WASHINGTON: The United States issued nearly one-fifth fewer student visas in August following a crackdown by President Donald Trump, led by a steep drop for India which was overtaken by China as top country of origin, data showed Monday.

The United States issued 313,138 student visas in August, the most common start month for US universities, a drop of 19.1% from the same month in 2024, according to the International Trade Commission.

India, which last year was the top source of foreign students to the United States, saw the most dramatic drop with 44.5% fewer student visas issued than a year earlier.

Visa issuance also dropped for Chinese students but not nearly at the same rate. The United States issued 86,647 visas to students from mainland China in August, more than double the number issued to Indians.

The statistics do not reflect overall numbers of US-based students, many of whom remain on previously issued visas.

Trump has put a top priority since returning to the White House both on curbing immigration and on weakening universities, which his administration sees as a key power base of the left.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefly suspended processing of student visas in June, a peak month, as he issued orders that US embassies vet applicants’ social media.

Rubio has revoked thousands of student visas, often due to criticism of Israel, on the grounds that he can refuse entry to people who go against US foreign policy interests.

In rules that affect Indians in particular, the Trump administration has made it more difficult for applicants to apply for visas outside jurisdictions of the US consulates in their home countries, even if there are backlogs.

Trump has taken a series of actions at odds with India, which for decades had been courted by US policymakers of both parties which saw the billion-plus nation as a natural counterweight to China.

Trump has also imposed a hefty new fee on H-1B visas, which are used largely by Indian technology workers.

Trump, however, has voiced hope for ramping up the number of Chinese students to boost relations between the two powers, a sharp contrast to earlier messaging from Rubio who had vowed to “aggressively” revoke visas from Chinese students he accuses of exploiting US technical knowhow.

The latest figures also show a sharp drop in student visas from many Muslim-majority countries, with admissions from Iran dropping by 86%.

Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who was arrested by Israel when they intercepted the Global Sumud Flotilla, called out world governments for continuing to enable Tel Aviv’s genocide in the Gaza Strip after she arrived in Greece on Monday.

The 45-vessel flotilla, with activists and politicians on board, left Spain last month to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza, where the United Nations has warned of famine.

The flotilla was intercepted by the Israeli navy, with commandos boarding the boats and arresting participants. Former Pakistani senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan was also on board and is currently in Israeli custody.

In her first public comments since her release by Israeli authorities, Greta emphasised that the real story is not the interception of the flotilla, but the genocide being carried out in the Gaza Strip.

“The Global Sumud Flotilla was the biggest-ever attempt to break Israel’s illegal and inhumane siege by sea,” the Swedish activist said. “It is a story of global, international solidarity, of people stepping up when our governments fail to do so and people are saying ‘my leaders … who are supposed to represent me continue to fuel a genocide … they do not represent me’.“

She added that the mission even existing was “a shame”, condemning Israel’s “illegal and inhumane” siege of the enclave, as well as blocking routes for humanitarian aid.

“Under international law, states have a legal obligation to act to prevent … to stop a genocide, including ending complicity, applying real pressure and ending arms transfers,” Thunberg said.

“We are not even seeing the bare minimum from our governments,” she lamented. “Our international systems are betraying Palestinians. They are not even able to stop the worst war crimes from happening.“

Thunberg said she could “talk for a very, very long time” about her imprisonment and abuse at the hands of Israeli jailers, but insisted that it was not the story.

She said the story was “Israel … continuing to worsen and escalate their genocide and mass destruction with genocidal intent; attempting to erase an entire population in front of our very eyes”.

The Israeli onslaught in Gaza began in October 2023 following an attack by Hamas in Israel. Since then, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, thousands injured and millions displaced.

Last month, UN investigators said that Israel was committing genocide in Gaza in a bid to “destroy the Palestinians”, accusing Israel’s prime minister and other top officials of incitement.

On the eve of the seventh meeting of the Moscow Format of Consultations on Afghanistan (MFC) – another meeting was held between the special representatives of the countries of the regional quartet (Russia, China, Iran, and Pakistan).

Zamir Kabulov, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Afghanistan, took part in the event on behalf of the Russian Side.

The quartet acts as the contact group of the MFC. The participants focused their discussions on substantive issues of the upcoming October 7 session of the Moscow Format of Consultations on Afghanistan, including the drafting of the final document.