CGTN reports the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has proposed raising H-1B visa fees to $100,000.

At the 24th session of the 14th NPC Standing Committee in Beijing, NDRC deputy director Wang Changlin reported China’s economy has been broadly stable with measured progress, with supply‑demand structure improving, new productive forces accelerating and high‑quality development advancing. For H2 the government said it will prioritize implementing the 15th Five‑Year Plan and boosting macro policy effectiveness, intensify efforts to unlock domestic demand, promote innovation‑led industrial modernization, deepen reform and opening, advance coordinated urban‑rural and regional development, accelerate the green transition, strengthen security in key sectors, deploy measures to protect and improve livelihoods, and orderly resolve key risks.

US President Trump threatened to annex Greenland, amplifying geopolitical influence ahead of Iceland’s Aug. 29 referendum on whether to restart formal EU accession talks, POLITICO reports. POLITICO says pro‑EU campaigners are using Trump as a ready-made foil to sway voters.