By Bonface Mulyungi

BBC -The US ambassador to France, Charles Kushner, has reportedly assured French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot he will not interfere in the country’s affairs, after he failed to explain claims France had seen a “rise” in violence.

The pair spoke by phone on Tuesday after Barrot blocked Kushner, father of Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, from access to ministers in response to the US envoy’s apparent snubbing of a summons on Monday evening over his comments.

On Monday, Kushner had cited a prior engagement and sent a deputy instead of answering the summon himself.

The pair have reportedly agreed to meet face-to-face in the coming days. Neither has spoken publicly about Tuesday’s talks.

“[Barrot] reiterated the reasons that had led to the summons: France cannot accept any form of interference or manipulation of its national public debate by the authorities of a third country,” a member of the foreign minister’s team told French media about Tuesday’s call.

“The ambassador took note and expressed his willingness not to interfere in our public debate.”

The diplomatic row began last week, when the US embassy in France posted comments on social media about the murder of far-right nationalist Quentin Deranque, warning that “violent left-wing extremism is on the rise” in France.

Deranque, a 23-year-old maths student, died in hospital on 14 February – two days after being beaten by a gang of masked young men in Lyon, in an attack which ministers from France’s centre-right government blamed on “far-left” militants.

The comments posted by the US embassy angered the French government, with Barrot saying over the weekend: “We reject any use of this tragedy, which has plunged a French family into mourning, for political ends.”

“We have no lessons to learn, particularly on the issue of violence, from the international reactionary movement.”

BBC News has approached the US embassy in France for comment.

Kushner’s failure to turn up on Monday worsened the situation, with the foreign ministry then accusing him of an “apparent failure to grasp the basic requirements of the ambassadorial mission”.

It said Barrot had requested Kushner “no longer be allowed direct access” to government ministers.

Prior to speaking to Kushner on Tuesday, Barrot told Franceinfo that his failure to answer his summons had been “a surprise”.

“When you have the honour of representing your country, the United States of America in France, as ambassador, you abide by the most basic customs of diplomacy and you respond to summonses from the foreign ministry,” said Barrot.

“We do not accept that foreign countries can come and interfere in, then insert themselves into, our national political debate, whatever the circumstances.”

It is not the first time Kushner has found himself in diplomatic hot water with the French government. Last year, he was summoned over what the foreign ministry said were unacceptable allegations of failing to tackle a surge in antisemitism.

Six men suspected of being involved in the fatal assault have been charged over Deranque’s death, while a parliamentary assistant for a deputy from the radical left France Unbowed (LFI) party has also been charged with complicity.

They were all members of, or close to, an organisation called La Jeune Garde (The Young Guard) which used to provide security for LFI before it was banned last year.

LFI leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is a likely contender in next year’s presidential election, has said his party had “nothing to do with this story” and condemned “all forms of violence”.

“We express our consternation, but also our empathy and compassion for [Deranque’s] family and friends,” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron held a meeting at the Élysée Palace on Tuesday, which he had earlier said would “assess all the violent action groups that are active and have links with political parties”.

Sources told French media after the meeting that the government had begun a process to close branches of La Jeune Garde that they suspected were trying to operate despite the ban.

Bonface Mulyungi

BBC -Few of Donald Trump’s speeches to Congress have had as much riding on the outcome as the State of the Union address he will deliver on Tuesday night.

Over the course of the past year, Trump has pushed the envelope of presidential power in a multitude of directions.

He has achieved substantive accomplishments, both domestically and in foreign policy. But not all of his achievements have been popular – and some have been highly divisive.

Regardless of how his policies have been perceived, Trump will address an America notably different than the one he returned to lead last year.

He has enacted his sweeping second-term agenda at breakneck speed; cracking down on illegal immigration and effectively sealing the border, upending foreign alliances, challenging the checks and balances that are foundational to the American political system, and fundamentally redefining the role of the presidency.

He has, however, run headfirst into significant obstacles, both from the public and key institutions that have curtailed his ambitions.

Opinion polls suggest public mood has soured on Trump in his second term. A recent CNN poll indicated only 36% of Americans approved of the job Trump is doing. A Washington Post survey returned a similar figure at 39%. This State of the Union address represents an opportunity for Trump to stop the bleeding at a pivotal time.

