67 m. ago The US government has sent Columbia University a ransom note | Sheldon Pollock

Like a mob boss, the government threatens to cut off two of the university’s fingers: academic freedom and faculty governanceOn 15 March, Columbia University received what can only be described as the most dangerous letter in the history of higher education in America. The sender was the United States government. Like a ransom note, the government letter insists that Columbia comply with a list of Trump administration demands in order to even have a chance at recovering the $400m in federal funding for scientific research that the government canceled on 7 March.Oddly, one of the specific targets identified in the letter was Columbia’s Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies (Mesaas), a small humanities department devoted to studying the languages, cultures and history of those regions. The government demanded the Mesaas department be put into “receivership” – basically, be taken over by the University – as a precondition to further negotiations. Continue readi...

Politics

87 m. ago Antarctica scientist accused of assault breaks silence after researchers beg to leave base

Researchers at South Africa's remote Sanae IV base had urged their bosses to let them leave or remove the scientist after he allegedly attacked and sexually harassed colleagues

Events

10 h. ago Sexual misconduct allegations in UN missions topped 100 in 2024, UN says

A U.N. report says allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation in U.N. peacekeeping and political missions topped 100 for the third time in the last 10 years in 2024

Events

22 h. ago Antarctic scientist accused of threatening to kill colleagues trapped in research station apologises

The South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment said the alleged perpetrator has “shown remorse”

Events

22 h. ago Fear at isolated Antarctica base as a man is accused of attacking a colleague and making threats

South African officials say a member of a research team at an isolated Antarctica base has been put under psychological evaluation after he allegedly assaulted and sexually harassed colleagues

Events

23 h. ago Exact details of Antarctica base row as scientists beg for rescue over terrifying reason

A number of South African researchers posted at an isolated Antarctic research station are living in fear after one of their team members allegedly threatened the life of another

Events

23 h. ago Revealed: What made Antarctic scientist snap and 'assault and threaten to kill colleagues'

The scientists are currently stationed at Sanae IV base, a research centre located on the northern tip of Antarctica some 4,000 kilometres from their South African homeland

Events

24 h. ago Dispute that led to assault at Antarctica science base is revealed as team pleads to be rescued after fellow expert 'sexually assaulted and threatened to kill colleagues'

The scientists are currently stationed at Sanae IV base, a research centre located on the northern tip of Antarctica some 4,000 kilometres from their South African homeland

Events

30 h. ago The $300 billion question: What to do with Russia's frozen central bank money?

With U.S. support for Ukraine in doubt, Kyiv’s European allies are weighing whether to seize $300 billion in frozen Russian assets

Economics

34 h. ago Trump ENDS Secret Service protection for Biden children after learning of 'ridiculous' cost to taxpayers

President Donald Trump removed Hunter and Ashley Biden's Secret Service detail, citing Hunter's recent trip to South Africa as the reason. 

Politics

43 h. ago Antarctic researcher accuses colleague of death threat and assault

South African minister ‘considering options’ after plea for help from member of team on remote baseA member of a South African research team on a remote Antarctic base has accused a colleague of physical assault and making a death threat, pleading for “immediate action” to be taken.The accusations were made in an email sent from the base that was shared with the South African newspaper the Sunday Times. Continue reading...

Events

45 h. ago 19th century ring linked to Scottish geologist found on South African beach

The ring is engraved with the name of pioneering scientist Hugh Miller who died in 1856.

Politics

45 h. ago Scientists in remote Antarctic base send chilling message begging for rescue over 'threat'

An email has been sent from South Africa's Sanae IV base in Antarctica, where scientists are expected to stay isolated in the most inhospitable place on Earth for at least another 10 months

Events

47 h. ago Trapped Antarctic scientists beg for help after ‘assault and death threats’ from colleague

The South African scientists are in the Sanae IV research centre in Vesleskarvet, Queen Maud Land

Events

53 h. ago ‘We grew up among drugs and violence. Dance kept us focused’: Oti Mabuse on Strictly, survival and self

When Mabuse lost her brother, dance helped her grieve. Then it made her a star. She talks about her childhood in South Africa, life in Britain, and the ‘full-on’ training for her new tourIn news that should gladden the nation, Oti Mabuse – beloved dancer, grafter and bringer of joy – has just become a British citizen. My own feeling is that Mabuse should have received instant citizenship along with her national treasure status, thanks to her work on Strictly Come Dancing, on which she competed for seven years. At least, thanks to the Life in the UK test, she knows all about our mountains, parliaments and islands, she says with a laugh.No time to celebrate – Mabuse is in the middle of preparing for her new dance tour, Viva Carnival, which opens this summer. Her previous show, I Am Here, “was very personal, about South Africa and growing up, and everything that happened there, and the reasons why I am the way I am. I wanted a slight continuation of that – not where I come from, but wh...

Events

56 h. ago Scientists trapped on Antarctica for 10 more months plead for help after fellow expert 'sexually assaulted and threatened to kill colleagues' at their tiny base

A South African research group dispatched to Sanae IV base, a research station in Antarctica, are alone on their mission for at least ten more months.

Events

2 d. ago Industrial evolution: a designer breathes new life into an old London warehouse

A Grade II-listed former storehouse on the edge of the Thames has become a modern home, but its historic character remains at the heart of its redesignIn the late 18th century, London was one of the busiest ports in the world, the docks in the east bustling with clippers, sailors and porters unloading tea, tobacco, rice, fruit, sugar and wine. It meant that industrial warehouses were thrown up along the banks of the Thames for much-needed storage. Almost two centuries later, only a handful of those Victorian storehouses survive, but those that do have been regenerated, inspired by the renovation of New York’s loft apartments in the 1980s.For South African interior designer Veronique Hopkinson, a historical home – specifically, a warehouse in London – was always on the bucket list. Her riverside apartment in a Grade II-listed warehouse is in Wapping with a balcony that overlooks the Thames. The busy city river traffic includes raucous party cruisers, dredgers and navy patrol boats. W...

Events

3 d. ago Fear of a tariff ‘Trumpcession’ puts pressure on Bank and Fed over interest rates

A trade war could push up inflation when both the UK and US economies really need cheaper borrowing. So what’s a central bank to do?Monetary policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic will be considering how seriously to take Donald Trump’s threats of an all-out trade war as they give their verdict on the path of interest rates this week.The Federal Reserve, the US ­central bank, will examine the prospect of a “Trumpcession” brought on by tariffs that send import costs rocketing and convince consumers, already shellshocked from the cost of living crisis, to stop spending. Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago As cyberwarfare threat looms, cashless Nordic nations go back to banknotes | Miranda Bryant

Nordic countries were early adopters of digital payments. Now, electronic banking is seen as a potential threat to national securityIn 2018 a former deputy governor of Sweden’s central bank predicted that by 2025 the country would probably be cashless.Seven years on, that prediction has turned out to be pretty much true. Just one in 10 purchases are made with cash, and card is the most common form of payment, followed by the Swedish mobile payment system Swish, launched by six banks in 2012 and now ubiquitous. Other mobile phone payment services are also growing quickly. Continue reading...

Economics

4 d. ago Marco Rubio declares South African ambassador to US persona non grata after Trump criticism

Declaration comes after Trump administration cut off aid to South Africa

Politics