Protests

Police arrested pro-Palestine activists for blockading a UK facility operated by UAV Engines Ltd, a subsidiary of Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems, and one of the world’s largest drone engine manufacturers. Activists say Elbit’s weapons are used in Israel’s war on Gaza.

July 8 (Asia Today) — People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok is moving into street politics over the June 3 ballot shortage while also using the party’s ethics process to discipline internal critics, a strategy some see as an effort to consolidate support among the party’s hard-line base.

Jang attended a rally in Incheon on Wednesday condemning the ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections, beginning what is expected to be a series of visits to voting rights protests across the country.

It was his first appearance at a protest outside Seoul’s Songpa District, where demonstrations have continued for more than a month near Olympic Park.

Some party officials and political observers say Jang appears to be using street rallies to rally conservative supporters and push back against calls for his resignation. They say he is trying to regain political momentum by focusing on the ballot shortage and voting rights rather than internal power struggles.

But concerns are also growing inside the party.

Rep. Lee Sung-kwon, secretary of Alternative and Future, a reform-minded group of People Power Party lawmakers, said on YTN radio Wednesday that lawmakers may need to act if disciplinary action against party members becomes unfair.

“If disciplinary action becomes reality and unfair punishment is imposed, we must act,” Lee said. “If necessary, we can convene a general meeting of lawmakers or circulate a petition.”

Rep. Kim Jae-sub, who has been mentioned as a possible target of disciplinary action, criticized Jang during an appearance on a Channel A YouTube program.

“The person most responsible for the local election defeat is Jang,” Kim said. “It is difficult to understand why he is creating a disciplinary atmosphere everywhere under the pretext of restoring discipline. The person who has most harmed the party is Jang himself.”

Rep. Cho Kyoung-tae, who was referred to the party ethics committee over allegations that he asked Democratic Party lawmakers to vote against Park Deok-heum in the National Assembly vice speaker election, also criticized the leadership at a news conference.

“The irresponsibility of a leadership that refuses to take responsibility after an election defeat and the tyranny of suppressing colleagues who speak the truth are shaking the roots of the party,” Cho said.

A senior lawmaker from the southeastern Yeongnam region said Jang is closing off channels for internal communication and deepening his own isolation.

“The party must now recognize that its direction should be expanding its appeal, not rallying only hard-line supporters,” the lawmaker said.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260709010003160

Protesters from unions, civil society and left-wing parties aim to disrupt AfD annual conference in Erfurt.

Thousands of opponents of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party have blocked roads leading to the party’s annual conference ahead of regional elections.

An estimated 20,000 people flocked to Erfurt, in Thuringia state, on Saturday, according to German police.

Protesters from unions, civil society groups and left-wing parties gathered in the centre of the city, some 250km (155 miles) southwest of the capital, Berlin. The police also reported several street blockades.

“We want to make it clear that we simply won’t tolerate this, that fascism is on the rise here in Germany,” Georg Becker, a spokesperson for Widersetzen (“Resist”), an anti-AfD umbrella group, told the Reuters news agency.

Large numbers of police, including reinforcements from across Germany, were deployed ahead of the AfD’s two-day conference. Police told the dpa news agency they counted more than 200 buses of protesters arriving in Erfurt.

Protesters blocked routes into the city, with some abseiling from a motorway bridge. Several groups staged sit-in blockades around the city centre, the AFP news agency said. The Associated Press reported that some protesters clashed with police in riot gear.

Still, most AfD delegates managed to reach the conference centre where party representatives said the congress began on time despite the protests.

‘Anti-democratic’ and ‘extremist’ views

AfD became the second largest party in elections last year, scoring the best result for a far-right party since World War II.

Opinion polls suggest that the party has opened a clear lead over German Chancellor Friedrich ‌Merz’s ⁠conservatives, partially driven by years of economic stagnation. AfD seems likely to take power at a state level for the first time in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, paving the way for more success at a national level.

Although AfD has grown in popularity, it remains controversial. All mainstream parties have ruled out cooperating with AfD over “anti-democratic” and “extremist” views.

AfD has also been monitored by the domestic intelligence agency for several years on suspicion of anti-constitutional activities.

Protesters in Erfurt want the party banned.

Noa Sander, another spokesperson for the Resist protest alliance told AFP, “The AfD wants mass deportations and ethnic cleansing,” in reference to the party’s “remigration” demands.

“It should be banned. We intend to do this by blockading their party conference and standing in the way of the AfD, its policies and members wherever they appear, making sure they have no place in society.” Sander said.

Over the past year, it may have appeared that the pro-Palestine protest movement in the United States has lost momentum in the face of smears, crackdowns, indifference and fatigue.

But a string of electoral wins by critics of Israeli abuses appears to indicate that activism’s success can only be measured in the long term.

In New York, Darializa Avila Chevalier, an activist who participated in the pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University, won a Democratic congressional primary against a five-term incumbent.

“It’s just so satisfying to feel like the tide is finally turning,” said Maryam Alwan, who participated in the Columbia protest in 2024.

“Public opinion has shifted to a point where it’s unavoidable and undeniable, and I think we’re finally starting to see the ripple effects of movements like the encampment that happened two years ago.”

Avila Chevalier’s win was one of several victories for pro-Palestine candidates in New York last week.

Last year, Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor of New York City, in part thanks to the efforts of young pro-Palestine activists who powered his campaign.

