WorldPride rally in Washington, DC takes aim at Donald Trump's ‘deeply personal attacks' on LGBTQ+ community
LGBTQ+ people and their allies gathered yesterday at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC – the site of Martin Luther King's 1963 'I Have a Dream' speech – to rally for preserving decades of progress while protesting setbacks under US president Donald Trump.
After the festive nature of a parade on Saturday through the streets of the capital, the rally, one of the main events of the weeks-long WorldPride celebration, turned more overtly political.
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Irish Times
36 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Ukraine fears fresh offensive to coincide with US-Russia summit
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has warned that Russian troops seem to be preparing for a new offensive rather than ceasefire and said his country must be involved in talks on its future, in advance of Friday's US-Russia summit in Alaska . Mr Zelenskiy is expected to join online talks hosted by Germany on Wednesday with several European leaders, top European Union and Nato officials and US president Donald Trump , as Kyiv's military tries to shore up leaky defences in the eastern Donetsk region. 'We all support President Trump's determination, and together we must ... not allow Russia to deceive the world once again,' said Mr Zelenskiy on Tuesday. 'We see that the Russian army is not preparing to end the war. On the contrary, they are making movements that indicate preparations for new offensive operations.' Ukrainian and western analysts who monitor the battlefield say Russian troops have advanced about 10km in recent days near the eastern mining town of Dobropillia, as they try to surround the nearby small cities of Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka. READ MORE If they were to fall, it would exert further pressure on Kyiv's two main remaining strongholds in Donetsk region – the cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk. 'The situation is quite chaotic, as the enemy, having found gaps in the defence, is infiltrating deeper, trying to quickly consolidate and accumulate forces for further advancement,' said Ukrainian analyst DeepState , which maps the ever-changing battlefield. The Ukrainian military acknowledged but downplayed the development, claiming that only small groups of Russian troops were sneaking through the front line and were being destroyed before establishing a foothold in the rear and bringing up reinforcements. The first Azov corps of Ukraine's national guard said it had deployed to the area in recent days: 'The situation remains complex ... Units of the corps have planned and taken measures to block enemy forces in a designated area.' A Russian strike on a bus station in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, at the weekend. Photograph: EPA A respected military analyst and former Ukrainian soldier who uses the name Tatarigami_UA on social media noted that Russia had also launched big offensives before peace talks in 2014 and 2015, when fighting was confined to eastern Ukraine. Moscow has claimed this week to have made a significant breakthrough near Dobropillia. 'The current situation is serious, but far from the collapse some suggest,' he said. 'A collapse ... means a loss of command and control, a breakdown in battlefield awareness, and an inability to regroup, withdraw in an organised fashion, or co-ordinate with units. To the best of my knowledge, none of these conditions are currently present.' News from the battlefield deepened Ukrainian anxiety in advance of talks between Mr Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin . Kyiv and European capitals fear they want to clinch a quick, sweeping agreement to end the war and present it to Ukraine and the world as a done deal. 'As for the negotiations ... they are important at the level of leaders, but it is impossible to talk about Ukraine without Ukraine and no one will accept it,' said Mr Zelenskiy. 'Therefore, the conversation between Putin and Trump may be important for their bilateral track. But they cannot agree anything about Ukraine without us. I really believe and hope that the US president understands and recognises this.' On Monday evening, all EU leaders except Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban agreed on a statement that 'the path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine ... The European Union underlines the inherent right of Ukraine to choose its own destiny and will continue supporting Ukraine on its path towards EU membership.'
RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
National Guard troops arrive in Washington DC after Trump order
Members of the National Guard have arrived in Washington DC a day after US President Donald Trump announced he was deploying 800 troops to the capital and temporarily taking over the city's police department. The president cast his actions as necessary to "rescue" Washington from a purported wave of lawlessness. Statistics show that violent crime shot up in 2023 but has been rapidly declining since. It is the second time this summer that the Republican president has deployed troops to a city governed by Democrats. A federal trial began yesterday in San Francisco on whether Mr Trump violated US law by deploying National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June without the approval of California Governor Gavin Newsom. "Our capital city has been overtaken by violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals," Mr Trump said yesterday. The Republican president has dismissed criticism that he is manufacturing a crisis to justify expanding presidential authority in a heavily Democratic city. Hundreds of officers and agents from over a dozen federal agencies, including the FBI, ICE, DEA and ATF, have fanned out across the city in recent days. Mr Trump said he would also send in the US military "if needed". The Democratic mayor of Washington, Muriel Bowser, has pushed back on Mr Trump's claims that the city is a "hellscape", saying it is "not experiencing a crime spike" and highlighting that violent crime hit its lowest level in more than three decades last year. Violent crime fell 26% in the first seven months of 2025 after dropping 35% in 2024, and overall crime dropped 7%, according to the city's police department. Over the past week, Mr Trump has intensified his messaging, suggesting he might attempt to strip the city of its local autonomy and implement a full federal takeover. The District of Columbia, established in 1790, operates under the Home Rule Act, which gives Congress ultimate authority but allows residents to elect a mayor and city council. Mr Trump said last week that lawyers are examining how to overturn the law, a move that would likely require Congress to revoke it. In taking over the Metropolitan Police Department, Mr Trump invoked a section of the act that allows the president to use the force temporarily when "special conditions of an emergency nature" exist. Mr Trump said he was declaring a "public safety emergency" in the city. The deployment of National Guard troops is a tactic the president used in Los Angeles, where he dispatched 5,000 troops in June in response to protests over his administration's immigration raids. State and local officials objected to Mr Trump's decision as unnecessary and inflammatory.
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Rose of Tralee: Roses use their platform to discuss health issues
US president Donald Trump has said that he could meet with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "very soon" for talks over Ukraine. Video: Reuters
