United News of Bangladesh

Mexico has transferred another 37 alleged members of drug cartels to the United States, the country’s security minister said on Tuesday, amid rising pressure from the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to curb cross-border drug trafficking. Mexican Security Minister Omar García Harfuch said in a post on X that those handed over were “high impact criminals” who “represented a real threat to the country’s security.” The latest move marks the third such transfer in less than a year. García Harfuch said Mexico has now sent a total of 92 detainees to the United States as it seeks to respond to mounting threats from Washington. Footage released by Mexican authorities showed handcuffed prisoners guarded by heavily armed, masked officers as they were boarded onto a military aircraft at an airport near Mexico City. “As the pressure increases, as demands from the White House dial up, (Mexico’s government) needs to resort to extraordinary measures, such as these transfers,” said David Mora, a Mexico analyst at the International Crisis Group. Read More: Mexico plans to build Latin America’s most powerful supercomputer The U.S. State Department and Justice Department did not immediately comment. Those transferred include figures from the Sinaloa Cartel, Beltrán-Leyva cartel, Jalisco New Generation Cartel, the Northeast Cartel and a Zetas splinter group based in Tamaulipas. Mexican officials said all face pending U.S. cases. Among them was María Del Rosario Navarro Sánchez, the first Mexican charged in the U.S. with supporting a terrorist organization. Trump has floated military action against cartels and recently said, “We’ve knocked out 97% of the drugs coming in by water and we are going to start now hitting land.”

The Trump administration has labelled three Middle Eastern branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations, imposing sanctions on the groups and their members. The U.S. Treasury and State departments announced Tuesday that the Lebanese, Jordanian, and Egyptian chapters pose a threat to American security and interests. The Lebanese branch was designated a foreign terrorist organization, while the Jordanian and Egyptian branches were listed as specially designated global terrorists for supporting Hamas. “These designations reflect a sustained effort to stop Muslim Brotherhood chapters from violence and destabilization,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added that the administration will work to cut the group off from the financial system. The Muslim Brotherhood branches in Egypt and Lebanon rejected the U.S. decision. Egypt’s branch said it “categorically rejects this designation” and will challenge it legally. The Lebanese branch said it operates openly within the law and called the U.S. decision “without legal effect” in Lebanon. Trump’s executive order cited the Lebanese chapter’s role in launching rockets on Israel after Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack and Jordan’s support to Hamas. The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928 and banned there in 2013. Jordan banned the group in April 2025. Iran closes airspace for hours amid US tensions over crackdown on protests Egypt welcomed the designation, calling it a “significant step” against extremism. Experts said the move may please some U.S. allies like the UAE but could strain relations with countries where the Brotherhood is tolerated, including Qatar and Turkey. It may also affect visa and asylum decisions in the U.S., Europe, and Canada.

The US State Department on Wednesday announced it will suspend the processing of immigrant visas for citizens of 75 countries whose nationals are considered likely to depend on public assistance while living in the United States. The department, headed by Secretary Marco Rubio, said consular officers have been instructed to halt immigrant visa applications from the affected countries under a broader order issued in November that tightened rules for prospective immigrants who may become “public charges” in the US. The suspension will take effect from January 21 and will not apply to non-immigrant visas, including temporary tourist or business visas. “The Trump administration is bringing an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people,” the State Department said in a statement. “Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassess immigration procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.” The list of affected countries includes Russia, Iran and Afghanistan, along with several nations in Africa, according to the department. The Trump administration has already imposed strict restrictions on immigrant and non-immigrant visa processing for citizens of dozens of countries, many of them in Africa.

The Trump administration has temporarily halted immigration applications, including green card requests, for individuals from 19 countries previously targeted by travel restrictions. The move follows recent policy changes prompted by the shooting of two National Guard troops. According to a policy memo posted Tuesday by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the pause affects decisions such as green card approvals and naturalizations for people from countries deemed high-risk. USCIS Director Joseph Edlow will determine when the suspension ends. Migrants brace for uncertainty under Trump’s new immigration restrictions Earlier this year, the administration banned travel from 12 countries and restricted access for seven more, citing security concerns. While earlier restrictions did not affect immigrants already in the U.S., the new directive subjects them to additional review, including potential interviews and referrals to law enforcement. USCIS plans to prioritize cases for review within 90 days, reflecting heightened scrutiny following the Thanksgiving week attack near the White House by an Afghan national. Critics argue the policy penalizes immigrants collectively. Source: AP 

