28/05/2026

THURSDAY | MAY 28, 2026

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UK, Poland set to sign defence treaty

o Deal to focus on border security, organised crime

Justice Department sues varsity over alleged antisemitism WASHINGTON: The United States Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division filed a lawsuit against the University of California Los Angeles on Tuesday, alleging it tolerated a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students. In its complaint, the department accused UCLA of violating Title VI – a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, colour or national origin in any programme or activity receiving federal financial assistance – “through its deliberate indifference to this pervasive on-campus antisemitism”. The lawsuit pointed to an encampment that was built on the university’s campus in April 2024. The Justice Department described the move as illegal and alleged that Jewish students were attacked. “Universities have an obligation to maintain safe and inclusive campuses for all students,” said first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli. “Universities that violate our nation’s civil rights laws by repeatedly failing to shield Jewish students from antisemitism will be held accountable.” UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk rejected the allegations, saying the university had taken concrete steps to combat antisemitism on campus. “Let me be direct: the suggestion that UCLA has been passive in the face of antisemitism is simply wrong. Combating antisemitism is a moral imperative – one rooted, for me, in personal history that makes indifference unthinkable.” He added that the university had recruited an associate vice-chancellor for campus and community safety, reorganised its civil rights office, appointed a Title VI officer and strengthened policies to protect free expression and campus safety. He had also introduced a campus-wide initiative to combat antisemitism, which issued a report in May outlining a roadmap to address campus antisemitism and bigotry. The university in February 2025 suspended two student groups, Students for Justice in Palestine and Graduate Students for Justice in Palestine, over their involvement in a protest at the home of University of California regent Jay Sures. The Justice Department announced the lawsuit shortly after a federal appeals court on Tuesday partially upheld an injunction that required it to restore grants awarded to the University of California that the Trump administration had terminated last year because it perceived they supported diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. The lawsuit is the latest legal action taken by the Trump administration to crack down on what it has described as antisemitism at US universities in the wake of Hamas’ Oct 7, 2023, attacks on Israel. – Reuters Tusk said beyond defence, a significant part of the treaty focused on cybersecurity. Poland says its role as a hub for military aid to Ukraine has made it a key target for Russian espionage, cyberattacks and disinformation. On the defence part of the deal, the British government said it would seek to combine expertise and industrial capability to lead the development of complex weapons, including new sophisticated munitions and the co-production of a medium-range air defence missile. – Reuters alliances with European partners take on greater significance for Warsaw.

administration to take greater responsibility for its own defence. “This treaty is the biggest step forward in our defence and security relationship with Poland in a generation, allowing us to confront modern security threats that may be less visible but no less dangerous,” Starmer said. In a Polish government meeting on Tuesday, Tusk said the signing of the treaty would be a “historic moment”. Poland signed a defence treaty with France in 2025, boosting defence cooperation, and is working on a similar treaty with Germany, as

counterpart Keir Starmer in London, will improve border security, tackle organised crime and deepen defence cooperation with the European Union, the statement said. They will discuss what Britain called a major uptick in hybrid attacks, including Russian-ordered arson attacks in East London and across Europe, as well as cyberattacks and espionage, the government said. While Britain and Poland are close allies, Starmer said “the challenges Europe now faces demands an even stronger partnership”. The continent has been under pressure from United States President Donald Trump’s

LONDON: Britain will sign a new defence and security treaty with Poland to strengthen defence cooperation in the face of increasing hostile threats across Europe, the government said, following similar deals with France and Germany. The deal, due to be signed when Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk meets his British

Two women cool a horse down with water during a hot day in Milan, Italy. – REUTERSPIC

Temperatures set to soar in Europe LONDON: Residents in western Europe turned to fans and fountains as they sweltered through a record-breaking heatwave on Tuesday, with temperatures set to soar even further.

The US military launched the operation, dubbed “Southern Spear,” in September 2025, with President Donald Trump insisting the US is effectively at war with drug cartels operating out of Latin America. However, his administration has not provided definitive evidence that the vessels it has been striking are involved in drug trafficking. Legal experts and rights groups say the strikes could amount to extrajudicial killings because they have apparently targeted civilians who do not pose an immediate threat to the US. – AFP some areas. “We are not in an emergency situation,“ Health Minister Stephanie Rist said, but added: “We need to be wary of the heatwaves, even if we’re starting to get used to them.” French authorities on Tuesday reported at least seven deaths linked to the heatwave, five of which were drownings, as many sought relief at water spots, although lifeguard supervision on beaches is not due to start in many areas until July. Authorities in Britain said four teens had drowned in England since Sunday. – AFP

splashed themselves wherever they could – including at Rome’s Barcaccia fountain and bubblers in the Jardin du Palais Royal in Paris. The UK reported its hottest-ever day for May, at 35.1°C at Kew Gardens, in southwest London, breaking a record of 34.8°C set at the same location on Monday, as a high-pressure system trapped warm air over western Europe. In France, which also logged its hottest-ever May day on Monday and then again on Tuesday, the weather agency said the heatwave could last through the week, predicting temperatures could go as high as 39°C in

Hit by a so-called “heat dome” of warm air from northern Africa that is pushing the mercury well above normal levels for May, some Europeans even admitted they were considering getting air conditioning, in a region famously averse to it. Individuals swarmed beaches, braved streets clutching handheld fans and umbrellas to fend off the sun, and went for a dip or

US strike in Pacific kills one, strands two WASHINGTON: The United States military attacked what it called a drug trafficking boat on Tuesday in the eastern Pacific, killing one individual and leaving two others stranded at sea, officials said. The strike followed dozens of similar attacks in recent months and brought the death toll in this US campaign to at least 193, according to an AFP tally.

In its post, the military alleged the targeted vessel was “operated by Designated Terrorist Organisations” and “transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific” for drug trafficking. Video footage accompanying the post showed part of the boat obscured by a box before the strike, then a large explosion, and then smoking wreckage in the water. No survivors could be seen in the footage.

“One male narco-terrorist was killed during the action and there were two survivors,” US Southern Command wrote in a post to X. It added that it “immediately notified the US Coast Guard to activate the search and rescue system for the survivors.” The Coast Guard did not immediately respond to an AFP request for information on rescue efforts.