At Columbia University in the United States, dozens of pro-Palestinian activists have staged a demonstration.
Demonstrators chanted and beat drums while seated on tables inside the university’s main library, according to video that was posted on social media.
Apartheid Divest, a pro-Palestinian student organization affiliated with Columbia University, claimed to have taken over the library in protest of its connections to Israel.
The group, referring to the Palestinian activist and writer who was killed by Israeli forces in 2017, said on Substack that “over 100 people have just flooded Butler Library and renamed it Basel Al-Araj Popular University.”
The people will continue stifling Columbia’s profits and legitimacy as long as Columbia funds and profits from imperialist violence, according to the flood. If Columbia’s repression is intensified, the people will continue to cause disruption on this campus. Repression breeds resistance.
Claire Shipman, the acting president of Columbia University, criticized the demonstration as “completely unacceptable.”
According to Shipman, university officials called the police after demonstrators turned down requests for identification and exit the building.
This is especially unacceptable while our students study and study for final exams, according to Shipman in a statement, “Disruptions to our academic activities will not be tolerated and are violations of our rules and policies.”
“Columbia firmly condemns violence on our campus, antisemitism, and all forms of hate and discrimination, some of which we witnessed today,” said Columbia.
Two Columbia Public Safety Officers were hurt, according to Shipman, as a result of an internal conflict.
According to a statement from the New York Police Department, “multiple individuals were taken into custody who did not follow verbal instructions to disperse.”
Around 80 demonstrators were detained, according to a report from 1010 WINS, according to a report from New York radio station.
Four former housekeepers, who allege the soul singer repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted them, filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit on Tuesday.
The 85-year-old is accused of repeatedly forcing himself on the women over several years, frequently when his wife was away from home, in a lawsuit filed in a Los Angeles court.
One of the plaintiffs claims that the “Tracks of My Tears” singer would call her to his Los Angeles apartment and show her his underwear.
Despite her protestations, he would sexually assault her afterward, according to the lawsuit, which claimed there had been seven such attacks between March 2023 and February 2024.
One former housekeeper alleges that Robinson sexually harassed, assaulted, and raped her throughout her 12-year employment to 2024, while another alleges that she was more than 20 times over the course of a four-year period.
The singer claims that the fourth woman was assaulted when she and him took her to his Las Vegas residence in 2007.
The suit does not name any of the women, which is common in sexual assault claims.
The women were afraid of assaults on Robinson’s character, according to the lawsuit, which seeks at least $50 million in damages.
According to AFP, Robinson’s wife Frances, who is also named in the lawsuit because she is accused of ignoring her husband’s actions and allegedly creating a hostile work environment, was surprised to learn.
When she was reached by phone, she said, “I’m as shocked as you are,” but she kept quiet about the details.
One of the founding members of The Miracles, a Detroit-based band that formed in the 1950s, was Robinson.
Liam Payne fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 16 last year after more than 18 million of his singles, and more than two million of his albums were sold
Cheryl and Liam Payne are pictured attending The BRIT Awards in 2018(Image: WireImage)
Friends say Liam Payne’s ex Cheryl “will do the right thing” by Bear after it emerged their son is set to inherit his father’s entire £24million fortune.
The One Direction singer, who fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina last year, was declared intestate as he did not have a will. This means, as an unmarried parent, his estate is shared between any children. Liam, 31, only had one child; eight-year-old Bear, whom he shared with Cheryl.
The Girls Aloud star, 41, was granted the power of administration of the musician’s estate after his death. It is now understood Liam’s fortune, largely made during his boyband years, will be placed in a trust for his son. Friends of TV personality Cheryl have said that she, just like Liam did, always wants to do what is right for her son.
It is understood Liam, originally from Wolverhampton, West Midlands, left a total of £28,595,000, which was later reduced to £24,280,000 after his expenses and debts were paid, according to court documents.
READ MORE: Liam Payne’s jaw-dropping fortune he left to loved ones after dying without will
Liam is pictured with Bear in the weeks after the baby’s birth(Image: Instagram/cherylofficial)
“It is a small consolation that Bear will never want for anything, that he will at least benefit from that. Liam had some very sensible people around him for a time and he adored Bear so much. He always wanted to do the right thing by him financially,” a source close to Liam told Mail Online.
