An esteemed economist, Minouche Shafik was thrilled to become president of one of America's most prestigious colleges.

But her name will now be tied with dramatic images of New York police arresting pro-Palestinian students at the Columbia University campus.

Less than a year after taking up the role, 61-year-old Shafik finds herself at the heart of a storm over her handling of the protests that spread to other colleges in the United States.

Columbia University normally teems with students, but a "Free Palestine" banner now hangs from a building where young protesters have barricaded themselves and the few wandering through campus generally appear tense.

Students here were among the first to embrace the pro-Palestinian campus encampment movement, which has spread to a number of universities across the United States.

Brown University on Tuesday reached an agreement with students protesting the war in Gaza that would see them remove their encampment from school grounds in exchange for the institution considering divesting from Israel.

The move represents a first major concession from an elite American university amid relentless student protests that have paralyzed campuses across the country, divided public opinion and led to hundreds of arrests.

French-Iranian artist Marjane Satrapi, whose graphic novel "Persepolis" tells the story of a girl growing up in post-revolutionary Iran, was Tuesday awarded Spain's prestigious Princess of Asturias communications and humanities prize.

The prize jury praised the 54-year-old as "one of the most prominent names in international comics, author of what is, for many, one of the best graphic novels ever published."

"Satrapi is a symbol of civic engagement led by women," it added, calling her "an essential voice in the defence of human rights and freedom".

United Nations chief Antonio Guterres on Tuesday urged Israel not to invade southern Gaza's Rafah city, after the Israeli prime minister said an offensive would go forward regardless of a pending hostage deal with Hamas.

With the war roiling the region, international outrage mounting over the human toll, and mediators ramping up diplomatic efforts to ease the crisis and reach a truce, Guterres implored Israel not to go ahead with its operation.

Protesters from a Palestinian university chased a group of European diplomats out of a museum in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday over what activists said was their position on the Gaza war.

Video posted on social media showed Italian consul general Domenico Bellato hurrying away from the Palestinian Museum near the city of Ramallah followed by a crowd of demonstrators.

"The student's movement refused those visitors to come to the museum because of their position on the genocide in Gaza. For that we asked them to leave," student representative Omar Kayed told AFP.

US forces were expected to complete a floating pier on Gaza's coast later this week, allowing more aid deliveries into the besieged Palestinian territory, the president of Cyprus said Tuesday.

The Mediterranean island nation hopes to be a hub for a "maritime corridor" to ship relief goods to the 2.4 million people of Gaza, who have been under Israeli bombardment and siege since Hamas launched its October 7 attack.

Clashes broke out on Wednesday at pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles, as dozens of universities around the United States struggle to contain similar protests.

Protesters and counter-protesters were seen clashing with sticks, and tearing down metal barricades, TV footage showed.

Others were seen launching fireworks or hurling objects at each other in the dark -- lit up with laser pointers and bright flashlights. Tear smoke was also fired at rival protesters, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

Hundreds of university students in Lebanon protested on Tuesday against Israel's bombardment of Gaza, inspired by recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have rocked US and European campuses, AFP correspondents said.

Dozens of students gathered at the prestigious American University of Beirut (AUB), some wearing the traditional Arab keffiyeh scarf that has long been a symbol of the Palestinian cause, an AFP photographer said.

"We are Palestine's neighbours. If we do not stand with them today, who will?" asked AUB student Zeina, 23, declining to provide her surname.

McDonald's reported a modest increase in quarterly profits Tuesday despite a boycott stemming from the Middle East conflict expected to drag on sales for the foreseeable future.

While the boycott is not "getting worse," Chief Executive Chris Kempczinski does not have a timeframe for a return to normal conditions.

"We're not expecting to see any meaningful improvement in the impact... until the war is over," he told analysts on a conference call.