Staff, students at Irish university demand cutting all ties with Israel
A coalition of staff, students and graduates at the University of Galway in Ireland plans to stage on-campus protests calling on authorities to end all links with Israeli companies and educational institutions.
The Campus Anti Genocide group said it’s demanding an immediate end to what it described as “collusion with Israeli genocide and apartheid”.
In September, the university said contractual obligations prevented it from backing out of a project with the Technion Institute of Technology in Israel. That programme, the ASTERISK research project, is looking at ways to produce hydrogen from seawater. It is co-funded by the European Union.
Red Cross to cut 2026 budget by 17%, shed 2,900 jobs
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it’s cutting its 2026 budget by 17 percent because of declining donor contributions and will slash 2,900 staff positions.
“The ICRC remains committed to working on the front lines of conflict where few others can operate,” President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement. “The financial reality is forcing us to make difficult decisions to ensure we can continue to deliver critical humanitarian assistance to those who need it most.”
The ICRC has played a crucial role during the Gaza war, returning Palestinian prisoners and Israeli captives along with other humanitarian efforts.
“As defence budgets surge, states must also put more effort and resources into preventing conflicts, defending the rules of war, and providing humanitarian relief,” said Spoljaric. “Failure to do so risks a world of ever more and greater suffering.”
UN criticizes sanctions targeting International Criminal Court
The United Nations has denounced the use of sanctions against officials tied to the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying such measures undermine the global justice system and inflict significant personal harm.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, was asked to comment on an article by Le Monde that detailed the sweeping disruptions the US measures have caused to French Judge Nicolas Guillou’s work and daily life after his approval of arrest warrants for Israeli officials last year.
In August, the US sanctioned four ICC officials, including Guillou, for authorising the warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, accusing both officials of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip.
“It’s sadly he [Guillou] is not the only person linked to the International Criminal Court who has been placed under unilateral sanctions,” Dujarric said. “We don’t believe that its members should be targeted by unilateral sanctions, which, as I think, as the article says, and as we know, have a deep impact on people and their families.”