In just over eight months, voters will pass judgement on Trump’s second presidential term in November’s midterm elections. They could preserve his Republican majority in Congress or hand power to the Democrats, assuring two years of legislative gridlock and aggressive oversight that could, in his own words, see him impeached once again.

Tuesday’s speech is Trump’s one and only chance to make his case to the US public before those elections in a major set-piece event before an audience of millions.

On Monday, he previewed what he hopes to accomplish with the address. “We have a country that’s now doing well, we have the greatest economy we’ve ever had and the most activity we’ve ever had,” Trump said. “It is going to be a long speech, because we have so much to talk about.”

According to Robert Rowland, a professor at the University of Kansas who has written a book analysing Trump’s rhetoric, it is standard fare for Trump to boast about his accomplishments, leavened with attacks on his perceived enemies and critics.

His past speeches to Congress including last year’s, which stretched for nearly two hours, have followed a similar pattern. But at what he called a “critical moment” for the president, Rowland said a typical Trump speech may not be the best approach.

“State of the Union addresses are normally a time when the president does two things that President Trump essentially never does,” Rowland said. “The president makes a case for his agenda. And they try to broaden the appeal of the agenda of the administration.”

Much of Trump’s second-term agenda, and his efforts to tout it, have been directed at his political base. Broadening his appeal can at times feel like less of a priority than going on the attack. The political reality, however, suggests the president has some work to do in selling his agenda before November’s elections.

His decision to surge federal immigration agents to cities like Minneapolis may have been popular with the party faithful who waved “mass deportations now!” signs at the 2024 Republican National Convention, but polls indicate many Americans believe he has gone too far.

The president’s trade policies, including high tariffs on some of America’s biggest partners, have also proven to be stubbornly unpopular. Last Friday, the US Supreme Court ruled that many of the president’s duties were illegal, casting the administration’s trade regime in doubt.

The president has since imposed new tariffs and pledged to be even more expansive in their use, but the end result is continued uncertainty around the impact that the president’s actions will have on the US economy and consumer prices.

While there has been some good news for Trump on the economy, with the stock indexes near record highs and unemployment low, the latest figures on economic growth were below expectations.

The economy and immigration had traditionally been two areas where Trump had the most public support. But his standing on those issues has declined since he returned to the White House, contributing to his sinking overall approval levels.

By Bonface Mulyungi

BBC -Police in Mexico are searching a number of inmates sprung from a prison in Puerto Vallarta during a wave of attacks launched by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) on Sunday.

Puerto Vallarta, a beach resort on Mexico’s Pacific coast, was among the towns where the CJGN blockaded roads and torched cars in retaliation for the killing by security forces of their leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as “El Mencho”.

During the unrest, armed men rammed one of the prison gates with a car, paving the way for 23 prisoners to escape, an official said.

More than 70 people – including 25 National Guard members – were killed in the operation to capture El Mencho and the violence which followed.

Juan Pablo Hernández, security secretary for the state of Jalisco, said that his office was working with other states to capture the fugitives.

Officials have not yet released details of the identities of the prisoners who escaped.

Cartel members torched several vehicles across Puerto Vallarta on Sunday.

Tourists and locals were urged to seek shelter and not venture out and footage they recorded showed black plumes of smoke rising above the popular beach resort.

A number of airlines temporarily halted their flights and at least two major cruise liners said their ships would skip planned stops in Puerto Vallarta.

The Mexican government said on Monday that most of the road blocks erected by cartel members had been cleared.

But El Universal newspaper reports that in the state of Morelia, where drug lord El Mencho was born, armed men continued to spread fear on Monday, torching cars and vandalising shops and public buildings.

El Mencho was Mexico’s most wanted man. Under his leadership, the CJGN became a powerful transnational criminal organisation which spread from its stronghold in the state of Jalisco into many other Mexican states, where it engages in drug production and trafficking.

It often resorts to extreme violence and has been behind a number of high-profile attacks on the security forces and government officials.

The Trump administration had described El Mencho as a “top target for the Mexican and United States government as one of the top traffickers of fentanyl into our homeland” and had offered a $15m (£11.1m) reward for information leading to his capture.

The drug lord was captured by Mexican security forces in the town of Tapalpa, in Jalisco state, on Sunday.

Mexico’s defence minister said they were able to locate him by following one of his “romantic partners”.

He died shortly after being captured due to injuries in the firefight which broke out between his security guards and Mexico’s special forces sent to arrest him.