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Trump calls off San Francisco ‘surge,’ but East Bay braces for action as protests erupt

President Trump said Thursday that he had called off a planned federal “surge” into San Francisco after speaking with Mayor Daniel Lurie and other city leaders — a detente that officials and activists in the East Bay said they were not welcomed into and viewed with some suspicion, as potentially enlarging the target on their own communities.

Trump’s announcement came amid protests at the entrance to the U.S. Coast Guard base across the bay in Alameda County, where the Department of Homeland Security has begun staging additional forces. It followed a similar announcement by Lurie, who said he had told Trump during a phone call late Wednesday that San Francisco is “on the rise” and that “having the military and militarized immigration enforcement in our city will hinder our recovery.”

Lurie said Trump agreed to call off any federal deployment to the city, and that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem — who is in charge of federal immigration forces — had “reaffirmed that direction” in a conversation with him Thursday morning.

Trump said on social media that his administration had been planning a “surge” in San Francisco beginning Saturday, but that Lurie had asked him “very nicely” to “give him a chance to see if he can turn it around,” and that other “friends” of Trump’s in the city had asked him to call it off because they believe Lurie is “making substantial progress.”

Trump said he told Lurie that he was “making a mistake, because we can do it much faster, and remove the criminals that the Law does not permit him to remove,” but that he had ultimately agreed to pause the surge — in part because Lurie has the support of prominent business leaders Jensen Huang of Nvidia and Marc Benioff of Salesforce.

During a Thursday morning briefing less than an hour after Trump’s post, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee and other East Bay leaders said they had “no information” about such a stand-down in their communities, and were still bracing for increased federal immigration raids given the staging of forces at nearby Coast Guard Island, which is in the waters between Alameda and Oakland.

“The federal administration, of course, has escalated its rhetoric and its enforcement posture in the Bay Area. We know that Border Patrol agents are being stationed on Coast Guard Island,” Lee said. “But … we are fully prepared. We’re monitoring developments closely and we’ll keep our residents informed if there are any confirmed changes. Oakland is and will continue to be a welcoming city for our immigrants and our refugees.”

The Department of Homeland Security defended the deployment of its agents to the region, saying they would be “targeting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens — including murderers, rapists, gang members, pedophiles, and terrorists.”

Alameda County Dist. Atty. Ursula Jones Dickson said the staging of immigration forces in the East Bay was part of an established Trump administration “playbook” to rile up communities with immigration actions and then use any unrest to justify further force — and called on East Bay residents not to fall for it.

“We know that they’re baiting Oakland, and that’s why San Francisco, all of a sudden, is off the table,” Jones Dickson said. “So I’m not going to be quiet about what we know is coming. We know that their expectation is that Oakland is going to do something to cause them to make us the example.”

Lourdes Martinez, co-director of the immigrant rights program at Centro Legal de la Raza, said communities are understandably scared given recent legal rulings that federal immigration agents can stop people based on factors such as the color of their skin, the language they are speaking and the job sectors they work in — and organizers expect more such stops given the latest deployments.

She called on immigrants and others to protect themselves by readying documentation and making sure that they and their families are familiar with their rights to remain silent and to have an attorney — and how to contact legal advocacy groups in case of trouble. She also urged community members to report any detentions, to “make sure that nobody disappears.”

“We know this is an uncertain and stressful time. However, this is a moment of unity and power, not panic,” she said.

Shortly after Lee’s event, about 40 protesters gathered near a bridge leading to Coast Guard Island.

Music was blasting. One person wore a blow-up animal costume, a trend that gained momentum amid similar protests in Portland recently. Coast Guard members in tactical gear stood in a line across from protesters who screamed at them.

“We knew there was going to be [an immigration enforcement] presence here and we wanted to disrupt in a peaceful way — to make it harder for them to abduct people,” said Lindsey Swanson, 32, a financial planner who lives in Oakland.

Swanson and others said they believed immigration enforcement would also ramp up in San Francisco, despite Trump and Lurie’s morning assurances, and would continue in the East Bay regardless.

“There’s East Bay — Oakland, Berkeley — so calling off San Francisco means nothing,” said Rachel Kim, a 28-year-old Berkeley resident who is training to become a therapist.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Trump’s conversation with Lurie was an example of how he is willing to work with Democrats and other states to “do the right thing and clean up America’s cities.”

“He is genuinely interested in this effort to make our streets safer, to make our cities safe and clean again,” she said.

The morning events followed days of growing tensions in the Bay Area over Trump’s plans for the region, after he repeatedly suggested that he would send federal forces into San Francisco — which he called a “mess” in desperate need of help, despite data showing decreasing crime and homeless encampments and surging positive sentiment.

