World Affairs on November 28, 2025
Trump Administration Halts Immigration from the “Third World,” Major CME Outage, Booming Asia — A Day Where Division and Growth Intersect
1. What Happened in the World Today? (Starting with the Big Picture)
On November 28, 2025, global news was driven by the following major themes:
- The U.S. Trump administration announced a permanent halt to immigration from “Third World countries”
- A major systems outage at CME, one of the world’s largest derivatives exchanges, temporarily stopped futures trading
- Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, reaffirming Hungary’s reliance on Russian energy
- President Putin scheduled to visit India on December 4–5, with defense and energy on the agenda with Prime Minister Modi
- India’s GDP grew 8.2% year-on-year in Q3 (July–September), and Taiwan is also on track for its highest growth in 15 years thanks to AI demand
- Inflation expectations in the euro area remain broadly stable, while expectations of Fed rate cuts pushed gold on course for a fourth consecutive month of gains
- The UN strongly condemned the killing of two Palestinians in Jenin in the West Bank by Israeli forces, saying it “appears to be a summary execution”
- In Nigeria, mass abductions at schools have surged, with at least 402 people kidnapped according to a UN report; the government declared a state of emergency
- Sweden moved toward stronger regulation of online sales of “child-like sex dolls”
This article is written particularly for:
- Executives and planning / risk management staff at Japanese companies with high overseas sales and procurement ratios
- Individual and professional investors managing assets in equities, bonds, FX, commodities, and crypto assets
- High school and university students, vocational students, and working adults studying international politics, development economics, and human rights
- People working in local government, education, healthcare, welfare, or NGOs/NPOs who want to know how global events may impact their front-line realities
The topics are complex for anyone, so I’ve tried to keep technical terms as approachable as possible and broken the text into short paragraphs for readability.
2. U.S. Trump Administration: Permanent Halt to Immigration from the “Third World”
2-1. What Was Announced and Why
On the 27th, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on his social media platform “Truth Social” and elsewhere that he would “permanently halt immigration from all ‘Third World countries.’”
The trigger was a shooting incident in Washington, D.C. targeting U.S. National Guard members:
- 20-year-old National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom was killed and an Air Force staff sergeant was critically injured
- Media reported the suspect to be an immigrant man from Afghanistan
- President Trump blamed “the previous Biden administration’s lax immigration policies”
In his statement, he declared:
- “We will permanently halt immigration from all Third World countries”
- “Those deemed ‘incompatible with Western civilization’ will be deported”
- “All federal benefits and subsidies for non-citizens will be cut off”
These are extremely hardline positions. However, he has not yet specified key details such as how “Third World countries” will be defined, or which cohorts of entrants — by date or status — will be covered by the measure.
2-2. Economic Impacts: Labor, Innovation, Remittances
1) The U.S. Labor Market
- Sectors heavily dependent on immigrant labor—food service, elder care, agriculture, construction—face heightened risks of labor shortages and wage inflation.
- Immigrants from emerging economies labeled “Third World” have long underpinned the U.S. economy with low wages and strong willingness to work.
For Japanese companies, possible indirect effects include:
- Impacts on visas and residence status of immigrant workers employed at U.S. factories and local subsidiaries
- Higher costs due to labor shortages among logistics and outsourced services (cleaning, security, etc.)
2) Innovation and Startups
Many countries that might be classified as “Third World,” such as India and Nigeria, are major sources of IT talent.
- U.S. startups and tech giants recruit top engineers from all over the world; tighter visa restrictions could slow progress in AI, semiconductors, and software development.
- Conversely, it may open “talent acquisition opportunities” for Europe, Canada, and various Asian countries.
3) Remittances and Emerging Market Economies
Immigrants support economic development in their home countries through remittances.
- If the U.S. tightens new immigration, remittances could decline over several years to a decade,
- Potentially slowing poverty reduction and investment in education and healthcare.
In countries like Nigeria, already beset by deteriorating security and frequent kidnappings, preventing young people from working abroad could further fuel social instability.
2-3. Social Impacts: The Acceleration of Discrimination and Division
The term “Third World” itself is a legacy of the Cold War and is now often regarded as discriminatory.
- Policies that draw lines between people based on “country of origin” rather than religion or skin color carry a high risk of deepening social polarization.
- Hate crimes and discriminatory remarks targeting immigrant communities in the U.S. are likely to increase.
For those of us living in Japan, the danger of judging people collectively by nationality or origin is far from a distant problem.
