About 300 people have been arrested during police crackdowns on protests at US universities.
In the early hours of Wednesday, police were called into Columbia University in New York, and also broke up protests at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as demos over the Israel-Hamas war reached boiling point.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said about 300 people were arrested at Columbia and nearby City College.
Columbia’s Hamilton Hall was occupied by protesters and Mayor Adams said this particular group was “led by individuals who were not affiliated with the university”.
“There is a movement to radicalize young people,” he said. “And I’m not going to wait until it is done to acknowledge the existence of it.”
Image: Police entered Columbia’s Hamilton Hall. Pic: Reuters
Image: Pic: Reuters
Image: Arrested protesters from Columbia were put on a bus. Pic: Reuters
On the west coast, all classes at UCLA were cancelled on Wednesday due to “distress” caused by the overnight violence, according to a notice on its website.
Students and staff have been advised to avoid Royce Quad, the area where clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters resulted in police wielding pepper spray being drafted in.
Pro-Palestinian protesters had erected barricades and plywood for protection, which counter-protesters tried to pull down.
The protesters shoved and kicked one another, sometimes beating people with sticks or throwing chairs.
Image: Protesters were held back by officers near the encampment at UCLA in Los Angeles. Pic: Reuters
Image: Counter-protesters tried to remove barricades at UCLA. Pic: Reuters
Image: Pic: Reuters
Image: Pic: Reuters
Sky News US correspondent Martha Kelner, reporting from UCLA, said: “Just look at this scene on a US university campus – California highway patrol wearing riot shields, riot masks, gas masks underneath their helmets.”
She said they were wearing gas masks “because throughout the course of the evening from inside this encampment, or at least the vicinity, a substance was released, I think, probably, pepper spray”.
“But the police here are not taking any chances, wearing gas masks – preparing, I guess, potentially to access this encampment.”
She said a protester appeared to pray at the feet of officers, adding: “She’s a pro-Palestinian protester. She’s refusing to move for the California Highway Patrol.
“She appears to be kneeling down, perhaps in prayer, at the feet of the patrol.
“It is a remarkable sight to see. These are scarcely fathomable scenes on a US university campus.”
By 5am local time, Kelner said the “volatile” situation at the campus had calmed down.
Image: A protester appeared to pray in front of a line of officers at UCLA
Image: Officers were forced to separate demonstrators at UCLA. Pic: Reuters
‘This open revolt expresses students’ despair’
Columbia University has been here before – 56 years ago, to the day.
On 30 April 1968, Columbia students took over Hamilton Hall. Fast forward to 30 April 2024, and they did it again.
Then it was a protest against the Vietnam War, now it’s another world conflict drawing American angst.
Then it was a protest less complicated, now not so much.
New York Mayor Eric Adams pinned Tuesday’s escalation on “external actors”.
Whoever crafted the choreography on the night, this was protest with student activism at its heart.
Universities everywhere drive their students beyond a passive acceptance of the world around them
An educational forum that fosters independent thought and ideas is one that encourages challenge – all of it rooted in unrestricted freedom of expression. No limits.
Except that there are – this episode tells us as much and it tests where those limits lie.
In this real-time exam, the first question is when does freedom of expression extend into hate?
Question two is what controls do you place on expression to prevent it spilling over into hate, when control is the antithesis of freedom.
A question three might be how do you articulate hate without hate speech – one for another day, perhaps, for academic authorities dealing with the immediate priorities of civil unrest.
The White House has weighed in, condemning antisemitism, violent rhetoric and the seizing of buildings.
The scenes here and across America’s university estate compound the difficulties for President Biden.
Domestically, he’s been criticised and lost votes for his handling of the Israel-Hamas war, for lacking a steady hand in controlling conflict.
Open revolt across university campuses further exposes a country’s despair at US interaction with events in Middle East – and so further questions his leadership.
‘Occupied, vandalised, and blockaded’
On the other side of the country, police in riot gear raided Columbia University and arrested pro-Palestinian protesters occupying one of its buildings.
About 30 to 40 people were removed from the Manhattan university’s Hamilton Hall, according to police.
Those behind the protest said they had renamed the building “Hind’s Hall” in honour of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old girl killed in a strike on Gaza in February.
The raid came hours after Mayor Adams said the demonstration at the Ivy League school “must end now”.
Image: Protesters hang banners on the exterior of Hamilton Hall building. Pic: Reuters
University bosses said they called in police after protesters “chose to escalate the situation through their actions”.
“After the university learned overnight that Hamilton Hall had been occupied, vandalised, and blockaded, we were left with no choice,” a spokesman said.
“The decision to reach out to the NYPD was in response to the actions of the protesters, not the cause they are championing.
“We have made it clear that the life of campus cannot be endlessly interrupted by protesters who violate the rules and the law.”