On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom confirmed the staging of immigration agents in the area, and suggested it was the first move in a broader effort by Trump and his administration to stoke chaos and intimidate residents in yet another liberal part of the country.

“He sends out masked men, he sends out Border Patrol, he sends out ICE, he creates anxiety and fear in the community so that he can lay claim to solving that by sending in the Guard,” Newsom said. “This is no different than the arsonist putting out the fire.”

The response echoed those of leaders and activists in other cities where immigration forces and federal troops have been deployed, including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Portland. It added to an already rancorous debate around Trump’s mass deportation initiative, which he campaigned on heavily, and the role of federal forces in American cities — something the founders of the nation limited to extreme circumstances.

Central to that debate has been Trump’s repeated and unprecedented decision to repeatedly send troops into American cities without the explicit support of state or local leaders. Federal judges have been divided on that issue, though it has so far been allowed to continue in Los Angeles by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

But even in the appellate court, there has been tense disagreement.

Liberal judges on the court recently called for the decision allowing the deployments to continue in Los Angeles, which was made by a three-judge panel, to be reheard before a larger, 11-judge panel. When that request was denied, several dissented Wednesday — excoriating the deployments as a clear breach of constitutional law and the separation of powers.

Judge Marsha Berzon, in a dissent joined by 10 fellow 9th Circuit judges, wrote that the smaller panel in its preliminary deference to Trump had “invited presidents, now and in the future, to deploy military troops in response to the kinds of commonplace, shortlived, domestic disturbances whose containment conventionally falls to local and federal law enforcement units.”

Times staff writer Ana Ceballos, in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

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Celebrations erupt over Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza

After two years of devastating war that killed tens of thousands, left millions displaced and pulverized much of Gaza into an apocalyptic moonscape, Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a deal involving an exchange of Israeli hostages and Palestinian detainees.

Though Israel had still not formally ratified the pact, it was expected to do so Thursday evening, and celebrations had already broken out in the country. The news was greeted with relief and joy in Gaza, where Hamas said the agreement would end the war and lead to Israel’s full withdrawal from the enclave and to the entry of desperately needed aid.

The deal caps months of torturous ceasefire negotiations and delivers a denouement to a generation-defining fight in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Posting on his social media platform Truth Social on Wednesday, President Trump announced the two sides had signed off on “the first Phase of our Peace Plan,” which would involve the hostage-detainee swap along with the Israeli military’s withdrawal from parts of Gaza — “the first steps towards a Strong, durable, and Everlasting Peace,” according to Trump.

“BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS,” he wrote.

News of the agreement triggered celebrations across Gaza, with residents exhausted by Israel’s no-holds-barred assault that had upended their lives, erased entire families and brought famine to the enclave expressing cautious hope.

“I never thought I’d see this day. We’ve been wanting it to come for months now, and then suddenly it happened so fast,” said Ali al-Azab, 34, from the central city of Deir Al-Balah in the enclave.

“We’ve been living in fear for so long, waiting for the next bomb to come, to lose another friend. But I also know the war isn’t over yet.”

Word of the ceasefire came early Thursday morning in Gaza, as Mohammad Rajab, 62, was still asleep. His son-in-law, he said, was the first to hear the good news.

“We’re like drowning people clutching at straws,” he said, adding that the ceasefire meant for him the chance “to return to a normal life.”

In Tel Aviv’s so-called Hostage Square, the area of this coastal city that has become the de-facto gathering point for Israelis’ large-scale protests to end the war and bring the hostages home, the mood Thursday was jubilant, with people dancing as they waved Israeli and American flags.

Many sported stickers on their shirts with the words “They’re returning,” in reference to the hostages, replacing stickers that had before depicted the number of days they had spent in captivity. At one point, a man blew a shofar, the traditional musical horn used in Jewish rituals, to the crowd’s applause.

Udi Goren, 44, a travel photographer whose cousin, 44-year-old Tal Haimi, was killed on Oct. 7, 2023, and taken to Gaza, said his “first instinct was a sigh of relief.”

“For the first morning in two years, we can actually have a true smile because we finally see the end: The end of the war, of fallen soldiers, of hostages being tortured and starved, of the horrific sights from Gaza.”

He credited Trump for pressuring the belligerents to get the deal done.

“There was no real intervention until what we’ve just seen with President Trump finally saying enough is enough,” he said.

The deal, which is more of a framework centered on a 20-point plan Trump released last week, would see all 48 hostages — 20 of them alive, the rest deceased — released. Hamas officials have said in recent interviews that retrieving bodies of dead hostages will take time, as many are in collapsed or bombed-out tunnels or under the rubble. Those alive could be released as early as Sunday or Monday.

