WASHINGTON: The US State Department said Wednesday it is restarting the suspended process for foreigners applying for student visas but all applicants will now be required to unlock their social media accounts for government review.
The department said consular officers will be on the lookout for posts and messages that could be deemed hostile to the United States, its government, culture, institutions or founding principles.
In a notice made public Wednesday, the department said it had rescinded its May suspension of student visa processing but said new applicants who refuse to set their social media accounts to “public” and allow them to be reviewed may be rejected. It said a refusal to do so could be a sign they are trying to evade the requirement or hide their online activity.
The Trump administration last month temporarily halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the US while preparing to expand the screening of their activity on social media, officials said.
Students around the world have been waiting anxiously for US consulates to reopen appointments for visa interviews, as the window left to book their travel and make housing arrangements narrows ahead of the start of the school year.
On Wednesday afternoon, a 27-year-old Ph.D. student in Toronto was able to secure an appointment for a visa interview next week. The student, a Chinese national, hopes to travel to the US for a research internship that would start in late July. “I’m really relieved,” said the student, who spoke on condition of being identified only by his surname, Chen, because he was concerned about being targeted. “I’ve been refreshing the website couple of times every day.”
Students from China, India, Mexico and the Philippines have posted on social media sites that they have been monitoring visa booking websites and closely watching press briefings of the State Department to get any indication of when appointment scheduling might resume.
In reopening the visa process, the State Department also told consulates to prioritize students hoping to enroll at colleges where foreigners make up less than 15 percent of the student body, a US official familiar with the matter said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to detail information that has not been made public.
Foreign students make up more than 15 percent of the total student body at almost 200 US universities, according to an Associated Press analysis of federal education data from 2023. Most are private universities, including all eight Ivy League schools. But that criteria also includes 26 public universities, including the University of Illinois and Pennsylvania State University. Looking only at undergraduate students, foreign students make up more than 15 percent of the population at about 100 universities, almost all of them private.
International students in the US have been facing increased scrutiny on several fronts. In the spring, the Trump administration revoked permission to study in the US for thousands of students, including some involved only in traffic offenses, before abruptly reversing course. The government also expanded the grounds on which foreign students can have their legal status terminated.
As part of a pressure campaign targeting Harvard University, the Trump administration has moved to block foreign students from attending the Ivy League school, which counts on international students for tuition dollars and a quarter of its enrollment. Trump has said Harvard should cap its foreign enrollment at 15 percent.
This latest move to vet students’ social media, the State Department said Wednesday, “will ensure we are properly screening every single person attempting to visit our country.”
In internal guidance sent to consular officers, the department said they should be looking for “any indications of hostility toward the citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles of the United States.”
Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said the new policy evokes the ideological vetting of the Cold War, when prominent artists and intellectuals were excluded from the US
“This policy makes a censor of every consular officer, and it will inevitably chill legitimate political speech both inside and outside the United States,” Jaffer said.
The Trump administration also has called for 36 countries to commit to improving vetting of travelers or face a ban on their citizens visiting the United States. A weekend diplomatic cable sent by the State Department says the countries have 60 days to address US concerns or risk being added to a travel ban that now includes 12 nations.
US resumes visas for foreign students but demands access to social media accounts
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US resumes visas for foreign students but demands access to social media accounts
- The Trump administration last month temporarily halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for foreign students hoping to study in the US w
- Foreign students make up more than 15 percent of the total student body at almost 200 US universities
Kenya’s president warns against bid to ‘overthrow’ govt by protests
NAIROBI: Kenyan President William Ruto warned Wednesday against attempts to “overthrow” the government through “unconstitutional means,” claiming recent violent protests were sponsored.
“They want to start chaos, organize protests, burn people’s property, bring disaster so as to overthrow the government before 2027... You cannot tell us that you want to organize chaos to overthrow the government!” Ruto said in Swahili.
Europe’s top human rights court is set to rule on cases against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine
- Judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg will rule on four cases, brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia
THE HAGUE: Europe’s top human rights court is set to rule Wednesday on Russia’s actions in the conflict in Ukraine, including human rights violations during the full-scale invasion and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.