In Colorado on Tuesday, Melat Kiros, who was fired from her law firm in 2023 for a letter defending Palestinian rights supporters from accusations of anti-Semitism, ousted a House member who had been in Congress for nearly 30 years.

Candidates backed by supporters of Palestinian rights also won key races in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Columbia case

Avila Chevalier’s victory especially stands out in the context of the long-term impact of the student protests.

The democratic socialist nominee, who is likely to cruise to victory in a safe Democratic district in November, will represent large parts of Columbia University’s campus, where it all started.

Witnessing horrific atrocities in Gaza that were partly funded by their own government, students at Columbia set up the first encampment in support of Palestinians, kick-starting a national movement.

Students nationwide then turned their campuses into a front line for political activism against Israel’s genocidal war on Palestinians.

Dozens of encampments sprang up on campuses across the country in 2024 and chants of “free Palestine” rang out in schools from Seattle to Miami.

The students demanded an end to their own schools’ complicity in Israel’s abuses. They called for divestment from Israeli companies and weapons manufacturers.

A security crackdown soon ensued, leading to the arrest of hundreds of students and the removal of encampments.

Avila Chevalier herself was arrested in 2024 as an alumna taking part in the protests.

Many students faced academic disciplinary action and others were charged with alleged crimes related to the protests as politicians from both major parties portrayed the movement as anti-Semitic.

Then, Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025 and went after student activists who were not US citizens, pushing to deport them.

With the encampments removed, the protests getting quieter and the activists going on the defensive to preserve their own personal reputations, safety and freedom, it appeared that the pro-Israel camp successfully suffocated the student movement.

‘New wave of hope’

But the story is not over yet, activists say, and the recent elections show it.

“There’s no words to describe the joy and satisfaction that comes from seeing Darializa, a former leader and organiser of the encampment, represent the school that arrested her,” Alwan said.

She added that while students may not have succeeded in securing divestment despite rallying and suffering personal costs, change is proving to be a “gradual process”, and public opinion is now more aligned with the protesters.

“We’re experiencing a new wave of hope,” Alwan told Al Jazeera.

Cameron Jones, who participated in the protests at Columbia, said Avila Chevalier was always supportive of younger activists and unafraid to speak up for Palestinian rights, even when it wasn’t popular.

“It’s really inspiring to see how, even though we have faced such immense repression and have been organising in such a hostile environment, the power of the people is still able to overcome all the barriers that are being set by the federal government, Columbia, the media,” Jones said of Avila Chevalier’s win.

The Columbia protests were part of Avila Chevalier’s political identity as she launched her campaign last year.

One of her criticisms of her now-defeated opponent, Congressman Adriano Espaillat, is that he did not adequately support Columbia activist Mahmoud Khalil as he was targeted for deportation by the Trump administration.

Heba Gowayed, a sociology professor at the City University of New York (CUNY), said the recent electoral wins for pro-Palestine candidates would not have been possible without the student protests of 2024.

“When we think about social movements, we think about them as bursts of action, as temporally limited things,” Gowayed told Al Jazeera.

“And when the students are dispersed and the students are expelled and the university doesn’t divest, we see that as the loss of a movement.”

She added that there have been many articles declaring the defeat of student protests and claiming they have petered out and questioning the lack of campus activism in the Trump era after the crackdown.

“But here we have Darializa’s win, Mamdani’s win and the win of the entire socialist slate,” she said. “This does not happen if those students don’t encamp; it just doesn’t happen.”

Activists found guilty of misdemeanour counts after blocking San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge in a 2024 Gaza protest.

A San Francisco jury has convicted seven pro-Palestine protesters of multiple misdemeanour charges for blocking the Golden Gate Bridge during a 2024 demonstration, but remains deadlocked on a more serious felony conspiracy charge.

The seven activists were each found guilty of six misdemeanour counts, including false imprisonment, obstruction of thoroughfare and unlawful assembly, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement on Thursday.

Local news outlet KQED named the seven as Bhavika Anandpura, River Allen, Rocky Chau, Conrad de Jesus, Sarah Ferrell, Em Tillotson, and Sara Cantor.

Cantor, who acted as a police liaison during the event, faced an additional misdemeanour conviction for refusing to disperse.

The demonstration, which took place on April 15, 2024 as part of a coordinated “Tax Day” protest, completely brought southbound lanes of the bridge to a standstill for four hours.

Protesters used vehicles to block traffic and chained themselves together through pipes to demand an end to US military aid to Israel during its genocidal war on Gaza. According to a report by CBS News San Francisco, the blockaded toll plaza usually records approximately 5,000 vehicles during those specific hours.

While prosecutors secured misdemeanour convictions, the jury remained deadlocked on the felony conspiracy charge, which could have carried a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Following weeks of trial and days of deliberation, the jury split 10-to-2 in favour of guilty on the conspiracy count, resulting in a mistrial on that charge, KQED reported.

Defence lawyers framed the deadlocked felonies as a significant victory against the government and prosecution. Public defender Nuha Abusamra, who represented one of the defendants, told local media that the outcome was a win, arguing that demonstrators acted out of moral necessity after institutional avenues, like writing to elected officials, failed.

District Attorney Jenkins emphasised the safety risks and human toll of the four-hour gridlock, noting that stranded motorists included medical workers missing hospital shifts and a mother unable to access water for her baby’s formula. “At this time, we will evaluate our options and consider next steps,” Jenkins said regarding a potential retrial on the conspiracy charge.

