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German police forcibly dispersed a pro-Palestinian protest in Berlin on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025.
Hard Numbers: Berlin expels protesters, French judge gets protection, US disaster aid slows to a trickle, Tesla slumps, Haiti’s anarchy continues, Adams finds his independence, Hungary to leave ICC
4: Berlin’s immigration authorities have ordered three EU citizens and one American to leave Germany by April 21 or face deportation following accusations that the four had committed antisemitic acts in support of terrorism. In a joint statement, the four accused Berlin authorities of trying to “silence pro-Palestinian voices.” Officials say the expulsion was connected to protests at Berlin’s Free University during which “a violent, masked group of individuals” caused “significant property damage.”
90: The head of a three-judge panel that barred far-right leader Marine Le Pen from running in France’s 2027 presidential election this week has been placed under police protection following death threats and the online publication of her home address. A poll published Monday found that more than half of French respondents say Le Pen got a fair trial, while nearly 90% of her National Rally supporters say the court treated her more harshly than other politicians.
2 million: In 2023, Washington sent 225 US Agency for International Development workers and $185 million to Turkey and Syria for relief and recovery efforts following a devastating earthquake. President Donald Trump’s adviser Elon Musk is currently finalizing plans to shut down the USAID, and the US State Department announced on Monday that a team of three people and a donation of $2 million to humanitarian organizations working in Myanmar are headed for the site of a 7.7-magnitude quake last Friday.
13: Tesla, the electric vehicle maker led by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that its global sales for the first three months of 2025 fell 13% from the same period last year. Musk’s controversial role in Donald Trump’s White House and his public advocacy for far-right parties and politicians in Europe likely contributed to the slump.
500: Haiti’s violent chaos continues. On Tuesday, gang members stormed the town of Mirebalais, 30 miles northeast of Port-au-Prince, the country’s capital, and freed about 500 prison inmates. The UN says that gang violence killed more than 5,600 people in Haiti last year.
3,750: New York City Mayor Eric Adams has confirmed that he will seek reelection as an independent rather than a Democrat. He must collect 3,750 signatures by May 27 to make it onto the November ballot. It’s been quite a week for Adams: A judge dismissed the criminal corruption case against the mayor on Wednesday, and his party switch was announced Thursday morning.
3: Hungary is set to become the third country to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, following the path of Burundi and the Philippines. Viktor Orban’s government announced the move on Thursday amid a visit from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an arrest warrant from the ICC over alleged war crimes.
Jousef Shkoukani and his wife, Yara Rashad, join other protesters in Chicago's Union Park on Monday, Aug. 19.
DNC protesters urge Harris to stop sending arms to Israel
Protesters incensed over US support for Israel amid the war in Gaza gathered in Chicago’s Union Park on Monday as the Democratic National Convention kicked off just blocks away in the United Center. They accused the Biden administration of enabling “genocide” in the enclave by continuing to provide Israel with arms amid a devastating war that’s killed over 40,000 Palestinians.
The protesters carried signs that said both Democrats and Republicans have “blood on their hands” and called for an end to US aid to Israel. Some sold t-shirts with pro-Palestinian slogans for $25, pledging to donate the money toward relief in Gaza.
“It’s incredibly important that we get a cease-fire, at the very least,” protester Jousef Shkoukani, 29, told GZERO Media.
“For Palestinians, it’s incredibly important that people start to recognize that we’re not just numbers and that we’re dying in large quantities based on Israel’s indiscriminate bombing,” added Shkoukani, a Chicagoan whose father immigrated to the US from Palestine.
Shkoukani, one of thousands who protested on Monday, said that he previously knocked on doors for President Joe Biden but now identifies as an independent. He said the Democratic Party has “talked the talk but never walked the walk with respect to its policies on Middle Eastern affairs,” adding that what the protesters are looking for from Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrats is “a commitment to a permanent cease-fire if elected.”
Chicago has been bracing for major protests surrounding the DNC for months amid the continued fighting in Gaza, particularly after divisive demonstrations at US college campuses earlier this year. There’s a heavy, palpable police presence in the city. And while Monday’s protests were largely peaceful, a small group of demonstrators broke through a barrier near the convention, and several were reportedly detained by police.
Though the mood inside the United Center was far more celebratory, the war was also an inescapable topic. Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York praised Harris’ support for a cease-fire in Gaza in her remarks to the convention and was met with loud applause. Later on, Biden said his administration was working around the clock to bring the hostages home from Gaza and secure a cease-fire to end the war. He went on to say that the protesters out on the streets of Chicago had “a point,” adding that “a lot of innocent people are being killed, on both sides.” But most of the prominent Democrats who took to the convention stage largely used their time to tout Harris’ qualifications for president while blasting former President Donald Trump as a convicted felon and danger to democracy.
More Gaza-related protests are planned for this week, and the beginnings of an encampment could be spotted in Union Park — next to a sign that read “PIG FREE ZONE.” We’ll be watching to see how the demonstrations play out, and whether they influence the tone and direction of the convention in the days ahead.
FKA Twigs, Stella McCartney, Ed Sheeran and Cara Delevingne pose at the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute with this year's theme 'Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion' in New York City, New York, U.S., May 6, 2024.
Gaza protests, union negotiations, and deepfakes: Is the Met Gala a microcosm of the times?
Last night, the Metropolitan Museum of Art rolled out the red carpet for the Met Gala — a star-studded fundraiser hosted by media giant Condé Nast — amid pro-Palestinian protests, union negotiations, and deepfake dresses.
Gaza protests: As celebrities took to the red carpet Monday night, police struggled to contain hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters marching down Fifth Avenue to protest the event. Many of the demonstrators came from Hunter College in an evolution of the campus protests that have swept the country – and likely a harbinger of things to come after students leave campus this summer but still strive to make their voices heard.
Union negotiations: Just 12 hours earlier, Condé Nast reached an agreement with unionized employees who were threatening to abandon their jobs at the event if they did not reach an agreement in long-stalled contract negotiations. In a post on X, the union warned on Saturday night that management could “meet us at the table or meet us at the Met on Monday.” The agreement continues a year of union wins and includes wage increases, additional parental leave, and hybrid work protections.
Deepfakes: Meanwhile, many of us who didn’t pay $75,000 for a seat and were watching the red carpet online were bamboozled by a deepfake of Katy Perry in two dresses, both generated by AI. Perry did not attend the gala, but if you were fooled by the deepfake, don't feel too bad; her own mother was too.
The Met Gala is often criticized for being a pedestal for the out-of-touch, but this time, even the force of the mighty Anna Wintour couldn’t insulate the event from the outside world.