International
US releases beneficiary countries for visa-free in 2025
The list also does not include any African countries, such as Nigeria, Ghana, or South Africa.
The US Bureau of Consular Affairs website has released the list of eligible countries for its 2025 Visa Waiver Programme.
The Visa Waiver Programme allows most citizens or nationals of participating countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business for up to 90 days without obtaining a visa.
According to the agency, travellers must have a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) approval prior to travel and meet all requirements explained below.
It said: ” If you prefer to have a visa in your passport, you may still apply for a visitor visa.”
The new Visa Waiver Programme for 2025 introduces policy updates on permit eligibility and revisions to the list of participating countries, as well as new travel policies.
This update simplifies visa-free entry into the United States for millions worldwide, making business, tourism, and transit travel more accessible. The 2025 Visa Waiver Programme includes 40 countries whose citizens can now travel to the United States without a visa.
The United Kingdom was excluded from the program but remains eligible under specific conditions.
The list also does not include any African countries, such as Nigeria, Ghana, or South Africa. While most of the VWP list remains unchanged, the addition of Romania marks a significant update.
The US has also focused on enhancing security checks and prioritizing countries with strong diplomatic ties and border security standards.
International
Just In: People trapped in Japanese mall hit by earthquake, with others missing after factory chimney collapse
Reports in Japan say 20 to 30 shopping centre staff may be missing – but the figure has not been confirmed.
Image credit : BBC
Many people are trapped inside a Japanese shopping centre after an earthquake, the fire service says.
One witness reported the second floor of the mall in Kumamoto collapsing – BBC Verify has looked at some of the images from the site.
Reports in Japan say 20 to 30 shopping centre staff may be missing – but the figure has not been confirmed
Elsewhere in the Kumamoto prefecture, people are reported missing at a paper factory after a chimney collapsed
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit inland on Kyushu island at 16:27 local time (07:27 GMT), causing power cuts, damaged roads, a collapsed castle wall, and a destroyed footbridge.
International
India’s Gen Z protesters force out education minister
The latest education protests erupted in May after NEET, India’s biggest medical entrance exam, was cancelled following a question paper leak, forcing nearly two million students to retake the test. More than 20 students died by suicide, with their families blaming the scandal.
Indian’s Gen Z protesters have forced out the education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation on Saturday, after more than a week of intense street protests.
In the words of 22-year-old Sakhi, a student activist in Delhi, “for the first time, it felt like we can make things happen through protests”.Soon after Pradhan quit, social media seized on an old video of a senior Modi minister boasting that “resignations do not happen in our government”, reflecting the confidence of the nationwide youth movement that had demanded his exit.
The latest education protests erupted in May after NEET, India’s biggest medical entrance exam, was cancelled following a question paper leak, forcing nearly two million students to retake the test. More than 20 students died by suicide, with their families blaming the scandal.
The outrage was channelled by the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), an online campaign launched after India’s chief justice likened unemployed people with “fake and bogus degrees” to cockroaches.
Its founders staged a sit-in in Delhi, demanding Pradhan’s resignation, education reforms and compensation for the bereaved families.
International
Spain and France wildfires force more than 300,000 to flee as Macron calls crisis meeting
The fire, which began in the Southwest of France in Gironde on Wednesday, has burned 42,000 hectares and has forced one of the largest evacuations in France’s history.
•Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME) and Castilla-y-Leon unit’s firefighters battle a fire in a forest next to La Atalaya residential area in El Tiemblo, 80 kms west of Madrid, on July 25, 2026. (Photo by Cesar MANSO / AFP via Getty Images)Cesar Manso | Afp | Getty Images
Wildfires are ravaging southern France and spreading into Spain, forcing more than 300,000 people to flee ahead of further expected heatwaves during the week.
French President Emmanuel Macron is set to hold a crisis cabinet meeting on Monday, while Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will visit areas hit by fires in Valencia, in the East of Spain.
The fire, which began in the Southwest of France in Gironde on Wednesday, has burned 42,000 hectares and has forced one of the largest evacuations in France’s history, according to French broadcaster France 24 and local news outlets.
The wildfires have also affected 77,000 hectares of the Avila and Toledo areas in Western Madrid.
The situation remains highly unfavorable,” France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on X on Saturday, according to a Google translation.
“At the start of the night, in Gironde, the fire became extremely virulent and unpredictable again, generating its own wind and spreading erratically toward the Bordeaux metropolitan area. By the end of the night, it had calmed down somewhat.”
Source: CNBC
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