The defendants face up to five years in county jail for the misdemeanour counts and are scheduled for sentencing in August.

The group were originally part of the “Golden Gate 26” group of activists arrested on Tax Day in 2024 for shutting down the bridge to protest US financial support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza. While 19 of the demonstrators accepted pretrial diversion programmes, community service, and fines, the remaining seven chose to go to trial.

US prosecutors have alleged those involved in the Prairieland Detention Center protest were linked to antifa.

Seven more people have been sentenced to prison over a protest that culminated in a police officer being shot outside an immigration detention centre last year.

A federal court in Fort Worth handed down the latest sentences on Wednesday. Critics, however, say the case could reshape how protest is prosecuted in the United States.

The case centres on a shooting outside the Prairieland Detention Center, near Dallas, Texas, that took place during an antigovernment protest.

Six of the defendants in Wednesday’s sentencing hearing had pleaded guilty to providing material support to “terrorism” and received prison terms ranging from nearly two to 15 years.

A seventh defendant, Ines Soto, was sentenced to 50 years in prison after being convicted of “providing material support to terrorists”, as well as charges related to rioting and conspiracy to carry an explosive.

The protest in question took place on the night of July 4, 2025. Activists had gathered outside Prairieland to denounce President Donald Trump’s push for mass deportation. Some set off fireworks. Others have been accused of vandalism.

Prosecutors said that, during the demonstration, former US Marine reservist Benjamin Song shot and wounded a police officer who had just arrived at the centre. Song had reportedly shouted, “Get out the rifles,” prior to opening fire.

The Trump administration has described the protest as an act of “terrorism”, and 19 people were ultimately arrested.

Some of those detained were not present at the Prairieland protest. But the Trump administration has designated antifa — a loose-knit, left-wing antifascist movement — as a “domestic terrorist organisation”, and it accused the protest’s supporters of being part of an “antifa cell”.

Prosecutors for the US Department of Justice also argued that bringing firearms, first aid kits and body armour to the protest showed nefarious intent.

“The sentences handed down today make clear that Antifa terrorists who attack law enforcement and federal facilities will face swift and uncompromising justice,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement last week.

But civil liberties advocates say the case could have broad implications for protesters nationwide.

It will also likely test the boundaries of the free speech rights protected under the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

The Justice Department touted last week’s initial round of sentencing as the first time alleged antifa members were sentenced on criminal charges since Trump issued his executive order designating the group a “domestic terrorist” body.

Lawyers for the defendants, however, have largely denied links to antifa and rejected the prosecution’s characterisation of the protest.

They argued there was no planned ambush and that those carrying firearms only did so for their own protection, as is allowed under the Constitution’s Second Amendment. The fireworks, they added, were meant as a show of support for immigrants detained inside Prairieland.

On June 23, the eight defendants who chose to stand trial were handed lengthy prison terms.

Song was sentenced to 100 years in prison after being convicted of attempted murder in the shooting. The seven others received sentences ranging from 30 to 70 years. They received a combined 450 years in prison.

One defendant, Daniel Rolando Sanchez Estrada, has argued his only crime was to move a box of belongings, including zines. Prosecutors, meanwhile, have characterised his actions as “transporting a box containing numerous Antifa materials” and attempting to conceal them.

Several of the defendants, including Song and Sanchez Estrada, have filed notices of appeal.

In handing down last week’s sentences, US District Judge Reed O’Connor said what happened was not a protest but an “assault on democracy” and that “the need to deter this type of conduct is high”.

June 30 (UPI) — Security forces across South Africa were braced Tuesday for demonstrations coinciding with anti-immigrant and vigilante groups’ self-declared deadline for undocumented migrants to leave the country, amid fears that the protests could turn violent.

Tuesday’s events follow weeks of rallies that have been blamed for inciting violence against migrants in the country, both illegally and legally, by people who believe they are taking jobs from South Africans, carrying out criminal offenses and overburdening schools, hospitals and other essential services.

March and March, one of the anti-migrant organizations, had used the threat of the protests to try to force the “immediate massive deportation of all illegal foreigners currently in the country” by June 30.

However, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s direct appeals for cool heads and for demonstrators not to engage in “intimidation, threats or ultimatums” appeared to have been heard with the Police Ministry reporting that, apart from some looting, the protests went off mostly without incident.

In Johannesburg, five people were arrested for allegedly looting a foreign-owned store in Soweto township while windows of apartments in Yeoville, home to many migrants from other African countries, were smashed by brick-hurling protesters, police said.

Five people were also arrested in Hammarsdale in KwaZulu-Natal province after they allegedly broke into a shop there.

Ramaphosa met leaders of the protests on Monday, ordering them not to resort to violence while acknowledging that the immigration system needed fixing.

“Some foreign nationals who live in South Africa are here lawfully. They work, study, raise families, invest in our economy and contribute positively to our society. They too are entitled to the protection of our laws and our Constitution. The right to protest and freedom of expression does not allow people to threaten or intimidate others, or to engage in acts of vandalism or violence,” he wrote in his weekly blog.

Ramaphosa’s intervention came too late for many immigrants, frightened into leaving by the violence and anti-migrant sentiment in the country.

At least three foreign nationals have been killed in violent attacks in the past month: two Mozambicans when a mob razed a shanty settlement in the Western Cape and a Malawian man at another encampment near Durban during a march against undocumented immigrants that forced hundreds of migrants to flee to the safety of churches and mosques.

