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Trump threatens $9 bn in Harvard funding over ‘anti-Semitism’

The US government will review $9 billion of funding for Harvard University over alleged anti-Semitism on campus, authorities said Monday, after it cut millions from Columbia University, which has also seen fierce pro-Palestinian student protests.President Donald Trump has aggressively targeted prestigious universities that saw bitter protests sparked by Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, stripping their federal funds and directing immigration officers to deport foreign student demonstrators, including those with green cards.Officials would look at $255.6 million in contracts between Harvard and the government, as well as $8.7 billion in multi-year grant commitments to the prestigious Ivy League institution, the General Services Administration said in a statement.Critics argue that the Trump administration’s campaign is retributive and will have a chilling effect on free speech, while its supporters insist it is necessary to restore order to campuses and to protect Jewish students.Education Secretary Linda McMahon said “Harvard’s failure to protect students on campus from anti-Semitic discrimination — all while promoting divisive ideologies over free inquiry — has put its reputation in serious jeopardy.” “Harvard can right these wrongs and restore itself to a campus dedicated to academic excellence and truth-seeking, where all students feel safe on its campus,” she added.In a statement, Harvard president Alan Garner said: “If this funding is stopped, it will halt life-saving research and imperil important scientific research and innovation.””The government has informed us that they are considering this action because they are concerned that the University has not fulfilled its obligations to curb and combat antisemitic harassment.”Garner objected to this characterization, saying the university “strengthened our rules and our approach to disciplining those who violate them” over the past 15 months as a means of addressing anti-Semitism on campus.Trump has also targeted New York’s Columbia University, initially putting $400 million of funding under review, detaining for deportation a graduate student linked to the protests, and seeking to arrest others.Columbia then announced a package of concessions to the government around defining anti-Semitism, policing protests and oversight for specific academic departments.They stopped short, however, of meeting some of the more strident demands of the Trump administration, which nonetheless welcomed the Ivy League college’s proposals.”Today’s actions by the Task Force follow a similar ongoing review of Columbia University,” said Monday’s official statement. “That review led to Columbia agreeing to comply with nine preconditions for further negotiations regarding a return of cancelled federal funds.”

Political support leading to increasing fallout for crypto

Support for cryptocurrencies from US President Donald Trump or Argentine leader Javier Milei has seen investors lose billions of dollars and is damaging a sector struggling for credibility, researchers told AFP.”The entire crypto industry is being tarnished,” said Claire Balva, strategy director for fintech company Deblock.Argentine prosecutors are reportedly examining whether Milei engaged in fraud …

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Syria president says new authorities can’t satisfy everyone

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said Monday a new transitional government would aim for consensus in rebuilding the war-torn country but acknowledged it would be unable to satisfy everyone.The transitional 23-member cabinet — without a prime minister — was announced Saturday, more than three months after Sharaa’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led an offensive that toppled longtime president Bashar al-Assad.Sharaa said the new government’s goal was rebuilding the country but warned that “will not be able to satisfy everyone”.”Any steps we take will not reach consensus — this is normal — but we must reach a consensus” as much as possible, he told a gathering at the presidential palace broadcast on Syrian television after prayers for the Eid al-Fitr Muslim holiday.The autonomous Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria had rejected the government’s legitimacy the day after it was announced, saying it “does not reflect the country’s diversity”.Authorities are seeking to reunite and rebuild the country and its institutions after nearly 14 years of civil war.Some of Sharaa’s closest supporters and other figures aligned with him make up the majority of the new cabinet.Sharaa said the ministers were chosen for their competence and expertise, “without particular ideological or political orientations”.Most members are Sunni Muslim, reflecting the demographic make-up of Syria, ruled for decades by the Assad clan which belongs to the Alawite minority.Amid international calls for an inclusive transition, the new government has four ministers from minority groups in Syria — a Christian, a Druze, a Kurd and an Alawite, none of whom were handed key portfolios.Sharaa said the new government’s make-up took into consideration “the diversity of Syrian society” while rejecting a quota system for religious or ethnic minorities, instead opting for “participation”.”A new history is being written for Syria… we are all writing it,” he told the gathering.EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Monday that the bloc was “ready to engage with the new government in order to help tackle the immense challenges ahead”.A US State Department spokeswoman, meanwhile, said Washington hoped “this announcement represents a positive step”, but it would not ease sanctions until it had verified progress on priorities including acting against “terrorism”.This month, Sharaa signed into force a constitutional declaration regulating the country’s transitional period, set for five years.Some experts and rights groups have warned that it concentrates power in Sharaa’s hands and fails to include enough protections for minorities.This month also saw the worst sectarian bloodshed since Assad’s overthrow, with civilian massacres in Alawite-majority areas.Sharaa has previously vowed to prosecute those behind the “bloodshed of civilians” and set up a fact-finding committee.

