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Harvard’s President Bacow said the new rule was designed purposefully to place pressure on colleges and universities to open their on-campus classrooms for in-person instruction this fall (Photo: CNBC)

Harvard, MIT sue Trump administration the rule barring international students

Harvard University and MIT pushed back on Wednesday against a new rule that would require international students to take classes in-person this fall in order to stay in the country issued Monday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

In response, MIT and Harvard jointly filed suit against ICE and the Department of Homeland Security in federal court in Massachusetts.

“ICE threw Harvard and MIT — indeed, virtually all of higher education in the United States — into chaos,” the suit said.

“The order came down without notice — its cruelty surpassed only by its recklessness,” Harvard President Lawrence Bacow said separately in a letter addressed to members of the Harvard community.

Harvard’s President Bacow said the new rule was designed purposefully to place pressure on colleges and universities to open their on-campus classrooms for in-person instruction this fall, without regard to concerns for the health and safety of students, instructors, and others.

The leader of the prestigious university added that he will pursue the case vigorously, CNBC reported.

China’s military use spider excavators to build roads near India border

Chinese troops are using all-terrain walking excavators to speed up road-building and other construction work in the rugged Himalayas near the country’s disputed border with India, where tensions have been rising

The heavy machines, also known as spider excavators for the way they move, can be seen in the background of a video showing People’s Liberation Army soldiers on the Tibetan plateau by the Yarlung Tsangpo River, or Brahmaputra as it is known in India. The footage was released last week by the PLA’s Tibet Military District, which looks after the frontier with India, SCMP reported.

The PLA uses two models made by state-owned firm XCMG Construction Machinery in Jiangsu province – one that weighs 11 tonnes and can walk at 10km/h (6.2mph), and another that can be operated remotely without a driver. They are also used for emergency rescue operations by China’s paramilitary People’s Armed Police.

These construction projects have led to increased skirmishes between border troops, including a long stand-off at the Doklam plateau in 2017, and a brawl on June 15 in the Galwan Valley, part of the disputed Ladakh region in Kashmir, which left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead, with an undisclosed number of Chinese casualties.

Chinese troops are using all-terrain walking excavators to speed up road-building and other construction work in the rugged Himalayas near the country’s disputed border with India (Photo: SCMP)

Hong Kong bans protest songs and other political expressions at schools

Hong Kong’s education secretary Kevin Yeung on Wednesday banned students from singing the protest anthem “Glory to Hong Kong,” posting slogans with political messages or forming human chains, saying “the schools are obliged to stop” such activities.

According to New York Times, students, including middle schoolers, have been a driving force in Hong Kong’s protest movement. Beijing’s imposition of the national security law last Wednesday — and the subsequent arrests of teenagers at protests — has led some families to express concerns that their children could be in jeopardy for singing pro-democracy songs or even for expressing such sentiments in their homes.

The education secretary said that students had been “misled and incited to express their political stance in different ways (such as boycotting classes, chanting slogans, forming human chains, and posting slogans or singing songs which contain political messages in schools.)”

Hong Kong’s education system has emerged as a particular target of the Chinese government and pro-Beijing forces in the city. China sees Hong Kong’s failure to impose a patriotic education curriculum in the schools as helping to turn them into breeding grounds for the radicalization of students. Hong Kong’s university campuses were the site of some of the most intense confrontations between the police and protesters last year.

Hong Kong students are banned from singing the protest anthem “Glory to Hong Kong,” posting slogans with political messages or forming human chains (Photo: NY Times)

Bodies of 180 suspected extrajudicial execution victims found in Burkina Faso

The bodies of 180 bodies of men believed to have been killed in mass extrajudicial executions were found in Burkina Faso, according to the Human Rights Watch.

Residents of the town in Djibo in northern Burkina Faso said that the bodies had been left of groups of three to 20 "along major roadways, under bridges and in fields and vacant lots" between November and June.

Based on their clothing and physical features, residents believe the majority of the victims were ethnic Fulani or Peuhl men, including relatives and other people known within the city. Many were found blindfolded with bound hands and had been shot.

Most of the bodies were buried between March and April.

"Existing information points toward government security forces, so it's critical to have impartial investigations, evidence properly gathered and families informed about what happened to their loved ones," Dufka said.

HRW interviewed 23 people in the community who said they believed the men were detained by security forces as suspected supporters of Islamist armed groups, UPI reported.

The bodies of 180 bodies of men believed to have been killed in mass extrajudicial executions were found in Burkina Faso (Photo: UPI)

Gold Price Analysis: Will it be a smooth journey to the all-time high?

The daily chart shows an acceleration away from the top of the flag pattern. The price has now broken out of the blue resistance line which was the previous consolidation high back in 2011 after the price dropped from the all-time high.

Both the indicators are looking positive with the MACD histogram still green and the bars are still increasing in size. The signal lines are also still elevated and they have not had a bearish cross just yet. The Relative Strength Index indicator is in the overbought zone but in the past, it has stayed there for a while before the price dropped off.

Daily chart (Photo: FX Empire)

The monthly chart highlights the levels that the bulls are targeting in the precious metal. It is also a slightly better angle to see the most recent resistance break. Both the indicators on this timeframe also look like showing no signs of slowing down. It is important to remember any blip or wave lower on the daily and intraday charts will not show up to well on this timeframe. The key target for the bulls is now the all-time high of USD 1921.07.

Monthly chart (Photo: FX Empire)

World news today July 5: WHO records world’s largest one-day COVID-19 cases increase World news today July 5: Over 212,000 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide within 24 hours on Saturday. Meanwhile, WHO halts hydroxychloroquine in COVID-19 treatment, China has fired back ...

World news today July 3: Russia referendum: Vladimir Putin now able to extend his rule until 2036 World news today July 3: With 77.6% of voters have approved Vladimir Putin’s proposed amendments to the 1993 constitution, the Russian President now could hold power ...

World news today July 2: Indian grooms passed away after infecting over 100 wedding guests World news today July 2: A wedding in India turned out to be a COVID-19 super-spreader after nearly 100 guests contracted the virus from the groom. ...