Article continues below
Other mates told Mail Online the singer was adamant to make sure his only son would be well looked after in the event anything happened to him. It means his girlfriend at the time of his death, American model Kate Cassidy, won’t receive any inheritance from the star’s estate.
The singer, who was part of One Direction, died in October last year(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Liam’s estate was published as a limited Ad Colligenda Bona grant. This is commonly applied for during the sale of a deceased person’s property, where the deceased’s executors may have found a buyer for the property shortly after the death. It is said Cheryl was named in the legal documents alongside Richard Bray, a top music lawyer with a track record of representing stars including Ed Sheeran.
Kate, who revealed plans she and Liam were to marry, was not mentioned. However, the influencer didn’t appear to faze the star as she shared a picture to her 900,000 followers on Instagram just hours later.
Kate posted an image of the inside of her handbag, showing a sandwich from Starbucks and some hair extensions along with the light-hearted caption: “What’s in your purse??? Mine: starbucks and @glamseamless.”
Liam Payne fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 16 last year after more than 18 million of his singles, and more than two million of his albums were sold
Cheryl and Liam Payne are pictured attending The BRIT Awards in 2018(Image: WireImage)
Friends say Liam Payne’s ex Cheryl “will do the right thing” by Bear after it emerged their son is set to inherit his father’s entire £24million fortune.
The One Direction singer, who fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina last year, was declared intestate as he did not have a will. This means, as an unmarried parent, his estate is shared between any children. Liam, 31, only had one child; eight-year-old Bear, whom he shared with Cheryl.
The Girls Aloud star, 41, was granted the power of administration of the musician’s estate after his death. It is now understood Liam’s fortune, largely made during his boyband years, will be placed in a trust for his son. Friends of TV personality Cheryl have said that she, just like Liam did, always wants to do what is right for her son.
It is understood Liam, originally from Wolverhampton, West Midlands, left a total of £28,595,000, which was later reduced to £24,280,000 after his expenses and debts were paid, according to court documents.
READ MORE: Liam Payne’s jaw-dropping fortune he left to loved ones after dying without will
Liam is pictured with Bear in the weeks after the baby’s birth(Image: Instagram/cherylofficial)
“It is a small consolation that Bear will never want for anything, that he will at least benefit from that. Liam had some very sensible people around him for a time and he adored Bear so much. He always wanted to do the right thing by him financially,” a source close to Liam told Mail Online.
Article continues below
Other mates told Mail Online the singer was adamant to make sure his only son would be well looked after in the event anything happened to him. It means his girlfriend at the time of his death, American model Kate Cassidy, won’t receive any inheritance from the star’s estate.
The singer, who was part of One Direction, died in October last year(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Liam’s estate was published as a limited Ad Colligenda Bona grant. This is commonly applied for during the sale of a deceased person’s property, where the deceased’s executors may have found a buyer for the property shortly after the death. It is said Cheryl was named in the legal documents alongside Richard Bray, a top music lawyer with a track record of representing stars including Ed Sheeran.
Kate, who revealed plans she and Liam were to marry, was not mentioned. However, the influencer didn’t appear to faze the star as she shared a picture to her 900,000 followers on Instagram just hours later.
Kate posted an image of the inside of her handbag, showing a sandwich from Starbucks and some hair extensions along with the light-hearted caption: “What’s in your purse??? Mine: starbucks and @glamseamless.”
On Wednesday morning, India carried out multiple missile attacks on parts of Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir, in which at least 26 people were killed, including a three-year-old child.
India has claimed its Operation Sindoor targeted nine sites with “terrorist infrastructure”.
In response, Pakistan has claimed it has brought down five Indian planes – but India has not commented on this claim. At least 10 civilians have been killed in Indian-administered Kashmir due to Pakistani fire since Wednesday morning, according to local officials.
Al Jazeera visualises what has happened so far and the military capabilities of both countries.
Why did India attack Pakistan?
