Trump freezes $2bn in Harvard funding

Hello. The Trump administration has blocked $2bn in funding to Harvard University after the elite college refused to comply with a list of demands from the White House. As the UK hosts a global conference on the conflict in Sudan, BBC World Service reaches out to locals in the city of el-Fasher, who are under constant bombardment. And finally, take a look at the annual Hindu temple procession that cancels flights at an airport in India.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Harvard rejects Trump's demands

The White House said the demands sent to Harvard last week were designed to fight antisemitism on campus. Credit: Getty Images

Harvard has become the first major US university to defy demands from the Trump administration to change its policies. These included reporting students who are "hostile" to American values and hiring a government-approved party to audit programs and departments "that most fuel antisemitic harassment". Harvard President Alan Garber rejected the demands, criticising “direct governmental regulation of the 'intellectual conditions' at Harvard”. The education department is now freezing $2.2bn in grants and $60m in contracts to the elite college. Trump has accused leading universities of failing to protect Jewish students during protests against the war in Gaza last year. Last month, Columbia University agreed to a number of conditions after the administration pulled $400m in federal funding.

WORLD HEADLINES

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

Hunger and fear in Sudan's siege city

Hafiza and her brother lost their mother in August 2024 when a shell hit the market where she was working. Credit: Hafiza

El-Fasher in Darfur has been largely cut off from the outside world for a year as Sudan’s civil war rages on, making it impossible for journalists to enter the city. The BBC Eye Investigations team smuggled phones to people trapped in the crossfire so they can share their stories. Hafiza, 21, described how she suddenly found herself responsible for her three younger siblings after their mother was killed. Mostafa, 32, sent videos bearing the sound of relentless artillery shelling.