WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Thursday bashed Harvard as an “Anti-Semitic, Far Left Institution,” as the prestigious university battles his administration’s funding freeze in court.
The latest outburst from Trump comes as his administration cracks down on US universities on several fronts, alleging widespread anti-Semitism, anti-white bias, and the promotion of “gender ideology” by protecting trans students.
The administration has threatened several top-tier universities with funding freezes and other punishments, prompting concerns over declining academic freedom.
It has also moved to revoke visas and deport foreign students involved in the protests, accusing them of supporting Palestinian militant group Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel provoked the war.
Harvard, which has seen billions in federal funding frozen after it rejected wide-ranging government oversight, filed suit against the Trump administration on Monday.
“The place is a Liberal mess,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, also complaining that the university has admitted students “from all over the World that want to rip our Country apart.”
His broadside came a day after he issued an executive order targeting higher education, upending how federal authorities decide which universities and colleges can access billions of dollars from certain grants and student loans.
The executive order seeks to clamp down on what Trump brands “unlawful discrimination” — that is any measures that seek to promote the representation of “racial and ethnic minority individuals.”
On Thursday, a federal judge ruled that Trump could not withhold funds from public schools that operate equality and diversity policies which have been a particular target of the president.
The ruling issued in New Hampshire does not apply across the board but instead to the largest US teacher union, the National Education Association (NEA), and the Center for Black Educator Development (CBED) non-profit which promotes the recruitment of Black teachers.
The ruling will apply in schools employing members of the NEA, or contracting with the CBED.
Trump and his White House team have publicly justified their campaign against universities as a reaction to what they say is uncontrolled anti-Semitism and a need to reverse diversity programs aimed at addressing historical oppression of minorities.
The administration claims that protests against Israel’s war in Gaza that swept across US college campuses last year were rife with anti-Semitism.
Several Jewish lawmakers accused Trump on Thursday of weaponizing anti-Semitism to attack universities for his own ends.
“We reject any policies or actions that foment or take advantage of anti-Semitism and pit communities against one another; and we unequivocally condemn the exploitation of our community’s real concerns about anti-Semitism to undermine democratic norms and rights,” the Democratic senators, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, wrote in a joint letter.
Many US universities, including Harvard, cracked down on the protests over the allegations at the time, with the Cambridge-based institution placing 23 students on probation and denying degrees to 12 others, according to protest organizers.
Trump’s claims about diversity tap into long-standing conservative complaints that US university campuses are too liberal, shutting out right-wing voices and favoring minorities.
In the case of Harvard, the White House is seeking unprecedented levels of government control over the inner workings of the country’s oldest and wealthiest university — and one of the most respected educational and research institutions in the world.
Professor Kirsten Weld, president of the Harvard chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), told AFP “this is an increasingly autocratic, authoritarian government that is trying to dismantle not just our universities, but the higher education sector as a whole.”
Trump slams Harvard as funding fight heads to court
https://arab.news/5ydnt
Trump slams Harvard as funding fight heads to court
- The latest outburst from Trump comes as his administration cracks down on US universities on several fronts, alleging widespread anti-Semitism, anti-white bias, and the promotion of ‘gender ideology’
Palestine’s Red Crescent chief tells UK’s Prince William of humanitarian crisis in Gaza
- The prince meets representatives of the organization and the British Red Cross to discuss the challenges aid workers face in the territory
- They tell of the worsening conditions in Gaza, increasingly urgent humanitarian requirements, and the need to protect medical teams
LONDON: Younis Al-Khatib, the president of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, held talks with the UK’s Prince William during an official visit to Kensington Palace in London on Monday.
William, the Prince of Wales, met Al-Khatib and other representatives of his organization, along with members of the British Red Cross, to discuss the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and explore ways in which international humanitarian efforts might be enhanced.
The prince’s guests described the worsening conditions in Gaza, the increasingly urgent humanitarian needs in the territory, the challenges faced by aid workers and the need to protect medical teams, the Palestine News Agency reported. They also reviewed the efforts being made to help those affected by ongoing Israeli attacks.
Al-Khatib said that more than 1,600 Palestine Red Crescent Society employees and volunteers continue to work under extremely hazardous conditions in Gaza to provide emergency medical services and distribute relief supplies. Since the war in Gaza began in late 2023, he added, 28 Red Crescent personnel have been killed amid the Israeli attacks or while performing their duties.
