Category: 2. World

United States President Donald Trump on Monday deployed military and federal law enforcement to curb violent crime in Washington, as he seeks to make good on his campaign pledge to be a “law and order” president.

The Republican leader said he would place the city’s Metropolitan Police under federal government control while also sending the National Guard onto the streets of the US capital.

The overwhelmingly Democratic city faces allegations from Republican politicians that it is overrun by crime, plagued by homelessness and financially mismanaged — although violent offences are down.

“This is Liberation Day in DC, and we’re going to take our capital back,” Trump said.

Trump — a convicted felon who granted blanket clemency to nearly 1,600 people involved in the 2021 US Capitol riot in Washington — has complained that local police and prosecutors aren’t tough enough.

He said 800 DC National Guardsmen — “and much more if necessary” — would be deployed to the city of 700,000.

As Trump was speaking at the White House, several dozen demonstrators gathered outside.

“There is absolutely no need for the National Guard here,” said 62-year-old retiree Elizabeth Critchley, who brandished a sign with the slogan “DC says freedom not fascism.”

“It’s all for show. It’s just a big theatre,” she said.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was among several cabinet officials flanking Trump, said “other specialised” National Guard units could also be deployed.

“They will be strong, they will be tough, and they will stand with their law enforcement partners,” he said.

The new approach echoes Trump’s immigration policies that have effectively sealed the southern border amid mass deportations while deploying active-duty troops against protesters in Los Angeles.

New York, Chicago next?

The president told reporters he planned to roll out the policy to other cities, spotlighting New York and Chicago.

Unlike the 50 states, Washington operates under a unique relationship with the federal government that limits its autonomy and grants Congress extraordinary control over local matters.

Since the mid-1970s, the Home Rule Act has allowed residents to elect a mayor and a city council, although Congress still controls the city’s budget.

Data from Washington police shows significant drops in violent crime between 2023 and 2024, although that was coming off the back of a post-pandemic surge.

Trump posted on social media ahead of the news conference that he also wants to tackle homeless encampments, after signing an order last month making it easier to arrest homeless people.

He promised individuals “places to stay,” but “far from the Capital”. Trump said criminals would be jailed and that it would all happen “very fast”.

Federal law enforcement has already increased its presence after a former Department of Government Efficiency staffer was beaten during an attempted carjacking.

“Last week, my administration surged 500 federal agents into the district, including from the FBI, ATF, DEA, Park Police, the US Marshals Service, the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security,” Trump said.

“You know a lot of nations, they don’t have anything like that … They made dozens of arrests.”

A Gallup poll in October found that 64 per cent of Americans believed crime had risen in 2024, although FBI data shows the lowest levels of violent crime nationwide in more than half a century.

“Let me be crystal clear — crime in DC is ending, and it’s ending today,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Landmark trial kicks off over Trump’s use of US military in policing role

Separately, a landmark trial kicks off over the Trump administration’s use of National Guard forces to support its deportation efforts and quell protests in Los Angeles, in a legal challenge to the US president’s break from long-standing norms against deploying troops on American streets.

The three-day non-jury trial before San Francisco-based US District Judge Charles Breyer will determine if the government violated a 19th-century law that bars the military from civil law enforcement when Trump deployed the troops in June, as the state of California claims in its legal challenge.

Los Angeles experienced days of unrest and protests sparked by mass immigration raids at places where people gather to find work, like Home Depot stores, a garment factory and a warehouse.

The administration denies that troops were used in civil law enforcement and plans to show that they were protecting federal property and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Many of the troops have been withdrawn, but California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Monday that 300 National Guard members are still going on immigration raids and restricting civilian movements in the state.

“The federal government deployed military troops to the streets of Los Angeles for the purposes of political theatre and public intimidation,” Bonta said in a statement. “This dangerous move has no precedent in American history.”