Nigeria evacuated 269 of its citizens on Monday — taking the number it has flown home to date to about 600 — with more flights planned over the next few days.

Gardener Kauga Nyirenda told CNN two men turned up at his home threatening to kill him if he didn’t go back to his native Malawi.

“They asked me: ‘When are you going to leave the country? We want to fix our country. If you don’t leave now, you’re going to leave in a coffin because we don’t need anyone after 30th of June,'” said Nyirenda.

In the run-up to Tuesday, about 25,000 others have been sent back to their home countries, mostly elsewhere in Africa, with about 50,000 people detained as illegal migrants since January, according to government agencies, with many of those in temporary camps for their own safety, pending repatriation processing.

Malawi has repatriated about 7,000 of its citizens. Ghana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe have also been laying on air and road repatriation transport for their nationals.

Official figures show there are at least three million documented foreign nationals in South Africa.

Anti-migrant groups have demanded undocumented foreigners leave the country by Tuesday.

Businesses in South African cities have been shuttered and police have been deployed to the streets as demonstrators gathered at anti-immigrant protests around the country.

Anti-immigrant groups have given undocumented foreign nationals a “deadline” of Tuesday to leave the country. The groups have falsely claimed that undocumented immigrants will face arrest and deportation if they do not leave in time.

The South African government has rejected the groups’ threats as false, but thousands of people have been pushed to flee.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that the right to protest “does not allow people to threaten or intimidate others, or to engage in acts of vandalism or violence”.

“Whatever the motivation, taking the law into one’s own hands is vigilantism,” he said.

Reporting from a protest in Johannesburg, Al Jazeera correspondent Haru Mutasa said the demonstrators were both working-class and middle-class South Africans and from different tribes around the country.

“They all have one goal, which is basically that they want the government to do something about undocumented foreigners in the country,” she said. “They’re saying that they’re frustrated, that they’ve heard promises from the government but they’re not seeing any difference on the ground.

“They’re asking why is it, when some of them have degrees, why can’t they get a job?”

Fears mount amid xenophobic attacks

The protests started as small gatherings of anti-immigrant groups in April but have been growing recently.

The country has seen weeks of xenophobic attacks, with at least two Mozambicans, an Ethiopian and a Malawian killed in anti-immigrant violence, the AFP news agency reports.

Although the groups say they are targeting undocumented migrants, foreign people who are in South Africa legally are also at risk. Thousands of foreign nationals are camping outside consulates and shelters for protection. Others say they have been evicted or fired, their landlords and employers citing fears of fines or attacks.

Many foreign nationals have already fled the country. Some have left on their own, while others have asked their embassies for assistance. Several African countries have sent aircraft and buses to repatriate their fleeing nationals.

While some political parties have been calling for peaceful protests, other politicians have increasingly been using anti-immigrant rhetoric as the country’s November elections approach.

South Africa has a history of anti-immigrant violence. In 2008, 62 people were killed in riots, and more xenophobic attacks occurred in 2015 and 2016. At least 12 people were killed in 2019 when armed mobs attacked foreign-owned businesses around Johannesburg.

Police and personnel from private security firms have been deployed across South Africa because of fears that anti-immigration protests could turn violent as President Cyril Ramaphosa urged those planning to take part to do so without “intimidation, threats or ultimatums”.

The planned protests mark an unofficial deadline set by campaigners for all undocumented foreigner to leave the country.

Many have already fled to escape violence and intimidation. South African police say 25,000 have been repatriated so far. Most are from other African countries.

One undocumented Malawian told the BBC he was “happy to be going back” but “heartbroken” to be leaving behind four young children.

Johannesburg, where one of the protests is planned, is unusually quiet.

All the shops in the vicinity of where marchers are due to gather are closed, while police visibility is high on the city’s major streets.

Police said that five people were arrested in Johannesburg’s biggest township, Soweto, for allegedly looting a foreign-owned shop.

Five people were also arrested for allegedly breaking into a tuck shop in Hammarsdale in KwaZulu-Natal province.

Many businesses in central Durban, the main city in the province, are shut.

Ramaphosa has repeatedly warned demonstrators to act peacefully and responsibly, while also accepting the need for immigration reforms.

“Some foreign nationals who live in South Africa are here lawfully,” he reminded citizens in his weekly newsletter, external.

“They work, study, raise families, invest in our economy and contribute positively to our society. They too are entitled to the protection of our laws and our Constitution.

“The right to protest and freedom of expression does not allow people to threaten or intimidate others, or to engage in acts of vandalism or violence,” he wrote.

There are more than three million documented foreign nationals in South Africa, according to official figures.

Ahead of the deadline, thousands of migrants have been awaiting processing in temporary camps for several weeks out of fear for their safety.

Shops reopened and public transport services partially resumed in Pakistan-administered Kashmir after weeks of deadly clashes between police and protesters, who demanded economic and governance reforms.

For more than two decades, corruption has been a serious issue in Iraq.

The oil-rich nation has consistently been ranked as one of the most corrupt in the world.

But this week, its new government has embarked on an unprecedented anti-corruption crackdown.

It’s targeting many high-profile politicians and other senior figures accused of making illicit wealth and abuse of office.

Iraqis have repeatedly protested against what they say is rampant corruption in their nation.

Now, they hope the new government keeps this promise to eradicate what they call a ‘pandemic of fraudulent activities’ at the highest echelons of power.

But what are the challenges ahead in this battle?

