stalled US-backed Gaza peace plan. Hailing the "very good meeting", Kushner told Fox News that there could be "progress in as little as 30 days, hopefully, on starting to take some of [Hamas's] weapons out," but added: "we do need cooperation from both sides". Israel has said that it agrees with the Board of Peace, set up by the president, that there would be no reconstruction in Gaza without Hamas's complete disarmament. Hamas had earlier asked the board to "compel" Israel to accept the peace plan, after Kushner held rare talks with the group on Sunday. Trump leads the Board of Peace, which was created as an international organisation originally intended to bring peace to Gaza, but later expanded to include conflicts worldwide. Last week Israel rejected Trump's 15-point Gaza peace plan. The document calls for Israeli troops to withdraw and Gaza to be rebuilt under a new civilian Palestinian administration.

The prime ministers of Norway and Finland will be present at the discussions in the Norwegian capital Oslo. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to hold talks with United States special envoy Steve Witkoff and European leaders in Norway, aimed at ending the war with Russia. The prime ministers of Norway and Finland will attend the talks in Oslo on Tuesday, while President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is expected to attend remotely because of illness. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Finland seeking one million land mines as it eyes Russian threatlist 2 of 3Children among six killed in Russian drone strike on Ukraine parklist 3 of 3US-Ukraine relations sour as Trump, Zelenskyy clash over talks, armsend of listThe meeting comes as Trump continues to publicly castigate Zelenskyy, accusing him of not wanting to end the war and suggesting that someone else should negotiate on Kyiv’s behalf. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said Zelenskyy requested that Witkoff and Kushner participate in Tuesday’s discussions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday called for a trilateral meeting with US and Russian leaders Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Speaking to the media following talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff in Oslo, Zelenskyy said one of the key ideas raised had been the possibility of holding a meeting between the trio "to address the issues that only the leaders can do. "