The meeting was part of ongoing coordinated efforts by the Red Crescent to highlight the escalating crisis in Gaza, where more than 55,000 Palestinians have been killed during the ongoing conflict, most of them women and children.
Week of heavy rains and floods across Pakistan kills 46 people
- The deaths from the past week include 13 tourists from a family of 17 who were swept away Friday
- Other four family members were rescued from the flooded Swat River in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
PESHAWAR: Nearly a week of heavy monsoon rains and flash floods across Pakistan has killed at least 46 people and injured dozens, officials said Monday.
The fatalities caused by abnormally strong downpours since Tuesday include 22 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 13 in eastern Punjab province, seven in southern Sindh, and four in southwestern Balochistan, the National Disaster Management Authority and provincial emergency officials said.
“We are expecting above-normal rains during the monsoon season and alerts have been issued to the concerned authorities to take precautionary measures,” said Irfan Virk, a Pakistan Meteorological Department deputy director.
Virk said that forecasters cannot rule out a repeat of extreme weather like the devastating floods in 2022. Rains inundated a third of the country, killing 1,737 people and causing widespread destruction.
The deaths from the past week include 13 tourists from a family of 17 who were swept away Friday. The other four family members were rescued from the flooded Swat River in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Rescuers found 12 bodies from the group and divers continued searching Monday for the remaining victim, said Bilal Faizi, a provincial emergency service spokesman.
The incident drew widespread condemnation online over what many called a slow response by emergency services.
On Sunday, the National Disaster Management Authority had warned of potential hazards and advised people against crossing rivers and streams.
Dalai Lama expected to reveal succession plan during 90th birthday celebrations
- Nobel laureate and one of the world’s most influential figures, the Dalai Lama turns 90 on Sunday
- Spokesman of Tibetan government-in-exile says a statement by Dalai Lama expected this week
NEW DELHI: The Dalai Lama announced on Monday that he was preparing to share details about his succession, as followers gathered to attend a public ceremony ahead of his 90th birthday celebrations in Dharamshala in northern India.
The 14th Dalai Lama, the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism, has been living in India since 1959, after he fled Tibet with thousands of others following a failed uprising against Chinese rule.
His residence is in Dharamshala, a town in the state of Himachal Pradesh, which also hosts the Tibetan government-in-exile.
A Nobel peace laureate and one of the world’s most influential figures, the Dalai Lama will turn 90 on Sunday.
“The rest of my life I will dedicate ... for the benefit of others, as much as possible,” he told his followers through a translator as they offered prayers for his long life.
“There will be some kind of a framework within which we can talk about the continuation of the institution of the Dalai Lamas.”
When a Dalai Lama dies, Tibetan Buddhists believe he is reincarnated.
Senior monks and members of the Tibetan government-in-exile search for the child who is the reincarnation, relying on dreams and visions, rituals at sacred lakes, signs at the Dalai Lama’s death, and other omens.
“For the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, it’s not about succession, it’s about reincarnation,” Tenzin Lekshay, spokesperson of the Tibetan government-in-exile, told Arab News.
“There’ll be a written statement by his holiness on July 2.”
The 14th Dalai Lama was 2 years old when a search party decided he was the 14th reincarnation of Tibet’s spiritual leader.
Over the years, he has indicated that the continuation of the Dalai Lama institution was ultimately up to the Tibetan people and if they no longer found it relevant, it could cease to exist, and there would be no 15th Dalai Lama.
“His holiness has said many times also that if the Tibetan people wish the Dalai Lama institution to remain, then the Dalai Lama institution will remain,” Lekshay said.
In his autobiography published in March 2025, the Dalai Lama said he had been receiving petitions requesting that the lineage be carried on, and that when he turns 90, he would “consult the high lamas of the Tibetan religious traditions as well as the Tibetan public, and if there is a consensus that the Dalai Lama institution should continue.”
If they decide in favor, “then formal responsibility for the recognition of the 15th Dalai Lama should rest with the Garden Phodrang Trust (the office of the Dalai Lama).”
Law firm that helped ban pro-Palestine protests on UK campus assisting other universities
- Shakespeare Martineau LLP helped Cardiff University obtain 12-month ban on protests
- Students, staff face unlimited fines, up to 2 years in prison amid ‘chilling precedent for academic institutions’
LONDON: A law firm in the UK that helped a university ban pro-Palestine protests on campus has been assisting other higher education institutions considering legal action against their students.
