NEW YORK: Columbia University agreed Friday to put its Middle East studies department under new supervision and overhaul its rules for protests and student discipline, acquiescing to an extraordinary ultimatum by the Trump administration to implement those and other changes or risk losing billions of dollars in federal funding.
As part of the sweeping reforms, the university will also adopt a new definition of antisemitism and expand “intellectual diversity” by staffing up its Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, according to a letter published Friday by the interim president, Katrina Armstrong.
The announcement drew immediate condemnation from some faculty and free speech groups, who accused the university of caving to President Donald Trump’s largely unprecedented intrusion upon the school’s academic freedom.
“Columbia’s capitulation endangers academic freedom and campus expression nationwide,” Donna Lieberman, the executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration pulled $400 million in research grants and other funding over the university’s handling of protests against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. As a precondition to restoring those funds — along with billions more in future grants — federal officials last week demanded the university immediately enact nine separate reforms to its academic and security policies.
In her response Friday, Armstrong indicated Columbia would implement nearly all of them. She agreed to reform the college’s long-standing disciplinary process and bar protests inside academic buildings. Students will not be permitted to wear face masks on campus “for the purposes of concealing one’s identity.” An exception would be made for people wearing them for health reasons.
The university will also appoint a new senior provost to review the leadership and curriculum of several international studies departments to “ensure the educational offerings are comprehensive and balanced.”
The appointment appeared to be a concession to the Trump administration’s most contentious demand: that the university places its Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies Department under “academic receivership for a minimum of five years.”
“It’s an escalation of a kind that is unheard of,” Joan Scott, a historian and member of the academic freedom committee of the American Association of University Professors, said of the call for receivership last week. “Even during the McCarthy period in the United States, this was not done.”
The Trump administration has repeatedly accused Columbia University of letting antisemitism go unchecked at protests against Israel that began at the university last spring and quickly spread to other campuses.
In her letter, Armstrong wrote that “the way Columbia and Columbians have been portrayed is hard to reckon with. We have challenges, yes, but they do not define us.”
While Trump has made Columbia the most visible target of his crackdown on higher education, he has put other universities on notice that they will face cuts if they do not embrace his agenda.
Last week, his administration announced investigations into 52 universities for their diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Under threat from Trump, Columbia University agrees to policy changes
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Under threat from Trump, Columbia University agrees to policy changes
- Trump has put other universities on notice that they will face cuts if they do not embrace his agenda
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs jury to be seated in hip-hop mogul’s sex trafficking trial
- Combs pleads not guilty to racketeering, sex trafficking
- Twelve jurors and six alternates to be chosen
NEW YORK: A jury of 12 New Yorkers is due to be chosen on Friday in the racketeering and sex trafficking trial of hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, who could face decades or even life in prison if convicted.
The rapper has pleaded not guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy, two counts of sex trafficking and two counts of transportation for prostitution — all felonies.
Over three days this week, the judge overseeing the case questioned nearly 100 prospective jurors on subjects including what they had heard about Combs’ case and any experiences they had had with sexual assault.
With input from defense lawyers and prosecutors, US District Judge Arun Subramanian in Manhattan dismissed the jurors he deemed unfit to serve and settled on 45 candidates qualified to serve fairly and impartially.
On Friday, lawyers for each side will take turns striking candidates until a panel of 12 jurors and six alternates is chosen — a chess match with potentially decisive implications in the outcome of the trial.
Combs, a Harlem native who founded the pioneering record label Bad Boy Records and discovered iconic rappers including the Notorious B.I.G., was arrested last September and has been held in a Brooklyn federal lockup since then.
The charges marked the stunning downfall of a titan of the music industry who once held a ceremonial key to the city of New York and was known for throwing lavish parties for A-list celebrities.
Prosecutors with the Manhattan US Attorney’s office say that for two decades Combs used his business empire to lure women into his orbit with promises of romantic relationships or financial support, then violently coerced them to take part in days-long, drug-fueled sexual performances known as “Freak Offs.”
In court papers, prosecutors allege Combs kept his victims obedient by drugging and blackmailing them. He is accused of kidnapping a person at gunpoint, dropping a Molotov cocktail into a car and hitting, choking and dragging victims in acts of violence dating back to the 1990s.
Combs’ lawyers have said prosecutors are improperly seeking to criminalize Combs’ “swinger lifestyle.” They have signaled they plan to attack the credibility of the alleged victims who will testify by seeking to show they had financial incentives to accuse Combs. They have said the women gave inconsistent accounts of the alleged assaults to investigators.
Subramanian has said the trial will last around eight weeks, with the alternate jurors serving as backups in case jurors are unable to finish. Any verdict must be unanimous.
