Partial curfew ordered in LA; Trump calls protests 'foreign invasion'
11 June 2025 12:10
LOS ANGELES (dpa) Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday announced a curfew for downtown Los Angeles from 8 pm (0300 GMT Wednesday) until 6 am Wednesday in response to ongoing protests against US President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown."I have declared a local emergency and issued a curfew for downtown Los Angeles to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting," Bass told reporters at an evening news conference, noting significant damage to businesses and properties."Law enforcement will arrest individuals who break the curfew, and you will be prosecuted," she added. People have been protesting in Los Angeles for days against attempts by security forces to carry out immigration raids. Trump has sent thousands of National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the city, claiming the situation is out of control. Trump says LA is being invaded by a 'foreign enemy' Trump on Tuesday described the unrest in Los Angeles as an invasion by a "foreign enemy" during a speech at Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina.Addressing the ongoing protests in the city, he said demonstrators were "rioters bearing foreign flags to continue a foreign invasion of our country.""What you're witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order, and national sovereignty," Trump said. He went on to describe the protesters as "animals" who "proudly carry the flags of other countries," but do not carry the US flag.California Governor Trump's move a 'brazen abuse of power' Critics including California Governor Gavin Newsom have accused Trump of inflaming the situation by sending troops. In a televised address on Tuesday, Newsom criticized Trump's decision to deploy National Guard members "illegally and for no reason" without consulting California law enforcement."This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk," he added."Democracy is under assault before our eyes. At this moment we have feared has arrived," Newsom said."What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence, to be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him."Trump had argued that the city "would be burning right now" if not for the troops he sent, comparing the situation to the fires that caused unprecedented damage earlier this year.Trump says he's open to using the Insurrection Act Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said he is considering whether to invoke a 200-year-old law to deploy additional military forces in Los Angeles.
Responding to journalists at the White House, Trump said he would consider invoking the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that allows presidents to send troops to restore public order in certain emergencies.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
US embassy evacuations signal threat of strike on Iran, experts say
The US staff evacuations from its embassies in the Middle East on Thursday signals the threat of either an Israeli or American attack on Iran, experts told The National, as tension heightens across the region. US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that US personnel were being moved from the potentially 'dangerous' Middle East as nuclear talks with Iran faltered and fears grew of a regional conflict. 'The evacuation leaks signal that the threat of Israeli strikes on Iran looms closer on the horizon,' Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East programme at London's Chatham House, told The National. Tehran had earlier threatened to target US military bases in the region if conflict breaks out and if it were attacked over its nuclear programme, amid mounting speculation that Israel could strike the country's facilities. The orders to US embassy staff in Iraq was 'based on our latest analysis', according to the US State Department. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth authorised family members of US military stationed across the region to leave, according to a Pentagon statement. [The move] could be related to possible US or Israeli strikes on acts of resistance targets, and it's of a significantly large enough threat and a large enough scale that they expect retaliation Farzan Sabet, managing researcher at the Geneva Graduate Institute The State Department also said US government employees and family members in Israel are restricted from travelling outside major cities such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem until further notice. The move could be 'related to possible US or Israeli strikes on acts of resistance targets, and it's of a significantly large enough threat and a large enough scale that they expect retaliation, hence the evacuation', Farzan Sabet, managing researcher at the Geneva Graduate Institute, told The National. Mr Sabet said the move could be 'co-ordinated signalling because we've also seen many leaks about Israeli preparations to strike Iran to generate leverage for the US in nuclear talks with Iran'. It comes ahead of a sixth round of talks between Washington and Tehran in an attempt to reach a nuclear deal. Mr Trump has threatened to bomb the country if Iran refuses to reach an agreement. The US has given conflicting comments, though in recent weeks Mr Trump has more firmly stated that Tehran must stop its enrichment altogether. The Omani-mediated talks will be held in Muscat on Sunday in a final attempt to get a framework and deal on Tehran's nuclear activities and the lifting of Iranian sanctions. The threat from Iran could be directed more at Israel, given reports of its readiness to attack nuclear sites if talks fail, rather than the US, Yesar Al Maliki, a Gulf Analyst at MEES, told The National. 'US foreign policy is divided between isolationist and interventionist agendas within administration ranks, Tehran's messaging could be directed at the former group,' he said. Iran is 'under pressure as talks with the US are yet to produce a mutually agreeable compromise on enrichment', he said. Iraq under possible threat Iraq 's leadership across the spectrum has been very concerned from any Israeli attacks on the country, Renad Mansour, director of the Iraq initiative at London's Chatham House, told The National. Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al Sudani's 'government has managed thus far to keep Iraq insulated or relatively insulated from the wider violence and conflict', he said. However, the main concern is 'whether either Israel or the US, especially some of the neoconservative elements in the US administration want to target Iran via Iraq, could push for this policy'. 'Iraq has always been connected in a way to the wider regional conflicts,' he said, adding that Baghdad still has the Popular Mobilisation Forces which 'is somehow more or less connected to Iran's networks in the region and the axis of resistance'. In response to the move by Mr Trump, an Iraqi military spokesman, Sabah Al Numan, said on Thursday that the evacuation of some US embassy personnel is a 'regulatory precautionary measure related to them'. Omar Al Nidawi, programmes director at Enabling Peace in Iraq Centre thinks that the "sudden unprompted move and Trump's remarks yesterday that the region 'could be a dangerous place' suggests it was more likely a stunt meant to put pressure on Iran ahead of talks than a real security precaution based on actual concerns", he told The National.