On Wednesday morning, Pakistan’s armed forces said Indian missiles struck six locations, including four places in Punjab province – the first time that India has hit Pakistan’s most populous state since the 1971 war between the neighbours.
The remaining two places targeted were Muzaffarabad and Kotli, both in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
India claims that it also struck a seventh location – Bhimber, also located in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The attacks are India’s response to a deadly attack on tourists on April 22, in which gunmen killed 25 tourists and a local pony rider in the scenic town of Pahalgam, in Indian-administered Kashmir. According to multiple witness accounts, the attackers separated the men from the women and tried to pick non-Muslims as their targets. The gunmen subsequently escaped, and Indian security forces are yet to find them 16 days later.
(Al Jazeera)
India and Pakistan tensions at a glance
In 1947, the British colonial rulers drew a line of partition, dividing the Indian subcontinent into Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India. What followed was one of the largest – and, perhaps, bloodiest – migrations in human history.
Seventy-eight years on, the two nations remain bitter foes. But now they have nuclear arms.
The tension between India and Pakistan has escalated sharply once again after the Pahalgam attack.
The Muslim-majority Kashmir region, a former princely state, has been in dispute since the partition of India. India, Pakistan and China each control a part of Kashmir. India claims all of it, while Pakistan claims the part administered by India.
The two countries have gone to war four times, and there have been numerous cross-border skirmishes and escalations, including one in 2019 after at least 40 Indian soldiers were killed in a suicide attack claimed by the Pakistan-based armed group, Jaish-e-Muhammad.
In retaliation, India launched air strikes in Balakot, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa later that month, claiming that its jets had struck “terrorist” bases, killing many fighters. Many independent analysts have questioned whether India actually struck bases of armed groups and whether it killed as many fighters as it claims it did.
What are the military capabilities of India and Pakistan?
According to Global Firepower’s 2025 military strength rankings, India is the fourth-strongest military power in the world, and Pakistan is ranked as the 12th strongest.
India is the fifth-largest spender in the world on military. In 2024, it spent $86bn on its military, or 2.3 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP), according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a leading defence and armaments think tank.
In comparison, Pakistan spent $10.2bn, or 2.7 percent of its GDP, on the military in 2024.
India’s total military strength is 5,137,550 personnel, which is almost three times larger than Pakistan’s 1,704,000. Neither country has mandatory conscription.
India possesses 2,229 military aircraft, compared with Pakistan’s 1,399.
India has 3,151 combat tanks, compared with Pakistan’s 1,839.
Pakistan’s navy covers its 1,046 kilometre-long (650-mile) southern coastal borders in the Arabian Sea and possesses 121 naval assets, while India’s mainland coast covers nearly 6,100km (3,800 miles) with 293 naval assets.
India and Pakistan’s nuclear arms race
According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICANW), a global coalition to ban nuclear weapons, in 2023, countries spent an estimated $91.4bn on nuclear weapons, with India spending $2.7bn and Pakistan $1bn.
India carried out its first nuclear test in May 1974, and in May 1998, conducted another five tests, declaring itself a nuclear weapons state.
Pakistan carried out its first nuclear tests shortly after India’s in 1998, officially becoming a nuclear weapons state.
Since then, the two born together, star-crossed nations have been engaged in an arms race that has cost them billions of dollars.
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ (CSIS) Missile Defence Project, New Delhi nuclear deterrents are mainly aimed at rivals Pakistan and China. India has developed longer range missiles and mobile land-based missiles. In conjunction with Russia, it is in the developing stages for ship and submarine missiles.
The CSIS also states that Pakistan’s arsenal consists primarily of mobile short- and medium-range ballistic missiles, which have enough of a range to target India. China’s significant technical assistance on its nuclear and missile programmes has helped Pakistan in recent years.
Who supplies arms to India and Pakistan?
According to SIPRI, the cross-border tensions between the two nations fuel arms imports by both countries.
India was the second-largest arms importer from 2020-2024, after Ukraine, bearing an 8.3 percent share of global imports. The majority of India’s imports come from Russia, although it has been shifting its arms sourcing to France, Israel and the United States.