Presenter: Imran Khan

Guests:

Ahmed Rushdi – President of the think-tank, House of Iraqi Expertise Foundation.

Renad Mansour – Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House.

Manuel Pirino – Regional Advisor for Middle East and North Africa at Transparency International.

Thousands of undocumented migrants in South Africa are rushing to leave after anti-immigrant protests, xenophobic tension and a June 30 deadline set by activist groups for them to leave. Al Jazeera’s Fahmida Miller reports from Cape Town.

Seattle, United States – There were goals. There were jubilations and heartbreak. There were raucous crowds, confrontations and comradery. There were protests, politics and Palestinian flags. There was a missed penalty. There was joy. There was disappointment.

Egypt’s 1-1 draw with Iran in Seattle at the FIFA World Cup on Friday had it all. Iran is still in contention to qualify as one of the eight best third-place finishers, depending on Saturday’s results.

Wild celebrations among the Egyptian fans erupted outside the stadium after the match, as the country proceeded past the World Cup group stages for the first time.

“The feeling is outstanding,” Daniel Salib, who was draped with an Egyptian flag, told Al Jazeera.

“After this game, and the game we played against New Zealand, and how we played against Belgium, we absolutely deserve it. So, I couldn’t be more proud of this country and this team.”

Egypt survived a late Iranian onslaught that saw Team Melli, as the Iran team is known, hit the woodwork and have a goal chalked off by VAR for offside.

Iran also had a penalty saved in the first half, but the entire match was action-packed, going blow-for-blow.

Iran supporter Saeed Nassef said he was disappointed with Friday’s result but hopeful that Iran would still make it through to the round of 32, all depending on the results of Sunday night’s games.

“The Iranian team did a beautiful job. They faced a lot of hardship, but we’re really happy how they played,” Nassef told Al Jazeera.

Protests

Protesters against the Iranian government had gathered outside the stadium, waving US and Israeli flags and holding up photos of Iranian opposition figure Reza Pahlavi.

Nassef, who carried the official Iranian flag, which features the name of God, was one of several fans who told Al Jazeera they faced harassment from opposition activists.

“We’re here to support the team. We’re here to support sports… It’s not cool for people to come here and say bad things because we are here to support the players. We want some happiness,” he said.

After the match, Al Jazeera witnessed a confrontation between antigovernment activists and a supporter carrying an Iranian flag.

The protesters hurled insults at the fan, calling him a “terrorist” and saying he should leave the country. They also engaged in expletive-laden Islamophobic chants.

The fan, who identified himself by his first name only as Milad, approached a man leading the chants on a megaphone and criticising Team Melli fans. He stood inches away from the protester before police officers intervened to pull them apart.

“My issue is not political. My issue is: Players, they play for the country, they play for the people. I support the people. That’s it,” Milad said.

“Good or bad, it doesn’t matter. Our people went and they tried to create joy for other people, and that’s all that matters,” he added.

But the commotion did little to overshadow the nearby festivities where Egyptians had gathered, singing and dancing at their country’s historic moment.

Electric atmosphere

Inside the stadium, the atmosphere was electric throughout the match – not an empty seat, not a quiet moment.

When the first half concluded, several sets of Iranian and Egyptian fans started taking pictures together.

The players also showed support for each other. After the final whistle, several Egyptian players consoled their Iranian counterparts, who were visibly upset with the result.

Throughout the 90 minutes, spectators appeared to be alternating in their chants between “Iran, Iran” and “Misr, Misr”, Arabic for Egypt, rather than chanting over each other.

There were a few pre-Islamic revolution Iranian flags in the crowd – featuring a regal lion and sun – but they were far outnumbered by the country’s official flag.

Some people waved LGBTQ+ pride flags and rainbow paraphernalia, due to the game being designated the World Cup’s “Pride Match”. But there did not appear to be any problems in the stadium, despite the hype around the issue.

The Egypt supporters boasted their ancient heritage with pharaohs’ headdresses and outfits.

“We’re so proud to be Egyptian and so proud of our national team,” said Karim Elshabini, who was sporting a gold and black pharaoh’s headpiece and a red Egypt football top.

“It feels amazing. Everybody’s vibing really well. People are really cool. The Egyptian fans, the Iranian fans, we’re all having a really good time.”

There were numerous Palestinian flags at the match, including a couple that were prominently displayed behind the goals.

Egypt fan Bilal Ali, who brought a Palestinian flag to the stadium, told Al Jazeera he would like to keep politics out of football, but with Israeli atrocities continuing in Gaza and elsewhere, he could not remain silent.

“I feel guilty sometimes when I get to [see] the game and our people in Palestine just get bombed and killed,” Ali added.

Several Egyptian and Iranian fans shouted “Free Palestine” as they walked past Ali with his flag.

‘Minab 168’

There was more than football at the game.

Hameed, an Iranian fan who wished to be identified by his first name only, wore a shirt that said Minab 168.

The message is meant to honour the victims of the school in southern Iran that was bombed on the first day of the US-Israel war on the country.

“I just want to remind the world that the plight of these kids who were bombed, either intentionally or not intentionally, should not be forgotten,” Hameed told Al Jazeera.

“This is why we should not have wars.”

He added that there must be a credible investigation into the incident.

“Politics aside, humanity needs to survive, and the only way to do it, whether the kids are being blown up in Palestine, in Lebanon, in Iran, in Sudan, in Congo, we’ve got to protect them,” Hameed said.

