US to Require $15K Bonds for Some Travelers; Israeli Hostage Families Criticize Netanyahu; 7 Dead in MX Prison Riot

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The U.S. State Department announced it will impose bonds as high as $15,000 for tourism and business traveler visas from countries with significant overstay rates, targeting visitors applying for B-1 or B-2 nonimmigrant visas under a new 12-month pilot program. Meanwhile, international tensions continue to simmer as African nations challenge G7 tax agreements, Israeli war strategies face criticism from hostage families, and a Hong Kong activist appeals his flag desecration conviction. Domestic security concerns dominate other regions, with French cities implementing youth curfews to combat drug violence and a deadly prison riot in Mexico highlighting ongoing safety challenges in the country's correctional system.

Top Stories

• U.S. to require some travelers to post up to $15,000 bonds to enter: What to know - CNBC

• African Nations Say G7 Deal Shows Global Tax Rules Are Broken - Bloomberg

• Middle East: Hostage families criticize Israeli war plans - DW

• Man found guilty of desecrating Chinese, Hong Kong flags seeks to overturn conviction at city’s apex court - HKFP

• Are French cities’ youth curfews effective in curbing drug-related violence? - France24

• Mexico prison riot leaves 7 dead, 11 injured after inmates reportedly ask authorities for protection against threats - CBS

United States

• U.S. to require some travelers to post up to $15,000 bonds to enter: What to know - CNBC

• Trump’s Demand to Trading Partners: Pledge Money or Get Higher Tariffs - New York Times

• US Speaker Johnson visits Israeli settlement in occupied West Bank - Axios

• US reverses pledge to link disaster funds to Israel boycott stance - Reuters

• Flooding risk continues for the Southeast and the Plains; Canada wildfire smoke affecting US air quality - CBS

Africa

• South African farm worker says he was forced to feed women to pigs - BBC

• African Nations Say G7 Deal Shows Global Tax Rules Are Broken - Bloomberg

• South Africa arrests hundreds in illegal mining operation - Africa News

• S.Africa eyes new markets after US tariffs: president - France24

• Russia Expands Nuclear Goals for Africa in New Deal - Newsweek

Middle East

• US Speaker Johnson visits Israeli settlement in occupied West Bank - Axios

• Middle East: Hostage families criticize Israeli war plans - DW

• Canada airdrops aid into Gaza, says Israel violating international law - Reuters

• France and Saudis vow to keep up momentum for ‘two-state solution’ to Israel-Palestinian conflict - Associated Press

• Israel's Ben Gvir, under heavy guard, leads settler raid on Al-Aqsa Mosque - Middle East Eye

Indo-Pacific  

• Chinese manufacturers rethink south-east Asia pivot after Donald Trump’s tariffs - Financial Times

• Lao, Russian Presidents agree to cement ties as numerous deals signed - Asia News Network

• Seoul to hand over body of North Korean citizen amid silence from Pyongyang - NK News

• China opens door to Brazilian coffee as US slaps on new tariff - SCMP

• Man found guilty of desecrating Chinese, Hong Kong flags seeks to overturn conviction at city’s apex court - HKFP

Europe

• Russia Expands Nuclear Goals for Africa in New Deal - Newsweek

• EU court rebukes Italy over migrant transfers to Albania - Euro News

• Are French cities’ youth curfews effective in curbing drug-related violence? - France24

• The explosive fight over China's new embassy in the UK - BBC

• French finance minister in US amid tariff tension - DW 

Latin America

• China opens door to Brazilian coffee as US slaps on new tariff - SCMP

• Court reaffirms ruling limiting Trump’s asylum ban at US, Mexico border - The Hill

• Mexico prison riot leaves 7 dead, 11 injured after inmates reportedly ask authorities for protection against threats - CBS

• Brazil’s Supreme Court orders house arrest for former President Bolsonaro, a Trump ally - Associated Press

• BP Says It Made Largest Find in a Quarter-Century Off Brazil - Bloomberg

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