Trump Celebrates ‘Golden Age’ at White House Independence Day

US President Donald Trump at a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Thursday, July 3, 2025 in Iowa. (AFP) 
US President Donald Trump at a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Thursday, July 3, 2025 in Iowa. (AFP) 
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Trump Celebrates ‘Golden Age’ at White House Independence Day

US President Donald Trump at a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Thursday, July 3, 2025 in Iowa. (AFP) 
US President Donald Trump at a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, Thursday, July 3, 2025 in Iowa. (AFP) 

US President Donald Trump signed his flagship tax and spending bill into law Friday, capping a grandiose White House Independence Day ceremony featuring a stealth B-2 bombers fly-by.

A day earlier, Trump had pushed Republican lawmakers to get his “One Big Beautiful Bill” through Congress in time for him to sign it into law on the US national holiday.

The President therefore meld a victory lap over the bill -- which cements his radical second term agenda -- with a grand party at the White House marking 249 years of independence from Britain.

“We are going to have a Signing Celebration at the White House tomorrow, at 4 P.M. EST. All Congressmen/women and Senators are invited. Together, we will celebrate our Nation’s Independence, and the beginning of our new Golden Age,” Trump wrote in his post on his social media platform Truth Social prior to the 4th of July celebration.

The passage of the bill is one of Trump’s latest achievements and a “legislative victory” that strengthens the President’s iron grip on his own party and on US politics in general.

“There could be no better birthday present for America than the phenomenal victory we achieved just hours ago when Congress passed the one big, beautiful bill to make America great again,” Trump told a crowd of supporters in Iowa on Thursday night.

But the Republican president glossed over deep concerns from his own party and voters that it will balloon the national debt, and gut health and welfare support.

On Friday, Trump scheduled the ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House for the July 4 Independence Day holiday, replete with a flyover by stealth bombers and fighter jets like those that took part in the recent US strikes on nuclear facilities in Iran.

Hundreds of Trump supporters attended, including White House aides, members of Congress, and military families.

Trump had forced through the bill despite deep misgivings in the Republican Party -- and the vocal opposition of his billionaire former ally, Elon Musk.

It squeezed past a final vote in the House of Representatives 218-214 after Republican Speaker Mike Johnson worked through the night to corral the final group of dissenters.

The sprawling mega-bill honors many of Trump's campaign promises: boosting military spending, funding a mass migrant deportation drive and committing $4.5 trillion to extend his first-term tax relief.

At the same time it will shrink the federal food assistance program and force through the largest cuts to the Medicaid health insurance scheme for low-income Americans since its 1960s launch.

Up to 17 million people could lose their insurance coverage under the bill, according to some estimates. Scores of rural hospitals are expected to close as a result.

Democrats hope public opposition to the bill will help them flip the House in the 2026 midterm election, pointing to data showing that it represents a huge redistribution of wealth from the poorest Americans to the richest.

 



'Bring it On': UK's Labor Readies for EU Reset Fight

British PM Keir Starmer (L) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a UK-EU summit in London in 2025. Carl Court / POOL/AFP
British PM Keir Starmer (L) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a UK-EU summit in London in 2025. Carl Court / POOL/AFP
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'Bring it On': UK's Labor Readies for EU Reset Fight

British PM Keir Starmer (L) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a UK-EU summit in London in 2025. Carl Court / POOL/AFP
British PM Keir Starmer (L) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen held a UK-EU summit in London in 2025. Carl Court / POOL/AFP

Britain's so-called Brexit wars dominated parliament for years. Now the Labor government is bracing for new battles as it eyes legislation to move closer to the European Union.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer immediately set about repairing and rebuilding relations with the 27-member bloc after winning the July 2024 election that ousted the Conservatives after 14 years in power.

He hopes a deeper relationship with European neighbors can help fire up Britain's insipid economy and inject life into a premiership that has so far been deeply unpopular with the public.

His Labor government is preparing to introduce a bill that would provide a legal framework for his much-touted "reset" of relations with the EU.

Despite Labor's crushing majority in parliament, the move is expected to be fiercely opposed by the right-wing opposition parties -- the Conservatives, who took Britain out of the EU, and hard-right Reform UK, which leads opinion polls.

