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WARSAW: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Saturday slammed deadly Russian overnight strikes on Ukraine as the result of “what happens when someone appeases barbarians.”
“More bombs, more aggression, more victims. Another tragic night in Ukraine,” Tusk wrote on X, formerly Twitter, following Russian attacks that killed at least 14 people in Ukraine’s east and northeast.
WASHINGTON: Homeless people in Washington, D.C., could face jail time if they do not comply with President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on crime and rid the US capital of homeless encampments, the White House said on Tuesday.
“Homeless individuals will be given the option to leave their encampment, to be taken to a homeless shelter, to be offered addiction or mental-health services, and if they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time,” White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Leavitt said the administration was exploring strategies to relocate homeless individuals “far from the capital.” She said US Park Police have removed 70 homeless encampments from federal parks since March and are set to clear the remaining two encampments in the city later this week.
Andy Wassenich, director of policy at Miriam’s Kitchen — an organization offering services to the homeless — said his team was out trying to warn people. He said there was still a lot of confusion about what the crackdown may bring.
Their best advice, he said, was: “Go to shelter if you can, if you can stand it. If you have anybody you can stay with, get off the street, and seek safety and let us know what we can do for you.”
Trump said on social media that he wanted the homeless out of Washington even before he announced the extraordinary step of temporarily taking over the District of Columbia’s police department and deploying 800 National Guard troops as part of a crackdown on crime there — an effort that also includes another 500 federal law enforcement agents.
A billionaire real estate developer, Trump described the homeless as one of several groups who have “overtaken” Washington that include “violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged-out maniacs.” He likened his intended crackdown to his administration’s actions to secure the US border with Mexico.
HOMELESSNESS REACHED A RECORD HIGH NATIONWIDE IN 2024
US communities have long experienced seemingly intractable problems with homelessness, which reached an all-time national high of over 771,000 men, women and children on a single night in 2024, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s latest homelessness report to Congress.
The HUD report estimated Washington’s homeless population at 5,616, a 14.1 percent increase from the year before. That made Washington, a city of just over 700,000 people, the 16th out of the 20 US cities with the largest homeless populations, according to the website USA Facts. The top five cities are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and Denver.
But the District of Columbia had the highest prevalence of homelessness among US states, with 83 homeless individuals for every 10,000 people, HUD data showed.
Homeless people did not appear to be caught up in a Monday night sweep by 850 officers and federal agents, who the White House said made 23 arrests across the city, an operation which Leavitt announced at a press conference on Monday.
The District of Columbia operates under the Home Rule Act, which gives Congress ultimate authority but allows residents to elect a mayor and city council. Trump bypassed the city’s elected leaders by declaring a “public safety emergency” and invoking a section of the act that allows the president to take over the police force for 30 days under emergency conditions.
On Sunday night, a small group of federal agents arrived at Union Station — a gathering place for homeless people — and briefly questioned a person standing there, according to a man who was outside the building at the time. After about 15 minutes, the agents, who were from a variety of federal agencies, left with little fanfare.
Jacob Adams, a political activist with FLARE USA, a self-described anti-Trump group, was sitting at the organization’s table set up near the fountain outside the station.
He said the agents did nothing to disperse the people who had gathered there, and in fact told them they could stay overnight. “I don’t know if it was a show of force or photo ops. But it didn’t come off as very forceful,” Adams said.
Wassenich said on Tuesday that so far there was little evidence of the unhoused population being directly affected by the surge in law enforcement.
“If they are caught up in other things, that’s certainly possible,” he said. “The tents are still standing. The people are still sleeping on whatever bench they might be on.”
SEOUL: Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un have vowed to strengthen cooperation, days ahead of Putin’s summit in Alaska with Donald Trump, Pyongyang’s state media reported Wednesday.
Putin and Kim spoke by phone in a “warm comradely atmosphere” on Tuesday and confirmed “their will to strengthen cooperation in the future,” the KCNA dispatch said.
WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday declined to criticize Israel over the killing of five Al Jazeera journalists in the Gaza Strip, referring questions to its ally.
The Israeli military alleged that Anas Al-Sharif, a prominent face on the Qatar-based network covering the violence, headed a Hamas “terrorist cell” and was “responsible for advancing rocket attacks” against Israelis.
“What I will tell you is that we refer you to Israel for information regarding Al-Sharif,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.
She voiced respect for journalists who cover war zones but said that Hamas members have been “embedded in society, including posing as journalists.”
“It is a horrible thing to do for those of you who are committed to finding information for people to be in that situation,” she said.
European and Arab governments, the United Nations and media rights groups all voiced outrage over the killing.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that there needed to be “clear evidence” for Israel’s allegations and respect for rules of war against targeting journalists.
Al Jazeera said four other employees — correspondent Mohammed Qreiqeh and cameramen Ibrahim Zaher, Mohammed Noufal and Moamen Aliwa — were also killed when the strike hit a tent set up for journalists outside the main gate of Al-Shifa Hospital.
According to local journalists who knew him, Sharif had worked at the start of his career with a Hamas communication office, where his role was to publicize events organized by the group that has ruled the Gaza Strip since 2006.
MANILA: The Philippines expressed serious concern on Tuesday over what it called “dangerous maneuvers and unlawful interference” by Chinese vessels during a coast guard supply mission for Filipino fishermen in the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea.
Manila’s Coast Guard deployed three vessels on Monday to deliver supplies, such as fuel and ice, to dozens of fishermen operating around the disputed atoll when they encountered “hazardous” and “blocking actions” from Chinese vessels in the area.
“Their actions not only posed a grave danger to Philippine personnel and vessels, but also resulted in the unfortunate collision between the two Chinese vessels,” the Philippine Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Philippine Coast Guard footage showed a Chinese Coast Guard ship trailing the PCG vessel before a Chinese navy ship suddenly cut across its path, colliding with it and damaging the Coast Guard’s forecastle. It was the first known collision between Chinese vessels in the area.
“Our assessment is that the real objective of the PLA Navy ship is to ram our Philippine Coast Guard (vessel). That is also (the) assessment of our Philippine Coast Guard,” Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff General Romeo Brawner told reporters on Tuesday.
China’s actions also drew condemnation from the US, a treaty ally of the Philippines.
“We condemn this latest reckless action by China directed against a Philippine vessel... and commend the Philippine Coast Guard for their professionalism and their offer to render assistance,” US Ambassador to Manila, MaryKay Carlson, said on X.
PCG spokesperson Jay Tarriela said the PCG offered medical and search-and-rescue assistance via radio, but received no response from the Chinese side. He added there was no confirmation on whether any Chinese crew members were injured during the clash.
“Yesterday’s incident demonstrates the importance of adhering to international maritime rules,” the Philippine Foreign Ministry said. It reaffirmed its commitment to diplomacy and dialogue in resolving differences.
Rear Admiral Roy Trinidad, Philippine navy spokesperson for the South China Sea, warned at a press briefing on Tuesday that similar incidents could happen again as long as China continued to conduct what he called “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive” activities in the strategic waterway.
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by telephone Tuesday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to prepare for the summit in Alaska between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, the State Department said.
“Both sides confirmed their commitment to a successful event,” State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.
Bruce confirmed that Putin had requested the meeting, which will take place Friday in the US state of Alaska.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the meeting as a “personal victory” for Putin, who had been shunned by the West since his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Rubio, in a radio interview earlier Tuesday, rejected criticism of the summit.
Trump “feels like, ‘Look, I’ve got to look at this guy across the table. I need to see him face to face. I need to hear him one on one. I need to make an assessment by looking at him,’” Rubio told the “Sid and Friends” show.
“People have to understand — for President Trump, a meeting is not a concession,” Rubio said.