Judges at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg will rule on four cases, brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia, marking the first time an international court will adjudicate Russian culpability for the wider conflict in Ukraine dating from 2014.
Any decision will be largely symbolic. The complaints were brought before the court’s governing body expelled Moscow in 2022, following the full-scale invasion.
Families of the victims of the MH17 disaster see the decision as an important milestone in their 11-year quest for justice.
“It’s a real step in understanding who was really responsible,” Thomas Schansman, who lost his 18-year-old son Quinn in the tragedy, told The Associated Press.
The Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down on July 17, 2014, using a Russian-made Buk missile fired from territory in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels. All 298 passengers and crew were killed, including 196 Dutch citizens.
In May, the UN’s aviation agency found Russia responsible for the disaster.
The ECHR is an important part of the Council of Europe, which is the continent’s foremost human rights institution. Russia was expelled from the council over Moscow’s invasion and war in Ukraine. However, the court can still deal with cases against Russia dating from before its expulsion.
In 2023, the judges sided with Ukraine and the Netherlands in a challenge over jurisdiction, finding there was sufficient evidence to show areas in eastern Ukraine controlled by separatist rebels were “under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation,” including providing weapons, and giving political and economic support.
Wednesday’s ruling won’t be the last from the EHCR dealing with the war. Kyiv has other cases pending against Russia and there are nearly 10,000 cases brought by individuals against the Kremlin.
The decisions in Strasbourg are separate from a criminal prosecution in the Netherlands in which two Russians and a Ukrainian rebel were convicted in absentia of multiple murders for their roles in the downing of Flight MH17.
Meanwhile, in 2022, the United Nations’ top court ordered Russia to stop military operations in Ukraine while a case is heard, a process that takes years. Russia has flouted the order by the International Court of Justice.
Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky formally approved plans to set up a new international court to prosecute senior Russian officials for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Schansman, who has also brought an individual case to the ECHR, has no plans to stop pursuing justice, more than a decade after his son’s death. “The worst thing we could to is stop fighting,” he told AP. “MH17 is not a case that will disappear for Russia.”
Russian FM Lavrov to visit North Korea this weekend
- Russia's security chief Sergei Shoigu has visited Pyongyang multiple times this year
SEOUL: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit North Korea this weekend, state media reported, the latest in a series of high-profile visits by top Moscow officials as the two countries deepen military ties.
Lavrov "will visit the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from July 11 to 13 at the invitation of the DPRK Foreign Ministry," the official Korean Central News Agency reported Wednesday.
Russia's security chief Sergei Shoigu has visited Pyongyang multiple times this year, including last month, when the two countries marked the one year anniversary of the signing of a sweeping military pact.
The two heavily-sanctioned nations signed the military deal last year, including a mutual defence clause, during a rare visit by Russian leader Vladimir Putin to the nuclear-armed North.
Pyongyang has become one of Moscow's main allies during its more than three-year-long Ukraine offensive, sending thousands of troops and container loads of weapons to help the Kremlin oust Ukrainian forces from Kursk region.
Around 600 North Korean soldiers have been killed and thousands more wounded fighting for Russia, Seoul has said, with Shoigu announcing in Pyongyang last month that the nuclear-armed North would send builders and deminers to Kursk.
North Korea only confirmed it had deployed troops to support Russia's war in Ukraine in April, and admitted that its soldiers had been killed in combat.
Leader Kim Jong Un has subsequently been shown in state media images honouring the flag-draped coffins of North Korean soldiers killed helping Russia fight Ukraine.
China says EU ‘mentality’, not trade, needs to be rebalanced
- EU chief Ursula von der Leyen remarked the EU would seek to rebalance economic ties with China, demanding it eases market access for European firms and loosen export controls on rare earths
BEIJING: Beijing said on Wednesday that the European Union needed to rebalance its “mentality,” not its economic ties with China, ahead of a summit between the two this month.
