US will not tolerate Chinese 'exploitation' of universities, theft of research, says State Dept
WASHINGTON, May 29 (Reuters) - The United States will not tolerate "exploitation" of American universities by the Chinese Communist Party or theft of U.S. research and intellectual property, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said on Thursday.
In a briefing at the State Department, Bruce declined to provide numbers for how many Chinese students would be affected by a new plan to "aggressively" revoke visas announced on Wednesday, but said officials would scrutinize anyone "deemed to be a threat to the country or a problem."
She declined to detail how those who pose a threat would be determined.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, announcing the new crackdown, said it would target students including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or studying in critical fields.
"When it comes to keeping America safe, the United States, I further can say here, will not tolerate the CCP's exploitation of U.S. universities or theft of U.S. research intellectual property or technologies to grow its military power, conduct intelligence collection or repress voices of opposition," Bruce said.
The announcement on Chinese student visa holders came after the Trump administration ordered its missions all over the world to stop scheduling new appointments for student and exchange visitor visa applicants.
Asked when appointments would come back online, Bruce did not say but recommended that applicants continue checking the U.S. visa system for new appointments.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
28 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Don't count on the Iran-Israel ceasefire lasting. What Netanyahu really wants is a forever war
The war is over! Except it's not, not by a long chalk. The verbally agreed Iran-Israel ceasefire could be ripped to shreds at any moment. An aggressive theocratic regime still holds power in Tehran. The same is true of Jerusalem. In Washington, a president whose stupidity is matched only by his vanity prattles about making peace, but the angry old men in charge have learned nothing. Meanwhile, hundreds of civilians lie dead, thousands are wounded and millions have been terrorised. The war is over! Except only the naive believe that Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister and prime warmonger, is done fighting. Even if Donald Trump is right and Iran's nuclear facilities have been 'obliterated' ('severely damaged' appears more accurate), its nuclear knowhow and elusive stockpile of enriched uranium have not. At the first sign, real or imagined, of rebuilding, Netanyahu and his cronies will surely attack again. Trump called them off last week. But this is a man who can change his mind three times before he's even had breakfast. Who seriously believes Netanyahu will readily relinquish the dominance over Iran's airspace that his forces have established with unexpected ease? It's unlikely he will be able to resist the temptation to target Iran again, if fresh attacks are politically advantageous. Netanyahu is now reportedly weighing up the possibility of a snap election. Perhaps he hopes his Iran exploits will obscure his 7 October 2023 failures and abandonment of hostages held by Hamas. There is a pattern here. Since March, when he unilaterally wrecked the Gaza ceasefire, Netanyahu has sought to subjugate the territory. Palestinian civilians have been gunned down in repeated Israeli army and settler atrocities around Gaza food centres and in towns in the West Bank. In places such as Rafah, Bloody Sunday takes place almost every day. In Lebanon and Syria, Israel has dropped bombs with impunity. Netanyahu's military grinder never stops. Why imagine that he will be any different with Iran? Most people deplore 'forever wars', typified by dismal, multi-year western entanglements in Afghanistan and Iraq. Not Netanyahu. Peace is his enemy. Forever war keeps him in power, in the limelight and out of jail. Like Vladimir Putin, he sees continuing war as an opportunity to boost domestic support and outflank his opponents. Unending state violence is deadly for democracy, legality and good governance (and on this note, Americans should worry, too: Trump's presidency is on a similar trajectory, except his forever war is against the 'enemy within'). Despite Netanyahu's video appeal to the Iranian public in which he encouraged them to 'stand up' against an 'evil and oppressive regime', he cares little for their freedom. What he wants is what imperialist powers always want: a permanently weakened, divided, degraded country that poses no challenge to Israel's strategic interests and can be punished at will. By controlling Iranian skies and pursuing covert cyber-attacks, sabotage and assassinations, Israel could ensure an enfeebled Iran is held in check indefinitely – or so Netanyahu may calculate. The war is over … except it's not in Tehran, either. Rattled by talk of regime change and Israel's killing of prominent allies, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has emerged from his bunker to wage another war, on his own people. Hundreds have been arrested in a security crackdown. Alleged spies have been executed. In order to survive, the mullahs may now do what they have never done before: secretly race to build a nuclear weapon, or buy one off the shelf from North Korea. In truth, Iran's loathsome regime didn't even come close to falling. If anything, Israel's bombs rallied public support and patriotic sentiment. Iran was attacked on the basis of a lie (neither US intelligence nor the UN backed Netanyahu's claim that it was weaponising) and European governments failed to condemn the bombing. These facts will only deepen distrust of the west. Iran wants relief from US sanctions, and may agree to discuss this, but