Coming next: Blocking foreign students from US colleges

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

Coming next: Blocking foreign students from US colleges

The Trump White House plans to escalate its ‘Hamas purge’ of US campuses to an unprecedented level—blocking universities that allow protests from accepting foreign students.

First, the regulation: 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.

The plan to purge: According to an Axios exclusive, the Trump administration plans 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. The details are still vague.

By any means necessary: If de-certification proves too onerous, US embassies can get the job done:

What you're going to see in the not-too-distant future is the universities that we can show that were not doing anything to stop these demonstrations in support of Hamas — or encouraged enrollment by activists — ... we can stop approving student visas for them, and they can no longer admit foreign students.

The bigger gameplan: The Trump White House is on an anti-immigration rampage targeting US universities—using any excuse to deport immigrant or foreign students (almost all brown). Hence, the new Catch and Revoke program which has been used to cancel visas of more than 300 students in three weeks—on the vague suspicion of being a “national security threat.” The most shocking case was the recent daylight abduction of Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk—a doctoral student at Tufts. Quote to note: “There are 1.5 million student visa-holders nationwide. ‘Everyone is fair game,’ the official said.”

The fallout: Tourists are already rethinking their plans to visit the US—and researchers are fleeing to European institutions. Now, parents may reconsider where to spend their tuition fees—which poses a steep revenue drop for many US colleges. And that essentially is the big stick Trump plans to wield. Irrespective of whether he follows through, we may see an immediate chilling effect in admission offers to foreign students—especially those who can’t add to the bottomline.

Indian stat to note: Indians now account for the largest number of international students in US colleges—at over 330,000—a 23% increase from the previous year. Some recruiters are already seeing evidence of dimming enthusiasm.

Reading list: We recommend reading the Axios exclusive. Associated Press reports on jittery international students reconsidering their US plans.

Hallelujah! A new UTI antibiotic for women

The context: Urinary tract infection or UTI is a bacterial infection that affects women. It can occur in any part of the urinary tract—such as the urethra, ureters, urinary bladder or the kidneys—and cause severe pain while urinating, fever, back pain etc. Data point to note: “About half of all women will experience a UTI at some point in their lives, and about 30% will have a UTI that comes back after treatment.”

What happened now: The US FDA has approved a new antibiotic to treat UTI for the very first time in 30 years. It targets E. coli bacteria in girls who are 12 and above:

Blujepa is part of a new class of antibiotics called triazaacenaphthylenes, which work by targeting two key enzymes that E. coli bacteria need to copy itself and survive. “In simple terms, this new antibiotic works its magic by using a novel binding method to block a bacteria’s ability to replicate,” [Dr. Candace] Granberg said.

Why this matters: A new antibiotic for a common and highly debilitating condition is long overdue—because 92% of bacteria that can cause UTIs are resistant to at least one drug—and around 80% are resistant to at least two.

The intriguing bit: The company is also looking at whether the new antibiotic can treat gonorrhea. FYI: Blujepa is expected to be available in the second half of the year—but will be way pricier than other antibiotics in the market. Colour us surprised. (NBC News)

Indian tenants beware: Taxman cometh!

Indians who claim a tax break for House Rent Allowance got a rude surprise: Income Tax Department notices that threaten to cancel their HRA benefit. The reason: Since FY2018, salaried Indians claiming the HRA exemption have also been required to deduct tax at source—if their rent is above Rs 50,000. Until October 2024, that amount was 5% of your rent—and has since been reduced to 2%.

Intriguing point to note: If the landlord is an NRI, the TDS rate jumps to 31.2%, regardless of rent amount.

The Indian pain-in-the-ass department: To be clear, this is what the tenant is required to do:

Deduct the applicable TDS from the rent.
Deposit it with the Income Tax Department by the 7th of the following month.
Pay the remaining balance to the landlord.

