The administration of US President Donald Trump has left everyone who cares about free speech in the country little choice but to defend and champion Mahmoud Khalil, as he faces the most insidious attack on freedom of conscience in America in at least 60 years.
Mr Khalil has been arrested, pending deportation, for his involvement last year as a Columbia University student protesting Israel’s brutal and self-declared “war of vengeance” in Gaza, and role as a negotiator for other students. He hasn’t been accused of any crime at all, except violating, in retrospect, Mr Trump's recent executive order against the spread of “anti-Semitism”.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has drawn upon cobweb-covered and seldom-invoked powers to claim that he poses a national security risk and must be expelled as a terrorist threat. This appears to have no basis. If Mr Rubio has any evidence connecting him to terrorism or advocacy of violence, that’s unknown.
The most extensive “dossier” on Mr Khalil was compiled by Canary Mission, a group that claims to “document individuals and organisations that promote hatred of the US, Israel and Jews on North American college campuses and beyond”. This dossier is a barrage of accusations that cites no statements he personally made in favour of Hamas or the attack against Israel on October 7, or in favour of violence. It goes to great lengths to connect him by various degrees of separation to others who may have crossed various lines of propriety. But it’s just guilt by association.
There has never been a modern US administration with such zealous enthusiasm for using the government’s power to enforce politically correct speech
Mr Khalil – a Palestinian refugee born in Syria and studying at Columbia during the war in Gaza – protested the connection of his own university and other US institutions to this protracted atrocity that cost tens of thousands of civilian lives. Apparently, he also had the temerity to serve as a negotiator between university officials and other students, often more radical than himself. Stripped of a blatant anti-Palestinian bias and loathing, that would appear to be a useful and constructive role – not an indictment.
But let’s just suppose Mr Rubio is in possession of more damning evidence against Mr Khalil. Unless this evidence rises to the incitement of imminent violence – such as, for example, the statements of many of his own cabinet colleagues and the US President himself before the attack against Congress on January 6, 2021 – or explicit endorsements of Hamas’s atrocities on October 7, 2023, it is going to be extremely difficult to make the case that a permanent legal resident, married to a US citizen, who is otherwise blameless, can be reasonably arrested and deported – although to where is not clear – purely on the basis of political incorrectness.
There has never been a modern US administration with such zealous enthusiasm for using the government’s power to enforce politically correct speech throughout the executive branch, in schools, libraries and other institutions, and to punish – including by deportation – those vulnerable for politically incorrect ideas.
Mr Khalil is a proponent of divestment from Israel on the grounds that it is an apartheid state. This offends many right-wing evangelicals and Jewish Americans. Apparently, this also offends the administration to the point of wishing to remove him and any other similar foreign national – including even permanent residents, traditionally held to be protected by the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech and freedom of conscience – from the country.
I have consistently voiced doubts about the wisdom of using the term “apartheid” to describe the system of separation and inequality that Israel imposes on Palestinians in the occupied territories. This is because it tends to steer the conversation into a debate about South African history rather than Israeli policy. However, the system that Israel imposes by force on Palestinians more than merits such an accusation.
Universities with policies against investing in states practising “apartheid”, adopted during the battle against “systematised racism in South Africa”, are highly vulnerable to having those policies applied to investment in Israel. It is impossible to honestly, accurately and sincerely deny that Israel is imposing a form of apartheid on Palestinians – in some ways less severe, but in many ways more severe, than in South Africa before the end of apartheid. Calling this “anti-Semitism“ is simply a lie.
None of this is probably of interest to the Trump administration. What appears to matter to Mr Trump and Mr Rubio is not the truth, or constitutional rights like freedom of speech and freedom of conscience, but rather the application of a campaign promise to crack down on anti-war protesters who opposed on college campuses Israel’s brutality in Gaza. Mr Trump described this as part of a “radical revolution” and vowed to “set that movement back 25 or 30 years”.
That somehow didn’t seem to register with the thousands of Arab Americans who voted for him or irrelevant third-party candidates, or, worst of all, stayed home. As usual, nothing that Mr Trump is doing is anything he didn’t say he was going to do on the campaign trail. Mr Khalil, he promises, will be the first of many expulsions.
But if permanent residents with green cards like Mr Khalil can be arrested and potentially deported for perfectly legitimate political speech – which is not only constitutionally protected but is also intellectually and morally valid and, arguably, unassailable – there is really not much protecting citizens from a government crackdown either. This is part of a broader attack on US higher education, freedom of speech and freedom of conscience, and, ultimately, the right of Americans to respond with activism to appalling human rights abuses.
I haven’t been a university student for decades. But I know this: with the exception of students who are merely seeking degrees for professional advancement, or those who are focused on domestic social justice, those student activists who are animated by international justice issues who had not responded to the Gaza war with major protest campaigns – given the involvement of the US and its institutions with Israel and its war effort – would have been unworthy and remiss in their self-defined mission. There would’ve been something wrong with them.
There was nothing wrong with Mr Khalil, except that he did what anyone else with his convictions and in his position would have done – at least as far as we know. That he is being punished for that constitutes the most chilling assault on free speech and freedom of conscience in the US since the McCarthy era in the early 1950s. And if that isn’t enough to wake up everyone with a conscience, it’s hard to know what would be.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
AUSTRALIA SQUADS
ODI squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Twenty20 squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Read more about the coronavirus
If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
The specs: 2019 BMW i8 Roadster
Price, base: Dh708,750
Engine: 1.5L three-cylinder petrol, plus 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 374hp (total)
Torque: 570Nm (total)
Fuel economy, combined: 2.0L / 100km
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Martin Sabbagh profile
Job: CEO JCDecaux Middle East
In the role: Since January 2015
Lives: In the UAE
Background: M&A, investment banking
Studied: Corporate finance
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The years Ramadan fell in May
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
The five pillars of Islam
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Brief scores:
Pakistan (1st innings) 181: Babar 71; Olivier 6-37
South Africa (1st innings) 223: Bavuma 53; Amir 4-62
Pakistan (2nd innings) 190: Masood 65, Imam 57; Olivier 5-59
Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare
Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Results
6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes (PA) Group 3 Dh175,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Aatebat Al Khalediah, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ali Rashid Al Raihe (trainer).
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Dubai Avenue, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: My Catch, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Dubai Creek Mile (TB) Listed Dh265,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Secret Ambition, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Golden Goal, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
The five pillars of Islam
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Griselda
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Result
2.15pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,950m; Winner: Majestic Thunder, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
2.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m; Winner: Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.
3.15pm: Handicap Dh85,000 1,600m; Winner: Native Appeal, Adam McLean, Doug Watson.
3.45pm: Handicap Dh115,000 1,950m; Winner: Conclusion, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
4.15pm: Handicap Dh100,000 1,400m; Winner: Pilgrim’s Treasure, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
4.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m; Winner: Sanad Libya, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,000m; Winner: Midlander, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
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