WASHINGTON: Protesters against the Gaza war held a “die-in” across from Lafayette Park and the White House on Thursday as President Joe Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The protesters poured red liquid onto the street, saying it symbolized the blood of those killed in Gaza. They chanted, “Arrest Netanyahu,” and brought in an effigy of Netanyahu with blood on its hands and wearing an orange jumpsuit. The jumpsuit reads, “Wanted for crimes against humanity.”
More than 39,000 people have died in Gaza since the start of the war in October. Dozens of Israeli hostages remain in Hamas captivity.
In an address to Congress on Wednesday, Netanyahu defended Israel’s conduct during the war, as thousands of demonstrators massed near the Capitol, marching through city streets carrying Palestinian flags and calling for Netanyahu’s arrest.
Outside Washington’s Union Station, protesters removed American flags and hoisted Palestinian ones in their place to massive cheers in the crowd. They sprayed graffiti on a monument to Christopher Columbus.
In a statement Thursday, Vice President Kamala Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, spoke strongly about the protesters’ actions.
“Pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent, and we must not tolerate it in our nation,” she said. “I condemn the burning of the American flag. That flag is a symbol of our highest ideals as a nation and represents the promise of America. It should never be desecrated in that way.”
The number of protesters Thursday was significantly smaller than the day before.
Hazami Barmada, who described herself as a grassroots activist, spoke through a megaphone of Biden’s decision not to see reelection and to pass the baton to Harris.
“Biden did not voluntarily leave the race, Joe Biden was pushed out of the race,” she said. “And Kamala Harris still needs to prove her humanity” before earning the trust of pro-Palestinian voters.
“I’m not going to give you my vote until you show you share the ideals that the Democratic Party is supposed to believe in,” she said.
At one point, a young man with an Israeli flag draped over his shoulders walked into the middle of the protest circle and posed for the journalists’ cameras as the crowd jeered.
Police worked to keep the two sides apart.
As police led the man away — he wasn’t detained — Barmada shouted, “See, they even want to occupy our protests. Even our land isn’t enough!”
As police cleared the way, the protesters later marched through city streets toward the National Mall.
Gaza war protesters hold a ‘die-in’ near the White House as Netanyahu meets with Biden, Harris
https://arab.news/p87fx
Gaza war protesters hold a ‘die-in’ near the White House as Netanyahu meets with Biden, Harris
- The protesters poured red liquid onto the street, saying it symbolized the blood of those killed in Gaza.
- They chanted, “Arrest Netanyahu,” and brought in an effigy of Netanyahu with blood on its hands and wearing an orange jumpsuit
Ghosts of fast fashion: Has colonialism ruined Bangladesh’s luxury fabric trade?
- Dhaka was the global center of muslin and fine handloom weaving until British colonial rule
- Top model and designer Bibi Russell spearheads a movement to revive Bangladeshi textile art
DHAKA: Now a hub of cheap, mass-produced clothing for global brands, Bangladesh was for centuries known as the opposite — a center of coveted luxury textiles. The European appeal of these fine fabrics in the late 18th century marked the beginning of the industry’s decline, ultimately leading to its eventual erasure.
Historically, eastern Bengal — now Bangladesh — was renowned for its master weavers of silk and cotton textiles and particularly for muslin, a lightweight fabric crafted from extremely fine handspun yarns.
Dhaka became the center of muslin weaving in the early 17th century when the fabric became popular on the Indian subcontinent under the Mughal Empire. It dominated the global market for 200 years.
“Dhaka muslin was a symbol of tradition and royal nobility in this land. It was celebrated for its magnificent design and exceptional craftsmanship, earning worldwide acclaim. So fine was its weaving that an entire muslin sari could easily pass through a finger ring,” said Mohammad Ayub Ali, head of the muslin revival project at the Bangladesh Handloom Board, which works to preserve classical Bengali weaving techniques.
“Traders from various European countries, including England, the Netherlands, Portugal and Greece, were actively engaged in the muslin trade.”
This flourishing market was, however, soon overshadowed by colonial influence. Bengal’s textile industry began to wither after the British East India Company conquered the region in the mid-18th century, took control of the industry and exploited it beyond its limits.
In his 1772 work “Considerations on India Affairs,” merchant William Bolts of the British East India Company describes weavers being forcibly taken from their workplaces to produce textiles at English factories. Some resorted to self-mutilation — cutting of their own thumbs — in a desperate attempt to escape forced labor.
Another devastating blow to the native industry came with the tariffs imposed by the British colonial rulers, as England entered the Industrial Revolution and itself began mass-producing fabrics.
“The British rulers suppressed our local cotton producers and muslin weavers to create a favorable market for (their) textiles. Cheap textiles started to pour into our markets ... In the middle of the 19th century, muslin production in Dhaka was completely stopped,” Ali said.
