No US campus for foreign students

Written by: Aarthi Ramnath, Raghav Bikhchandani & Yash Budhwar

No US campus for foreign students

The context: It started with the arrest of Palestine activist Mahmoud Khalil. It drew attention to a new Trump order that plans to “jail, imprison, or deport students involved in protests”—aimed clearly at students involved in pro-Palestine rallies on campuses last year. Also notable: Immigration authorities invoked a little-known law to deport Khalil—a green card holder. It says that the administration can deport a green card holder if secretary of state Marco Rubio “has reasonable grounds to believe that your presence or activities in the United States would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”

What happened now: The crackdown at Columbia University has escalated—with a flurry of new cases:

Another Palestinian student at Columbia—Leqaa Kordia—has been deported for overstaying her visa.
Brown University professor Dr. Rasha Alawieh—a Lebanese kidney transplant specialist—was expelled from the country despite possessing a valid visa—in blatant defiance of court orders.
Fulbright scholar and PhD candidate Ranjani Srinivasan—whose visa was revoked without explanation—fled to Canada to avoid arrest.
Momodou Taal—a doctoral student at Cornell and Palestine supporter—has filed an anticipatory lawsuit to prevent his deportation

About Ranjani Srinivasan: She has been accused of supporting Hamas by Homeland authorities—the reason cited by the State Department to revoke her visa on March 5. Srinivasan was on a F-1 student visa as doctoral student in Urban Planning at Columbia University. She packed her bags and fled when federal agents showed up at her door. As an added insult, Kristi Noem—the homeland security secretary—posted this CCTV footage of Srinivasan lugging a suitcase at LaGuardia—celebrating it as a “self-deportation”:

As for the university: It is doling out added punishment to any student involved in the protests last year—just so the US citizens don’t go scot-free:

On a separate action on Thursday, Columbia announced a range of disciplinary actions against students who occupied a campus building last spring, including expulsions and suspensions, among the steps that Trump administration officials had called for in their letter. The punishments included “multiyear suspensions, temporary degree revocations and expulsions,” the university said in a statement. It was unclear how many students had been punished.

Reminder: Columbia just lost $400 million in federal grants for failing to clamp down on “anti-semitism." A related fact: The university’s endowment fund hit a decade-high of $14.8 billion last year.

More than just students: Trump’s war on immigrants unleashed a novel legal weapon: Alien Enemies Act of 1798—a law that kicks in only during wartime. However, it was used to deport hundreds of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members—again in defiance of court orders. When called out, Trump officials accused the judge of aiding “terrorists.” A relevant reminder: The same law was used to intern Japanese Americans—without cause or evidence—during World War II.

Reading list: New York Times has more on the Venezuelans. The Telegraph is best on Ranjani Srinivasan.

A billion-dollar government fund for creators

On Friday, the I&B Ministry announced a gargantuan fund to support online influencers and creators:

A billion-dollar fund will be created for the creators economy, which will make sure that all the energetic creators using the latest technologies today get access to capital and hone their skills, upgrade their production levels and reach out to the global market.

Even the PM has been talking up India’s influencers—claiming they will help the country achieve its goal of a $5-trillion economy. Data point to note: The Indian creator economy is slated to become nearly a $400 million industry by 2026—up from $270 million in 2024.

But, but, but: Khadoos cynics say it’s just a new way to deploy taxpayer money toward sarkaari PR:

Unfortunately, I have a feeling the (fund) will be used to commission social media creators with large followings for projects designed to make the government look good. We've already seen this happening, and I think we'll see a lot more of it with this investment.

This is an even greater red flag at a time when influencers are already self-censoring in fear of incurring the government’s wrath. And someone like Beer Biceps was buried in police cases for merely making a tasteless joke. (Mint, paywalled)

Furore over Urban Company’s Insta-Maids service

The context: Urban Company—founded by Raghav Chandra, Abhiraj Bhal, and Varun Khaitan in 2014—is a home services platform–which helps you to hire beauticians, plumbers, carpenters, movers and packers and so on, on hourly basis. It has roughly 45,000 contract employees. The company has come under fire in the past for ID blocking and privacy breaches.

