Category: International

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has threatened to revoke Harvard University’s ability to enroll foreign students if the instituition fails to comply with the President Donald Trump’s administration’s demand for information on some visa holders.

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday announced the ultimatum alongside the termination of two grants totalling over $2.7 million.

In a letter to Harvard, Noem cited “illegal and violent activities” reportedly linked to its foreign student visa holders, insisting the university provide the requested records by April 30.

“And if Harvard cannot verify it is in full compliance with its reporting requirements, the university will lose the privilege of enrolling foreign students,” Noem said in a statement.

A Harvard spokesperson said the university was aware of Noem’s letter “regarding grant cancellations and scrutiny of foreign student visas.”

The spokesperson said the university stood by its statement earlier in the week to “not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights” while saying it will comply with the law.

President Donald Trump’s administration has threatened universities with federal funding cuts over pro-Palestinian campus protests.

The authorities are also attempting to deport some foreign protesters and has revoked hundreds of visas across the country.

“With a $53.2 billion endowment, Harvard can fund its own chaos – DHS won’t,” Noem said, adding an “anti-American, pro-Hamas ideology” existed at Harvard.

Harvard has previously said it worked to fight antisemitism and other prejudice on its campus while preserving academic freedoms and the right to protest.

Academic freedom

The Trump administration said late last month it was reviewing $9 billion in federal contracts and grants to Harvard and later called for restrictions — including a mask ban and removal of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes — to be put in place for the university to continue receiving federal money.

Harvard on Monday rejected numerous demands that it said would cede control to the government. The Trump administration subsequently said it was freezing $2.3 billion in funding.

Trump also threatened on Tuesday to strip Harvard of its tax-exempt status. CNN reported on Wednesday the US Internal Revenue Service was making plans to rescind the tax-exempt status of Harvard and that a final decision was expected soon.

Harvard said there was no legal basis to rescind its tax-exempt status, saying such an action will be unprecedented, will diminish its financial aid for students and will lead to abandonment of some critical medical research programmes.

Human rights advocates have raised free speech and academic freedom concerns over the crackdown by the government.

The Trump administration has frozen or canceled some funding for universities like Columbia, Princeton, Brown, Cornell and Northwestern as well.

It has also threatened to withhold funding over culture war issues such as DEI programmes and transgender policies.

A US judge has threatened contempt proceedings against the Trump administration over its failure to stop deportation flights to El Salvador, defying a court order issued in March, BBC reported. 

More than 200 Venezuelans accused by the White House of gang affiliation were flown to El Salvador using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. However, Judge James Boasberg had placed a 14-day restraining order on deportations under this law.

Despite the order, flights proceeded. Boasberg said the government’s failure to respond adequately to the court’s demands amounted to “wilful disregard”. He said: “None of their responses has been satisfactory.”

While the Supreme Court later upheld the use of the 1798 act, Boasberg clarified this did not excuse the prior non-compliance. He warned contempt charges could be avoided if the administration submits a full explanation and complies with the original order by 23 April.

Should the administration fail to do so, Boasberg indicated he would seek to identify and possibly recommend prosecution for those responsible.

The White House denied any defiance. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted the deportations occurred before the judge’s order was issued. “The administration did not ‘refuse to comply’ with a court order,” she said.

White House Communications Director Steven Cheung confirmed plans to appeal: “We plan to seek immediate appellate relief.” He added: “The President is 100% committed to ensuring that terrorists and criminal illegal migrants are no longer a threat to Americans.”

Trump criticised Boasberg online, calling him a “troublemaker and agitator” and calling for his removal.

The deportation flights were part of a $6m (£4.6m) agreement with El Salvador. President Nayib Bukele recently met Trump at the White House to discuss expanding the programme.

A Berlin-based doctor is facing charges for the murder of 15 palliative care patients in a chilling case prosecutors say was driven purely by a “lust for murder”, The Guardian reported. 

The 40-year-old, named as Johannes M. by German media, allegedly administered fatal doses of sedatives and muscle relaxants to patients aged between 25 and 94, causing rapid respiratory arrest.

The deaths occurred between September 2021 and July 2024. In several cases, prosecutors allege the doctor attempted to destroy evidence by setting fires in victims’ homes. One fire failed to ignite, and he reportedly called a relative, feigning concern.

On 8 July 2024, he is said to have killed two people just hours apart. In another incident, he called emergency services himself, falsely claiming he had tried to resuscitate the patient.