Shakespeare Martineau LLP represented Cardiff University in a case that resulted in a year-long ban on unauthorized campus protests from June.
The case could result in unlimited fines for staff and students found in breach of the injunction, as well as prison terms of up to two years.
Those wishing to hold protests on Cardiff’s campus will be required to apply for permission up to three weeks in advance.
Earlier this year, similar 12-month injunctions were granted to two colleges at Cambridge University
The Guardian reported on Monday that the law firm promoted the type of injunction, known as a “newcomer injunction” because it can be used “against persons unknown,” to other universities during a webinar held in October.
According to a freedom of information act obtained in conjunction with Liberty Investigates, it was found that representatives of Reading, Exeter, Northumbria, Hertfordshire, Birkbeck, Bath Spa and Liverpool John Moores universities registered for the webinar.
The Guardian reported that lawyers acting in the case against Cardiff warned that the injunction was too broad and could affect industrial action.
A UN watchdog, the newspaper reported, said the move is a “flagrant violation of international human rights law,” while Gina Romero, UN special rapporteur for freedom of assembly, said: “Profiting from the … curtailing of human rights is despicable.”
A spokesperson for Shakespeare Martineau said the injunction relates to “unlawful encampments,” and “lawful” protest would not be affected.
Smita Jamdar, head of education at Shakespeare Martineau, said: “Universities are dealing with complex situations on campus every single day. Understandably, many institutions are seeking guidance on how to manage a whole host of situations effectively and safely, while upholding the law and balancing the rights and freedoms of the whole campus community.”
But the European Legal Support Centre called the use of the injunctions a “chilling precedent for academic institutions,” adding that they are “legally complex and financially impractical for affected students to challenge in court.”
Last week, England’s Office for Students warned universities against “sweeping” limits on protest in a new set of guidelines due to take effect in August.
Most Filipinos in favor of rejoining ICC, study shows
- Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019 under ex-president Rodrigo Duterte
- 57 percent of respondents support rejoining the court, while 37 percent are against it
MANILA: The majority of Filipinos support the Philippines rejoining the International Criminal Court, the results of a new opinion poll showed on Monday.
The Philippines withdrew from the ICC in 2019 under ex-president Rodrigo Duterte, as the court’s prosecutors began to look into his “war on drugs” campaign in 2016-22, which they estimate has resulted in the extrajudicial killings of 30,000 Filipinos.
Despite the Philippines’ withdrawal, the court has issued an arrest warrant against Duterte, as it keeps jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed while a country was a member.
The current administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. complied with the arrest warrant and Duterte has been in ICC custody since March, awaiting trial. The Marcos’s spokesperson, Claire Castro, said earlier this month that he was also “open to talking about” rejoining the ICC.
The move would be supported by 57 percent of Filipinos, according to the latest survey by OCTA Research.
“A clear 57 percent of Filipinos support the Philippines rejoining the ICC. In contrast, 37 percent are opposed, and 6 percent remain undecided, indicating broad, though not unanimous, public backing for renewed engagement,” the Quezon City-based polling and research firm said in its report.
The study was conducted between April 20 and April 24, on 1,200 respondents in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
In Mindanao, where Duterte traces his political roots and despite detention won the mayoral election last month, the support for rejoining the ICC was the lowest.
“In Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, and the Visayas, at least 60 percent of respondents express support,” the OCTA Research report said. “In Mindanao, however, is an exception — with only 30 percent supporting the move and 66 percent expressing opposition, the highest rate of opposition recorded across regions.”
The highest rate of support for reengagement with the ICC was among people aged 25-34, with 62 percent of them in favor of the move, while the lowest support was among those aged 45-54, at 50 percent.
Duterte’s arrest has likely contributed to awareness about the ICC across the Philippines, with 85 percent of adult Filipinos claiming to have seen, read, or heard about the court and only 13 percent reporting being unaware of it.
“This widespread awareness sets the stage for significant national conversations on justice, accountability, and the Philippines’ potential reengagement with the ICC,” OCTA Research said.
“Awareness levels are consistently high nationwide. In Metro Manila, 89 percent of respondents indicated familiarity with the ICC, followed closely by Balance Luzon (86 percent), Mindanao (85 percent), and the Visayas (77 percent).”
