International News
International Secretariat News Brief Issue 5
Judge temporarily blocks Noems attempt to strip 350,000 Haitians of TPS stating in her decision:
She then notes that the plaintiffs who asked her to block the order, five Haitian TPS holders, “are not, it emerges, ‘killers, leeches, or entitlement junkies’”.
“They are instead: Fritz Emmanuel Lesly Miot, a neuroscientist researching Alzheimer’s disease; Rudolph Civil, a software engineer at a national bank; Marlene Gail Noble, a laboratory assistant in a toxicology department; Marica Merline Laguerre, a college economics major; and Vilbrun Dorsainvil, a full-time registered nurse”, the judge added.
See: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/02/trump-administration-blocked-tps-haitians
Caribbean countries reportedly succumb to US pressure re Cuban doctors, including hiring nurses from Ghana:
“…. Antigua, whose citizens have been barred from applying for tourist visas from this month[January 2026], has taken steps to hire more than 100 nurses from Ghana. Local opposition parties say the Ghanaians, who can number up to several hundred, will eventually replace the Cubans as authorities move to appease Washington and avoid other punishing sanctions that could hurt the tourism dependent federation with Barbuda.
Vietnamese, noting the US’s belligerent behavior, is preparing for a 2nd US invasion:
“The Vietnamese military analysts outline what they see as a progression over three American administrations — from Barack Obama, through Donald Trump’s first term, and into Joe Biden’s presidency — with Washington increasingly pursuing military and other relationships with Asian nations to “form a front against China.”
Link: https://apnews.com/article/vietnam-us-war-planning-china-115c4f9bc69d91e7afe6b4dba7dc460f
Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali have turned to Russia, now the US seeks engagement:
“…. the US also looks forward to co-operating with Mali’s allies, neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, “on shared security and economic interests”.
Absent from the agenda is the longstanding American concern for democracy and human rights. The Biden administration had halted military co-operation after coups deposed the elected civilian presidents of all three countries between 2020 and 2023, with Niger’s Mohamed Bazoum still locked up in his own residence.
Link: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckglwnrx437o