'No Kings' protesters march in Los Angeles express disgust, anger at Trump policies

Thousands of protesters rallied across downtown Los Angeles in California on Saturday, joining a nationwide wave of "No Kings" protests against immigration raids and what organizers describe as a shift toward authoritarianism under U.S. President Donald Trump.

The protest was timed to coincide with Flag Day and Trump's 79th birthday, as he hosted a military-style parade in Washington, D.C. Demonstrators say they saw the parade as an affront to American values.

"I think it's absolutely wrong, but it is a position and decision, and probably some kind of strategy of Donald Trump to further his efforts to take full control of the United States by eventual military or martial law without a question. And he's going to start in Los Angeles. And so, we have to meet the resistance here as well as in other states without a question. That's very clear," said a protester.

For many, the protests were about standing up against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Trump's actions against immigrants in the country.

"Deploying the National Guard, the marines that has been something that, it's angered people, it's enraged people, it's brought them out here. And it's actually poor fuel on this fire. Most people reject the deployment of a military force to put down protests. And also, the National Guard are protecting ICE agents making arrests, and that's something that they're not authorized to do," he said.

Other protesters condemned the military deployment and the use of unmarked ICE agents arresting citizens, calling it unauthorized and un-American.

"Deploying the National Guard, the marines that has been something that it's angered people, it's enraged people, it's brought them out here. And it's actually poor fuel on this fire. Most people reject the deployment of a military force to put down protests. And also, the National Guard are protecting ICE agents, making arrests and that's something that they're not authorized to do," said a protester.

"We've been seeing our neighbors, our friends, our family getting taken from us by unnamed, unrecognizable, no badge officers that are just coming in and taking people. And it's wrong. I was a marine, and I can tell you there's not a time when we were trained to point guns at American citizens," another protester said.

'No Kings' protesters march in Los Angeles express disgust, anger at Trump policies

'No Kings' protesters march in Los Angeles express disgust, anger at Trump policies

China's blue-chip CSI 300 Index made modest gains in the past week thanks to the huge electrification campaign that reduces the country's exposure to the volatile oil price as the continuing conflict in the Middle East enters the second week, said an analyst on Friday.

Chinese stocks closed lower on Friday, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.81 percent to 4,095.45 points.

Timothy Pope, a market analyst for China Global Television Network, said the CSI 300 Index made modest gains despite a rough week for both Chinese and global stock markets.

"The conflict in the Middle East really shows no sign of winding down and it has been as you said another rough week for the global markets. Today the Shanghai Composite Index closed down 0.8 percent, and ended lower for the week as well, but the blue-chip CSI 300 Index actually managed to make some modest gains this week. And that fits what we've been hearing from analysts and investment banks, including Morgan Stanley and UBS. They've said that China's got less oil exposure than other economies. This is partly because of the huge electrification campaign which has been happening in China from family cars to road haulage, and also just the total energy mix here. But we know that oil isn't the only thing that's not getting out of the Middle East at the moment. Fertilizer has emerged as another big disruption point and we have seen in the last 48 hours China already begin early releases of fertilizer reserves ahead of the spring planting season. With all that in the mix we have seen the likes of Morgan Stanley and UBS touting A-shares as a diversification option and a resilient market in this risk-off investment environment," said Pope.

"Sector-wise today we saw some consumer stocks rising -- led by liquor makers, in particular, Kweichow Moutai. There were also some limited gains for Chinese real estate and financial firms. But with the oil price still extremely volatile, Chinese resources and energy shares pulled back today to become the two worst-performing sectors," said Pope.

Chinese blue-chip stocks make gains amid a rough week for global markets: analyst