Clashes on UCLA campus over Gaza

Plus, 'the world's largest hunger crisis.'

Sign up for Reuters newsletters Daily Briefing Protests on US college campuses remain under the spotlight with violence clashes at UCLA after police arrests at Columbia. We also have the latest on protests in Georgia and the need for ammunition in Ukraine.   Plus, as famine looms in Sudan, the hungry eat soil and leaves.   By Edson Caldas Today's Top News Counter-protesters attempt to move a barricade amidst clashes with protesters in support of Palestinians at UCLA. REUTERS/David Swanson US COLLEGE PROTESTS Violent clashes erupted on the campus of the University of California in Los Angeles between pro-Palestinian protesters and a group of counter-demonstrators, according to live video coverage. Police are responding to UCLA Chancellor Gene Block's request for support. Late last night, New York City police arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian demonstrators holed-up in an academic building on Columbia University campus and removed a protest encampment the Ivy League school had sought to dismantle for nearly two weeks.  THE WAR IN GAZA US Secretary of State Antony Blinken kicked off a series of meetings with Israeli leaders discussing how to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza while at the same time he repeatedly urged Palestinian militant Hamas to accept a deal offer that will release hostages and achieve a ceasefire. The United Nations warned that an Israeli assault on Rafah in the Gaza Strip was "on the immediate horizon" and that "incremental" progress by Israel on aid access to the enclave could not be used to prepare for or justify an operation. Follow the latest on the conflict. IN OTHER NEWS Georgian security forces used water cannon, tear gas and stun grenades against protesters outside parliament, sharply escalating a crackdown after lawmakers debated a "foreign agents" bill which is viewed by the opposition and Western nations as authoritarian and Russian-inspired. Russia attacked Ukraine's Kharkiv region with guided bombs, killing at least two people, the regional governor said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces defending the strategic stronghold of Chasiv Yar say they are still waiting for fresh ammunition after the US approved a major military aid package. Follow the latest. Taiwan is on alert for China to carry out military exercises after the inauguration of President-elect Lai Ching-te this month, the island's top security official said, adding China has already begun using unusual new tactics. Lai, like current President Tsai Ing-wen, rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims over Taiwan. Business & Markets As US central bank officials conclude their latest two-day policy meeting with a new statement and comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, Fed Correspondent Howard Schneider joins the Reuters World News podcast to explain their likely holding pattern and what might be next for interest rates.  Global investors are eyeing European and emerging market assets to protect themselves from further turbulence in US stocks and bonds. April was a washout on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 share index and US Treasuries posting their biggest monthly loss since September. Elon Musk's abrupt decision to lay off employees who ran Tesla's electric vehicle charging business blindsided automakers gearing up to equip new EVs for customers to use the Tesla Supercharger network, officials and analysts said. For more on the industry, sign up to the Auto File newsletter. Once considered the most powerful crypto industry figure, Changpeng Zhao, the former chief executive of Binance, was sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty to violating US laws against money laundering at the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. A majority of Americans believe that China uses TikTok to shape US public opinion, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Some 58% of respondents agreed with a statement that the Chinese government uses TikTok, which is owned by ByteDance, to "influence American public opinion."  Special Report: As famine looms in Sudan, the hungry eat soil and leaves A street in the Sudanese city of Omdurman damaged in the year-long civil war. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig Nearly five million people are close to famine as the country's civil war passes the one-year mark. Aid officials say the warring parties – the army and the Rapid Support Forces – are looting aid or blocking it from reaching areas where starvation is taking hold. But 'the world's largest hunger crisis' is drawing little global attention. Read the full report. And Finally... For this Turkish performer, drag is a political act. REUTERS/Dilara Senkaya Ilker Yazici was in secondary school when he discovered he was gay. "At first I struggled with myself a lot," he said. "You grow up in the Middle East. It is not easy. I felt like I was the only one, just like most LGBT people feel." Ilker, now 23, never felt the need to hide, however, and went on to celebrate who he is. In this photo essay, Ilker says he sees drag performance as an act of self-expression rather than just entertainment. Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters.com Reuters Daily Briefing is sent 5 days a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here.   Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. 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