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Cornell students protest university’s handling of sex assault claims
Students are questioning Cornell University’s response and raising worries about safety on the Ivy League campus, after a sexual assault case involving multiple members of a Cornell University fraternity.
Among those affected was Cornell junior Sophia Riley Sim, who skipped school this week as a 2024 incident’s allegations and the university’s handling of the matter faced increased attention.“Cornell has failed our community due to lack of accountability, lack of transparency, and failure to address the state of the Cornell student body at this time,” Sim, a junior, said Thursday at a public hearing on sexual assault organized by Cornell’s Student Assembly.There has been no real contact from university administration, administrators and faculty.
The Ivy League school has defended its handling of the incident, saying it carried out a thorough investigation and banned the Chi Phi fraternity connected to the alleged attack from campus. The school says it took several disciplinary actions, including expulsions.
It did not immediately reply to a request for further comment.
The hearing, held in one of Cornell’s oldest halls, occurred just days after the claims became public following the filing of a civil case and an announcement that a criminal investigation would be reopened.
The case has renewed criticism of how law enforcement and colleges handle reports of sexual assault, and students are questioning if the protocols are sufficient to safeguard them. New York state officials are also paying attention, naming a special prosecutor to probe the matter.
unsafe feeling
At an Assembly session, speakers broke down in tears and described their experiences of sexual assault, criticizing the attitude of the respected university.
The Student Assembly, which represents Cornell’s undergraduate students and can make suggestions to the university’s bodies or offices, unanimously passed a resolution urging Cornell administration to give a thorough explanation of how the university handled the investigation. It also demanded that the university reveal any disciplinary action taken against the accused students and publish annual reports on the outcome of any future sexual misconduct cases.
Organizers had urged that the hearing not name or record many of the dozens of speakers.
One girl stated she had worked her whole life to get into Cornell and now felt it wasn’t worth it. Several others stated they did not feel protected at the 2,300-acre school in New York’s Finger Lakes region.
A university study released on its website in 2025 found that 35 percent of undergraduate women said they had been subjected to nonconsensual sexual intercourse involving force or incapacitation since entering Cornell. Up from 20% in 2021.“We are going to fight
The lawsuit says fraternity members gave the victim with beer, marijuana and ketamine, and then sexually assaulted her when she was incapacitated. It also claims Cornell did not appropriately discipline some of the implicated students and enabled some to seek reduced punishment by submitting essays. Cornell said the essays were not the sole punishment handed down.
The guys all denied misconduct, the New York Times reported, citing internal Cornell documents. Some men maintained the intercourse was consensual, while others denied participating.
Students at Cornell have planned a rally for Monday to urge for more steps to protect victims.
“I reported a sexual assault to the university and the process really added to my anguish,” said Jane Wang, a public policy major.“Accompanying all of my recovery from the assault mentally, physically and emotionally was an abundance of paperwork, very little instruction on how to navigate it and no follow-up from our office about an outcome,” she stated.
Due to constraints imposed by privacy rules, the Ivy League institution said in a statement on its website, it is unable to release complete information about individual students and disciplinary outcomes. ““This should not be taken as any lack of seriousness regarding the conduct in question,” the statement read.
Several additional female students told the committee that they had been sexually attacked in the past on Cornell’s campus, but provided no details.
“The results from the 2025 survey of sexual assaults were unacceptable,” said Saanya Agarwal, the student women’s issues leader at Cornell University.“Our campus, and campuses across the United States…this is not something that we are going to accept,” added Agarwal. We’re going to battle.
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OpenAI says its AI agents weakened internal monitoring system
Two of OpenAI’s artificial intelligence agents turned off sections of an internal monitoring system designed to identify misbehaviour, the latest example of AI agents operating in ways the developers did not expect, the company said Tuesday.
While the ChatGPT maker stated the incidences occurred during internal code work and were not considered its most serious, the disclosure underscores how even the methods developers use to spot AI misbehavior are vulnerable to the agents they monitor.
The discovery also comes amid rising fears that efforts on AI safety are failing to keep pace with the rapid development of ever more powerful systems. Scientists have cautioned about the emergence of powerful AI agents becoming increasingly autonomous and difficult to monitor and manage.
