The Full Belmonte, 4/30/2024
Students escalate standoff with Columbia University
“Early Tuesday morning, pro-Palestinian Columbia student protesters broke into Hamilton Hall and barricaded themselves with wooden chairs, metal tables, and trashcans. People linked arms to form a line protecting the entrance to the academic building while others picketed, leading chants in support of Gaza and divesting from Columbia.
The move comes after the school's administration began suspending students on Monday as demonstrators defied a deadline for clearing the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment" at the center of campus.
•Protesters say they plan to remain in Hamilton Hall until Columbia concedes to their three demands of divestment, financial transparency of investments, and amnesty for all students, staff and faculty disciplined.
•The scene at Columbia has spurred similar encampments and demonstrations across the country. From Ohio to Virginia Tech to USC, students sparred with school administrations on Monday.
•Zooming out: Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Hamas on Monday to swiftly accept Israel's latest and ‘extraordinarily generous’ proposal for a Gaza truce.” [USA Today]
Demonstrators from the pro-Palestine encampment on Columbia's Campus barricade themselves inside Hamilton Hall, where the office of the Dean is located on Tuesday, April 30, 2024 in New York City.
Alex Kent, Getty Images
Columbia University protesters defy deadline for suspension
Protesters wave Palestinian flags on the West Lawn of Columbia University today. Photo: Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images
“The deadline has passed for student protesters at Columbia University to vacate their encampment on campus or risk suspension.
The university gave the pro-Palestinian demonstrators until 2 p.m. ET this afternoon to clear out or they would ‘be suspended pending further investigation’ and barred from completing the spring 2024 semester, according to notices from administrators.
The ultimatum came after Columbia’s president Minouche Shafik said in a statement that talks with student organizers had broken down, and that the school would not agree to their demands to divest from Israel.
Shafik also said Columbia ‘will indeed’ hold a commencement, after USC decided to cancel its main graduation ceremony amid the ongoing campus unrest.
Hundreds of protesters were arrested at campuses over the weekend, as demonstrations continued to spread to nationwide.” [NBC News]
Four law enforcement officers killed while serving warrant
“Members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force were attempting to serve a warrant for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon at a suburban home in Charlotte, North Carolina, when the suspect opened fire at the officers with a "high-powered rifle," said local officials. Four officers were killed and four others injured.” Read more at USA Today
Trump trial
“The third week of former President Donald Trump's hush money criminal trial will kick off in New York today, with prosecutors expected to continue questioning Michael Cohen's former banker Gary Farro. Last week, Farro testified about working with Cohen and banking arrangements that were made to pay $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels, which is at the center of the case. Farro's testimony today is expected to get into the documents that detail the paper trail tied to the 34 counts of falsifying business records that Trump faces. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges and denies the alleged affair. Meanwhile, Judge Juan Merchan has yet to rule on whether he’ll hold Trump in contempt for violating a gag order that bars him from talking publicly about trial witnesses, the prosecutors, court staff and their families.” [CNN]
A court ruled that state health-care plans must pay for gender-affirming surgery.
“What to know: The federal appeals court ruled yesterday that restrictions in North Carolina and West Virginia were discriminatory based on sex and gender.
Zooming out: The decision is a major victory for transgender rights amid a nationwide wave of anti-trans activism and legislation, although many bills have stalled in state legislatures.
In related news: Repeatedly misgendering employees will constitute workplace harassment under updated federal workplace guidelines.”
Read this story at Washington Post
Netanyahu fears ICC arrest warrants
A view of destruction after Israeli attacks in Rafah, Gaza, today. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked President Biden over the weekend to help prevent the International Criminal Court from issuing arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials — including himself — Axios' Barak Ravid scoops.
The ICC has been investigating possible war crimes by both Israeli forces and Palestinian militants dating back to the 2014 Israel-Hamas war.
And Israeli officials have grown increasingly concerned over the last two weeks that the ICC is preparing to issue arrest warrants in connection with the war in Gaza.
Possible targets include Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi.
What they're saying: A spokesperson for the White House National Security Council declined to comment on the contents of Netanyahu's conversation with Biden but said, ‘The ICC has no jurisdiction in this situation and we do not support its investigation.’”
Go deeper. [Axios]
Hostage Diplomacy in Riyadh
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken attends the U.S.-Arab Quint meeting with representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and the Palestinian Authority in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on April 29.Evelyn Hockstein/AFP via Getty Images
“Senior U.S. and Arab officials convened on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Monday to discuss possible solutions to the Israel-Hamas war, including a cease-fire deal. ‘In this moment, the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and cease-fire is Hamas,’ U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. The White House has previously criticized the group’s reluctance to budge on hostage negotiations. Blinken is expected to visit Israel later this week.
