Flagship

Anti-migration talk after DC attack

US President Donald Trump pledged to pause migration from developing nations in response to the shooting of National Guard members in Washington, DC. One of the two soldiers attacked has died, and the suspect behind the incident — identified as an Afghan refugee — was wounded. Trump, in a post to his Truth Social network, railed against immigration and called for “REVERSE MIGRATION.” His administration will also review all permanent residency applications by nationals hailing from 19 countries of concern, including Afghanistan. The New York Times noted that anti-immigration rhetoric has gained traction on the right following Wednesday’s shooting, with Trump tying the attack to purported problems involving Somali refugees and a Republican senator calling for potential Muslim migrants to be banned.

Trump blocks S. Africa from G20

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Washington’s decision to not invite his nation to next year’s G20 summit in the US was “regrettable,” the latest sign of fraying bilateral ties. US President Donald Trump’s decision came after he boycotted this month’s G20 gathering in Johannesburg over accusations that Pretoria is responsible for a “genocide” of white South Africans. Experts have rejected those claims. Trump said next year’s summit — due to be hosted at a resort he owns, raising conflict-of-interest fears — would be invite only, prompting worries among the bloc’s members that only those friendly with him would be summoned: The G20 “should not be made smaller without good reason,” the German chancellor said.

Putin’s diplomatic offensive

Russian President Vladimir Putin was due to meet with Hungary’s leader and announced a trip to India next week, an apparent attempt to show that Western efforts to make him a pariah have failed as he pushes maximalist demands for a Ukraine peace deal. The talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán will focus on energy issues, while Moscow and New Delhi are reportedly expected to announce several bilateral pacts including on defense. The diplomatic offensive comes with Putin appearing to believe that a battlefield offensive is helping him in his demand that Ukraine withdraw from territories claimed by the Kremlin, a position Kyiv argues would reward Moscow for its full-scale invasion.

US readies further Venezuela action

US President Donald Trump said his country will “very soon” take military action on land targeting alleged Venezuelan drug traffickers, in what would be a major escalation of Washington’s operations in the region. The Trump administration has for weeks struck boats and killed dozens off the coast of Venezuela, arguing the campaign was stopping narcotics from being ferried to the US. However, Washington’s firepower in the region — including the world’s biggest aircraft carrier — far outweighs what is needed for anti-drug efforts, experts say, fueling speculation that Trump may be looking to oust Venezuela’s regime. In response to a potential US strike, numerous international airlines cancelled flights to the South American country.

Israel probes West Bank killings

Israeli authorities were investigating soldiers in the West Bank over the killing of two people who appeared to be surrendering, raising tensions there even as the country pummeled Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. The West Bank incident, documented by video footage, involved Israeli troops appearing to usher two people into a building before gunshots were heard and one of the men was seen collapsing; Israel said the men were “wanted individuals,” and had thrown explosives. The West Bank has in recent days seen unrest which European nations said risked undermining a fragile ceasefire in Gaza. Despite the truce, Israeli forces carried out artillery attacks in the enclave, Al Jazeera reported, alongside deadly strikes in Syria, and against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Canada’s trade ‘rupture’

Canada approved a new pipeline to expand the country’s Pacific oil exports, part of efforts to reduce its trade dependency on the US. The decision — which comes amid a broader reversal of Ottawa’s climate agenda — follows US President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on Canadian imports, the vast majority of which head south across the border, including 91% of its oil. Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney has vowed to double non-US exports within the next decade, a decision that is pushing Ottawa closer to China and India despite recent tensions with the two Asian giants, The Washington Post reported. “This is not a transition,” the Canadian government wrote in its latest budget proposal, “it is a rupture.”

HK calls off rescue efforts

Authorities in Hong Kong called off rescue efforts after the worst fire there in decades, with the death toll from an apartment-complex blaze rising to 128 and about 200 people still missing. “We do not rule out the possibility that more bodies could be discovered,” Hong Kong’s security chief said, adding that the priority now was to bring temperatures inside affected buildings down. Meanwhile authorities announced the arrest of the bosses of the construction company believed to be responsible for the disaster, calling them “grossly negligent.” Officials said fire alarms within the housing complex had not been working properly. However residents had raised fears as far back as Sep. 2024 of potential fire risks, calls that apparently went largely unheeded.

Public broadcasting rarely makes headlines, but that changed when the Trump administration moved to slash funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, threatening both PBS and NPR. On this week’s Mixed Signals, PBS CEO Paula Kerger joins Max and Ben to unpack a turbulent year for public media, covering the fight to save local stations, Ken Burns’ advocacy efforts, and the ongoing debate over the future of broadcast TV in a streaming world.

Floods hammer Asian nations

Flooding across South and Southeast Asia claimed more than 300 lives, with authorities warning that further severe weather is due. Some 250 people have died in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand as monsoon rains combined with what scientists said were more intense storms resulting from climate change: One woman in West Sumatra told AFP of flood waters at chest level, Aceh saw mud envelop cars, and a Thai city’s morgue has exceeded capacity. Sri Lanka, too, has been badly hit and while officials in Southeast Asia voiced optimism that rainfall would lessen in the coming days, authorities in Colombo warned that a cyclone lashing the country was expected to keep moving along its coast today.

China’s innovation dominance