Iran will have ‘no choice’ but to acquire nukes if attacked: Khamenei adviser

Iran would have to acquire a nuclear weapon if attacked by the United States or its allies, an adviser to the country’s supreme leader warned on Monday, following a threat by US President Donald Trump.The comments came after Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, promised to hit back if Trump carried out a threat to bomb the Islamic republic if it did not make a deal to curb its nuclear programme.”We are not moving towards (nuclear) weapons, but if you do something wrong in the Iranian nuclear issue, you will force Iran to move towards that because it has to defend itself,” Khamenei’s adviser Ali Larijani told state TV.”Iran does not want to do this, but … (it) will have no choice,” he added.”If at some point you (the US) move towards bombing by yourself or through Israel, you will force Iran to make a different decision.”Trump said on Saturday “there will be bombing” if Iran did not agree a nuclear deal, according to NBC News, which said he also threatened to punish Tehran with what he called “secondary tariffs”.Despite the sharpening of Trump’s comments, it was not clear if he was threatening a US bombing or an operation coordinated with another country, possibly Iran’s nemesis Israel.”They threaten to do mischief,” Khamenei said of the remarks during a speech for the holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.”If it is carried out, they will definitely receive a strong counterattack.”The message was sent to the UN Security Council in a letter by Iran’s UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani which condemned what he called “warmongering provocations”. Iran “will respond swiftly and decisively to any act of aggression or attack by the United States or its proxy, the Israeli regime,” the envoy added.- ‘Glass room’ -Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the charge d’affaires of the Swiss embassy, which represents US interests in Iran, “following the threats by the US president”, a ministry statement said.”The Americans have at least 10 bases in the region around Iran, and they have 50,000 troops,” warned General Amirali Hajizadeh, a senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”Someone who is in a glass room shouldn’t throw stones at anyone,” the man in charge of Iran’s ballistic missile programme threatened on state television Monday.Since taking office in January, Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy, which in his first term saw the United States withdraw from a landmark agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme and reimpose sanctions on Tehran.Western countries including the United States have long accused Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapon, which Tehran has denied, insisting its enrichment activities were solely for peaceful purposes.The 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers required Iran to limit its nuclear processing in exchange for sanctions relief.- ‘Indirect’ channel -On March 7, Trump said he had written to Khamenei to call for nuclear negotiations and warn of possible military action if Tehran refused.The letter was delivered to Tehran on March 12 by a United Arab Emirates envoy, Iran’s Fars news agency reported at the time.On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a response had been sent through Oman, without detailing its content.Araghchi said Iran would not engage in direct talks “under maximum pressure and the threat of military action”.In his remarks, however, the minister left open the door for “indirect negotiations”.According to NBC, Trump said US and Iranian officials were “talking,” but he did not give details.President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday said Khamenei, who as supreme leader has the final say in major state policies, had permitted indirect talks.Oman has served as an intermediary in the past, in the absence of US-Iranian diplomatic relations severed after the 1979 Islamic revolution.On Monday, Araghchi said the United States had received Iran’s letter.”We have been informed by our friends in Oman that the letter has reached its destination and has been read.”Beyond its nuclear programme, the West also accuses Iran of using proxy forces to expand its influence in the region, a charge Tehran rejects.”There is only one proxy force in this region, and that is the corrupt usurper Zionist regime,” Khamenei said, calling for Israel to be “eradicated”.

