Latvia launches operation against illegal migration from Belarus

Pastor Oscar Bugardt, who previously caused controversy with statements claiming that gay men should be kept in cages and that 99% of pedophiles are homosexuals, is now advocating for a 'queer-free' Cape Town.

Bugardt, known for his controversial remarks regarding LGBTQ+ individuals, recently used Facebook to urge residents to support his candidacy for mayor under the banner of the Straight Party in the upcoming local elections on November 4th. He clarified that he is not an official candidate but is merely presenting his vision for the city should he attain the office. He insists that his publication does not violate the court injunction that previously restricted his speech.

He stated that he does not consider his post a violation of the judicial order that silenced him. In his message, he promised to lower water and electricity bills, as well as abolish taxes that he believes unduly burden citizens. Furthermore, he pledged to immediately cease funding for the World Pride Day 2028 event and redirect those funds to healthcare, law enforcement, and homeless housing.

At the end of his appeal, he wrote: 'Straight Party; where everything is done straightforwardly. Vote for OP Bugardt as mayor for a queer-free Cape Town for LGBTQ+ (sic)'.

Cape Town is hosting WorldPride in 2028, which will be the first time this event is held in Africa. The city won the right to host the event in November 2024, securing 53% of the votes from InterPride member organizations, ahead of a competing bid from Guadalajara, Mexico. The handover took place in Amsterdam on Saturday, and the event itself will run from September 28 to October 14 of that year.

The Western Cape Equality Court sentenced Bugardt to nine months in prison with a five-year deferral on August 10, 2023, for disobeying previous orders to stop anti-gay statements. He was not incarcerated. The court prohibited him from publishing, posting, or sharing statements on any social media concerning sexual orientation or other grounds protected by the Equality Act. This deferral period lasts until 2028, the year Cape Town hosts the event he wishes to defund.

In 2014, he signed a settlement agreement with the South African Human Rights Commission, agreeing to cease making statements that discriminate against or incite hatred based on sexual orientation. In 2018, he was found guilty of disrespecting this order and received 30 days in prison with a five-year deferral. Among the statements that formed the basis for this ruling were his claims about cages and pedophiles.

'I am not trying to deny what I wrote. I wrote it and I defend my right to express political opinion,' he stated. 'What I dispute is the assumption that expressing this opinion automatically constitutes a breach of a court order. If there is a legal dispute over the meaning or scope of the order, that is ultimately a matter for the court.'

The common acronym LGBTQIA+ uses letters representing lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual, with the plus sign encompassing unlisted identities. Bugardt omitted the letters for transgender and asexual in his post and reversed the order of the others. When asked what this means in practice, he replied that he would oppose the use of municipal funds to promote what he termed political or propaganda initiatives for LGBTQ+. He called this an expression of a political viewpoint.

He noted: 'It seems the question stems from the assumption that a Facebook post stating what I will do if I become mayor is equivalent to confirming a factual candidacy. That is not the case.' He added: 'I am a public figure and have the right to express political views, including what I believe should be done if I hold public office. Part of the essence was demonstrating how quickly assumptions can be presented as established facts.'

He declined to say whether the Straight Party is registered with the IEC or if he is a registered candidate. Bugardt also refused to state the amount the city allocated for WorldPride, saying he would not make it up. He emphasized that the mayor cannot ignore council processes, and that if elected, he would raise this issue at the council level. Bugardt reported that the South African Human Rights Commission, which filed previous complaints regarding the disregard of the order, has the right to go to court, and he has the right to oppose that.

A group of current and former Palestinian students and staff has sued Columbia University, accusing the Ivy League institution of discriminating against Palestinians and targeting Palestinian activism on campus.

The lawsuit was filed in the New York State Supreme Court this week. The complaint alleges that following the attacks organized by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent genocide of Palestinians in Gaza perpetrated by Israel, Columbia subjected Palestinian students, faculty, and staff to unequal treatment.

The plaintiffs claim that Columbia 'actively participated in and amplified' what they describe as racist, ethnic, and politically motivated harassment of Palestinians. Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and former Columbia graduate student, also highlighted the lawsuit on X, noting that students are suing over alleged discrimination in the university's response to protests in support of Palestinians and Gaza.

The plaintiffs assert that the university failed to adequately protect its Palestinian community members from persecution while subjecting pro-Palestinian activists to 'unfair and biased disciplinary hearings.' According to local media, Columbia declined to comment on the ongoing legal proceedings and did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Among the allegations is Columbia hiring private detectives to monitor students who participated in the 'Resistance 101' event in March 2024. Six such students were subsequently suspended and evicted from university housing, as stated in the lawsuit.

The filing also accuses the university of an inadequate response to alleged physical assaults on Palestinians, including instances of forced removal of keffiyehs, as well as the spraying of noxious substances during a demonstration in January 2024 in support of Palestinians. Furthermore, the lawsuit challenges Columbia's decision to call in the NYPD to campus to dismantle Palestinian protest encampments and arrest demonstrators in 2024.

The plaintiffs include lecturer and former anthropology student Hadil Assali, former lecturer Bahia Munem, graduate student Mahdi Sabbagh, 2025 graduate and former student movement organizer Mariam Alwan, and Laila Saliba, who graduated from Columbia's School of Social Work in 2025. Saliba was previously among Palestinian students who accused Columbia of discrimination in a federal civil rights complaint filed in 2024. At that time, she stated that Palestinian students were being mistreated and called on the university to acknowledge anti-Palestinian racism.

Pressure on Columbia

This lawsuit comes amid years of debate over how Columbia handles protests against the war in Gaza. In July 2025, Columbia reached an agreement with the Trump administration to resolve federal investigations into alleged violations of anti-discrimination laws and restore federal research funding that had been frozen by the government.

Under this agreement, the university agreed to pay the U.S. government $200 million and an additional $21 million to settle Equal Employment Opportunity Commission investigations concerning allegations of antisemitism against Jewish employees. Columbia did not admit guilt and disagreed with the government's finding of a violation of Title VI Civil Rights Act.

The university also settled a separate lawsuit filed by Jewish plaintiffs in February 2026, which claimed that Columbia failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students from antisemitism. Meanwhile, Palestinian activists and free speech groups have repeatedly criticized Columbia for disproportionately harsh punishment of opposition to Israel. Reuters reported that students faced arrests, suspensions, expulsions, and revocation of diplomas during the university's campaign to suppress Palestinian protests.

The new lawsuit seeks monetary compensation under the New York City Human Rights Law, which prohibits discrimination and harassment based on characteristics including race and national origin.

This woman, who lost her voice, never stopped teaching. For over thirty years, she was a beloved teacher in Bandra.

At the age of 55, Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) changed almost every aspect of her life, affecting her mobility, speech, and ultimately, her ability to live independently.

However, she refused to let the disease deprive her of purpose. She continued to teach remotely, communicating through blinking and lip movements, composing poems, helping nurses learn English, and approaching every therapy with remarkable hope and determination. Even when her teaching method had to change, her desire to educate remained constant.

She passed away this year, but MSA never became her identity. She left behind something much stronger—a reminder that resilience is not always about winning against what happens to us, but about choosing how we continue to live through the ordeal.