proposes

The new plan follows a proclamation on Friday requiring a $100,000 fee for new H-1B applications.

The White House has released a proposal that would rework the H-1B visa selection process to favour higher-skilled and better-paid workers, according to a Federal Register notice.

The new proposal released on Tuesday followed a White House proclamation on Friday introducing a $100,000 fee for the visas.

The new process, if finalised, would give heavier weight to applications by employers who pay high wages if annual requests for the visas exceed the statutory limit of 85,000, the notice said. The move aims to better protect US workers from unfair wage competition from foreign workers, it said.

United States President Donald Trump launched a wide-ranging immigration crackdown after taking office in January, including a push for mass deportations and trying to block citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants born in the US. In recent days, his administration has intensified its focus on the H-1B programme, popular with technology and outsourcing companies for hiring skilled foreign workers.

The administration said on Friday that it would ask companies to pay $100,000 per year for each H-1B visa. Some big tech companies warned visa holders to stay in the US or quickly return, sparking a chaotic scramble to get back to the US. The White House later clarified the fee would apply only to new visas.

On Wall Street, tech company stocks have not responded well to the looming changes. Shares in Amazon, which sponsors the most H-1B visas of any company, have tumbled by almost 5 percent over the past five days.

The planned regulation posted on Tuesday would change an existing lottery process to obtain the visas if demand surpasses supply in a given year, creating wage tiers through which higher-paying jobs would have a better chance of being selected.

The process to finalise a regulation can take months or even years. The notice suggested that the new rules could be in place for the 2026 lottery, meaning before a March registration period.

The total wages paid to H-1B workers were expected to increase to $502m in fiscal year 2026, which begins on October 1, the notice said, citing US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) estimates.

Those wages would increase by $1bn in fiscal 2027, $1.5bn in fiscal 2028 and $2bn in fiscal 2029-2035, it said.

An estimated 5,200 small businesses that currently receive H-1B visas would suffer a significant economic impact due to loss of labour, DHS said.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services, which issued the proposal, will give the public 30 days to comment starting on Wednesday, the notice said.

Slowing job market

The heightened requirements were proposed as a new AP-NORC poll was released that suggested about six in 10 US adults think companies see a major benefit from immigrants entering the US workforce, up from four in 10 in March 2024.

According to the poll, 51 percent of US adults said a “major” benefit of legal immigration is that US companies get the expertise of skilled workers in fields like science and technology.

The new proposal comes as job growth stalls in the US.

In August, the economy added only 22,000 jobs, according to the most recent jobs report released by the Department of Labor.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell cited Trump’s hardline immigration policy as a reason for a slowdown in the jobs market and part of the central bank’s rationale for cutting interest rates by 25 basis points last week, the first cut since December.

Sept. 5 (UPI) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s government has introduced a new tax reform bill in Congress to cover the $6.3 billion shortfall in the 2026 budget. It is the third tax reform of his administration and is intended to secure the $139 billion the state says it needs next year.

In 2022, Petro introduced his first tax reform, which was approved and raised $2.7 billion. In 2024, however, Congress rejected a similar proposal seeking $3 billion, leaving the 2025 budget unfunded and forcing the executive branch to issue it by decree.

The initiative, presented Sept. 1 by Finance Minister Germán Ávila, faces strong opposition in Congress and has become the center of a political battle over fiscal sustainability, public security and the finances of millions of Colombians.

The bill calls for higher taxes on high-income individuals and wealth, along with new levies on fuel, liquor and gambling. It would also tax foreign companies that provide digital services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and HBO.

Petro contends the bill seeks greater equity and will not affect the middle class or the poor, but will instead target the “mega rich.”

However, opposition leaders have rejected the measure, calling it poorly timed and harmful to the economy.

They argue that higher fuel taxes would raise food prices, directly affecting household budgets. They also criticize the government for imposing new burdens on citizens instead of cutting public spending.

On one of the most criticized points of the reform, Óscar Darío Pérez, a representative of the Democratic Center Party, said raising the income tax surcharge already paid by financial institutions — including banks, insurers and brokerage firms — 50% from 40% — would lead to more expensive loans or less access to the formal credit market.

Bruce Mac Master, president of the National Business Association of Colombia (Andi), has warned of a domino effect from the reform. He said it could raise production and transportation costs, hurting the country’s competitiveness.

“This reform will probably be the one that most affects Colombian families of all the projects presented in recent years,” Mac Master told local media.

Opposition lawmakers in Congress have vowed to block the bill, underscoring the governing challenges facing Petro, who needs support from the economic committees for the reform to advance.

“The government presents this only to follow the same strategy as last year. It puts forward impossible proposals and then blames Congress because this has no chance of passing,” Darío Pérez said.

“Colombia has a long history of tax reforms, with more than 21 attempts since 1990 and at least 14 significant reforms since 2000,” political analyst Mauricio Morris noted.

He added that each administration has pursued changes with different aims, from broadening the tax base to encouraging investment or confronting fiscal crises.

An easyJet flight to Spain “erupted” recently as a man proposed to his partner in an unexpected way. Passengers were left floored as the romantic incident played out

Over the years people have witnessed all sorts of weird and wonderful marriage proposals, and it’s not the first time one has taken place in the air. Recently a man was captured proposing to his partner while travelling to Spain on an easyJet flight, and it’s left people totally stunned.

A video of the romantic moment was recently shared on TikTok by Nicki Gunner, and it’s since gone viral, as people can’t believe how it played out on the flight. Over a clip of the video, Nicki wrote: “Nothing beats an easyJet proposal outside the toilets on a flight to Benidorm.”

The video has been viewed over 80,000 times since it was shared, and people were left in total disbelief that it happened. In the clip, the man is seen holding his partner’s hands, while standing outside the loo, and popping the question – and it’s not the first romantic tale to have unfolded on a plane.