For example:
- Foreign residents may struggle to access information during disasters
- Students or workers with limited Japanese may become easily isolated at school or in the workplace
Such “invisible divisions” exist within Japanese society as well. Watching America adopt such extreme policies can serve as a prompt for us to reflect on our own situation at home.
3. Major Outage at CME: Global Futures Markets Temporarily Frozen
3-1. What Happened
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME Group) experienced a major systems outage affecting derivative trading, and many key futures markets around the world were halted for several hours.
- The root cause was a cooling system failure at data center operator CyrusOne
- Trading in a wide range of products stopped, including WTI crude, 10-year U.S. Treasuries, S&P 500 / Nasdaq 100 / Nikkei 225 futures, and EBS for FX
- The halt lasted from morning to midday Tokyo time and overlapped with thin trading on Black Friday (the day after U.S. Thanksgiving), causing market disruption
Some brokers continued limited trading using internally calculated indicative prices, but overall liquidity fell sharply, and bid-ask spreads widened significantly.
3-2. Spillovers to Gold, Bonds, and Equities
1) Rising Gold Prices
- Spot gold prices climbed to the upper $4,100 per ounce range. Weekly gains were about 3%, and monthly gains about 3.9%, putting gold on track for a fourth straight monthly rise.
- With markets assigning around an 85% probability to a Fed rate cut at the December meeting, the environment is favorable for gold, which yields no interest.
2) Asian Stocks and Global Markets
- The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index was slightly lower on the day but up about 2.7% on the week, marking its first weekly gain in four weeks.
- Equities in Japan and South Korea ended the week higher, while Chinese and Hong Kong markets were mixed.
- However, with U.S. stock futures effectively “frozen” by the CME outage, trading in Tokyo’s futures market was subdued, and caution spilled over into cash equity trading as well.
Example: Points for Japanese Retail Investors to Watch
- For investors trading futures or CFDs, “system outages at overseas exchanges” can have unexpected impacts on stop-loss triggers, execution prices, and open positions.
- Rushing to place market orders during an outage can result in executions at much worse prices due to thin liquidity.
- It’s worth reviewing, in normal times, each broker’s “rules during system issues” (handling of fills, stop-out conditions, and margin treatment).
3-3. Lessons for the Financial System: Concentration Risk in Technology
Although this specific incident began with a “hardware cooling failure,” it revealed how heavily global market infrastructure depends on a small number of large data centers and cloud providers.
- A single data center issue can disrupt trading across multiple markets—FX, equities, bonds, and commodities.
- While some trading switched to OTC (over-the-counter) or alternative platforms, spreads widened and price transparency deteriorated.
Japanese financial institutions and exchanges should revisit:
- Data center redundancy
- Multi-vendor strategies for cloud services
- A comprehensive business continuity plan (BCP) that considers cyberattacks, natural disasters, and equipment failures
4. Energy and Geopolitics: Orbán’s Visit to Moscow and Putin’s Trip to India
4-1. Prime Minister Orbán in Moscow to Secure Russian Energy
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán visited the Kremlin in Moscow for talks with President Putin.
- His main goal was to secure stable supplies of Russian crude oil and natural gas.
- While the EU aims to reduce its dependence on Russian energy to zero by 2027, Hungary continues transactions with Russia as an exception.
- The Orbán government is also criticized for deepening its reliance on Russia after reportedly securing exemptions from Trump administration sanctions on firms like Lukoil and Rosneft.
President Putin praised Orbán’s “balanced position” on the war in Ukraine and appears to be seeking diplomatic leverage toward the U.S. and EU via Hungary.
Implications for Europe’s Energy Security
- Germany and Poland are moving to reduce reliance on Russian crude supplied via the Druzhba pipeline, but Hungary still depends on pipeline deliveries.
- For countries in the EU that want stronger unity on sanctions against Russia, the Orbán administration’s stance is a major headache.
4-2. Putin to Visit India in December
The Kremlin and India’s Ministry of External Affairs announced that President Putin will visit India on December 4–5 for talks with Prime Minister Modi.
- This will be Putin’s first visit to India in about four years, since 2021.
- The agenda is expected to include defense cooperation (S-400 air defense systems, upgrades to Su-30MKI fighters, etc.) and energy trade.
- India is a major importer of Russian crude but has recently begun trimming imports in light of Western sanctions. Market attention is focused on crude price negotiations and settlement currencies (dollar, rupee, yuan).
What This Means for Japan
- If Russian crude flows are more heavily diverted to India and China, energy flows within Asia may change depending on Middle East developments, affecting prices and shipping routes.