Political statements, flags and protests aside, at the final whistle, the moment belonged to Egypt with a historic sporting achievement.

“Seeing your country after all these years of cheering them, all the highs and lows, finally putting in all the high, good effort and getting good results is a surreal feeling,” said Rafael Youssef, who had the colours of the Egyptian flag painted on his cheek.

“I’m very happy for them, very happy to be here with them.”

Demonstrators mark the second anniversary of a 2024 protest where 60 people were killed by security forces.

Kenyan police have dispersed protesters in the capital and detained others who took to the streets in memory of the demonstrators who were killed in anti-government rallies against tax rises two years ago.

Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said on Thursday that a total of 355 people were arrested in various parts of the country. He called those detained “criminals” and apologised for the use of barricades and other security measures aimed at containing the protests.

“We regret the inconveniences occasioned by these measures, and at the same time appreciate their effectiveness in securing the city and other parts of the country,” Murkomen told reporters.

A correspondent for the Reuters news agency also saw police fire tear gas to disperse people who were gathering peacefully outside of Nairobi’s police station after forces detained six people outside parliament, where they had laid flowers.

According to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, organisers had planned to mark the second anniversary of the demonstrations that had left at least 60 people dead after protesters had breached parliament grounds in 2024.

But in Nairobi, shops and restaurants in the central business district remained closed as police set up roadblocks with water-cannon trucks.

Reporting from Nairobi, Al Jazeera’s Malcom Webb explained that the heavy police response to the protest was due to the government’s desire to avoid a repeat of the events two years ago.

“This comes following a series of different protests in recent weeks, some led by [President William] Ruto’s political opponents, others by transport unions over increases in fuel prices and a state of simmering discontent that hasn’t really recovered since that day two years ago when dozens of people were killed,” he said.

Opposition leaders joined the victims of alleged police brutality and families of protesters who were killed in the crackdown before they headed to parliament.

“As parents, we sought permission just to come here … to mourn and lay flowers for our children. But when we arrived, we were shocked because the police blocked us,” said Edith Wanjiku, whose 19-year-old son Ibrahim Kamau was killed in 2024.

“That is very shameful,” she continued.

“And one thing I would ask of President Ruto: those police officers who killed the children – because they are known – I am only asking for justice for those children and also compensation,” she added.

Protest organisers have said that they want a credible investigation into past police conduct and guarantees against the use of excessive force.

While Ruto has acknowledged what he called “instances of excessive and extrajudicial actions by members of the security services” and said last week that two billion Kenyan shillings ($15.5 million) had been set aside for victims of protest-related abuses, some activists have said it was not enough.

Two years after deadly Gen Z protests forced Kenya’s government to withdraw a tax bill, lawmakers have approved another controversial package of financial measures. President William Ruto’s administration says it is needed to raise $770 million ahead of the 2027 elections.
Al Jazeera’s Reem Takieddine has more.

Russian artist Robert Kuzakov, known as Semyon Skrepetsky, was shot dead in Poland just three days after a performance protest in Berlin near the Russian embassy. He was known for his caricatures of politicians including Vladimir Putin and Alexei Navalny.

Activists rally in Geneva to denounce policies of G7 countries ahead of group’s annual meeting this week in France.

Thousands of protesters have gathered in Geneva ahead of this week’s Group of Seven (G7) summit, which is set to bring together United States President Donald Trump and other world leaders in nearby France.

The demonstration on Sunday was led by the so-called “No-G7” coalition, which is comprised of more than 60 associations and groups, including Palestinian rights advocates, feminist activists and environmentalists.

“We are very afraid of the policy and the politics of Mr Trump and also of the other leaders of the G7, because they are fighting, making war all over the place,” said Francoise Nyffeler, a spokesperson for the coalition.

“The planet is in danger, and we are very scared about it and we want to protest and say that the people of the world are against their policies,” she added.

Swiss and French authorities have deployed thousands of police to provide security for the three-day summit, which begins on Monday in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains.

Authorities have blocked off roads, banned unauthorised gatherings, and pledged financial support for businesses that could be hit by unrest.

Scores of businesses and shops have boarded up their storefronts with wooden panels as a precaution, leery of upheaval that left a trail of damage in Geneva during a similar summit in Evian in 2003.

Reporting from the protest in Geneva on Sunday, Al Jazeera’s Natacha Butler said demonstrators had denounced the G7 as being “all about the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer”.

“They say the club of wealthy nations doesn’t represent the global population; that their policies and decisions have a negative impact on the world in terms of climate, equal rights and poverty,” Butler said.

Questions about the legitimacy of the G7 – which includes the US, Canada, Japan, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom – are not new.

The group of countries previously accounted for 70 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP) – a figure that has shrunk to just 40 percent – while representing one-tenth of the global population.

In a sign that global power dynamics are shifting dramatically, other global groups also are growing. The BRICS countries – which include India, Russia and China – have doubled their bloc’s number of members from five to 11.

While G7 summits regularly draw protests, this year’s event also comes amid global frustration with Trump’s leadership on issues as diverse as tariffs, the US-Israeli war on Iran, and the climate crisis.

Demonstrators had been gathering for days in advance of Sunday’s march in Geneva.

A flotilla of around 20 boats appeared on Lake Geneva off the coast of Evian on Saturday, displaying anti-G7 and pro-Palestinian banners. Some 20 protesters were detained on Friday evening, according to Swiss media reports.

