Category: 2. World

US officials have further restricted visitor visas for Palestinians, by denying them to almost all applicants who use a Palestinian passport, media reports say.

The development comes days after 80 Palestinian officials were denied visas ahead of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Earlier in August, visitor visas were paused for people hoping to travel from the Palestinian territory of Gaza. This newly-reported decree would affect a wider group – including people living in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Department of State did not explicitly confirm the move but said it was “taking concrete steps in compliance with US law and our national security”.

The decision was issued in a diplomatic cable dated 18 August, the New York Times and CNN reported.

US consular officers were told to refuse non-immigrant visas to “all otherwise eligible Palestinian Authority passport holders”, the communication was quoted as saying.

That would apply to Palestinians hoping to come to the US for a range of purposes, including for business, study or medical treatment.

The move meant that officials would be required to perform a further review of each applicant, which amounted to a blanket ban on issuing visas to Palestinians, the New York Times added in its report.

Palestinians who are able to make visa applications using other passports were said to be unaffected.

It is not clear what prompted the reported move, though the Trump administration has been steadfast in its support for Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

The news also follows last month’s announcements by a number of other US allies – including the UK, Canada and France – that they would recognise a Palestinian state on certain conditions. US Vice-President JD Vance has said Washington has “no plans” to follow suit.

The Trump administration has also cracked down on pro-Palestinian protests on university campuses.

The move represents a further toughening of the president’s stance on visas, following two earlier measures.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was among a group of dozens of Palestinian officials who were recently blocked from attending the UN General Assembly session in New York later this month, after US officials revoked his visa and accused the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), both of which Abbas leads, of undermining peace efforts.

And the Department of State said on 16 August it had paused approvals of visitor visas for Palestinians from Gaza specifically, so that a review could take place.

Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by the US, governed Gaza when hundreds of its armed fighters attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. The attack triggered a massive and ongoing Israeli military offensive, in which at least 63,459 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

The US visa policy has effectively been extended now to include people from the West Bank and wider Palestinian diaspora.

Asked about the latest move, a Department of State spokesperson’s statement said: “The Trump administration is taking concrete steps in compliance with US law and our national security in regards to announced visa restrictions and revocations for PA (Palestinian Authority) passport holders. We refer you to those public announcements for more information on those restrictions and revocations.

“Every visa decision is a national security decision, and the State Department is vetting and adjudicating visa decisions for PA passport holders accordingly.”

Key Facts

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Monday in Tianjin, China. (Photo by Sergey Bobylev/Kremlin Press S./Anadolu via Getty Images)

Anadolu via Getty Images

What Happened At The China-Russia-India Summit?

Xi, Putin and Modi met in Tianjin, China, on Monday as China hosted the leaders of more than two dozen countries, putting on what looked like a unified front in a move some analysts called was a pointed message to the United States, particularly by India, which has been frustrated by tariff negotiations with the U.S. The leaders were seen shaking hands, embracing and laughing with one another, and Putin, who took a backseat limo ride with Modi, referred to the Indian leader as his “dear friend.” Modi posted a picture of his limo ride with Putin on his social media accounts, stating “conversations with him are always insightful.” Xi, in a speech at the summit, urged leaders to oppose “Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation and bullying” in likely shots at the United States, the New York Times reported. Putin, in a speech, said “understandings” reached with the United States at their Alaska summit in August could pave a way for peace between Russia and Ukraine, but blamed the West for the war over its “constant attempts to drag Ukraine into NATO.” The summit was Modi’s first trip to China in seven years, and the leaders of Asia’s largest countries agreed they are development partners, not rivals, and to not let their disputed border in the Himalayas “define the overall China-India relationship.”

How Have Analysts Interpreted The China-Russia-India Summit?

Keir Giles, a senior fellow at London think tank Chatham House, told NBC News the summit showed the “close relationship that Trump sought with Putin is now on display between Putin and others,” noting the United States gave India “a real cause to look for friendship and partnership elsewhere.” Manoj Kewalramani, who heads Indo-Pacific studies at Bangalore, India’s Takshashila Institution, told the New York Times optics are a key part of the summit and that U.S. policies “will result in other countries looking for alternatives to meet their interests.”

Further Reading

Smiles and Clasped Hands as Xi, Putin and Modi Try to Signal Unity (New York Times)

Trump Doubles India Tariffs To 50% In Retaliation For Russian Oil Purchases (Forbes)

The Quad, a strategic security dialogue between the United States, India, Japan, and Australia, once hailed as a bold geopolitical response to China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific, is now showing signs of strain. Originally envisioned as a bulwark of democratic cooperation, the initiative’s cohesion is now under pressure from within, notably from the very country that resuscitated it in 2017 under then-President Donald Trump.