Israel will release 1,700 Gaza residents detained during the war, along with 250 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences in Israel. For every Israeli body returned, Israel will release the bodies of 15 Gaza residents.

Hamas said on Thursday it had handed over the list of prisoners to be released to mediators, and would announce the names once they were agreed upon.

Earlier reports claimed the ceasefire had already begun, but Israeli airstrikes and artillery still continued to pound the enclave Thursday, with health authorities in the enclave saying at least 10 people were killed and dozens injured.

Footage taken by Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera depicted tanks shelling Gaza’s main coastal road to prevent Palestinians from gathering in the area. Civil defense crews warned people attempting to return to the north of the enclave from doing so they received confirmation Israeli forces had left.

In a statement to Israeli daily Times of Israel, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ceasefire would begin Thursday evening after the government officially ratifies the agreement. The government is set to vote on the agreement at 6 p.m. local time, according to Israeli media.

The Israeli military said in a statement it had “begun operational preparations ahead of the implementation of the agreement” and would adjust deployment lines “soon.” Meanwhile, it was still “deployed in the area,” it said, and the military’s Arabic-language spokesman said in a statement that Gaza City was still surrounded by the army and that returning to it was dangerous.

The ceasefire will be accompanied by a surge of aid into the enclave, a crucial component of the agreement meant to alleviate a crushing, months-long Israeli blockade that had triggered famine in parts of the enclave, according to aid groups and experts. Aid groups and the Palestinian Health Ministry said more than 400 people had died of starvation in recent months.

Writing on X, Cindy McCain, executive director of the World Food Program, said the group was “on the ground and ready to scale up operations.”

“But we need to move NOW — there is no time to waste,” she wrote.

The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants blitzed into southern Israel, leaving 1,200 people — two thirds of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities — and kidnapping some 250 others.

In retaliation, Israel launched a furious response that has so far killed 67,183 people, encompassing more than 3% of the enclave’s population and including 20,179 children, the Palestinian Health Ministry says. Though it does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, its figures are seen as reliable.

Yet much remains unclear, including the fate of Hamas’s arsenal and what sort of presence, if at all, Israel will maintain in the enclave.

Speaking to the Qatari channel Al-Araby TV, Hamas official Osama Hamdan said Israel would pull out militarily from all populated areas in Gaza — including Khan Yunis, Rafah, and Gaza City by Friday. Another spokesman, Hazem Qassem, said in an interview with Al Jazeera on Thursday the group will not be part of Gaza’s governance in the future. but that the group’s arms were to “guarantee the independence of Palestinian decision-making.”

Other Hamas officials have said handing over weapons would only occur as part of a move towards an independent Palestinian state.

Despite Trump’s rhetoric, the agreement remains far from the comprehensive peace agreement he has promised. And its success kicks up thornier questions for Netanyahu, a deeply unpopular leader with many Israelis and whose critics accuse of prolonging the war to guarantee his political survival at the expense of hostages’ lives.

Implementing the agreement is likely to alienate his right-wing allies in the government, including extremist figures such as Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who has called for Gaza to be emptied of Palestinians. He said in a statement on X that he will vote against the deal.

He added the government had “an enormous obligation to ensure that we do not return to the Oslo track,” referring to the Oslo peace process, and to becoming “addicted again to artificial calm, diplomatic embraces, and smiling ceremonies, while mortgaging the future and paying horrific prices.”

At Hostage Square, Israelis demonstrated their rage at Netanyahu and others associated with his leadership during the war. When Benny Gantz, an Israeli opposition leader who served in Netanyahu’s cabinet until last year walked through the crowd, hecklers shouted at him “to go home,” accusing him of claiming a success he had not earned.

“When the war began, Gantz joined Bibi and saved him instead of bringing down his government,” said Einat Mastbaum, a 50-year-old Hebrew teacher, employing Netanyahu’s nickname.

Yet even politicians’ presence couldn’t detract from the happiness of the crowd, according to Mastbaum, who has been coming to Hostage Square every week for the last two years.

“I’m so excited,” she said, her voice cracking as tears appeared in her eyes.

“Today I’m crying from happiness and hope, not sadness.”

Times Staff Writer Bulos reported from Tel Aviv. Special correspondent Bilal Shbeir contributed from Al-Balah, Gaza Strip.

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Huge forest fires erupt in Portugal with entire villages evacuated & hundreds of firefighters battling blazes

TWO more ferocious forest fires have erupted in Portugal – and this time cops suspect the work of arsonists.

Entire villages were forced to evacuate and hundreds of firefighters rushed to the scene of the latest blazes in a disastrous summer across the Iberian Peninsula.

Forest fire at night.

