Latest news with #Barnard


Middle East Eye
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Columbia University suspends or expels almost 80 students for pro-Palestine protest
Columbia University announced new sanctions against student activists on Tuesday, suspending or expelling dozens of students for their participation in pro-Palestine protests. The suspensions will last between one and three years and will require students to write an apology letter if they wish to return to the university. The disciplinary proceedings primarily targeted students involved in the takeover of Butler Library to host a teach-in honouring the Palestinian writer Basel al-Araj, who was killed by Israeli forces in 2017. Protesters renamed the library 'the Basel al-Araj Popular University'. 'The sanctions issued on July 21 by the University Judicial Board were determined by a UJB panel of professors and administrators who worked diligently over the summer to offer an outcome for each individual based on the findings of their case and prior disciplinary outcomes,' Columbia wrote in a statement. Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) said in a statement: 'Once Barnard joins Columbia in announcing charges, these will be the most suspensions for a single political protest in Columbia campus history and hugely exceed sentencing precedent for teach-ins or non-Palestine-related building occupations.' Barnard is a Columbia University affiliate. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters CUAD alleged that Columbia president Claire Shipman modified disciplinary proceedings to crack down on student protesters. '[Shipman] illegally restructured the University Judicial Board (UJB) and removed student members and faculty oversight to pursue exceptionally harsh sanctions against its own students,' CUAD said in a statement. Pro-Palestine protests at Columbia and other universities have come to the forefront since the beginning of Israel's war on Gaza, which several countries, as well as many international rights groups and experts, now say qualify as an act of genocide. More than 100 Palestinians in Gaza, including at least 80 children, have starved to death as a result of Israel's siege, and more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed at aid distribution sites since March. Police on campus Students have condemned Columbia's collaboration with the New York Police Department (NYPD) and Trump administration officials. During the takeover of Butler Library, Columbia invited NYPD officials on to campus, who ultimately arrested 78 demonstrators. Columbia claimed the NYPD's presence was necessary to 'assist in securing the building and the safety of our community'. Georgetown University professor placed on leave over misrepresented X post Read More » But four students were hospitalised with concussions due to NYPD brutality during the protest, according to CUAD. One of the arrested students reported being 'choked and going in and out of consciousness after the arrest. One of [the police officers] kept trying to gouge my eyes. They slammed my head into the floor multiple times.' CUAD alleged that the disciplinary sanctions were a result of talks between Columbia and the Trump administration to restore $400 million in cancelled federal funding. They listed Columbia's adoption of a definition of antisemitism that considers Zionism a protected class and a new partnership with the pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League as similar concessions. Columbia's press office did not respond to a request for clarification. Student activists say they will continue to organise undeterred by disciplinary proceedings. According to one student quoted on CUAD's Substack, 'if this hearing was meant to isolate or shame, it has done the opposite. It has made us more clear: no sanction handed down here can expel principle. Basel al-Araj wrote: 'Join them, and don't betray the question.' We have joined, and we will not betray the question."


Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Perenti Global (AUSDF) was downgraded to a Hold Rating at Bell Potter
In a report released today, Marcus Barnard from Bell Potter downgraded Perenti Global to a Hold, with a price target of A$1.80. The company's shares closed last Friday at $0.90. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. According to TipRanks, Barnard is a 3-star analyst with an average return of 4.9% and a 55.17% success rate. Barnard covers the Financial sector, focusing on stocks such as Platinum Asset Management Ltd, QBE Insurance Group Limited, and Resimac Group Limited. Currently, the analyst consensus on Perenti Global is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $1.09.


