The Donald Trump administration on Friday imposed new restrictions on Harvard’s access to federal funds, escalating its ongoing confrontation with the prestigious U.S. university.

In a statement, the Department of Education said Harvard has been placed under “heightened cash monitoring (HCM) status” due to “growing concerns regarding the university’s financial position.”

The department pointed to the administration’s accusations of civil rights violations at the school, alongside Harvard’s recent decision to issue bonds and lay off employees, as factors creating uncertainty over its finances.

Under the new measures, Harvard must now use its own money to cover student financial aid packages promised by federal officials, before later seeking reimbursement from the government.

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“Students will continue to have access to federal funding, but Harvard will be required to cover the initial disbursements as a guardrail to ensure Harvard is spending taxpayer funds responsibly,” the department wrote.

Federal officials also directed Harvard to “post an irrevocable letter of credit for $36 million” to “cover potential liabilities and ensure that Harvard meets its financial obligations to both students and the Department.”

The restrictions mark the latest step in the Trump administration’s wider campaign against U.S. universities. Officials have accused Harvard and other schools of advancing “woke” ideology and of failing to protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

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Harvard has rejected those claims, arguing that the federal government is attempting to exert control over hiring, admissions, and curriculum decisions.

Earlier this month, a Boston judge ordered the administration to unfreeze about $2.6 billion in federal funds, ruling that Trump’s Department of Education “used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically motivated assault on this country’s premier universities.”

Harvard officials did not respond to the latest move but announced Friday that the university had started recovering part of its frozen funds.

“We are pleased to see the disbursement of $46 million in research funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This is an initial step, and we hope to continue to see funding restored across all of the federal agencies.”

(AFP)

The United Kingdom is expected to formally announce its recognition of a Palestinian state on Sunday afternoon, in what will be a significant development in its Middle East policy.

Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, had previously said in July that the UK would change its stance in September unless Israel agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza and committed to a long-term peace arrangement built around a two-state solution.

For decades, successive British governments had argued that recognition should only come as part of a negotiated peace process.

The new step marks a break from that approach and positions the UK alongside countries that have already taken a unilateral decision on the matter.

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The Israeli government has strongly criticised the move. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said such recognition “rewards terror,” while families of hostages still held by Hamas also condemned the decision.

UK ministers maintain that the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank left the government with no option but to act.

They argue that the decision is about keeping alive the possibility of a peace settlement.

Officials pointed to recent images of starvation and violence in Gaza, which Starmer has previously called “intolerable.” Israel’s latest military operation in Gaza City, described by a UN official as “cataclysmic,” forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.

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Earlier this week, a United Nations commission accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel rejected the finding as “distorted and false,” but UK ministers said the report added to the urgency of taking a new course.

Justice Secretary David Lammy cited settlement expansion in the West Bank as a critical factor.

He referenced the E1 project, which critics say would end the viability of a contiguous Palestinian state, as one example of actions undermining peace.

Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas welcomed the UK’s plan when he met Starmer earlier this month. Both leaders agreed that Hamas should have no role in any future Palestinian government.

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Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, however, warned against the move. Writing in The Telegraph, she argued that recognition “at this time and without the release of the hostages would be a reward for terrorism.”

Hostage families echoed that concern in an open letter, saying the announcement had “dramatically complicated efforts” to secure the release of their loved ones. They claimed Hamas had already celebrated the UK’s decision as a victory and pulled back from a ceasefire deal.

The United States also opposed the move. During his visit to London, President Donald Trump said he disagreed with Britain’s position, emphasising the need for more conditions before such a step.

Despite the backlash, Starmer insisted he was acting in line with his July pledge. He argued that with the two-state solution under threat, this was “the moment to act.”

Recognition of a Palestinian state has been a long-standing demand within the Labour Party, and Starmer faced pressure from his MPs to deliver. More than half of Labour members signed a letter earlier this year urging him to take the step without delay.

Nigerians filed over 7,646 asylum applications in Sweden between 2000 and 2024, according to official figures from the Swedish Migration Agency, Migrationsverket.

Data obtained by The PUNCH from the agency’s portal, covering the period, showed a consistent stream of Nigerian asylum seekers in the Nordic country.