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Two major fires sparked in Pedrogao Grande, Leiria, Portugal on SaturdayCredit: EPA
Air tanker dropping water on a forest fire.

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Firefighters battled the blazes from the air and the groundCredit: EPA
Firefighter observing a large forest fire.

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Smoke and flames poured up into the sky from the forestCredit: EPA

The two fires sparked nearby within an hour in Pedrógão Grande, central Portugal.

Locals here are already scarred by the memory of a terrible wildfire which killed 66 people just eight years ago.

The first erupted in the village of Pedrógão Grande, terrifyingly close to people’s homes, at around 2:30pm.

A second then burst through trees near the village of Graça at roughly 3:20pm, rousing the suspicion of police who are investigating possible foul play.

Flaming material was reported shooting out of this blaze, endangering the crews tackling it.

Five entire villages in the area were forced to evacuate as smoke cascaded into the sky.

Hundreds of firefighters battled the two blazes with from planes and from the ground.

A firefighter elsewhere in Portugal became the fourth person to be killed by the fires this summer.

Four have also lost their lives in Spain – where the blazes are finally being brought under control.

Daniel Esteves, 45, worked for the forest protection company Afocelca.

Huge blaze rips through historic manor house as firefighters tackle inferno

He was seriously injured on Tuesday night alongside four colleagues, and tragically died on Saturday.

Daniel suffered burns to 75 percent of his body and was the worst injured of the group – the rest of whom are still in hospital in Coimbra.

Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, sent his condolences to Daniel’s family who “tragically lost his life after directly combating the forest fires in Sabugal municipality”.

The amount of land burnt across the Iberian peninsula has hit a total area about the size of the US state of Delaware, based on EU statistics.

A person fighting a large forest fire at night.

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A local man civilian got involved in the fight against the flamesCredit: EPA
Burned-out truck in a forest fire.

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A burnt-out truck which was engulfed by the flamesCredit: EPA
Silhouetted firefighter observing a large forest fire at night.

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Hundreds of firefighters rushed to the scenesCredit: EPA

Spain had lost a record 403,000 hectares, while Portugal lost 278,000 hectares this year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS).

Spanish authorities said the tide seemed to have turned in the fight against the fires, which are mainly raging in the country’s west and northwest.

But the head of Spain’s civil protection and emergencies service, Virginia Barcones, warned there were still 18 “treacherous” blazes alight.

The record-breaking year has been fuelled by dry conditions, heatwaves and strong winds.

Silhouette of a firefighter against a backdrop of a forest fire.

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These fires are the latest in a disastrous year for Spain and PortugalCredit: EPA

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Demonstrators clash with cops as migrant protests erupt across the UK after landmark Epping ruling

MIGRANT protests have broken out across UK cities today, as demonstrators clash with police.

It comes following a landmark ruling on the use of the Epping hotel.

Police officers arresting a protester at a demonstration.

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Anti-immigration protesters have gathered outside the Radisson Hotel in Perth, ScotlandCredit: PA
Police officers on horseback clash with protesters.

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Mounted police have clashed with protesters in BristolCredit: PA
Protest against anti-refugee sentiment.

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Counter protesters from the anti-racist group Stand Up to Racism are also presentCredit: PA

A number of cities will see demonstrations over the weekend, primarily centred on so-called asylum hotels, with an estimated 27 protests expected over the bank holiday weekend.

A protest at Castle Park in Bristol saw mounted police officers clashing with demonstrators.

The demonstration was led by Abolish Asylum System, with anti-racism counter protesters also present.

Another protest in Horley, Surrey saw around 200 anti-immigration protesters draped in St George’s and Union flags.

They were opposed by roughly 50 Stand Up to Racism protesters.

Those on the anti-racism side chanted “say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here”, with signs called for an end to deportations.

They were met with abuse from the anti-immigration group, one of whom yelled through a megaphone “you’re all scum and you should be ashamed” claiming it “wasn’t about racism”.

Police are separating the two groups.

Further protests are taking place outside the New Bridge Hotel in Newcastle.

Anti-immigration could be seen carrying Union Jacks as they faced off against police.

One woman could be seen carrying a sign that reads “fairness isn’t extremism”, with a St George’s flag donned like a cape.

The protests come following a ruling earlier this week on the use of the Bell Hotel in Epping.

Following weeks of protests outside the hotel, the High Court ruled that it must remove migrants staying there.

The Home Office has since launched an appeal against the decision in the hopes of continuing its use as a home for asylum seekers.

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Dozens injured in Serbia as clashes erupt at antigovernment protests | Protests News

Images from the scene show government supporters throwing flares at the protesters who hurl back various objects.

Clashes have erupted as opponents and supporters of the Serbian government faced off, each side staging its own demonstrations, as sustained protests against populist President Aleksandar Vucic have now gone on for more than nine months.

