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Pro-Palestinian protesters paralyse roads in US cities over Israel attacks

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Pro-Palestinian protesters paralyse roads in US cities over Israel attacks

Demonstrators block highways and shut down travel in Illinois, California, New York and the Pacific Northwest.

Pro-Palestinian protesters have blocked major roads in the states of Illinois, California, New York and the Pacific Northwest, temporarily preventing travel into some of the United States’s most heavily used airports, onto the Golden Gate and Brooklyn bridges and along a busy West Coast highway.

In Chicago, protesters linked arms and blocked lanes of Interstate 190 leading into O’Hare International Airport at about 7am (12:00 GMT) on Monday in a demonstration they said was part of a global “economic blockade to free Palestine”, according to Rifqa Falaneh, one of the organisers.

Protesters say they chose O’Hare in part because it is one of the largest airports in the US. Dozens were arrested, according to Falaneh. Chicago police said that “multiple people” were taken into custody after a protest where people obstructed traffic but did not provide a detailed count.

In California, demonstrators blocked lanes on the northbound I-880 in Oakland by chaining themselves to barrels, while a separate group of protesters with banners disrupted traffic on the southbound lanes. On the Golden Gate Bridge, protesters impeded traffic in both directions, displaying a banner that read, “Stop the world for Gaza.”

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In Eugene, Oregon, protesters blocked Interstate 5, shutting down traffic on the major highway for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, on the East Coast, protesters marching into Brooklyn blocked Manhattan-bound traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge.

Antiwar protesters have held demonstrations in Chicago nearly every day since Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people, triggered an Israeli assault on Gaza that has killed more than 33,700 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

O’Hare warned travellers on social platform X to find alternative ways to get to the airport, with car travel “substantially delayed this morning due to protest activity”.

Some travellers stuck in standstill traffic left their cars and walked the final leg to the airport along the freeway, trailing their luggage behind them.

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“This was an inconvenience,” Madeline Hannan from suburban Chicago said in a telephone interview as she was heading to Florida. “But in the grand scheme of things going on overseas, it’s a minor inconvenience.”

Inbound traffic towards O’Hare resumed at about 9am (14:00 GMT).

Heavy traffic at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, Monday [Nam Y Huh/AP]

Arrests and calls for Gaza ceasefire

Near Seattle, the Washington State Department of Transportation said a demonstration closed the main road to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Social media posts showed people holding a banner and waving Palestinian flags while standing on the highway, which reopened about three hours later.

About 20 protesters were arrested at the Golden Gate Bridge demonstration and traffic resumed shortly after noon, according to the California Highway Patrol. The agency said officers were making arrests at two points on the highway, including one spot where roughly 300 protesters refused orders to disperse.

“Attempting to block or shut down a freeway or state highway to protest is unlawful, dangerous, and prevents motorists from safely reaching their destinations,” the agency said in a statement.

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Oregon State Police said 52 protesters were arrested for disorderly conduct following the Interstate 5 protest in Eugene, Oregon, about 177km (110 miles) south of Portland. Six vehicles were towed from the scene.

New York Police made numerous arrests, saying 150 protesters were initially involved in the march at about 3:15 pm (19:15 GMT) but that the crowd grew quickly.

In San Antonio, protesters holding Palestinian flags obstructed both sides of the Valero Energy Company headquarters, causing traffic congestion on the city’s northwest side.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators march during a 'Strike for Gaza' protest calling for a permanent ceasefire
Pro-Palestinian protests hit the US [Mario Tama/AFP]
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State Department notified Congress of intent to reorganize USAID, Rubio says

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State Department notified Congress of intent to reorganize USAID, Rubio says
The State Department notified the U.S. Congress on Friday of its intent to reorganize the U.S. Agency for International Development and discontinue remaining functions that do not align with administration priorities, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.
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United Kingdom could be only G7 nation not to produce its own steel; Chinese owner blames Trump tariffs

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United Kingdom could be only G7 nation not to produce its own steel; Chinese owner blames Trump tariffs

The United Kingdom could be the first G7 nation not to manufacture its own steel, with a major steel firm blaming President Donald Trump’s tariffs for the planned closure of its two blast furnaces. 

British Steel, which is owned by Jingye, the Chinese steel group, announced plans to close its two blast furnaces in England, The Telegraph reported. The closures put 2,700 jobs at risk and the end of steel production in the United Kingdom after 150 years. Jingye bought British Steel in 2020. 

