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Columbia University set a midnight deadline late on Tuesday for an encampment of student protesters to disband, after which New York City police could be sent in to clear the grounds and make arrests. After the deadline passed there was confusion inside the campus about whether it had been extended or whether the encampment would be cleared. In an email to the university two hours before midnight, Columbia’s president, Nemat Shafik, said university administrators were in talks with student organizers in an attempt to reach an agreement before the deadline, after which the school would consider “alternative options” for clearing the lawn. That touched off criticism from all sides about her handling of the campus protests. The encampment re-emerged larger than the initial one after it was cleared.

Persons: Nemat Shafik, Shafik Organizations: Columbia University, New Locations: New York City, Gaza

Five people were killed and several others injured in a stabbing rampage Saturday afternoon at a crowded major mall in Sydney, Australia, prompting the police to declare a critical incident and evacuate the area. The attacker was shot and killed by a lone police officer who was directed into the mall by people fleeing the scene, police said. The officer then opened fire, saving lives, Anthony Cooke, police assistant commissioner for the New South Wales Police, said at a news briefing. The assailant stabbed about nine people as he moved through the mall Saturday afternoon, Assistant Commissioner Cooke said. “There’s nothing we’re aware at the scene that would indicate any motive or ideology,” Assistant Commissioner Cooke said in the briefing, noting the investigation was in its early stages.

Persons: Anthony Cooke, Cooke, “, ” Organizations: New South Wales Police Locations: Sydney, Australia

☆ Baltimore Shipping Channel Will Partially Reopen by End of April, Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-05 | by ( Victoria Kim | More About Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A shipping channel in the Baltimore harbor that has remained blocked since last week’s collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge will be partially reopened by the end of April, with full traffic expected to be restored by late May, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday. The announcement comes on the eve of President Biden’s scheduled visit to the site of the wreckage on Friday. Officials have warned that clearing the warped, jagged debris from the channel will be a complex and potentially dangerous underwater salvage operation, as they scramble to reopen the Port of Baltimore, a key automobile hub that employs 8,000 people. A 280-foot-wide, 35-foot-deep channel leading to the port is expected to be opened first, allowing for container ships and vessels transporting automobiles, the Army corps, which maintains the shipping channel to ensure that it is navigable, said in a statement. The channel will allow one-way traffic of vessels at a time to and from the port, according to the statement.

Persons: Francis Scott Key, Biden’s Organizations: U.S . Army Corps of Engineers, Army Locations: Baltimore, Port of Baltimore

☆ Hualien County Is a Quiet, Scenic Tourist Destination
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Victoria Kim | More About Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Hualien County on Taiwan’s east coast is a scenic, sleepy tourist area tucked away from the island’s urban centers, with a famous gorge and aquamarine waters. The county has a population of about 300,000, according to the 2020 census, about a third of whom live in the coastal city of Hualien, the county seat. Hualien County is home to Taroko National Park, one of Taiwan’s most popular scenic areas. Visitors come to explore the Taroko Gorge, a striated marble canyon carved by the Liwu River, which cuts through mountains that rise steeply from the coast. The city of Hualien is a popular destination as a gateway to the national park.

Organizations: Central News Agency, Earthquakes Locations: Hualien County, Taiwan’s, Hualien, Taiwan, Taipei, Hualien .

The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired more than 100 rockets into northern Israel on Tuesday morning, according to Israel’s military. Israel’s military said its fighter jets had retaliated by striking a number of sites linked to Hezbollah in Lebanon. The group is a key ally of Hamas, whose Oct. 7 attacks on Israel led to the war in Gaza. Since Israel’s bombardment of Gaza began, Hezbollah has been firing rockets into northern Israel on a near-daily basis. The Israeli military regularly responds with strikes against Hezbollah-linked targets inside Lebanon.