The clashes first began on Tuesday night in Vrbas, northwest of the capital Belgrade, where riot police separated the two groups outside the governing Serbian Progressive Party offices in the town.

The student-led protests in Serbia first started in November after a train station canopy collapsed in the northern city of Novi Sad, killing 16 people, triggering furious accusations of corruption in state infrastructure projects.

Serbia’s president, other government officials and pro-government media have repeatedly described the protesters as “terrorists”, although protests since November have been largely peaceful.

Led by university students, the protesters are demanding that Vucic call an early parliamentary election, which he has refused to do.

Images from the scene showed government supporters throwing flares, rocks and bottles at the protesters, who hurled back various objects. Police said that dozens of people were injured, including 16 police officers.

Similar incidents were reported at protests in other parts of the country.

Police said that several people were detained in Vrbas. Police Commissioner Dragan Vasiljevic told state-run RTS television that the protesters “came to attack” the governing party’s supporters outside the party’s offices.

An image taken from video shows protesters and riot police engulfed by smoke as clashes erupted at protests in Vrbas, Serbia, Tuesday, Aug. 12, between opponents and supporters of the government in an escalation of tensions following more than nine months of persistent demonstrations against populist President Aleksandar Vucic. (N1 Serbia via AP)
An image taken from video shows protesters and riot police engulfed by smoke as clashes erupted at protests in Vrbas, Serbia, Tuesday, August 12, between opponents and supporters of the government [File: N1 Serbia via AP]

Protesters have said that government supporters attacked them first in Vrbas and also further south in Backa Palanka and later in Novi Sad and the southern city of Nis. In Belgrade, riot police pushed away protesters who gathered in a downtown area.

Vucic said at a news conference on Wednesday with Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker that pro-democracy protests in Serbia have been “very violent and were violent last night”.

Protests have, since November, drawn hundreds of thousands of people, rattling Vucic’s long-running presidency. The Serbian leader’s supporters have recently started organising counterdemonstrations, fuelling fears of further violence.

Serbia is formally seeking European Union membership, but Vucic has maintained strong ties with Russia and China, and has been accused of stifling democratic freedoms since coming to power 13 years ago.

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Wildfires erupt across Mediterranean as heatwave worsens | Climate Crisis News

Blazes break out in France, Greece, Turkiye and Syria, with several other nations on high alert amid warnings of scorching weather.

Countries across the Mediterranean are battling fast-spreading wildfires and soaring temperatures as a heatwave sweeps through Southern Europe and parts of the Middle East, prompting evacuations and emergency alerts.

Blazes broke out in Greece, Turkiye, France and Syria on Sunday, with several other nations on high alert as forecasters warned that the scorching weather would intensify in the coming days.

From Spain to Italy, authorities urged residents to protect vulnerable people and avoid unnecessary travel during the region’s first severe heatwave of the summer.

Emergency teams and ambulances were stationed near popular tourist destinations, while meteorologists warned that extreme heat events – supercharged by climate change – are becoming more frequent and intense.

A firefighter walks past a burned house after a wildfire swept through Pikermi suburb, east of Athens, Greece, 03 July 2025. [George Vitsaras/EPA]
A firefighter walks past a burned house in Pikermi, east of Athens, Greece, July 3, 2025 [George Vitsaras/EPA]

In western Turkiye, wildfires erupted on Sunday in Izmir province, fanned by strong winds. Firefighters, supported by aircraft, fought to control the blaze. Local authorities said five neighbourhoods in the Seferihisar district were evacuated as a precaution.

Authorities said firefighters have battled more than 600 fires in the drought-hit nation over the past week.

Turkish authorities arrested 10 suspects in relation to wildfires that broke out across the country over the past week, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Friday.

The wildfires killed at least three people in the western coastal province of Izmir.

Firefighters were still trying to control a blaze in the southern coastal area of Dortyol in Hatay province.

Meanwhile, in Greece, more than 160 firefighters, 46 fire trucks and five aircraft were deployed to combat flames in southern Evia.

The blaze, which began late on Friday, burned through forested areas and forced two villages to evacuate, officials said. Fires also broke out near Athens.

France also saw wildfires break out in the Corbieres region of Aude in the southwest, where temperatures soared above 40C (104F). A campsite and a historic abbey were evacuated.

Meteo France placed 84 of the country’s 101 departments under orange-level heat alerts on Monday.

A firefighting aircraft flies over a fire engine during efforts to contain a wildfire near Pikermi suburb, east of Athens, Greece, 03 July 2025.
A firefighting aircraft flies over a fire engine during efforts to contain a wildfire near Pikermi suburb, east of Athens, Greece, July 3, 2025 [George Vitsaras/EPA]

In Spain, the national weather agency AEMET reported temperatures reaching 44C (111F) in parts of Extremadura and Andalusia.

