Hegseth dismisses as ‘garbage’ critique of US stance on Russia

KINSHASA: Escalating attacks have struck hospitals and other civilian infrastructure in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo during the ongoing anti-government assault by the armed group M23, the UN’s humanitarian agency said.
M23 fighters backed by Rwandan troops have made major advances in the region since January, seizing the key cities of Goma and Bukavu and displacing hundreds of thousands of people, according to the UN.
“Between March 1 and 3, several hospitals were targeted by armed actors in an escalation of violence against medical centers and health personnel, the UN Office for the Coordination of Human Affairs, or OCHA, said in a report.
Security in Goma is threatened by “a resurgence of criminal acts including burgling of homes, thefts and attacks,” it said, adding that hospitals and schools had also been forced to close in other areas.
It said at least four civilians were killed in fighting between M23 and rival groups in the Masisi district between Feb. 18 and 25, and more than 100,000 people were newly displaced in Lubero to the north.
DR Congo’s government accuses Rwanda of backing M23 to seize mineral-rich territory.
Rwanda has denied involvement in the conflict and says it faces a threat from ethnic Hutu fighters in DR Congo.

NEW YORK: A prominent Palestinian activist who helped lead Columbia University’s student encampment movement was arrested Saturday night by federal immigration authorities who claimed they were acting on a State Department order to revoke his green card, according to his attorney.
Mahmoud Khalil was at his university-owned apartment blocks from Columbia’s Manhattan campus when several Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents entered the building and took him into custody, his attorney, Amy Greer, told The Associated Press.
One of the agents told Greer by phone that they were executing a State Department order to revoke Khalil’s student visa. Informed by the attorney that Khalil, who graduated in December, was in the United States as a permanent resident with a green card, the agent said they were revoking that too, according to the lawyer.
The arrest comes as President Donald Trump vows to deport foreign students and imprison “agitators” involved in protests against Israel’s war in Gaza. The administration has placed particular scrutiny on Columbia, announcing Friday that it would be cutting $400 million in grants and contracts because of what the government describes as the Ivy League school’s failure to squelch antisemitism on campus.
The authorities declined to tell Khalil’s wife, who is eight months pregnant, why he was being detained, Greer said. Khalil has since been transferred to an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
“We have not been able to get any more details about why he is being detained,” Greer told The AP. “This is a clear escalation. The administration is following through on its threats.”
A spokesperson for Columbia said law enforcement agents must produce a warrant before entering university property. The spokesperson declined to say if the school had received a warrant for Khalil’s arrest.
Messages seeking comment were left with the State Department, the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.
Khalil had become one of the most visible faces of the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia. As Columbia students erected tents on campus last spring, Khalil was picked to serve as a negotiator on behalf of students and met frequently with university administrators.
When classes resumed in September, he told The Associated Press that the protests would continue: “As long as Columbia continues to invest and to benefit from Israeli apartheid, the students will continue to resist.”