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The US yesterday said it was suspending the processing of immigrant visas from 75 countries, President Donald Trump’s latest move against foreigners seeking to come to America. The US has long rejected visas from people who appear likely to end up needing government welfare, but the state department said it would now use the same authority for a blanket suspension of immigrant visas based on nationality. “The Trump administration is bringing an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people,” state department spokesman Tommy Pigott said. “Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the state department reassesses immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits,” he said. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted on X that the countries affected would include Somalia – whose people Trump has attacked in heated terms after immigrants were involved in a funding scandal in Minnesota – as well as Russia and Iran. A US official said that the other countries affected would include a number of countries with friendly relations with the US, including Brazil, Egypt and Thailand. Other countries to face the pause include Nigeria – Africa’s most populous country – as well as Iraq and Yemen, the official said. The state department did not immediately release a full list of countries. Trump has made no secret of his desire to reduce immigration by people who are not of European descent. He has said Somalis should “go back to where they came from” and instead said he was open to Scandinavians moving to the US. The state department said on Monday that it has revoked more than 100,000 visas since Trump’s return, a one-year record.The department of homeland security last month said that the Trump administration has deported more than 605,000 people, and that 2.5mn others left on their own. Source link
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum Wednesday said her government stood ready to mediate between the US and Cuba, under growing pressure from Washington after the ouster of key ally Nicolas Maduro. Sheinbaum told reporters Mexico was ‘fully prepared to be a vehicle for fostering dialogue’ between the US and Cuba. Sheinbaum told reporters both Washington and Havana would have to agree to mediation and the conditions under which talks would occur. Cubans, she added, had the right to ‘decide their own destiny.’ Source link
The Global Carbon Council (GCC) and the Asian Forest Co-operation Organisation (AFoCO) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen co-operation in addressing global climate change by promoting Nature-based solutions and fostering an enabling, high-integrity carbon market ecosystem across Asia.The MoU was signed during a formal ceremony by Dr Yousef Alhorr, founding chairman of GCC and Dr Chongho Park, executive director of AFoCO.The partnership was initiated not only in response to UNEP’s inaugural State of Finance for Forests report, which highlights the significant global shortfall in forest and environmental finance, but also to align with broader international efforts aimed at forest restoration, resilience, and long-term sustainability. The partnership seeks to leverage carbon-based incentives in line with the Paris Agreement, particularly Article 6, as a means to mobilise private sector engagement through internationally aligned carbon market mechanisms.According to the report, annual forest investments must more than triple from $84bn in 2023 to $300bn by 2030 to meet global climate and biodiversity targets. Currently, the world faces a forest finance gap of $216bn per year, underscoring the need for scalable and credible market-based solutions. To this end, the agreement between GCC and AFoCO establishes a co-operative framework to support sustainable, verifiable, and impactful forestry and climate initiatives across the region.Through this MoU, the two organisations will promote collaboration on Public–Private Partnership based Nature-based Solutions carbon incentive programmes, aligned with the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry initiatives implemented by AFoCO to strengthen climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience.The partnership aims to ensure that outcomes from nature-based solutions projects are transparent, credible, and aligned with international standards, while contributing to community resilience and long-term sustainability through AFoCO’s member country cooperation platform, where relevant and appropriate.Dr Alhorr stated: “Forests are our most effective natural defense against global warming. Recent data shows that Asian forest sinks are already removing nearly one billion tonnes of CO2 every year, making the region one of the most productive carbon absorbers on the planet. By scaling Nature-based solutions through our partnership with the Asian Forest Co-operation Organisation, we are bringing together technical expertise, strong governance, and innovative carbon market frameworks to deliver measurable, high-integrity outcomes that benefit both people and the planet.”Dr Chongho Park, executive director of AFoCO, added: “Our collaboration with the Global Carbon Council strengthens our ability to provide member countries with the tools, knowledge, and capacity needed to systematically scale sustainable forestry and nature-based projects. Together, we aim to create long-term positive impacts for communities, ecosystems, and the climate.”Following the signing of the MoU, the two organisations will establish a joint working group to identify priority initiatives, co-ordinate technical support, and progressively implement the co-operation framework through targeted events, workshops, and joint activities. Source link
A senior Ugandan official Wednesday defended the Internet blackout imposed ahead of elections, saying it was necessary to prevent riots and misinformation.The east African country goes to the polls today in a vote widely expected to secure President Yoweri Museveni his seventh term, due to his total control over state and security bodies.The authorities shut off access to the Internet on Tuesday, despite repeated promises not to do so, adding to fears of renewed repression and manipulation on election day.Presidential advisor Hajat Hadijah Namyalo Uzeiye defended the move, saying: “Internet creates wars, riots, misinformation.”They had to shut down the Internet because of the misinformation from different stakeholders,” she said.The UN human rights office said the shutdown — as well as a ruling this week to suspend 10 rights NGOs — was “deeply worrying”.Uzeiye told AFP they expected a landmark win of “at least 70 percent” in the election.”We are not ready for him to leave,” she said.She rejected allegations from opposition leader Bobi Wine, analysts and rights groups that he is a military dictator who has violently repressed the opposition during his four-decade rule.”I won’t call it dictatorship,” she said.”What they are trying to portray to the world is the element of dictatorship without giving any version of the why, the who, the where, and the what.” Related Story Source link
