GERMANY URGED TO POACH US RESEARCHERS UNHAPPY WITH TRUMP

German economists called Tuesday for a recruitment drive to target
US-based researchers dissatisfied with the policies of President
Donald Trump, saying Europe's top economy could benefit from a "brain
gain".

Writing in news outlet _Der Spiegel_, eight economists called on the
German government to fund up to 100 professorships in the country for
exceptional academics currently based in the United States.

Accusing the US government of undermining academic freedom, they
pointed to funding cuts at Columbia and Johns Hopkins universities as
well as "threats of student deportations".

"Germany and Europe now have a chance to reverse the 'brain drain' and
bring world-class researchers to their own institutions," they said.

The authors, who include Moritz Schularick, head of the prominent Kiel
Institute for the World Economy, suggested naming the recruitment
drive after Lise Meitner and Albert Einstein, two German scientists
who fled Germany in the 1930s.

"As the US academic system undergoes a turbulent transformation,
Germany can offer stability, freedom and opportunity," they said.

The United States' "once unassailable reputation as a global hub for
research and academic freedom is beginning to crack", they added.

The Trump administration has in particular targeted institutions that
saw massive protests sparked by Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza,
and hundreds of students have had their visas revoked due to
involvement in pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

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Officials initially put $400 million of funding at New York's Columbia
under review and detained a graduate student linked to pro-Palestinian
protests, prompting the university to announce a package of
concessions.

Johns Hopkins University meanwhile announced more than 2,000 layoffs
after seeing more than $800 million in federal funding evaporate.

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There have also been concerning signs for foreign academics seeking to
visit the United States.

A French space scientist was deported as he sought to enter the
country last month after border agents read the contents of his
smartphone and accused him of "hateful" messages against US policy,
according to French officials.

But US authorities denied he was refused entry due to his political
views, saying he had confidential information from a nuclear research
laboratory.

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