Global News

The Trump administration announced Friday that H-1B visas will now come with a $100,000 annual fee, but the White House says it will only apply to new visa applicants.

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250920192927/https://www.politico.com/news/2025/09/20/donald-trump-h1b-visas-overhaul-00574345

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Food handouts and employment are increasingly tied to Afghan families’ agreement to strict Islamic education

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/sep/22/taliban-afghanistan-women-girls-madrasa-religious-schools-only-option-education

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Calls to criminalise AI-generated sexually explicit content in Malaysia rise after lawmakers were blackmailed with deepfake porn.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-grapples-with-ai-legal-grey-zone-as-deepfake-porn-blackmail-targets-lawmakers

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The PM has been encouraging the use of “Swadeshi”, or made-in-India goods.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/modi-urges-indians-to-get-rid-of-foreign-products-amid-strained-us-ties

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North Korea's leader, who has been building the country's nuclear programme despite economic sanctions and arms embargoes from the UN Security Council, has stated that he would be open to dialogue with the US should President Donald Trump rescind his denuclearisation demands.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20250922-kim-jong-un-dialogue-with-us-denuclearisation

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The Palestinian Prisoner's Society has released a briefing following extensive legal visits to several Israeli prisons. The reality is grim.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-analysis/2025/09/21/israel-palestinian-prisoners-torture/

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Conservationists mark world rhino day on Monday while they are still in a constant battle against poaching. In South Africa, the fight has been going on for decades.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://apnews.com/article/rhino-conservation-wildlife-south-africa-poaching-3afd0f555d94e0de985fa0907579dc7b

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The outage left hundreds of people unable to contact emergency services and has been linked to multiple deaths.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98ddzrgjnyo

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Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa arrived in New York on Sunday to attend the UN General Assembly, the first Syrian head of state to do so in nearly six decades. The last time a Syrian president addressed the gathering was in 1967, underscoring the visit’s historic nature.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20250922-sharaa-syrian-leader-un

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cross-posted from: https://scribe.disroot.org/post/4680734

Today, more than 2.2 million Afghan girls are banned from attending school beyond primary school, latest UN data shows. And in total, up to seven million children are not in class because to the ban and other constraints.

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The Trump administration is ending the federal government’s annual report on hunger in America, saying it had become “overly politicized″ and ”rife with inaccuracies.″ The decision comes two and a half months after President Donald Trump signed legislation sharply reducing food aid to the poor.

Archived version: https://archive.is/20250920233216/https://apnews.com/article/trump-ending-america-hunger-report-snap-cuts-750f90757f50ab2d8bc97dfca5a917dd

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Police said the victims were shot dead by unidentified assailants in the southern city of Karachi.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0lkkx3e1j9o

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Brasília (AFP) – Thousands of Brazilians took to the streets Sunday in anger at moves by Congress to boost lawmakers' immunity and push for amnesty that could include far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, convicted of trying to stage a coup.

As Brazil grapples with the fallout from the divisive Bolsonaro trial, which saw him sentenced to 27 years in prison, the conservative-majority Congress has come under fire from critics who accuse it of putting its own interests above social and economic issues.

Chanting "No amnesty!" crowds took to the streets in more than a dozen cities, including Rio de Janeiro, where octogenarian music icons Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Chico Buarque were due to perform a protest concert on Copacabana beach.

In Sao Paulo, Brazil's megalopolis and economic heart, a crowd packed Paulista Avenue, while thousands of protesters also gathered in Brasilia.

"We are here to protest this Congress, which is made up of criminals and corrupt people dressed as politicians, who are pushing for a law that protects them," 34-year-old environmentalist Aline Borges told AFP at a protest in Brasilia.

On Tuesday, the lower house approved the so-called "Shielding Bill," under which lawmakers voting in a secret ballot must give the go-ahead for one of their own to be charged or arrested.

Further stoking anger, lawmakers on Wednesday fast-tracked a bill seeking amnesty for those convicted over an attack on the seats of government in January 2023 after Bolsonaro lost re-election -- which could include the former president.

House Speaker Hugo Motta, of the centre-right Republicanos party, defended parliament's efforts as protection against judicial overreach.

Mayra Goulart, political science professor at the Federal University of Rio de Janerio, told AFP the "Shielding Bill" was a reaction to judicial moves against lawmakers' use of parliamentary amendments to channel resources to their territories, a practice which "guarantees their re-election."

These amendments are a key bargaining chip between lawmakers and presidents who need to get laws passed in a fragmented Congress.

Several deputies took to social media to apologise for voting for what has been dubbed the "Banditry Law," saying they had faced pressure to do so.

One state deputy, Pedro Campos, said he had voted for the bill to "prevent the boycott of important agendas" for the leftist government of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The legislative moves were slammed by celebrities, such as Veloso, 83, who said on Instagram they "cannot go unanswered by the Brazilian people."

Brazilian funk star Anitta asked fans to imagine being raped or murdered and then "your killer can't be prosecuted without the authorization of his colleagues."

Both bills face an uphill battle in the Senate.

Lula da Silva has vowed to veto the amnesty bill.

He also said the "Shielding Bill" was not the kind of "serious matter" that lawmakers should be dealing with.

