SCOOP: In early July, U.S. embassy in Pretoria asked DC: Could non-whites apply for a refugee program geared toward white South Africans if they met other criteria? A Trump appointee heading State Dept's refugee bureau said the program was intended for white people. www.reuters.com/world/africa...

Exclusive: US diplomats asked if non-whites qualify for Trump refugee program for South Africans @humeyrapamuk.bsky.social @kristinacooke.bsky.social www.reuters.com/world/africa...

SCOOP: President Trump yesterday said that he would help Afghan evacuees who were stuck in the UAE, but an internal State Dept cable shows that the Emirati government had already begun returning some of them to Afghanistan since early July & had informed Washington of its plan.

Scenes from a very consequential day at the State Department — In solidarity with their more than 1,300 colleagues who have been fired today, State employees held an impromptu clap-out at the Department’s C street entrance. Tears, hugs and goodbyes.

SCOOP: The Trump administration may deport migrants to Libya for the first time this week, U.S. officials tell @Reuters. The U.S. military could fly the migrants to the North African country as soon as Wednesday, although plans could still change. www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

The traditional press corps will take shit forever for not asking more Biden age Qs, but 1) it asked a ton and 2) was never 1/1000th as sycophantic as this. It's embarassing.

"Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani is set to meet with senior U.S. State Department officials later on Tuesday in New York (…) and plead with Washington to provide a clear roadmap for permanent sanctions relief" @humeyrapamuk.bsky.social @reuters.com www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Friday morning in the United States

Trump administration moves to restore some of the foreign assistance programs that it shut down only days ago — yet another episode that captures how Washington’s rapid-fire funding cuts threw the global aid world into chaos. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

60 Minutes found no criminal record for 75% of the Venezuelan migrants the U.S. sent to a mega-prison in El Salvador. https://cbsn.ws/4lC4Vp5

A second child with measles has died in Texas in an outbreak of the childhood disease that has resulted in nearly 500 cases in Texas and has spread across 22 states. The school-aged child was unvaccinated and had no underlying health conditions. www.reuters.com/world/us/ken...

U.S. stock futures opened sharply lower late on Sunday, suggesting a continuation of the two-day selloff that wiped trillions from equity values after the Trump administration's tariffs announcement last week. www.reuters.com/markets/us/u...

Speechless

Three U.S. aid workers were laid off while in Myanmar helping the rescue and recovery from the country's massive earthquake, a former senior staffer said. www.reuters.com/world/us/usa...

NEW: The Trump administration moved forward with the sale of more than 20,000 U.S.-made assault rifles to Israel last month, pushing ahead with a sale that the Biden administration had delayed over concerns the arms could be used by extremist Israeli settlers. www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Elon Musk's social media platform X has suspended several accounts belonging to opposition figures in Turkey amid widespread civil unrest in the country. www.politico.eu/article/musk...

SCOOP: The U.S. is weighing in with Lebanon's government on the selection of the country's next central bank governor in a bid to curtail corruption and illicit financing for the armed group Hezbollah through Lebanon's banking system, sources tell @reuters.com

@reuters.com's Maya Gebeily, @humeyrapamuk.bsky.social and Laila Bassam: U.S. officials have interviewed candidates to be Lebanon's next central bank governor, are additionally consulting with Saudis: www.reuters.com/world/middle...

NEW: The Trump administration is considering issuing sweeping travel restrictions for the citizens of dozens of countries as part of a new ban, according to sources familiar with the matter and an internal memo seen by Reuters.

NEW: Trump team has acted fast to revamp the State Department bureaucracy. Per our scoop last week, his aides asked three senior career diplomats who oversee the bureaucracy to step down, before expanding that request to scores of other high-ranking policy officials. www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...

ICYMI: In Brussels, I had a wide-ranging interview w/Sec Blinken. Asked him if he did everything he could to stop the killing of Gazan women and children. Propley will judge his legacy, he said, but for now, he was using every minute in office to achieve a ceasefire www.reuters.com/world/us/bli...

Ukraine has asked NATO for a membership invite at today's meeting of foreign ministers. It's very unlikely to get one, diplomats tell us. Story with @sasilink.bsky.social @liliebayer.bsky.social @humeyrapamuk.bsky.social

Our @humeyrapamuk.bsky.social sat down with Blinken today - She Asked if he did everything he could to stop the killing of Gazan women and children. He said people will judge his legacy but for now, he was using every minute in office to achieve a ceasefire. reuters.com/world/us/blink…

ANKARA, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Three suspects accused of murdering an Israeli rabbi in the United Arab Emirates were caught in Istanbul in a secret operation at the weekend by the Turkish intelligence and police, a Turkish security source said on Tuesday. www.reuters.com/world/middle...

THE HAGUE, Nov 21 (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, the court said on Thursday.