Initially arrested for manslaughter in four cases, the charges have since grown to 15 murders. “The accused appears to have had no motive… other than the act of killing itself,” said the prosecution.

Authorities are seeking a permanent medical ban and long-term preventative detention for the suspect. An investigation team is reviewing 395 additional cases, with 95 already under preliminary scrutiny.

Twelve bodies have been exhumed so far, five tied to the current charges. Another five exhumations are scheduled.

The case is drawing comparisons to a separate German trial where a nurse is accused of killing nine patients, allegedly to reduce workload and assert control.

WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is weighing penalties that would block China’s DeepSeek from buying US technology and is debating barring Americans’ access to its services, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

The launch of China’s low-cost AI model, DeepSeek, has rattled the AI ecosystem. The US government has since taken steps to crack down on the Chinese start-up and its support from chip maker Nvidia.

Nvidia’s AI chips have been a key focus of US export controls, as US officials aim to prevent the most advanced chips from being sold to China in an effort to maintain a lead in the AI race.

The Trump administration this week moved to restrict Nvidia’s sale of AI chips to China.

The US House Select Committee on China said in a report that “it has sent a formal letter to Nvidia demanding answers about sales to China and Southeast Asia to examine whether and how its chips ended up powering DeepSeek’s AI models—despite US export restrictions”.

Nvidia warned on Tuesday of a $5.5 billion hit after Washington restricted exports of its H20 AI chip to China. The move to restrict H20 shipments is Trump’s latest effort to limit China’s access to advanced semiconductors.

The US has banned exports of Nvidia’s most advanced chips to China since 2022, concerned that advanced technologies could be used by China to build up its military capabilities.

DeepSeek, the White House and the Commerce Department did not immediately respond to Reuters‘ requests for comment.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has refused to return Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the United States, claiming it would be tantamount to smuggling a terrorist back into the country, Reuters reported. 

During a meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, Bukele rejected the notion that he had any authority to comply with a US court order to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s return. The Salvadoran national had been living in Maryland and was deported despite a judge’s ruling protecting him from removal.

“How can I smuggle a terrorist into the United States?” Bukele asked, reiterating allegations by US officials that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang. His lawyers strongly deny this, and a federal appeals court noted the government had failed to offer credible evidence.

Trump, who has made immigration a central issue, has deported hundreds—many Venezuelans—to El Salvador using the 1798 Alien Enemies Act. He expressed enthusiasm for Bukele’s approach to crime, pledging US support to build more prisons.

Abrego Garcia is being held in El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center, a facility widely criticised for its harsh conditions and alleged abuse of human rights. Bukele defended the mass arrests, saying, “We liberated millions,” drawing a smile from Trump who replied, “Can I use that?”

US Attorney General Pam Bondi said the court order only compels American cooperation if El Salvador agrees. Secretary of State Marco Rubio added that the president, not the courts, determines foreign policy.

Although a judge previously ruled Abrego Garcia faced serious danger if returned to El Salvador, the Trump administration said in a court filing that it had no duty to assist his release.

Protesters, including Abrego Garcia’s wife, gathered outside the White House chanting, “Bring Kilmar home.” The US has also recently deported 10 more alleged gang members to El Salvador, though advocates insist many of them were never given a fair chance to refute the accusations.

The European Union unveiled a list of seven nations designated as “safe” on Wednesday, proposing a controversial policy to fast-track migrant deportations by curtailing asylum rights for citizens of these countries across the bloc.

The European Commission said it was proposing to designate Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco and Tunisia as “safe countries of origin”.

The move, criticised by rights groups, is set to allow EU governments to process asylum applications filed by citizens of those countries more quickly by introducing a presumption that such claims lack merit.

“Many member states are facing a significant backlog of asylum applications, so anything we can do now to support faster asylum decisions is essential,” said Magnus Brunner, the EU’s commissioner for migration.

Brussels has been under pressure to clamp down on irregular arrivals and facilitate deportations, following a souring of public opinion on migration that has fuelled hard-right electoral gains in several countries.

On Wednesday, the commission said EU candidate nations would also, in principle, meet the criteria to be designated as safe countries.

But it also laid out exceptions, including when they are hit by a conflict — something that would, for example, exclude Ukraine.

The EU had already presented a similar list in 2015, but the plan was abandoned due to heated debates over whether or not to include Turkey, another candidate for membership.