The base was used by American forces following the attacks of Sept 11, 2001.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/trump-says-bad-things-will-happen-if-afghanistan-does-not-return-bagram-air-base

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Released by Hamas in May, Idan Alexander's pledge comes as Israel’s assault has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/freed-israeli-american-soldier-rejoin-army-and-resume-role-gaza-genocide

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"What happened in recent days in Poland and Estonia, and what has been happening in Ukraine for four years, concerns us all, because if we don't remain united, sooner or later it will happen to us too," Czech President Petr Pavel said.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://kyivindependent.com/nato-must-respond-accordingly-to-russian-provocations-czech-president-says/

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Ukrainian President Zelenskyy highlighted the effectiveness of stormtrooper units in 2025, as Russia plans to create similar forces in response.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://united24media.com/latest-news/ukraine-preparing-to-launch-stormtrooper-units-within-days-zelenskyy-says-11809

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People in territory call for symbolism of imminent move by UK and others to be translated into practical measures

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/21/west-bank-ramallah-palestine-recognition-state-uk-france-portugal-canada

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Kabul (AFP) – An Afghan government defence official said Sunday that a deal over Bagram air base was "not possible", after US President Donald Trump said he wanted the former US base back.

Bagram, the largest air base in Afghanistan located north of the capital Kabul, was the centre of US operations in their 20 year-war against the Taliban.

Trump threatened unspecified punishment against Afghanistan if it was not returned -- four years after it was abandoned by US troops.

"If Afghanistan doesn't give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!" the 79-year-old leader wrote on his Truth Social platform.

On Sunday, Fasihuddin Fitrat, chief of staff of Afghanistan's ministry of defence, said "some people" want to take back the base through a "political deal".

"Recently, some people have said that they have entered negotiations with Afghanistan for taking back Bagram air base," he said in comments broadcast by local media.

"A deal over even an inch of Afghanistan's soil is not possible. We don't need it."

Later in an official statement, the Afghan government said warned that "Afghanistan's independence and territorial integrity are of the utmost importance".

Trump has repeatedly criticised the loss of the base, noting its proximity to China.

But Thursday while on a state visit to Britain was the first time he publicly raised the idea of the United States retaking control of it.

US and NATO troops chaotically pulled out of Bagram in July 2021, under Joe Biden's presidency but as part of a 2020 Trump-brokered deal with Taliban insurgents.

The loss of crucial air power saw the Afghan military collapse just weeks later and the Taliban sweep back to power.

Trump was asked by reporters at the White House if he was considering sending US troops to retake Bagram.

"We won't talk about that, but we're talking now to Afghanistan, and we want it back and we want it back soon, right away. And if they don't do it, you're going to find out what I'm going to do," he said.

A massive, sprawling facility, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and others have repeatedly raised allegations of systematic human rights abuses by US forces at Bagram, especially pertaining to detainees in Washington's murky "War on Terror".

The original airfield was built with assistance from what was then the Soviet Union in the early 1950s, expanded with US help during the Cold War, and significantly developed further by Moscow during the decade-long Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.

At the height of US control around 2010 it had grown to the size of a small town, with supermarkets and shops including outlets such as Dairy Queen and Burger King.

It was visited by several US presidents including Barrack Obama in 2012 and Trump in 2019.

The Duchess of York’s spokesperson said she sent the letter to “assuage” Jeffrey Epstein after he threatened her with defamation

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/sarah-ferguson-duchess-york-epstein-letter-supreme-friend-b2830657.html

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UN and regional human rights experts on Friday urged states to halt the criminalization of protesters and civil society activists, following what they called a pattern of arbitrary arrests and persecution worldwide.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/09/un-experts-urge-states-to-stop-criminalizing-civil-society-and-peaceful-assembly/

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Ankara (AFP) – Turkey's main opposition CHP re-elected its leader Ozgur Ozel at an extraordinary congress Sunday as the party fights off a barrage of what critics say are politically-motivated legal challenges.

The move comes as the Republican People's Party (CHP), seeks to shore up its leadership as opponents of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have faced a series of lawsuits and arrests.

Among them is a potentially damaging lawsuit seeking to oust Ozel, which had its second hearing on Monday. It seeks to overturn the result of CHP's November 2023 congress which elected Ozel, on grounds of alleged vote rigging.

At Sunday's 22nd extraordinary congress in the capital Ankara, delegates overwhelmingly re-elected Ozel who won all 835 valid votes cast. Another 82 were ruled invalid.

Ozel's re-election is expected to invalidate the legal grounds for the lawsuit against the party.

"The party is under attack, and they are trying every possible method," he said after the vote, in remarks reported by Turkish media.

"Our legal experts and administrators are taking the most appropriate measures against this. With the holding of this congress, all their (legal) arguments are eliminated."

As well as the vote, which Ozel has described as "an entirely technical and legal manoeuvre" to protect the party's leadership, the CHP also met to forge a strategy going forward in the face of mounting obstacles.

Under Ozel's leadership, CHP's fortunes have improved significantly, with the party winning a huge victory over Erdogan's AKP in the March 2024 local elections.

Since then, it has been targeted by a wave of arrests and legal cases -- the most notable being the jailing of Istanbul's popular and powerful mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in March on corruption allegations that he denies.

The removal of Imamoglu -- CHP's candidate for the 2028 presidential election -- sparked an outpouring of anger with Ozel leading huge protests that spread from Istanbul in the worst unrest Turkey has seen since 2013.

On September 2, a court ousted the leader of CHP's Istanbul branch, Ozgur Celik, after annulling the outcome of the October 2023, provincial congress that elected him and 195 others.

At the time, political analyst Berk Esen said the move was a "rehearsal" for the bigger case against the overall leadership that was effectively seeking to hobble it as an opposition force.

It was not immediately clear how the vote would impact on the legal grounds for the CHP case, which has its next hearing on October 24.

CHP's Istanbul branch will hold its own extraordinary congress on Wednesday to re-elect its leadership.

At the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the Group of Seven (G7) countries froze approximately $300 billion in Russian central bank assets.

Archived version: https://archive.is/newest/https://kyivindependent.com/this-is-russias-war-russia-should-pay-uk-examining-new-ways-to-use-moscows-frozen-assets/

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