Trump proposes possible meeting between Putin and Zelensky
'We'll have a quick second meeting between President Putin and President Zelensky and myself, if they'd like to have me there,' he said on Wednesday in Washington.
However, he said he wanted to wait and see how his planned meeting with Putin in Alaska on Friday would go, as it might not lead to another meeting.
When asked what Putin should expect if he did not agree to end the Ukraine war, Trump announced unspecified 'very severe consequences.' When asked if he meant tariffs, the president did not elaborate. (DPA)
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Al Jazeera
5 minutes ago
- Al Jazeera
Trump says he thinks Putin will ‘make a deal' on Ukraine
One day before the leaders of Russia and the United States are set to meet in the US state of Alaska to discuss ending the Russia-Ukraine war, US President Donald Trump said he believes his Russian counterpart is ready 'to make a deal'. In an interview on Fox News Radio on Thursday, Trump said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin 'wanted the whole thing' – in an apparent reference to his territorial aspirations in Ukraine – but was willing to come to the table and make a deal due to the relationship between the two men. 'I think he wants to get it done. I really feel he wanted the whole thing. I think if it weren't me, if it were somebody else, he would not be talking to anybody,' Trump told interviewer Brian Kilmeade. Trump and Putin will meet in Alaska on Friday for talks on the more than three-year conflict. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not be present at the talks, though Trump has said that should Putin signal a willingness to end the war, another meeting between the two leaders would follow. 'I don't know that we're going to get an immediate ceasefire, but I think it's going to come. See, I'm more interested in an immediate peace deal – getting peace fast. And depending on what happens with my meeting, I'm going to be calling up President Zelenskyy and [saying] let's get him over to wherever we're going to meet,' Trump said. He added that there was the possibility they could simply 'stay in Alaska', but also stressed that if the meeting went poorly, 'I'm not calling anyone. I'm going home.' That hedging represents a seeming cautiousness by Trump, who has spoken about being frustrated by Putin's broken promises in the past. Speaking from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera's Shihab Rattansi said Trump's metric for success could be boiled down to what read he had on Putin. 'He very much made it clear that what success means in this context is him being convinced that Vladimir Putin is serious about peace, and then arranging a second meeting that would involve the Ukrainians,' he said. Earlier on Thursday, Putin praised Trump, saying he was 'making quite energetic and sincere efforts to end the fighting'. The words came shortly after Zelenskyy met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London, where they discussed security guarantees for Ukraine that could 'make peace truly durable if the United States succeeds in pressing Russia to stop the killings and engage in genuine, substantive diplomacy', Zelenskyy wrote on X. The meeting, said Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, 'was about a show of unity ahead of that summit in Alaska'. Hull noted there was a 'sense of some optimism' following the Wednesday call between Trump, Zelenskyy and European leaders. '[Trump] took a somewhat stronger line against Putin than was expected, saying the Russian president faced severe consequences if he didn't meaningfully engage in ceasefire talks,' he noted.
Al Jazeera
7 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
Why has the US issued a ‘terrorism' travel alert for Mexico?
The US State Department has issued an updated travel warning for Americans visiting Mexico, citing risks of 'terrorism, crime, and kidnapping'. The move follows months of intense pressure from President Donald Trump over issues such as immigration and the activities of criminal gangs involved in drug smuggling and human trafficking. Here is what we know: What happened? On Tuesday, the United States government issued a new travel alert for Mexico, warning of 'terrorist' violence in 30 of its 32 states. It's the first time Washington has ever sounded the alarm on Mexico for terrorism risk. The advisory paints a grim picture: soaring rates of homicide, kidnapping, carjacking and robbery, alongside a new warning of possible terrorist attacks and terrorist violence. 'There is a risk of terrorist violence, including attacks and related activities,' it warned, urging Americans to take precautions. The travel alert was raised to Level 2 – 'exercise increased caution' on a scale of four levels. Which places did the US warn about and why? The alert warns Americans not to travel to Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas provinces due to 'terrorism, violent crime, and kidnapping.' These states are marked red on the map and classified as Level 4 — the most unsafe, per the US. Travellers are advised to reconsider visiting Baja California, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, and Sonora for the same reasons; these appear in orange and are rated Level 3, or marginally safer. Another 16 states – including Mexico City, the State of Mexico, Quintana Roo, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Morelos, Aguascalientes, Baja California