Persons: Hassan Nasrallah, Khalil al, Euan Ward, Adam Sella Organizations: Hamas’s Locations: Lebanese, Israel, Gaza, Lebanon, Lebanon’s Bekaa, Cairo, United States, Egypt, Qatar, Iran

☆ Death Toll in Gaza Passes 30,000
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Victoria Kim | More About Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The death toll in Gaza passed a somber milestone on Thursday as the local health ministry reported that more than 30,000 people had been killed in the war since Oct. 7. Still, the reported figure is staggering — roughly one person killed for every 73 Palestinians in Gaza, whose population is about 2.2 million. The figures provided by the Gazan health ministry do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. In addition to bearing the risk of being killed in strikes or fighting, Palestinians are living with the growing specter of famine and disease. The health ministry has said infants have died from dehydration and malnutrition in recent days.

Persons: Israel, “, ”, Biden, CBS’s, Adhanom Ghebreyesus Organizations: Hamas, World Health Organization Locations: Gaza, Israel, ” Israel, U.S, Jerusalem

☆ Biden Calls Israel’s Response in Gaza ‘Over the Top’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Victoria Kim | More About Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

President Biden criticized Israel’s response in the Gaza Strip as “over the top” on Thursday, while defending U.S. efforts to broker a cease-fire and increase the amount of humanitarian aid reaching the territory. In remarks that were overshadowed by questions over his memory and his mistakenly referring to the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, instead as the president of Mexico, Mr. Biden appeared to describe Israel’s war in Gaza as disproportionate. More than 27,000 people have been killed in Gaza four months of war, and most people are facing starvation and disease in addition to the continual airstrikes. The president has previously been critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza, saying in December that the country was engaged in “indiscriminate bombing” as the United States and other allies were pushing for more targeted approaches to limit civilian deaths. He said at the time that Israel’s conduct in the war was eroding international support for its position in the conflict.

Persons: Biden, Abdel Fattah el, ”, it’s, Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Antony J, Blinken Organizations: White Locations: Gaza, Egypt, Mexico, Rafah, United States, Washington, Israel

The subway rumbled toward its final stop north of Seoul. Along the way, hordes disembarked, with the determined, brisk gait of those with somewhere to be. Far from the city center, the thicket of high-rise buildings grew sparser, and the afternoon sun crept deeper into the train cars, riding on an elevated track at that point. By the end of the line, many who remained on board were noticeably older — nodding off, gazing out the window, stretching their shoulders. He ambled about a hundred yards beyond the station, rested briefly in the shade — and then got right back on the train heading south.

Persons: Lee Jin, Lee Organizations: Adidas Locations: Seoul

The police in South Korea on Wednesday accused 17 American soldiers and five other people of distributing or using synthetic marijuana that had been brought into the country through the U.S. military’s postal service. A Philippine national and a South Korean national were under arrest, said the police in the city of Pyeongtaek. Synthetic marijuana is an illegal substance in South Korea. Cha Min-seok, a senior detective, said the drug investigation was one of the largest in recent years involving American soldiers. In South Korea, after the police finish a criminal investigation, prosecutors review it, sometimes conducting their own inquiry, before deciding whether to bring indictments.

Persons: Cha, Detective Cha Organizations: Philippine, South Locations: South Korea, South Korean, Pyeongtaek, U.S

Elon Musk foiled an attack on Russia’s Black Sea fleet last year by refusing to let Ukraine use his satellite network to guide its drones, Mr. Musk has acknowledged, provoking a furious response from a top official in Kyiv and renewing questions about the global power wielded by a multibillionaire businessman. But Mr. Musk would not allow the network to be used for an attack last September with maritime drones on the Russian naval base at Sevastopol in Crimea, the Ukrainian territory that Russia illegally seized in 2014 and then annexed. At the time of the attempted attack, Mr. Musk spoke with the Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly I. Antonov, who had told him an attack on Crimea “could lead to a nuclear response,” according to a biography of Mr. Musk by the historian and journalist Walter Isaacson. The account was included in an excerpt from the book published on Thursday by The Washington Post. Mr. Musk confirmed elements of the story, writing on his social network X, formerly Twitter, “If I had agreed to their request, then SpaceX would be explicitly complicit in a major act of war and conflict escalation.”