The only good news: you don’t do this every month. You deduct all the TDS en masse in March—the last month of the financial year—or the last month of your tenancy. If you don’t fulfill your taxpayer dharma, there will be fines: “A 1% monthly interest is charged for non-deduction, while failure to deposit deducted TDS incurs a higher 1.5% monthly interest…”

The main takeaway: The rule has always existed on paper and has been mostly ignored in practice. But that has changed—in the government’s continual quest to raise tax revenues. And as always, it is easiest to pick on the 1.6% of Indians who pay income tax—most of them salaried employees—for whom HRA is a big part of their compensation package. (The Hindu)

The Studio Ghibli memes: AI slop or AI sensation?

ChatGPT rolled out a huge upgrade to its image generator—calling it their “most advanced” yet. It does an especially good job of recreating any image you give it—in any artistic style you specify. That includes the iconic look of Studio Ghibli films by legendary Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki.

The gorgeous animation of films—painstakingly hand-drawn and created over years—is now available at the click of an AI prompt.

A flood of fake Ghibli: The first person to kick off the viral flood of Ghibli memes—CEO Sam Altman, of course:

Soon everyone was sharing their Ghibli masterpieces—be it this DDLJ moment:

Or one of the most popular internet memes:

Cue the nastiness: Soon enough, internet trolls were recreating images of tragedies—be it the September 11 attack or the storming of Babri Masjid:

Copyright kya hota hai? The big question is whether companies can make pots of money by aping the creativity of others—and call it a tech innovation. After all, a signature style is core to what we define as human talent. OpenAI’s response is to hide behind a somewhat dubious distinction:

We continue to prevent generations in the style of individual living artists, but we do permit broader studio styles — which people have used to generate and share some truly delightful and inspired original fan creations.

FYI: ‘Style’ is not covered by current US copyright law.

The kicker: Hayao Miyazaki once called AI art “an insult to life itself.” He must be feeling fairly insulted right now—more so since ChatGPT doesn’t consider him an “individual living artist.” TechCrunch has more on the copyright angle—and took various image generators for a spin. Vogue India offers a good takedown of the craze. You can check out more of the memes on PetaPixel. (New York Times)

what caught our eye

business & tech

The government will no longer impose a 6% tax on revenues of big US tech firms like Google. It was peanuts for these companies but where, oh where will the sarkaar make up the shortfall?
Indian Express has a good read penned by Dhiraj Singha on how AI accidentally changed his surname, exposing how caste-coded and biased the machine’s training data really is.
Mumbai airport's T1 operations will shift to T2 and the new Navi Mumbai airport in November, but the global aviation body warns Adani Airports against using its two-airport control to divert traffic.
Advertisers are crawling back to X, hoping to curry favor with the Trump administration—even if it means cashing in on chaos.
Google's new AI will scan your screenshots and whip up travel itineraries, rolling out across Search and Maps.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said free users will have to wait for ChatGPT's image generation feature due to soaring demand.

sports & entertainment

Duke University isn’t thrilled about its cameo in ‘The White Lotus’, unhappy that two characters from the messy Ratliff family are portrayed as alumni.
Hollywood’s “idiot plot” trope nails the Trump group chat scandal—where satirists, once again, prove the sharpest critics of American power.
Marvel has revealed the massive cast for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, featuring heavyweights like Professor X, Thor, Captain America, and Black Panther, set to hit screens in 2026.
Vogue has a good read on the “sneakerina”—fashion’s latest Frankenshoe that mashes up sneakers and ballet flats into a sleek, celeb-approved hybrid.
Stephen Curry and Michelle Obama are teaming up to launch Plezi Hydration, a healthy sports drink.
Nicholas Pooran, take a bow! The West Indies cricketer smashed 70 runs off just 26 balls to lead the Lucknow Super Giants to an easy win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL.

health & environment

Karnataka’s tiger reserves are home to 393 tigers, according to an annual survey, with authorities confirming the population is stable.
US foreign aid cuts could cause nearly 3 million HIV deaths, reversing decades of treatment and prevention progress, a study warns.
Doctors have successfully transplanted a pig liver into a human for the first time, marking a breakthrough in animal-to-human organ science.
New York Times has a good read on why paper bags might not be as eco-friendly as you think—and how to pick the greenest shopping option.

