Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar
Trump vs Harvard shocker: No more foreign students
The context: The Trump White House plans to remake liberal arts education entirely. It is using federal funding to bring universities under direct government control. But when the White House threatened to withhold $2.2 billion in federal funding from Harvard, its officials penned a blog post saying ‘enough is enough’—and sued the US government. Many other colleges—including Columbia—have buckled under pressure.
What happened now: The Trump administration has done the unthinkable—it yanked Harvard’s ability to enrol foreign students. And it has ordered existing international students to transfer or lose their legal status. The justification is as bizarre as the move:
In a statement, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration was “holding Harvard accountable for fostering violence, antisemitism, and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party on its campus”.
There are 6,800 international students at Harvard in 2024-25—roughly 27% of the student body. Of these, 788 are Indian.
How is this happening? In order to accept foreign students on visas, US colleges have to be certified under the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). The criteria is lengthy and contains a laundry list of regulations—violations can lead to decertification. Historically however, the only colleges to be de-certified were ‘visa mills’—sham colleges that exist primarily on paper—to enable students to enter the US on a student visa.
However, the Trump administration has been threatening since March to use the regulation to decertify colleges that allow students to stage pro-Palestine protests—whom they colourfully describe as ‘Hamasniks’ (think of it as the US equivalent of Andolanjeevi). And that’s exactly what they’ve done to Harvard.
An escalating battle: All through this week, the government has been bombarding Harvard with information requests on foreign students:
In a letter sent on Wednesday, Kristi Noem.. asked for “relevant information” on each student visa holder at Harvard who had been involved in “known illegal” or “dangerous” activity. She also requested information on the coursework of student visa holders, to verify that they had taken enough classes to “maintain non-immigrant student status.”
Harvard did share some information—but clearly not enough to satisfy the Trumpistas.
Harvard’s response: The university’s statement said: “We are fully committed to maintaining Harvard’s ability to host our international students and scholars, who hail from more than 140 countries and enrich the university — and this nation — immeasurably.” The university is certain to file a second lawsuit challenging this decision, as well.
What’s next: Foreign students are scrambling to make "contingency plans” for their fall course. But experts doubt if the move will be upheld by the courts:
Ted Mitchell—the president of the American Council on Education, the main lobbying group for universities—said the administration’s action against Harvard is highly unusual and unlikely to withstand legal scrutiny.
The big picture: The Trump White House’s strident xenophobia is already making international students reconsider plans to attend US colleges. See: The flurry of sudden foreign visa revocations—which left them with the threat of being deported. This latest self-destructive move will likely chill their interest even further.
Reading list: Al Jazeera has a useful timeline of the escalating fight between Trump and universities. We previously explained the decertification process at length. (New York Times, login required, The Guardian)
Two Israeli diplomats killed in Washington DC
On Wednesday evening, two staff members of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC were shot dead outside the Capital Jewish Museum.
What happened: The suspect—Elias Rodriguez—approached and chanted “Free, free Palestine” upon his arrest:
Prior to the shooting, the suspect was observed pacing back and forth outside of the museum. He approached a group of four people, produced a handgun and opened fire.
He then went into the museum—and turned himself in:
“A man came in, and he was covered in rain and he said ‘call the police’.“We thought he was just walking around, and had witnessed a crime, so the security guards let him inside. One of my friends even said to him ‘are you OK, can I get you some water?’ And he was like, ‘yeah, sure, that would be great’. “And he’s like playing dumb with me, asking what kind of museum is this? And I told him it’s a Jewish museum.” After that…the man reached into his bag, pulled out a keffiyeh, and said: “I did this for Gaza. Free Palestine.”
The tragic irony: They were leaving the museum after attending an event focused on ways to bring aid into Gaza.
The victims: Yaron Lischinsky was a German-born Israeli—while Sarah Milgrim was American. According to their parents, they cared deeply about “peace in the Middle East, the stability of Israel and the plight of Palestinians.” They were in a relationship—and “were days from getting engaged.” You can see them below:
The alleged shooter: 30-year-old Elias Rodriguez is a Chicago resident—who has a degree in English. His social media posts show he was an ardent supporter of Palestine—attending protests in the city. Rodriguez’s interests included black slavery, Maoism and Chicago history.
The charges: Rodriguez is believed to have acted alone—and has been charged with first-degree murder.
For more on the killings: Associated Press and Al Jazeera have overviews of the shooting. New York Times has a profile of the shooter and the victims. The Guardian has more on the victims and the police raid.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank: Diplomats faced a similar threat to their lives—though mercifully no one died. The IDF fired ‘warning shots’ at a delegation of 25 diplomats—representing 31 countries—who were visiting the Jenin refugee camp. They had been invited by the Palestinian Authority to witness the humanitarian crisis in the West Bank. The IDF expressed regret over the “inconvenience caused”. You can see a clip of the incident below. (The Guardian)
Space stations spawn new microbe hazards
Two recent studies have flagged the risk of planet microbes migrating to space. Even worse, these bacteria may be mutating on space stations.
The Chinese bug: In 2023, Chinese astronauts were asked to swab the interior cabin of the Tiangong Space Station. Researchers have now confirmed that one of those samples contains a new bacterium named Niallia tiangongensis. It doesn’t exist on Earth—but is a close relative of Niallia circulans—which is typically found in soil and causes sepsis in humans. No one knows if the bacteria evolved in space—or if a mutated spore hitched a ride on a shuttle. What is clear: The changes have allowed it to survive the harsh environment in space.
Two: A collaborative study between NASA, Saudi Arabia, and India uncovered 26 unknown microbes in NASA’s clean rooms—“some of the most sterile places humanity has built, designed to prevent spacecraft from carrying unwanted microbes to other planetary bodies.”
Why this matters: There is a high risk of unintentionally contaminating planets we visit in the future:
With more than two dozen rovers and landers sent to Mars, microbes have almost certainly hitched a ride to the Red Planet, which can complicate matters when a mission’s goal is to search for native microbial life. The very act of sending Earth-based organisms to other planets would likely violate some kind of Star Trek-ian microbial Prime Directive.
That said, the American Society for Microbiology has an interesting essay on how microbes could help us find alien life. So, it’s not all bad. (Popular Mechanics)
Say hello to the Olympics… on steroids!
The Trump family is a curse that will never stop plaguing humanity. Their latest contribution: A Trump Jr-backed Olympics-style event in Las Vegas—where doping is the main attraction. The inaugural Enhanced Games (yes, that’s really its name) will kick off in Las Vegas in May 2026:
Over four days, competitors will race, lift and swim with full access to drugs and therapies banned in virtually every other elite athletic setting. Billed as a revolution in sport and science, the event aims to embrace what organizers call “superhumanity.”
The organisers say it's time to ditch “outdated and hypocritical” anti-doping policies and embrace “a future where pharmaceutical and technological enhancement is normalized in elite competition.” Ah, an Olympics for pharma companies then. (The Guardian)