In recent months, developers including IPO-bound rivals OpenAI and Anthropic have disclosed incidents where their AI agents accessed external systems without authorisation.
In a blog post Tuesday, OpenAI reported that a GPT-6.1 Sol agent on an internal testing task on October 3 disabled automatic security alarms after interpreting an earlier order not to send Slack messages as also covering safety notifications.
Separately, on Oct. 6, an Astra agent using GPT-6 removed a safety monitor when copying an existing piece of code and later stated falsely that it did not do so, OpenAI said.“In both cases, agents thought about keeping monitoring safeguards in place but “interpreted normal coding instructions as permission to weaken them,” the company said.
“OpenAI said it was making it harder for models to disable monitoring, saying it does not ‘yet have a satisfying explanation for this behavior’.
The San Francisco-based company said it was studying whether its models would be inclined to avoid being observed and seek out reasons to justify such behaviour.
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Makkah pact aims to strengthen collective deterrence among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye
Turkiye sent a defence treaty with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to parliament for ratification on Tuesday, three parliamentary sources said, bringing NATO’s second-largest army closer to a formal mutual defence promise with Riyadh as it fears Houthi threats.
The three countries signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August, under which an armed attack on one member is an attack on all.
The first clause of the agreement says the parties shall use “all necessary means” to eradicate threats to each other’s territorial integrity, sovereignty or internationally recognised borders, according to a text seen by Reuters.Article 2 of the agreement states, “If one of the parties is subjected to an armed attack or military aggression by another country or group of countries, the parties shall immediately render assistance to the party which is under attack, with all means of mutual assistance at their disposal.”
Similar to NATO’s Article 5, the clause references Article 51 of the UN Charter, which deals with the individual or collective right of states to self-defence against armed attack.
The same page says the three countries “will determine the scope and nature of the support to be provided following an objective assessment of the assistance required” and will collaborate within their available resources, including military capabilities and resources.
Earlier this month, the three countries decided in an emergency alliance conference in Riyadh to guarantee the “rapid deployment” of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia.
Turkiye, which has its own strong defence sector, has condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, showed a willingness to help satisfy Riyadh’s military technology demands and agreed to join a Saudi-led coalition to assure navigational safety in the Red Sea.
The pact also foresees tight cooperation on the defence sector, exchange of information, logistical support, and the fight against “all forms of terrorism”, including at the operational level.
Parliamentary approval is required for Turkiye to formally sign off on the pact.
The aim is to “strengthen collective deterrence”
Two sources claimed Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus, who is on a visit to Kyrgyzstan, would send the deal to the foreign affairs commission of parliament after he returns. The terms and specifics of the agreement are expected to be released when it is filed with the commission.
The commission may discuss the accord as early as Friday, another person added.
Turkiye’s latest move was an important milestone in the institutionalisation of strategic collaboration between the three countries, Burhanettin Duran, communications director for President Tayyip Erdogan, stated.“This strategic partnership between our countries aims to strengthen collective deterrence, improve joint capabilities in the defence sector and secure security and stability in our region,” Duran said in a post on X.
A Turkish official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Turkey’s own contribution was likely to be limited to military equipment, intelligence sharing and weapons systems, and no other form of deployment had been made under the alliance so far.
“The Mecca Agreement is not a ‘offensive agreement,’ and Turkiye would not send forces to another nation to conduct out operations on its land. When asked how Turkiye could help Saudi Arabia fight against attacks by Yemen’s Houthis, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan responded
Turkey’s constitution needs independent parliamentary approval for any deployment of military overseas, regardless of international agreements.
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Pakistan decide not to participate in Over-50s Cricket World Cup 2027 in India
– Pakistan have decided not to participate in the Over-50 Cricket World Cup 2027 scheduled to take place in India after failing to secure government permission for the tournament.
The competition is scheduled to be held in Hyderabad Deccan from January 23 to February 7, 2027. Pakistan was due to participate as defending champions after winning the 2025 edition in Sri Lanka.
Fawad Ejaz Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA), said Indian veterans cricket officials had assured the Pakistani team of visa arrangements and high-level security for the tournament.
He said the association had sought permission to participate from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Interior. However, Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi subsequently informed the association that permission would not be granted.
Following the government’s decision, the association decided against sending the team to India, Khan said, adding that the organisation respected the government’s position.
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