India’s army chief yesterday accused Pakistan of flying drones into Kashmir, where the two countries fought a four-day clash last year.“They have been told that this is unacceptable to us, and please put a stop to it,” General Upendra Dwivedi told reporters in New Delhi in an annual briefing to the media ahead of Army Day tomorrow. Heads of military operations of both countries spoke to each other earlier yesterday, he said. India’s army reported sighting multiple drones flying over Indian-controlled border villages last week.“These drones, I believe, were defensive drones, which want to come over (our territory) to see if any action is being planned against them,” Dwivedi said. There was no immediate response from Pakistan’s army.“We are fully alert along the Line of Control,” Dwivedi added, referring to the heavily fortified de facto border. Dwivedi said several low-flying drones entered Indian-controlled airspace with their lights switched on – as many as seven on Saturday, and another two or three on Sunday.“It’s possible they wanted to see if there were any gaps, laxity in our defence, any gaps through which they could send terrorists,” he added. In an incident on Friday, a drone from Pakistan was suspected to have dropped two pistols, three ammunition magazines, 16 bullets and one grenade that were recovered following a search, a source said. In the past, there have been reports of civilian drone intrusions from Pakistan into Indian states along the border, with Indian security agencies telling local media that they had shot down drones that were seeking to drop light arms or drugs. Pakistan has dismissed these accusations as baseless and misleading. Source link
Air India is facing a London lawsuit from the estates and relatives of some of the deceased over the June 2025 crash of a passenger jet which killed 260 people.A personal injury lawsuit was filed at the high court by 11 claimants on December 18, according to court records. No further details were immediately available. A Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner with 242 people on board, bound for London’s Gatwick Airport, lost height seconds after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad on June 12 and erupted in a fireball as it hit a medical college hostel. There was one survivor among those on the plane, and the crash also killed 19 people on ground.Air India and lawyers representing the claimants did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Separately, the families of four passengers killed in the crash are suing Boeing in the US, alleging that the accident resulted from allegedly faulty fuel switches. – AFP Source link
A crane at a China-backed high-speed rail project in Thailand collapsed onto a passenger train, causing it toآ derail on Wednesday, killing at least 22 people and injuring 30, local authorities said. One police official said the death toll is expected to rise due to the high number of critical injuries.Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said 195 people were on board the train and authorities were rushing to identify the deceased. The incident happened when the train was passing by a work site where a crane in the location collapsed and hit the passing train. It caused the train to derail and briefly catch fire, causing a number of losses. Emergency responders and disaster response units were rushed to the scene to carry out rescue and relief operations. Amid concerns over the rising number of deaths, Ratchakitprakarn ordered a “thorough and comprehensive investigation†into the cause of the accident. The collapsed crane was part of a high-speed rail project valued at approximately $5.4 billion. Source link
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (right) shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during their joint news conference after their talk in Nara, western…
A woman looks on as ICE agents block an intersection Tuesday in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The US Tuesday said it would end a special protected status for Somalis, telling them they must leave the country by mid-March under an escalating crackdown on the community. There is a large Somali community in Minnesota, the midwestern US state at the forefront of raids and searches by immigration officers, one of whom shot and killed a local woman last week, sparking protests. In recent weeks Washington has lashed out at Somali immigrants, alleging large-scale public benefit fraud in Minnesota’s Somali community, the largest in the country with around 80,000 members. The department of homeland security said on X it was “ending Temporary Protected Status for Somalians in the US”. “Our message is clear. Go back to your own country, or we’ll send you back ourselves,” it said. “Temporary Protected Status” (TPS) shields certain foreigners from deportation to disaster zones and allows them the right to work. In November 2025, US President Donald Trump wrote on social media: “I am, as president of the US, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Programme) for Somalis in Minnesota.” The Republican president Tuesday took to his Truth Social channel to attack Democrats who lead Minneapolis, its twin city of St. Paul, and Minnesota. “Minnesota Democrats love the unrest that anarchists and professional agitators are causing because it gets the spotlight off of the $19bn that was stolen by really bad and deranged people,” Trump wrote. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) meanwhile has kept up its large-scale migrant sweeps across Minnesota, including the city of Detroit Lakes. The Minneapolis police department said its overtime bill between January 8 and January 11 was $2mn. That period marked the height of anti-ICE protests sparked by the dramatic killing, which was filmed and widely shared online. Renee Nicole Good, 37, was shot dead in her car by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in Minneapolis last Wednesday. Students have protested against the situation in Minnesota, including in the Minneapolis suburb of Maple Grove, local media reported. The Trump administration in recent months has latched onto news of a large-scale public benefit fraud scandal to carry out immigration raids and harsher policies targeting Minnesota’s Somali community. Related Story Source link
Ai, a “genius” chimpanzee who could recognise more than 100 Chinese characters and the English alphabet, has died aged 49, Japanese researchers said. “Ai, which means love in Japanese, took part in studies on perception, learning and memory that advanced our understanding of primate intelligence,” the Centre for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behaviour at Kyoto University said in a statement. She died on Friday from multiple organ failure and ailments related to old age, the school said. Aside from mastering Chinese characters and the alphabet, Ai could also identify the Arabic numerals from zero to nine and 11 colours, primatologist Tetsuro Matsuzawa said in 2014.In one study, Ai was presented with a computer screen displaying the Chinese character for pink, along with a pink square and an alternative purple square. The chimpanzee correctly chose the pink square, Matsuzawa said. Source link