Protesters clashed with Albanian police at the site of a luxury holiday resort being built with the backing of Jared Kushner – Donald Trump’s son-in-law. Large demonstrations also took place in Tirana on Friday as opposition to the $5.7 billion project near protected wetlands grows.

Four activists from the Palestine Action group face sentencing in the United Kingdom as “terrorists” on Friday, despite only being convicted by a jury of other criminal charges.

Palestine Action was formally proscribed as a “terrorist” organisation in the UK last July.

Last month, four of six activists on trial were convicted at Woolwich Crown Court in London of criminal damage during a 2024 raid on a factory in Filton, Bristol, operated by Israeli defence firm Elbit. One of the defendants was also found guilty of striking a police officer with a sledgehammer.

The possibility that the judge will rule that the offences have a “terrorist connection” for sentencing purposes has prompted protests.

What is Palestine Action?

The protest group Palestine Action, launched in July 2020, describes itself as a movement “committed to ending global participation in Israel’s genocidal and apartheid regime”.

It seeks to use “disruptive tactics” to target “corporate enablers” and companies involved in the manufacture of weapons for Israel, such as Israel-based Elbit Systems, Italian aerospace company Leonardo, French multinational Thales and Teledyne from the United States. The group has targeted British facilities linked to those companies.

The UK parliament voted in favour of proscribing the group on July 2, 2025, classifying it as a “terrorist” organisation, and bringing it into the same category as armed groups such as al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS). The proscription came days after its activists sneaked into an air force base in southern England.

Critics decried the move by MPs, arguing that while members of the group have caused damage to property, they have not committed violent acts that amount to terrorism.

What were they convicted of?

In August 2024, Palestine Action activists raided a factory in Filton near Bristol in southwest England, operated by Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. They entered the site and caused extensive damage in an attempt to disrupt the production of weapons and drone components they say would be used by Israel in Gaza.

The raid, which prosecutors said caused about one million pounds ($1.36m) of damage, happened 10 months into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza that began in October 2023.

Last month, jurors at Woolwich Crown Court convicted Charlotte Head, 30, Samuel Corner, 23, Leona Kamio, 30, and Fatema Zainab Rajwani, 21, of criminal damage. The four activists have become known as “the Filton 4”.

Corner was also found guilty of striking a police officer with a sledgehammer and convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

Two other Palestine Action activists, Zoe Rogers, 22, and Jordan Devlin, 31, were found not guilty.

The verdict followed an earlier trial, at which all six defendants were acquitted of aggravated burglary, while the jury was unable to reach verdicts for the criminal damage charges.

Each of the defendants gave evidence, admitting that they damaged Israeli military drones and equipment inside Elbit’s research and development facility in Filton – in order to “save lives in Palestine”, according to a statement by their lawyers.

What would a terrorism sentencing mean?

The jury was not told that, if they convicted, the four could be sentenced under terrorism laws. Criminal damage is not usually a terrorism offence, but in England and Wales judges can decide to treat an offence as having a “terrorist connection” at sentencing, even when the charge itself is not a terrorism offence.

If the court decides there was a terrorism connection, the activists would have to serve their entire sentences in prison, unless they have already completed at least two‑thirds of the sentence and a parole board decides they can be released.

Conversely, non-terrorist prisoners usually serve about 40 percent of their sentence in custody and are released early, but under conditions and supervision, sometimes called licence conditions. If they break those conditions, they can be sent back to prison to finish their sentence.

Additionally, if the activists are sentenced in this way, they can be recorded as “terrorists” for the rest of their lives, would be required to register new mobile devices, email addresses and bank accounts with the police for their lifetime, and face being returned to prison if they breach their licence conditions or reoffend.

What has the reaction to all this been?

On Wednesday, a group of more than 50 lawyers and law professors published an open letter denouncing plans to sentence the four Palestine Action members as terrorists.

The letter highlights that damage to property has been a recurring feature of protest campaigns from the Suffragettes who fought for women to have the right to vote, to environmental protest group Extinction Rebellion.

“It has never previously even been suggested that those taking such action should be treated as terrorists. Blurring the distinction between principled direct action and terrorism is the hallmark of authoritarian regimes,” the open letter stated.

The letter has been signed by law professors from universities in the UK, the Netherlands, Norway and Canada as well as by dozens of practising barristers and solicitors.

According to local news reports, a protest is expected at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday against the potential judgement.

At a motion for a vote of no confidence against Arwa Elrayess, the first Palestinian president of the University of Oxford’s debating society, Oxford Union, she was accused by a 20-year-old student of contributing to “an atmosphere of hostility and harassment”.

In a video of the forum last week at the prestigious university, which was shared with Al Jazeera, Elrayess is seen replying to Ben Ashworth, “Not just in my career within the union but in my existence as a Palestinian, there seems to always be this post-mortem vilification of Palestinians.”

The room was full of onlookers as Elrayess, who became the head of the Oxford Union late last year, stood tall in a green sequinned dress.

“Palestinians, when they talk, are for some reason a danger. Our very existence is something that is scary,” she added.

The motion was filed after screenshots of text messages from Elrayess were quoted in outlets including The Telegraph and the BBC as saying that the Hamas-led incursion into southern Israel on October 7, 2023 was “proportional”.

The text also said groups branded as terrorists were often later “lauded as heroes”.