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, Anatoly I, Antonov, Walter Isaacson Organizations: Mr, SpaceX, Russian, The New York Times, The Washington Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukrainian, Russian, United States

☆ Elon Musk Acknowledges Withholding Satellite Service to Thwart Ukrainian Attack
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Victoria Kim | More About Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Elon Musk has acknowledged that he denied satellite internet service in order to prevent a Ukrainian drone attack on a Russian naval fleet last year, prompting an angry response from a Ukrainian official. The Starlink satellite internet service, which is operated by Mr. Musk’s rocket company SpaceX, has been a digital lifeline in Ukraine since the early days of the war for both civilians and soldiers in areas where digital infrastructure has been wiped out. On Thursday, CNN reported that an excerpt from Walter Isaacson’s upcoming biography, “Elon Musk” said the billionaire had ordered the deactivation of Starlink satellite service near the coast of Crimea last September to thwart the Ukrainian attack. The excerpt said that Mr. Musk had conversations with a Russian official that led him to worry that an attack on Crimea could spiral into a nuclear conflict. That was in effect an acknowledgment that he had made the decision to prevent a Ukrainian attack.

Persons: Elon Musk, Walter Isaacson’s, “ Elon Musk ”, Musk Organizations: Mr, SpaceX, CNN Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Ukraine, Crimea, Sevastopol, Crimean

Around the same time, Russia unleashed an aerial assault on at least three regions of Ukraine, officials in Ukraine said, including one of the most significant barrages the Kyiv region has experienced in months. Ukraine’s air force said it had shot down 43 of 44 incoming missiles and drones. Explosions and the roar of air-defense missiles shook Kyiv, the capital, around 5 a.m. Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv regional military administration, said that two people in the city had been killed by falling debris. The assault in Russia came after months of Moscow’s deadly missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities, infrastructure and military targets. While Ukrainian officials did not claim responsibility for the overnight strikes on Russian soil, in keeping with standard practice, they have made it increasingly clear that they view taking the war to ordinary Russians as a legitimate tactic against Moscow’s invasion.

Persons: Serhiy Popko Organizations: NATO, Kyiv Locations: Russia, Estonia, Ukraine

A Russian missile slammed into the center of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine on Saturday, killing at least five people and injuring dozens more, including 11 children, Ukrainian officials said. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry released graphic images of the aftermath of the strike, which it said took place at 1 p.m., just as people were leaving church. They were celebrating a holy day when the explosion tore through the main square. “A Russian missile hit the heart of Chernihiv,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement. Russia turned an ordinary Saturday into a day of pain and loss.”Mr. Zelensky said the attack should again remind the world that it needs to stand united against “Russian terror,” adding, “For life to win, Russia must lose this war.”

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr, Zelensky, ” Organizations: Ukrainian Interior Ministry Locations: Russian, Chernihiv, Ukraine, Russia

☆ Maui’s Emergency Management Chief Resigns After Questions About Fire Response
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Victoria Kim | More About Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The head of Maui’s emergency management agency resigned Thursday, county officials said, after facing mounting questions about his agency’s decision not to sound the sirens on the island as last week’s deadly wildfires bore down on the historic town of Lahaina. The chief, Herman Andaya, submitted his resignation citing health reasons, county officials said, “effective immediately.” A day earlier at a news conference, Mr. Andaya defended the decision not to activate the sirens, saying the outdoor alarms are used primarily for tsunamis and would not have helped because people are trained to seek higher ground when they hear the siren. Asked whether he regretted the decision a week after the disaster, Mr. Andaya responded: “I do not.”None of the 80 warning sirens placed around Maui were activated in last week’s fires, leading residents to question why they weren’t sounded as a fast-moving blaze overtook West Maui and killed more than 100 people. Many survivors said they received little or no warning, with downed power lines and cell towers preventing some electronic alerts from reaching residents.

