American Senator Chris Van Hollen said Thursday he had met with a Salvadoran man wrongfully deported to his home country by the Trump administration, in a case that has sparked outrage in the United States.Van Hollen had earlier said he had been denied access to the prison where Washington has paid President Nayib Bukele millions to lock up nearly 300 migrants it says are criminals and gang members — including 29-year-old Kilmar Abrego Garcia.”I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance,” Van Hollen later posted on X with a photo of him sitting at what appeared to be a restaurant table with Abrego Garcia.The dour-faced deportee is shown wearing a short-sleeved check shirt and a baseball cap.Van Hollen added that he would offer “a full update upon my return” to the United States.Abrego Garcia was detained in Maryland last month and expelled to El Salvador along with 238 Venezuelans and 22 fellow Salvadorans who were deported shortly after President Donald Trump invoked a rarely-used wartime authority. Trump administration officials have claimed he is an illegal migrant, a gang member and involved in human trafficking, without providing evidence. Abrego Garcia had enjoyed a protected status in the United States, precluding his deportation to El Salvador for his own safety. A federal judge has since ordered he be returned, later backed up by the Supreme Court.But the administration — despite admitting an “administrative error” in his deportation — contends he is now solely in Salvadoran custody. – ‘Staying in El Salvador’ -Bukele, who met Trump in Washington on Monday, said he does not have the power to send the man back.The Salvadoran leader posted to X late Thursday that Abrego Garcia was “sipping margaritas with Sen. Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador.”The deportee in fact appeared to have a cup of coffee and glass of water on the table in front of him.”Now that he’s been confirmed healthy, he gets the honor of staying in El Salvador’s custody,” Bukele added in another post.Van Hollen, on the second day of his trip to El Salvador, had earlier tried to make his way to the notorious Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) outside the capital San Salvador to see Abrego Garcia. The car he was traveling in was stopped by soldiers, he said, about three kilometers (1.8 miles) from the complex holding thousands of Salvadoran gangsters, and now also hundreds of migrants expelled from the United States. “We were told by the soldiers that they had been ordered not to allow us to proceed,” the senator later told reporters. – Cots without mattresses -He said the goal had been to check on the health and well-being of Abrego Garcia, who had been “illegally abducted” and was now the subject of “illegal detention” in the same prison built to hold members of gangs who had previously threatened his family.On Wednesday, Salvadoran Vice President Felix Ulloa had denied Van Hollen permission to see the prisoner or even talk to him by telephone. Asked why Abrego Garcia was being held at all, Ulloa told him “that the Trump administration is paying El Salvador, the government of El Salvador, to keep him at CECOT,” the senator recounted.Bukele had built the CECOT to hold gang members rounded up in an iron-fisted anti-crime drive welcomed by most Salvadorans but widely denounced for violating human rights. CECOT inmates are confined to their cells for all but 30 minutes a day, denied visits, forced to sleep on stainless steel cots without mattresses, and subsist on a diet of mostly beans and pasta. 

As the full moon rose, conductor Gustavo Dudamel’s signature theatrics were projected with a front-facing view to a spellbound audience, his baton whipping his orchestra into Richard Wagner’s legendary “Ride of The Valkyries.”It was perhaps an unlikely spectacle at Coachella, but one that generated a huge, enthusiastic crowd — and was befitting of a maestro who has become a bona fide celebrity.”WERK!” shouted one young audience member at Dudamel, as he and the Los Angeles Philharmonic began what was seen as one of the festival’s most memorable performances.Under Dudamel’s direction for the past 17 years, the LA Phil has cultivated an air of cool, fostering a relationship with pop and celebrity especially during the ensemble’s summer series at the Hollywood Bowl.So it was only natural that the 44-year-old take his act to California’s Coachella, one of the world’s highest-profile music festivals that in recent years has gained a reputation for buzzy surprises and eclectic line-ups.The orchestra delivered, launching into a mesmerizing set that included classics like Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, film themes like John Williams’ “Imperial March” from “Star Wars,” and a genre-spanning array of guests including country star Maren Morris, Icelandic jazz-pop singer Laufey, LA’s own Becky G and EDM DJ Zedd.The grand finale saw Dudamel’s baton conjure bars from one LL Cool J, a genre-blending pas de deux that mirrored a rap battle.”This place represents a culture,” Dudamel said of the festival in a backstage interview with AFP, ahead of his and the Phil’s first performance, which they will reprise on Saturday during Coachella’s final weekend. “This is what I believe is the mission of art, this identity,” he explained. “The identity of a new generation, hungry for beauty.”- ‘Catharsis’ -Over the years, some observers have marveled over — or criticized — Dudamel’s ties with Hollywood and his efforts to unite the classical world with music of the Hot 100 variety.But for the conductor — whose talent was shaped by Venezuela’s illustrious “El Sistema” musical education program — working across genre is “the most natural thing,” he said. In his youth, “my father had a salsa band, and I grew up listening to that and going to the orchestra, and it was always very natural to just enjoy music — whatever it was, a bolero, a rock band,” Dudamel recalled.”There are different styles of music, but music is one.”Johanna Rees, the vice president of presentations at the LA Phil, one of the most prestigious orchestras in the United States, says cross-genre collaborations are in part about drawing in fresh audience members.”It could be considered an entry point,” she said, “exposing the orchestra to these younger, newer audiences so they can come back and check out more things and discover orchestral concerts on their own.”A lot of audience members at Coachella, she predicted, were “seeing an orchestra for the very first time.””It’s quite awesome, in the most literal sense of that word, to see how everybody can come together and make this music completely without the genre.”Some in the classical music world have balked at this notion, considering it a dilution, or cheapening, of the art form.But such criticism misses the expansive possibilities ingrained in the process of collaboration, Rees said: “We’re not creating orchestral wallpaper behind a band.””It’s hearing the music in a different way. It’s not dumbing it down,” she added. “It’s just making it another version of itself.”The prime sunset slot at Coachella serves as a capstone ushering in Dudamel’s final year of his nearly two-decade run in Los Angeles — the product of “years of dreaming, and breaking walls, and connecting more not only with styles of music but with different people’s identities,” he said.It’s an ethos the maestro aims to bring to the eminent New York Philharmonic when he officially assumes his post as that company’s next director in the 2026-27 season.And it’s vital, he said, in a moment of boiling political turmoil.”We need these spaces of catharsis,” he said, to “connect to the power of a tool of humanity that is music.”