What happened now: The platform has joined the quick commerce frenzy—and is now offering maid-for-hire services in just 15 minutes. The pilot programme called ‘Insta Maids’ includes dish washing, house cleaning, meal prep, and so on. The offering has been launched in Mumbai, with plans to extend it to other cities.

Why people are angry: The service is available for an appallingly meagre rate: Rs 49 per hour! It is being marketed with this tone-deaf newspaper ad—that frames household help as flaky and unreliable:

There is also some outrage over using the word ‘maid’.

Urban Company’s defence: is that the rate charged for the customer does not reflect what these women (always women) are paid:

Urban Company said that its partners will earn as much as Rs 150-180 per hour for their services. They will have additional benefits like free health insurance and on-the-job life and accidental insurance. “Partners working for 132 hours per month (22 days × 6 hours per day) are assured earnings of at least ₹20,000 per month,” Urban Company said.

Quote to note: As Ashish K Mishra writes in Morning Context:

The unorganised labour market, specifically the market for house helps, has for the longest time operated pretty much like slavery. There are no contracts, no fixed basic pay per hour, no concept of overtime pay and no benefits, but a loose, fluid structure that’s exploitative.

Timely reminder: Urban Company is planning a Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion) initial public offering (IPO) by the end of March. Mint has the story, while Inc42 has more on Urban Company’s financial motivations. Morning Context (paywalled) offers a look into the state of India’s unpaid labour infrastructure.

Meet the new UN interpreter: Apple AirPods!

According to a Bloomberg exclusive, Apple will soon roll out an AirPods software upgrade that enables live translation of an IRL conversation:

[T]he move promises to bring a Star Trek-like experience to AirPods users. The capability will work like this: If an English speaker is hearing someone talk in Spanish, the iPhone will translate the speech and relay it to the user’s AirPods in English. The English speaker’s words, meanwhile, will be translated into Spanish and played back by the iPhone.

Ok, that’s impressive! Cue Duolingo weeping into its drink. Apple has been refocusing AirPods on a variety of audio-related challenges—making them more than just earbuds. As of last year, the device includes a hearing aid and test. (Bloomberg News, paywall, Quartz)

what caught our eye

business & tech

Gold surges past $3,000 for the first time as investors flee market chaos for a safe haven.
Apple is delaying plans to infuse Siri with AI capabilities—the marketing team now has egg on its face for overpromising on a subpar product.
In order to avoid the Trump-ian tariffs, Honda will produce its next iteration of the Civic hybrid in Indiana, not Mexico.
Today in AI sentience shenanigans, coding assistant Cursor apparently told a newbie to write his own damn code, lol!
Closer to home, Uber is in early talks with EV ride-sharing startup BluSmart for a possible acquisition. Economic Times has the scoop.

sports & entertainment

Balle balle for Playboi Carti—the rapper’s new album ‘Music’ has broken a Spotify record for the most-streamed album in a single day.
Sticking with rap, Will Smith will release ‘Based On A True Story’ on March 28, marking his first album in 20 years!
Uncertainty hangs over the late legendary actor Gene Hackman’s $80 million estate. His three children from a previous marriage are not named in his will, but could still inherit due to the tragic passing of his wife and sole heir, Betsy Arakawa.
The Mumbai Indians’ extensive trophy cabinet just got bigger—they bagged their second WPL title on Saturday, beating the Delhi Capitals by eight runs. The Capitals have now suffered runners-up heartbreak for three straight seasons.
Petrolheads, get excited—Formula One has returned with a carnage-filled Australian Grand Prix that saw six drivers crash out and Lando Norris take home first place.

health & environment

The depths of the ocean are a treasure trove for research—a group of scientists discovered thousands of new species earlier this month, with the help of a cutting-edge Chinese submersible.
India’s solar ambitions face a new hurdle—air pollution and climate change are dimming even its 300 sunny days a year, an IIT Delhi study finds.
When it comes to unwanted weight gain, humans and labradors have the same gene variants, according to a new study.

