President Donald Trump's administration said on Friday that it is restoring the visa registrations of potentially thousands of foreign students in the US whose legal status had recently been abruptly terminated.
The decision was announced during a court hearing before a federal judge in Boston, Massachusetts, who was hearing a challenge by one of many international students suing over the administration's actions. Those students' status had been revoked as a result of their records being terminated from a database of the roughly 1.1 million foreign student visa holders, putting them at risk of deportation.
Many students said their institutions had blocked their ability to continue taking classes or conducting research, sometimes weeks before graduation. Since Mr Trump took office in late January, records for more than 4,700 students have been removed from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement-maintained database known as Student and Exchange Visitor Information Systems (Sevis), according to the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
The database monitors compliance with visa terms and records foreign students' addresses, progress towards graduation and other information. To remain in the database, student visa holders have to obey conditions like limits on employment and avoiding illegal activity.
Universities have reported some students being forced to leave immediately after discovering their visas had been cancelled in the Sevis, or via unexpected text or email. The federal government told congressional committees earlier this month that it had terminated more than 4,700 immigration status records for foreign students, according to Nafsa, the association of international educators. But erasing those records is different to revoking visas.
The terminations of student records sparked more than 100 lawsuits, with judges in more than 50 of the cases across at least 23 states ordering the Trump administration to temporarily undo the actions. The Trump administration's visa revocations took particular aim at those who have previous charges or who participated in political activism, such as on-campus pro-Palestine protests.
In late March, the US State Department said it had revoked at least 300 visas, many to foreign students, as it cracks down on people who participated in protests against the war in Gaza. It is unclear how this new decision will affect students who are currently in ICE custody.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
SPECS
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.
The%20specs
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The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
