Tag: conflict

Police arrest Columbia students, clear occupied building in campus unrest

By Ana FERNÁNDEZ NEW YORK, May 1, 2024 (AFP) – Dozens of helmeted police flooded Columbia University’s campus in the heart of New York City on Tuesday to evict a building occupied by pro-Palestinian student protesters and detain demonstrators. Police climbed into Hamilton Hall via a second floor window they reached from a laddered truck, before leading handcuffed students out of the building into police vans. The hall had been occupied at dawn by demonstrators […]

Protesters chase EU diplomats from Palestinian Museum

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories, April 30, 2024 (AFP) – Protesters from a Palestinian university chased a group of European diplomats out of a museum in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday over what activists said was their position on the Gaza war. Video posted on social media showed Italian consul general Domenico Bellato hurrying away from the Palestinian Museum near the city of Ramallah followed by a crowd of demonstrators. “The student’s movement refused those visitors […]

Netanyahu says troops to enter Rafah ‘with or without’ Gaza truce

JERUSALEM, April 30, 2024 (AFP) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that the Israeli military will launch a ground offensive in Rafah “with or without” a truce with Hamas in Gaza. “The idea that we will halt the war before achieving all of its goals is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there with or without a deal, in order to achieve the total […]

Biden presses Egypt and Qatar on ceasefire, hostage deal

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2024 (AFP) – US President Joe Biden on Monday urged the leaders of Egypt and Qatar to “exert all efforts” towards securing the release of hostages held by Hamas as part of negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire, the White House said. Washington, Doha and Cairo have been mediating for months to achieve a truce in the Palestinian territory which has endured relentless bombing by Israel in response to the unprecedented deadly attack […]

Ukraine warns front ‘worsened’ as Russia claims fresh gains

By Emmanuel PEUCHOT VOZDVYZHENKA, Ukraine, April 28, 2024 (AFP) – Ukraine’s army leader admitted Sunday that Kyiv’s position on the battlefield has worsened after Russian forces captured another village in the east, pressing their advantage in manpower and ammunition. Russia’s troops are advancing in the eastern Donetsk region as Kyiv awaits the arrival of much-needed US weapons that it hopes will stabilise the fragile front lines. “The situation at the front has worsened,” Ukrainian commander-in-chief […]

Hamas releases video of two hostages calling for Gaza deal

GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories, April 27, 2024 (AFP) – Hamas’s armed wing released video Saturday of two men held hostage in Gaza who are seen alive and urging Israeli authorities to strike a deal for the release of all the remaining captives. Campaign group the Hostages and Missing Families Forum identified the two as Keith Siegel and Omri Miran who were abducted by militants during the Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7. “The […]

Police detain 100 as pro-Palestinian camp cleared at US university

BOSTON, April 27, 2024 (AFP) – Police detained about 100 people as they moved in to clear an encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters in response to the use of anti-Semitic slurs, the school said. The action was taken after protesters resorting to “virulent anti-Semitic slurs, including ‘Kill the Jews,’ crossed the line,” the school said in a statement on social media platform X. The protests against Israel’s war with Hamas began at Columbia University earlier this […]

Hamas says studying new Israeli truce proposal

By Jay DESHMUKH JERUSALEM, April 27, 2024 (AFP) – Hamas said it was studying on Saturday the latest Israeli counterproposal regarding a potential ceasefire in Gaza, a day after media reports said a delegation from mediator Egypt arrived in Israel in a bid to jump-start stalled negotiations. The signs of fresh truce talks came alongside at least three Israeli air strikes during the night in Rafah, southernmost Gaza, according to an AFP correspondent. Rafah is […]

Iraqi female TikTok star shot dead: officials

BAGHDAD, April 27, 2024 (AFP) – A gunman on a motorbike shot dead a well-known Iraqi social media influencer known as Om Fahad outside her Baghad home on Friday, Iraqi security officials told AFP. An unidentified attacker shot Om Fahad in her car in the Zayouna district, a security official said, requesting anonymity because he was not cleared to speak to the media. Another security source said the attacker appeared to have pretended to be […]

Russia hits Ukrainian energy sites in ‘massive’ overnight attack

KYIV, Ukraine, April 27, 2024 (AFP) – Russia launched a “massive” missile strike at Ukraine overnight, damaging four power plants in the latest barrage targeting the country’s energy supply, officials in Kyiv said on Saturday. Two people were killed and at least 10 more wounded in Russian shelling. Moscow has launched some of its largest ever strikes on Ukraine’s energy facilities in recent months, knocking out a significant chunk of production, and triggering blackouts and […]

Russia targets Ukraine railways as Western aid due to arrive

KYIV, Ukraine, April 26, 2024 (AFP) – Ukraine warned Friday that Moscow was ramping up attacks on railways in a bid to disrupt military supplies ahead of a fresh Russian offensive while Kyiv waits for new US weapon deliveries. Kyiv fears Russia is seeking to press its advantage on the battlefield ahead of symbolic May 9 Victory Day celebrations, as both sides continued to launch deadly cross-border strikes. A Ukrainian security source told AFP that […]

Pro-Palestinian US campus protests grow as police crack down

By Romain FONSEGRIVES with Moises Avila in Austin LOS ANGELES, April 26, 2024 (AFP) – Pro-Palestinian protests spread to more college campuses in the United States on Thursday as authorities appeared to be running out of patience and police began to push back forcefully. Riot officers used chemical irritants and tasers at one university as administrators at some of the country’s most prestigious institutions battled to prevent occupations taking hold. Staging sit-ins and mounting boisterous […]