The list published Wednesday can be expanded or reviewed over time and was drawn up looking at nations from which a significant number of applicants currently come, the commission said.

Several member states already designate countries they deem “safe” for asylum — France’s list, for instance, includes Mongolia, Serbia and Cape Verde.

The EU effort aims to harmonise rules and ensure that all members have the same baseline.

States can individually add countries to the EU list, but not subtract from it.

Asylum cases will still have to be examined individually, ensuring that existing safeguards remain in place and asylum-seekers are not rejected outright, the commission added.

The plan has to be approved by the European Parliament and member states before it can enter into force.

But it has already come under fire from human rights groups.

EuroMed Rights, an umbrella group, said some of the countries featured in the EU list suffered from “documented rights abuses and limited protections for both their own citizens and migrants”.

“Labelling them ‘safe’ is misleading — & dangerous”, it wrote on X.

Irregular border crossings detected into the European Union were down 38% to 239,000 last year after an almost 10-year peak in 2023, according to the EU border agency Frontex.

But led by hawks including Italy, Denmark and the Netherlands, EU leaders called in October for urgent new legislation to increase and speed up returns and for the commission to assess “innovative” ways to counter irregular migration.

Currently, less than 20% of people ordered to leave the bloc are returned to their country of origin, according to EU data.

Last month, the commission unveiled a planned reform of the 27-nation bloc’s return system, which opened the way for member states to set up migrant return centres outside the EU.

Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Piantedosi Wednesday hailed the EU’s 

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that Iran’s enrichment of uranium as part of its nuclear programme was “non-negotiable” after US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff called for a halt.

“Iran’s enrichment is a real, accepted matter. We are ready to build confidence in response to possible concerns, but the issue of enrichment is non-negotiable,” Araghchi told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

The remarks came as Araghchi and Witkoff are due to meet again in Oman on Saturday, a week after they held the highest-level talks between the longtime foes since US President Donald Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear deal in 2018.

Trump reimposed sweeping sanctions in a policy of “maximum pressure” against Tehran that he has reinstated since returning to office in January.

In March, he sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, urging talks but warning of possible military action if they fail to produce a deal.

Both sides described Saturday’s meeting as “constructive”.

But on Tuesday, Witkoff said Iran must “stop and eliminate” its enrichment of uranium as part of any nuclear deal.

He had previously demanded only that Iran return to the 3.67% enrichment ceiling set by the 2015 accord between Iran and major powers that Trump withdrew from.

Araghchi condemned what he called the “contradictory and conflicting positions” coming out of the Trump administration ahead of Saturday’s talks.

“We will find out the true opinions of the Americans during the negotiation session,” he said.

Iran’s top diplomat said he hoped to start negotiations on the framework of a possible agreement, but said that required “constructive positions” from the United States.

“If we continue to (hear) contradictory and conflicting positions, we are going to have problems,” he warned.

On Tuesday, Khamenei cautioned that while the talks have proceeded well in their early stages, they could still prove fruitless.

“The negotiations may or may not yield results,” he said.

ISTANBUL: Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia — a 1,488-year-old architectural marvel that has transformed from church to mosque to museum and back to mosque — is undergoing a significant renovation aimed at preserving its grandeur and fortifying it against future earthquakes.

Long admired for its majestic dome, glimmering stone, and slender minarets that dominate the city’s skyline, the monument now bears the signs of restoration. 

Scaffolding currently blankets its eastern facade and one of its minarets, as engineers work to safeguard the historic structure for generations to come.

While “the renovation of course breaks a little bit the atmosphere of the appearance from the outside” and the “scaffolding takes away the aesthetic of the monument… renovation is a must,” said Abdullah Yilmaz, a guide.

Hagia Sophia, a World Heritage Site and Turkiye’s most visited landmark, “constantly has problems”, Hasan Firat Diker, an architecture professor working on the restoration, told AFP.

That is why it has undergone numerous piecemeal reconstructions over the centuries, he added.

‘Global’ makeover

The current makeover is the first time the site will undergo a “global restoration”, including the dome, walls and minarets, he said.

When it was first completed in AD 537, on the same spot where previous churches had stood, the Hagia Sophia became known as a shining example of the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, which ruled the city known as Constantinople at the time.

It served as a church until the fall of the city to the Ottomans in 1453, when it became a mosque.

In 1935, Mustafa Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey who forcibly remade the country into a secular one, turned the building into a museum.