Trump’s decision to cancel his planned participation in the upcoming Quad summit in India , reportedly due to worsening personal and diplomatic ties with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is the latest and most visible signal of the grouping’s internal rift. According to a report by The New York Times, Trump’s move follows a diplomatic fallout with Modi, despite the Indian leader extending a formal invitation after the G7 summit. The optics and comments from Modi’s visit to SCO Summit at Tianjin in China suggest India is shifting away from the US and towards China. Even Japan and Australia seem to be revising their stance.

The Quad was born out of humanitarian collaboration in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, when the four nations came together to coordinate disaster relief. It re-emerged in 2017, amid rising concerns about China’s expanding economic and military footprint in the region. Trump, then in his first term, strongly advocated for the Quad’s revival, positioning it as a core element of his administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
However, during his second term, Trump’s increasingly transactional and unpredictable foreign policy has begun to unravel the delicate diplomatic balance within the grouping. His combative economic stance, unilateral trade measures and arm-twisting tactics have introduced new tensions, not just with adversaries but also with long-standing allies.

Also Read | PM Modi sends Trump a message, Pakistan a warning, China a reminder

The reluctant partners

India’s importance to the Quad cannot be overstated. As the only member sharing a land border with China, India serves as the grouping’s strategic anchor in the region. Yet India’s approach to China has evolved. Prime Minister Modi’s participation in the SCO Summit in Tianjin, where he held a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, signals India’s desire to recalibrate ties with Beijing despite ongoing border tensions.
Modi’s outreach to China contrasts with the coolness in US-India ties. Trump’s erratic diplomacy and disregard for institutional consensus have alienated key leaders, including Modi, who had once found ideological common ground with Trump’s assertive posturing. The cancellation of Trump’s India visit underscores how personal and policy-level disconnects are now feeding into broader geopolitical recalibrations.
Australia, too, finds itself in a difficult position. Once a vocal supporter of the Quad and of Trump’s Indo-Pacific strategy, Australia is now grappling with the economic fallout of Trump’s protectionist agenda. The imposition of a 10% tariff on Australian exports, despite a longstanding free trade agreement, and a universal 50% tariff on steel and aluminium have hit the Australian economy. More recently, Trump’s threat to impose a 250% tariff on pharmaceuticals has further escalated tensions.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s July visit to Beijing was more than a symbolic reset; it was a calculated move to strengthen economic ties with China, Australia’s largest trading partner, while maintaining a cautious eye on strategic competition. The fact that Trump has not found time to meet with Albanese since he has been sworn in is a clear indication of the cooling diplomatic ties.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, speaking ahead of Modi’s recent trip to Japan and China, criticised Trump’s tariff policies in a thinly veiled rebuke. While she avoided direct commentary on US-India relations, she made it clear that Australia does not support tariffs and believes in openness as a path to economic growth, a subtle but clear divergence from Trump’s America First rhetoric.

Even Japan, often the most aligned with the US in strategic forums, now seems to be recalculating its position. Although it has reached a trade agreement with the US, Tokyo has been vocal about its concerns over Washington’s strong-arm tactics. The cancellation of Japanese trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa’s visit to the US just before Modi’s trip to Japan underscores the friction. The visit was meant to finalise the proposed $550 billion Japanese investment package in the US, potentially easing the impact of Trump’s tariffs. Instead, its abrupt postponement revealed Japan’s unease with Trump’s approach.

At the same time, Tokyo has started engaging more openly with China. Recent signs of a thaw include resumed trade, relaxed travel restrictions and bilateral dialogues. While mutual mistrust on strategic issues persists, Japan is willing to hedge its bet when the US has turned transactional.

Also Read | Putin adopts limo diplomacy in China jaunt with PM Modi

Quad drifting without direction?
The Quad was always more of a strategic alignment than a formal alliance. Its informal, non-binding nature allowed for flexibility but also made it vulnerable to shifts in national priorities and leadership styles. Trump’s first term had provided the political impetus to revive the Quad as a geopolitical counterweight to China. But his second term is now characterized by erratic leadership, inward-looking policies and a tendency to alienate even close allies.

With all three of America’s Quad partners increasingly uneasy, and all of them independently engaging with China, the grouping appears to be adrift. The absence of Trump from the upcoming summit, coupled with rising intra-group tensions, suggests that the Quad’s future may be less about confronting China and more about managing the fallout from US unpredictability.

