Honduras’ election. With around half of votes counted, two conservative opposition candidates are neck-in-neck after yesterday’s presidential election. Trump endorsed the National Party’s Nasry Asfura ahead of the vote and announced he would pardon former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, also of the National Party, who is serving a forty-five-year U.S. prison sentence for drug trafficking.
U.S. asylum pause. The head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a freeze of asylum decisions on Friday after Trump vowed to take such action following the shooting of two National Guard members last week. The alleged shooter, an Afghan national, is in custody and the case is under investigation. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that processing immigration requests of any kind for Afghan nationals is also paused. Trump said yesterday the asylum freeze would last “a long time.”
Kyrgyzstan’s vote. Allies of President Sadyr Japarov overwhelmingly won a snap parliamentary vote in the country yesterday, according to preliminary results. The results solidify Japarov’s grip on power, which has seen him clamp down on political opposition and media freedom since coming to office in 2020—a shift for what was once one of Central Asia’s more democratic countries. Demonstrators ousted Kyrgyz leaders in 2005, 2010, and 2020.
U.S.-Venezuela tensions. Trump told reporters yesterday that he had spoken directly to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, though he provided no further details. The New York Times reported the conversation occurred the week of Nov. 17. A heavy U.S. military buildup near Venezuela has led Maduro to accuse Washington of plotting his overthrow. On Saturday, Trump wrote that airlines should consider the airspace over Venezuela closed; yesterday, when asked whether that comment suggested imminent airstrikes, Trump said people should not “read anything into it.”
Deadly storms. More than 1,100 people have died across Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka in recent days due to flooding caused by heavy storms. Sri Lankan authorities said today that 366 people have died following a cyclone there, the deadliest extreme weather event to hit the island in two decades. In Indonesia, 604 people were reported dead.
Pope Leo’s Mideast trip. The pope called for Christian unity and peace on his first foreign trip to Turkey and Lebanon. Speaking to reporters, he called a two-state solution “the only solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, though he acknowledged Israel’s refusal to accept it. Leo’s message of peace in Lebanon comes after Hezbollah’s leader on Friday warned a renewed conflict with Israel was possible.
Netanyahu’s pardon request. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu requested yesterday that President Isaac Herzog grant him a pardon in his ongoing corruption trial, saying it would help heal national rifts. Herzog said he would seek expert opinions before making a decision. Normally, a pardon follows the conclusion of legal proceedings, and Netanyahu vowed earlier this month he would not request a pardon if it meant admitting guilt.
South African fighters in Ukraine. South African lawmaker Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, a daughter of former President Jacob Zuma, resigned on Friday after her sister accused her of helping trick seventeen South Africans into fighting for Russia in Ukraine. An official from her party said that she was cooperating with a police investigation and efforts to bring the men home. Zuma-Sambudla said she had believed she was recruiting them for a legitimate training course.