California and Gavin Newsom, the state’s Democratic governor, have asked Breyer to prohibit the troops from directly participating in domestic law enforcement activities. California and Newsom say the National Guard is accompanying ICE agents on raids and assisting in arrests, in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 and other laws that forbid the US military from taking part in civilian law enforcement.

The Republican president ordered 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in June against Newsom’s wishes. California’s lawsuit ultimately seeks a ruling that would return its National Guard troops to state control and a declaration that Trump’s action was illegal.

The trial before Breyer will have a limited impact, however, on Trump’s plan to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington.

A ruling against the administration could restrict the actions of those troops and constrain Trump if he deploys such forces to police other American cities.

Trump said his efforts to fight crime will go beyond Washington, and he mentioned Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Baltimore.

Trump’s decision to send troops into Los Angeles prompted a national debate about the use of the military on US soil and inflamed political tensions in the second-most-populous US city.

A US appeals court has allowed Trump to retain control of California’s National Guard during the legal challenge.

From McDonald’s and Coca-Cola to Amazon and Apple, US-based multinationals are facing calls for a boycott in India as business executives and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s supporters stoke anti-American sentiment to protest against US tariffs.

India, the world’s most populous nation, is a key market for American brands that have rapidly expanded to target a growing base of affluent consumers, many of whom remain infatuated with international labels seen as symbols of upward mobility. India, for example, is the biggest market by users for Meta’s WhatsApp, and Domino’s has more restaurants than any other brand in the country. Beverages like Pepsi and Coca-Cola dominate store shelves, and people still queue up when a new Apple store opens or a Starbucks cafe offers discounts.

Although there is no immediate indication of sales being hit, there is a growing chorus both on social media and offline to buy local and ditch American products after Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on goods from India, rattling exporters and straining ties between New Delhi and Washington.

Read More: Pakistan, India should talk before it is too late

McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, Amazon and Apple did not immediately respond to Reuters queries. Manish Chowdhary, co-founder of India’s Wow Skin Science, took to LinkedIn with a video message urging support for farmers and startups to make “Made in India” a “global obsession,” citing South Korea’s global success with its food and beauty products. “We have lined up for products from thousands of miles away. We have proudly spent on brands that we don’t own, while our own makers fight for attention in their own country,” he said.

Rahm Shastry, CEO of India’s DriveU, which provides an on-call driver service, wrote on LinkedIn: “India should have its own home-grown Twitter/Google/YouTube/WhatsApp/Facebook — like China has.”

Indian retail companies give foreign brands like Starbucks stiff competition domestically, but going global has been a challenge. Indian IT services firms, however, have become deeply embedded in the global economy, with TCS and Infosys providing software solutions worldwide.

On Sunday, Modi made a “special appeal” for self-reliance, telling a gathering in Bengaluru that Indian technology companies make products for the world but “now is the time for us to give more priority to India’s needs.” He did not name any company.

Also Read: India faces tough choices under US tariff pressure
 

Don’t drag my McPuff into it

Even as anti-American protests simmer, Tesla launched its second showroom in India in New Delhi, with Monday’s opening attended by Indian commerce ministry and U.S. embassy officials. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch, linked to Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, held small rallies across India on Sunday, urging people to boycott American brands.

“People are now looking at Indian products. It will take some time to fructify,” Ashwani Mahajan, the group’s co-convenor, told Reuters. “This is a call for nationalism, patriotism.” He also shared a table circulating on WhatsApp, listing Indian brands of bath soaps, toothpaste, and cold drinks that people could choose over foreign ones.

On social media, one of the group’s campaigns is a graphic titled “Boycott foreign food chains,” displaying logos of McDonald’s and other restaurants. In Uttar Pradesh, Rajat Gupta, 37, dining at a McDonald’s in Lucknow on Monday, said he was unconcerned about the tariff protests and simply enjoyed his 49-rupee ($0.55) coffee. “Tariffs are a matter of diplomacy, and my McPuff, coffee should not be dragged into it,” he said.