Persons: Herman Andaya, “, Andaya Locations: Lahaina, Maui, West Maui

A Ukrainian naval drone hit a Russian oil tanker early Saturday off the occupied Crimean Peninsula, the second Ukrainian sea drone attack to strike Russian ships in the Black Sea in two days, Ukrainian and Russian officials said. The engine room of the tanker was damaged, but the ship remained afloat, there was no oil spillage and no crew members were injured, Russia’s Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport said on its Telegram channel. Vasyl Malyuk, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, said Ukraine was responsible for the attack and that Kyiv’s forces would continue to attack any ship assisting in the Russian war effort. The tanker was near the Kerch Strait Bridge, a vital connection for Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which has been under Russian occupation since 2014. Mr. Malyuk said Ukraine would continue attacking the bridge until Russian forces completely withdraw from Ukrainian lands.

Persons: Vasyl Malyuk, Malyuk Organizations: Russia’s Federal Agency for, Inland Water Transport, Security Service Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Crimean, Russia’s Federal Agency for Sea, Ukraine, Kerch, Russia

Russian forces struck a grain terminal in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday, extending a bombardment of the country’s infrastructure that has raised alarm about Kyiv’s ability to ship grain to the world. Ukraine continues to ask its Western allies to speed up the delivery of more air defense systems and warn that continued Russian bombardment could leave it without the necessary infrastructure to ship grain even if Black Sea shipping lanes open up. Moscow has struck Ukrainian ports near daily since pulling out of a deal last week that allowed Ukraine to ship its grain despite the war. “In two or three months, we may not have a single port left,” Natalia Humeniuk, the spokeswoman for the Ukrainian military southern command, told French journalists this past week. They want to have a monopoly on grain,” she said.

Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, “, ” Natalia Humeniuk Locations: Ukrainian, Kherson, Ukraine, Moscow

Russia barraged Ukrainian ports for the fourth night in a row on Friday, striking granaries in Odesa and mounting a show of naval force on the Black Sea in a deepening showdown that imperils a vital part of the global food supply. The Kremlin this week withdrew from a year-old agreement that allows ships carrying food from Ukrainian ports to bypass a Russian blockade, and began a concentrated bombardment of facilities used to ship grain and cooking oil across the Black Sea. The Russian military warned that any vessels attempting to reach Ukraine would be treated as hostile, and their nations “will be considered to be involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kyiv regime.”On Friday, Russia conducted naval exercises in the northwestern Black Sea — the part near the coastline Ukraine still holds — backing up the suggestion that it could seize or destroy cargo ships of noncombatant nations. Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that a missile boat fired anti-ship cruise missiles and destroyed a “mock target” vessel, while ships and planes of the Black Sea Fleet “practiced isolating an area temporarily closed to navigation” and conducted a drill “to apprehend a mock intruder ship.”Missile strikes around dawn destroyed 100 tons of peas and 20 tons of barley at the port in Odesa, according to Oleg Kiper, the head of the regional military administration. That came two days after an attack on a port just outside Odesa destroyed 60,000 tons of grain to be loaded onto ships, the government said — enough to feed more than 270,000 people for a year, according to the World Food Program.

Persons: ”, Oleg Kiper Organizations: Russia’s Defense Ministry, Black, ”, World Food Locations: Russia, Odesa, Russian, Ukraine, Kyiv, Black

☆ U.S. Expected to Provide Cluster Munitions to Ukraine, Official Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Victoria Kim | More About Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The United States is expected to announce that it will provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, a senior Biden administration official said. Kyiv has been pushing for the controversial and widely banned type of weapon but Washington has resisted because of its potential to cause indiscriminate harm to civilians. Ukraine has said the weapons would help in its counteroffensive against Russian troops by allowing its forces to effectively target entrenched Russian positions and to overcome its disadvantage in manpower and artillery. After months of demurring, citing concerns about the weapons’ use and saying they were not necessary, U.S. officials have recently signaled a shift. Laura Cooper, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia, told U.S. lawmakers late last month that the Pentagon had determined that cluster munitions would be useful for Ukraine, “especially against dug-in Russian positions on the battlefield.”The expected U.S. decision was first reported by National Public Radio and confirmed on Wednesday night by the administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to disclose internal policy discussions.

Persons: Laura Cooper Organizations: Biden, Washington, U.S, Pentagon, National Public Radio Locations: States, Ukraine, Kyiv, Russia, Eurasia

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