A US federal judge on March 28 stopped the deportation of a Turkish doctoral student at Tufts University who was arrested earlier in the week as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on foreign students who voiced support for Palestinians in Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza.
Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, had her visa revoked after being taken into custody by masked immigration officers near her home in Massachusetts on Tuesday.
The Department of Homeland Security has accused her, without providing evidence, of “engaging in activities in support of Hamas”, the Gaza-based Palestinian militant group which the US government has designated a “foreign terrorist organisation”.
Ms Ozturk, a PhD student and Fulbright Scholar, had last year co-authored an opinion piece in the student newspaper that criticised Tufts University's response to calls by students to divest from companies with ties to Israel and to “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide”.
A lawyer sued to win her release, and on March 28, the American Civil Liberties Union joined her legal defence team, filing a revised lawsuit saying her detention infringed her rights to free speech and due process.
She has been moved to Louisiana despite a court order issued on Tuesday night that she not be moved out of Massachusetts without 48 hours' notice.
In Friday's order, US District Judge Denise Casper in Boston said she was barring Ms Ozturk's deportation temporarily to provide time to resolve whether her court retained jurisdiction over the case. She ordered the Trump administration to respond to Ms Ozturk's complaint by Tuesday.
President Donald Trump has pledged to deport foreign pro-Palestine protesters and has accused them of supporting Hamas, being antisemitic and posing foreign policy hurdles. His government this month cancelled $400 million in funding for Columbia University, which was the centre of nationwide student protests last summer to demand an end to Israel's military assault on Gaza and for their universities to divest from companies with ties to Israel.
Columbia University announced on Friday that its interim president, Katrina Armstrong, had stepped down and that Claire Shipman, co-chairwoman of the board of trustees, had been appointed acting president. The university did not give a reason for the change, which came a week after the Ivy League school announced a package of measures to address Mr Trump's criticisms over student protests and alleged campus anti-Semitism.
Groups representing Columbia University professors on Tuesday sued the Trump administration over its effort to force the university to tighten rules on campus protests and put a Middle Eastern studies department under outside supervision, among other measures.
Also on Friday, US government lawyers pushed for the deportation hearing of pro-Palestine protest leader Mahmoud Khalil to be moved to a Louisiana court thought to be sympathetic to Mr Trump's hardline immigration crackdown.
Mr Khalil, a graduate student of Columbia University, was arrested and taken to Louisiana earlier this month. The government has not accused him of any crime, but instead ordered his deportation and cancelled his resident's permit, alleging he was undermining US foreign policy.
At a hearing in New Jersey, government lawyer August Flentje said that “for jurisdictional certainty, the case belongs in Louisiana”.
But Mr Khalil's lawyer Baher Azmy accused the government of seeking to move the case to bolster its “retaliation”.
The judge said he would not rule immediately on shifting the case to the Western District of Louisiana, a more conservative bench that has previously leaned towards Mr Trump's policies.
Mr Khalil's arrest has outraged Trump opponents, free speech advocates and some on the political right, who say the case will have a chilling effect on freedom of expression.
Pro-Palestine protesters, including some Jewish groups, also accuse the administration of conflating their criticism of Israel's assault on Gaza and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with anti-Semitism and support for Hamas.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday that the State Department has so far revoked at least 300 visas in connection with the protests.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Race results:
1. Thani Al Qemzi (UAE) Team Abu Dhabi: 46.44 min
2. Peter Morin (FRA) CTIC F1 Shenzhen China Team: 0.91sec
3. Sami Selio (FIN) Mad-Croc Baba Racing Team: 31.43sec
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
'Skin'
Dir: Guy Nattiv
Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Crazy Rich Asians
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeon, Gemma Chan
Four stars
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
