5 h. ago Harvard researcher held in Louisiana awaits judge's decision on deportation to Russia

Russian-born scientist Kseniia Petrova has been detained by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement since February when she failed to declare frog embryo samples at Boston's Logan Airport

Events

3 d. ago ‘National disgrace’: US lawmakers decry student detentions on visit to Ice jails

Delegation visits jails where Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk are being held and denounce ‘authoritarian’ TrumpCongressional lawmakers denounced the treatment of Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk, the students being detained by US immigration authorities for their pro-Palestinian activism, as a “national disgrace” during a visit to the two facilities in Louisiana where each are being held.“We stand firm with them in support of free speech,” the Louisiana congressman Troy Carter, who led the delegation, said during a press conference after the visits on Tuesday. “They are frightened, they’re concerned, they want to go home.” Continue reading...

Society

4 d. ago Mahmoud Khalil’s wife Noor Abdalla gives birth as Ice denies his request to attend

Palestinian activist, held in Louisiana detention facility, only allowed to call in as wife delivered their first childNoor Abdalla, the wife of detained Columbia university graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, has announced the birth of their son.In a statement released on Monday evening, Abdalla wrote: “I welcomed our son into the world earlier today without Mahmoud by my side. Despite our request for ICE to allow Mahmoud to attend the birth, they denied his temporary release to meet our son. This was a purposeful decision by ICE to make me, Mahmoud, and our son suffer.” Continue reading...

Politics

5 d. ago Massachusetts governor calls Trump’s attacks on Harvard ‘bad for science’

Maura Healey says president targeting universities hurts US ‘competitiveness’ and affects research and hospitalsMassachusetts governor Maura Healey said on Sunday that Donald Trump’s attacks on Harvard University and other schools are having detrimental ripple effects, with the shutdown of research labs and cuts to hospitals linked to colleges.During an interview on CBS’s Face the Nation, the Democratic governor said that the effects on Harvard are damaging “American competitiveness”, since a number of researchers are leaving the US for opportunities in other countries After decades of investment in science and innovation, she said: “intellectual assets are being given away.” Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago Harvard stands to lose $2.2 billion in federal funding. Researchers fear science will suffer

In a high-stakes standoff, President Donald Trump’s administration says it will freeze $2.2 billion in federal research grants for Harvard University, which is pushing back on demands for changes to campus policy

Economics

1 week ago Prince Harry makes bombshell security claim saying 'worst fears are confirmed'

Prince Harry is now awaiting the judgment of an appeal in the latest stage of his legal battle over his security arrangements in the UK - and he has spoken out about the fight in an explosive interview

Events

2 w. ago I disagree with Mahmoud Khalil’s politics. But the deportation decision is abhorrent | Jo

Expelling the Columbia activist for his views would leave our nation weaker and endanger all of our rightsWhen the federal immigration judge Jamee Comans ruled in favor of allowing the government to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University student in the US on a legal visa, her decision was based on “foreign policy concerns” presented by US secretary of state Marco Rubio. It was so shocking that I had to reread the news report several times before I could believe it.Rubio’s claim is based on Khalil’s leadership role in the anti-Israel protests at Columbia University. I didn’t agree with Khalil’s politics when he led the protests and I don’t agree today with his politics, nor even his actions during the protests. But I’m unwavering in supporting his right to his views, and his right to shout them in what, until Trump took the reins, was our free American nation.Jo-Ann Mort, who writes and reports frequently about Israel/Palestine is also author of the forthcoming book of poetry, ...

Politics

2 w. ago Harvard experts pinpoint 'overlooked' risk factors for dementia and they're all preventable

Researchers at Mass General Brigham, a Harvard hospital, have found over a dozen 'overlooked' risk factors for dementia and other brain disorders - and all of them are preventable.

Events

2 w. ago Supreme Court backs Trump over Venezuelan deportations but insists on due process: Live

Decision allows president to continue summarily deporting alleged gang members to El Salvador

Politics

2 w. ago Biologist whose innovation saved the life of British teenager wins $3m Breakthrough prize

Prof David Liu is among the winners of 2025’s ‘Oscars of science’, with honours also going to researchers for landmark work on multiple sclerosis, particle physics and ‘skinny jabs’For the past five years, David Liu – a professor at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, a biomedical research facility in Massachusetts – has marked Thanksgiving by handing over his entire annual salary, after taking care of taxes, to the staff and students in his laboratory.It started as the pandemic broke and Liu heard that students who wanted to cycle instead of taking public transport could not afford bicycles. Given how hard they worked and how little they were paid, Liu stepped in. He couldn’t unilaterally raise their incomes, so emailed them Amazon eGift cards. This ran into problems too, however. “Everyone thought they were being scammed,” he recalls. And so he switched to writing cheques. Continue reading...

Economics

3 w. ago Judge moves legal case of detained Turkish Tufts University student to Vermont

A federal judge has moved a case involving at Tufts University doctoral student being held at an immigration facility in Louisiana to Vermont

Events