Southcom commander stepping down. Alvin Holsey, who has responsibility for forces in Latin America, including the campaign against drug boats in the Caribbean, will step down around a year after starting the job. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the move but did not provide a reason for the departure. Two unnamed sources told CNN that Holsey had raised concerns about the military operations in the Caribbean not being lawful. A Pentagon spokesperson denied that Holsey expressed reservations.
Houthi official killed. Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced yesterday that the group’s military chief of staff, Muhammad Abdul Karim al-Ghamari, had died from injuries sustained in an Israeli strike. They did not specify the date of the attack, though Israel targeted top Houthi leaders in August. The same strike killed al-Ghamari’s thirteen-year-old son.
Madagascar coup leader sworn in. Army Colonel Michael Randrianirina was sworn in as president in a ceremony at Madagascar’s High Constitutional Court today. The African Union has suspended Madagascar and UN Secretary-General António Guterres has condemned the military coup, though other countries have offered little reaction.
Beijing expels military leaders. Two senior military leaders have been expelled from the military and ruling Communist Party, China’s defense ministry said today. The leaders—China’s former number two general and the military’s former top political officer—are the most senior officials removed to date in an anti-corruption push that started in 2023.
H-1B fee lawsuit. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sued the Trump administration yesterday, arguing its $100,000 fee for H-1B visas was unlawful because it contravened a law passed by Congress. It’s the latest legal challenge to the new policy after a healthcare-staffing company and labor unions filed a joint lawsuit in California against the law earlier this month. A White House spokesperson said the new fees were “a necessary, initial, incremental step” to revamp the H-1B program.
UN resolution on Gaza. France, the United Kingdom, and the United States are working together on a draft UN Security Council resolution laying the ground for an international force in Gaza, France’s foreign minister said yesterday. Unnamed diplomats told Reuters that the stabilization force—one of the tenets of Trump’s Gaza peace plan—would not be a UN peacekeeping force funded by the body, but rather a UN-endorsed force, a framework currently being used in Haiti.
French government intact. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu survived two no-confidence votes yesterday after announcing the delay of a controversial pension reform passed in 2023. His next challenge is passing a budget for 2026, due by the end of this year.
Japan’s visa plans. Japan will hike visa application fees to mirror those of the United States and European governments, Nikkei reported. The policy, expected as soon as the next fiscal year, aims to capitalize on rising tourism. Japan received 21.5 million international travelers in the first half of the year, up from 17.8 million during the same period in 2024. Currently, a single-entry visa to Japan costs around $20, while a short-stay visa to the United States is $185.