“It is hoped that the European side realizes that what needs to be rebalanced right now is Europe’s mentality, not China-EU economic and trade relations,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday the EU would seek to rebalance economic ties with China, demanding it eases market access for European firms and loosen export controls on rare earths.
Addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg, von der Leyen said Beijing was running the largest trade surplus “in the history of mankind” exporting vast amounts to the EU while making it harder for European companies to do business in China.
The trade deficit between China and the EU was a yawning $357 billion in 2024.
The commission leader, who will travel to Beijing with European Council President Antonio Costa, said the pair will seek to loosen export restrictions on rare earths — while Brussels also looks at “developing alternative supply resources.”
Beijing snapped back on Wednesday, saying that in the “current turbulent situation,” the bloc and China should “properly handle divergences and frictions.”
“We hope that the European Union will truly establish a more objective and rational understanding of China and pursue a more positive and pragmatic China policy,” Mao said.
Taiwan kicks off military drills in face of China threat
- The self ruled island faces the constant threat of an invasion by China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to seize it
TAIPEI: Taiwan kicked off its largest military drills Wednesday with regular troops joined by a record mobilization of reservists for 10 days of training aimed at defending against a Chinese invasion.
The annual “Han Kuang” exercises, which are being held at the same time as civilian defense drills, will run from July 9-18 and feature newly delivered US high-tech rocket systems.
The self-ruled island democracy faces the constant threat of an invasion by China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened to use force to seize it.
Chinese military pressure has intensified in recent years, with Beijing deploying fighter jets and warships around the island on a near-daily basis.
In the lead-up to the drills Wednesday, Taiwan detected 31 sorties by Chinese military aircraft and seven warships around the island in the 24 hours to 6:00 am (2200 GMT Tuesday), according to the defense ministry.
Taiwan has boosted defense spending and acquired smaller and more nimble weaponry, including drones, to enable its military to wage asymmetric warfare against its more powerful foe.
Twenty-two thousand reservists — the largest ever call-up — are participating in this year’s drills, having begun a training program Saturday.
Reservist training includes familiarization with rifles, squad and platoon machine guns, and tactical maneuvers.
“Because these reservists have been discharged and away for a long time, upon return they need to undergo specialty refresher training,” said an army officer who asked not to be named.
On Wednesday, reservists wearing camouflage uniforms, helmets and boots were put through their paces, practicing cleaning, assembling and aiming 65K2 rifles and machine guns.
Taipei is eager to show the world, especially its key security backer Washington, that it is serious about boosting its military capability.
The drills will “let the international community know that we are determined to defend ourselves, and to pass on to China that the nation’s military has the confidence and ability to defend a free and democratic life,” Taiwanese Defense Minister Wellington Koo said recently.
This year’s drills have been extended to 10 days and nine nights, from five days and four nights last year.
The Han Kuang began in 1984 when the island was still under martial law.
Troops will simulate various scenarios including “grey zone harassment” — tactics that fall short of an act of war — as well as “long-range precision strikes” to combat a Chinese invasion in 2027, defense officials have said.
Officials in the United States — Taipei’s biggest arms supplier — have previously cited 2027 as a possible timeline for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
Recently delivered High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from the United States will be used during the drills.
There will also be a separate live fire event involving US-made advanced M1A2 Abrams tanks.
Taiwanese defense officials have been closely monitoring the war in Ukraine and their use of a decentralized command and control structure.
“When we think practically about combat, we consider what kind of scenario Taiwan might face,” a senior defense official said on the eve of the drills.
“Commanders at all levels need to be able to decide what to do based on their understanding of their superior’s intent. This usually requires peacetime training to build up their awareness in this regard.”
The exercises are being held as President Lai Ching-te, who is a staunch defender of Taiwan’s sovereignty, tours the island delivering speeches aimed at “uniting the country.”
China has carried out several large-scale military drills around Taiwan since Lai took office last year, as the island rejects China’s sovereignty stance.
China specialists at risk analysis firm Eurasia Group said Beijing was “likely” to carry out more military exercises at the end of July.
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