Latest news with #Mete
National Observer
a day ago
- Politics
- National Observer
'Great relief': After uncertainty, Canadian Harvard students anticipating return this fall
Thomas Mete says he is feeling "great relief" now that he knows he'll be returning to Harvard University to finish the last year of his degree, after a tumultuous summer of limbo. "I can't wait to be back in Cambridge," the fourth-year economics student said in an interview from Montreal this week. Mete is among hundreds of Canadians who expect to be back at the Massachusetts-based Ivy League school in the fall after United States President Donald Trump's administration wreaked uncertainty earlier this year. Harvard enrolled nearly 6,800 international students from more than 100 countries in the fall of 2024. According to the university's fact book, 751 of those new students were Canadian. The only country from which more students joined Harvard was China. Mete told The Canadian Press that he was picking up his brother from school in Ridgeway, Ont., when he learned in May that Trump's government was moving to block international students from studying at Harvard. At the time, it was "a complete shock," he said. "There was just a sense of fear of not being able to go back, and I think that was overwhelming for me and a lot of my other Canadian friends and international students," he recalled. "There was this idea we weren't going to be able to go back and my senior year wasn't going to start. ... I had a whole life in Cambridge that was sort of put on pause." Mete said the questions over his own future were a "heavy burden" to carry as the political battle over international students seized the American news cycle. "It was just a shame that politics had to get involved with higher education and Harvard specifically. It was never something I thought of when I applied to college," he said. "I hope (this is) going to be a great year and that there aren't any more bumps in the road." Since the spring, Harvard has been locked in a battle with the Trump administration after rejecting a list of federal demands calling for sweeping changes to campus governance, hiring and admissions with a view to limiting activism on campus. The feud has included an investigation into alleged campus antisemitism, the slashing of more than $2.6 billion in research funding and the end of several federal contracts. In late May, the situation escalated further as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a letter saying it would not allow international students to study at Harvard. The letter accused the university of creating an unsafe campus environment by allowing "anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators" to assault Jewish students. The next day, Harvard filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Boston that challenged the Trump administration's decision, calling it an unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House's political demands and saying the move violated the First Amendment that protects fundamental rights. In June, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction stopping the policy from taking effect, and Harvard announced it would continue enrolling international students as the case moved forward. The administration signalled last week in court documents associated with the lawsuit that it does not intend to enforce its May letter. The documents dated Aug. 6 say the department agrees the letter will not be used to revoke Harvard's status as an entity that can enrol international or exchange students. Meanwhile, The Associated Press and New York Times reported Wednesday that Harvard and the Trump administration were getting close to an agreement that would require the Ivy League university to pay $500 million to regain access to federal funding and to end investigations. Jared Gaffe, who is also gearing up to return to Harvard in a few weeks for his final year of law school, said there was a great deal of confusion amid initial reports that international students could be blocked from attending Harvard. He said he planned to "follow the guidance of the university" as much as possible. For now, he added, the school is telling students like him that they "should be fine" to return to the U.S. "I sort of feel resigned to the fact that there's pretty much nothing I can do to change the situation," Gaffe said. Harvard University pointed The Canadian Press to its prior statements about the situation facing international students. In several communications to its community this year, the school has stated that it intends to comply with U.S. laws while upholding university policies. "We will continue to do all that we can to ensure that our international community can continue to research, study, work and thrive at Harvard," it said in an update to students last month. During this summer's uncertainty, Harvard announced several contingency plans should international students be unable to get back into the country. One was an agreement between Havard and the University of Toronto, which agreed in June to host graduate students enrolled at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government at its Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. U of T declined to answer questions about whether any of Harvard's foreign students enrolled at the Munk School.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘Great relief': After uncertainty, Canadian Harvard students expect to return this fall
TORONTO – Thomas Mete says he is feeling 'great relief' now that he knows he'll be returning to Harvard University to finish the last year of his degree, after a tumultuous summer of limbo. 'I can't wait to be back in Cambridge,' the fourth-year economics student said in an interview from Montreal this week. Mete is among hundreds of Canadians who expect to be back at the Massachusetts-based Ivy League school in the fall after United States President Donald Trump's administration wreaked uncertainty earlier this year. Harvard enrolled nearly 6,800 international students from more than 100 countries in the fall of 2024. According to the university's fact book, 751 of those new students were Canadian. The only country from which more students joined Harvard was China. Mete told The Canadian Press that he was picking up his brother from school in Ridgeway, Ont., when he learned in May that Trump's government was moving to block international students from studying at Harvard. At the time, it was 'a complete shock,' he said. 'There was just a sense of fear of not being able to go back, and I think that was overwhelming for me and a lot of my other Canadian friends and international students,' he recalled. 'There was this idea we weren't going to be able to go back and my senior year wasn't going to start. … I had a whole life in Cambridge that was sort of put on pause.' Mete said the questions over his own future were a 'heavy burden' to carry as the political battle over international students seized the American news cycle. 