PHILADELPHIA: Masses of demonstrators packed into streets, parks and plazas across the United States on Saturday to protest President Donald Trump, marching through downtowns and small towns, blaring anti-authoritarian chants mixed with support for protecting democracy and immigrant rights.
Organizers of the “No Kings” demonstrations said millions had marched in hundreds of events. Governors across the US had urged calm and vowed no tolerance for violence, while some mobilized the National Guard ahead of marchers gathering.
Confrontations were isolated. But police in Los Angeles, where protests over federal immigration enforcement raids erupted a week earlier and sparked demonstrations across the country, used tear gas and crowd-control munitions to clear out protesters after the formal event ended. Officers in Portland also fired tear gas and projectiles to disperse a crowd that protested in front of a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement building well into the evening.
And in Salt Lake City, Utah, police were investigating a shooting during a march downtown that left one person critically injured. Three people were taken into custody, including a man believed to be the shooter, who also suffered a gunshot wound, according to Police Chief Brian Redd.
Redd said it was too early to tell if the shooting was politically motivated and whether those involved knew each other. The shooter appeared to be walking alongside the group of thousands who were marching, he added. Video feeds showed demonstrators running for safety as gunshots rang out.
Huge, boisterous crowds marched, danced, drummed, and chanted shoulder-to-shoulder in New York, Denver, Chicago, Austin and Los Angeles, some behind “no kings” banners. Atlanta’s 5,000-capacity event quickly reached its limit, with thousands more gathered outside barriers to hear speakers in front of the state Capitol. Officials in Seattle estimated that more than 70,000 people attended the city’s largest rally downtown, the Seattle Times reported.
Trump was in Washington for a military parade marking the Army’s 250th anniversary that coincides with the president’s birthday. About 200 protesters assembled in northwest Washington’s Logan Circle and chanted “Trump must go now” before erupting in cheers. A larger-than-life puppet of Trump — a caricature of the president wearing a crown and sitting on a golden toilet — was wheeled through the crowd.
In some places, organizers handed out little American flags while others flew their flags upside down, a sign of distress. Mexican flags, which have become a fixture of the Los Angeles protests against immigration raids, also made an appearance at some demonstrations Saturday.
In Culpepper, Virginia, police said one person was struck by an SUV when a 21-year-old driver intentionally accelerated his SUV into the crowd as protesters were leaving a rally. The driver was charged with reckless driving.
The demonstrations come on the heels of the protests over the federal immigration enforcement raids that began last week and Trump ordering the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, where protesters blocked a freeway and set cars on fire.
“Today, across red states and blue, rural towns and major cities, Americans stood in peaceful unity and made it clear: we don’t do kings,” the No Kings Coalition said in a statement Saturday afternoon after many events had ended.
Philadelphia
Thousands gathered downtown, where organizers handed out small American flags and people carried protest signs saying “fight oligarchy” and “deport the mini-Mussolinis.”
Karen Van Trieste, a 61-year-old nurse who drove up from Maryland, said she grew up in Philadelphia and wanted to be with a large group of people showing her support.
“I just feel like we need to defend our democracy,” she said. She is concerned about the Trump administration’s layoffs of staff at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the fate of immigrant communities and Trump trying to rule by executive order, she said.
A woman wearing a foam Statue of Liberty crown brought a speaker system and led an anti-Trump sing-along, changing the words “young man” in the song “Y.M.C.A.” to “con man.”
”I am what the successful American dream looks like,” said C.C. Téllez, an immigrant from Bolivia who attended the protest. “I’ve enjoyed great success here in the United States, and I’ve also contributed heavily to my community. And if there was space for me, I think there’s a way for everybody else to belong here as well.”
Los Angeles
Thousands gathered in front of City Hall, waving signs and listening to a Native American drum circle before marching through the streets.
As protesters passed National Guard troops or US Marines stationed at various buildings, most interactions were friendly, with demonstrators giving fist bumps or posing for selfies. But others chanted “shame” or “go home” at the troops.
