Washington becomes the showcase for Trump's security policy
The majority of military personnel and federal agents are now deployed on the ground. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Secret Service, Border Patrol, US Marshals... The Washington Post mapped the presence of 10 federal agencies, representing the full range of American law enforcement.
Meanwhile, the city's Democratic authorities have sought to mount a legal response. After initially announcing their cooperation with the Trump administration, the city's mayor and the district's attorney general – both Democrats – filed a lawsuit to contest the decision placing police chief Pamela Smith under the authority of DEA chief Terry Cole.
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France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Zelensky, European leaders head to US for talks on peace deal terms
Zelensky, who has repeatedly rejected territorial concessions, will meet Trump in Washington on Monday, accompanied by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and other leaders. The meeting comes on the heels of a summit between Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, which failed to yield a ceasefire breakthrough but produced promises from both leaders to provide "robust security guarantees" to Ukraine. Zelensky was not invited to the Alaska meeting, after which Trump pivoted to the long-held Russian position that a ceasefire was not needed before a final peace deal. "President Zelenskyy of Ukraine can end the war with Russia almost immediately, if he wants to, or he can continue to fight," Trump posted on his social media platform. "Remember how it started. No getting back Obama given Crimea (12 years ago, without a shot being fired!), and NO GOING INTO NATO BY UKRAINE. Some things never change!!!" Trump and Zelensky are expected to meet one-on-one before being joined by a cohort of European leaders on Monday, according to the White House schedule. Along with von der Leyen, NATO chief Mark Rutte and the leaders of Britain, Finland, France, Germany and Italy will be present. It will be the first time Zelensky visits Washington since a bust-up with Trump and Vice President JD Vance in February when the two men berated the Ukrainian leader for being "ungrateful." On Sunday night, after arriving in Washington, Zelensky said: "We all share a strong desire to end this war quickly and reliably." Security guarantees Since the Oval Office row in February, Trump has grown more critical of Putin and shown some signs of frustration as Russia repeatedly stalled on peace talks. But Washington has not placed extra sanctions on Moscow and the lavish welcome offered to Putin in Alaska on his first visit to the West since he invaded Ukraine in 2022 was seen as a diplomatic coup for Russia. Speaking in Brussels on the eve of his visit to the United States, Zelensky said he was keen to hear more about what Putin and Trump discussed in Alaska. He also hailed Washington's offer of security guarantees to Ukraine as "historic." Trump said he spoke to Putin about the possibility of a NATO-style collective defense guarantee for Ukraine. The promise would be outside of the framework of the Western military alliance that Ukraine wants to join and which is seen as an existential threat by Russia. French President Emmanuel Macron said European leaders would ask Trump "to what extent" Washington is ready to contribute to security guarantees for Ukraine. Discussion on land Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff said Moscow had made "some concessions" regarding five Ukrainian regions that Russia fully or partially controls, and said that "there is an important discussion with regard to Donetsk and what would happen there. "That discussion is going to specifically be detailed on Monday," he said, without giving details. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 following a sham referendum and did the same in 2022 for four Ukrainian regions -- Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhzhia -- even though its forces have not fully captured them. A source briefed on a phone call between Trump and European leaders on Saturday told AFP that the US leader was "inclined to support" a Russian demand to be given territory it has not yet captured in the Donbas, an area that includes the Donetsk and Lugansk regions and which has seen the deadliest battles of the war. In exchange, the source cited Trump as saying, Moscow would agree to "freeze" the front line in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, where Russian forces hold swathes of territory but not the regional capitals. Russia has until now insisted that Ukraine pull its forces out of all four regions as a precondition to any deal. 'Capitulation' There is concern in Europe that Washington could pressure Ukraine to accept Russia's terms. "For peace to prevail, pressure must be applied to the aggressor, not the victim of aggression," Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Sunday. Macron said: "There is only one state proposing a peace that would be a capitulation: Russia." Zelensky has repeatedly pushed back against ceding territory, but said he is ready to discuss the issue in the context of a trilateral summit with Trump and Putin. Trump has raised the possibility of such a meeting, but Russia has played down the prospect. Moscow's forces have been advancing gradually but steadily in Ukraine, particularly in the Donetsk region. Russian attacks on Kharkiv killed three people and wounded dozens more, Ukrainian authorities said Monday, while a separate overnight attack on the Sumy region near the border wounded two others.