The trial is expected to feature testimony from three, or possibly four, accusers including Combs’ ex-girlfriend Casandra Ventura, a rhythm and blues singer known professionally as Cassie.
Combs faces more than 50 civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault, including one by a plaintiff who says he was 10 years old at the time of the alleged attack.
Combs has denied wrongdoing in those cases and claimed his accusers are seeking a payday.
Ukraine says it uncovered a Hungarian espionage network, two suspects arrested
- The activities of the suspected spies were focused on the western Ukraine region of Zakarpattia
- The Hungarian government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has also threatened to bloc EU financial assistance to Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine: Ukraine’s main security agency said Friday it had arrested two people on suspicion of spying for Hungary by gathering intelligence on Ukraine’s military in the west of the country.
In a statement, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said that two suspects, both former members of the Ukrainian military, had been detained and face charges of treason, which is punishable by life imprisonment. It was the first time in Ukraine’s history that a Hungarian espionage operation had been discovered, the statement said.
The activities of the suspected spies were focused on the western Ukraine region of Zakarpattia, which borders Hungary and is home to a sizeable Hungarian ethnic minority. Budapest and Kyiv have clashed over the rights of Hungarians in Zakarpattia, most of which was part of Hungary until the end of World War I.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó did not directly deny the allegations of a Hungarian espionage cell operating in Ukraine, but suggested that the SBU’s claims could be classified as “anti-Hungarian propaganda.”
“I urge everyone to exercise caution against any news that appears in Ukrainian propaganda,” Szijjártó told a news conference on Friday. “If we get any details or official information, then we can deal with it.”
Hungary, a member of NATO and the European Union, has taken an adversarial approach to Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, refusing to supply Kyiv with weaponry or to allow its transfer across Hungarian territory.
The Hungarian government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, has also threatened to bloc EU financial assistance to Ukraine, argued against sanctions on Russia and opposed Ukraine’s eventual membership in the EU.
Orbán is widely seen as having the warmest relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin among EU leaders, though he has acknowledged that the war was a result of Russian aggression.
The SBU said both suspected spies were overseen by a career officer of Hungary’s military intelligence, whose identity had also been established. That officer supplied the network with cash and a special device for covert communication to support the operation, and had attempted to recruit other individuals into the network, the SBU said.
The Hungarian Defense Ministry and Military National Security Service did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Sri Lanka helicopter crash kills six military personnel
- The crash took place halfway through the ceremony in Maduru Oya, nearly 300 kilometers (187 miles) east of Colombo
- Friday’s tragedy is the worst for the Air Force since a Chinese-built Y-12 aircraft crashed at Haputale in January 2020
COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan Air Force helicopter crashed during a graduation ceremony on Friday, plunging into a reservoir and killing six of the 12 people on board, a military official said.
The personnel were preparing for a grappling demonstration when their Bell 212 careened into the reservoir at the Maduru Oya national park, the official told AFP.
“There were 12 people on board, and six of them survived with minor injuries,” said the official, who declined to be named.
Those killed included four special forces commandos and two Air Force gunners.
The survivors were admitted to hospital.
The crash took place halfway through the ceremony in Maduru Oya, nearly 300 kilometers (187 miles) east of Colombo.
After a slew of parades, the chopper crew were expected to perform a “fast-roping” maneuver, showcasing their skills in descending from the helicopter while it hovered just above roof height.
After the crash, the graduation ceremony was called off and an investigation into the cause of the incident was launched.
“The Commander of the Air Force has appointed a special nine-member committee to conduct a detailed investigation,” the military said in a statement.
The Air Force operates a small fleet of Bell, Mi-17, and Mi-24 helicopters. Much of the Mi-24 attack helicopter fleet has been grounded since the end of the country’s protracted Tamil separatist war in May 2009.
Friday’s tragedy is the worst for the Air Force since a Chinese-built Y-12 aircraft crashed at Haputale in January 2020, killing all four crew members on board.
In September 2000, an Mi-17 helicopter crashed in central Sri Lanka, killing all 15 people on board — including the country’s then top Muslim political leader — making it the worst helicopter crash in the island’s history.
First mass celebrated by new Pope Leo XIV begins
VATICAN CITY: New Pope Leo XIV began celebrating his first mass as head of the Catholic Church on Friday, a private gathering for cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, according to video footage broadcast by the Vatican.
US-born Robert Francis Prevost will deliver his much-anticipated first homily as pontiff.
China, Russia vow to strengthen cooperation on international law matters, state media reports
- China, Russia vow to strengthen cooperation on international law matters, state media reports
BEIJING: China and Russia have agreed to strengthen cooperation in matters of international law, according to a joint statement released on Friday following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
The two countries both stated their opposition to unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported the statement as saying, and will work together to defend the United Nations’ central role in international affairs.