“We were forced to import British clothes ... We once had 100 percent local input in cotton production, weaving and the expertise required to create world-class garments. But now, we only produce ready-made clothing as tailors.”
Bangladesh is the second-largest exporter of ready-made garments in the world, after China, producing large volumes quickly and cheaply. Around 4 million people are employed in factories, where unsafe working conditions, frequent deadly accidents and monthly wages that rarely exceed $120 regularly make headlines in both local and international press.
There is a direct link between the exploitative sector and colonial legacy.
“The colonizers systematically dismantled our thriving artisan economy ... The destruction of that heritage was not just about economics; it was about erasing a culture of excellence and self-reliance,” top Bangladeshi model and celebrated designer Bibi Russell, renowned for her efforts to revive her homeland’s textile art, told Arab News.
“While Bangladesh has become one of the largest exporters of ready-made garments in the world, we must ask ourselves at what cost. The fast fashion industry has created millions of jobs, but it has also perpetuated a system where workers are often undervalued, artisans are sidelined, and our natural resources are exploited. In many ways, it reflects a continuation of the exploitative systems of the past, where the value of human skill and creativity is sacrificed for profit.”
Russell is an advocate of the growing defashion movement, which calls for a shift away from the disposable culture of fast fashion — including its overconsumption, environmental degradation and the exploitation of workers in countries where labor laws and wages are poor.
She believes such a change is possible as the world is waking up and the global fashion landscape is changing, with consumers becoming more conscious of sustainability and ethical practices.
“Bangladesh has an incredible opportunity to lead this change ... Our history shows that we are resilient, and I see an opportunity to reclaim our legacy as a hub of quality and innovation, not just quantity,” she said.
“By investing in our craftspeople and celebrating their work, we can create an industry that uplifts rather than exploits, honors rather than erases ... This is our moment to rewrite the narrative — not as victims of a colonial legacy, but as innovators and creators.”
Thailand says assured of Uyghurs’ safety after US visa bans
- Thailand on Saturday responded to a United States visa ban on officials from the kingdom involved in deporting dozens of Uyghurs back to China, saying it had “received assurances” of their safety
BANGKOK: Thailand on Saturday responded to a United States visa ban on officials from the kingdom involved in deporting dozens of Uyghurs back to China, saying it had “received assurances” of their safety.
The Thai government has suffered intense criticism from around the world for its decision to hand over at least 40 Uyghurs, who were flown by special plane to China’s northwestern Xinjiang region in late February.
The Uyghurs had spent years languishing in Thai detention facilities after fleeing China more than a decade ago.
On Friday US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions on an unspecified number of former or current officials from Thailand involved in the deportation.
Thailand’s foreign affairs ministry said in a statement on Saturday it noted the US decision adding it had “received assurances from the Government of China concerning the safety of the Uyghurs.”
It said Thailand “will continue to follow up on the well-being of this group.”
Thailand is the oldest US ally in Asia but maintains friendly relations with Beijing.
“Thailand has always and will continue to value the long-standing and close treaty alliance with the United States,” the statement said.
The United States accuses China of genocide over its mass camps for Uyghurs, a mostly Muslim minority in the northwestern Xinjiang region.
China rejects the accusations and says it is providing vocational education to improve Uyghurs’ future.
Ukraine says shot down 130 Russian drones launched overnight
KYIV: Ukraine said Saturday it had downed 130 Russian-launched drones across the country at night, as international efforts to end the three-year war intensify.
Kyiv’s air force said the Iranian-made Shahed drones were downed over 14 regions and that Moscow had also attacked with two ballistic missiles.
Musk says Starship to depart for Mars at end of 2026
Washington: SpaceX founder Elon Musk said Saturday its massive Starship rocket would leave for Mars at the end of 2026 with Tesla humanoid robot Optimus onboard, adding that human landings could follow “as soon as 2029.”
“Starship departs for Mars at the end of next year, carrying Optimus. If those landings go well, then human landings may start as soon as 2029, although 2031 is more likely,” Musk said on his X social network.
Starship — the world’s largest and most powerful rocket — is key to Musk’s long-term vision of colonizing Mars.
NASA is also awaiting a modified version of Starship as a lunar lander for its Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon this decade.
But before SpaceX can carry out those missions, it must prove the vehicle is reliable, safe for crew, and capable of complex in-orbit refueling — critical for deep space missions.
SpaceX faced a setback this month when its latest test flight of the Starship prototype ended in a fiery explosion, even as the booster was successfully caught in its orbital test.
It was a near replay of the previous attempt.
Minutes after liftoff and booster separation, a live video feed showed the upper stage tumbling uncontrollably before the signal abruptly cut.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said SpaceX will be required to conduct an investigation before it can fly again.
After Columbia arrests, international college students fall silent
- Some say they are familiar with government crackdowns but never expected them on American college campuses
- International students say they feel afraid to voice opinions or stand out on campus for fear of getting kicked out of the country
In the span of a week, a hush has descended on higher education in the United States.
