Category World News

Numerous students who took part in demonstrations against Israel’s occupation of Gaza have been subject to severe punishments at Columbia University in the United States, including expulsion, suspension from classes, and revoked academic degrees.

Nearly 80 students have been expelled or suspended for up to three years as a result of their participation in antiwar protests, according to a statement released by the student activist group Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), which has demanded that the university cut all financial ties to Israel.

Columbia announced on Tuesday that its most recent student punishment was related to the “disruption of Butler Library in May 2025 and the encampment during Alumni Weekend in spring 2024.”

The university wrote that “disruptions to academic activities are in violation of University policies and rules, and such violations will inevitably lead to consequences.”

The CUAD group claimed that the university’s student sanctions “hugely exceed precedent for teach-ins or non-Palestine-related building occupations.”

“We won’t be deterred,” he declares. The organization continued, “We are committed to the struggle for Palestinian liberation.”

In 2024, the pro-Palestinian student camps at Columbia University sparked a global movement to protest Israel’s unrelenting occupation of the Gaza Strip. When Columbia University allowed hundreds of New York City police officers to work on the campus, which resulted in dozens of arrests, the protest sites eventually were disbanded.

Students protesting the Butler Library during final exams in May of this year occupied the university, demanding divestment from businesses connected to the Israeli military and showing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

After what it called a “disruption during” the “reading period,” the Columbia University’s Judicial Board confirmed that it had issued expulsions, suspensions, and degree revocations. This was “the final set of findings from that period,” it said, not how many students were expelled.

The Ivy League university is negotiating with US President Donald Trump’s administration to recoup about $400,000 in federal funding. The New York City-based institution received funding from the Trump administration because it “inadequately protected Jewish students from severe and pervasive harassment” it claimed.

Students booed former trustee Claire Shipman, the acting president of Columbia, during a May graduation ceremony for her role in repressing pro-Palestinian protests.

Harvard University, a fellow Ivy League institution, has responded to pressure to alter its policies by suing the Trump administration, which has also been subject to billions in funding cuts from the government.

At least 15 people, including a six-week-old baby, died from hunger and malnutrition within a 24-hour period, according to health officials, as a result of Israel’s ongoing siege on the Gaza Strip, according to the latest disciplinary measures taken by Columbia against students on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, July 23, 2018, this is how things are going.

Fighting

• Three people were killed in the Kherson region, according to Russian-appointed local official Vladimir Saldo, when a Ukrainian drone attacked a private bus. In a Telegram post, Saldo continued, “Three more civilians were injured and are in serious condition.”
• In the Belgorod border region of Russia, a man was killed by a Ukrainian attack, according to the local governor.
• According to Oleksandr Honcharenko, head of the city’s military administration, a 10-year-old boy was killed in a Russian glide bomb attack in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. Five others were also hurt by the bomb, which set off an apartment building, according to Honcharenko.
• Russia launched numerous attacks on the Sumy region of Ukraine, including two separate drone attacks on a Putyvl gas station, which left 11 people injured, according to local officials.

• Novotoretske, a village in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, was claimed by the Russian army as having been taken by it.
• The pilot ejected safely from a French-supplied Mirage 2000 fighter jet after experiencing equipment failure during a mission, according to the Ukrainian military.
• According to Sergii Koretski, CEO of Ukraine’s state energy firm Naftogaz, a “massive” Russian drone attack severely damaged the country’s gas production infrastructure. Such attacks take place frequently. These items have no military significance, Koretski wrote on Facebook.

Ceasefire

Moscow hasn’t yet confirmed whether it will participate in the peace talks in Istanbul on Wednesday, which were suggested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week, but Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that there is “no reason for” expecting any “miracles” in the ceasefire talks.
• The Kremlin stated that it hoped to hold discussions “this week,” with Peskov adding, “We will announce the dates as soon as we are ready.”
• Zelenskyy noted that Kyiv was prepared to “secure the release of our people from captivity, return abducted children, stop the killings, and prepare a leaders’ meeting” while laying out potential topics for discussion with Moscow in Istanbul.

• Rustem Umerov, the country’s former defense minister, is expected to lead Kyiv’s delegation to the upcoming discussions.
• According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian authorities gave two Russian soldiers who needed medical care, and they were then flown home. According to the ministry, the release was made based on agreements reached in Istanbul last month, according to a statement.

Politics

After receiving a 263 to 13 vote in the Ukrainian parliament, Zelenskyy signed a bill that would end two anticorruption organizations’ autonomy.
• Marta Kos, the European Union’s Commissioner for Enlargement, described the decision as a “serious step back” for Kyiv and said independent bodies were “essential for Ukraine’s EU path.”
• The bill, which is the first major protest against the government in more than three years of conflict against ingratiating Russian troops, was staged in Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine.
• The bill was passed the day after two National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine officials were detained on suspicion of having ties to Russia, according to Ukraine’s domestic security agency.