Amid signs reading “They fear us don’t back down California” and “We carry dreams not danger, ” one demonstrator carried a 2-foot-tall (60-centimeter) Trump pinata on a stick, with a crown on his head and sombrero hanging off his back. Another hoisted a huge helium-filled orange baby balloon with blond hair styled like Trump’s.
A few blocks from City Hall, protesters gathered in front of the downtown federal detention center being guarded by a line of Marines and other law enforcement. It was the first time that the Marines, in combat gear and holding rifles, have appeared at a demonstration since they were deployed to city on Friday with the stated mission of defending federal property.
Peter Varadi, 54, said he voted for Trump last November for “economic reasons.” Now, for the first time in his life, he is protesting, waving a Mexican and US combined flag.
“I voted for Donald Trump, and now I regret that, because he’s taken this fascism to a new level,” Varadi said. “It’s Latinos now. Who’s next? It’s gays. Blacks after that. They’re coming for everybody.”
Even after the formal event ended, the downtown streets were packed with a jubilant crowd as people danced to salsa music and snacked on hot dogs and ice cream bought from vendors, many of whom are Latino immigrants. But the previously calm demonstration turned confrontational as police on horseback moved into the crowd and struck some people with wood rods and batons as they cleared the street in front of the federal building.
New York City
Marchers in the crowd that stretched for blocks along Fifth Avenue had diverse reasons for coming, including anger over Trump’s immigration policies, support for the Palestinian people and outrage over what they said was an erosion of free speech rights.
But there were patriotic symbols, too. Leah Griswold, 32, and Amber Laree, 59, who marched in suffragette white dresses, brought 250 American flags to hand out to people in the crowd.
“Our mothers who came out, fought for our rights, and now we’re fighting for future generations as well,” Griswold said.
Some protesters held signs denouncing Trump while others banged drums.
“We’re here because we’re worried about the existential crisis of this country and the planet and our species,” said Sean Kryston, 28.
Minnesota
Gov. Tim Walz and law enforcement encouraged people not to attend rallies “out of an abundance of caution” following the shootings of the Democratic state lawmakers.
Dozens of events were canceled, but tens of thousands still turned out for demonstrations in Duluth, Rochester and St. Paul, which included a march to the state Capitol. Walz canceled his scheduled appearance at the St. Paul event.
Authorities said the suspect had “No Kings” flyers in his car and writings mentioning the names of the victims as well as other lawmakers and officials, though they could not say if he had any other specific targets.
Seda Heng, 29, of Rochester, said she was heartbroken by the shootings, but still wanted to join the rally there. “These people are trying to do what they can for their communities, for the state, for the nation,” Heng told the Minnesota Star-Tribune.
North Carolina
Crowds cheered anti-Trump speakers in Charlotte’s First Ward Park before marching, chanting “No kings. No crowns. We will not bow down.”
Marchers stretched for blocks, led by a group of people holding a giant Mexican flag and bystanders cheering and clapping along the way.
Jocelyn Abarca, a 21-year-old college student, said the protest was a chance to “speak for what’s right” after mass deportations and Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles.
“If we don’t stop it now, it’s just going to keep getting worse,” she said.
Naomi Mena said she traveled an hour to demonstrate in Charlotte to represent her “friends and family who sadly can’t have a voice out in public now” to stay safe.
Texas
A rally at the Texas Capitol in Austin went off as planned despite state police briefly shutting down the building and the surrounding grounds after authorities said they received a “credible threat” to Democratic state lawmakers who were to attend.
Dozens of state troopers swarmed through the grounds about four hours before the event, but the area was later opened and the rally started on time. The building remained closed.
The Department of Public Safety later said one person was taken into custody “in connection with the threats made against state lawmakers” after a traffic stop in La Grange, Texas, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) east of Austin. State police did not detail the threat or immediately identify the person, but said there was no additional active threat.
Mississippi
A demonstration of hundreds of people opened to “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath playing over a sound system on the state Capitol lawn in Jackson.
“A lot of stuff that’s going on now is targeting people of color, and to see so many folks out here that aren’t black or brown fighting for the same causes that I’m here for, it makes me very emotional,” said Tony Cropper, who traveled from Tennessee to attend the protest.