Image: Protesters unfurled a flag with the words ‘Hind’s Hall’. Pic: Reuters
Demonstrators said they had planned to remain at the hall until the university conceded to the Columbia University Apartheid Divest’s (CUAD) three demands: divestment, financial transparency and amnesty.
“Columbia will be proud of these students in five years,” said Sweda Polat, one of the student negotiators for CUAD.
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A large group of officers dressed in riot gear entered the campus late on Tuesday evening.
Officers were also seen entering the window of a building via a police-branded ladder vehicle nicknamed “the bear”.
Image: Protesters blocked the entrance of Hamilton Hall at Columbia University. Pic: AP
Image: Pic: AP
Protests have also spread to other campuses around the country.
Dozens were arrested on Monday at universities in Texas, Utah, Virginia, and New Jersey.
The president of the University of Southern California, also based in Los Angeles, issued a statement on Tuesday after a swastika was drawn on campus.
“I condemn any antisemitic symbols or any form of hate speech against anyone,” Carol Folt said.
“Clearly it was drawn there just to incite even more anger at a time that is so painful for our community.
“We’re going to work to get to the bottom of this immediately, and it has just been removed.”
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby has said President Biden believes students occupying buildings was “absolutely the wrong approach” and “not an example of peaceful protest”.
Donald Trump has announced a 10% trade tariff on all imports from the UK – as he unleashed sweeping tariffs across the globe.
Speaking at a White House event entitled “Make America Wealthy Again”, the president held up a chart detailing the worst offenders – which also showed the new tariffs the US would be imposing.
“This is Liberation Day,” he told a cheering audience of supporters, while hitting out at foreign “cheaters”.
He claimed “trillions” of dollars from the “reciprocal” levies he was imposing on others’ trade barriers would provide relief for the US taxpayer and restore US jobs and factories.
Mr Trump said the US has been “looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.
Image: Pic: AP
His first tariff announcement was a 25% duty on all car imports from midnight – 5am on Thursday, UK time.
Mr Trump confirmed the European Union would face a 20% reciprocal tariff on all other imports. China’s rate was set at 34%.
The UK’s rate of 10% was perhaps a shot across the bows over the country’s 20% VAT rate, though the president’s board suggested a 10% tariff imbalance between the two nations.
It was also confirmed that further US tariffs were planned on some individual sectors including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical mineral imports.
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6:39
Trump’s tariffs explained
The ramping up of duties promises to be painful for the global economy. Tariffs on steel and aluminium are already in effect.
The UK government signalled there would be no immediate retaliation.
Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We will always act in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers. That’s why, throughout the last few weeks, the government has been fully focused on negotiating an economic deal with the United States that strengthens our existing fair and balanced trading relationship.
“The US is our closest ally, so our approach is to remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced today.
“We have a range of tools at our disposal and we will not hesitate to act. We will continue to engage with UK businesses including on their assessment of the impact of any further steps we take.
“Nobody wants a trade war and our intention remains to secure a deal. But nothing is off the table and the government will do everything necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.”
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0:43
Who showed up for Trump’s tariff address?
The EU has pledged to retaliate, which is a problem for Northern Ireland.
Should that scenario play out, the region faces the prospect of rising prices because all its imports are tied to EU rules under post-Brexit trading arrangements.
It means US goods shipped to Northern Ireland would be subject to the EU’s reprisals.
The impact of a trade war would be expected to be widely negative, with tit-for-tat tariffs risking job losses, a ramping up of prices and cooling of global trade.
Research for the Institute for Public Policy Research has suggested more than 25,000 direct jobs in the UK car manufacturing industry alone could be at risk from the tariffs on car exports to the US.
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) had said the tariff costs could not be absorbed by manufacturers and may lead to a review of output.
The tariffs now on UK exports pose a big risk to growth and the so-called headroom Chancellor Rachel Reeves was forced to restore to the public finances at the spring statement, risking further spending cuts or tax rises ahead to meet her fiscal rules.
A member of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), David Miles, told MPs on Tuesday that US tariffs at 20% or 25% maintained on the UK for five years would “knock out all the headroom the government currently has”.
But he added that a “very limited tariff war” that the UK stays out of could be “mildly positive”.
He said: “There’s a bit of trade that will get diverted to the UK, and some of the exports from China, for example, that would have gone to the US, they’ll be looking for a home for them in the rest of the world.
“And stuff would be available in the UK a bit cheaper than otherwise would have been. So there is one, not central scenario at all, which is very, very mildly potentially positive to the UK. All the other ones which involve the UK facing tariffs are negative, and they’re negative to very different extents.”
Actors, directors and celebrity friends have paid tribute to Val Kilmer, after he died aged 65.
The California-born star of Top Gun, Batman and Heat died of pneumonia on Tuesday night in Los Angeles, his daughter Mercedes told the Associated Press.
She said Kilmer was diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014 but later recovered.
Tributes flooded in after reports broke of the actor’s death, with No Country For Old Men star Josh Brolin among the first to share their memories.
