Trump revoking protections for Cubans, Haitians and other migrants

US President Donald Trump's administration has said it will revoke the temporary legal status of more than half a million migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, BBC reported.

Those migrants have been warned to leave the country before their permits and deportation shield are cancelled on 24 April, according to a notice posted by the federal government.

The 530,000 migrants were brought into the US under a Biden-era sponsorship process known as CHNV that was designed to open legal migration pathways. Trump suspended the programme once he took office.

It is unclear how many of these migrants have been able to secure another status in the interim that would allow them to stay in the US legally, according to BBC.

South Korean court overturns impeachment of Prime Minister Han, reinstating him as acting president

South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Monday overturned the impeachment of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, reinstating the nation’s No. 2 official as acting leader, while not yet ruling on the separate impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Many observers said Monday’s ruling doesn’t signal much on the upcoming verdict on Yoon, as Han wasn’t a key figure in Yoon’s martial law imposition. But it could still embolden Yoon’s staunch supporters and ramp up their political offensive on the opposition, Associated Press reported.

Han became acting president after Yoon, a conservative, was impeached by the liberal opposition-controlled National Assembly over his Dec. 3 imposition of martial law that triggered a massive political crisis. But Han was impeached by the assembly as well in late December following political strife with opposition lawmakers.

Turkish President Erdogan's main rival jailed

The main rival to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been formally arrested and charged with corruption, BBC reported.

Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, wasdue to be selected as the Republican People's Party's (CHP) 2028 presidential nominee in a vote on Sunday. 

He has denied the allegations and said they are politically motivated. "I will never bow," he wrote on X before he was remanded in custody.

His detention sparked some of Turkey's largest protests in more than a decade. Erdogan has condemned the demonstrations and accused the CHP of trying to "disturb the peace and polarise our people".

Pro-monarchy protests and India

Whenever significant political developments unfold in Nepal, politicians are quick to draw connections to India. For instance, in 2021, when the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli dissolved Nepal’s Parliament, his own colleagues accused him of acting under India’s influence. Senior leaders from major parties, including Pushpa Kamal Dahal, publicly urged India to “stand in favor of democracy” in Nepal, arguing that Oli’s move was an attempt to undermine the 2015 constitution.

At the time, many political leaders speculated that India’s influence extended to Nepal’s judiciary, suggesting that the Supreme Court might validate Oli’s decision to dissolve Parliament. However, the court overturned Oli’s move, reinstated Parliament, and directed the then President Bidya Devi Bhandari to appoint Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba as the new prime minister.

Fast forward to the present, and pro-monarchy forces are mobilizing to restore the monarchy and what they describe as “true democracy.” Once again, whispers within Nepal’s ruling party suggest that India might be backing this movement. According to The Kathmandu Post, Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba raised this concern directly with her Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, during a recent meeting. Jaishankar reportedly denied any involvement, and upon her return from India, Deuba stated that she sensed no intention from India to alter Nepal’s current political system.

Despite these assurances, some politicians have pointed to the presence of a poster featuring Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath as “evidence” of India’s support—a claim widely dismissed as weak and unconvincing.

Foreign Minister Deuba’s blunt and undiplomatic remarks have drawn criticism from strategic circles. In a recent internal meeting, senior leaders of the CPN-UML discussed the possibility of “foreign forces” supporting royalist movements. Similarly, CPN (Maoist Center) Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal briefly alluded to external backing for the pro-monarchy campaign.

Political analyst Puranjan Acharya notes that while the Indian government may not officially support the monarchy, organizations like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), its affiliate Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and other Hindu nationalist groups have long advocated for Nepal to return to being a Hindu state. Acharya explains that while the Indian government is committed to secularism, these organizations are free to push their agendas in Nepal.

Arun Subedi, a foreign affairs advisor to a former prime minister, adds that while RSS and BJP may not directly support the pro-monarchy protests, India has become increasingly reactive to Nepal’s political developments due to geopolitical considerations.

Former Indian ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae emphasizes that Nepal’s issues must be resolved by its own people and leaders. In an op-ed published in India’s Deccan Herald, Rae stated that it is not in India’s interest to take sides in Nepal’s internal affairs. He also cautioned the Indian media, which has a significant audience in Nepal, against engaging in partisan rhetoric.

Rae further argued that instability in Nepal is detrimental to India’s interests as a turbulent Nepal could provide opportunities for external players to increase their influence, thereby jeopardizing India’s strategic position. Historically, both the monarchy and communist forces in Nepal have fueled anti-Indian sentiments and sought closer ties with China. For example, in 2005, shortly after assuming absolute power, King Gyanendra attempted to facilitate China’s entry into SAARC during the Dhaka Summit.

 

Geopolitical analyst Chandra Dev Bhatta believes there is no evidence of Indian backing for the pro-monarchy protests. Instead, he attributes the growing support for the monarchy to widespread public frustration with Nepal’s major political parties, which have failed to deliver on their promises. Bhatta stresses that the protests are driven by internal factors rather than external influence.