China urges students to weigh 'risk' of studying in US
Beijing: China on Monday warned students and academics on the "risk" of studying in the United States, citing an uptick in visa denials and delays amid a trade war and other tensions.
The education ministry in a statement urged students to "strengthen risk assessment... and make relevant preparations".
The ministry said Chinese students and academics have experienced visa restrictions, delays in obtaining them, and visas with shorter duration.
China is the biggest source of international students on US campuses, with 360,000 of them last year, or a third of the foreign student body, with many paying full tuition.
The warning comes after FBI director Christopher Wray said in April that Beijing has used Chinese graduate students and researchers, among others, in its economic espionage efforts in the United States.
Last month, Republicans in the US Congress introduced legislation aimed at barring Chinese military scientists from obtaining visas to study or work in the United States.
The bills in the House and Senate would compel the White House to identify a list of research and scientific institutions that the president determines are affiliated with or funded by the People's Liberation Army.
The PLA Visa Security Act would prevent people currently or formerly employed or sponsored by such entities from entering the United States on student or research visas.
China's state-run Global times has published accounts from several Chinese academics saying their 10-year visas to the US were cancelled, with officials citing concerns about links to Chinese intelligence.
US scholar Michael Pillsbury, who advises US President Donald Trump on China, said his visa to enter the country for a forum earlier this year was blocked in apparent retaliation.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Two Delhi men held for BMTC bus phone thefts in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: Whitefield police have arrested two men from Delhi for allegedly stealing mobile phones from passengers travelling in Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses and solved 14 theft cases, officials said on Tuesday.
The arrested accused have been identified as Jai Chand (25), who worked at a hotel in Delhi, and Tarun (34), an autorickshaw driver in Delhi.
Officials said on January 24, a Mahadevapura resident lodged a complaint that his iPhone 15 Plus was stolen while he was travelling on a BMTC bus towards Whitefield.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case and arrested two suspects within an hour near a lodge on Hosa Road. During the arrest, the police found a bag containing several stolen mobile phones.
ALSO READ: Two college dropouts held with drugs worth Rs 10 crore in Bengaluru
“During interrogation, the suspects confessed that they were stealing mobile phones from passengers travelling in BMTC buses. They had also committed thefts during a concert held under the Channarayapatna police station limits on January 23,” the police said.
Investigations revealed that the accused had travelled from Delhi for the concert and stolen mobile phones from the audience. A third suspect is at large and is likely hiding in the Shahdara area of Delhi.
One of the victims, a YouTuber, raised the theft issue in February in a post on X.
“Here is my (FIR No 0013/2026 is registered in Channarayapatana PS. Your GSC No. is PO1814260100013) request @DelhiPolice @BlrCityPolice to plz look into this & get my device back since it's my work phone & I am a youtuber, all my data is there! someone plz help. @dcpwhitefield,” Anirban Sarkar posted on X on February 6.
Police have recovered 14 mobile phones of various brands, collectively valued at about Rs 9 lakh, from the accused. The two were produced before the court and remanded in judicial custody.
In total, one case from Whitefield and 13 from Channarayapatna police stations were detected. Further investigation is underway.