- Japanese companies will face more competition and cooperation with Western firms in defense, nuclear energy, and high-tech exports to India.
- Differences between India’s and Japan’s stances on “how far to maintain relations with Russia” could become a diplomatic issue of debate.
Against the backdrop of intertwined energy and security interests, Orbán’s visit to Moscow and Putin’s trip to India highlight that the “encirclement of Russia” is far from monolithic.
5. Growing Asia: Rapid Expansion in India and Taiwan, “Stable Inflation” in the Euro Area
5-1. India: Q3 GDP Up 8.2%
India’s government announced that real GDP in Q3 (July–September) grew 8.2% year-on-year, a strong figure that beat market expectations (around 7.3%).
- Personal consumption was robust, supported by demand leading up to festival season (Diwali and others).
- “Front-loaded production” ahead of new U.S. tariffs on China also helped sustain manufacturing.
- Private capital investment remains weak, with government spending and public investment playing the main role in driving growth.
Concrete Takeaways for Japanese Companies
- Durable goods like cars, home appliances, and smartphones can expect continued market expansion as the middle class grows.
- However, practical know-how is crucial to navigate logistics bottlenecks, complex tax systems, and differing regulations from state to state.
- With digital payments and e-commerce spreading, players like Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart are entering SME lending, intensifying competition in the financial sector as well.
5-2. Taiwan: Heading for Highest Growth in 15 Years Driven by AI
Taiwan’s Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics forecast that real GDP growth in 2025 will reach its highest level in 15 years, fueled by AI-related chips and server demand.
- Exports are strong for AI GPUs, high-performance DRAM, and servers for high-performance computing (HPC).
- At the same time, higher U.S. tariffs on China are squeezing some exports to the Chinese market, pushing firms to restructure their supply chains.
Implications for Japan
- For manufacturers of semiconductor equipment and materials, Taiwan’s expanding investment is a major business opportunity.
- However, companies are caught between geopolitical risks (the Taiwan Strait) and U.S.–China tensions, so export controls and investment regulations require careful monitoring.
5-3. Euro Area: Inflation Expectations “Broadly Stable”
The European Central Bank (ECB) released the results of its October household survey:
- One-year-ahead inflation expectations: 2.8% (up from 2.7%)
- Three-year-ahead inflation expectations: unchanged at 2.5%
Medium- to long-term inflation expectations remain broadly stable, indicating a strong belief that inflation will stay near the 2% target. Markets interpret this as suggesting that “there is no need to rush additional rate cuts,” which in turn has helped prevent sharp swings in long-term euro area interest rates for now.
6. Middle East and Africa: Shootings in the West Bank, Airstrikes in Syria, and Mass Abductions in Nigeria
6-1. Killings in Jenin: UN Condemns “Summary Execution”
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) strongly condemned the killing of two Palestinians by Israeli border guards in Jenin, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, saying it “appears to be a summary execution.”
- In footage broadcast by Palestinian TV, the two appear to be unarmed with their hands raised as if trying to surrender.
- Israel claims they were “wanted suspects connected to a terror network” but has provided no specific charges.
- Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said “terrorists should die,” a comment the UN denounced as “inciting hatred.”
In addition, the Israeli military carried out airstrikes on targets in southern Syria; according to Syrian state media, at least 13 people were killed.
Social Impacts
- With multiple “low-intensity conflicts” ongoing in the West Bank, Gaza, and Syria, civilian casualties and numbers of refugees and internally displaced people continue to rise.
- Such images spread globally via social media, contributing to polarization in public opinion and the spread of hate speech.
There is only so much Japan can do, but we can at least:
- Avoid sharing unverified footage as-is
- Check information from international organizations and reputable media
These small steps in information literacy matter.
6-2. Nigeria: A Wave of Mass Abductions and a State of Emergency
In north-central Nigeria, a series of mass kidnappings targeting schools and other sites since November 17 has left at least 402 people abducted, according to the UN.
- At Saint Mary’s School, a Catholic school in Niger State, 315 students and staff were abducted in a single large-scale incident.
- In the same week, other states also reported attacks targeting female students and church members.
- President Bola Tinubu declared a nationwide “security state of emergency” and ordered the deployment of 20,000 additional police officers and security forces into forest areas.
Economic and Social Impacts
- If schools remain closed for extended periods, educational inequality and future income disparities will widen further.
- For investors, Nigeria is seen as a country with “rich mineral resources but high security risk,” complicating investment decisions.
- The conflict also has a strong religious dimension and is often reported in sensationalist terms like “massacres of Christians,” yet many Muslim residents are also victims. The deeper structure involves poverty and governance failures.