Donald Trump has confirmed that he and Vladimir Putin will discuss “land swapping” when they meet on Friday in Alaska for a high-stakes summit on the Ukraine war. But the US president expressed frustration with Volodymyr Zelenskyy for putting conditions on such a potential agreement.

During a news conference at the White House on Monday, Trump said he was frustrated with Zelenskyy’s insistence that Ukraine would need to hold a national referendum on any peace deal that stipulated recognising Russian control over territory that it has occupied during the war.

“I was a little bothered by the fact that Zelenskyy was saying I have to get constitutional approval,” Trump said. “He has approval to go to war and kill everybody but he needs approval to do a land swap. Because there will be some land swapping going on. I know that through Russia and through conversations with everybody.”

European diplomats have been taken aback by the lack of clarity on the US side about the territories Putin is demanding from Ukraine and the terms of a ceasefire. The discrepancies within the US reporting back on what Russia is seeking has alarmed European diplomats and only added to a fear that Trump, inflating his personal relationship with Putin, could make damaging concessions.

Describing his vision for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, Trump said an agreement would include “good stuff, not bad stuff, also some bad stuff for both”. “We’re going to change the lines, the battle lines,” he added.

Trump, increasingly impatient with Putin in recent months, has long said he does not see a ceasefire occurring until he meets the Russian leader in person.

The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, on Monday invited Trump to join emergency virtual talks with EU leaders and Zelenskyy on Wednesday, as European demands grow for the US president to agree red lines before Friday’s summit with Putin.

Neither Zelenskyy nor European leaders have been invited to Trump’s meeting with the Russian president.

Trump said on Monday that he would seek to arrange direct talks between Putin and Zelenskyy, a proposal that the Russian president has rejected so far.

“The next meeting will be with Zelenskyy and Putin, or Zelenskyy and Putin and me. I’ll be there if they need, but I want to have a meeting set up between the two leaders,” Trump said.

He said a deal may not be possible and that he saw the upcoming summit as a “feel-out meeting”, and that he would update Zelenskyy and European leaders if Putin proposed a “fair deal”. “I’ll call him after and I may say lots of luck, keep fighting, or I may say we can make a deal,” he said.

Merz’s office said in a statement that the virtual talks would focus on “further options for action to put pressure on Russia” and “preparations for possible peace negotiations and related issues of territorial claims and security”.

It is not clear whether or not Trump has accepted the invitation to the call.

EU foreign ministers were meeting in an emergency session to underscore the demand. The UK has also been pressing for wider consultations after Trump unilaterally announced last week that he was going ahead with his first meeting with Putin since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

European leaders say Russia represents an existential threat to the continent and that they should not be excluded from the process. Issues such as the terms of a ceasefire, further sanction pressure on Russia, any proposed territorial swaps and security guarantees for Ukraine would be discussed with the US president in the virtual meeting.

There is concern that an unpredictable Trump will be lured into making fatal concessions to Putin, and the meeting would be a chance for him to map out his strategy.

The Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, said he was optimistic that the US president would formally consult European leaders before his meeting, and said the summit between Trump and Putin filled him with hope and fear.

Brussels’ top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said: “President Trump is right to say that Russia must end its war against Ukraine. The United States has the power to force Russia to negotiate seriously.” But she added: “Any agreement between the United States and Russia must include Ukraine and the EU because it is a security issue for Ukraine and for the whole of Europe.”

Radosław Sikorski, the Polish foreign minister, also asserted Europe’s relevance, saying: “Europe is paying for Ukraine to defend itself and we are sustaining the Ukrainian state. This is a matter of existential European security interests. We appreciate President Trump’s efforts but we will be taking our own decisions here in Europe. To get to a fair peace, Russia has to limit its war aims.”

The White House is insisting that the Alaska meeting is to gauge whether Putin is willing to make concessions for peace, including on accepting western security guarantees for Ukraine, an acceptance that would acknowledge the long-term legitimacy of the Kyiv government led by Zelenskyy.