After chatting, the man gets down on one knee, and takes a ring out of his pocket before popping the question. The plane then erupts into cheers after his partner says “yes”.

A flight attendant is heard congratulating the couple after the brilliant moment takes place. People had all sorts of thoughts and questions after the video was posted, with many questioning why he chose the plane journey to ask for her hand in marriage.

One person said: “Why not propose on the holiday?” Another added: “This is real romance.”

A third joked: “Engaged on the plane, married at baggage claim and honeymoon in Benidorm.” Meanwhile, a fourth commented: “Imagine walking out of the loo, and everyone clapping in your direction.”

Someone else also chimed in with: “Cute. They probably have been on holiday several times going on easyJet. They may have met on easyJet, It means something.

“Don’t mock people for having connections. I’ve seen way worse – a man proposing at his kebab shop; however, it still has meaning.”

Some also pointed out that you can’t fly directly to Benidorm, but you can travel to Alicante-Elche Airport, as this is the closest airport to the resort. From here, you can take a bus, taxi or shuttle transfer from Alicante Airport to Benidorm, as there is no airport directly in the town itself.

None the less, many understood what Nicki meant, and were keen to celebrate the couple’s happiness. Several offered kind words to the newly engaged couple.

One said: “Just let them enjoy life. We don’t know the backstory. [It] could be they met on a plane, could be this is when he knew that he loved her. People are so sad to put these people down for what they are doing.”

Another replied: “Maybe she works for easyJet and he surprised her by getting on the flight. Sounds like the crew knew about it. That’s cute.”

Someone else also added: “They might have met on this same route 10 years ago. This might be really sentimental. Congratulations to them.”

United States President Donald Trump has announced plans to convene a face-to-face summit between Russian leader Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his latest bid to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Trump’s proposal on Monday came as he hosted Zelenskyy and top European leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, at the White House for high-stakes talks on ending the conflict, which has raged since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Trump said he had “begun arrangements” for the summit after speaking with Putin by phone, and that he would hold a trilateral meeting with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts following their two-way meeting.

“Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

“Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte separately confirmed that Putin had agreed to the bilateral meeting, but did not specify a date or location.

Zelenskyy, who described his meeting with Trump as a “very good conversation,” told reporters that he was “ready” to meet the Russian leader one-on-one.

Moscow did not immediately confirm that it had agreed to a summit, but Russia’s state-run TASS news agency cited presidential aide Yuri Ushakov as saying that Putin and Trump “spoke in favour of continuing direct talks” between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations.

The proposals for a summit, which would be the first meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy since Moscow’s invasion, came as the fraught issue of security guarantees for Ukraine took centre stage during the talks at the White House.

The specifics of what those guarantees would look like remained unclear on Monday.

Asked if the US could send peacekeepers to Ukraine, Trump said that European countries would be the “first line of defence”, but that Washington would provide “a lot of help”.

“We’re going to help them out also, we’re going to be involved,” Trump said.

Trump said on Truth Social later that discussions had focused on which security guarantees would be provided by European countries with “coordination” by the US.

Zelenskyy said that the guarantees would be “unpacked” by Kyiv’s partners and formalised within the next week to 10 days.

While Trump has ruled out NATO membership for Ukraine, his special envoy, Witkoff, said on Sunday that Putin was open to a security guarantee resembling the 32-member alliance’s collective defence mandate.

Under Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, an armed attack against any one NATO member nation is considered an attack on all members of the alliance.

Speaking on Fox News after Monday’s talks, Rutte called Washington’s commitment to be involved in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security a “breakthrough”, but said the exact nature of that involvement would be discussed over the coming days.

Rutte said the discussions had not touched on the possibility of deploying US or European troops.

“What we all agree on is that if this war does come to end… it has to be definitive – that Russia will never, ever, ever again try to get a catch a square mile of territory of Ukraine post a peace deal,” Rutte said.

Konstantin Sonin, a Russian exile and Putin critic who is a professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, said that meaningful security guarantees for Kyiv would need to include European troops on the ground.

“This is all ‘unacceptable’ to Putin, so for European leaders, it is the question how to persuade President Trump that without such guarantees, the war, even if it stops now, will start again in the near future,” Sonin told Al Jazeera.

Sonin said that Ukraine had been failed by “written” guarantees for decades, including during Moscow’s 2014 invasion and occupation of Crimea.

“Russia has signed many international treaties recognising Ukraine’s sovereignty and borders – including Putin himself signing one such treaty in 2004 – and still violated all of these treaties, both in 2014 and 2022,” Sonin said.

“This is all to say that the sticking point is not the language in some documents,” he added.

The issue of what territory Kyiv might be asked to give up in a peace deal also remained unclear after the talks at the White House.

Ahead of the meeting, Trump warned that the return to Ukraine of Russian-occupied Crimea would be off the table in any negotiated settlement.

Trump has indicated that a deal to end the war would involve “some swapping, changes in land” between Russia and Ukraine.

Russia controls about one-fifth of Ukraine, according to open-source estimates. Ukraine, which took control of a large swath of Russia’s Kursk region during a surprise counter-offensive last year, is not believed to hold any Russian territory at present.

Speaking on Fox News, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said both Moscow and Kyiv would have to make concessions for a deal.

“Obviously, land or where you draw those lines – where the war stops – is going to be part of that conversation,” Rubio said.

“And it’s not easy, and maybe it’s not even fair, but it’s what it takes in order to bring about an end to a war. And that’s been true in every war.”

Zelenskyy, who has repeatedly ruled out handing over Ukrainian territory to Moscow, said on Monday that land would be an issue for him and Putin to work out between them.

“We will leave the issue of territories between me and Putin,” Zelenskyy told reporters.