France 24
2 hours ago
- France 24
Singapore key exports slip in July as US shipments tumble 42.7 pct
Southeast Asia's second-largest economy is heavily reliant on international trade and is vulnerable to any global slowdown induced by the tariffs -- even if Singapore only faces a baseline 10 percent levy from US President Donald Trump. On August 6, Trump announced a 100 percent tariff on chips from firms that do not invest in the United States, and threatened levies of up to 250 percent on pharmaceutical imports. The 42.7 percent July contraction in main exports to the US -- Singapore's biggest market -- was largely caused by a 93.5 percent decline in pharmaceutical shipments, the government body Enterprise Singapore said on Monday. Meanwhile, exports of specialised machinery dropped 45.8 percent and food preparations were down 48.8 percent. Non-oil domestic shipments to China and Indonesia also declined in July, but grew to the EU, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong. The city-state last Tuesday raised its 2025 economic growth forecast, but warned the outlook for the rest of the year remains clouded by global uncertainty, in part due to US tariffs. The trade ministry lifted its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 1.5-2.5 percent from an earlier range of 0-2.0 percent. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Sunday said that he took "little comfort" from the 10 percent baseline tariff rate the US imposed on Singapore. "Because no one knows if, or when, the US might raise the baseline, or set higher tariffs on specific industries like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors," he said in a National Day speech. "What we do know is that there will be more trade barriers in the world. That means small and open economies like us will feel the squeeze," Wong added. © 2025 AFP
France 24
3 hours ago
- France 24
Zelensky returns to site of stunning Oval Office shouting match
At the February 28 meeting, Trump and Vice President JD Vance berated Zelensky on live television, accusing him of being ungrateful for US aid provided since Russia's invasion three years prior, and pressing for quick negotiations to end the war. The hostile confrontation marked a turning point in Kyiv-Washington relations, which had been warm under former president Joe Biden, and raised fears that Trump would cut off US military support. The scene quickly devolved at the end of a long question-and-answer session with the press. Vance accused Zelensky of being "disrespectful" and displaying ingratitude for Trump's diplomatic efforts, after the Ukrainian leader expressed skepticism that Russian President Vladimir Putin could be trusted given his repeated violations of earlier agreements. As Zelensky defended his position in his non-native English, Trump was enraged by the Ukrainian leader's suggestion that while the United States was currently far from the fighting, "you will feel it in the future" if they appeased Putin. "You don't know that. You don't know that. Don't tell us what we're going to feel. We're trying to solve a problem. Don't tell us what we're going to feel," railed Trump, before adding: "You're not in a good position. You don't have the cards right now." As tempers flared, Vance demanded Zelensky thank the United States for the billions provided to Kyiv in military aid. "Have you said 'thank you' once?" he asked. When Zelensky attempted to respond, he was silenced by Trump. "No, no. You've done a lot of talking. Your country is in big trouble," said Trump, cutting Zelensky off. The Ukrainian leader left the White House shortly after, without signing a mineral rights deal that was a key reason for his visit. In the ensuing days, the United States temporarily cut off military aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, heightening European fears that Trump would side with Putin in trying to end the conflict. Shifting tides Much water has since flowed under the bridge, however. Trump, who has in the past expressed his admiration for Putin, began to lose patience with the Russian leader, as Moscow kept up its military offensive even as US special envoy Steve Witkoff engaged in feverish diplomacy to achieve a ceasefire. In April, Trump met with Zelensky at the Vatican, and accused Putin of "tapping me along" without delivering on promises. Days later, Ukraine and the United States finally signed a minerals deal, which Trump had earlier referred to as compensation for US aid. The two leaders also met face-to-face in June on the sidelines of the NATO summit at The Hague. On Friday, Trump met with Putin in Alaska to discuss the Ukrainian conflict, promising to run any proposals by both Ukraine and its European allies before agreeing to a deal. Shortly after the Putin summit, Trump invited Zelensky to the Oval Office. Perhaps wary of the contours of the previous diplomatic dust-up, Zelensky quickly said he was "grateful for the invitation." European leaders will join Zelensky in Washington on Monday, seeking above all else to prevent another Oval Office meltdown -- but also to coordinate on the path toward peace negotiations, especially on how to prevent any future Russian invasion. On the latter front, the Trump administration says it is now open to providing Ukraine security guarantees, a shift hailed Sunday by Ukrainian and European leaders. Zelensky is expected to first meet one-on-one with Trump, before they are joined by European leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, a European government source said.