Some people wore tinfoil crowns atop their heads. Others held signs inviting motorists to “Honk if you never text war plans.”
Melissa Johnson said she drove an hour-and-a-half to Jackson to protest because “we are losing the thread of democracy in our country.”
Portland
Earlier in the day, thousands of protesters lined the streets in downtown Portland for several blocks, waving signs as passing cars honked in support. They marched around the city draped in American flags to the beat of drums and music.
By late afternoon, a small group of demonstrators amassed across the river to protest in front of an ICE office where three people were arrested Wednesday night after starting a small fire against the building, police said.
Federal immigration officers fired tear gas, flash bangs and rubber bullets in an effort to clear out the remaining protesters in the evening. Some protesters threw water bottles back and tended to each other’s wounds. The police department wrote on X that the event was declared a riot.
At least two people were detained and taken inside the federal immigration building.
Anti-Trump demonstrators crowd streets, parks and plazas across the US. Organizers say millions came
https://arab.news/maqfc
Anti-Trump demonstrators crowd streets, parks and plazas across the US. Organizers say millions came
- Organizers of the “No Kings” demonstrations said millions had marched in hundreds of events
- Governors across the US had urged calm and vowed no tolerance for violence, while some mobilized the National Guard ahead of marchers gathering
EU and Indonesia announce ‘political agreement’ on trade deal
- European bloc and Southeast Asia’s largest economy have been negotiating since 2016 to agree a deal that is expected to increase trade and investment
BRUSSELS: EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Sunday announced a “political agreement” to conclude a long-awaited free trade deal, as US leader Donald Trump upends global commerce.
“We’re living in turbulent times and when economic uncertainty meets geopolitical volatility, partners like us must come closer together. So today we’re taking a big step forward in this partnership,” von der Leyen told journalists in Brussels.
“I am very pleased to report that we have just reached a political agreement on an ambitious Free Trade Agreement.”
The 27-nation European bloc and Southeast Asia’s largest economy have been negotiating since 2016 to agree a deal that is expected to increase trade and investment.
A European Commission statement called Sunday’s agreement a “decisive milestone” toward striking the deal — which is to be concluded in September by EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic and Indonesia’s chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto.
“There’s a lot of untapped potential in our trade relationship. And therefore this agreement comes at the right time, because the new agreement will open new markets,” von der Leyen said.
“It will create more opportunities in key industries, in business activity and agriculture, in automotive and in services.”
Brussels has stepped up efforts to improve ties with key potential partners around the world as Trump threatens a trade war with sweeping tariffs.
“This big and important political agreement on the free trade agreement with Indonesia is today a huge milestone forward, and shows that we’re looking for new markets, open markets,” von der Leyen said.
Prabowo called the announcement in Brussels a “breakthrough.”
“After 10 years of negotiations, we have concluded the agreement to have a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which basically is a free trade agreement,” he said.
The president said “we consider Europe still a very important factor, and we would like to see a very strong Europe.”
But he insisted that “the United States will be always a very important leader in the world.”
The European Union is Indonesia’s fifth-largest trading partner with bilateral trade between them reaching $30.1 billion last year.
Ties had been frayed by a proposed EU import ban on products linked to deforestation that has angered Indonesia because it is a major palm oil exporter.
That legislation has been delayed to the end of this year.
Asian garment industry braces for higher US tariffs
- High tariffs might force companies to shut down or move to countries that offer lower tariff rates
- The US is negotiating a deal with India, while reciprocal tariff for Pakistan hasn’t been announced
Dhaka/Phnom Penh: Across Asia, unions and industry groups are raising alarms over the impact of higher tariffs by the United States on garment workers.
High tariffs might force companies to shut down or move to neighboring countries that offer lower tariff rates, resulting in a loss of jobs, they say.
“The potential loss of jobs will cut the income and ability for workers to sustain their daily lives,” said Ath Thorn, vice president of the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union, which represents 80,000 workers across 40 factories.
