- France accuses Azerbaijan of interference in New Caledonia riots
- European stocks dip from records, shrugging off gains elsewhere
- Toulouse's Chocobares eligible for Champions Cup final in spite of suspension
- Dutch EU opt-out on asylum could take 'years': Wilders to AFP
- Murray makes victorious comeback in Bordeaux
- China's Baidu posts weakest quarterly revenue growth in over a year
- EU probes Facebook, Instagram over child protection
- Inter's title party continues as off-field problems lurk
- A pariah in the West, Putin finds fans in Beijing
- Ukraine says halted Russian 'advance' in some Kharkiv zones
- Asian football body scraps term limits for top leaders
- Five Israeli troops killed by friendly fire in Gaza
- US military says aid pier anchored to Gaza beach
- Taiwan presidential banquet to showcase island's identity
- Easyjet CEO flies out in 2025 after seven years
- New Dutch coalition govt wants 'strictest' asylum policy
- Siemens to sell electrical motors business to KPS
- Lai Ching-te: from coal miner's son to Taiwan president
- Slovak PM in 'very serious' condition after assassination attempt
- France deploys troops, bans TikTok, to quell New Caledonia unrest
- Record Super Rugby try scorer Perenara backed for All Blacks return
- Indian record-breaker Chhetri to retire from international football
- Esperance, Ahly resume great African club rivalry in final
- Clutch day for Trump lawyers seeking to discredit Cohen at trial
- Turkey's 'mad honey' aphrodisiac that can knock you flat
- Xi, Putin hail ties as 'stabilising' force in chaotic world
- Consumer groups accuse Temu of manipulating online shoppers
- Premier League in the US? FIFA weighs allowing overseas games
- Xi hails Russia ties as 'conducive to peace' in Putin talks
- Celtics overpower Cavs, Mavs edge closer after beating Thunder
- Monet painting fetches $35 million at New York auction
- Putin meets Xi in Beijing seeking greater support for war effort
- Asian markets track Wall St records after US inflation data
- Pro-Turkey Syria mercenaries head to Niger to earn cash
- FIFA meets to award 2027 Women's World Cup under Gaza cloud
- Iraqi car bomb survivor eyes gold in Paris Paralympics
- The Greatest, the Baddest and the best: six undisputed heavyweight champions
- France deploys troops, bans TikTok to quell deadly New Caledonia unrest
- Coppola's epic 'Megalopolis' finally arrives at Cannes
- French prison van attack takes drug battle to 'worrying' new level
- Chiefs host Ravens in NFL season-opener
- Arab leaders head to Bahrain for Gaza-focused summit
- Without Messi, Miami's winning run ends with derby draw
- Top UN court hears S. Africa calls to stop Israel Rafah offensive
- Celtics overpower short-handed Cavs to reach conference finals
- New Canadian firefighters train for brutal fire season
- Violin village: Artisanal hub in Bolivian Amazon
- What will be the repercussions of Biden's new China tariffs?
- Mission impossible? Next Boeing CEO faces pile of problems
- 'No secret': modest Mexican taco restaurant wins Michelin star
Columbia on edge as talks collapse over Gaza protests
Tensions rose Monday at Columbia University, the epicenter of pro-Palestinian protests across US campuses, with college authorities and student demonstrators in open conflict after negotiations broke down.
Across the United States, police arrested around 275 people on four separate campuses over the weekend, with the White House calling on the growing protests in recent weeks to remain peaceful.
Columbia University, which said many Jewish students have left its campus, on Monday demanded that the protestors' encampment must be cleared, and added that Columbia would not divest financial holdings linked to Israel -- a key demand of demonstrators.
Students pushed back, vowing to defend their camp on the New York institution's main lawn, despite the threat of suspensions and disciplinary action from the college.
Protests against the Gaza war, with its high civilian death toll among Palestinian civilians, have posed a challenge to university administrators trying to balance free speech rights with complaints that the rallies have veered into anti-Semitism and threats of violence.
"Many of our Jewish students, and other students as well, have found the atmosphere intolerable in recent weeks. Many have left campus, and that is a tragedy," said Columbia University president Minouche Shafik in a statement announcing talks had broken down.
"Anti-Semitic language and actions are unacceptable and calls for violence are simply abhorrent.
"One group’s rights to express their views cannot come at the expense of another group’s right to speak, teach, and learn."
Protest organizers deny accusations of anti-Semitism, arguing that their actions are aimed at the Israeli government and its prosecution of the conflict in Gaza.
They also insist the more threatening incidents have been engineered by non-student agitators.
One student protest group called for demonstrators to gather on Monday "to protect the encampment" ahead of a reported 2:00 pm deadline to clear the tents or face disciplinary action.
The university had been in talks since last week with protest leaders over clearing the encampment but "regretfully we were not able to come to an agreement," said Shafik.
The university said it offered to speed up a review of student proposals for divestment and to improve transparency.
The Gaza war started when Hamas militants staged an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 that left around 1,170 people dead, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Palestinian militants also took roughly 250 people hostage. Israel estimates 129 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed almost 34,500 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
S.Keller--BTB