International students and faculty have watched the growing crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University with apprehension. Some say they are familiar with government crackdowns but never expected them on American college campuses.
The elite New York City university has been the focus of the Trump administration’s effort to deport foreigners who took part in pro-Palestinian demonstrations at colleges last year.
Federal immigration agents have arrested two foreigners — one of them a student — who protested last year at Columbia. They’ve revoked the visa of another student, who fled the US this week. Department of Homeland Security agents also searched the on-campus residences of two Columbia students on Thursday but did not make any arrests there.
GOP officials have warned it’s just the beginning, saying more student visas are expected to be revoked in the coming days.
Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism issued a statement reporting “an alarming chill” among its foreign students in the past week.
“Many of our international students have felt afraid to come to classes and to events on campus,” said the statement signed by “The Faculty of Columbia Journalism School.”
It added: “They are right to be worried.”
Alarm at campuses across the country
International students and faculty across the US say they feel afraid to voice opinions or stand out on campus for fear of getting kicked out of the country.
“Green-card-holding faculty members involved in any kind of advocacy that might be construed as not welcome by the Trump administration are absolutely terrified of the implications for their immigration status,” said Veena Dubal, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine.
Dubal, who is also general counsel for the American Association of University Professors, says some international faculty are now shying away from discourse, debate, scholarly research and publishing articles in peer-reviewed journals.
“We are literally not hearing their voices. There is a silencing happening that has a huge impact on the vibrancy of higher education,” Dubal said. “People are very, very scared.”
The first arrest
The first publicly known arrest occurred last Saturday, when federal immigration agents arrested Mahmoud Khalil, a prominent Palestinian activist and outspoken graduate student, in the lobby of his apartment building near the Columbia campus.
Khalil has become the face of President Donald Trump’s drive to punish what he calls antisemitic and anti-American protests that swept US campuses last year. Khalil, a legal US resident with a green card, is being held in a federal detention complex in Louisiana.
Students and faculty who participated in the protests at Columbia have insisted criticizing Israel and advocating for Palestinian rights isn’t antisemitic. Some Jewish students and faculty say the anti-Israel rhetoric made them feel unsafe.
Civil rights advocates say the detention of Khalil is an assault on free speech. But the ongoing arrests send a wider message that disagreeing with the Trump administration could get you kicked out of the country, said Brian Hauss, a senior staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union.
“If the administration can do this to Mr. Khalil because of the speech about Palestine, it can do it to any non-US citizen who takes a position on hot-button global issues, including the war between Russia and Ukraine, the tariffs imposed against US allies or the rise of far-right political parties in Europe,” he said.
That worry has spread outside New York.
A Bangladeshi student at Louisiana State University, who agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity for fear of being targeted by authorities, said she has stopped posting about anything political on social media since the first arrest at Columbia. She fears losing her green card.
“I feel like it’s not safe for me to share those things anymore because I have a fear that a quote-unquote ‘authoritarian regime’ is lurking over social media posts,” the student said. When she lived in Bangladesh, she said, people could be arrested for posting dissent on social media. “What I fear is a similar situation in the United States.”
Advice from colleges and universities
Some schools have been advising international students to be cautious of what they say publicly and to watch what they say online. Several international students on a variety of college campuses said they preferred not to speak with a reporter out of concern for their immigration status.
Administrators at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism have warned students who are not US citizens about their vulnerability to arrest or deportation.
“Nobody can protect you, these are dangerous times,” the school’s dean, Jelani Cobb, said in a post Thursday on Bluesky explaining the comment. “I went on to say that I would do everything in my power to defend our journalists and their right to report but that none of us had the capacity to stop DHS from jeopardizing their safety.”
At the University of California, Davis, the Global Affairs Program has updated its website with guidance on the First Amendment and advice on free speech for non-US citizens.
“While international students and scholars have broad rights to freedom of speech and lawful assembly, please be aware that being arrested or detained by law enforcement may trigger current and/or future immigration consequences,” the school says on its website. “Each person should take appropriate care and utilize their best judgment.”
Escalations after Khalil’s arrest
Immigration authorities’ activities at Columbia quickly escalated this week.
Leqaa Kordia, a Palestinian from the West Bank, was arrested by immigration officers for overstaying her student visa, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday. The former student’s visa was terminated in January 2022 for “lack of attendance,” the department said. She was previously arrested for her involvement in protests at Columbia in April 2024, the agency added.
The Trump administration also revoked the visa of Ranjani Srinivasan, an Indian citizen and doctoral student at Columbia University, for allegedly “advocating for violence and terrorism.” Srinivasan opted to “self-deport” Tuesday, five days after her visa was revoked, the department said.
The president has warned the arrest and attempted deportation of Khalil will be the “first of many.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters Friday that more student visas were likely to be revoked in the coming days.