Several countries in Asia have gotten notice of new tariff rates imposed by the United States to take effect August 1, after a 90-day pause on tariffs came to an end.
Manufacturing hubs such as Bangladesh and Cambodia will face high tariffs of 35 percent and 36 percent respectively, while neighboring countries are still negotiating with the US government.
US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs through official letters posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, on July 8.
The US is the largest garment export destination for Bangladesh. The country’s exports to the US totaled $8.4 billion last year and of that, garments comprised $7.34 billion.
Also in 2024, Cambodia exported nearly $10 billion worth of goods to the US, which accounted for nearly 40 percent of the nation’s total exports, according to government customs statistics.
More than half of US imports from Cambodia were garments, footwear and travel goods such as luggage and handbags, a sector that makes up nearly half of the country’s export revenue and employs more than 900,000 workers.
Unions and industry groups warn that these workers could be hit hard with job losses if the high tariffs force companies to move to countries under lower tariff rates or shut down altogether.
While Cambodia is looking at a tariff rate reduction from 49 percent in April, anxiety permeates its garment industry, which employs hundreds of thousands of people and is one of the developing nation’s key economic pillars.
Meanwhile, the US and Vietnam have struck a trade agreement that set 20 percent tariffs on Vietnamese goods.
With a neighbor next door with a significantly lower tariff, many companies may choose to leave Cambodia, said Yang Sophorn, president of the Cambodian Alliance of Trade Unions, which represents thousands of women who support their families as garment workers.
The fear is echoed by experts in Bangladesh, which faces a 35 percent tariff.
Selim Raihan, a professor of economics at the Dhaka University, said if tariff rates on Bangladesh’s competitors like India, Indonesia and Vietnam prove to be lower, Bangladesh would face a serious competitive disadvantage.
Such a disadvantage could make supply chain decision-making more difficult and erode the confidence of buyers and investors, Raihan said.
“As production costs rise and profit margins shrink due to the tariff, many garment factories may be forced to scale back operations or shut down entirely,” Raihan said.
In Bangladesh, the 35 percent tariff announced by the US is more than twice the current 15 percent rate on Bangladeshi goods.
“With more than doubling tariff rates, can you imagine how the cost of the products will rise?” asked Mohiuddun Rubel, a former director of Bangladesh’s garment manufacturers’ association BGMEA and now additional managing director at textile maker Denim Expert Ltd.
The question is what happens to the tariffs for main competitor countries like India and Pakistan, said Rubel.
The US is negotiating a trade deal with India, while reciprocal tariff rates for Pakistan have not been announced yet.
OUTSIZED EFFECT ON WOMEN
Potential layoffs within the garment industry will have an outsized effect on women workers, which Sophorn said would cripple entire families.
“If these women lose their jobs because high tariffs force factories to shut, it will not only impact Cambodia’s economy, but now children may not be able to go to school and aging parents may not be able to afford medicine,” Sophorn said.
“The situation for women garment workers is already bad, but it will get worse if these tariffs were to come into effect.”
Many of the women she represents have taken bank loans to support their families and work in the garment industry to pay off their debts.
“If they lose their job, it means they will lose everything,” Sophorn said.
Tariffs would directly affect a sizable chunk of the four million workers in Bangladesh’s garment industry, most of whom are women from low income and rural backgrounds, Raihan said.
Thorn suggested Cambodia continue negotiations to get the tariffs down or find other ways to export more products, generate more income and create more work.
“If not, we will face problems,” he said.
Kabul’s water crisis: How unsustainable foreign aid projects made it worse
- Afghan capital, a city of 6.5 million people, is expected to run out of water by 2030
- Kabul has not had a comprehensive water management plan since 1978
KABUL: As Kabul makes global headlines for being on the brink of running out of water, experts say the crisis stems not only from natural and local causes, but also decades of unsustainable foreign projects and mismanagement of aid.
About one-third of Afghanistan’s population — around 12.5 million people — lack reliable access to water, according to the latest data from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan.
