WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump doubled down Wednesday on a funding standoff with top university Harvard that has become a focal point of his war against elite educational institutions.
Harvard has stood out for defying Trump’s attempts to force it to submit to wide-ranging government oversight, in contrast to several other universities that have folded under intense pressure from the White House.
“Harvard can no longer be considered even a decent place of learning, and should not be considered on any list of the World’s Great Universities or Colleges,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
“Harvard is a JOKE, teaches Hate and Stupidity, and should no longer receive Federal Funds.”
On Tuesday, Trump threatened to strip the university of its tax-exempt status as a nonprofit educational institution, after earlier freezing $2.2 billion in federal funding.
Trump has demanded that the university change the way it runs itself, including how it selects students and its hiring practices, and that it submit itself to “audits” of academic programs and departments.
On Tuesday, Harvard President Alan Garber said the school would not “negotiate over its independence or its constitutional rights.”
The US president and his administration have justified their pressure campaign on universities as a reaction to what they say is uncontrolled anti-Semitism and support for the Palestinian armed group Hamas.
The anti-Semitism allegations are based on protests against Israel’s war in Gaza that swept across campuses last year.
The White House has also strong-armed dozens of universities and colleges with threats to remove federal funding over their policies meant to encourage racial diversity among students and staff.
Trump says Harvard a ‘joke’ undeserving of US federal funding
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Trump says Harvard a ‘joke’ undeserving of US federal funding
- Harvard has stood out for defying Trump’s attempts to force it to submit to wide-ranging government oversight
- Trump’s administration have justified their pressure campaign on universities as a reaction to what they say is uncontrolled anti-Semitism and support for Hamas
South African diamond mining company says 5 trapped miners presumed dead and files for liquidation
- The incident occurred in the early hours of Feb. 17 at the Ekapa Mine in Kimberley
- “This marks the end of 158 years of continuous diamond mining in Kimberley,” CEO Jahn Hohne said
JOHANNESBURG: Five miners who were trapped last week after a mudslide flooded a shaft remain unaccounted for and are “now presumed deceased,” the owners of the diamond mining company in South Africa said Wednesday, announcing that it had filed for liquidation and shut the mine.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Feb. 17 at the Ekapa Mine in Kimberley, the capital of Northern Cape province, when a sudden surge of water, mud and rock in minutes inundated an underground section of the mine, blocking access to its lowest mining level, around 800 meters (half a mile) underground.
The mine owners, Ekapa Resources and Ekapa Minerals, said despite rescue efforts that included drilling and assessments by specialist teams conditions were confirmed to be unsurvivable as tunnels were filled with mud and water with no signs of life. A search operation is ongoing.
At the same time, the owners announced the immediate closure of the mine where the incident occurred and petitioned the courts to be placed in liquidation.
The decision came after an internal evaluation found that, given the protracted worldwide diamond market downturn, exacerbated by the recent tragedy, the company is unable to continue meeting its financial responsibilities, it said.
“This marks the end of 158 years of continuous diamond mining in Kimberley,” CEO Jahn Hohne said in a statement. “A legacy the company acknowledges with humility and respect.”
The National Union of Mineworkers of South Africa (Numsa), considered the largest single trade union in South Africa, told the state broadcaster it was “shocked” by the move, which puts the jobs of about 1,200 workers at risk. The union said it would be meeting with its legal teams to discuss a course of action to possibly block the liquidation.
“The situation is very devastating,” Numsa Kimberley organizer Lerato Mohatlane told the SABC. “If the mine is indeed liquidated, it is clear that all the 1,200 workers will then lose their jobs.”
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy said it is set to meet with the firm and be briefed on what has transpired and ways forward.
South Africa is among the world’s biggest producers of diamonds and gold, and the top producer of platinum.