“I feel that the heat we’re experiencing is not normal for this time of year,” said Diego Radames, a 32-year-old photographer in Madrid, speaking to the AFP news agency. “Madrid just keeps getting hotter.”

Italy placed 21 cities on red alert, including important ones, such as Rome, Milan and Naples. Emergency rooms reported a 10 percent rise in heatstroke cases, according to Mario Guarino of the Italian Society of Emergency Medicine.

Portugal also faced extreme conditions, with the capital, Lisbon, under a red warning until Monday night. Two-thirds of the country was on high alert for wildfires and extreme heat.

On the island of Sicily, firefighters tackled 15 blazes on Saturday alone.

Scientists warn that climate change is intensifying the heat.

“Heatwaves in the Mediterranean have become more frequent and more intense in recent years,” Emanuela Piervitali of Italy’s Institute for Environmental Protection and Research told AFP. “We’ll need to adapt to even higher extremes in the future.”

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‘Black lives matter!’ chants erupt as Mothers of the Movement take the stage at the DNC

As the “Mothers of the Movement” came on stage to talk about the deaths of their children and endorse Hillary Clinton at the Democratic National Convention, chants emerged from the crowd: “Black lives matter!”

Geneva Reed-Veal, standing in a half circle with eight other black mothers, attempted to quiet the audience.

“Give me two moments to tell you how good God is. Give me a moment to say thank you,” said Reed-Veal, whose 28-year-old daughter, Sandra Bland, died in jail after being pulled over for a traffic stop in 2015. “We are not standing here because he’s not good. We are standing here because he’s great.”

What followed was one of the most powerful moments of Tuesday’s convention, as the mothers held back tears to speak about the deaths that ignited a national debate about police reform and race relations.

“So many of our children gone but not forgotten,” Reed-Veal said. “I’m here with Hillary Clinton because she is a leader and a mother who will say our children’s names. Hillary knows that when a young black life is cut short, it’s not just a personal loss. It is a national loss. It is a loss that diminishes all of us.”

The short speeches, which followed a video of Hillary Clinton meeting and praying with the mothers, who have joined her at campaign events across the country, gave the Black Lives Matter movement one of its highest-profile moments. Officially, Black Lives Matter has not endorsed a presidential candidate, but the women are among the movement’s best-known names.

The deaths have spurred hundreds of demonstrations across the U.S. over the last four years and raised the pressure on both major political parties to deal with the issue of gun violence and racial disparities.

Full convention coverage »

Mothers of African Americans killed by gun violence speak at the Democratic National Convention. More coverage at latimes.com/trailguide

“You don’t stop being a parent when your child dies,” said Lucia McBath, whose 17-year-old son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed in Jacksonville, Fla., in 2012. “I am still Jordan Davis’ mother. His life ended the day he was shot and killed for playing loud music. But my job as his mother didn’t.”

“Hillary Clinton isn’t afraid to say black lives matter,” she said. “She isn’t afraid to sit at a table with grieving mothers and bear the full force of our anguish. She doesn’t build walls around her heart. Not only did she listen to our problems, she invited us to become part of the solution.”

The segment provided a window into how the Clinton campaign is responding to pressure to address race relations and police reform while acknowledging the dangers police officers face after a series of deadly shootings around the country.

Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay, who has been praised for his handling of protests in his city, introduced the mothers after saying Americans should “respect and support our police officers while at the same time pushing for these important criminal justice reforms.”

Sybrina Fulton, the mother of Trayvon Martin, said that while she “didn’t want this spotlight” she would do everything she could “to focus some of that light on a path out of this darkness.”

Fulton praised Clinton for having “courage to lead the fight for common-sense gun legislation” and a “plan to repair the divide that so often exists between law enforcement and the communities they serve.”

Day Two of the Democratic National Convention in less than 3 minutes. Full coverage at latimes.com/trailguide

The speakers included:

Fulton, the mother of 17-year-old Martin, who died after being shot by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman on Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford, Fla. A jury acquitted Zimmerman of all charges related to Martin’s death on July 13, 2013.

Lezley McSpadden, the mother of 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was shot by Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson, Mo., police officer on Aug. 9, 2014. The shooting caused days of unrest in the St. Louis suburb, raising questions about police use of military equipment and bringing scrutiny to the issue of racial disparities between police and the communities where they work. On November 21, 2014, a grand jury decided not to indict Wilson in Brown’s death.

