China on Wednesday opposed bullying of Egypt after U.S President Donald Trump demanded American vessels’ free-of-charge passage through the Suez Canal and Panama Canal.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Lin Jian said Beijing firmly supports the Egyptian government and people in safeguarding their sovereignty, legitimate rights and interests.

While, it opposes any acts or words of bullying, said the state-media Global Times.

Lin, said Egypt’s sovereignty over and management and operation rights of the Suez Canal are indisputable.

U.S President Donald Trump last month said that American vessels should travel through the Panama and Suez canals without paying fees, claiming that these strategic passages owe their existence to the U.

Trump had directed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to immediately take care of, and memorialise, this situation

The Panama Canal connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through Panama, while the Suez Canal in Egypt links the Mediterranean and Red seas, providing the shortest maritime route between Europe, Indian and Western Pacific oceans.

Both canals charge substantial transit fees, potentially reaching hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on vessel size and cargo. (AA/NAN)

 Columbia University announced Tuesday that it will lay off nearly 180 staff members following President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke $400 million in federal funding. The funding cut is reportedly in response to the university’s handling of student protests against the war in Gaza.

According to a statement from the university, the layoffs represent approximately 20 per cent of employees whose roles were supported in some way by the now-terminated federal grants.

“We have had to make deliberate, considered decisions about the allocation of our financial resources,” the university said.

“Those decisions also impact our greatest resource, our people.

University spokesperson Jessica Murphy declined to comment on whether more layoffs are expected but said Columbia was taking a range of steps to enhance financial flexibility. These include maintaining current salary levels and offering voluntary retirement incentives.

In addition, the university planned to scale back research activities. Some departments would wind down specific studies, while others would continue limited operations as they sought alternative funding sources.

Research areas impacted include projects such as the development of an antiviral nasal spray for infectious diseases, studies on maternal mortality and morbidity, treatment research for chronic conditions like long COVID, care for newborns with opioid withdrawal syndrome, and colorectal cancer screenings. (AP/NAN)

A Kenyan court on Wednesday fined four men 7,700 dollars each for attempting to traffic thousands of ants out of the country.Wildlife experts said that this signals a shift in biopiracy from iconic animals like elephants to lesser-known species.Authorities arrested two Belgian teenagers, a Vietnamese man and a Kenyan national on April 5, accusing them of trying to smuggle roughly 5,440 giant African harvester ant queens.