As India, Japan and Australia hedge their bets, the fundamental premise of the Quad, strategic unity in the face of Chinese assertiveness, is being quietly but steadily undermined. In the end, it may be Trump’s own policies, not Chinese diplomacy, that do the most damage to his once bright anti-China idea.

Getty Images

The leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Monday adopted a statement condemning terrorism in Pakistan and India amid tense ties between the two nations that have seen allegations against each other for alleged involvement in militant attacks.

The Jaffar Express train was hijacked on March 11 when Balochistan Liberation Army terrorists ambushed the Peshawar-bound train carrying 440 passengers, opening fire and taking hostages. Security forces launched a two-day operation, concluding on March 12.

On May 21, at least six people, including three students, were slain while over 40 others — mostly students — were injured after a bomb targeted a school bus near Zero Point in Khuzdar on the Quetta-Karachi highway when it was on its way to drop the students at the Army Public School in Khuzdar Cantonment.

On April 22, assailants conducted an attack in Pahalgam, a tourist hotspot in occupied Kashmir that draws thousands of visitors every summer. Gunmen opened fire on visitors, killing at least 26 people — all men from across India except one from Nepal — and injuring 17 others. It was the region’s deadliest attack on civilians since 2000.

In all three scenarios, both countries accused the other of having a role in the incident. The SCO defence ministers summit in June had failed to reach a consensus on a joint statement due to India’s refusal. According to The Times of India, New Delhi had refused to sign the document after it omitted a reference to the Pahalgam attack.

The SCO is a 10-nation Eurasian security and political grouping whose members include China, Russia, Pakistan, India, and Iran.

The SCO summit of leaders is currently underway in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin. China’s President Xi Jinping hosted the two-day summit of SCO leaders as well as “SCO plus”, bringing together some 20 heads of state and government, besides leaders of international organisations. It was the largest gathering of the SCO as well as the fifth time hosted by China since the bloc was formed in 2001.

The summit adopted the Tianjin Declaration, which notably said: “Member states strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22 2025.

“Member states also strongly condemned the terrorist attacks on Jaffar Express on March 11 and in Khuzdar on May 21, 2025.”

The SCO leaders expressed their “deepest sympathy and condolences” to the families of the dead and the wounded, saying that the perpetrators, organisers and sponsors of such attacks must be brought to justice.

“The member states, while reaffirming their firm commitment to the fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism, stress the inadmissibility of attempts to use terrorist, separatist and extremist groups for mercenary purposes. They recognise the leading role of sovereign states and their competent authorities in countering terrorist and extremist threats.”

The declaration said the SCO members were committed to ensuring sustainable international peace and called for joint efforts to counter traditional and new security challenges and threats.

It added that they reaffirmed their determination to continue the joint fight against terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as against the illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and their precursors, arms smuggling and other forms of transnational organised crime.

They also signed the Agreement on the Universal Centre for Countering Challenges and Threats to the Security of SCO Member States and the Agreement on the SCO Anti-Drug Centre.

The member states also noted the proposal to establish a Centre for Strategic Studies in the field of security.

The declaration said the SCO members would continue to actively implement the Programme of Cooperation of SCO Member States in Countering Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism for 2025-2027.

“The member states strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, stress that double standards in the fight against terrorism are unacceptable, and call on the international community to combat terrorism, including cross-border movement of terrorists, with the central role of the United Nations, by fully implementing the relevant UN Security Council resolution and the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in accordance with the UN Charter and the principles of international law, in order to jointly combat all terrorist organisations. They stress the importance of adopting by consensus a comprehensive convention on international terrorism.”

The leaders further adopted 24 documents to strengthen cooperation in security, economy and cultural exchanges.

They also adopted a 10-year SCO Development Strategy until 2035, which “defines the priority tasks and main directions for deepening multifaceted cooperation in the interests of ensuring peace and stability, development and prosperity in the SCO space”, read the joint statement.

Amid the US tariffs, which have roiled international markets, the SCO leaders expressed support for the multilateral trading system.

They also marked the 80th anniversary of World War II victory and of the founding of the UN, the declaration added.

‘SCO Partner’

The SCO also evolved from the “Shanghai Five” mechanism comprising China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan before Uzbekistan joined as the sixth member. Today, it included 10 member states, two observers and 14 dialogue partners across Asia, Europe and Africa.

The organisation covers approximately 24 per cent of global land area and 42pc of the world’s population, with member states accounting for roughly one-quarter of global GDP and trade increasing nearly 100-fold in two decades.