"Bring it on," a UK government official told AFP, referring to likely "Brexit betrayal" claims from the Tories and Reform's leader, arch-Eurosceptic Nigel Farage.

The move also risks splitting open divisions within Labor, including over whether the party should breach a manifesto promise not to rejoin the EU customs union.

Last year, Starmer struck an economic agreement with EU leaders that aims to boost trade by easing red tape on food and plant exports.

They also agreed to work on a new electricity deal that would integrate the UK into the EU's internal electricity market, with the intention of lowering energy costs.

- 'Brexit damage' -

The agreements form part of Britain aligning itself with EU rules in certain areas.

The bill has not been published yet but the government official, who asked not to be named, said it would provide a "mechanism" for an alignment.

"The bill will provide the powers to adopt the rules and set out the role parliament will play in that," the official said.

The government hopes to introduce the legislation in the spring or summer, meaning it could coincide with the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum, which was held in June 2016.

Three years of bitter parliamentary wrangling about what Britain's relationship with the EU should look like post-departure followed the vote, ultimately leading to the resignation of Theresa May as prime minister.

The deadlock was broken when her successor, Boris Johnson, won a landslide general election victory in December 2019 to force through the exit.

Opinion polls regularly now show that most Britons regret the razor-thin vote to leave the EU and view the Brexit project as a failure, something Starmer hopes can work in his favor.

"Labor members are almost wholly united in wanting to see some of the damage done by the Tory-Farage Brexit exposed and fixed," said one supportive Labor MP.

"Closer alignment helps our economic message, has the backing of members and most MPs, and will provide a boost to British business," the lawmaker, who asked not to be named, told AFP.

But not all Labor MPs are in agreement.

Thirteen of them recently voted in favor of a bill by the pro-EU centrist Liberal Democrat party that called for the UK to begin negotiations to rejoin a customs union with the EU.

- 'Do more' -

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, widely seen as the favorite to succeed Starmer as Labor's next leader, has indicated his support for such an agreement.

Starmer has come out against a customs union, however, insisting that he favors closer realignment with the EU's single market.

"I want us to do more," one Labor MP who feels Starmer is not being bold enough told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Other Labor lawmakers would rather he left the issue alone.

"We said we wouldn't re-open the Brexit debate and now we are doing exactly that," MP Jonathan Hinder told AFP.

"We can create a fairer, socialist Britain while outside the EU and that is what we should be focused on doing."

A UK government spokesperson said in a statement that the reset was "improving our diplomatic, economic and security cooperation and will be worth £9.0 billion ($12 billion) to the UK economy by 2040".

"We will legislate to deliver on this and further details of the bill will be announced in due course."

The deputy director for the Center for European Reform think tank, Ian Bond, said that whether the bill is "a game changer will depend on exactly how much latitude the British government gives itself".

"If it holds its nerve, it really doesn't need to pay any attention to these noises," he said.

But he added he felt ministers were "all terrified that if they do anything too bold, Reform will criticize them for it".


Protester Arrested after Climbing Roof of Iran's Embassy in London

Iranians who live in Greece gather to rally outside the Iranian embassy in Athens, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in support of Iran's anti-government protests. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Iranians who live in Greece gather to rally outside the Iranian embassy in Athens, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in support of Iran's anti-government protests. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
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Protester Arrested after Climbing Roof of Iran's Embassy in London

Iranians who live in Greece gather to rally outside the Iranian embassy in Athens, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in support of Iran's anti-government protests. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Iranians who live in Greece gather to rally outside the Iranian embassy in Athens, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026, in support of Iran's anti-government protests. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

A protester who climbed onto the roof of Iran's embassy in London and removed a flag was arrested with several others, police said late on Friday, adding multiple officers were injured in the demonstrations, said AFP.

"During the ongoing protest at the Iranian Embassy this evening, a protester illegally accessed private property and climbed across multiple balconies onto the roof of the Embassy and removed a flag," the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.

"Several officers have suffered injuries," the UK capital's police added, saying in the "ongoing disorder" objects had been thrown at officers and "a number of people have been arrested on suspicion of violent disorder".