BREAKINGBREAKING,

Following months of tense negotiations, US President Donald Trump has announced that he has reached a “massive” trade agreement with Japan.

Trump said that the US will impose a 15% tariff on Japanese exports under the deal, and that it will also allow Japan to invest $550 billion in the US.

Trump stated on his Truth Social platform, “We just completed a massive Deal with Japan, which is probably the largest deal ever made.”

“Japan will invest $550 billion dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the profits,” I assure you.

According to Trump, Japan will allow the US to export cars, rice, and other agricultural products, adding that the agreement will result in “hundreds of thousands of jobs.”

He wrote, “There has never been anything like it.”

Trump stated that the agreement was a “great deal for everyone” at a reception later on Tuesday.

He said, “I always believe it must be fantastic for everyone.”

I can tell you that it’s a fantastic deal, which is a lot different from previous ones.

If Trump failed to reach a deal by the deadline of August 1st, Japan would be subject to a 25% tariff.

Trump’s base tariff of 10% has been applied to Japanese exports up until now.

Trump’s 25 percent tariff on cars and 50 percent tariffs on steel and aluminum, which had been a sticking point in Washington and Tokyo negotiations, was not made public, but NHK, Japan’s public broadcaster, reported on Wednesday that the rate on auto exports would be set at 15 percent.

The deal was hailed as a “historical agreement,” according to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

As we approach the new Golden Age under President Trump, Bessent said, “I’m happy to reaffirm our commitment to deepen this long-standing alliance and laying the foundation for the next chapter of US-Japan cooperation.”

The agreement was not immediately confirmed by the Japanese government.

Following Trump’s announcement, Japanese stocks increased, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 rising by about 2% in early trading.

Following preliminary agreements with the UK, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, as well as a 90-day trade pact with China, Trump’s announcement is possibly one of his most significant trade deals so far.

The fifth-largest trading partner of the US is Japan, the fourth-largest economy in the world.

According to the US Census Bureau, the US imported $ 148.2 billion worth of Japanese goods in 2024, while $ 79.7 billion of US goods were purchased by Japan.

After drawing 1-1 with Ghana, Morocco, who were the hosts, Morocco, advanced to the championship of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) with a penalty shootout.

Morocco will face Nigeria in the Saturday final, which won by a score of 4-2 on Tuesday in the penalty shootout. In the previous semifinal, which took place on Tuesday in Casablanca, the Super Falcons defeated defending champion South Africa 2-1.

Ghana led early on. In the 26th minute, Stella Nyamekye pushed a header past Josephine Bonsu with a hand, but it slammed off the post and skittered across the goal.

When Sakina Ouzraoui threw a pass from her chest to her feet and scored from underneath Ghana goalkeeper Cynthia Konlan, who was diving, in the 55th minute, Morocco equalized.

At Rabat’s Olympic Stadium, the game ended in extra time after the final regulation had ended.

In recent years, Morocco has grown its national team. In 2022, the team lost to South Africa in the WAFCON final. Morocco also qualified for the round of 16 and participated in the Women’s World Cup for the first time in 2023.

After drawing level with Mali 3-1, Morocco advanced to the semifinals, while Ghana defeated Algeria 4-2 on penalties.

In the first WAFCON semi-final, Nigeria defeated South Africa.

In stoppage time, Michelle Alozie’s long ball sailed into the goal, bringing the Super Falcons to the final of the WAFCON tournament and 2-1 victory over South Africa earlier on Tuesday.

Nine WAFCON titles have been won by the Super Falcons. The Super Falcons referred to their victory as “Mission X” in their disappointment with their place in the 2022 tournament.

Four minutes into stoppage time, Alozie, who plays for the Houston Dash in the National Women’s Soccer League, sent the ball forward from a distance. The ball sank into the goal as neither of their teammates touched it, despite two other teammates standing in front of it.

Just before half-time, Atlético Madrid’s Rasheedat Ajibade converted a penalty to give Nigeria a 1-0 lead. A handball in the box resulted in the penalty for the Super Falcons.

In the 60th minute, Linda Motlhalo’s penalty made it even for South Africa, the defending WAFCON champions.

In the quarterfinals, Nigeria defeated Zambia 5-0 to advance, which had not previously conceded a goal. After drawing 0-0 with Senegal, South Africa advanced on penalties under the direction of coach Desiree Ellis.

When South Africa’s midfielder Gabriela Salgado suffered an injury in the 84th minute, players from both teams frantically pleaded for assistance.