'It was just a shame that politics had to get involved with higher education and Harvard specifically. It was never something I thought of when I applied to college,' he said. 'I hope (this is) going to be a great year and that there aren't any more bumps in the road.' Since the spring, Harvard has been locked in a battle with the Trump administration after rejecting a list of federal demands calling for sweeping changes to campus governance, hiring and admissions with a view to limiting activism on campus. The feud has included an investigation into alleged campus antisemitism, the slashing of more than $2.6 billion in research funding and the end of several federal contracts. In late May, the situation escalated further as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a letter saying it would not allow international students to study at Harvard. The letter accused the university of creating an unsafe campus environment by allowing 'anti-American, pro-terrorist agitators' to assault Jewish students. The next day, Harvard filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Boston that challenged the Trump administration's decision, calling it an unconstitutional retaliation for defying the White House's political demands and saying the move violated the First Amendment that protects fundamental rights. In June, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction stopping the policy from taking effect, and Harvard announced it would continue enrolling international students as the case moved forward. The administration signalled last week in court documents associated with the lawsuit that it does not intend to enforce its May letter. The documents dated Aug. 6 say the department agrees the letter will not be used to revoke Harvard's status as an entity that can enrol international or exchange students. Meanwhile, The Associated Press and New York Times reported Wednesday that Harvard and the Trump administration were getting close to an agreement that would require the Ivy League university to pay $500 million to regain access to federal funding and to end investigations. Jared Gaffe, who is also gearing up to return to Harvard in a few weeks for his final year of law school, said there was a great deal of confusion amid initial reports that international students could be blocked from attending Harvard. He said he planned to 'follow the guidance of the university' as much as possible. For now, he added, the school is telling students like him that they 'should be fine' to return to the U.S. 'I sort of feel resigned to the fact that there's pretty much nothing I can do to change the situation,' Gaffe said. Harvard University pointed The Canadian Press to its prior statements about the situation facing international students. In several communications to its community this year, the school has stated that it intends to comply with U.S. laws while upholding university policies. 'We will continue to do all that we can to ensure that our international community can continue to research, study, work and thrive at Harvard,' it said in an update to students last month. During this summer's uncertainty, Harvard announced several contingency plans should international students be unable to get back into the country. One was an agreement between Havard and the University of Toronto, which agreed in June to host graduate students enrolled at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government at its Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. U of T declined to answer questions about whether any of Harvard's foreign students enrolled at the Munk School. — With files from The Associated Press. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2025.
7NEWS
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- 7NEWS
The Wiggles launch Backseat Brainiacs to combat children screen time on road trips
Road trips with children can be tough at the best of times, with parents usually resorting to screen time to occupy restless kids on the road. However, Australian parents have revealed their children now spend a staggering amount of their time on tablets and smartphones, prompting children's music group The Wiggles to push for change. 'We live in a digital world,' mum and red Wiggle, Caterina Mete, told 7NEWS. 'So children need to be familiar with that, but it shouldn't be everything.' Mete said she didn't know what to anticipate when it came to navigating screen time as a new mum after giving birth to her twin girls, Dolly and Gigi, in 2024. 'I didn't know what to expect,' she said. 'I know it can help a lot for parents to have a screen. 'Especially if they need to have a shower. I know that helps me. 'But I think also just making sure that you monitor it, and it's a healthy amount, and it is not overdone because children love to play.' Most Australian children spend more time on screens than is recommended, according to the Australian Institute of Family Studies. Estimates from primary research suggest only 17–23 per cent of preschoolers and 15 per cent of five-to-12-year-olds meet screen-time guidelines. In an attempt to curb the screen time trend, The Wiggles has partnered with car rental company Thrifty to launch Backseat Brainiacs, a screen-free car game aimed at reducing the amount of screen time for kids on road trips. 'There's a staggering amount of screen time used in cars, and it's nice if we can just get away from that a little bit and just look at the beauty of nature,' Mete said. '(Backseat Brainiacs) makes car rides more engaging for the children in an interactive and fun family way. 'Children have got the best imaginations. They come up with such wonderful things, and being able to do that in a car ride is pretty special, I think.' The Wiggles activity pack includes memory card matching games, a road trip scavenger hunt, and the listen-along Backseat Brainiacs audio quiz read out by The Wiggles. 'There's a scavenger hunt where children can tick off things they've seen on the car ride,' Mete said. 'It might be, you know, a kangaroo, and they can tick that off, and it keeps them looking out the window and looking at the Australian landscape and beautiful of always relying on screens.' Mete said her favourite road trip game as a kid was 'I spy'. 'It's still a great game for children. You know, it's a game that will last forever.' Damien Shaw, Vice President at Thrifty Asia Pacific, said they wanted to create something that turns the car ride into a shared experience for the whole family. 'As a parent, I know how tough it can be to keep children engaged on long drives,' he said. 'With Backseat Brainiacs, we wanted to offer something that goes beyond the usual screens and snacks.' Backseat Brainiacs and the accompanying The Wiggles travel packs will be available from July 14 at participating Thrifty Car Rental locations across Australia and New Zealand Non-Thrifty customers can head to or to download and print off the road trip scavenger hunt or access a link to the Backseat Brainiacs audio quiz.
