Trump would 'love' to meet Kim Jong Un again, but no word from North Korea
U.S. President Donald Trump has extended multiple invitations to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ahead of his visit to South Korea this week, wit...
Texas has halted new funding for construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, a major policy shift after four years of investment in one of Governor Greg Abbott’s flagship immigration initiatives.
The change, reflected in the state’s newly approved budget, ends additional allocations for the wall, which Abbott once touted as a multibillion-dollar project. Only 104 kilometres (65 miles) of the barrier have been built so far — a small portion of Texas’s 1,931 kilometres (1,200-mile) border with Mexico.
Abbott’s office said the decision was influenced by what it described as stronger federal enforcement under President Donald Trump’s current administration.
“Thanks to President Trump’s bold leadership, the federal government is finally fulfilling its obligation to secure the southern border and deport criminal illegal immigrants,” said Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris.
“Because of these renewed federal assets in Texas, our state can now adjust aspects of state-funded border security efforts,” Abbott added.
The Texas Tribune first reported the budget shift.
The wall’s construction has been hampered by slow progress, complicated land acquisition, and opposition from landowners and environmental groups. Critics say the project is ineffective and politically driven.
“There was no need for it in the first place,” said Scott Nicol of Friends of the Wildlife Corridor, a conservation organization in the Rio Grande Valley. “The only thing that’s changed is the political dynamic.”
Texas lawmakers have now approved about $3.4 billion for border security over the next two years, but this funding is earmarked for personnel and operations — specifically the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard — under Operation Lone Star, Abbott’s immigration enforcement initiative launched in 2021.
That amount is down from the $6.5 billion allocated in the previous two-year budget cycle.
Although new funds have ceased, the Texas Facilities Commission — the agency managing wall construction — still has $2.5 billion in previously approved funding. This will be used to build up to 136 more kilometres (85 more miles) of the wall by 2026.
Republican Senator Joan Huffman, the Senate’s lead budget writer, said the remaining funds “will set the federal government up for success.”
Local activists and environmental advocates continue to oppose the wall.
“This wall should have never been built, it’s useless,” said Bekah Hinojosa of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network. “It divides our community.”
The slowdown comes as unauthorized border crossings have declined significantly in 2025, altering the perceived urgency that once surrounded the wall’s construction.
At least 69 people have died and almost 150 injured following a powerful 6.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Cebu City in the central Visayas region of the Philippines, officials said, making it one of the country’s deadliest disasters this year.
A tsunami threat was issued in Chile after a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the Drake Passage on Friday. The epicenter was located 135 miles south of Puerto Williams on the north coast of Navarino Island.
The war in Ukraine has reached a strategic impasse, and it seems that the conflict will not be solved by military means. This creates a path toward one of two alternatives: either a “frozen” phase that can last indefinitely or a quest for a durable political regulation.
A shooting in Nice, southeastern France, left two people dead and five injured on Friday, authorities said.
Snapchat will start charging users who store more than 5GB of photos and videos in its Memories feature, prompting backlash from long-time users.
U.S. President Donald Trump has extended multiple invitations to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ahead of his visit to South Korea this week, with Seoul officials publicly supporting the idea.
A man accused of fatally shooting former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe admitted to murder on Tuesday in the first hearing of the case, media said, three years after the assassination of Japan's longest-serving premier stunned the nation.
Talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Istanbul to broker a long-term truce have ended without a resolution, two sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday, a blow for peace in the region after deadly clashes this month.
A Brussels conference has called for the right of return for Western Azerbaijanis, citing international law and historic displacement.
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