Student visas, Germany-Israel, King Charles in Canada
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Today, the Trump administration calls for no new student visa appointments and increased social media vetting. Germany threatens steps against Israel as its tone shifts over Gaza. And King Charles expresses his love for a strong and free Canada. It's Wednesday, May 28th. This is Reuters World News, bringing you everything you need to know from the front lines in 10 minutes every weekday. I'm Tara Oakes in Liverpool.

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The Trump administration has ordered its missions abroad to stop scheduling new appointments for student and exchange visa applicants. An internal cable seen by Reuters says the State Department is preparing to expand social media vetting of foreign students. Deputy US foreign policy editor Humeyra Pamuk has this story.

They're saying if you already have a visa appointment, that's fine, that can go ahead. But do not make any new visa appointments. We do not want any new interviews because we're going to give you a new set of guidelines and rules on how to vet these students.

And while we don't know right now what exactly those guidelines will be, we can make an educated guess that they will likely be a screening of all of their social media, probably Facebook, Instagram.

Instagram, maybe TikTok, and take a look at what they've said about the United States, perhaps what they've said about the Trump administration, what they've said about some of the topics that the Trump administration feels strongly about, like immigration or Israel and Hamas war or overall Gaza war, basically. I spoke with a couple of U.S. officials who work in consular

sections of various U.S. embassies around the world. And they're kind of saddened by this. They just think that this is going to discourage a lot of prospective students from coming to the United States because they feel that they're going to be reprimanded for what they think.

And that was one major point that the State Department officials have made, that this would probably discourage a lot of students and drive them away to destinations like UK, Canada and Europe, where there are also equally good schools. President Vladimir Putin's conditions for ending the war in Ukraine include a demand that Western leaders pledge in writing to stop enlarging NATO eastwards and lift a chunk of sanctions on Russia.

That's according to Russian sources with knowledge of the negotiations. US President Donald Trump says Putin is "playing with fire" by refusing to engage in ceasefire talks with Ukraine. The latest launch of SpaceX's Starship from Texas, the ninth test flight ended with the craft spinning out of control about halfway through, without achieving some of its most important goals.

But CEO Elon Musk posted on social media lots of good data to review. Reuters understands that Israel and Syria are in direct contact aimed at calming tensions between the two. Sources say that in recent weeks face-to-face meetings have been held. It would mark a significant development in ties between the two countries.

Large crowds rushing to receive aid packages in the southern Gazan city of Rafah. Thousands of desperate Palestinians descended on the site, operated by a foundation backed by the United States and Israel. Dozens were injured in the rush to get food, according to the UN Human Rights Office. While Israel and the US roll out their new aid distribution for Gaza, relations between Israel and Europe are showing strain.

Germany's foreign minister has threatened unspecified measures against the country, saying Berlin would not export weapons used to break humanitarian law.

It's the most severe rebuke yet from him and Chancellor Friedrich Merz over Gaza. Thomas Eskritt is in Berlin. I think you can look at it from a short-term and a long-term perspective. The long-term perspective is that there has been growing public disquiet at Israel's actions in Gaza for the past year at least. And to some extent, this is quite simply the German government responding to that.

More immediately, Israel had promised to unfreeze aid shipments to Gaza by the 25th of May. Nothing happened. Aid shipments still weren't going through. And that, I think, gave the principles in Friedrich Marx's coalition cover to announce a policy change. Why is this so significant, a change in positioning for Germany?

There have been three key pillars to Germany's post-war foreign policy. One was European integration inside the European Union. The other was Atlanticism, a strong believer in the NATO alliance and alliance with Washington. And the third was largely unconditional backing for Israel as a form of atonement. So even a rhetorical shift on this, and this is a rhetorical shift coming from a very conservative chancellor,

is really very significant in that sense. Just purely on a rhetorical level, it says to Israeli governments that they can't expect cover of quite the same nature from Germany in future. And France and the UK have also shifted position recently. Was that significant for Germany?

I think the fact that France and Britain have shifted their positions, they increased the pressure on Germany to make a move. Germany doesn't like to be too far away from its European neighbours in foreign policy terms. In practical terms, there's a lot Germany could do. It's one of the largest military suppliers to Israel. The Israeli Navy is largely German-made. But also,

Germany is the largest importer of Israeli goods. It remains to be seen how they translate this rhetorical shift, which I think is definitely significant, into actual practical power politics. Markets now, and the big event today will be Nvidia earnings results.

Company watchers are expecting the chip giant to report a 66% surge in first quarter revenue to over $43 billion. But traders will also be monitoring how much US technology curbs on China will cost the AI bellwether. Uncertainty surrounding its China business looms large, even as a pullback in other regulations is set to open up new markets.

Keep across Reuters.com and the Reuters app for the earnings latest. As the anthem reminds us, the true north is indeed strong and free. King Charles sitting on a large throne and just feet away from Prime Minister Mark Carney during a speech in Canada's Senate. His address didn't mention Donald Trump by name, but the speech is being seen as a message to the United States.

David Youngren was watching. It's only the second time in almost 70 years that the British monarch, who of course is the Canadian monarch, has come to formally open Parliament in Canada. The monarch doesn't come at all unless specifically invited.

So in the context of the threats being made against Canada by the US administration, Prime Minister Carney decided to invite the King over to read what is basically a formulaic speech, but one which sends a very powerful signal.

I'm the king. I love Canada. Canada is going to stay strong and free. And what's also interesting is that King Charles is not a well man. He's 74. He's being treated for cancer. And that, I think, shows commitment on his part because Prime Minister Carney asked him to come and he came. And to be clear, not only did the king not mention Trump by name, but he also didn't address the US president's comments about Canada directly, right?

Some had speculated that the government might want to send a fairly blunt message to Trump, but at a time when the US president is very much wrapped up in other huge battles, both at home and around the world, I think it's clear the Canadians decided just to keep as quiet as they could. Now, whether the United States actually picks up on that message is, of course, another thing altogether.

Our recommended read today is a detailed look at India's Mahakam Festival, held earlier this year. You can explore the extraordinary images and see the sheer scale of the event, which attracts millions of devotees. Take a look by following the link in the pod description. For more on any of the stories from today, check out Reuters.com or the Reuters app. Don't forget to follow us on your favourite podcast player, and we'll be back tomorrow with our daily headline show.