The Sun
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
90 Day Fiance UK series four line up revealed with two age-gap couples, secret Mormon and proposal after single meeting
90 Day Fiance UK series four cast has been revealed - including age-gap couples, a secret Mormon and shock proposal. The hit show will be returning to screens from July 13 on discovery+. Its premise follows seven Brits who have been navigating long distance relationships. Over the course of 90 days, the couples will decide whether they're ready to spend the rest of their lives together. Adnand and Shorna The first couple taking part this series is Adnand (25) and Shorna (45). Londoner Shorna met Albanian golf buggy driver Adnand while on holiday with her daughter in Greece. Having been in a long distance relationship ever since, Shorna has a surprise in store for Adnand. Shorna has converted to Mormonism since they last saw each other, meaning she can longer have a physical relationship with Adnand. She has put off revealing this - believing Adnand won't take the news well. Only if they become man and wife could they revisit physical intimacy. Shannon and Mete 7 Shannon, 25, from Liverpool, went on holiday to Marmaris, Turkey in 2023. She met hotel entertainer Mete, 32, from Istanbul, with an attraction sparking into a relationship. Watch the awkward moment woman jets to Jordan to meet her husband for the first time AND marry him in the same day Since then, Shannon regularly makes return trips to Turkey to see Mete - but he is very jealous. With her nearly-all male circle of friends at home causing tension, what will happen next? Arrah and Andy 36-year-old Andy, from Watford, admitted to 30-year-old Arrah, from The Philippines, about his disability when they began talking. Andy told her: "I have a disability. I've got brittle bones. I've broken over 200 bones in my life." To which Arrah replied: "I don't care, it's what's inside that counts." Having only spoken for a month over the phone, Andy has flown to the Philippines to propose - but is this the right decision? Phin and Sandra Phin, 33, from London and Sandra, 33, from Brazil have a love story dating back several years. However, life took them in different directions - with Sandra getting married and had a family. By 2022, with both single, Sandra accidentally called Phin and the pair reignited their bond. Incredibly, 15 years after having first met, the pair finally became a couple. But will Phin be able to embrace the role of stepfather? Ebrima and Zena Zena, 65, from Oxted, holidayed in The Gambia two years ago. While there, she caught the eye of Ebrima, 44, a local waiter. Ebrima wooed her with flowers and sweet talk, with the pair having been in a long distance relationship ever since. However, Zena's family are concerned that Ebrima's intentions are financial. Sarah and Marco Following a painful break-up, Sarah, 31, from Kent, went to Italy with a friend for some R&R. While swimming in a lake, Sarah bumped into local hunk Marco, 37. The pair have now officially been together for a year - and visit each other's country at least one a month. Unbeknown to Sarah's friends and family, the couple have recently got engaged. But having been engaged before, Sarah is nervous to share the news with her loved ones. How will they react upon finding out? Sam and Ali Rounding out the line-up are Sam and Ali, who are returning from series three. Sam, 30, from Newcastle met 24-year-old Turkish girl Ali on a holiday resort in 2022, falling in love quickly Although Sam was concerned about Ali's intentions, the couple married in Turkey and have been long distance. Having found it difficult to save for a visa, Sam tries his hand at living in Ali's rural Turkish hometown. But this is much to Ali's frustration, as she dreams of a new life in the UK. 90 Day Fiancé UK series four is available to stream on discovery+ in the UK & Ireland from Sunday 13 th July.