In the country’s capital, the situation is even worse, with the UN expecting that by 2030 its aquifers could dry up — a projection that has been in international media since last month, as that would make Kabul the first modern city to run out of water.
“Without urgent action, like bringing in surface water from other basins, Kabul risks facing a severe crisis, potentially a ‘Day Zero’ like Cape Town experienced a few years ago,” Obaidullah Rahimi, an Afghan scholar whose doctoral research at the University of Kaiserslautern-Landau focuses on urban water management, told Arab News.
“The city’s groundwater can only cover about 44 million cubic meters — enough for just 2 million people at a modest per capita consumption of 50 liters per person per day.”
This means that less than 30 percent of Kabul’s 6.5 million residents have access to the WHO’s basic water requirement to ensure minimum essential needs for health, hygiene, and basic consumption.
Years of excessive and unregulated groundwater extraction, combined with prolonged drought, shrinking rainfall, and the thinning of the Hindu Kush snowpack — the primary natural source for the city’s rivers and aquifers —have pushed Kabul to the edge.
But these problems are not new and have only worsened as they have not been addressed over the two decades, when Afghanistan was occupied by foreign forces following the US invasion in 2001.
Despite the billions of dollars that entered the country in foreign development projects, Kabul’s water management systems were hardly touched.
“A significant portion of this aid was spent on short-term, small-scale projects without considering future impacts on the water balance of the Kabul basin and failed to establish large-scale water conservation infrastructure that could maintain and preserve this balance,” Rahimi said.
Dr. Ahmad Shah Frahmand, a geographic information systems and remote sensing expert specializing in mapping changes in water surface areas, said that also the way the projects were implemented, along with the lack of knowledge transfer, prevented them from having a lasting impact.
“International donors funded networks and pipelines across Kabul, often constructed by foreign contractors with little local involvement. But within just a few years, many of these systems fell into disrepair due to poor construction and a lack of oversight,” he told Arab News.
“One of the biggest failings was the focus on short-term fixes over long-term solutions. Aid money was frequently funneled into demonstration projects — temporary wells, pilot programs, or highly visible installations that offered quick results but little durability. Meanwhile, large-scale infrastructure like dams, reservoirs, and water treatment plants received far less attention and funding.”
According to Frahmand, less than 10 percent of the water sector budget was spent on training and maintaining local staff.
“Without skilled technicians, engineers, and maintenance crews, even well-built systems can crumble. And in Kabul, many already have,” he said.
A report published by the US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction in 2020 — a year before the withdrawal of American-led forces from Afghanistan — estimated that at least 30 percent of reconstruction aid, or $19 billion, was lost to waste, fraud, and abuse.
Additional audits by the oversight agency suggested the true figure may have been 40 percent due to corruption and mismanagement.
As foreign donors have left the country and international sanctions have been slapped on it since 2021, when the Taliban took over after the US forces withdrew, there are no funds for big infrastructure projects, especially as Afghanistan is already facing several other humanitarian crises.
“In a country desperate for stable infrastructure, these funds could have transformed lives. Instead, many projects stalled, failed, or were quietly abandoned,” Frahmand said, highlighting how urgent redesigning Kabul’s water systems has been, as the city has not seen a comprehensive water management plan since 1978.
“Kabul’s infrastructure was never built for the population it now serves. The existing water supply system, designed decades ago for a much smaller population, can no longer meet basic demand. Millions of Kabul residents now rely on tankers, private vendors, or unsafe wells to access water.”
By 2030, as many as 2 million people could be forced to leave Kabul in search of water, according to projections by the UN refugee agency. Water loss could lead to the extinction of local fish species and a collapse of biodiversity in the region.
“The agricultural sector is already under immense pressure. The Food and Agriculture Organization forecasts a 40 percent drop in crop yields across Kabul province by 2035. For a population already grappling with food insecurity, this decline could tip entire communities into hunger and poverty,” Frahmand said.
“If urgent action is not taken, the coming decade could bring irreversible social, environmental, and economic consequences that reshape the city and the lives of those who remain in it.”