Merz spoke with Trump on Sunday night to underline that he would prefer the US to impose further economic sanctions on Moscow before the talks. He also said he assumed Zelenskyy would be involved in any talks, but for Moscow it would be a concession for a Russian delegation to hold talks with the Ukrainian president since its invasion is predicated on not recognising the legitimacy of the government.

A joint statement on Saturday from the leaders from France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Britain, Finland and the European Commission chief, Ursula von der Leyen, urged Trump to put more pressure on Russia and stressed: “The path in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.”

Putin will go into Friday’s talks believing he is making progress on the battlefield, Trump is desperate for a settlement and the Ukrainian people are also increasingly willing to make concessions for peace. But the Russian president also knows that if he makes no substantive offer, Trump will be under real political pressure to go ahead with long-promised broader economic sanctions against Russia.

Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator behind a congressional plan to impose secondary sanctions on countries that trade with Russia, expressed confidence that Trump would protect Ukraine’s interests at the summit. He was involved in the weekend diplomacy and is trusted as an intermediary with Trump by Ukrainian officials.

He said if Putin did not offer concessions, he expected Trump to make countries importing Russian oil pay a heavy price, adding that this applied not just to India but also to China and Brazil. India is already due to face 50% tariffs later this month.

Speaking on NBC, Graham said: “Militarily, we need to keep Ukraine strong, keep flowing them strong and modern weapons, and security guarantees with European forces on the ground as tripwires to prevent a third [Russian] invasion. We want to end this with the sovereign, independent, self-governing Ukraine, and a situation where Putin cannot do this the third time without being crushed.”

He added: “I want to be honest with you, Ukraine is not going to evict every Russian, and Russia is not going to Kyiv, so there will be some land swaps at the end.”

Ukraine’s leadership has long said that de facto it will not recover all the territory it has lost in successive Russian invasions, but with European support it is fiercely resisting a Russian demand that it should hand over territory in the Donetsk region it has not yet ceded on the battlefield, especially if there are no security guarantees for Ukraine or compensating land swaps by Russia.

Europeans are insisting that no limitations can be imposed on Ukraine developing its own military capabilities or the support it receives from third countries, including some inside Nato.

Delhi police detained on Monday Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and other opposition members during a protest march to the Election Commission’s office in the Indian capital.

Gandhi, who is also the opposition leader in the Indian parliament, was arrested along with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Shiv Sena leaders Sanjay Raut and Priyanka Chaturvedi, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.

Rahul Gandhi, lawmaker and leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, is stopped by police along with other lawmakers during a protest against what they say are electoral malpractices, in New Delhi, India, August 11, 2025. REUTERS

The credibility of elections has rarely been questioned in recent decades in the world’s most populous democracy. Some analysts say the opposition’s accusations could damage Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he navigates one of the toughest periods of his 11 years in office.

The march, led by the Congress-backed INDIA bloc, was called to protest alleged collusion between the poll body and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian media reported.

“We stopped them to prevent any breakdown of law and order,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Devesh Kumar Mahla claimed while speaking to local media. He added that some lawmakers attempted to jump barricades.

Delhi’s Joint Commissioner of Police Deepak Purohit confirmed the detentions but declined to provide numbers. Police officials said permission had been granted for 30 MPs to march, but over 200 turned up.

Visuals showed opposition leaders and supporters waving placards, shouting slogans, and pushing against barricades outside Parliament. Samajwadi Party’s Yadav was seen climbing over barricades, while the Trinamool Congress said two MPs, including Mahua Moitra, fainted during the protest.

The protest led to road blockades near Parliament and the adjournment of both Houses.

“This fight is not political…it is to save the Constitution. The fight is for ‘one person, one vote’”, said the leader of the opposition before being taken away by police.

