Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Los Angeles on Sunday in response to Donald Trump’s extraordinary deployment of the National Guard, blocking off a major road and setting cars on fire as law enforcement used tear gas and rubber bullets to control the crowd.
Police patrolled the streets on horseback while other officers in riot gear lined up behind Guard troops deployed to protect federal facilities, including a detention centre where immigrants were taken in recent days. Police declared an unlawful assembly.
Protesters grabbed chairs from a nearby public park to form a makeshift barrier, throwing objects at police on the other side. Others standing above the closed motorway threw chunks of concrete, rocks, electric scooters and fireworks at California Highway Patrol officers and their vehicles parked on the motorway. Officers ran under an overpass to take cover.
It was the third day of demonstrations against an immigration crackdown by the Trump administration, with the arrival of around 300 federal troops spurring anger and fear among residents.
Mr Trump ran for election last year on a campaign promise to conduct the largest deportation drive in the nation's history. Since taking office, he has charged US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a federal law enforcement agency, with detaining people living in the US without documentation.
The White House recently set a goal for its agents to arrest at least 3,000 migrants a day. Thousands have been swiftly deported, sometimes without due process.
The sweeping raids have also affected people with no criminal record and others who are legal residents in the US. More than 200 migrants, primarily from Venezuela, have been sent to a prison in El Salvador.
On Sunday in downtown Los Angeles at least four self-driving Waymo cars were set on fire, sending large plumes of black smoke into the sky as the electric vehicles burned. By the evening, police had issued an unlawful assembly order shutting down several blocks. Flash bangs echoed out every few seconds into the evening.
Mr Trump wrote on his on Truth Social platform that the National Guard were doing a “great job”.
“These radical left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will not be tolerated,” he said, adding that protesters would not be allowed to wear masks.
He had previously directed his administration to take all “necessary” action to “liberate” Los Angeles. “Order will be restored, the illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free,” he said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom requested in a letter that Mr Trump remove the National Guard, calling their deployment unlawful and a “serious breach of state sovereignty”.
Mr Newsom accused Mr Trump of trying to manufacture a crisis. “These are the acts of a dictator, not a President,” he wrote in a post on X.
The deployment of National Guard troops appeared to be the first time in decades that a state’s national guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass echoed Mr Newsom's comments. “What we’re seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration,” she said in an afternoon press conference. “This is about another agenda, this isn’t about public safety.”
Their admonishments did not deter the Trump administration. “It’s a bald-faced lie for Newsom to claim there was no problem in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement in response.
The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began on Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino area south of the city, and neighbouring Compton.
Los Angeles, the second-largest city in the US, is home to a large immigrant community, predominantly from Mexico and other parts of Central and South America.
On Friday federal agents arrested immigrants in LA's fashion district, in a Home Depot car park and at several other locations. The next day, agents were seen at a Department of Homeland Security office near another Home Depot in Paramount, which drew out protesters who suspected another raid. Federal authorities later said there was no enforcement activity at that Home Depot.
The week-long tally of immigrant arrests in the LA area has climbed above 100, federal authorities said. Many more were arrested while protesting, including a prominent union leader who was accused of impeding law enforcement.
The protests did not reach the size of past demonstrations that brought the National Guard to Los Angeles, including the Watts and Rodney King riots of the 1960s and 1990s, and the 2020 protests against police violence, in which Mr Newsom requested the assistance of federal troops.
The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor's permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Centre for Justice.
In a directive on Saturday, Mr Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is “a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States”.
Mr Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in New Jersey on Sunday that there were “violent people” in Los Angeles “and they’re not gonna get away with it”.
“We’re gonna have troops everywhere. We’re not going to let this happen to our country. We’re not going to let our country be torn apart like it was under Biden,” he said.
About 500 Marines stationed at Twentynine Palms, about 200 kilometres east of Los Angeles, were in a “prepared to deploy status” on Sunday afternoon, according to the US Northern Command.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris, who lives in Los Angeles, said the immigration arrests and National Guard deployment were designed as part of a “cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division”.
She said she supports those “standing up to protect our most fundamental rights and freedoms”.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said the National Guard are “specifically trained for this type of crowd situation”.
“Governor Newsom has proven that he makes bad decisions,” Ms Noem told CBS on Sunday. “The President knows that he makes bad decisions, and that's why the President chose the safety of this community over waiting for Governor Newsom to get some sanity.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The years Ramadan fell in May
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16. first leg
Atletico Madrid v Juventus, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
In Praise of Zayed
A thousand grains of Sand whirl in the sky
To mark the journey of one passer-by
If then a Cavalcade disturbs the scene,
Shall such grains sing before they start to fly?
What man of Honour, and to Honour bred
Will fear to go wherever Truth has led?
For though a Thousand urge him to retreat
He'll laugh, until such counsellors have fled.
Stands always One, defiant and alone
Against the Many, when all Hope has flown.
Then comes the Test; and only then the time
Of reckoning what each can call his own.
History will not forget: that one small Seed
Sufficed to tip the Scales in time of need.
More than a debt, the Emirates owe to Zayed
Their very Souls, from outside influence freed.
No praise from Roderic can increase his Fame.
Steadfastness was the Essence of his name.
The changing years grow Gardens in the Sand
And build new Roads to Sand which stays the same.
But Hearts are not rebuilt, nor Seed resown.
What was, remains, essentially Alone.
Until the Golden Messenger, all-wise,
Calls out: "Come now, my Friend!" - and All is known
- Roderic Fenwick Owen
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
Inside%20Out%202
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EKelsey%20Mann%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A0Amy%20Poehler%2C%20Maya%20Hawke%2C%20Ayo%20Edebiri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
