President Donald Trump’s administration has ​issued a pause on visa appointments for applicants around the world during ‌an ongoing immigration crackdown by the U.S. government in the Republican leader’s second term in the White House.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Tuesday that it launched a global training initiative at ​all U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide and that appointments for visa services ​will be adjusted to accommodate the training, Reuters reported.

Trump has pursued an aggressive deportation ⁠drive and immigration crackdown that includes revocations of visas and green cards and rejection ​of applications over a. range of reasons like political opinions and pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel’s ​assault on Gaza.

He says the crackdown aims to improve domestic security.

The crackdown has faced some legal setbacks. A U.S. judge on Friday struck down a Trump administration policy suspending the issuance of immigrant visas to applicants ​from 75 countries, saying that the policy exceeded Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statutory ​authority.

The State Department did not specify details on the training and its timeline, beyond saying the ‌training aimed ⁠to help consular officers screen out applicants deemed likely to become dependent on U.S. public benefits and to ensure evaluation of visa applicants “comprehensively and consistently.”

The pause on visa appointments was reported earlier by the Financial Times, which said immigrant visa applicants with scheduled ​interviews at U.S. embassies ​and consulates have ⁠received emails that their appointments were being rescheduled and that they would receive future notice of a new date.

Trump’s immigration crackdown has ​been widely condemned by human rights groups as being discriminatory and ​in violation ⁠of free speech and due process rights. Rights groups also say the crackdown has created an unsafe environment in the U.S., especially for ethnic minorities who have raised concerns about racial ⁠profiling.

While ​Trump campaigned in 2024 on a platform of stopping ​illegal immigration, his administration has also made legal immigration more difficult – for example, by imposing new and expensive fees ​for applicants of certain work visas.

U.S. CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Moscow on Tuesday for meetings with Russian officials, U.S. media outlets reported, citing unnamed ​sources.

The trip would be the first known visit to the Russian capital by ‌a U.S. spy chief since Ratcliffe’s predecessor, William Burns, held talks with Vladimir Putin in November 2021. About three months after that meeting, the Russian president launched Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported.

CBS News and Axios ​reported the visit by Ratcliffe, U.S. President Donald Trump’s CIA chief, who served ​as director of national intelligence in Trump’s first term. The outlets did ⁠not say whom he was meeting or what the talks are expected to cover.

The ​CIA declined to comment. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed nor denied the report, telling ​Reuters President Vladimir Putin did not plan to have a meeting with Ratcliffe.

The U.S. last week asked Ukraine not to launch air strikes around Moscow, St. Petersburg, and some northern territories of Russia on ​Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week because a plane carrying a senior U.S. ​official would be flying to the Russian capital, said a source familiar with the matter.

The source declined ‌to ⁠provide further information. The Financial Times first reported the U.S. message to Ukraine.

On Monday, the U.S. warned countries to cut business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions, a move aimed at stepping up economic pressure on Tehran to settle the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran ​launched in February.

The U.S. ​has no ambassador ⁠to Russia, which maintains a close strategic partnership with Iran involving extensive military, economic and diplomatic ties.

Tehran supplied Moscow with drones for its ​war against Ukraine. In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russia of ​supplying its ⁠version of those drones to Iran.

A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reported by Reuters in April said that Russia has aided Iran with satellite imagery for use in targeting U.S. facilities in the ⁠Middle East.

Moscow ​denies providing such assistance and has said it is ​ready to help resolve the U.S.-Iran conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Iran had tried to kill one of his sons, but gave no details about ​when the alleged plot took place, which son was targeted or how ‌close it came to being carried out, Reuters reported.

Netanyahu’s allegation underscores the heightened tensions since the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began in February, during which Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian ​leaders were killed.

Netanyahu, whose coalition is trailing in opinion polls two months ​before an October 27 general election, made the claim in a ⁠telephone interview with Israel’s Channel 14. He was responding to reports that one ​of Israel’s security agencies had refused to provide protection for a political rival ahead ​of the nationwide vote.

“As for my sons. Here, I think there is something quite unbelievable, yes. Iran targeted one of my sons. Iran tried to kill, to murder one of my sons,” ​Netanyahu told the conservative channel known for its favourable coverage of the government.

“Iran tried ​to murder one of my sons, and therefore this security protection is not a luxury,” he ‌said, ⁠without providing any further details about the alleged plot or how close it came to being carried out.

It was not immediately clear which of his sons he was referring to. Netanyahu’s elder son, Yair, lives in Miami.

Iran’s mission at the United Nations ​in New York ​did not immediately ⁠respond to a request for comment on the accusation.

Netanyahu also said he had told the Shin Bet security agency chief David ​Zini that appropriate security should be provided for any prime ministerial ​candidate.

Israeli media ⁠had reported earlier that Zini declined to provide security for Gadi Eisenkot and told the country’s election authority there was no plot to harm him, read the report.

Eisenkot’s party is projected ⁠to win ​the largest number of seats in the election, ​although Israeli governments are usually formed through coalitions among multiple parties rather than by a single party winning ​a parliamentary majority outright.