A total of 6,783 asylum applications from Nigerian nationals were recorded between 2000 and 2021.

In 2022, there were 288 applications, followed by 200 in 2023, and 375 in 2024. Of the 375 applications received in 2024, 239 were first-time claims, while 136 were follow-up “extension” requests from persons whose temporary status was about to expire.

Women filed nearly two-thirds (159) of all first-time Nigerian claims, and half of every Nigerian applicant was between 25 and 44 years old, as no one over 64 applied in 2024.

Children accompanied 60 adult applicants, while one child travelled alone and registered as an unaccompanied minor.

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Similarly, in 2023, there were 160 adults, 39 children in families, and one unaccompanied child among first-time asylum seekers from Nigeria.

Over the longer period from 2000 to 2021, a total of 132 unaccompanied minors from Nigeria applied for asylum.

The number of new applications for international protection peaked in 2003 at 452 and again in 2013 at 601, but the volume has never reached the scale of applications seen from countries experiencing internal conflicts.

Across Africa, Nigeria is among the top five countries of origin for asylum seekers in Sweden.

However, Somalia, Eritrea, Sudan, and Ethiopia far surpass it in numbers due to ongoing conflict and instability.

Somalia alone accounted for more than 54,128 applications since 2000, followed by Eritrea with over 39,000, then Sudan, Libya, Morocco, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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Other countries include Uganda, Egypt, Cameroon, The Gambia and Burundi, Kenya, Algeria, Tunisia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Ghana, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mali, Zambia, Djibouti, Côte d’Ivoire, Angola, Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, and single-digit applications from Benin, Niger, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic and Mauritania. Nigeria, however, remains West Africa’s largest contributor of asylum seekers.

According to the reports, the migration from these countries is often directly tied to large-scale conflict and instability, a factor that distinguishes them from the lower, more consistent flow of applicants from Nigeria.

Swedish authorities say the distinction is significant as it enables a fast-track process for nationalities with historically high rejection rates, defined as a rejection percentage of 85 per cent or higher.

In 2024, Nigerian asylum seekers had an 88 per cent rejection rate while Colombians had 99 per cent.

Globally, the highest asylum grants in Sweden went to nationals of Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Ethiopia, Palestine, Ukraine, and stateless persons.

On the other hand, the highest denials were recorded among applicants from Nigeria, India, Bangladesh, Albania, Georgia, Mongolia, Russia, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.

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The Swedish government says it prioritises claims linked to war, persecution, or statelessness over applications driven by economic factors.

Sweden’s asylum regime is rooted in the Aliens Act (Utlänningslagen), which incorporates both EU asylum directives and the 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

A successful applicant must demonstrate either refugee status (fear of persecution), eligibility for subsidiary protection (risk of serious harm in war or conflict), or humanitarian grounds such as severe illness or family reunification.

In recent years, however, Sweden has shifted toward more restrictive policies.

Since 2022, it has issued more temporary residence permits, limited family reunification programmes and tightened deportation enforcement.

Following the record influx of asylum claims in 2015, the Swedish parliament introduced a temporary emergency law that curtailed family reunification rights and made almost all new permits temporary. The main features were ratified in July 2021.

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Under its 2023 Tidö Agreement, the current centre-right coalition, bolstered by the far-right Sweden Democrats, imposed “the EU’s minimum level” of protection, which uses tougher naturalisation and welfare rules as explicit deterrents.

To be granted asylum in Sweden today, an applicant must clear at least one of the classic Geneva or EU thresholds—fear of persecution, risk of torture or death, or indiscriminate violence—or demonstrate “exceptionally distressing” humanitarian circumstances.

Meanwhile, Abuja-based development economist Dr Aliyu Ilias, reasoned that the exit of more Nigerians and their permanent settlement abroad meant a loss of skilled labour for the country.

He said that with Nigerians battling economic headwinds and deteriorating security at home, the asylum route, however uncertain, still appeared to offer a better prospect.

“So, it is a total brain drain in the long run, and for the economy, it is reducing our GDP. The appalling part is that most of our Nigerian brothers and sisters who go out do not return,” he added.