meanwhile, in the world

Russia appears to be ‘dragging its feet’ in reaching a peace deal with Ukraine, much to the Donald’s dismay.
Former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro will stand trial on five counts—which includes attempting a coup after he failed to win re-election in 2022.
Everyone is doing a Trump/Modi—Turkey deported BBC reporter Mark Lowen, who covered mass protests, in a crackdown on independent journalism.
Usha Vance’s original Greenland visit itinerary has been derailed by a dogsled race across ice and snow. USA Today tells you why. Meanwhile, Denmark is quite happy with the itinerary adjustment.
The Conversation has a must-read on how China’s dwindling marriage rate is fuelling demand for brides trafficked from abroad.
A tourist submarine carrying 45 people sank off Egypt's Red Sea coast near Hurghada, leaving 6 dead.
Myanmar’s military chief vowed to hold a general election by year-end and urged opposition groups to ditch their fight and join party politics instead.
Japanese hot springs—better known as onsens—are prized for their zen experience, but they are running low on water, thanks to overtourism. Check out our Big Story for more on overtourism.
An upcoming private SpaceX mission will boldly go where no human has orbited before—above the Earth’s polar regions.

meanwhile, in India

French journalist Vanessa Dougnac, who was forced to leave India after her work permit was suspended, says she’s now authorized to resume work as a foreign correspondent in Delhi.
India’s $14 billion Muslim endowments are being plundered—experts say the BJP’s takeover of waqf land for a Hindu temple expansion in Ujjain reflects a broader pattern. For more context, check out our Big Story.
BBC News has a good read on why India's private firms are hoarding record profits instead of investing.
The Supreme Court has ordered the Defence Colony RWA to pay Rs 40 lakh (Rs 4 million) for illegally occupying the Lodhi-era "Gumti of Shaikh Ali" monument for over six decades.

Five things to see

One: The European Space Agency switched off its space telescope Gaia yesterday. It was an emotional moment:

[M]ission specialists at the European Space Agency sent Gaia, which is low on fuel, into orbit around the sun, and switched it off after more than a decade of service to the world’s astronomers. They also overwrote some of Gaia’s onboard memory with the names of team members, some of whom wrote personal goodbyes.

Known as the cartographer of the Milky Way galaxy, the satellite has been charting the sky since 2014 and captured everything from ancient star streams to the innards of white dwarfs! This was the last Gaia’s all-sky view of our Milky Way galaxy and neighboring galaxies:

We also loved this snapshot of a streak of light in the night sky above the town of Frimley in Surrey, England. (New York Times)

Two: Sharks are supposedly silent killers—literally—because they don’t have organs that produce sounds unlike other fish. Or so we all thought. A groundbreaking new study has revealed the vocalisations of rig sharks—who make popping sounds by snapping their teeth. And thanks to them you can hear the first-ever recording of a chatty (or is it clicky) shark. (CNN)

Three: This is Bhote Kukur—a highland sheepdog from the Sandakphu region of Darjeeling and Nepal. It has just been recognised as a distinct breed by the Turkey-based International Kennel Club. These giants weigh up to 45kg—with a thick, shaggy coat. We mainly include this not-so-notable item so you can admire their magnificence! (The Telegraph)

Four: Miley pulled a JLo! She’s dropped a trailer for ‘Something Beautiful’—the film which will follow her upcoming album with the same name. This film is touted as “a unique visual experience fueled by fantasy” and a “one of a kind pop opera.” The album has 13 songs and will drop on May 30, while the movie will be out some time in June. (Hollywood Reporter)

Five: Two weeks ago, King Charles III and Queen Camilla along with their Royal toli attended the annual Commonwealth Day ceremony at Westminster Abbey. The Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band—an Indian-Scottish pipe band—welcomed them with ‘Dhoom Machale’—most appropriate for a geriatric royal couple. See the clip below. (Indian Express)