New fee for H1-B visas. The United States will introduce a new $100,000 fee to apply for an H1-B visa, an employer-sponsored nonimmigrant visa for highly skilled foreign workers, Trump announced Friday. More than 141,000 new H1-B visas were issued last year. Trump said the policy was designed so that firms would hire more U.S. workers. Separately, Trump signed an executive order Friday allowing some individuals who pay $1 million to get a U.S. immigrant visa.
U.S. lawmakers in China. A bipartisan group of U.S. House representatives met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and separately with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun yesterday, kicking off the first such visit since 2019. Rep. Adam Smith (D), who is leading the delegation, said the group was exploring ways to “peacefully coexist” with China. Their trip follows Trump’s call with President Xi Jinping Friday, after which Trump said he plans to visit China next year and that the two countries had reached a deal on the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations.
Russian jets in Estonia. NATO scheduled consultations for tomorrow after Estonia reported Friday that three Russian fighter jets had violated its airspace. Moscow said that the planes were in neutral air. The incident comes after Russian drones were reported in Polish and Romanian airspace earlier this month.
Third strike in Caribbean. The U.S. military killed three people on a boat that Trump claimed was carrying drugs in the Caribbean, he wrote on social media Friday. He has announced fourteen such deaths in two similar strikes in recent weeks. Last week, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused Washington of trying to “intimidate and seek regime change.”
Afghan air base in focus. The Taliban yesterday rejected a U.S. bid to regain control of Bagram Air Base after Trump floated the idea to reporters and on social media in recent days. The Taliban took control of the base following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.
Kenya data center delayed. A geothermal-powered data center backed by U.S. firm Microsoft and Emirati firm G42—announced last year as a U.S. response to Chinese tech inroads in Africa—has yet to break ground, mere months before it was set to open in early 2026, Semafor reported. Microsoft and G42 did not comment on the delay, while a White House spokesperson said the Trump administration is committed to cementing U.S. dominance in artificial intelligence “at home and abroad.”
Congo’s cobalt controls. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the world’s largest cobalt producer, announced that it will replace its total ban on cobalt exports with a system of limited export quotas, beginning on October 16. Cobalt is a key material in electric vehicle batteries and other advanced tech. The DRC imposed the ban in February to address a supply glut that was driving down prices.
Cyberattack at European airports. The European Union (EU) cybersecurity agency said today that a ransomware attack was behind failures in flight check-in and boarding software that has delayed flights at multiple European airports since Friday. The EU agency did not name an alleged attacker. A U.S. firm, Collins Aerospace, provided the software and said today that it was finalizing software updates.
