Ukraine reaction to Trump-Putin talks
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Sunday World
31 minutes ago
- Sunday World
Trump to deploy National Guard in Washington DC to tackle crime and homelessness
seize control | The president said he would end the 'days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people' US President Donald Trump (Jane Barlow/PA) Trump has promised new steps to tackle homelessness and crime in Washington, prompting the city's mayor to voice concerns about the potential use of the National Guard to patrol the streets. Ahead of a news conference, Trump said Monday on social media that the nation's capital would be 'LIBERATED today!' He said he would end the 'days of ruthlessly killing, or hurting, innocent people.' US President Donald Trump (Jane Barlow/PA) News in 90 seconds - 11th August 2025 For Trump, the effort to take over public safety in Washington reflects a next step in his law enforcement agenda after his aggressive push to stop illegal border crossings. But the move involves at least 500 federal law enforcement officials, raising fundamental questions about how an increasingly emboldened federal government will interact with its state and local counterparts. The president has used his social media and White House megaphones to message that his administration is tough on crime, yet his ability to shape policy might be limited outside of Washington, which has a unique status as a congressionally established federal district. Nor is it clear how his push would address the root causes of homelessness and crime. About 500 federal law enforcement officers are being tasked with deploying throughout the nation's capital as part of the Trump administration's effort to combat crime, a person familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Monday. More than 100 FBI agents and about 40 agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are among federal law enforcement personnel being assigned to patrols in Washington, the person briefed on the plans said. The Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Marshals Service are also contributing officers. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss personnel matters and spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity. The Justice Department didn't immediately have a comment Monday morning. Trump in a Sunday social media post had emphasized the removal of Washington's homeless population, though it was unclear where the thousands of people would go. 'The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY,' Trump wrote Sunday. 'We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital. The Criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong.' Last week, the Republican president directed federal law enforcement agencies to increase their presence in Washington for seven days, with the option 'to extend as needed.' On Friday night, federal agencies including the Secret Service, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service assigned more than 120 officers and agents to assist in Washington. Trump said last week that he was considering ways for the federal government to seize control of Washington, asserting that crime was 'ridiculous' and the city was 'unsafe,' after the recent assault of a high-profile member of the Department of Government Efficiency. Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, questioned the effectiveness of using the Guard to enforce city laws and said the federal government could be far more helpful by funding more prosecutors or filling the 15 vacancies on the D.C. Superior Court, some of which have been open for years. Bowser cannot activate the National Guard herself, but she can submit a request to the Pentagon. 'I just think that's not the most efficient use of our Guard,' she said Sunday on MSNBC's 'The Weekend,' acknowledging it is "the president's call about how to deploy the Guard.' Read more Bowser was making her first public comments since Trump started posting about crime in Washington last week. She noted that violent crime in Washington has decreased since a rise in 2023. Trump's weekend posts depicted the district as 'one of the most dangerous cities anywhere in the World." For Bowser, 'Any comparison to a war-torn country is hyperbolic and false.' Police statistics show homicides, robberies and burglaries are down this year when compared with this time in 2024. Overall, violent crime is down 26pc compared with this time a year ago. Trump offered no details in Truth Social posts over the weekend about possible new actions to address crime levels he argues are dangerous for citizens, tourists and workers alike. The White House declined to offer additional details about Monday's announcement. The police department and the mayor's office did not respond to questions about what Trump might do next. The president criticized the district as full of 'tents, squalor, filth, and Crime,' and he seems to have been set off by the attack on Edward Coristine, among the most visible figures of the bureaucracy-cutting effort known as DOGE. Police arrested two 15-year-olds in the attempted carjacking and said they were looking for others. 'This has to be the best run place in the country, not the worst run place in the country,' Trump said Wednesday. He called Bowser 'a good person who has tried, but she has been given many chances.' Trump has repeatedly suggested that the rule of Washington could be returned to federal authorities. Doing so would require a repeal of the Home Rule Act of 1973 in Congress, a step Trump said lawyers are examining. It could face steep pushback. Bowser acknowledged that the law allows the president to take more control over the city's police, but only if certain conditions are met. 'None of those conditions exist in our city right now," she said. 'We are not experiencing a spike in crime. In fact, we're watching our crime numbers go down.'