See the most-read stories in National News this hour >>

Gwen Carr, the mother of 43-year-old Eric Garner, who died after a police officer put him a chokehold in Staten Island, N.Y., on July 17, 2014. In a bystander video that went viral, Garner can be heard repeatedly saying, “I can’t breathe,” while being restrained by police. The phrase became a protest mantra, especially after a jury decided to not indict the officer, Daniel Pantaleo, on Dec. 13, 2014. The Department of Justice is currently investigating the case.

Reed-Veal, the mother of 28-year-old Bland, who was found hanged with a trash bag in a Waller County, Texas, jail on July 13, 2015. Three days before, Bland was stopped for a traffic violation and got into an argument with the state trooper who stopped her, resulting in her arrest. After a dash-cam video was released, a Bland family lawyer argued that the officer did not have probable cause for the stop. Family members disputed a medical examiner’s ruling that her death was a suicide. In December 2015, a grand jury decided not to indict her jailers in connection with Bland’s death. The trooper is facing a misdemeanor charge.

Lucia McBath, mother of 17-year-old Jordan Davis, who was shot by Michael Dunn in Jacksonville, Fla., on Nov. 12, 2012. The shooting occurred after Dunn, who is white, complained that the music Davis and his friends were playing in their car was too loud, and an argument ensued. After a first trial ended in a mistrial, Dunn, a software developer, was found guilty of first-degree murder.

Maria Hamilton, the mother of Dontré Hamilton, who was fatally shot by a white police officer in Milwaukee on April 30, 2014. Protests ensued after charges were not brought against the officer, Christopher Manney.

Cleopatra Pendleton-Cowley, the mother of 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot by two gang members in a Chicago park on Jan. 29, 2013. The shooters were arrested and charged with first-degree murder, and First Lady Michelle Obama attended Pendleton’s funeral.

Annette Nance-Holt, the mother of 16-year-old Blair Holt, who died on a Chicago Transit Authority bus in May 2007 after trying to shield a friend from a gang member’s shots.

Wanda Johnson, the mother of 22-year-old Oscar Grant, who died after being shot by a white Bay Area Rapid Transit officer on New Year’s Day in 2009. The officer, Johannes Mehserle, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to two years in prison in 2010. Mehserle received credit for time already served and was released on June 13, 2011.

Notably absent was Samaria Rice, the mother of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, who died in November 2014 after being shot by police in Cleveland while he played in a park with a replica pellet gun. Rice has declined to endorse Clinton or Trump.

No candidate is “speaking my language about police reform,” Samaria Rice recently told Fusion, saying she wants “a lot on the table, not a little bit of talk, a lot of talk about police brutality, police accountability, making new policies, taking some away, and just reforming the whole system.”

She has also been critical of President Obama.

“He may mention something about it, but he’s not really going to go into details about it and hold the government responsible for killing innocent people,” she said in the same interview, echoing similar criticisms from some activists.

Even before their speeches, the appearance of the Mothers of the Movement had caused controversy. The Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police said its members were “shocked and saddened” that widows of fallen police officers were not included in the lineup.

“It is sad that to win an election, Mrs. Clinton must pander to the interests of people who do not know all the facts, while the men and women they seek to destroy are outside protecting the political institutions of this country,” the police group said in a statement.

The mothers aren’t strangers to the campaign trail. Several have been featured in a Clinton TV ad that aired in Chicago and St. Louis and the campaign has also covered their airfares to Democratic debates.

Not all the family members of black Americans who have died in high-profile police-involved incidents have been Clinton supporters. Erica Garner, the daughter of Eric Garner, has been a strong supporter of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Still, Tuesday’s group represented one of the strongest lineups of black activists involved in any recent presidential campaign campaign.

“We must bring awareness.… Don’t wait until tragedy knocks on your door,” Carr said in a recent ABC News segment on her support of Clinton, which also addressed violence against police.

“This is a bad time to be a good cop in this country,” Reed-Veal said in the same segment. “OK? We need to remember they have lives too.”

[email protected]

Jaweed Kaleem is The Times’ national race and justice correspondent. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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UPDATES:

7:35 p.m.: This article was updated with more details about the speeches.

6:20 p.m.: This article was updated after the women spoke.

This article was originally published at 4:40 p.m.