China’s trade with SCO members, observers and dialogue partners reached a record $890 billion in 2024, or 14.4pc of its total foreign trade.

At the Tianjin summit, the SCO member states decided to combine the statuses of “observer” and “dialogue partner” into a single status of “SCO Partner”.

Laos was accepted as a new “SCO Partner” at the Tianjin summit.

While the previous SCO leaders’ summit was held in Kazakhstan in July 2024, which saw 25 strategic documents — covering energy, security, finance and information security — adopted, China will pass on the SCO chairmanship to Kyrgyzstan and the next summit will be held under the slogan “25 years of the SCO: together towards sustainable peace, development and prosperity”.

Situation in Middle East and Afghanistan

Regarding the situation in the Middle East, the SCO leaders reiterated their deep concern over the continuing escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and strongly condemned actions that led to numerous casualties among the civilian population and a “catastrophic humanitarian situation” in the Gaza Strip.

They stressed the need to ensure an immediate, complete and sustainable ceasefire, access to humanitarian aid, and intensified efforts to achieve peace, stability and security for all residents of the region.

“Member states note that the only possible way to ensure peace and stability in the Middle East is through a comprehensive and just settlement of the Palestinian question,” the declaration said.

It added that they also strongly condemned the military strikes by Israel and the United States against Iran in June, saying that such aggressive actions against civilian targets, including nuclear energy infrastructure, which resulted in the death of civilians, were a “gross violation of the principles and norms of international law and the UN Charter, and an infringement on the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran” that undermined regional and international security with serious implications for global peace and stability.

“They noted that the physical nuclear safety and security of nuclear facilities must be ensured on a permanent basis, including during periods of armed conflict, in order to protect the population and the environment from harm. In this regard, they reaffirmed their commitment to diplomatic initiatives aimed at the peaceful resolution of the issues that have arisen.

“Member states reaffirmed the importance of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015), emphasising that it is binding and must be implemented in full in accordance with its provisions, and consider that any attempts to interpret it arbitrarily undermine the authority of the UN Security Council.

“They called for the resumption of constructive dialogue between the parties involved and for a focus on jointly seeking solutions that would prevent further escalation of the situation,” the declaration said regarding Iran and its stalemate on nuclear talks.

On Afghanistan, the SCO members reaffirmed their commitment to the country’s establishment as an independent, neutral and peaceful state, free from terrorism, war and drugs, and expressed their readiness to support the efforts of the international community to ensure peace and development in the country.

“Member states reiterated that the formation of an inclusive government with broad participation of representatives of all ethno-political groups of Afghan society is the only way to achieve lasting peace and stability in the country,” the declaration said.

Leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Monday issued a joint declaration strongly condemning recent terrorist attacks in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam, Pakistan’s Khuzdar district, and on the Jaffar Express.

They stressed that perpetrators, organisers, and sponsors of such attacks must be brought to justice. The statement also urged an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Palestine, called for humanitarian access, and pressed the international community to play a more active diplomatic role. Pakistan, the declaration noted, is now recognised as a “regional stabiliser” for its peace and diplomatic initiatives.

The Tianjin summit reaffirmed sovereignty, territorial integrity, and non-interference as the foundation of interstate relations. It condemned the use of terrorism for political or mercenary purposes and pledged united action against all terrorist groups.

Afghanistan
On Afghanistan, the leaders emphasised that long-term stability required a comprehensive and inclusive government with representation from all ethnic and political groups. They called for stronger action to prevent cross-border terrorist movements, stressing that all forms of terrorism must be fought without double standards.

Iran strikes
The declaration condemned recent attacks on Iran, describing them as violations of sovereignty. It also called for the creation of an inclusive Eurasian security framework built on equality and indivisibility.

Long-term strategy
The SCO approved its Development Strategy 2035, charting long-term cooperation in security, trade, and infrastructure. Member states pledged to strengthen joint action against terrorism, separatism, extremism, cybercrime, and border threats. They also reaffirmed support for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, peaceful use of nuclear energy, and implementation of conventions on chemical and biological weapons.

Economic and regional cooperation
Leaders endorsed the establishment of an SCO Development Bank, deeper energy cooperation, and a green industry roadmap. They backed the expansion of regional transport corridors, including the North–South and East–West routes, and supported the launch of the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway.

Broader collaboration
The declaration further committed to advancing cooperation in healthcare, emergency response, sports, culture, environmental protection, and sustainable development. Leaders praised global initiatives on glaciers and environmental resilience, highlighting their significance for the region.