Sur, Durango, Hidalgo, Nayarit, Nuevo Leon, Puebla, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz – fall under 'exercise increased caution'. While there are no outright travel bans, the advisory notes that both violent and non-violent crimes are common. These areas are shown in yellow and are listed under Level 2. Only Yucatan and Campeche remain at Level 1, the lowest risk level, highlighted in blue. What is the backdrop for this advisory? According to experts, these actions follow increased pressure from Trump, which has prompted the Mexican government to take a range of measures. Earlier this week, Mexico extradited 26 alleged cartel members to the US, in what appeared to be an effort to ease Trump's demands for stronger action against fentanyl smuggling and organised crime. In a statement, the US embassy said those extradited included key figures from the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, Mexico's two most powerful organised crime groups. We recognize @GabSeguridadMX for its dedication and commitment. This action reflects the strength of our bilateral cooperation as sovereign partners and our shared commitment to ensure our people's security and well being. — Embajador Ronald Johnson (@USAmbMex) August 13, 2025 This marks the second mass transfer of the year; in February, Mexican authorities sent 29 alleged cartel leaders to the US, a move that stirred debate over its political and legal merits. Among them was Caro Quintero, a founding member of the Guadalajara Cartel, accused of murdering DEA agent Enrique 'Kiki' Camarena in 1985. US officials had requested the extraditions, pledging not to seek the death penalty. Mexico described the suspects as high-risk criminals tied to drug trafficking and other serious offences. While extraditions are not uncommon, they are typically carried out in ones and twos. But this year alone, Mexico has already handed over 55 people. The transfers follow months of US pressure, reinforced by tariff threats, and reports that Trump directed the Pentagon to consider military action against Latin American cartels. According to those reports, the order would permit direct military operations on foreign soil and in corresponding territorial waters against organised criminal groups. Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum has said the US and Mexico are close to finalising a security agreement to boost cooperation against cartels, but she has firmly rejected the idea of unilateral US military operations on Mexican soil. How has Mexico responded to the new alert? Sheinbaum downplayed the updated travel advisory. She argued the change stems from Washington's decision to label cartels as terrorist organisations – done through an executive order earlier this year – rather than from any new security reality. Sheinbaum stressed that Mexico remains the top destination for US travellers, with about a million Americans living in the country, and noted that popular areas such as the Southeast, Baja California Peninsula, Pacific coast, and Mexico City continue to attract visitors despite the warning. How bad is Mexico's violence problem? Bad, but it's improving. According to a 2024 report from Human Rights Watch, violent crime in Mexico has risen sharply since the government began its 'war' on organised crime in 2006. However, this year, Sheinbaum can report a 25.3 percent drop in daily homicides over her first 11 months in office, from 86.9 per day in September 2023 to 64.9 now – the lowest monthly figures since 2015. While Mexico remains one of the world's most violent countries, the decline is seen as a significant improvement, credited to her administration's security strategy, but also US pressure. When Trump took office, he quickly warned Mexico that it had to show real progress in stopping the flow of fentanyl, a drug that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, or face steep trade tariffs. He promised to push Mexico harder to curb drug trafficking and illegal migration, making it clear there would be serious economic consequences if it didn't act. In Sheinbaum's first year in office, authorities have seized more than 3.5 million fentanyl pills and arrested at least 29,000 suspects, including high-level cartel leaders with local and national reach. Security chief Omar Garcia Harfuch credited the success to the crucial work of specialised intelligence and investigative units. However, in places like Sinaloa, the bloodshed escalated sharply after the arrests of major figures, including Ismael Zambada, the leader of the Sinaloa cartel, in August 2024. During the first six months of this year, authorities recorded 883 homicides in the state, up from just 224 in the same period last year, with most killings concentrated in Culiacan. The violence may be only part of the toll. Since Zambada's arrest, more than 1,500 people have gone missing in Sinaloa. Security officials believe criminal groups are behind many of these disappearances, suggesting the real cost of the crackdown could be even higher. Zambada, one of Mexico's most notorious accused drug lords, was captured at an airfield near El Paso, Texas, alongside Ovidio Guzman, a son of Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman – the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel who is serving a life sentence in a US prison. Zambada claims Guzman Lopez kidnapped him and handed him over to US authorities.
Al Jazeera
8 hours ago
- Al Jazeera
What are H-1B visas and how might the Trump administration change them?
