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A federal judge struck down $100,000 fee for H-1B visas. Last fall, the Trump administration imposed a $100,000 fee for immigrants attempting to enter the United States on an H-1B visa. U.S. District Judge Leo Sorokin ruled that action unlawful, finding that the fee constituted a tax that the president has no authority to impose. The tech industry relies heavily on the H-1B program, which each year authorizes 85,000 immigrants with 鈥渉ighly specialized knowledge鈥� to work in the U.S. for up to six years.
Our coverage: Why India may be the winner from Trump鈥檚 H-1B price hike

The United States aims to strip citizenship of several alleged criminals. The Justice Department on Monday announced it had filed denaturalization cases against 17 people accused of crimes including fraud and sexual abuse of a minor. The department is working to ensure 鈥淯.S. citizenship is granted to those who truly deserve it,鈥� said acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. Stripping foreign-born Americans of citizenship isn鈥檛 a simple process; the government must file actions in federal district court. As of 2023, just less than half of immigrants in the U.S. were naturalized citizens.

Two U.S. troops whose helicopter crashed near Iran are 鈥渇ine,鈥� President Trump said Monday. The pilots were rescued after their Apache gunship went down yesterday, according to the New York Times, which broke the news. It鈥檚 not clear whether the helicopter experienced mechanical failure or hostile fire near the Strait of Hormuz. No statement has yet been issued by U.S. Central Command, which last week warned that Iran has been launching one-way attack drones into the Strait. A report about the crash will be released today, President Trump said.
Our coverage: After another round of retaliation, Iran and Israel say they will hold off for now

In a speech to Spain鈥檚 Parliament, Pope Leo XIV urged ending 鈥渄ivisive narratives.鈥� Leo鈥檚 remarks called for management of migration flows while also addressing root causes that force people to leave. The leader of Spain鈥檚 right-wing party Vox, which opposed the left-leaning government鈥檚 plan to grant amnesty to 500,000 undocumented migrants, joined the seven-minute standing ovation. The pope had also championed conservative values such as strengthening the family unit. It was the first ever speech by a pope to the Congress of Deputies in Madrid.

Sweden is set to ban mobile phones in schools. The effort, which will begin this fall, is part of a broad reversal on the use of screens in classrooms. The Swedish center-right coalition government is prioritizing more reading time and less screen time, particularly among preschool students, by favoring books and other traditional learning tools. Sweden鈥檚 plans are part of a broader shift and an international digital reckoning against smartphones. 鈥� The Associated Press

An Indian shopkeeper was hailed for his unselfish efforts to help people escape a fire. On Wednesday, a blaze at a multistory hotel in the Malviya Nagar neighborhood of Delhi killed 22 people. Riyazuddin Mansoori and his son dragged 22 new mattresses from their nearby store to create a cushioned landing for people leaping from the burning building. It enabled 12 people to jump to safety. The stock had been worth thousands of rupees. 鈥淚 was only thinking about saving lives, not the losses,鈥� said Mr. Mansoori.

鈥� Compiled by Monitor writers around the world

President Donald Trump keeps saying that a Middle East peace deal is close at hand. But a new round of direct attacks between Israel and Iran raises questions about when 鈥� and how 鈥� this war will ultimately come to an end.聽聽

Election officials chalk up聽the delay to the large number of ballots cast by mail, and the extra time it takes to verify them. But some experts say the slow count can further undermine trust in elections.聽

Many predicted a rightward political shift in Peru's presidential runoff. But the statistically tied preliminary results underscore a deep polarization that reaches across the region.

The World Cup always brings a host of issues with it. But between astronomical ticket prices, combatant competitors, and immigration enforcement worries, this year鈥檚 edition seems to have more than its fair share.

As heat waves intensify across India, air conditioners are shifting from an aspirational good to a survival tool, giving rise to a new AC rental market in major cities. What does it take to stay cool in Delhi?

In the mid-1600s, Maryland settlers pioneered a form of religious liberty, in part, as a way to bring in more settlers. Their Toleration Act didn鈥檛 last, but its spirit is present in America鈥檚 founding documents.

Though smaller than most U.S. states, the landlocked nation of Armenia plays a key geopolitical role at the continental crossroads of Eurasia. With few natural resources, it is aiming to recalibrate regional and global relations and become a hub for international tech, finance, and transport services. So, its parliamentary elections Sunday have been of interest not just to next-door Azerbaijan and Turkey, but also to Iran, Russia, Europe, and the distant United States.

The ruling Civil Contract party garnered 49.8% of the vote, Reuters reported, while the two main opposition parties together took in 33.1%. The degree to which both sides can find some common ground will determine how fast and how far this former Soviet republic can move out of history鈥檚 long shadow of ethnic conflict and external interference into an era of regional cooperation and progress. The memory of mass killings by Ottoman Turkish rulers some 110 years ago has fed persistent demands for global condemnation of those deaths as a genocide. More recently, the loss of lives and territory after three wars with Azerbaijan has compounded a sense of persecution and isolation.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, first elected in 2018 (after he led nonviolent anti-corruption protests), has sought to reshape both politics and perceptions of identity.

鈥淭he page of hatred should be turned,鈥� Mr. Pashinyan told supporters when he first took office. The task, as he sees it, is not to restore a lost past but to build a future-focused 鈥淩eal Armenia.鈥� Or 鈥淩ealistic Armenia,鈥� as an analyst dubbed this approach, describing it to France 24 TV as 鈥渆xchanging traditional fears and resentment for more pragmatic policies.鈥�

Mr. Pashinyan has pursued relations with Turkey (dropping genocide references) and peace with Azerbaijan (acknowledging its 2023 takeover of a disputed territory). To counter Russia鈥檚 influence, he has strengthened ties with the West.

Last August, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to work with the United States to build a transport corridor along Armenia鈥檚 southern border (which adjoins Iran). Tehran is not pleased about U.S. involvement. But the route is expected to generate regional benefits by easing trade with Turkey and Central Asia.

In May, Turkey鈥檚 vice president attended a summit in Armenia. In April, Turkey鈥檚 president acknowledged 鈥渙ur shared pain鈥� over the violence of 1915-1917. There is talk of reopening borders. Both sides 鈥渟eem to be reaching for a way for people to live with ... memory, rather than inside it,鈥� John Paul Rathbone of the Financial Times observed last week, hailing this 鈥減eacemaking ... as a minor miracle in a troubled world.鈥�

But Armenians have mixed feelings about the peace-for-land deal with Azerbaijan, with 44% supporting it and 41% opposed. And some still lean toward Russia, as evidenced by voter support for the two Moscow-aligned parties.

The country鈥檚 reelected prime minister has urged Armenians to weave a civic identity that is disentangled from ethnicity and ideals 鈥渓eft over from the past.鈥� This requires a change of thought, a readiness to leave old markers for new signposts.

鈥淭he only formula for being viable,鈥� Mr. Pashinyan has said, is through 鈥渞eflection, self-reflection, the ability to change and transform.鈥