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Several Policy Shifts and Economic Strategies Unfold Across Borders
Several significant policy changes and economic strategies were implemented or announced this week, impacting international travel, energy sectors, and tourism. These developments spanned from new fees for travelers in the United States to overhauls in Venezuela's oil industry and adjustments in border crossings between Israel and Gaza.
In the United States, travelers without Real ID-compliant identification faced a potential new fee starting February 1st. According to CBS News, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) planned to impose a $45 charge on passengers lacking enhanced identification, such as a Real ID or passport, to offset the cost of additional screening. Instead of denying passage, the TSA intended to subject these individuals to extra identity verification through a program called ConfirmID, which involves answering a series of questions. A Real ID is identified by a black or gold star in the upper right corner of a state driver's license, learner's permit, or non-driver ID card.
Meanwhile, in Venezuela, acting President Delcy Rodriguez signed a law overhauling the nation's oil sector, opening it to privatization, Fox News reported. This move reversed a core policy of the socialist movement that had governed the country for over two decades. The policy shift aimed to attract foreign investors to rework the industry, coming less than a month after the U.S. captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Adding to the international developments, Israel announced Thursday that it would reopen the Rafah border crossing for travel between Gaza and Egypt for the first time since May 2024, Fox News stated. The Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which oversees humanitarian and civil efforts in Gaza, said the crossing "will open this coming Sunday (February 1st) in both directions, for limited movement of people only." COGAT also noted that "the return of residents from Egypt to the Gaza Strip will be permitted, in coordination with Egypt, for residents who left Gaza during the course of the war only."
Domestically, Las Vegas casino owners were devising strategies to attract visitors amid a tourism slump. Circa Resort & Casino launched an "at par" promotion to equalize the exchange rate for Canadian visitors at its properties, Fox News reported. Casino owner Derek Stevens told Fox News Digital that reports claiming tourism is falling in Las Vegas are "a bit exaggerated."
In other news, police chiefs across cities were reportedly "fuming" at ICE tactics, according to The New York Times. These officials were complaining about federal agents, saying they are endangering residents and violating their civil rights. The New York Times noted that police chiefs who have spent half a decade trying to persuade a skeptical public that officers would curb their use of violence are contending with widespread alarm over federal officers ushering an innocent man into the snow in his shorts, arresting a 5-year-old and killing U.S. citizens.
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