India marks inclusion of 12 Maratha forts on UNESCO World Heritage List
- Forts were once used by the Maratha Empire between the 17th and 19th centuries
- India now ranks 6th globally and 2nd in Asia for the number of World Heritage Sites
NEW DELHI: India’s Maratha Military Landscapes — a network of 12 strategic forts — have been added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, becoming the country’s 44th site to receive the designation.
The forts were used by the rulers of the Maratha Empire, who held power across parts of central, western and southern India between the late 17th century and the early 19th century.
Marathas rose to prominence after the decline of the Mughal Empire, following the death of Emperor Aurangzeb in 1707, the last powerful Mughal ruler, who alone had controlled much of India for nearly 50 years.
The proposal to include the Maratha forts on the UNESCO list was submitted by India to the World Heritage Committee in January 2024.
The inscription, which took place during the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee in Paris on Friday, marked “a significant milestone in the global acknowledgment of India’s rich and diverse cultural heritage,” the Ministry of Culture said in a statement.
The Maratha Military Landscapes of India were nominated under the criteria in recognition of “their exceptional testimony to a living cultural tradition, their architectural and technological significance, and their deep associations with historic events and traditions.”
The fortification network covers 11 forts in the state of Maharashtra — Salher, Shivneri, Lohagad, Khanderi, Raigad, Rajgad, Pratapgad, Suvarnadurg, Panhala, Vijaydurg, and Sindhudurg — and one, Gingee Fort, in Tamil Nadu.
With the newest addition, India now ranks sixth globally and second in the Asia-Pacific region for the number of UNESCO World Heritage sites.
“The fact that UNESCO selected 12 forts from the Maratha dynasty as World Heritage Sites is a matter of great pride for the history of the Marathas, Maharashtra and India,” Prof. Santosh Mahadevrao Ghuge, who heads the Department of History at the Fergusson College in Pune, one of the main cities of Maharashtra, told Arab News.
“The war strategy of the Marathas has unique significance in Indian and world history, and forts have an important place in this war strategy. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Maratha military prowess and the use of forts in warfare enabled the Marathas to defeat the powerful Mughals.”
New Gaza-bound aid boat leaves Italy
- The Handala, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left the port of Syracuse shortly after 12:00 p.m.
- The former Norwegian trawler will sail for about a week in the Mediterranean in the hope of reaching Gaza’s coast
SYRACUSE, Italy: A Gaza-bound boat carrying pro-Palestinian activists and humanitarian aid left Sicily on Sunday, over a month after Israel detained and deported people aboard a previous vessel.
The Handala, operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, left the port of Syracuse shortly after 12:00 p.m. (1000 GMT), an AFP journalist saw, carrying about fifteen activists.
Several dozen people, some holding Palestinian flags and others wearing keffiyeh scarves, gathered at the port to cheer the boat’s departure with cries of “Free Palestine.”
The former Norwegian trawler – loaded with medical supplies, food, children’s equipment and medicine – will sail for about a week in the Mediterranean, covering roughly 1,800 kilometers, in the hope of reaching Gaza’s coast.
In early March, Israel imposed a total aid blockade on Gaza amid an impasse in truce negotiations, only partially easing restrictions in late May.
The boat will make a stop at Gallipoli, in southeastern Italy, where two members of the hard-left France Unbowed party (LFI) are expected to join.
The initiative comes six weeks after the departure of the Madleen, another ship that left Italy for Gaza transporting aid and activists, including Greta Thunberg.
Israel authorities intercepted the Madleen about 185 kilometers west of Gaza’s coast.
“This is a mission for the children in Gaza, to break the humanitarian blockade and to break the summer silence on the genocide,” said Gabrielle Cathala, one of the two France Unbowed party members set to board the boat on July 18.
“I hope we will reach Gaza but if not, it will be yet another violation of international law” by Israel, she added.
The war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that led to 1,219 deaths, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 49 are still held in Gaza, including 27 that the Israeli military says are dead.
Hamas-run Gaza’s health ministry says that at least 57,882 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s military reprisals. The UN considers the figures reliable.
