The world in brief

Stockmarkets in America rose after underwhelming labour-market data fuelled hopes of interest-rate cuts. The Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that America added 175,000 new non-farm jobs in April, fewer than expected, and well below March’s revised figure of 315,000. Unemployment edged up to 3.9%, from 3.8%. The figures triggered speculation that the Federal Reserve could begin cutting interest rates by as early as September.

Police clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters at several college campuses as disruption seen at American universities spread around the world. In Canada, authorities moved to dismantle an encampment at McGill University in Montreal demanding that the school divests from Israel. Police in Paris removed some 70 student protesters from buildings at Sciences Po university. Some 200 demonstrators were arrested at the University of California, Los Angeles.