Immigration pause. The Trump administration officially halted all immigration applications for nationals of nineteen non-European countries it targeted with travel bans earlier this year. It said that the shooting of National Guard members last week highlighted the consequence of a lack of proper vetting of potential immigrants; the accused shooter is an Afghan national. It’s the latest policy shift since the shooting, which last week prompted the administration to also officially pause all asylum decisions.
Trump’s warning of strikes. The United States will begin land strikes on alleged drug traffickers “very soon,” Trump said yesterday at a cabinet meeting. He did not specify which country or armed group he was referring to, though his comments echoed his previous threats to target alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers on land. Until now, Trump’s military campaign in Latin America has focused its firepower on sea targets.
Pakistan-Turkey energy deals. Turkey’s state-owned energy company signed deals with Pakistani public and private companies in Islamabad yesterday that committed to joint onshore and offshore exploration of five hydrocarbon sites in 2026. The partnership will also expand to include mining projects, Turkey’s energy minister said.
EU fraud probe. Belgian police yesterday briefly detained former top EU diplomat Federica Mogherini and European Commission official Stefano Sannino for questioning as part of a fraud investigation into a training program for junior diplomats. Neither immediately commented.
Hostage body handover. Hamas said it would hand over the body of an Israeli hostage today after Israel said remains Hamas turned in yesterday were misidentified. An outstanding condition of the current Gaza truce is the transfer of two deceased Israeli hostages’ bodies. Separately, Israel said today it would allow the Rafah crossing to Egypt to reopen in the coming days for people who need to exit the territory for medical care.
U.S.-South Korea fuel partnership. Washington will launch a joint venture to help Seoul enrich uranium fuel for its nuclear power plants, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said at a news conference today. South Korea had previously been prohibited from enriching its own uranium as part of a bilateral agreement with the United States and as a result imported its uranium from sources like Russia. Lee today also reaffirmed Seoul’s commitment not to obtain nuclear weapons.
New law on assuring Taiwan. Taiwan’s presidential office thanked the United States today for signing the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act into law, saying it “supports closer Taiwan-U.S. relations.” The law requires the U.S. State Department to regularly review and update its guidance on official interactions with Taipei. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson urged the United States to “stop all official interactions” with Taiwan.
Indian reversal on phone app. The Indian government announced it scrapped a plan to require smartphone makers to preinstall a government app onto all new devices following backlash from Apple and privacy advocates. The government justified its reversal by claiming there is already widespread public acceptance of the app, which is designed to track stolen phones, so there was no need to make it mandatory. Privacy advocates had warned it could also be used for spying.