Jingye said the “imposition of tariffs” had made the blast furnaces and steel-making operations “no longer financially sustainable”. 

THE LEFT THINKS TRUMP’S TARIFFS ARE A DECLARATION OF WAR. BUT THEY’RE CLUELESS ABOUT THE BATTLEFIELD

A flag with a British Steel logo at the entrance to the steelworks plant in England. The Chinese firm that owns the steelmaker is blaming President Donald Trump’s tariffs for the potential closure of two blast furnaces in England.  (Anna Gowthorpe/PA via AP)

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Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to the United States that went into effect earlier this month.

Jingye said it has invested billions of dollars to maintain operations since 2020 but that losses have ballooned to around hundred of thousands of dollars daily.

The closures could have national security implications. 

“There is a reason why Russia bombed all the blast furnaces in Ukraine pretty much straight away; because countries need steel not just for defense but to build the roads and the infrastructure,” said Sarah Jones, the energy minister. 

Roy Rickhuss, general secretary of the Community union, said: “We urge Jingye and the government to get back around the table to resume negotiations before it is too late.”

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TRUMP’S 25% TARIFF INCREASE ON ALL STEEL, ALUMINUM IMPORTS TAKES EFFECT, PROMPTING RETALIATION FROM EUROPE

President-elect Donald Trump

President Donald Trump speaks to an audience.  (Donald Trump/Truth Social)

“Given that we are now on the cusp of becoming the only G7 country without domestic primary steelmaking capacity, it is no exaggeration to say that our national security is gravely threatened,” he added.

Trump has fought to keep U.S. Steel in American hands. Nippon Steel, a Japanese company, said it was willing to increase investment in U.S. Steel facilities to $7 billion as it tries to convince Trump thah the Pittsburgh steelmaker would be in good hands with foreign ownership. 

“We are also going to keep U.S. Steel right here in America,” Trump said during a September 2024 campaign rally. 

  

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Trump first opposed the deal in February 2024, but said earlier this year that Nippon would negotiate an investment in U.S. Steel, rather than a purchase, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. 

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Myanmar-Thailand earthquake death toll passes 1,000

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Myanmar-Thailand earthquake death toll passes 1,000

DEVELOPING STORY,

Myanmar’s military rulers say at least 1,002 people killed following earthquake that also left at least 10 dead in Thailand’s capital, Bangkok.

The death toll from a huge earthquake that hit Myanmar and Thailand has passed 1,000, as rescuers dug through the rubble of collapsed buildings in a desperate search for survivors.

At least 1,002 people were killed and nearly 2,376 injured in Myanmar’s Mandalay region – the country’s second-largest city and close to the epicentre of the quake – the country’s military government said in a statement on Saturday.

“It was a pretty uncomfortable night for lots of people. They chose to sleep outside. We saw them in parks putting mattresses outside their homes,” Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng reported from the capital Naypyidaw.

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“There were still aftershocks, several we felt this morning. They were not significantly large ones, but enough to make people feel uncomfortable returning into built-up structures,” he added.

In the Thai capital Bangkok – located 1,000km (620 miles) from the epicentre in Myanmar – about 10 more deaths have been confirmed.

“Infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and buildings were affected, leading to casualties and injuries among civilians. Search and rescue operations are currently being carried out in the affected areas,” Myanmar’s military said in the statement, which raised the death toll sharply from a previously reported 144 deaths.

The shallow 7.7-magnitude quake struck northwest of the city of Sagaing in central Myanmar in the early afternoon on Friday, followed minutes later by a 6.7-magnitude aftershock.

The quake destroyed buildings, downed bridges, and buckled roads across swathes of Myanmar, and due to patchy communications in remote areas, many believe the true scale of the disaster has yet to emerge.

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Rescuers in Bangkok laboured through the night on Friday searching for workers trapped when a 30-storey skyscraper under construction collapsed, reduced in seconds to a pile of rubble and twisted metal by the force of the shaking.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said that about 10 people had been confirmed killed across the city, most in the skyscraper collapse. But up to 100 workers were still unaccounted for at the building site, close to the Chatuchak weekend market that is a magnet for tourists.

“We are doing our best with the resources we have because every life matters,” Chadchart told reporters at the scene.

“Our priority is acting as quickly as possible to save them all,” the governor said.

Bangkok city authorities said they will deploy more than 100 engineers to inspect buildings for safety across the city after receiving more than 2,000 reports of damage.

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