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Fresh Canary Island chaos as anti-tourist protests to erupt in 15 areas – where to avoid

Demonstrators are getting ready to flock to the streets en masse, calling for huge reform to the Canary Island’s tourism model. Here’s exactly where the protestors will occur

TOPSHOT - Protesters march on Las Americas beach during a demonstration to protest against mass tourism, in Arona on the Spanish Canary island of Tenerife, on October 20, 2024. Thousands of flag-waving demonstrators hit the streets across Spain's Canary Islands today to demand changes to the model of mass tourism they say is overwhelming the Atlantic archipelago.  Rallying under the slogan "The Canary Islands have a limit", demonstrators waving white, blue and yellow flags of the Canary Islands, marched by tourists sitting in outdoor terraces in Playa de las America before they rallied on the beach chanting "This beach is ours" as tourists sitting on sunbeds under parasol shades looked on. (Photo by DESIREE MARTIN / AFP) (Photo by DESIREE MARTIN/AFP via Getty Images)
Protestors vow to not ‘stop’ until their demands have been met(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Thousands of fed-up locals across the Canary Islands will take to the streets this weekend – demanding drastic change to the ‘unsustainable’ tourism model. It follows the record-breaking number of visitors that flocked to the archipelago last year, and the subsequent string of demonstrations.

After blaming holidaymakers for worsening Spain’s housing crisis, activists, and members of the Canarian diaspora abroad will gather en masse on Sunday, May 18 to call for new legislation that puts an end to ‘exploitative economic models’ on the island. This includes putting a halt to ‘destructive’ projects such as high-profile hotels, and freezing new tourist developments.

Protestors also want a green energy transition, and an eco-tax for tourists. The latter has already been mulled over in hotspots such as Tenerife’s Teide National Park – which is slated to implement an entrance fee in 2026.

READ MORE: Brits ‘caught off guard’ in major EU holiday hotspot as little-known rule exposed

The group 'Canarias has a limit'
Locals have been urging Brits to ‘go home’ for over a year now(Image: Europa Press via Getty Images)

Other demands include ‘cultural and social heritage protection’, clamping down on marine pollution, and rejecting macro-infrastructure projects. “If they don’t listen in the streets, they’ll hear us in everyday life,” one protest organiser told local news.

According to Canarian Weekly, protests will take place in 15 areas across the Canary Islands, and demonstrators have vowed they ‘won’t stop’ until they’ve achieved the change of model the Canary Islands urgently need’. If you’re heading over to the hotspot this week, you may want to avoid the following areas.

Protesters march on Las Americas beach during a demonstration to protest against mass tourism, in Arona on the Spanish Canary island of Tenerife, on October 20, 2024. Thousands of flag-waving demonstrators hit the streets across Spain's Canary Islands today to demand changes to the model of mass tourism they say is overwhelming the Atlantic archipelago.  Rallying under the slogan "The Canary Islands have a limit", demonstrators waving white, blue and yellow flags of the Canary Islands, marched by tourists sitting in outdoor terraces in Playa de las America before they rallied on the beach chanting "This beach is ours" as tourists sitting on sunbeds under parasol shades looked on. (Photo by DESIREE MARTIN / AFP) (Photo by DESIREE MARTIN/AFP via Getty Images)
More protests are slated to hit the Canary Islands this month(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Canary Island’s anti-tourist protests – where to avoid

  • Tenerife – Plaza Weyler, Santa Cruz, 11:00am
  • Gran Canaria – Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, Las Palmas, 11:00 am
  • Lanzarote – Quiosco de la Música, Arrecife, 11:00am
  • Fuerteventura – Plaza de la Iglesia, Puerto del Rosario, 11:00am
  • El Hierro – Consejería de Turismo, Valverde, 11:00am
  • La Palma – Plaza de La Alameda, Santa Cruz de La Palma, 11:00am
  • La Gomera – Plaza de Las Américas, San Sebastián, 11:00am

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The upcoming protests are hardly a surprise, as anti-tourist sentiment has been escalating across Spain for some time – and has even taken a violent turn. Back in March, a shocking sign threatening to ‘Kill A Tourist’ was spotted in Tenerife, while reports also emerged that anonymous activists had torched rental cars on the island to send a clear message to holidaymakers.

TENERIFE, SPAIN - APRIL 20: Thousands of people demonstrate against tourism policies on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain on April 20, 2024.  In recent years, tourism policy in the Canary Islands has left little room for the local population. Currently, it is difficult to find a place to rent or buy a house due to the oversupply of tourist rentals. (Photo by Andres Gutierrez/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Anti-tourist sentiment on the islands have taken a violent turn in recent months(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

Last month, Spain passed a law in a desperate attempt to appease frustrated residents. Following an update to the Horizontal Property Act, those wanting to cash in on the influx of Brits by renting out their house to holidaymakers will now need to gain a 60 per cent majority vote from neighbouring property owners.

The brutal new rule means homeowners putting their apartments on sites like Airbnb or Booking.com without the ‘necessary support’ will be asked to cease operations. They may be threatened with legal action if they ignore the warning.

Has the rise in anti-tourist protests put you off from travelling to the Canary Islands? Email [email protected] for a chance to be featured

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