Travelers across the United States saw mostly on-time departures Friday (7th November 2025), even as airlines canceled more than 1,000 flights to comply with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) order tied to the ongoing government shutdown. Despite a relatively stable day of travel, concern grew over additional cancellations expected in the coming week as the FAA reduces flight operations at major airports. The agency’s order follows a rise in absences among unpaid air traffic controllers, many of whom have gone nearly a month without pay. While some travelers scrambled to adjust their plans—booking alternative flights or renting cars—the cancellations still represented a small portion of total U.S. air traffic. However, long lines and last-minute disruptions were reported at around 40 major airports, including Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, and Charlotte. Airlines said they anticipate minimal disruptions through the weekend, and international routes remain unaffected. But Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that if the shutdown continues past next week—when controllers miss another paycheck—flight cancellations could rise from 10% to as much as 20%. Long Lines and Creative Travel Solutions At Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, passengers waited in security lines that barely moved. “It was winding through every part of the terminal,” said traveler Cara Bergeron. “I’ve never seen anything like it.” Read more: Wall Street set to open higher as investors eye earnings amid US shutdown Other travelers faced bigger challenges. Karen Soika, a surgeon from Connecticut, learned her Newark flight had been moved to JFK Airport—an hour away. When rental cars were unavailable, she decided to rent a U-Haul truck and drive cross-country to Utah, where she is consulting on a TV production. Rental car companies like Hertz reported a sharp uptick in one-way rentals. Airlines Work to Rebook Passengers According to flight-tracking site FlightAware, Friday’s 1,000-plus cancellations were about five times Thursday’s total. Reagan National Airport saw the highest impact, with 18% of flights grounded, while O’Hare, Atlanta, Denver, and Dallas-Fort Worth each lost around 3% of scheduled flights. United and American Airlines said they were able to rebook most passengers quickly, prioritizing cancellations on smaller regional routes to minimize disruptions. Delta canceled roughly 170 flights Friday, American about 220 per day through Monday, and Southwest around 120. The FAA said the flight reductions will start at 4% of operations at the busiest airports and gradually increase to 10% next week. “I just don’t want to end up stranded on an airport bench,” said traveler Michele Cuthbert of Columbus, Ohio. “Everyone’s paying the price for politics.” Experts warn that if the shutdown drags on, cargo shipments could also be affected, since nearly half of U.S. air freight moves in passenger aircraft. “Air travel is a core part of America’s economic infrastructure,” said Greg Raiff, CEO of Elevate Aviation Group. “This will ripple through business, tourism, and freight.” Why the Cuts Are Happening The FAA said the service reductions aim to ease the burden on overworked controllers, many of whom are working six days a week with mandatory overtime. As financial stress mounts, more are calling out of work. “I don’t want to see delays or disruptions,” Secretary Duffy said Friday at Reagan National Airport. “But safety must come first.” Read more: Asian shares rise on Wall Street gains as tech stocks rally despite U.S. government shutdown The FAA’s decision comes as the Trump administration continues pressuring Congress to end the government shutdown. Even if an agreement is reached soon, officials said the reduced flight schedules will remain in place until staffing levels stabilize. At Denver International Airport, officials have opened a food pantry for unpaid federal workers and asked the FAA to approve using airport revenue to cover controller pay—so far, without response. What Travelers Can Do Airlines are navigating uncertain territory, said Loyola University Maryland professor Kerry Tan. “The unpredictability of the shutdown makes it difficult for carriers to plan efficiently,” he said. Passengers are entitled to full refunds for canceled flights, though airlines aren’t obligated to cover hotel or meal costs unless cancellations are within their control, according to the Department of Transportation. Travel adviser Christina Schlegel of Arlington, Virginia, advised passengers to stay calm, check flight updates regularly, and arrive early. “Think ahead,” she said. “Have a backup plan and know what other flight options are available.” Read more: Trump embarks on three-nation Asia tour, set to meet Xi as US shutdown persists

