US President Donald Trump on Monday described Mahmoud Khalil, a former graduate student at Columbia University in New York who has helped to lead pro-Palestine protests, as “pro-Hamas”. Efforts to deport the activist were temporarily halted by a federal judge.
Mr Khalil was detained at the weekend and is facing deportation due to his part in the wave of protests that swept the university last year.
The President called Mr Khalil a “radical foreign pro-Hamas student” on his Truth Social platform and said his arrest was the “first arrest of many to come”.
“We know there are more students at Columbia and other universities across the country who have engaged in pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity, and the Trump administration will not tolerate it,” he wrote. “We will find, apprehend and deport these terrorist sympathisers from our country – never to return again.”
A federal judge in New York issued on order temporarily blocking Mr Khalil's deportation on Monday evening. He is expected to appear in court on Wednesday.
As the lead negotiator between protesting students and the university administration, Mr Khalil became one of the most visible activists in last year’s rallies. He is among students being investigated by a new Columbia office that has already brought disciplinary charges against dozens of people linked to pro-Palestinian activism, AP reports.
He received a master’s degree from Columbia’s school of international affairs last term. His wife, a US citizen, is eight months pregnant and was present at the time of his arrest.
The couple were reportedly returning from an iftar meal when agents forced their way into their building. One told Mr Khalil's lawyer by phone that they were carrying out a State Department order to revoke his student visa. Informed that Mr Khalil was a permanent US resident with a green card, the agent said they were revoking that, too.
Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Mr Khalil's arrest and told The National he “led activities aligned to Hamas, a designated terrorist organisation”.
“ICE [the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency] and the Department of State are committed to enforcing President Trump’s executive orders and to protecting US national security,” she said.
Mr Khalil is being held in an immigration detention centre in Louisiana after initially being sent to a centre in New Jersey, according to the ICE online detainee database, which lists his birthplace as Syria.
Mr Khalil's arrest has outraged the activist community, with demonstrators planning a protest at New York's Federal Plaza to demand his release. In Washington, dozens of protesters gathered at DHS headquarters calling for Mr Khalil's release, with demonstrators then marching to the ICE building.
Faculty and staff at Columbia, in addition to Jewish community leaders and immigrant rights advocates, held a media conference decrying Mr Khalil's arrest.
Nadia Abu El Haj, an anthropologist at Barnard College and Columbia University, told reporters Mr Khalil was “a mature and gentle human being and a politically sophisticated thinker”.
“Mahmoud tried to negotiate a resolution between students and the Barnard administration last week during a sit-in and he was filmed participating in that sit-in or being present there. And as a result, various people tweeted, including one of our colleagues, who directly asked for his arrest and deportation,” she said.
She later told The National: “It sets a really dangerous precedent that puts not just Palestinians at risk and pro-Palestinian activists, but ultimately, is going to be used against all sorts of activists in this country. This is not the rule of law. There are no substantive accusations against Mahmoud Khalil. There is no evidence against him of ever having broken the law. So why is he being abducted?”
Ms Abu El Haj expressed concerns about the broader implications of the situation at Columbia, saying it could be "ground zero" where students will be made an example of. She also criticised the narratives being allowed to develop on campus.
“This started a year and a half ago. We shouldn't have gotten here. They've allowed the narrative to develop that Jewish students 'are not safe on campus’, which is completely untrue," Ms Abu El Haj said.
Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement: “The unlawful detention of Mr Khalil reeks of McCarthyism. It’s clear that the Trump administration is selectively punishing Mr Khalil for expressing views that aren’t Maga [Make America Great Again] approved – which is a frightening escalation of Trump’s crackdown on pro-Palestine speech and an aggressive abuse of immigration law.”
Jewish activist organisation J Street said in a statement: "For an administration that claims to care about free speech, Mahmoud Khalil's arrest, detainment and threat of deportation is yet another regressive, anti-democratic step toward authoritarianism."
New York Jewish Agenda, which describes its group as "liberal and progressive Zionists" echoed the words of other groups, stating they have "defended those with whom we disagree" adding "This kind of sweeping authoritarian action, violating the rights of others, in the name of combating antisemitism is the height of hypocrisy and will not make us safer."
Ahmed Issawy contributed to this report
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Top financial tips for graduates
Araminta Robertson, of the Financially Mint blog, shares her financial advice for university leavers:
1. Build digital or technical skills: After graduation, people can find it extremely hard to find jobs. From programming to digital marketing, your early twenties are for building skills. Future employers will want people with tech skills.
2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.
3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.
4. Pay yourself first: The minute you receive any income, put about 15 per cent aside into a savings account you won’t touch, to go towards your emergency fund or to start investing. I do 20 per cent. It helped me start saving immediately.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Fight card
1. Featherweight 66kg: Ben Lucas (AUS) v Ibrahim Kendil (EGY)
2. Lightweight 70kg: Mohammed Kareem Aljnan (SYR) v Alphonse Besala (CMR)
3. Welterweight 77kg:Marcos Costa (BRA) v Abdelhakim Wahid (MAR)
4. Lightweight 70kg: Omar Ramadan (EGY) v Abdimitalipov Atabek (KGZ)
5. Featherweight 66kg: Ahmed Al Darmaki (UAE) v Kagimu Kigga (UGA)
6. Catchweight 85kg: Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) v Iuri Fraga (BRA)
7. Featherweight 66kg: Yousef Al Husani (UAE) v Mohamed Allam (EGY)
8. Catchweight 73kg: Mostafa Radi (PAL) v Ahmed Abdelraouf of Egypt (EGY)
9. Featherweight 66kg: Jaures Dea (CMR) v Andre Pinheiro (BRA)
10. Catchweight 90kg: Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
How much of your income do you need to save?
The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.
In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)
Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.