London police said last week they were deploying additional officers to "prevent any disorder" and protect the Iranian embassy.

On Saturday last week, a protester briefly replaced the embassy's flag with a former flag flown before Iran's revolution in 1979.

Iran has seen its largest demonstrations in years in the past few weeks, challenging the country's theocratic system in protests that have killed thousands but subsided in recent days, according to monitors.

Demonstrations sparked by economic grievances began with a shutdown in the Tehran bazaar on December 28 but turned into a mass movement demanding the removal of the clerical system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 revolution.


Thousands Join Anti-Trump 'Hands Off Greenland' Protests in Denmark

Protesters wave Greenlandic flags as they take part in a rally under the slogans 'hands off Greenland' and 'Greenland for Greenlanders', in front of City Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark on January 17, 2026. (Photo by Emil Helms / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP)
Protesters wave Greenlandic flags as they take part in a rally under the slogans 'hands off Greenland' and 'Greenland for Greenlanders', in front of City Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark on January 17, 2026. (Photo by Emil Helms / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP)
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Thousands Join Anti-Trump 'Hands Off Greenland' Protests in Denmark

Protesters wave Greenlandic flags as they take part in a rally under the slogans 'hands off Greenland' and 'Greenland for Greenlanders', in front of City Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark on January 17, 2026. (Photo by Emil Helms / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP)
Protesters wave Greenlandic flags as they take part in a rally under the slogans 'hands off Greenland' and 'Greenland for Greenlanders', in front of City Hall in Copenhagen, Denmark on January 17, 2026. (Photo by Emil Helms / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP)

Thousands of people took to the streets of Denmark's capital on Saturday to protest at US President Donald Trump's push to take over Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.

The protest followed Trump's warning on Friday that he "may put a tariff" on countries that oppose his plans to take over mineral-rich Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.

They also coincided with a visit to Copenhagen by a bipartisan delegation from the US Congress that has made clear the opposition of many Americans to the Trump administration's sabre-rattling.

Waving the flags of Denmark and Greenland, the protesters formed a sea of red and white outside Copenhagen city hall, chanting "Kalaallit Nunaat!" -- the vast Arctic island's name in Greenlandic.

Thousands of people had said on social media they would to take part in marches and rallies organized by Greenlandic associations in Copenhagen, and in Aarhus, Aalborg, Odense and the Greenlandic capital Nuuk.

"The aim is to send a clear and unified message of respect for Greenland's democracy and fundamental human rights," Uagut, an association of Greenlanders in Denmark, said on its website.

"Recent events have put Greenland and Greenlanders in both Greenland and Denmark under pressure," Uagut chairwoman Julie Rademacher said in a statement to AFP, calling for "unity".

"When tensions rise and people go into a state of alarm, we risk creating more problems than solutions for ourselves and for each other. We appeal to Greenlanders in both Greenland and Denmark to stand together," she said.

Speaking in Copenhagen, where the Congressional delegation met top Danish and Greenlandic politicians and business leaders, US Democratic Senator Chris Coons insisted there was no security threat to Greenland to justify the Trump administration's stance.

He was responding after Trump advisor Stephen Miller claimed on Fox News that Denmark was too small to defend its sovereign Arctic territory.

"There are no pressing security threats to Greenland, but we share real concern about Arctic security going forward, as the climate changes, as the sea ice retreats, as shipping routes change," Coons told the press.

"There are legitimate reasons for us to explore ways to invest better in Arctic security broadly, both in the American Arctic and in our NATO partners and allies," said Coons, who is leading the US delegation.

Trump has repeatedly criticized Denmark -- a NATO ally -- for, in his view, not doing enough to ensure Greenland's security.

The US president has pursued that argument, despite strategically located Greenland -- as part of Denmark -- being covered by NATO's security umbrella.

European NATO members are deploying troops in Greenland for a military exercise designed to show the world, including the United States, that they will "defend (their) sovereignty", French armed forces minister Alice Rufo said this week.

Britain, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden have announced they are sending small numbers of military personnel to prepare for future exercises in the Arctic.

The United States has been invited to participate in the exercise, Denmark said on Friday.