U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday establishing a new “Golden Card” residency program, which will cost $1 million for individuals and $2 million for corporate sponsorships.

The Republican leader also announced that companies seeking to hire highly skilled foreign workers through the H-1B visa program—commonly used in the high-tech sector—will now be required to pay $100,000 annually, up from the current $1,000.

“I think it’s going to be tremendously successful,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, referring to the Golden Card initiative, part of his broader policy to boost high-quality employment in the United States. According to Trump aide Will Scharf, applicants who pay the required fee—either directly to the U.S. Treasury or through corporate sponsorship—will receive fast-tracked visa processing under the new program.

During the announcement, a large golden placard resembling an oversized credit card, featuring Trump’s photo, was displayed beside the president.

H-1B visas typically last for three years, extendable up to six, and allow foreign workers to be sponsored by U.S. employers. Since his first term, Trump has pushed to restrict such work permits in favor of prioritizing American workers.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he will meet with U.S. President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly next week, amid the intensifying conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

According to Zelensky, Russia carried out one of its largest air assaults overnight on Saturday, launching 40 missiles and 580 drones across Ukraine, killing at least three people and injuring dozens more. In response, the Ukrainian military launched a drone strike that killed four people in Russia’s Samara region, about 800 kilometers from the front line, local authorities reported.

Efforts by the United States to bring the war to a swift end remain stalled, while Moscow has ruled out a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky, which Kyiv insists is the only path toward a lasting peace.

Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa announced on Friday, through an executive decree, a referendum for citizens to decide on the creation of a Constituent Assembly to draft a new constitution—without first obtaining prior approval from the Constitutional Court, as normally required by law.

“The obstruction that certain politicized bodies try to impose on the change the country needs will not stop the will of the Ecuadorian people,” the Presidency stated in a press release.

The decree also confirmed the president’s decision to bypass the constitutional court, with which he is in conflict over limitations imposed on several government laws and actions that have faced challenges for alleged violations of fundamental rights.

According to the Constitution, a popular consultation can only be called after the high court issues a favorable ruling on the constitutionality of the proposed questions—a step Noboa has not taken, as he did not submit the referendum question to the Court.

However, in Friday’s executive decree, Noboa cited another constitutional article stating that a Constituent Assembly can only be convened through a popular vote, which may be requested by the president, by two-thirds of the National Assembly, or by 12% of registered voters.

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“The aforementioned provision is clear, specific, and special within the constitutional framework, prevailing over any general provision or contrary pronouncement, constituting an explicit and clear mandate for all state powers and bodies,” Noboa wrote in the decree.

He added that “the will of the constituent body not to establish additional requirements beyond those contemplated” in this article—which also details the method for electing representatives and the rules of the electoral process—“leaves no room for doubt regarding its application, making it unnecessary to employ other methods of interpretation.”