Donald Trump and Giorgia Meloni hit an optimistic note about a possible US-EU tariffs deal Thursday as the far-right Italian prime minister mounted a charm offensive at the White House.Casting herself as the only European who can de-escalate Trump’s trade war, Meloni highlighted their conservative common ground and said she wanted to “make the West great again.””There will be a trade deal, 100 percent,” Trump said during her visit. Meloni said she was “sure” they could reach a deal.The two leaders struck a warm tone during a working lunch and a meeting in the Oval Office, with Trump hailing the 48-year-old Italian premier as “fantastic.”Meloni is the first leader from Europe to visit the Republican since he slapped 20 percent tariffs on EU exports, which he has since suspended for 90 days.The Italian leader said Trump had accepted an invitation to visit Rome in the “near future” and that he might also meet European leaders there.”Even if we have some problems between the two shores of the Atlantic, it is the time that we try to sit down and find solutions,” she said.Meloni highlighted their shared views on immigration and “woke” ideology and added: “The goal for me is to make the West great again, and I think we can do it together.” – ‘Get smart’ -But while Trump expressed confidence about an eventual deal with the 27-nation bloc he accuses of trying to “screw” the United States, he said he was in “no rush.””Everybody wants to make a deal — and if they don’t want to make a deal, we’ll make the deal for them,” Trump added.Trump also returned to his administration’s familiar criticisms of Europe, saying it needed to “get smart” on immigration and boost defense spending on NATO.The US leader said separately that superpower rival China had “reached out” about a possible deal to end the bitter trade war between the world’s biggest economies.Trump has slapped eye-watering 145 percent tariffs on Chinese goods after it retaliated to his worldwide “Liberation Day” tariffs announcement on April 2.”I think we’re going to make a very good deal with China,” he added.Russia’s war in Ukraine meanwhile remained a touchy subject between the US and Italian leaders.Meloni has been a staunch ally of Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelensky since Russia’s invasion of the country in 2022, most recently calling Moscow’s Palm Sunday attack on the city of Sumy “horrible and vile.” Trump however has stunned allies with a pivot toward Moscow and repeated attacks on Zelensky, whom he berated in an Oval Office meeting in February.The US leader said with Meloni beside him that “I don’t hold Zelensky responsible but I’m not exactly thrilled with the fact that that war started,” adding that he was “not a big fan” of the Ukrainian.- Uncertainty -Meloni had earlier acknowledged the uncertainty weighing on her trip as Europe reels from repeated blows from a country that has been the continent’s defender for decades.”I am aware of what I represent and I am aware of what I am defending,” Meloni said Tuesday.Italian newspapers reported that one of the goals of Meloni’s visit was to pave the way for a meeting between Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.Meloni’s decision to personally intercede with Trump has caused some disquiet among EU allies, who are concerned that her visit could undermine bloc unity.”If we start having bilateral discussions, obviously it will break the current dynamic,” France’s Industry Minister Marc Ferracci warned last week. A European Commission spokeswoman said that while the EU alone could negotiate trade agreements, Meloni’s “outreach is very welcome” and was coordinated with Brussels.Following Thursday’s meeting with Trump, Meloni will fly back to Rome on Friday in time to host US Vice President JD Vance, with whom she has a meeting planned.Trump’s threatened tariffs could have a major impact on Italy, the world’s fourth-largest exporter, which sends around 10 percent of its exports to the United States.

The first researchers fleeing US spending cuts imposed by President Donald Trump will start work at a French university in June, officials said Thursday.Aix Marseille University said its “Safe Place for Science” scheme received a flood of applicants after announcing in March it would open its doors to US scientists threatened by cuts.Of 298 applications, 242 were deemed eligible and “are being studied” for  some 20 available posts, the university said in a statement. It added that 135 of the applicants were US citizens, and 45 were dual citizens.University president Eric Berton said he wanted to see a new status of “refugee scientist” be created, and for more US researchers to be welcomed in France and Europe.A bill establishing such a status was presented in the French parliament on Monday by former president Francois Hollande, now a deputy.Aix Marseille University has previously brought in 25 scientists from Ukraine, Yemen, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories under another programme for researchers under threat.The university has set aside a budget so that each researcher taken in receives between 600,000 and 800,000 euros ($680,00-$910,000) over three years to continue their work.It said the applicants from a variety of US institutions, including Johns Hopkins, NASA, Yale, Stanford, Columbia and the University of Pennsylvania. A selection panel will meet next Wednesday, followed by remote interviews before the first scientists arrive in early June.