Rahul Gandhi, a lawmaker and a leader of India’s main opposition Congress party, drinks water as he is stopped by police along with other lawmakers during a protest against what they say are electoral malpractices, in New Delhi, India, August 11, 2025. REUTERS

‘State of bankruptcy’

The opposition has accused the poll panel of manipulating voter lists in Maharashtra and Karnataka to favour the BJP, citing alleged discrepancies such as a surge in new voters months after elections. The allegations were first raised after last year’s Maharashtra state polls.

The commission has said that changes in voters’ lists are shared with political parties and all complaints are investigated thoroughly. It has also said that voters’ lists need to be revised to remove dead voters or those who have relocated to other parts of the country, among others.

Congress and its allies have fared poorly in two state elections that they had expected to win after an impressive show in last year’s parliamentary vote, which saw the BJP losing its outright majority and remaining in power only with the help of regional parties.

The opposition has also complained about electronic voting machines and said the counting process is not fair, charges rejected by the election panel.

The BJP said opposition parties were trying to create a “state of anarchy” by sowing seeds of doubt about the electoral process.

“They are in a state of bankruptcy because of their continuous losses,” federal minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters on Monday.

Last month, Gandhi slammed the Indian government for its handling of Operation Sindoor, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi of launching the military campaign against Pakistan solely to protect his image.

He described the operation as ending in an “immediate surrender” after just 30 minutes of action.

“The DGMO of India was instructed by the government to ask for a ceasefire at 1:35 am on the night of Operation Sindoor,” Gandhi said in his speech in parliament earlier. He accused the Indian government of a lack of political will, arguing that the ceasefire request amounted to an “immediate surrender in 30 minutes”.

He further asserted that the goal of the operation was to protect Modi’s image. “The prime minister has the blood of the people of Pahalgam on his hands. The goal of the exercise was to make sure he used the air force to protect his image,” Gandhi declared.

The Congress leader also criticised Modi for denying Trump’s repeated claims that he had successfully mediated a ceasefire. “If he is lying, the prime minister should say in his speech that Donald Trump is lying. If he has the courage, like Indira Gandhi, he should say, ‘Donald Trump, you are a liar,’” he demanded.

Gandhi pointed out that no country condemned Pakistan after the events in Pahalgam, despite widespread condemnation of terrorism. “All countries have condemned terrorism. Absolutely, 100% correct. But after Pahalgam, no country condemned Pakistan. Not a single country condemned Pakistan,” he said.

 

 

Additional reporting by Reuters

 

About 55 per cent of India’s merchandise exports to the United States will be subject to the tariff imposed by President Donald Trump’s administration, the Indian government said on Monday.

Last week, Trump imposed an additional 25pc tariff on Indian goods as punishment for Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil. That raised the total duty on Indian exports to the US to 50pc — among the highest on any American trading partner.

The Indian government had taken into account the 25pc tariff that Trump initially imposed on goods while providing Monday’s estimate, Pankaj Chaudhary, India’s junior finance minister, said in a written response to a question from a lawmaker.

“The Department of Commerce is engaged with all stakeholders, including exporters and industry, for taking feedback of their assessment of the situation,” Chaudhary added.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday he would not compromise on the agriculture sector, a day after Trump announced 50pc tariffs on Indian goods.

New Delhi also put on hold its plans to procure new US weapons and aircraft, according to three Indian officials familiar with the matter, in India’s first concrete sign of discontent after tariffs imposed on its exports by President Trump dragged ties to their lowest level in decades.

According to a Reuters report, officials on both sides said a mix of political misjudgment, missed signals and bitterness broke down the deal between the two countries.

Goods trade between the US and India — the world’s biggest and fifth-largest economies, respectively — was worth about $87 billion in the last fiscal year, according to Indian government estimates.

US spending drives around 2.5pc of India’s GDP, according to Shilan Shah of Capital Economics.

But a 50pc tariff is “large enough to have a material impact”, he added, with the resulting drop in exports meaning the economy would grow by closer to 6pc this year and next, down from the 7pc they currently forecast.