World Briefing: March 22, 2025

U.S. President Donald Trump‘s administration will revoke the temporary legal status of 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans in the United States, according to a Federal Register notice on Friday, the latest expansion of his crackdown on immigration. The move, effective April 24, cuts short a two-year “parole” granted to the migrants under former President Joe Biden that allowed them to enter the country by air if they had U.S. sponsors. Trump said on March 6 that he would decide “very soon” whether to strip the parole status from some 240,000 Ukrainians who fled to the U.S. during the conflict with Russia. Trump’s remarks came in response to a Reuters report that said his administration planned to revoke the status for Ukrainians as soon as April. The Trump administration’s decision to strip the legal status from half a million migrants could make many vulnerable to deportation if they choose to remain in the U.S. It remains unclear how many who entered the U.S. on parole now have another form of protection or legal status.

Heathrow Airport is “open and fully operational” after a fire at an off-site power substation caused major disruption on Friday, grounding over 1,300 flights and affecting around 200,000 passengers. A spokesperson for Heathrow said early this morning there were hundreds of extra staff on hand to help 10,000 extra passengers on Saturday. He said: “Teams across the airport continue to do everything they can to support passengers impacted by yesterday’s outage at an off-airport power substation. “Passengers travelling today should check with their airline for the latest information regarding their flight.” After more than 1,300 flights were grounded on Friday around 100 more have been axed by airlines whose flight crew and aircraft are now out of position. British Airways has cancelled almost 80 flights on Saturday after almost its entire schedule was grounded on Friday. The Metropolitan Police are not treating the incident as suspicious and the London Fire Brigade’s investigation is focusing on the electrical distribution equipment - Independent

“Authoritarian censorship regimes, like the Kremlin and the Chinese Communist Party, are loudly cheering for the death of Voice of America. It’s clear that Donald Trump’s action will encourage harsher crackdowns against journalists and press freedom, putting VOA and RSF staff, correspondents, volunteers, and supporters in greater danger. RSF is compelled to act to protect VOA and the broader press freedom community.”

Clayton Weimers, Executive Director, RSF USA

Israeli forces advanced deeper into the Gaza Strip on Friday and blew up the only specialised cancer hospital in the war-torn territory. The violence came as Israeli leaders vowed to capture more land until Hamas releases its remaining hostages. The hospital was located in the Netzarim Corridor, which splits Gaza in two and was controlled by Israeli troops for most of the 17-month-long war. Israel moved to retake the corridor this week shortly after breaking the ceasefire with Hamas. The truce delivered relative calm to Gaza since late January and facilitated the release of more than two dozen hostages. The Israeli military said it struck the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital, which was inaccessible to doctors and patients during the war, because Hamas militants were operating in the site. Turkey, which helped build and fund the hospital, said Israeli troops at one point used it as a base. Nearly 600 Palestinians have now been killed since the truce between Israel and Hamas was shattered on Tuesday - Euronews

Protests erupted across multiple Turkish cities on Friday as people rallied against the arrest of Istanbul’s mayor and top rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, despite the Turkish leader’s stern warning that street protests would not be tolerated. In Istanbul, police used pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets to push back hundreds of protesters who tried to break through a barricade in front of the city’s historic aqueduct and threw flares, stones and other objects at them. Police also broke up demonstrations in Ankara, the capital, as well as in the Aegean coastal city of Izmir, resorting to forceful measures at times, according to images shown on the private Halk TV. Thousands marched in several other cities calling on the government to resign, the station reported. At least 97 people were detained nationwide during the protests, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested in a dawn raid on his residence on Wednesday over alleged corruption and terror links, escalating a crackdown on opposition figures and dissenting voices. Several other prominent figures, including two district mayors, were also detained - AP

The next president of the International Olympic Committee said she would not categorically ban countries from the games over international conflicts, opening the door for Russia to return to the international sports competition. “I think you have to take each situation into account,” Kirsty Coventry told Sky News in an interview posted Friday. “What I would like to do is set up a taskforce where this taskforce tries to set out some policies and some guiding frameworks that we as the movement can use to make decisions when we are brought into conflicts.” Coventry, who will be the committee’s first female president, said she felt hypocritical banning countries over international conflicts when countries in Africa — the continent from which she hails — are facing similar tensions. The Olympic committee banned the Russian team from competing in the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics amid the continued onslaught against Ukraine. (The Russian national team had been suspended from previous international competitions due to a doping scandal.) Russian athletes were allowed to compete in the games as “individual neutral athletes.” This meant the athletes represented themselves in the games and could not invoke Russian nationalistic symbols like the flag or anthem or participate in some ceremonies - Politico

George Foreman, the two-time world heavyweight boxing champion and Olympic gold medalist whose legendary rivalry with Muhammad Ali culminated in the famous ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ title bout, died Friday according to a verified social media account dedicated to Foreman. He was 76. The Instagram post reads: “Our hearts are broken. With profound sorrow, we announce the passing of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr. who peacefully departed on March 21, 2025 surrounded by loved ones. A devout preacher, a devoted husband, a loving father, and a proud grand and great grandfather, he lived a life marked by unwavering faith, humility, and purpose. A humanitarian, an Olympian, and two time heavyweight champion of the world, he was deeply respected — a force for good, a man of discipline, conviction, and a protector of his legacy, fighting tirelessly to preserve his good name— for his family.” Known as one of the most powerful punchers in boxing history, Foreman won Olympic gold in only his 25th amateur fight, devastated one of the all-time greats in Joe Frazier and went on to retain the heavyweight title twice before his now-iconic 1974 fight with Ali in Kinshasha, Zaire - now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo. Foreman also enjoyed major success as an entrepreneur, with his “George Foreman Lean Mean Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine” product debuting in 1994 and going on to sell more than 100 million units worldwide.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) joined Voice of America (VOA) employees and their unions in filing a legal complaint against the US Agency for Global Media (USAGM) — the federal agency that oversees VOA — as well as USAGM top executives. Donald Trump ordered the dismantling of USAGM on March 14, 2025, gutting the federal agency that supervises vital independent media outlets such as Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), and Radio Free Asia (RFA). On March 15, VOA employees were placed on administrative leave, violating the rights of VOA journalists and USAGM’s legally required functions. RSF’s work to defend journalists and the public’s right to reliable information has been gravely impaired by the elimination of VOA as it is among the most reliable — if not the only — source of independent information in many parts of the world where RSF and its correspondents operate. VOA was established in 1942 to combat Nazi propaganda with accurate information. While the outlet operates with federal funding, it has been editorially independent from the US government as stipulated by the 1994 US Broadcasting Act, which prohibits interference by government officials. It is the largest and oldest US international broadcaster, producing digital, TV, and radio content in 47 languages. VOA journalists report from around the world and face serious danger to keep the public informed. Two are currently detained: Sithu Aung Myint was arrested in 2021 on charges of incitement and defaming the military in Myanmar and Pham Chi Dung is serving a 15-year sentence in a Vietnamese prison.

This Briefing is reprinted with the author’s permission. Please find the original here.