The current truce proposal would have Hamas release about 33 captives being held in Gaza in exchange for numerous Palestinian prisoners and a roughly 40-day truce, in line with previous calls for a six-week cease-fire. The first round of hostages would consist of women, children, older adults, and those with serious medical conditions. This is ‘extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel,’ Blinken said on Monday. Earlier conversations centered on a deal for 40 hostages, but Hamas has since indicated that it may not have 40 living captives that fit these criteria.
The second phase of the proposed truce would include a ‘period of sustained calm’ in a bid to appease Hamas’s demands for a permanent cease-fire. Hamas negotiators met with Qatari and Egyptian mediators in Cairo on Monday to deliver a response to the phased proposal.
This is Blinken’s seventh trip to the Middle East since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The U.S., Egyptian, and Qatari delegations also discussed Israel’s impending offensive on the southern Gaza city of Rafah. The most ‘important thing now is to avoid an attack on Rafah,’ Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, who also attended the forum, said on Monday, saying such an assault would be ‘catastrophic.’ On Sunday alone, at least 22 people, including six women and five children, were killed in three separate Israeli strikes on Rafah, local authorities reported.
Some U.S. officials reportedly believe that Israel is not ready to launch a full-scale ground incursion on Rafah, thereby creating a critical window to secure a cease-fire. U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated the White House’s opposition to a Rafah offensive during a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday. But key far-right members in Netanyahu’s cabinet have urged him to ignore international calls for a cease-fire. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened on Sunday to undermine Netanyahu’s government if he accepts the truce proposal, and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir threatened on Saturday to withdraw from Netanyahu’s government if Israel does not invade Rafah.” [Foreign Policy]
The World This Week
“Tuesday, April 30: Georgian parliamentarians hold the second reading of a controversial ‘foreign agents’ bill.
The International Court of Justice begins a two-day hearing into Mexico’s case against Ecuador regarding an embassy raid. The court also rules on Nicaragua’s request for provisional measures against Germany for supplying Israel with weapons.
Thursday, May 2: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visits Lebanon.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development begins its two-day annual ministers’ meeting in Paris.
England and Wales hold local and mayoral elections.
Saturday, May 4: Leaders from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation gather in Gambia for a two-day summit.
Haiti’s state of emergency is set to expire.
Sunday, May 5: Panama holds general elections.
Monday, May 6: Chad holds its presidential election.” [Foreign Policy]
“Yousaf’s bad gamble. Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf resigned on Monday ahead of two scheduled votes of no confidence this week that he was expected to lose. Yousaf served for barely a year as Scotland’s first non-white, and Muslim, leader.
Earlier this month, Yousaf’s Scottish National Party (SNP) backtracked on a climate pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by 2030, enraging the Scottish Greens. The Greens planned to discuss whether to stay in the SNP’s governing coalition, but in a preemptive move last week, Yousaf ended their power-sharing agreement. (This agreement had allowed the SNP to retain power in 2021 after it failed to win an outright majority.) In response, the Greens vowed to back a no-confidence vote against Yousaf. Parliament now has 28 days to find a successor via a majority vote or otherwise call an election.
Also on Monday, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced that he will stay in office after declaring last week that he would retreat from public duties to help decide whether he should remain in power. ‘I have decided to go on, if possible even stronger as prime minister,’ Sánchez said. ‘This is not business as usual. Things are going to be different.’ His announcement last week came on the heels of a corruption investigation into his wife, which Sánchez has accused far-right opponents of orchestrating.” [Foreign Policy]
“Togo votes. Togo held parliamentary elections on Monday that could extend President Faure Gnassingbé’s 19-year hold on power. In April, lawmakers approved a constitutional amendment that alters the executive office. Under that ruling, parliament, rather than the Togolese directly, would select a one-term ceremonial president. To oversee policy, the largest party’s leader would serve in a new, all-powerful position described as the president of the council of ministers. This new position would not have term limits. The referendum is close to being enacted.
If the ruling Union for the Republic party secures a majority in Monday’s vote, which is considered likely, then experts believe that it will appoint Gnassingbé to serve as the new council of ministers’ president—allowing Gnassingbé to potentially extend his rule for life. Togo’s second-largest party, the Union of Forces of Change, is also allied with the current president.
Analysts fear that splintered factions within the opposition have weakened its ability to counter Gnassingbé despite its members successfully delaying the election twice. Authorities cracked down on protests ahead of the vote, and the nation’s electoral commission barred the Catholic Church from deploying observers. Officials closed Togo’s borders on Monday for security reasons and dispatched around 12,000 officers.” [Foreign Policy]
“Disaster hits Kenya. Flooding killed at least 71 people near Mai Mahiu, Kenya, and injured more than 110 others, authorities confirmed on Monday. Police initially blamed a burst dam; however, the Ministry of Water later said a river tunnel blocked by debris caused the flash floods. Search and rescue efforts are ongoing, Interior Minister Kithure Kindiki said.
