ICE says international students must take classes in person; TikTok planning to pull out of Hong Kong; More students return to school in South Africa
Students and pedestrians walk through the Yard at Harvard University, after the school asked its students not to return to campus to counter the spread of the coronavirus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, March 10, 2020.
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Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced yesterday that international students attending schools operating entirely online will not be allowed to remain in the US. The new ICE guidance states that affected students on F-1 and M-1 visas in the US can transfer to a school offering in-person classes to maintain their legal status. It was not immediately clear how many student visa holders are affected.
Colleges and universities have begun to announce plans for the fall 2020 semester amid the pandemic. Harvard University announced yesterday it would conduct course instruction online for the 2020-2021 academic year with less than half of students allowed on campus while the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said only seniors could return to the school.
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Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok said today it plans to pull out of Hong Kong. The move comes as companies try to sort out how to operate in the city under sweeping new security rules imposed by Beijing. Major internet companies including Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, and Google have all announced they have suspended the processing of user data requests from the Hong Kong authorities.
And, students in grades 6 and 11 in South Africa headed back to school yesterday as part of the country’s reopening following the coronavirus lockdowns. The first group of kids in grades 7 and 12 returned to classes last month.
In neighboring Zimbabwe, a dozen nurses were arrested yesterday during protests over low pay and poor work conditions while treating patients with COVID-19.
From The World
Sex workers in Europe struggle to survive as clubs slowly reopen
As sex clubs reopen across Europe, sex workers worry about their earnings and also whether they can stay safe. Niki Adams, a spokesperson with English Collective of Prostitutes, says the pandemic and lack of state support shows how far the industry still has to go to gain legal recognition.
Shanghai Pride went on as planned last month. But the fight for LGBTQ rights in China is far from over.
Shanghai Pride didn’t include the typical parade filled with people waving rainbow flags. In China, parades are mostly reserved for displays of military strength. So, organizers have to use a little bit of ingenuity to pull off one of the country’s longest-running Pride events.
Morning focus
Hundreds of programmed drones with colorful lights flew over Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday night for a 10-minute, government-organized show containing messages on preventing the coronavirus. The photos will brighten your morning.
In case you missed it
Listen: Facebook suspends Hong Kong user data requests
Facebook and other tech giants will temporarily stop processing requests for user data from Hong Kong authorities after China imposed a security law on the city that calls for greater supervision and regulation of Hong Kong’s internet. And, many sex workers continued to work throughout the COVID-19 lockdown, putting them at risk from abusive clients as well as the coronavirus. Now, brothels across the content are reopening, and authorities have issued a long list of hygiene rules. Also, most Pride activities around the world were canceled or moved online this year, but Shanghai Pride events continued as usual. But “as usual” means something very different in China compared to other places.
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