For Japan, important points include:
- Avoiding solo expansion into areas where security is hard to guarantee, and instead partnering with international organizations and trusted local partners
- Designing long-term support—education, healthcare, vocational training—to reduce the underlying conditions that foster violence
7. Sweden Moves to Regulate “Child-Like Sex Dolls”
7-1. Government and Civil Society Actions
The Swedish government announced it would move to ban child-like sex dolls from the market, following public outcry over their online sales.
- Social Services Minister Camilla Waltersson Grönvall said, “As a parent, just seeing photos of such dolls breaks my heart.”
- The issue came to light when children’s rights group ChildX filed a police complaint against Amazon and other e-commerce sites.
- The government convened a meeting of e-commerce operators, children’s rights groups, and relevant authorities to discuss stronger legal regulations and voluntary removal measures by platforms.
France has faced similar issues, and Shein has banned the sale of child-like dolls there; across Europe, the ethics of online marketplaces are coming under scrutiny.
7-2. Implications for Japanese Society
- “It’s not illegal so it’s fine” is no longer enough; societies must actively debate where to draw the line.
- In Japan, while there are child pornography laws and various local ordinances, there remains a gray zone around pseudo-child sexualized depictions.
For online platform operators and creators:
- Overseas regulatory trends may influence Japanese public opinion and legal reforms with a time lag.
- There is a difficult challenge in reconciling local cultural values with global human rights standards.
8. How to Make Today’s News “Your Own”
Finally, let’s look at concrete ways to connect today’s news to your life and work in Japan.
8-1. Work and Business Perspective
- U.S. immigration policy → Manufacturers and IT firms with operations in the U.S. must review “talent acquisition,” “visa arrangements for expatriates,” and “travel risk management.”
- CME outage → Not only financial institutions and asset managers, but also corporates using futures and CFDs should formalize trading policies for system outages.
- Fast growth in India and Taiwan → Strategically, companies must determine how to capture Asian demand on both procurement and sales sides, while diversifying geopolitical risks.
Example: Small Steps You Can Take Inside Your Organization
- Dedicate five minutes in a monthly meeting to sharing “how this month’s global news affects our company’s risks and opportunities.”
- Work with IT departments to review BCPs for overseas cloud or data center outages (alternative routes, limits of manual operation, etc.).
- Conduct interviews with HR and recruitment teams on “how to create a workplace where people can work comfortably regardless of nationality or origin.”
8-2. Household and Investment Perspective
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Expectations of Fed rate cuts, rising gold prices, and disruptions in futures markets gradually influence exchange rates, interest rates, and inflation.
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For example:
- If yen weakness continues, import prices and travel costs will rise
- Rising gold prices partly reflect concerns about inflation and distrust in the financial system
Example: Checks You Can Do Today
- Roughly calculate what portion of your (and your family’s) assets is in yen, and what portion is in foreign currencies or foreign-currency assets.
- Even if you’re not investing, when you see “gold price” in the news, also recall the backdrop of “concerns over interest rates and inflation.”
- Check your loan and credit card interest types and remaining terms, and simulate how interest rate changes could affect you.
8-3. Society and Community Perspective
- The mass abductions in Nigeria and the shootings in Jenin may feel like “events in faraway countries,” but they share the common reality that those in weaker positions suffer most.
- Including Hong Kong’s fire (covered in another day’s news this week) and airstrikes in Syria, it is deeply painful to see homes, schools, churches, and mosques—places that should be safe—turned into targets.
Example: Things You Can Do Close to Home
- Participate at least once in local disaster drills or school / municipal evacuation planning.
- Before sharing shocking images on social media, check the source and date instead of forwarding them immediately.
- If you’re considering donations or volunteering, look not only at “one-off deliveries of supplies” but also at education and livelihood support initiatives.
9. Reference Links (English and Japanese)
Here is a list of the main news sources mentioned in the text, organized for ease of reading. Using browser translation can help with understanding.
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U.S. Immigration Policy / President Trump
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CME Outage / Markets
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Indian, Taiwanese, and Euro Area Economies
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Russia, Hungary, India
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Middle East and Nigeria
- UN says Israeli forces’ killing of two West Bank Palestinians looks like ‘summary execution’ (Reuters)
- Israeli raid in southern Syria leaves 13 dead, Syrian state media report (Reuters)
- Nigeria: Shock at surge in mass abductions (OHCHR)
- Authorities Urged to Take Lawful Measures to Mass Abductions in Nigeria (Inter Press Service)
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Sweden’s Online Regulation