TechCrunch
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- TechCrunch
With her app Smash, Kesha can be whoever she wants – even a tech CEO
Kesha – yes, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack Kesha – is now a startup founder. But if you think her journey from raunchy pop star to CEO is unexpected, then you haven't been paying attention. Kesha has always embraced contradictions. She exploded onto the pop scene in 2010 with irreverent ear candy like 'Blah Blah Blah' and 'TiK ToK,' stylizing her name with a dollar sign despite throwing shade at the egregious wealth of Hollywood. She didn't let people dismiss her as a one-dimensional, glitter-clad party girl. As beleaguered high schoolers studied for exams amid Kesha's rise to fame, they whispered in frustration about how the world's most famous party girl got a near-perfect score on the SAT, but turned down a full-ride to Barnard College to sing about peeing in champagne bottles. The biggest contradiction of Kesha's story is that despite living the dream of a pop star on the surface, her years in the spotlight were nightmarish behind the scenes. Now, drawing from her own experience suffering at the hands of predatory record contracts, Kesha is building an app called Smash, which is a way for musicians to find one another, make music together, and establish clear, artist-friendly contracts among collaborators. Smash aims to set itself apart by using a built-in system to generate contracts between artists. The terms of the contracts depend on what each artist decides — for example, a musician may decide to license a beat for set fee, or request a percentage of royalties over time. Smash would fund itself by taking a small cut of payments made through the app. 'One of the pieces of leverage, especially over younger music creators, is you need a way into the club,' Kesha's brother and Smash co-founder Lagan Sebert told TechCrunch. 'With Smash, we want to give music creators the keys to get into this club of professionals and other creators without them feeling like they have to sign anything away, or make any large decisions about the rest of their lives.' After establishing herself as a powerhouse pop star, Kesha sued her producer Dr. Luke in 2014 for alleged sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. He immediately countersued her for defamation, sparking a high-profile legal battle and reckoning with the dark side of pop music. Though Kesha sought to get out of her recording contract with Dr. Luke, the court ruled against her, forcing her to release three more albums with him. Techcrunch event Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. Tech and VC heavyweights join the Disrupt 2025 agenda Netflix, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Sequoia Capital — just a few of the heavy hitters joining the Disrupt 2025 agenda. They're here to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don't miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch Disrupt, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech — grab your ticket now and save up to $675 before prices rise. San Francisco | REGISTER NOW It was only this month — on July 4, a date chosen very intentionally — that Kesha released an album without Dr. Luke for the first time. But regaining her own artistic agency isn't enough. Now that she is a fully independent artist, she wants to help ensure that other young musicians don't fall victim to exploitative record deals like she did. 'One of the things that really motivated her was when she went through this long legal battle to regain the rights to her voice, regain rights to her music,' Sebert said. 'I think the motivation behind Smash more than anything was to try to give music creators access to the community they need to create music independently.' Building the Band If Kesha and her brother were going to build an app, they were going to need some technological expertise. Years ago, Kesha attended an ACTAI Ventures event and met Lars Rasmussen, who co-founded Google Maps and was one of the first investors in design unicorn Canva. The two stayed in touch, and when it came time to build Smash, Rasmussen introduced her to Alan Cannistraro, who would become the app's CTO. Cannistraro spent over 12 years at Apple, where he worked on products for creatives like Final Cut; he also managed a team of engineers to build the first ever apps for iOS, like Remote, iBooks, iTunes, and Podcasts. He went on to start Rheo, a social video startup, but he has always had an interest in music. 'In the late '90s, when my friends were all using Napster, I was saying to them, 'What the hell, you like this music, why are you screwing the artist?'' Cannistraro told TechCrunch. 'It's always just been in my value system that artists need to be supported.' When Kesha, her brother Lagan, and Cannistraro started working together, Rasmussen became one of their first investors. Kesha even announced the app as part of Rasmussen's Panathēnea festival in Greece. 'Smash is a community platform for music creators. It's a place where you can go to connect, to create, and to hire, all while retaining the rights to what you create,' Kesha said at the festival. 'The goal is to shift the power back to the hands of the creators.' 'The contracting is safe — it's all transparent, and then you get to choose, and you get consent over where your art and where your voice goes, and how it goes into the world, all while retaining the rights to what you have just created,' she added. The Smash app remains a work in progress, intending to open to some artists later this year. But to test some of the tech tools that the company has created thus far, Smash hosted a contest where artists could submit remixes of Kesha's song 'Boy Crazy' — the five winners of the contest will have their remixes released on Kesha's record label for what Sebert calls an 'industry standard remix fee.' 'I regained the rights to my voice back for the first time in my adult life about one year ago, as a 37-year-old woman,' Kesha said at Panathēnea. 'Predatory deals like that are normal.'


Time of India
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
Taylor Barnard overtakes Antonio Felix Da Costa in Berlin to claim 3rd position in Formula E Driver Standings
Taylor Barnard This is 21-year-old Taylor Barnard's first full-fledged season as a rookie driver, and the NEOM McLaren racer has achieved what many of his peers couldn't. At the recently held Berlin E-Prix, Barnard put up a strong performance on the track, managing to surpass Antonio Felix Da Costa and take the third spot in the standings. With two races remaining, Barnard still has a chance to overtake Pascal Wehrlein for the second place. Taylor Barnard takes the number 3 spot in Formula E Driver Standings Taylor Barnard outperformed TAG Heuer Porsche's Antonio Felix Da Costa in Berlin. Da Costa, who had been comfortably sitting in third, has now slipped to fourth in the standings. Taking to Instagram to reflect on his Berlin performance, Barnard wrote, 'Reflecting on Berlin. Definitely a weekend of what could have been, but we scored good points across both races, closing the gap to P2 in the standings. An unfortunately timed SC on Sunday cost us the chance of going for the win, but we will maximise our efforts to go into London as strong as possible. How Taylor Barnard surpassed Antonio Felix Da Costa in Driver Standings Taylor Barnard finished fourth in Round 13 and sixth in Round 14 race at the Berlin E-Prix, collecting a total of 20 points. In comparison, Da Costa finished 10th and 8th in the two races, scoring just 5 points — enabling Barnard to leap ahead of him in the standings. Currently, Oliver Rowland has sealed the Formula E Championship title with 184 points. Pascal Wehrlein holds second place with 125 points, while Barnard trails closely behind with 112. A strong performance in London could be enough for Barnard to overtake Wehrlein and claim second place in the championship. So far this season, Barnard has secured five podium finishes — one each in Sao Paulo, Tokyo, and Shanghai, and two in Jeddah — though he is yet to clinch his first Formula E race win. Barnard will now race on home soil in London alongside his McLaren teammate Sam Bird. The duo will sport a new blue-and-white livery and race suits. He recently shared pictures of him in his London-special race suit and captioned it on Instagram, 'One city to go.' Also Read: Oliver Rowland's rise to champion: Rare childhood moments highlighted in touching video The double-header marks the grand finale of Formula E Season 11, scheduled from July 25–27. Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!


Business Insider
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Bell Potter Sticks to Their Buy Rating for VGI Partners Ltd. (RPL)
In a report released today, Marcus Barnard from Bell Potter maintained a Buy rating on VGI Partners Ltd., with a price target of A$3.55. The company's shares opened today at A$2.62. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week. According to TipRanks, Barnard is a 3-star analyst with an average return of 4.9% and a 56.14% success rate. Barnard covers the Financial sector, focusing on stocks such as Platinum Asset Management Ltd, Challenger , and QBE Insurance Group Limited. The word on The Street in general, suggests a Moderate Buy analyst consensus rating for VGI Partners Ltd. with a A$3.30 average price target, which is a 25.95% upside from current levels. In a report released on July 15, Morgans also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a A$3.30 price target.