Zawya
2 hours ago
- Zawya
Most G7 members ready to lower Russian oil price cap without US
Most countries in the Group of Seven nations are prepared to go it alone and lower the G7 price cap on Russian oil even if U.S. President Donald Trump decides to opt out, four sources familiar with the matter said. G7 country leaders are due to meet on June 15-17 in Canada where they will discuss the price cap first agreed in late 2022. The cap was designed to allow Russian oil to be sold to third countries using Western insurance services provided the price was no more than $60 a barrel. The European Union and Britain have been pushing to lower the price for weeks after a fall in global oil prices made the current $60 cap nearly irrelevant. The sources, who declined to be named, said the EU and Britain are ready to lead the charge and go it alone, backed by the other European G7 countries and Canada. They said it is still unclear what the U.S. will decide, though the Europeans are pushing for a united decision at the meeting. Japan's position also remains uncertain, they said. "There is a push among European countries to reduce the oil price cap to $45 from $60. There are positive signals from Canada, Britain and possibly the Japanese. We will use the G7 to try to get the U.S. on board," one of the sources said. The White House had no immediate comment. During the G7 finance ministers meeting in the Canadian Rockies last month, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remained unconvinced there was a need to lower the cap, according to sources. However some U.S. Senators may endorse the idea, including Lindsay Graham, who in recent weeks told reporters he supports lowering the cap. Graham is pushing a hard-hitting new set of Russia sanctions that could impose steep tariffs on buyers of Russian oil. The EU has proposed lowering the price to $45 a barrel in its latest 18th package of sanctions. The package must have unanimity from member states in order for it to be adopted, which could take several weeks. Russia's largest export grade, Urals, trades at around a $10 a barrel discount to the Dated Brent benchmark out of Baltic ports. Brent futures have been trading below $70 a barrel since early April. Sources said Washington's buy-in was not essential to lower the cap owing to Britain's dominance in global shipping insurance, and the EU's influence on the Western rules-abiding tanker fleet. The U.S., however, does matter when it comes to dollar-denominated payments for oil and its banking system. The EU and its Western allies have been progressively cracking down on Russia's shadow fleet of tankers and related actors, which work to circumvent the cap. The pressure has started to hurt Moscow's revenues and Western allies hope this will push more of the oil trade back under the cap. Russia's state-owned oil producer Rosneft reported a 14.4% slump in profits last year. (Reporting by Julia Payne and John Irish; Additional reporting by Jarrett Renshaw in Washington; Editing by Jan Harvey)
Zawya
2 hours ago
- Zawya
Mideast Stocks: Middle Eastern stocks lower on geopolitics
Stock markets in the Middle East ended lower on Thursday with uncertainty looming after the U.S. decided to relocate personnel from the region ahead of nuclear talks with Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday U.S. personnel were being moved out of the Middle East because "it could be a dangerous place", adding that the United States would not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Saudi Arabia's benchmark index declined 1.5%, dragged down by a 1.2% fall in Al Rajhi Bank and a 3.3% decrease in Saudi Arabian Mining Company. The Saudi bourse retreated, erasing all recent recovery gains and pushing the index back towards early June levels. All sectors posted negative performances, indicating a pervasive risk-off sentiment during today's session, said Milad Azar, market analyst at XTB MENA. "While solid fundamentals offer a hopeful outlook, the market's reaction was more heavily influenced by geopolitical tensions," Azar said. "However, this impact may be temporary, and the market could reverse course." Dubai's main share index slid 2.3%, its biggest intraday fall in two months, with blue-chip developer Emaar Properties dropping 3.4%. In Abu Dhabi, the index finished 1.1% higher. The decision by the U.S. to evacuate personnel comes at a volatile moment in the region. Trump's efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran appear to be deadlocked and U.S. intelligence indicates that Israel has been making preparations for a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. Iranian Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh said on Wednesday that if Iran was subjected to strikes it would retaliate by hitting U.S. bases in the region. The Qatari index lost 0.8%, as almost all its constituents were in negative territory including petrochemical maker Industries Qatar, which was down 1.4%. Egypt's blue-chip index was down 1.3%. SAUDI ARABIA fell 1.5% to 10,841 Abu Dhabi lost 2.3% to 5,467 Dubai down 1.1% to 9,694 QATAR dropped 0.8% to 10,627 EGYPT down 1.3% to 32,512 BAHRAIN eased 0.2% to 1,918 OMAN down 1.1% to 4,543 KUWAIT slid 1.4% to 8,918 (Reporting by Ateeq Shariff in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