meanwhile, in the world

Trump launched massive military strikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebels, killing at least 31, including women and children. Wall Street Journal reports on how the group has outlasted years of war and US- and Saudi-led strikes till now.
The Gaza ceasefire doesn't seem to apply to journalists and aid workers. Israel killed nine over the weekend.
A bomb blast hit a security forces' bus in Balochistan’s Naushki, killing five and injuring 10. Suspicion falls on the Baloch Liberation Army, days after its deadly train ambush.
Xi Jinping snubbed the EU by turning down an invite to the EU-China anniversary summit, sending Premier Li Qiang to Brussels instead.
Ukraine appears to have lost most of the Russian territory it seized in Kursk—it has pulled back from the region as Moscow’s counterattacks turn the tide.
Indian-origin ministers Kamal Khera and Anita Anand join new Canada PM Mark Carney’s cabinet, taking charge of health and innovation respectively in a leaner government lineup.
Forty US scientists, fleeing funding cuts and research restrictions under Trump, have found refuge in France through Aix Marseille University’s “Safe Space for Science” initiative.
In an astonishing incident, a nightclub fire in North Macedonia killed 51 and injured 100 after pyrotechnics ignited the roof during a concert.
Telegram founder Pavel Durov, facing charges in France, has left the country with official permission and is headed to Dubai.
New Orleans tops Time Out’s best food cities list, followed by Bangkok—but Mumbai steals our spotlight at #14, repping India’s street-food capital on the global stage.

meanwhile, in India

Spy chiefs from 28 nations met in Delhi ahead of the Raisina Dialogue, including US director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. On the agenda: tackling counterterrorism and extradition, amidst a host of other issues, as Trump-era policies fuel global uncertainty.
In typical fashion, Kedarnath MLA Asha Nautiyal wants non-Hindus banned from the region—blaming them for sullying local faith with practices like selling liquor and meat.
Reuters journalist Raphael Satter is suing the Indian government after it revoked his OCI status, barring him from the country over a critical report on a top businessman.
Oxford historian Manikarnika Dutta faces deportation from the UK for spending too much time in India conducting research—breaking a Home Office rule that’s tripping up more academics.
Meta allegedly hired an ex-cop in India as a fall guy for government raids, claims a former exec in a tell-all memoir the company is trying to kill.

Four things to see

One: At long last, ghar wapsi of Suni Williams from the International Space Station (ISS) looks imminent. Williams and fellow astronaut Butch Wilmore have been stranded up there for nine months—due to repeated technical problems with Boeing’s Starliner. Well, Elon Musk and SpaceX have arrived to rescue them—carrying a four-member astronaut crew to offer the long overdue relief. The duo are scheduled to depart for Earth on Wednesday, March 19. Check out the Dragon’s docking below. (Space.com)

Two: Billionaire Mark Cuban—once Donald’s harshest critic—declared a truce by posting the worst AI-generated vid ever:

Imagine the kind of political video that makes absolutely nobody happy and manages to piss off anyone with two brain cells to rub together. Imagine the kind of video that asks the question, “what if fascists are actually our best friends?” Imagine the kind of video that has Elizabeth Warren and Nancy Pelosi in MAGA hats and Donald Trump hugging Barack Obama.

Why imagine when you can watch the cringefest right here. (Gizmodo)

Three: Never a dull day in Indian politics—especially when there are North-South wars afoot. Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin’s latest salvo is this 10-second video that replaces the national rupee currency symbol with the Tamil letter ரூ [Ru] from ‘rubai’. A genius innovation nobody ever asked for. Cue patriotic outrage! (Indian Express)

Four: In the latest Archies comics edition, Archie and his friends had a Holi moment in a 10-page story titled ‘Celebration Surprise’. It was part of Co-CEO Nancy Silberkleit’s tribute to Om Arora, the owner of Delhi-based Variety Book Depot—which is the distribution partner of Archies comics in India. See one of the panels below. (The Hindu)