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  China controls the rare earths the world buys - can Trump's new deals change that? US President Donald Trump has signed a flurry of deals on his Asia visit to secure the supply of rare earths, a critical sector that China has long dominated. The deals with Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia differ in size and substance and it's too early to assess their tangible impact. But they all include efforts to diversify access to the minerals that have become essential for advanced manufacturing, from electric vehicles to smartphones. The agreements, which aim to lock partners into trading with the US, are a clear bid to reduce dependence on China, ahead of a key meeting with its leader Xi Jinping. They could eventually challenge Beijing's stranglehold over rare earths, but experts say it will be a costly process that will take years. "Building new mines, refining facilities, and processing plants in regions such as Australia, the United States, and Europe comes ...
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 US universities ask foreign students to return to campus before Trump takes office


The country's universities have advised foreign students and staff to return to their campuses before the newly elected President of the United States, Donald Trump, takes office in January. The university authorities recently informed them of this in an email message. Since Mr. Trump won the presidential election, anxiety has been growing among immigrants in the United States. Meanwhile, many have been worried by the sudden warning from universities. "All foreign students are now worried," Chloe East, a professor at the University of Colorado Denver in the United States, told the BBC. Republican Party leader Mr. Trump has promised to launch the largest campaign in history against illegal immigrants in the United States once he takes office. He has also said that the US military will be used to assist in this work if necessary. It is known that a significant number of foreign students are among those who may get into trouble as a result of this campaign. According to the Higher Ed Immigration Portal, which works with immigrants and foreign students, the number of undocumented foreign students in the United States is currently more than 400,000. However, officials in the new Trump administration have promised to provide large-scale housing to accommodate undocumented immigrants. Veteran immigration official and the Trump administration's new "border czar" Tom Homan has said that after taking office, he will prioritize deporting people who are dangerous criminals and threats to national security.

As such, while students are not said to be too afraid, the reality is that they remain concerned. “International students are currently under a lot of pressure due to the uncertainty surrounding immigration,” Professor East told the BBC. “Many students are also concerned about whether their visas will be extended and whether they will be allowed to continue their studies.” The newly elected US president will officially take office on January 20th. As a result, the University of Massachusetts has advised its international students and staff to return to the university after their winter break. “The Office of Global Affairs is issuing this advice as a precaution following the experience of the first travel ban issued by the Trump administration in 2016,” the university said. It is worth noting that after becoming president for the first time in 2017, Mr. Trump issued an executive order from the White House, which banned citizens of several Muslim-majority countries, as well as North Korea and Venezuela, from entering the United States. The Republican leader also proposed stricter rules for issuing visas to foreign students during his first term as president. Like the University of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Wesleyan University have also urged their foreign students and staff to return to campus by January 20th.

On the other hand, Yale University has even hosted a webinar where foreign students and faculty have expressed concerns about Trump's immigration policies. Through the tough immigration policy, Trump is essentially trying to end a program launched under former President Barack Obama that has protected nearly half a million people who came to the United States as children. One of the foreign students who is now worried about the future of their studies and academic activities is Ai Maeda, a Japanese national studying at Earlham College in Indiana. "I was supposed to graduate in May 2026. But now it seems that the US administration is going to be a little more dangerous for us. I'm not very optimistic that the situation will change and something good will happen," said Ai Maeda. He added, "(Trump) said that he only wants to take action against illegal immigrants, but several times he has been seen trying to take action beyond that. "So I think his decision could affect the visas of foreign students, which would make it much easier to deport them from the United States."

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