not its future nuclear activities. It is suspending cooperation with International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors. Rejecting Israeli containment, Tehran may in time resume asymmetrical conflict and revive regional proxy wars. The war isn't over for Trump either (though, beguiled by delusions of a Nobel peace prize, he may think it is). He has demonstrated, as in Ukraine and Gaza, that his impulsive, unthinking, uninformed interventions only make the world more dangerous. He's made it harder for the US to walk away if war flares up again. His sneak attack on Iran, reminiscent of Pearl Harbor, breached the UN charter and will help rogue states justify illegal aggression. By continuing to aid and abet Netanyahu, an alleged war criminal, Trump is opening himself up to prosecution by the international criminal court. Trump has trashed multilateral diplomacy, sidelined and insulted European allies, relied on rookie envoys and rejected expert advice. His manifest untrustworthiness and monstrous egotism are all additional reasons why the US cannot be counted on. War across the Middle East is barely on hold. Trump took a shot at instant glory – and missed. The utter futility and pointlessness of this war is breathtaking. It achieved almost nothing positive. It caused misery, destruction and insecurity. Only rarely does brute force advance peaceful ends. Typically it inflames existing problems – and that's what happened here. When will these angry old men get it? Probably never, unless and until democrats summon the courage to defy them. Simon Tisdall is a Guardian columnist
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
How Fox News helped champion Trump's attacks on Iran: ‘I agree with the president'
The US bombing of Iran last weekend prompted sober reporting from the mainstream US media, along with considered discussion of whether the US had violated international law in attacking a foreign country. Fox News, however, took a different tack, championing a war that, according to reports, it had helped convince Donald Trump to start. 'This will go down in history as one of the greatest military victories,' roared Sean Hannity, arguably Fox News's best known host, on Saturday night. After the right-wing network aired Trump's White House address which hailed the strikes as a success, Hannity continued in the same vein. 'I agree with the president,' he said. 'This is one of the most skilled, important, imperative peacekeeping, peace-through-strength-keeping operations in the last 40 years, and certainly the reign of terror in Iran, whether they know it or not, is coming to a quick end.' Hannity, who said he had spoken to Trump before going on air, then brought on Mark Levin, a conservative talkshow host who reportedly urged Trump to allow Israel to attack Iran during a private lunch in early June. Levin was not impartial. 'You're looking at a historic figure,' Levin said of Trump. 'We just kicked their ass.' His voice rising, Levin added: 'These Islamo-Nazis were building nuclear weapons to attack us too, with intercontinental ballistic missiles. Guess what? You can go to bed peacefully tonight and know that's not gonna happen. 'This mission was never going to fail under this commander in chief,' Levin said, before concluding: 'This is historic, he is historic, the United States military is historic.' It made sense that Fox News would cheer the strikes. It had spent days appearing to support the idea. On 17 June, host Brian Kilmeade pulled up a map of all the places Iran might attack – a map which included Germany, Italy and parts of the Middle East. He then showed off some photos of all the rockets Iran has, as Mark Dubowitz, from the pro-Israel thinktank Foundation for Defense of Democracies, speculated that Iran could deliver a 'nuclear payload'. 'Do you think we should help [Israel] finish the job at Fordo?' Kilmeade asked Dubowitz. 'We gotta help them finish the job,' Dubowitz said. 'Only we can slice through the concrete, slice through the mountain under which the nuclear site is buried.' Kilmeade concluded: 'President Trump's got some big decisions.' And it wasn't just Kilmeade. 'Iran wants to hold the world hostage,' a chyron blared during Jesse Watters show on 19 June. Later the chyron switched: 'An unarmed Iran would give US leverage', after Watters said 'there's risks to action and there's risks in inaction' before comparing the situation to a person undergoing 'life-saving surgery'. Trump, a known cable news watcher, was paying attention, according to the New York Times. 'The president was closely monitoring Fox News, which was airing wall-to-wall praise of Israel's military operation and featuring guests urging Mr Trump to get more involved,' the Times reported. It added that some of Trump's aides 'lamented' that Tucker Carlson, who has emerged as an anti-interventionist voice, was no longer on the network. That split between right-wing media has been stark. Many non-conservatives found themselves in the novel position of agreeing with Carlson, as he repeatedly stated in the days ahead of the attacks that the US should not get involved. On 18 June, Carlson confronted Republican senator Ted Cruz, shouting: 'You don't know anything about Iran!' in a memorable exchange. But Fox News had the president's ear, and it was awash with fawning praise after the attacks, as a series of guests, many of whom had vested interests in Iran being attacked, lined up to champion Trump. Among those was Amir Avivi, a retired Israeli general who has proposed forcibly relocating Palestinians to Egypt. 'This was an excellent opportunity to end the war which was led by president Trump and the Israeli people thank him for his leadership.' Avivi said, adding that Trump had created a 'global deterrence'. Still, in the Maga world, even the most sycophantic media organizations can never be absolutely certain of their footing. Pete Hegseth, the US defense secretary, went on a performative rant at the Pentagon on Thursday, lashing out on specific journalists he accused of not having been Pravda enough in their reporting of the strikes. 