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Many of the countries that signed on to join President Trump’s “Board of Peace” to stabilize Gaza are also banned from immigrant visas by the State Department. 

Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Morocco, Mongolia, Pakistan and Uzbekistan are among the 75 countries the Trump administration has deemed likely to require public assistance while living in the United States.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio instructed consular officers to halt immigrant visa applications from these nations earlier this year. 

“President Trump has made clear that immigrants must be financially self-sufficient and not be a financial burden to Americans,” the State Department “The Department of State is undergoing a full review of all policies, regulations, and guidance to ensure that immigrants from these high-risk countries do not utilize welfare in the United States or become a public charge,” it added.wrote in a release last week.

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President Donald Trump has suddenly stepped back from threats to annex Greenland while in Europe.

For weeks, Trump has declined to rule out using military force for a U.S. takeover of the icy island, which is a self-governing territory of NATO member Denmark. He has emphasized the U.S. needs control of the island for national security.

But at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 21, Trump said, "I don't have to use force. I don't want to use force. I won't use force. All the United States is asking for is a place called Greenland."

Later that day, he announced he reached a "framework of a future deal" with NATO on Greenland and would not be imposing the 10% tariffs on eight European countries he had previously threatened.

The whiplash on tariffs calls back to the early months of his return to office, when the status of tariffs on imports from countries, ranging from our biggest trade partners to an uninhabited island, was dizzying. It garnered the nickname "TACO trade," which some social media users quickly brought back this week.

What does it mean?

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US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained a five-year-old Minnesota boy on Tuesday as he returned home from school and transported him and his father to a Texas detention center, according to school officials.

Liam Ramos, a preschooler, and his father were taken into custody while in their driveway, the superintendent of the school district in Columbia Heights, a Minneapolis suburb, said at a press conference on Wednesday. Liam, who had recently turned five, is one of four children in the school district who have been detained by federal immigration agents during the Trump administration’s enforcement surge in the region over the last two weeks, the district said.

Liam and his father had just arrived home when they were detained, according to Zena Stenvik, the superintendent, who said she drove to the home when she learned of the detentions.

When she arrived, Stenvik said the father’s car was still running and the father and son had already been apprehended. An agent had taken Liam out of the car, led the boy to his front door and directed him to knock on the door asking to be let in, “in order to see if anyone else was home – essentially using a five-year-old as bait”, the superintendent said in a statement.

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President Trump said Wednesday that he’s reached the framework of a deal with NATO on the future of Greenland and will not impose tariffs he previously threatened on European countries. 

“Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region. This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post from Davos, Switzerland.

“Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the Tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st. Additional discussions are being held concerning The Golden Dome as it pertains to Greenland. Further information will be made available as discussions progress,” he continued.

When asked by reporters in Davos about the deal, Trump described it as “infinite.” 

“It’s the ultimate long-term deal, and I think it puts everyone in a pretty good position especially as it pertains to security and minerals and everything else,” the president said.

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The Justice Department has issued grand jury subpoenas to multiple government officials in Minnesota, including Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, expanding the agency's probe alleging that Minnesota officials conspired to impede law enforcement amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her have also been subpoenaed. NPR has not yet confirmed reports that other state and local leaders have also been issued subpoenas.

Frey's subpoena requires him to appear in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis on Feb. 3. The mayor accused the federal government of weaponizing its power to intimidate local leaders.

"We shouldn't have to live in a country where people fear that federal law enforcement will be used to play politics or crack down on local voices they disagree with," he said in a statement.

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Nearly 400 millionaires and billionaires from 24 countries are calling on global leaders to increase taxes on the super-rich, amid growing concern that the wealthiest in society are buying political influence.

An open letter, released to coincide with the World Economic Forum in Davos, calls on global leaders attending this week’s conference to close the widening gap between the super-rich and everyone else.

The letter, signed by luminaries including the actor and film-maker Mark Ruffalo, the musician Brian Eno and the film producer and philanthropist Abigail Disney, says extreme wealth is polluting politics, driving social exclusion and fuelling the climate emergency.

"A handful of global oligarchs with extreme wealth have bought up our democracies; taken over our governments; gagged the freedom of our media; placed a stranglehold on technology and innovation; deepened poverty and social exclusion; and accelerated the breakdown of our planet,” it reads. “What we treasure, rich and poor alike, is being eaten away by those intent on growing the gulf between their vast power and everyone else.

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At a meeting in Seoul on Monday, leaders from Italy and South Korea agreed to cooperate on the defense industry, marking a new collaboration between two strong allies of Ukraine who are, coincidentally, prohibited by their respective constitutions from directly sending Kyiv all the military help for which it might ask.

At his office in Seoul, President Lee Jae Myung hosted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the two agreed to expand cooperation in artificial intelligence, space and the defense industry, citing concerns about “global challenges.”

It was the first visit by an Italian leader to South Korea in almost two decades, AFP noted.

Lee said the two countries would “further expand the horizons of cooperation into advanced industries such as artificial intelligence, space, and aviation.

“In addition, we will pursue complementary cooperation in the defense industry based on each side’s strengths,” he said. Lee also vowed to “work closely together to contribute to global peace” and “safeguard the universal value of peace, extending our efforts ... to the wider world.”

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The Israeli government has forcibly taken large swathes of Palestinian land in the northwest of the occupied West Bank to pave the way for the establishment of a settlement, Israeli media reported on Sunday.

According to reports, the government seized around 700 dunams of land. Hebrew-language paper Yedioth Aharonoth confirmed the land grab, stating: "A few days ago, 695 dunams were taken to establish a new neighbourhood near the settlement of Karnei Shomron".

The report says that the area is located "in a highly strategic location and cuts off the geographical connection between the Palestinian town of Salfit and the city of Qalqilya".

"The main objective of this move, from the government’s point of view, is to cut off communication between Palestinian towns, turning them into isolated enclaves, and significantly undermining the chances of establishing a Palestinian state," the report continues.

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