RTÉ News
40 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Ahead of DC deployment, who are the National Guard?
Donald Trump has ordered the mobilisation of hundreds of National Guard troops for deployment in Washington, DC as part of what the US president bills as a crackdown on crime. Mr Trump's move to deploy National Guard troops in the nation's capital comes after he took a similar step in Los Angeles in June, and the president has indicated that other cities should take note. Most National Guard forces answer to state governors and have to be "federalised" to be brought under presidential control, but in Washington, DC these troops already report only to the US president. Military reserve force The National Guard is a military reserve force within the United States Armed Forces, meaning that most of its members serve part-time while holding civilian jobs or conducting other activities. As a response force, the National Guard can be mobilized rapidly to address emergency situations on US soil, typically natural disasters. When needed, National Guard units can also be activated for deployments into combat zones, especially if the United States is at war. Unlike parts of the US military, the National Guard performs both state- and federal-level functions, and is organized into groupings based in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the US territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands. As a state-based force, generally it is the governor of a state or territory who activates and commands the National Guard when needed. However, in some situations the National Guard can be "federalised" by the president, bringing it under the president's control until the specific federal mission has ended - as was the case in Los Angeles. The latest budget from the Department of Defense authorizes 433,000 National Guard personnel in total, split across the Air National Guard and Army National Guard. This means that compared to other components of the US military, the National Guard is second only to the US Army in terms of size. Emergency response National Guard members are typically deployed during emergencies such as natural disasters at the request of governors and based on specific provisions in each state's laws. In the aftermath of events like hurricanes, wildfires, and floods, state National Guards are often called on to help evacuate dangerous areas, deliver supplies to places that would otherwise be cut off, or provide specialist equipment needed to clear hazardous debris. The largest National Guard deployment in recent years was during the Covid-19 pandemic, where troops helped construct and staff emergency care facilities, transport health supplies around the country, and coordinate other logistics. Outside of a natural disaster, deployment of the guard can be ordered in emergencies created by the breakdown of public order. History with protest The use of the National Guard to manage public unrest is not unique to Trump. During the widespread Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, more than half of US states activated National Guard troops to maintain order and help enforce curfews. Before that, they were also deployed to Los Angeles in 1992 to respond to riots that occurred after police officers who had beaten motorist Rodney King were acquitted at trial. At that time, riots, looting and arson attacks had spread across the city, with dozens of people killed and thousands injured. The National Guard was deployed during the 1950s and 60s Civil Rights era to help enforce school desegregation, following the Supreme Court's landmark Brown v Board of Education ruling. In one of the force's darkest moments, in May 1970, members of the Ohio National Guard clashed with anti-war protesters at Kent State University. As unrest swelled, the troops opened fire, killing four unarmed students. The shootings sparked outrage, but also led to reform of the guard's use-of-force guidelines.
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
There can be no peace deal without input from Ukraine, says Tánaiste
Any peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine which does not include the latter will "lack credibility", the Tánaiste has said. Simon Harris joined EU foreign ministers on a virtual meeting on Monday ahead of a summit in Alaska on Friday between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, with Mr Trump suggesting that a peace deal could include 'some swapping of territories'. European leaders, however, see no sign that Russia will offer anything to swap. Speaking at Government Buildings, Mr Harris said there can be no peace deal without Ukrainian input and that its territorial integrity must be maintained. Mr Harris said the meeting had heard from the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister, who "reiterated what has been the long standing view of the President of Ukraine, the government of Ukraine, the people of Ukraine, that they want an end to the war but they want to be involved in the peace discussions and peace negotiations". "Any sort of peace talks, or so called peace talks, that don't have Ukraine present really lack credibility," he said. "At a European level, I know we're very eager over the coming days to continue engagement between the European Union and the United States of America about the importance of involving Ukraine in any discussions about peace. "Everybody wants to see this war come to an end. But of course, how peace is made also matters, and Ukraine's territorial integrity matters. Ukraine's sovereignty matters, and European security matters as well." Mr Harris said it is important to avoid a "Putin trap" of attempting to sow division in Europe while not actually wanting peace. In 2022, Russia illegally annexed the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine's east, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south, even though it does not fully control them. It also occupies the Crimean Peninsula, which it seized in 2014.