It remained as such until 2020, when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a practising Muslim who came to power at the head of an Islamist-rooted party, turned it back into a mosque.

Next big quake

Like the residents of this historic city, the Hagia Sophia has not only had to contend with the whims of its rulers — it faces the constant danger from earthquakes that have regularly struck the metropolis, the last major one in 1999.

Like many buildings in the city of 16 million, which lies just kilometres from an active seismic fault line, Hagia Sophia does not meet building earthquake standards.

Its dome collapsed in an earthquake in 558 and the building has been damaged in other quakes that have hit the city since.

So the main goal of the restoration under way is to “reinforce the building against the next big earthquake” so that the ancient structure “survives the event with the least damage possible,” said Ahmet Gulec, a member of the scientific committee supervising the works.

For the moment specialists are studying the dome to determine how best to both reinforce and restore it, Diker said.

The interior is for now free of any scaffolding. But eventually four huge pillars will be erected inside to support a platform from where specialists will restore the dome’s paintings and mosaics.

“Once you’re inside… it’s perfect,” marvelled Ana Delgado, a 49-year-old tourist from Mexico as the hum of laughter, conversation and movement filled the building following afternoon prayers.

“It’s magic,” chimed in her friend, Elias Erduran, from the Dominican Republic.

Millions of visitors

Hagia Sophia saw 7.7 million visitors stream through its spacious interior last year.

Around 2.1 million of them are foreign tourists, many of whom pay 25 euros for an entry ticket, generating millions of euros annually.

Officials hope the inside pillars will not deter visitors from coming during the works, which are expected to last for several years. Officials have not said how much the renovation is expected to cost.

“The objective is that the visits and prayers continue” during the works, Gulec said.

And even if some visitors are disappointed not to have witnessed the building in all its glory, the important thing “is that one day my children will also be able to admire Saint Sophia,” said Yana Galitskaya, a 35-year-old visitor from Russia.

Donald Trump’s administration is using personal data, which is normally protected from dissemination, to find undocumented immigrants where they work, study and live, often with the goal of removing them from their housing and the workforce, reported The Detroit News.

Staffers of the Department of Government Efficiency have been given access to government databases, containing private information about where people work or live, reported The Independent.

This is being done all with the intention of identifying undocumented immigrants and assisting in Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

At agencies such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Social Security Administration and IRS, those databases contain private information that immigrants of all statuses have submitted about themselves, believing the information would not be used against them.

Officials are working at HUD on a rule that would ban mixed-status households or those with people who have different immigration or citizenship statuses from obtaining public housing, unnamed staffers.

Spearheaded by Elon Musk, DOGE is combing through HUD data to identify undocumented immigrants and then share that data with the Department of Homeland Security to have people removed from accessing public benefits.

This is being done even if they live with someone who has legal status.

In a string of moves to use government data to help back the executive branch’s priorities, the push is the latest.

Legal experts, however, say the moves risk breaking privacy rules and can sow distrust in the government.

“It’s not only about one subgroup of people, it’s really about all of us,” Tanya Broder, senior counsel for health and economic justice policy at the National Immigration Law Centre told the Post. “Everyone cares about their privacy. Nobody wants their health-care information or tax information broadcast and used to go after us.”

The White House, however, has backed the moves, saying sharing data to find migrants and remove them.

“Information sharing across agencies is essential to identify who is in our country, including violent criminals, determine what public safety and terror threats may exist, scrub these individuals from voter rolls, as well as identify what public benefits these aliens are using at taxpayer expense,” a Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs told the Post.

“American tax dollars should be used for the benefit of American citizens, especially when it comes to an issue as pressing as our nation’s housing crisis,” Secretary of HUD, Scott Turner, said in a statement. “This new agreement will leverage resources, including technology and personnel, to ensure the American people are the only priority when it comes to public housing.”

Officials at the IRS have agreed to share specific tax information related to undocumented immigrants with ICE. The agency could use that information to locate millions of people it suspects of being in the country illegally.

Crackdown on protesters

The administration opened investigations into whether five universities properly handled allegations of antisemitism in February.

According to documents and three attorneys with the Office for Civil Rights, Education Department political appointees told the attorneys handling the cases to ask the schools for the names and nationalities of protesters against Israel’s war in Gaza.

Education Department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, Craig Trainor, when asked why the department was seeking the data on protesters and whether it related to immigration, said the information was necessary to assess how the universities handled the antisemitism cases.

His statement did not directly address the question of deportations.