New EU migration policies. EU ministers agreed yesterday on a framework to remove unauthorized migrants more rapidly, including to third countries. They also determined that asylum seekers who had traveled through safe, non-EU countries without seeking asylum there could be deemed inadmissible. The moves tighten the bloc’s migration policy and are expected to become law after potential revisions by the European Parliament.
Post-tariff aid to U.S. farmers. Trump pledged yesterday to dispense $12 billion to support farmers following the effects of his trade wars, which have increased the costs of equipment and fertilizer and spurred a Chinese boycott of U.S. soybeans. Trump’s immigration restrictions have also squeezed labor supply in the agricultural sector. In its relief announcement, the Trump administration blamed farmers’ financial burdens on Biden administration policies.
Ukraine peace talks. Ukraine and its European allies aim to send an updated peace proposal to Washington this evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said yesterday after talks in London. He added that no compromise with the United States had yet been reached regarding territorial concessions, saying that under Ukrainian and international law, “we have no right to give anything away.”
Pakistan’s ultimatum to Afghanistan. Pakistani military chief Asim Munir said yesterday he had informed Afghanistan’s Taliban government it must choose between upholding relations with Pakistan or continuing its support of the Pakistani Taliban. Kabul did not immediately comment. Islamabad’s ultimatum followed border clashes between the countries over the weekend that killed five people and wounded eight others.
Nigerian students freed. One hundred schoolchildren who were kidnapped in northwestern Nigeria last month have been freed, President Bola Tinubu wrote on social media. Officials did not immediately disclose whether any arrests had been made or ransom paid. Some 165 students and school staff are still missing. Widespread kidnappings in Nigeria contribute to it having one of the world’s highest totals of children out of school.
South Korea scrambles jets. South Korea scrambled fighter jets in response to nine Chinese and Russian aircraft temporarily entering its air defense identification zone, its military said today. The Chinese and Russian planes did not breach South Korean airspace. Aircraft from the two countries have entered the area once or twice yearly since 2019 without prior notice.
Balloons from Belarus. Lithuania declared a state of emergency today after multiple Belarusian weather monitoring balloons entered its airspace in recent weeks, repeatedly forcing Lithuania to shut down its main airport. Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė called the balloons a “hybrid attack,” and the government asked the legislature to authorize the military to perform nationwide stops and searches. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed Lithuania was exaggerating and politicizing concerns around the balloons.
Tariff threat on Mexico. Trump threatened in a social media post yesterday to hit Mexico with additional 5 percent tariffs over a protracted dispute regarding water management of three rivers that flow through the countries’ border area. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has previously acknowledged the country is falling short on its treaty commitment to send water to the United States, citing a drought.
She said the countries would meet to discuss the matter today.