Across the border, Pakistan’s arms and weapons imports increased by 61 percent between 2015–19 and 2020–24 as it started to receive deliveries, including combat aircraft and warships. On a global scale, Pakistan is the fifth-largest arms importer with 4.6 percent imports in 2020–24.
Since 1990, Pakistan’s main supplier has been China. China supplied 81 percent of Pakistan’s arms imports in 2020–24; Russia supplied 36 percent of India’s arms during the same period.
Kate Cassidy has taken to social media to share a seemingly carefree post after it was reported that the model will not be inheriting any of her late boyfriend’s fortune
Kate will not be inheriting any of her late boyfriend’s fortune(Image: PA)
Kate Cassidy has ended her silence on social media since it emerged she would not inherit a penny of Liam Payne’s £24million fortune.
Liam tragically died in October last year at the age of 31 after falling from a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires. Five people were initially charged over his death, however three of them have now had the charges dropped including Liam’s friend Roger Nores.
Liam’s estate was valued at a hefty £28,595,000, and later slimmed down to £24,280,000 post debts and bills. According to court documents filed on May 1, with Payne having died without a will, his ex Cheryl Tweedy, who shares an eight year old son named Bear with him, has been tasked with handling his assets. Music lawyer Richard Bray was also named as an administrator.
Under UK intestacy rules, Liam Payne’s son, Bear, is poised to inherit his late father’s wealth in a trust. A source confided to The Mail’s Katie Hind, “Liam had some very sensible people around him for a time and he adored Bear so much. He always wanted to do the right thing by him financially. It is a small consolation that Bear will never want for anything, that he will at least benefit from that”.
READ MORE: Beauty influencer dies suddenly after weight loss surgery ‘didn’t go smoothly’
Kate, 24, had been with Payne just two days before his tragic fall(Image: INSTAGRAM)
Article continues below
It seeems Kate, the American model who dated the late One Direction singer for two years, will not getting a penny of inheritance from Liam. Kate has shared a seemingly light-hearted Instagram post just hours after it was revealed Liam tragically died without leaving a will.
Kate shared with her 900, 000 followers a snap revealing her bag’s contents – a Starbucks snack and hair extensions – with the cheeky caption: “What’s in your purse??? Mine: starbucks and @glamseamless”.
In the days before Payne’s untimely passing, his 24 year old girlfriend Cassidy was by his side. Stricken with grief yet active on social media, she recently posted glamorous shots from her time at the Miami Grand Prix. Cassidy turned heads with her bold black faux-leather top, casual denim shorts, and a striking red Ferrari cap.
Kate posted a photo of her bag online(Image: (Image: Instagram))
A fan’s comment on her photo of a rainbow – “Liam showing up through the rainbow”. – had Cassidy responding with heartfelt affirmation: “He had to say hello”.
She has previously spoken about other signs she believes the late singer has sent her as she navigates the grieving process. One included a note she found at the bottom of her bag bearing a crown and the numbers “444”. Cassidy wrote: “Sign for today. ]I] was cleaning out my purses and found this note at the bottom of one”.
Liam’s estate was published under a limited Ad Colligenda Bona grant – typically used during the sale of property shortly after someone’s death when the estate hasn’t been fully settled.
Cheryl and Liam Payne attend The BRIT Awards 2018 (Image: WireImage)
Cheryl and Liam’s son, Bear, was born at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London on March 22, 2017. Announcing the birth of his only son at the time on Instagram, Liam posted: “My close friends and family know there are very few times when I’m left speechless… wow”!
Article continues below
Liam and Cheryl went their separate ways soon after Bear’s first birthday, but the pair continued co-parenting and even though the singer wasn’t with his son constantly, he always made sure he was provided for. According to some of Liam’s friends, the superstar made arrangements “some years ago” to ensure his money would go to his only child in the event of his death.
An insider previously told The Daily Mail: “Liam had some very sensible people around him for a time and he adored Bear so much. He always wanted to do the right thing by him financially. It is a small consolation that Bear will never want for anything, that he will at least benefit from that”.
