Good morning.
More than 2,000 people have now been arrested during pro-Palestinian protests across dozens of college campuses in recent weeks.
“We are not an authoritarian nation where we silence people or squash dissent,” said the president, Joe Biden. “But,” he continued, “order must prevail.”
Student protests have grown across the country since the NYPD cracked down on an encampment that sprang up at Columbia University in mid-April. In many cases, faculty members have joined or supported student protesters, as police and universities have responded with force to demonstrations that threaten to continue into commencement season.
Where have the arrests happened? As well as at Columbia and UCLA, authorities have made arrests and cleared protest encampments at institutions including City College, Fordham University and Stony Brook College in New York; Portland State University in Oregon; Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff; Tulane University in New Orleans; and the University of Texas at Dallas.
Have any US colleges not called police in? In one rare example of authorities de-escalating protests, Brown University in Rhode Island agreed to a divestment vote in October – apparently the first US college to agree to such a demand.
What are Democrats saying? Biden criticized what he called “violent” protests. Senator Bernie Sanders told CNN on Thursday that “this may be Biden’s Vietnam”.
Turkey stops all trade with Israel over ‘humanitarian tragedy’ in Gaza
Turkey has halted all trade with Israel, citing the “worsening humanitarian tragedy” in the Palestinian territories.
The move by Turkey, the first Muslim-majority country to recognize Israeli sovereignty in 1949, prompted criticism from the Israeli foreign minister, Israel Katz, who said Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was acting like a “dictator”.
Meanwhile, in Gaza ceasefire negotiations, Hamas said it would visit Egypt for further talks soon. Hamas has sought a permanent ceasefire and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said troops will attack Rafah with or without a deal with Hamas.
What is the humanitarian cost of the war? Hamas killed about 1,200 people in Israel on 7 October last year and took about 250 hostage. In response, Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed at least 34,000 people, health officials say.
What about Gaza’s destroyed infrastructure? A UN agency said on Thursday that rebuilding Gaza will cost an estimated $30bn to $40bn and require an effort on a scale unseen since the second world war. “The scale of the destruction is huge and unprecedented,” said the UN assistant secretary general, Abdallah al-Dardari.
Mistrial in case of US military contractor accused of Abu Ghraib abuse
The trial of a US military contractor accused of contributing to the abuse of detainees in Iraq two decades ago, after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, collapsed on Thursday when an eight-person civil jury in Virginia failed to return a verdict.
Caci Premier Technology, a private company contracted by the US government to provide civilian interrogators at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in 2003 and 2004, had been accused of conspiring with US soldiers to physically and mentally assault those held with the intention of “softening them up” for questioning.
Horrific leaked images from Abu Ghraib of a hooded detainee standing on a box attached to electrical wiring, and others piled naked while smiling soldiers gave thumbs up signs, became synonymous with widespread abuses committed by US troops, and sparked global outrage.
Why did the trial collapse? A federal judge in Alexandria declared a mistrial on Thursday after the jury said it was deadlocked and could not reach a verdict after the six-day trial and almost eight days of deliberations.
What happens next? The plaintiffs, Iraqi civilians who were detained at the prison, will seek a retrial, their lawyer said. “This will not be the final word; what happened in Abu Ghraib is engraved into our memories and will never be forgotten in history,” one plaintiff said.
Russia captures Ukrainian village of Berdychi as Moscow’s momentum continues
Russia said on Thursday it had captured the Ukrainian village of Berdychi, which lies about 7 miles north-west of Avdiivka, Donetsk region, a week after Ukrainian forces pulled out.
In Ukraine’s north-eastern Kharkiv region, at least eight children were injured in the town of Derhachi when Russian guided bombs struck close by on Thursday, local officials said.
Meanwhile, Russian military personnel have entered an airbase in Niger that is hosting US troops, Reuters reports. The move comes after Niger’s junta decided to expel US forces. The US and Russian troops are not mingling.
Here’s what the UK foreign secretary said in Kyiv on Thursday: David Cameron said UK weapons supplied to Ukraine could be used to strike inside Russia. He also promised $3.8bn (£3bn) a year “for as long as it is necessary” to help Ukraine.
Here’s what estimates say about Russian casualties in Ukraine: The conflict has been compared to a “meat grinder”, after UK intelligence this week said 450,000 Russian military personnel had been killed or wounded in the conflict.
In other news …
The ruins of a centuries-old town have emerged at a dam in the northern Philippines, after a long spell of intense heat and little rain led water levels to recede.
China will attempt another mission to the dark side of the moon on Friday, part of its goal to land a human on the lunar surface by 2030. The head of Nasa raised “space race” concerns.
The Boeing whistleblower Joshua Dean has died after a short illness with pneumonia and an infection. He warned of manufacturing defects in the firm’s 737 Max aircraft, and is the second Boeing whistleblower to die this year.
In Australia, vice-chancellors have rejected calls for police to break the Gaza solidarity encampments at universities, saying campuses don’t want an “escalation” of the kind that is happening in the US.
The criminal hush-money trial of former president Donald Trump continued on Thursday. The court heard testimony from the attorney representing Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal.
Stat of the day: 99% of campus protests peaceful, according to report from crisis-mapping NGO
A report found that 99% of Gaza solidarity protests at US colleges had been peaceful, despite remarks from Joe Biden characterizing such demonstrations as “violent”. Analysis from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED), an NGO specializing in crisis mapping, said that the vast majority of protests had remained “vastly peaceful”.
Don’t miss this: ‘I decided to not let anybody silence my voice’ – the journalists in exile but still at risk
Threats from the state have led many journalists across the world to flee their home countries to report from elsewhere. But for many, the intimidation did not stop when they left. The Guardian spoke to exiled journalists from countries including Iran, Haiti, Turkey, Venezuela and Belarus. “Exile is one of the most atrocious things a human being can experience,” said one reporter who survived an assassination attempt in Haiti. Meanwhile, in Gaza, Reporters Without Borders said 97 journalists had been confirmed killed since 7 October last year.
Climate check: Court strikes down youth climate lawsuit on Biden administration request
A federal appeals court on Wednesday evening granted the Biden administration’s request to strike down a landmark federal youth climate case, outraging climate advocates. The lawsuit, Juliana v United States, was filed by 21 young people from Oregon who alleged the federal government’s role in fueling the climate crisis violates their constitutional rights. “This is a tragic and unjust ruling,” said Julia Olson, the attorney who brought the suit.
Last Thing: More than 1,000 sea lions assemble at San Francisco dockside
More than 1,000 sea lions have gathered at San Francisco’s Pier 39 this spring – the largest herd in at least 15 years – to feast on anchovies. Mounds of floppy, delightfully ungraceful marine mammals have seated themselves on rafts along the city’s pier, displaying themselves to the thousands of tourists who pass by the area each day. “These sea lions are probably thinking: ‘Oh, look at all those tourists!’” a UC Santa Cruz professor said.
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