A U.S. federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration cannot use its travel ban to prevent 80 already-vetted refugees from entering the United States, marking a significant setback for the policy. In a decision issued late Monday, U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead in Seattle stated that President Donald Trump's June executive order — which restricted entry from 12 countries — does not apply to refugees seeking asylum. “In other words, by its plain terms, the Proclamation excludes refugees from its scope,” the judge wrote. Whitehead ruled that denying entry to refugees would undermine their ability to apply for asylum, contradicting the very language of the presidential order. He directed the government to immediately resume processing the 80 “presumptively protected refugees” who had been rejected under the travel ban. The U.S. State Department has not issued a comment on the ruling. US manufacturing struggles persist despite subsidies and tariffs Whitehead also outlined a vetting framework for refugees from the 12 banned countries and others who were denied entry after the Trump administration suspended the U.S. refugee admissions program just hours after taking office on January 20. This suspension had left thousands of refugees — many already cleared after years of security screening — stranded in various parts of the world. Among them were family members of active-duty U.S. military personnel and over 1,600 Afghans who supported American forces during the war. Several refugees and aid organizations, whose funding was frozen by the administration, filed lawsuits. They later sought class-action status to extend the court’s ruling to similarly affected refugees. In May, Judge Whitehead said the suspension likely nullified Congress’s intent, noting that Congress had created and funded the refugee admissions program. He issued a preliminary injunction in February, halting the administration’s suspension of refugee processing and aid. However, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals paused much of that ruling in March, saying the administration was likely to prevail as the president holds broad authority over immigration decisions.

The US State Department has begun dismissing more than 1,300 employees as part of a sweeping reorganization under the Trump administration’s plan to downsize the federal government. According to CNN said the layoffs include 1,107 civil service and 246 foreign service officers. Employees are being notified via email, with many placed on administrative leave—foreign service staff for 120 days and most civil servants for 60 days—before termination. “Nearly 3,000 members of the workforce will depart as part of the reorganization,” the notice said, including both involuntary and voluntary departures. “In connection with the Departmental reorganization first announced by the Secretary of State on April 22, 2025, the Department is streamlining domestic operations to focus on diplomatic priorities,” the notice read. It said reductions target “non-core functions, duplicative or redundant offices,” and those where “considerable efficiencies” can be gained through consolidation.   Trump plans to hike tariffs on Canadian goods to 35% Secretary of State Marco Rubio, currently returning from Malaysia, said the overhaul was being carried out “probably in the most deliberate way of anyone that’s done one.” A senior official said the changes are “personnel agnostic,” focusing on functions no longer aligned with department goals. While overseas posts remain unaffected, many in Washington, DC, will be impacted. Thomas Yazdgerdi, president of the American Foreign Service Association, called the timing troubling. “There are horrible things that are happening in the world that require a tried-and-true diplomatic workforce,” he said, pointing to crises in Ukraine, Gaza, and Iran. Yazdgerdi warned the cuts could damage morale, recruitment, and retention. “We’re like the military,” he said. “If you’re going to RIF an office, we’re not tied to that office.”

A federal trial is set to begin Monday over a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's efforts to arrest and deport students and faculty who took part in pro-Palestinian protests and political activities. The lawsuit, brought by several university associations against President Donald Trump and his administration, is among the first of its kind to reach trial. The plaintiffs are asking U.S. District Judge William Young to declare the policy unconstitutional, arguing that it violates both the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies create and enforce regulations. “The policy’s effects have been swift. Noncitizen students and faculty across the United States have been terrified into silence," the plaintiffs stated in their pretrial brief. “Students and faculty are avoiding political protests, purging their social media, and withdrawing from public engagement with groups associated with pro-Palestinian viewpoints,” they added. “They’re abstaining from certain public writing and scholarship they would otherwise have pursued. They’re even self-censoring in the classroom.” Several academics are expected to testify, explaining how the policy and related arrests have forced them to abandon their advocacy for Palestinian rights and their criticism of Israeli government policies. Since Trump assumed office, immigration enforcement has increasingly targeted international students and scholars at American universities. Trump and his administration have accused some demonstrators and others of being aligned with “pro-Hamas” sentiments, referring to the Palestinian militant group behind the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Protesters, however, have said their demonstrations focus on opposing Israel’s conduct in the war. The plaintiffs name several activists in their complaint, including Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, who spent 104 days in federal immigration custody before being released last month. His detention has become emblematic of Trump’s broader crackdown on campus activism. Israeli airstrikes kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza, another 10 people die seeking food The case also mentions Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk, who spent six weeks in immigration detention after being arrested in a Boston suburb. Ozturk claims she was unlawfully detained following an op-ed she co-authored criticizing Tufts’ response to Israel’s actions in Gaza. The lawsuit alleges that the Trump administration provided universities with lists of individuals to target, initiated surveillance of social media, and used Trump’s own public remarks — including his statement after Khalil’s arrest that it was the “first arrest of many to come” — to back their claims. The government has countered that the plaintiffs are challenging a policy that doesn't formally exist. “They do not try to locate this program in any statute, regulation, rule, or directive. They do not allege that it is written down anywhere. And they do not even try to identify its specific terms and substance,” the government stated in court filings. “That is all unsurprising, because no such policy exists.” Officials also argue that the plaintiffs misunderstand how the First Amendment applies in the context of immigration, noting that constitutional protections differ for noncitizens under established Supreme Court precedent. In response, plaintiffs maintain that evidence presented at trial will show the administration implemented the policy in multiple ways, including formal guidance on revoking visas and green cards and creating mechanisms to identify those involved in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. "Defendants have described their policy, defended it, and taken political credit for it," plaintiffs argued. “It is only now that the policy has been challenged that they say, incredibly, that the policy does not actually exist. But the evidence at trial will show that the policy’s existence is beyond cavil.”