Syrians rejoice during first Eid after Assad’s fall

Eid al-Fitr in Syria was charged with newfound joy this year, as thousands freely celebrated the holiday for the first time after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.From the early morning hours, crowds of men, women and children flocked to pray at Damascus’s historic Umayyad Mosque in the Old City. “This is the first time we truly feel the joy of Eid, after getting rid of Assad’s tyrannical regime,” Fatima Othman told AFP. Following prayer, worshippers exchanged Eid greetings while street vendors sold colourful balloons and toys to children posing for photos with their parents. “Our celebration is doubled after Assad’s fall,” said Ghassan Youssef, a resident of the capital. A few kilometres (miles) away, on the slopes of Mount Qasyun overlooking Damascus — a site previously off-limits to Syrians until Assad was deposed on December 8 — a few thousand people gathered at Unknown Soldier Square for an open-air prayer. Among them were members of the security forces and the army, dressed in uniform and armed. The road leading to the square was packed, according to an AFP photographer. Some worshippers distributed sweets to celebrate, while the three-star Syrian flag, adopted by the new authorities, waved in the air. Under the previous government, access to the Unknown Soldier monument was typically restricted to Assad and his close associates, who would lay wreaths there during national ceremonies. – ‘Celebration of celebrations!’ -The memorial, where a giant screen broadcast the Eid prayer, is near the presidential palace. There, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa prayed alongside Syria’s new mufti Osama al-Rifai and several cabinet ministers in the presence of a large crowd. He later delivered a speech emphasising the country faced “a long and arduous road to reconstruction but possesses all the resources needed to recover”. This came two days after the formation of a new government, which faces daunting challenges in a country devastated by 14 years of civil war. Wael Hamamiya, who had been in Sweden since the early days of the conflict, returned to Damascus to celebrate Eid with his family.”This is my first Eid here in nearly 15 years. I truly feel the celebration in its full meaning,” he told AFP, beaming. “Everyone who has come is over the moon. This is the celebration of celebrations!” The occasion was more sombre for some Syrians, who were able to visit the graves of loved ones that had been off-limits during Assad reign, especially in former opposition strongholds.At Al-Rawda Cafe in Damascus, 36-year-old Amer Hallaq chatted with friends after returning from exile in Berlin where he ended up after dodging compulsory military service in 2014.”For years, I thought I’d never see my family again or celebrate Eid with them,” Hallaq said. “The joy of liberation and victory is immense, but there’s still a lot of work ahead. This is only the beginning of the road.”

Devastated Lebanon village marks Eid among its dead

In the war-devastated southern Lebanese village of Aitaroun on Monday, residents marked the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr among their dead.Relatives crowded the village’s cemeteries to pray for the more than 100 residents, including fighters from Hezbollah, killed during the war between the militant group and Israel that ended with a fragile ceasefire in November.”We defied the entire world by being here in Aitaroun to celebrate Eid with our martyrs,” Siham Ftouni said near the grave of her son, a rescuer with an Islamic health organisation affiliated with Hezbollah.”Their blood permitted us to come back to our village,” she said.During the war, Lebanese state media reported that Israeli troops used explosives in Aitaroun and two nearby villages to blow up houses. The town square is heavily damaged.Few people have returned to live or to reopen businesses. The story is the same in other villages in southern Lebanon.In Aitaroun, more than 90 of the village’s dead — including some who died from natural causes — were buried only a month ago when Israeli troops pulled out.Under the ceasefire, Israel had 60 days to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon, but it did not pull most of them back until February 18 after the initial deadline was extended.On Monday, beneath yellow Hezbollah flags, Ftouni and other women clad in black let their grief pour out.A young girl sat near the grave of a woman, holding her photo surrounded by flowers.Other pictures, of infants and young men in military uniform, lay on top of graves, and the sound of funeral orations triggered tears.Some visitors handed out sweets and other foods to mourners who came from further away.- ‘Ashamed’ -“This year, Eid is different from the years before,” said Salim Sayyed, 60, a farmer originally from Aitaroun. “Aitaroun, which lost more than 120 martyrs including many women and children, is living a sad Eid.”He added: “The will to live will remain stronger than death.”The war saw the killing of Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders, and the group’s military infrastructure was devastated. Yet it continues to proclaim victory after more than a year of conflict that escalated to full-blown war and killed more than 4,000 people in Lebanon.Despite the ceasefire deal, Israeli troops remain inside Lebanon at five points it deems strategic.Both Hezbollah and Israel have accused each other of truce violations.Israel has regularly carried out often-deadly air raids in south and east Lebanon since the ceasefire, striking what it says are Hezbollah military targets that violated the agreement.On Friday Israel bombed southern Beirut for the first time since the truce after rockets were fired towards its territory.Imad Hijazi, 55, a taxi driver, said the security uncertainty was no deterrent to those wanting to spend Eid beside the graves of their loved ones.”The sadness was immense. Everyone was shaken by the loss of loved ones. I lost 23 members of my family in an Israeli strike,” Hijazi said.”I was ashamed to convey Eid greetings to my relatives or my friends.”