'Jennifer, you've been about the worst,' Hegseth said to Jennifer Griffin, a Fox News reporter, when she asked if the government was certain that highly enriched uranium had now been removed from Fordow. Continuing to experiment with grammar, Hegseth told Griffin she had also been: 'The one who misrepresents the most intentionally.' Could this be a rift between the administration and its most ardent supporter? No. Griffin offered a light pushback to Hegseth before agreeing with him that the Iran mission was 'absolutely' the most successful she had witnessed during her time reporting at the Pentagon. That seemed to do the trick. 'I appreciate that,' Hegseth said.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Andrew Tate escapes charges for allegedly assaulting ex Bri Stern after model accused him of choking her during sex
ANDREW Tate has escaped further criminal charges after he was accused of violently choking his ex-girlfriend during sex. Model Bri Stern, 25, alleged the disgraced British influencer attacked her on March 11 while the pair were staying in Beverly Hills Hotel together. 6 6 The latest in a string of serious allegations lobbied against Tate, 38, was rejected by US courts due to "insufficient evidence". Tate's attorney Joseph McBride announced the prosecution had dropped the sexual harassment and battery cases online. He celebrated the decision by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office as a "huge win". McBride also claimed it proved they had been able to "expose lies" from Stern - despite the case being dropped rather than cleared. The attorney added that Tate had responded to the allegations when asked and vehemently denied them. He also supplied a "do-not-prosecute" packet of information urging prosecutors not to pursue charges, according to McBride. Sources close to Stern say she was never notified of the decision to decline charges, TMZ reports. She has also filed a complaint with the Beverly Hills Police Department and is seeking a restraining order against Tate. Stern first claimed back in March that her face and body has been left bruised by Tate when he "attacked" her during sex. The social media model even posted pictures and videos showing the alleged injuries which she says were taken directly after the former couple stayed together in a hotel room in Beverly Hills. Andrew Tate and his brother charged with rape against four women in the UK and string of other offences A police report from Stern accused Tate of choking her and failing to stop even when she begged him to during rough sex. She claimed Tate got more violent as she pleaded with him - but shockingly revealed she "still loves him". Stern described feeling like she was slipping out of consciousness during the alleged assault. Tate's lawyer described the allegations as "fake news" at the time. Text messages were also shared in the court documents which were allegedly sent to Stern by Tate during their relationship. In the messages, Tate is accused of telling her he wants to "beat the f**k out of you" and boasts about how she "deserves it". He also told the model that there was "no point in having you" if he didn't "beat and impregnate you". Tate, and his younger brother Tristan, still face a number of criminal charges in both the UK and Romania. 6 6 Andrew, who is currently living in Bucharest, is accused of ten charges in total. This includes rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain against three women. His brother, 36, is charged with 11 offences against one alleged victim - including rape, actual bodily harm and human trafficking. The pair deny all of the charges. The charges lobbied against them in Romania have been ongoing for a number of years now and must be settled before they can be taken to court in the UK. Both have said they will return to London to plead their case after the pair were hit with rape charges in May, their lawyer has said. Ex-kickboxer Andrew moved to Romania years ago after first starting a webcam business in the UK. He was joined by Tristan with the pair living together since. Self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew also appeared on Big Brother but was famously booted off the show. Domestic abuse - how to get help DOMESTIC abuse can affect anyone - including men - and does not always involve physical violence. Here are some signs that you could be in an abusive relationship: Emotional abuse - Including being belittled, blamed for the abuse - gaslighting - being isolated from family and friends, having no control over your finances, what you where and who you speak to Threats and intimidation - Some partners might threaten to kill or hurt you, destroy your belongings, stalk or harass you Physical abuse - This can range from slapping or hitting to being shoved over, choked or bitten. Sexual abuse - Being touched in a way you do not want to be touched, hurt during sex, pressured into sex or forced to have sex when you do not consent. If any of the above apply to you or a friend, you can call these numbers: The Freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge on 0808 2000 247 for free at any time, day or night Men who are being abused can call Respect Men's Advice Line on 0808 8010 327 or ManKind on 0182 3334 244 Those who identify as LGBT+ can ring Galop on 0800 999 5428 If you are in immediate danger or fear for your life, always ring 999 Remember, you are not alone. 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men will experience domestic abuse over the course of their lifetime. Every 30 seconds the police receive a call for help relating to domestic abuse. 6