President Donald Trump's administration wants to overhaul the nation's visa programme for highly skilled foreign workers. If the administration does what one official described, it would change H-1B visa rules to favour employers that pay higher wages. That could effectively transform the visa into what one expert called 'a luxury work permit' and disadvantage early-career workers with smaller salaries, including teachers. It could also upend the current visa programme's lottery system used to distribute visas to eligible foreign workers. 'This shift may prevent many employers, including small and midsize businesses, from hiring the talent they need in shortage occupations, ultimately reducing America's global competitiveness,' said David Leopold, a former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association whose practice includes representing employers in the H-1B process. It's hard to find US workers in certain types of specialty fields, including software engineers and developers and some STEM positions. A White House office proposed the change on August 8, Bloomberg Law reported. Once the proposal appears in the Federal Register – the daily public report containing notices of proposed federal rule changes – the plan will become subject to a formal public comment period. It could be finalised within months, although it is likely to face legal challenges. Joseph Edlow, the director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, told The New York Times in July that H-1B visas should favour companies that plan to pay foreign workers higher wages. The proposal Bloomberg Law described was in line with that goal. PolitiFact did not see a copy of the proposal, and the White House did not respond to our questions. But the Department of Homeland Security submitted the proposed rule to a Trump administration office in July, the Greenberg Traurig law firm wrote. Trump sought to reform the H-1B program during his first term but made limited progress. In January 2021, near the end of Trump's term, the Department of Homeland Security published a final rule similar to the current proposal, but the Biden administration did not implement it. Work visas were not a central part of Trump's 2024 immigration platform, but it was a point of debate in the weeks before he took office, with billionaire businessman Elon Musk – a megadonor to Trump who would briefly serve in his administration – speaking in favour of them. What are H-1B visas? The H-1B visa programme lets employers temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty fields, with about two-thirds working in computer-related jobs, according to the Congressional Research Service. Most H-1B visa holders come from India, followed by China. Currently, prospective H-1B employers must attest that they will pay the H-1B worker actual wages paid to similar employees or the prevailing wages for that occupation – whichever would result in the highest pay. To qualify for the non-immigrant visa, the employee must hold a specialised degree, license or training required by the occupation. The status is generally valid for up to three years and renewable for another three years, but it can be extended if the employer sponsors the worker for permanent residency, which includes permission to work and live in the US. Leopold said that the proposed change goes beyond the law's current wage mandate. 'This statutory mechanism is designed to prevent employers from paying H-1B workers less than their American counterparts, thereby protecting US workers from displacement,' Leopold said. Congress caps new H-1B visas at 85,000 per fiscal year, including 20,000 for noncitizens who earned advanced degrees. The government approved 400,000 H-1B applications, including renewals, in 2024, according to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. Amazon has led the nation's employers since 2020 in its number of H-1B workers, Pew found. The New York metro area received more H-1B application approvals than any other metro area; College Station, Texas had the highest concentration of approvals. What could change with H1-B visas? The proposed policy favours higher-paid employees, experts said. Malcolm Goeschl, a San Francisco-based lawyer, said the rule will likely benefit tech companies, including many specialising in artificial intelligence. Such companies pay high salaries, including for entry-level positions. He said it will harm traditional tech companies' programmes for new graduates. 'There will likely be plenty of lottery numbers available at the top of the prevailing wage scale, but very few or none at the bottom,' Goeschl said. 'You may see young graduates shy away from the US labour market early on because of this. Or you could see companies just pay entry-level workers from other countries much higher salaries to get a chance in the lottery, leading to the perverse situation where the foreign workers are making a lot more money than similarly situated US workers.' The prevailing wage requirements are designed to protect US jobs from being undercut by lower paid foreign workers. David Bier, director of immigration studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, said the change would likely make it nearly impossible for recent immigrant college graduates, who tend to earn lower wages, to launch their careers in the United States on an H-1B visa. 'The short-term benefit would be the people who get selected are more productive, but the long-term cost might be to permanently redirect future skilled immigration to other countries,' Bier said. 'It would also effectively prohibit the H-1B for many industries that rely on it. K-12 schools in rural areas seeking bilingual teachers, for instance, will have no chance under this system.' Amid a nationwide teacher shortage, some school districts have hired H-1B visa holders, including smaller districts such as Jackson, Mississippi, and larger districts, including Dallas, Texas. Language immersion schools also often employ teachers from other countries using this visa programme. Why is there a debate about H-1B visas? The debate around H-1B visas does not neatly fall along partisan lines. Proponents say the existing visa programme allows American employers to fill gaps, compete with other countries and recruit the 'best minds'. Critics point to instances of fraud or abuse and say they favour policies that incentivise hiring Americans. In December, high-profile Republicans debated the visa programme on social media. MAGA influencer Laura Loomer denounced the programme and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon called it a 'scam'. On the other side, billionaire Elon Musk, a former H-1B visa holder whose companies employ such visa holders, called for the programme's reform but defended it as an important talent recruitment mechanism. Trump sided with Musk. 'I have many H-1B visas on my properties,' Trump told the New York Post in late December. 'I've been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It's a great programme.' Senator Bernie Sanders disputed Musk, saying corporations abuse the programme as a way to get richer and should recruit American workers first. Such visa debates have continued. When US Representative Greg Murphy, a urologist, argued on X August 8 that the visas 'are critical for helping alleviate the severe physician shortage', thousands replied. Christina Pushaw, a Republican who works for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, pushed back: 'Why not figure out the causes of the domestic physician shortage and try to pass legislation to address those?'