Heavy rains in Kenya have killed more than 140 people and displaced over 185,000 others in recent weeks, with close to 10,000 people forced to flee Nairobi alone. Other East African countries, including Tanzania and Burundi, have faced similar downpours and landslides. Senior Kenyan officials fear that the death toll could increase in the coming days.” [Foreign Policy]
“The rise of artificially-intelligent machines hit a speed bump this week when civilian and military officials warned about the dangers posed by killer robots devoid of human control.
Amid the AI buzz and big-power conflicts focusing investor attention on defense technologies, the meeting in Vienna was convened to give voice to those who are alarmed by the prospect of applying Silicon Valley-style disruption to industrial warfare.
Autonomous-weapons systems are already proliferating on the battlefields of Ukraine and Gaza. Using a combination of big data and drones, they help military planners to select targets. Some loitering munitions can be programmed to strike without a human pulling the trigger.
That trend toward outsourcing life-and-death decisions to machines has opened a Pandora’s Box of ethical, legal and technological questions.
Representatives of some 140 countries convened at the Humanity at the Crossroads conference to consider the rules needed to protect humanity from the new generation of AI-enabled robots.
Some want to begin drafting a new treaty, modeled along the lines of others prohibiting chemical or nuclear weapons; others suggested trade controls and humanitarian laws already on the books are sufficient. Almost everybody acknowledged the need for human accountability.
Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg referenced J. Robert Oppenheimer, the American physicist who helped develop the atomic bomb in 1945, and said that as he witnessed the first nuclear test he thought of a piece of Hindu scripture: ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’
With autonomous weapons systems already being deployed, military strategist Frank Sauer said the time for testing is over; we are now living in a “Hiroshima moment.”
A favorite theme in science fiction films such as Terminator is a world of humans fighting killer robots. Now it’s a battlefield reality.” — Jonathan Tirone [Bloomberg]
Ukrainian soldiers defending against drone attacks on Kyiv in December. Photographer: Pete Kiehart/Redux
“The US drive to ban TikTok ups the ante with Beijing while taking a page out of China’s playbook, viewing the potential misuse of data as a national-security threat, in a move that is reshaping trade relations between the world’s biggest economies. Although Beijing has long adopted far more restrictions on US companies, authorities have embraced firms, such as Elon Musk’s Tesla, that play by its rules and agree to store data locally.” [Bloomberg]
“The European Union has poured about €515 billion ($548 billion) into eastern Europe’s eight former communist nations, as well as Malta and Cyprus, since they became members on May 1, 2004, according to Bloomberg calculations. Yet, taken together, more people in those countries back political groups opposed to the EU’s stance on everything from migration and LGBTQ rights to policies aimed at tackling climate change than ever before.” [Bloomberg]
“A party backed by former South African President Jacob Zuma plans to raise additional state revenue by increasing capital gains and inheritance taxes if it wins office in May 29 elections.” [Bloomberg]
Actor Gérard Depardieu will be tried for alleged sexual assaults on a film set, prosecutors say
“French actor Gérard Depardieu will face a criminal trial in October over the alleged sexual assaults in 2021 of two women on the set of a film, prosecutors announced Monday.” Read More at AP News
Veterinary care, animal hospitals are more scarce
“More people own pets than ever before, fueled in part by the forced isolation of the pandemic and in part by the rise of remote and hybrid work. But the number of veterinarians is holding steady ‒ meaning companion care vets are seeing more animals and are busier than ever. Now, advocates are concerned there soon won't be enough veterinary doctors to give treat our fur babies, estimating shortages of as many as 24,000 companion animal veterinarians by 2030.” Read more at USA Today
Giant pandas returning to the San Diego Zoo
Yun Chuan, a giant panda headed to the San Diego Zoo this summer. Photo: Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo via AP
“Five years after saying goodbye to its pandas, the San Diego Zoo is preparing to welcome a pair of the beloved animals back.
The San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance said its caretakers recently visited China to meet two giant pandas, Yun Chuan and Xin Bao, who will soon make the journey to Southern California.
Yun Chuan, a ‘mild-mannered’ male who’s nearly 5 years old, has ‘deep connections’ to the San Diego Zoo, the wildlife alliance said. His mother, Zhen Zhen, was born there in 2007.
Xin Bao is a nearly 4-year-old female described as ‘a gentle and witty introvert with a sweet round face and big ears.’
The exact date for the bears’ trip to the U.S. isn’t known, but the zoo is ‘looking forward to a prospective arrival this summer.’” [NBC News]
Xin Bao is headed to the San Diego Zoo this summer. Photo: Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo via AP