Ashworth cited the Sunday Telegraph directly in his accusation. The newspaper’s political editor, Camila Turner, whose father serves as chief executive of UK Lawyers for Israel, had carried the claim that Elrayess said Hamas would be “lauded as heroes”.

But Elrayess did not make any statement of support for Hamas.

Nine months ago – before Elrayess was president – she was in a group chat of students meant to discuss politics.

In the group chat, October 7 and Palestine – and broader conversations on resistance groups – were discussed.

“Analysing something is not giving it moral legitimacy,” she told Al Jazeera. “Even though I described explicitly in all the messages that I’m not describing this as legitimate or morally justified, I’m just providing analysis; all of this was stripped away when it was reported in The Telegraph or the Daily News.”

The full quote in question on the group chat read: “Any resistance group will inevitably be deemed a terrorist organisation by the West until they achieve their liberation, by which time they’ll be lauded as heroes as history has historically proven.”

‘Entirely misquoted’

The messages were not meant as commentary on Hamas specifically, she argued.

“It was entirely misquoted; I believe it was entirely intentional to frame as having said something that I simply did not say,” she told Al Jazeera.

To the Jewish Chronicle, though, Elrayess reiterated her position by saying, “I condemn Hamas’ targeting of innocent civilians, just as I condemn the targeting of innocent civilians by the [Israeli army] or any other actor.”

After refuting the allegation and misquotations, Ashworth is seen in the video yelling at Elrayess, asking whether she condemns Hamas again.

Ashworth, who is not Jewish, has faced criticism for recently visiting Israel with the Pinsker Centre, a think tank formerly known as the Pinsker Centre for Zionist Education.

The motion for a vote of no confidence overwhelmingly failed, receiving 126 votes, 116 of which were online signatures, far below the 150 needed to proceed to a poll.

This is not the first misinformation campaign against Elrayess.

In October 2025, just before her election as president of the debating society, falsified minutes were ratified by an unnamed member of the union, alleging that Elrayess “argues that alumni members shouldn’t be allowed to vote, reiterating her claims that they are incapable of making a rational judgement”.

Elrayess believes that the minutes were made up and spread to “paint me as someone who hates alumni of this institution”.

After an internal disciplinary process, the person who falsified the minutes was suspended from office and the minutes were de-ratified.

Shortly after her win, opposition within the Union brought forward a number of charges against Elrayess, ranging from misuse of social media to antisemitism. In January, it was found that the charges were un-evidenced. By this point, however, Elrayess had lost two months of her presidency.

Alongside this, an article was published in the Oxford Standard alleging that she was related to a leader of Hamas who happened to share the same surname as her, and that she had created and shared a cartoon of herself stepping on a lizard and a hook-nosed anti-Semitic caricature to celebrate her victory.

The claims, again, were false. The cartoon linked to an anonymous meme page that Elrayess had nothing to do with, and she had no family ties to Hamas. The article had no author attributed to it, and the Oxford Standard did not contact Elrayess or reply to her emails, fact-checking the article.

Within days, Elrayess had emails from journalists at The Jerusalem Post, Jewish Chronicle and The Telegraph, asking her to clarify her family affiliation with Hamas and her views of Jewish people, stemming from the stark untruths shared in the nameless Oxford Standard article.

The only cause for the allegations, some have observed, appeared to be Elrayess’s Palestinian identity.

A colleague and friend of Elrayess, who wished to remain unnamed, described to Al Jazeera a sense of distress among Elrayess and her friends.

“The level of attacks that Arwa and her friends received was astounding,” he said.

The Oxford Standard, which no longer exists, deleted both the article and their website altogether. But the rumours they began, with no facts to back them up, have snowballed into national news headlines of Oxford Union’s first Palestinian president being a supporter of Hamas and a proud anti-Semite.

Tweets by prominent Zionist influencers like Eylon Levy, former spokesperson for Israel, sharing the lie that Elrayess is a Hamas heiress, with now-broken Oxford Standard links and no factual corrections.

‘I’m a very proud Palestinian’

Elrayess’s dedication to debate and free speech has brought controversy to her tenure. She invited prominent Israel supporter Tommy Robinson to a debate, triggering widespread protest in Oxford, and has engaged with conservatives and Zionists in her union and her own appointed committee.

Oliver Jones-Lyons, director of finance of the Oxford Union, works alongside Elrayess and describes himself as a “pretty public Zionist”.

Still, despite their diametric positions, Lyons-Jones does not endorse the growing smear campaign against Elrayess.

“I have never felt oppressed, abused or discouraged from sharing my views openly, quite the opposite in fact,” said Jones-Lyons in a statement to Al Jazeera. “Me and Arwa obviously vehemently disagree on a lot of issues; however, our conversations about issues that are deeply personal to both of us have never once been aggressive and have always been productive, in fact I can certainly say Arwa has changed my mind on issues I never thought I would.”

Oxford Union member Oliver Goldstein said, “Personally, I like Arwa. I don’t agree with many of her comments, but do I feel unsafe as a Jewish student at the Oxford Union? No … I don’t think she’s an anti-Semite.”

Despite the inundation of misinformation, Elrayess remains determined.

“My father is from Gaza,” she said. “He would always tell me, ‘It doesn’t really matter what you say or do not say; people will always find a way to spin it in such a way that you become a target, because you’re already a target.”

She said she lives by her father’s words.

“I’m not resigning from my position. They can throw 1,000 different letters in 1,000 different articles. I’m very vocal, and I’m a very proud Palestinian.”