South Asia affairs expert Michael Kugelman has said the Trump administration has drastically cut foreign aid and has "little interest" in devoting resources to democracy promotion or nation-building in Bangladesh. Referring to recent telephone conversations between Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Kugelman said the readouts of the Yunus-Rubio call from both governments suggest Washington now views its ties with Dhaka through the lenses of trade and great-power competition. Kugelman in Foreign Policy’s South Asia Brief mentioned that the pair spoke about strengthening economic ties and partnering on enhancing security in the Indo-Pacific—the latter of which, for the United States, means countering China. Both goals present challenges for Dhaka, Kugelman said. Bangladesh faces a 37 percent US tariff if it does not work out a trade deal with Washington, said the Foreign Affairs expert. And it has long pursued a nonaligned foreign policy, aiming to balance ties with major powers rather than siding with or against them, Kugelman observed. Salehuddin proposes full duty withdrawal on 175 products ahead of US trade talks On Monday, Prof Yunus spoke on the phone with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, marking one of the highest-level Bangladesh-US engagements to date during the second Trump administration. The call provides a window into how the United States may approach its relationship with Bangladesh—one that has shifted significantly since Trump returned to office, Kugelman said. During the final months of the Biden administration, US officials pledged new development aid and technical assistance for reforms to an interim government looking to rebuild democracy in Bangladesh after former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled the country amid mass protests last August. During the phone call, both sides affirmed their ‘shared commitment’ to deepening economic ties between the two countries. The US Secretary of State and Chief Adviser also affirmed their shared commitment to ‘enhancing security and stability’ throughout the Indo-Pacific region. “The Secretary and Chief Adviser affirmed their shared commitment to deepening economic ties between the United States and Bangladesh and to enhancing security and stability throughout the Indo-Pacific region,” said Spokesperson at the US Department Tammy Bruce after the telephone conversations. In April this year, Chief Adviser Prof Yunus held an emergency meeting with top experts, advisers and officials, giving necessary directives to deal with the US tariff issue. Finance adviser introduces new tariff, SD structure with eye on US trade deal The United States had announced a 37-percent tariff on imports from Bangladesh as part of President Donald Trump's sweeping new "Reciprocal Tariffs" policy. The government hopes that their ongoing discussion with the US government is expected to help address the tariff issue. A follow-up meeting is scheduled to take place in the US on July 8.

The United States is reducing the number of people deemed nonessential to operations in the Middle East, the State Department has announced. The U.S. is also authorizing nonessential personnel and family members to leave Bahrain and Kuwait, which will give them a choice on whether to leave those countries. The State Department said it made the orders after evaluating recent tensions, which are on the rise in the region as high-stakes nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran appear to have hit an impasse. Danish Parliament approves U.S. military base deal amid Greenland concerns Meanwhile President Donald Trump announced that China will make it easier for American industry to obtain magnets and rare earth minerals, clearing the way for trade talks to continue between the world’s two biggest economies. Trump also said Wednesday that the U.S. will stop efforts to revoke the visas of Chinese nationals on U.S. college campuses.