WASHINGTON — President Donald J. Trump’s administration has revoked around 80,000 non-immigrant visas since its inauguration on Jan. 20 for offenses ranging from driving under the influence to assault and theft, a senior State Department official said on Wednesday.

The extent of the revocations, first reported by Washington Examiner, reflects a broad immigration crackdown initiated when Mr. Trump came into office, deporting an unprecedented number of migrants including some who held valid visas.

The administration has also adopted a stricter policy on granting visas, with tightened social media vetting and expanded screening.

Around 16,000 of the visa revocations were tied to cases of driving under the influence, while about 12,000 were for assault and another 8,000 for theft.

“These three crimes accounted for almost half of revocations this year,” said the senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

In August, a State Department spokesperson said Washington had revoked more than 6,000 student visas for overstays and breaking the law, including a small number for “support for terrorism.”

The department also said last month that it had revoked the visas of at least six people over social media comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in May said he has revoked the visas of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people, including students, because of involvement in activities that he said went against US foreign policy priorities.

Directives from the State Department this year have ordered US diplomats abroad to be vigilant against any applicants whom Washington may see as hostile to the United States and with a history of political activism.

Trump administration officials have said that student visa and green card holders are subject to deportation over their support for Palestinians and criticism of Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza, calling their actions a threat to US foreign policy and accusing them of being pro-Hamas. — Reuters

SINGAPORE — Momentum on global climate action is waning as geopolitical issues pile uncertainties on businesses and governments, Singapore’s environment minister Grace Fu said on Thursday ahead of the Conference of the Parties (COP30) climate summit, which will convene from Nov. 10-21.

Aside from geopolitical tensions, higher energy and food prices have created “political headwinds” that are making it harder for countries to take the drastic climate actions that are required, she told reporters in a group interview.

“The fact that the US has pulled out of the Paris Agreement is an important factor… There are a lot of political considerations as well,” she added.

Around 50,000 delegates and 190 governments are expected to travel to the rainforest city of Belem in Brazil for the annual summit.

Ms. Fu said that despite the waning momentum, it is up to countries to find like-minded partners to collaborate on combating climate change.

Singapore is already working to sign implementation agreements with “a dozen or so” countries that will allow it to source carbon credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, she said.

It signed its 10^th agreement with Mongolia in October, establishing a legally binding framework to generate and transfer carbon credits from carbon mitigation projects.

“We hope that a lot more can be done to harmonize the regulations… The disclosure standards, (and) also to build breadth and depth in the market,” Ms. Fu said.

The choice of the rainforest city of Belem as the venue for the summit this year has created logistical challenges for countries as nightly hotel rates soared amid a shortage of beds.

Ms. Fu said the Singapore delegation has been cut by about half compared to last year, with the Sustainability and Environment Ministry mindful of the costs of sending delegates and the need to lighten the load on Belem’s public infrastructure, including the use of private hire cars to travel to and from conference venues.

According to climate publication Carbon Brief, Singapore sent 262 delegates to COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan last year. — Reuters

CAIRO — Egypt’s former tourism and antiquities minister Khaled El-Enany is set to be confirmed as head of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Thursday, despite criticism from heritage groups that he had failed to protect cultural treasures at home such as Cairo’s “City of the Dead.”

Mr. Enany, 54, was elected last month by UNESCO’s 58-member Executive Board with 55 votes, beating Edouard Firmin Matoko of Congo-Brazzaville. His appointment as the first Arab director-general of the UN cultural and education agency will be put to a formal confirmation vote of all 194 member states at the agency’s general conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

PARTS OF HISTORIC SITE DEMOLISHED
The Berlin-based NGO World Heritage Watch last week urged countries to reconsider the appointment, arguing that Mr. Enany’s record as minister raised questions about his commitment to preserving cultural sites.

In a letter signed by more than 50 organizations and experts, it cited the demolition of parts of Cairo’s historic necropolis, the “City of the Dead,” and the expansion of tourism works near St. Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, both UNESCO World Heritage sites.

“It is irresponsible to entrust someone with such a past with the top job at the organization responsible for preserving world heritage,” the group said.

Reuters was unable to reach Mr. Enany directly for comment. Before last month’s executive board vote, his campaign said he was too busy to respond to questions sent by Reuters about criticism of his record. The campaign added in a statement that “the unfortunate mega-project that the government decided to carry out in the St. Catherine’s area is currently halted.”

Following his election, the campaign declined to comment further and referred the questions to the UNESCO Secretariat, which did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

‘ERASING EGYPT’S HISTORY’
An Egyptologist and former museum director, Mr. Enany served as minister from 2016 to 2022. UNESCO documents describe Mr. Enany’s former ministry as the “official entity responsible” for UNESCO World Heritage property in Cairo’s historic area.

Conservationists argue that gave the ministry a duty to map and register assets, set site boundaries, press for impact assessments before launching projects and object when those projects threatened what UNESCO dubs areas of outstanding universal value.

Instead, they say, highway and bridge projects that accelerated from 2020 cut through swathes of unregistered mausoleums in the “City of the Dead,” a 10 sq km (3.9 sq miles) necropolis fringing eastern Cairo.

Many families still bury their dead in the area, amid ornate tombs of Mamluk sultans, nationalist leaders and Islamic scholars such as Imam al-Shafi’i.

“What happened in the cemeteries is erasing a huge part of Egypt’s history,” said heritage advocate Sally Soliman, who has filed lawsuits to stop demolitions.

Egypt’s government has defended the developments, saying registered monuments were spared and that infrastructure work was essential to revitalize tourism and modernize Cairo.

In South Sinai, critics say the “Great Transfiguration” project that began in 2021 around St. Catherine’s Monastery replaced a small visitor center with large domed buildings that clashed with the ancient site’s design and setting.

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee earlier this year requested an expert mission to assess the site.

DIPLOMATIC MOMENTUM
Despite the controversy, Mr. Enany’s bid has drawn strong support from Arab and African nations, which have long sought greater representation at the helm of the organization.

“Egypt’s candidature is overdue representation,” Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said in Paris last month. “We have to lift this historical injustice to Egypt, to the Arabs, to the Muslims, and to the Africans.”

Mr. Enany has pledged to “build a UNESCO for the people,” streamline decision-making and diversify funding as the agency braces for the withdrawal of US financial contributions at the end of 2026.

A UNESCO spokesperson said the election of the director-general was “a sovereign decision of member states.”

If confirmed, Mr. Enany will take office in mid-November, succeeding France’s Audrey Azoulay, who has completed two four-year terms. — Reuters