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2:49
Watch: Val Kilmer in his most iconic roles
He wrote on Instagram: “See ya, pal. I’m going to miss you. You were a smart, challenging, brave, uber-creative firecracker. There’s not a lot left of those.
“I hope to see you up there in the heavens when I eventually get there. Until then, amazing memories, lovely thoughts.”
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Kyle Maclachlan, who co-starred with Kilmer in the 1991 biopic The Doors, wrote on social media: “You’ll always be my Jim. See you on the other side my friend.”
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Michael Mann, who directed Kilmer in 1995’s Heat, also paid tribute in a statement, saying: “I always marvelled at the range, the brilliant variability within the powerful current of Val’s possessing and expressing character.
“After so many years of Val battling disease and maintaining his spirit, this is tremendously sad news.”
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Heat co-star Danny Trejo also called Kilmer “a great actor, a wonderful person, and a dear friend of mine” on Instagram.
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Cher, who once dated the actor, said on X that “U Were Funny, crazy, pain in the ass, GREAT FRIEND… BRILLIANT as Mark Twain, BRAVE here during ur sickness”.
Lifelong friend and director of Twixt, Francis Ford Coppola said: “Val Kilmer was the most talented actor when in his High School, and that talent only grew greater throughout his life.
“He was a wonderful person to work with and a joy to know – I will always remember him.”
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The Top Gun account on X also said it was remembering Kilmer, who starred as Iceman in both the 1986 original and 2022 sequel, and “whose indelible cinematic mark spanned genres and generations”.
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World leaders have begun reacting after Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs across the world.
Mr Tump announced a 10% trade tariff on all imports from the UK.
He said he would impose a 10% baseline tariff on all imports to the US and higher duties on some of the country’s biggest trading partners.
Speaking at a White House event entitled ‘Make America Wealthy Again’, the president held up a chart detailing the worst offenders, hitting at foreign “cheaters”.
These are some of the world leaders’ reactions.
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6:39
Trump’s tariffs explained
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin has said there is “no justification” for US tariffs.
“I deeply regret the US decision to impose 20% tariffs on imports from across the European Union,” the taoiseach added.
“We see no justification for this. More than €4.2bn worth of goods and services are traded between the EU and the US daily.
“Disrupting this deeply integrated relationship benefits no one. Tariffs drive inflation, hurt people on both sides of the Atlantic, and put jobs at risk.”
Image: Donald Trump holding the signed executive order. Pic: Reuters
Manfred Weber, the president of the largest party in the European Parliament, the EPP, said: “To our American friends, today isn’t liberation day – it’s resentment day. Donald Trump’s tariffs don’t defend fair trade; they attack it out of fear and hurt both sides of the Atlantic.
“Europe stands united, ready to defend its interests, and open to fair, firm talks.”
What to expect from the EU
There will be a response from the European Union – the question is how soon, and how tough.
A symbolic reprisal is one choice – putting tariffs on classic American products such as Harley-Davidson motorbikes or bottles of bourbon.
That won’t damage the European economy, but it won’t make much of a difference, either.
There’s a reluctance to slap wide-ranging, indiscriminate tariffs simply because that would increase costs for many European manufacturers.
So something more targeted may look appealing and that could mean going after the tech giants – Facebook, Apple, Google, Amazon, for example.
Companies who have already had rows with EU regulators and are seen as being, to varying extents, close to the White House.
If Europe could specifically target Tesla, it probably would.
There are also those suggesting the EU should hold fire for the moment, confident that Trump’s tariffs will backfire and keen that the effects are visible.
One fear is that some of the cheap goods that were destined for US markets will now be diverted to Europe, flooding its market.
Another fear is how the Windsor Framework will be affected, now that there are different US tariffs on either side of the Irish border.
And finally there is that insult from the President, who called the European Union “pathetic”. A few minutes later, a senior EU diplomat sent me a message saying “the US is Brexiting the world, but you can’t stop the march of folly”.
Transatlantic relations are getting even icier.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said his country would fight tariffs with countermeasures.
“It’s essential to act with purpose and with force, and that’s what we will do,” he told reporters ahead of a cabinet meeting to discuss Canada’s response.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “It is the American people who will pay the biggest price for these unjustified tariffs.
“This is why our government will not be seeking to impose reciprocal tariffs. We will not join a race to the bottom that leads to higher prices and slower growth.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, seen as close ally of the US president, called the tariffs “wrong” and said they would not benefit the United States.
“We will do everything we can to work towards an agreement with the United States, with the goal of avoiding a trade war that would inevitably weaken the West in favour of other global players,” she said.
The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez vowed to protect the country’s companies and workers and to “continue to be committed to an open world.”
His Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, said: “We don’t want growing trade barriers.
“We don’t want a trade war.
“We want to find our way back to a path of trade and cooperation together with the US, so that people in our countries can enjoy a better life.”