Immigrants detained in Texas were loaded onto buses and taken to a military airfield on Wednesday in what appeared to be a covert deportation attempt to Libya, only to be returned hours later to detention without explanation, according to attorneys and immigration advocates. Among the group was a Vietnamese construction worker from Los Angeles, represented by attorney Tin Thanh Nguyen, who said his client was one of many woken in the early hours at the Pearsall immigration detention center and transported under heavy security to an undisclosed airstrip. A military aircraft reportedly waited on the tarmac. “They sat on the…
Author: Elizabeth Jenrola Oso
In the span of just two weeks, communications between air traffic controllers and pilots at Newark Liberty International Airport have failed twice, each time for about 90 seconds. Though no crashes occurred, the breakdowns triggered massive delays, traumatised air traffic staff, and reignited concerns over America’s aging and dangerously understaffed air traffic control (ATC) system. The first outage on April 28 was followed by a radar failure on May 3, underscoring what many experts are calling a full-blown crisis in U.S. aviation infrastructure. With over 50,000 flights managed daily in the United States, even brief disruptions can spiral into chaos.…
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, flanked by European allies in Ukraine’s capital, declared a renewed show of unity on Saturday as world leaders demanded an unconditional 30-day ceasefire from Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. The emergency summit, dubbed the “coalition of the willing,” brought together Starmer, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk for high-stakes talks in central Kyiv. It marked the first visit to Ukraine by Chancellor Merz since assuming office earlier this week and Macron’s first return since summer 2022. “This meeting, hosted here in…
Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has restricted access to a widely-followed Muslim news page, @Muslim, for users in India following a legal request by the Indian government. The move has sparked backlash from free speech advocates and intensified concerns over censorship during a period of growing hostility between India and Pakistan. Indian Instagram users trying to access the @Muslim account – which boasts 6.7 million followers globally were met with a notification stating: “Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.” The page’s founder and editor-in-chief, Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh, condemned…
India and Pakistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire following intense U.S.-led diplomatic intervention, ending days of cross-border missile strikes and escalating military conflict between the two nuclear-armed nations. The ceasefire was announced Saturday afternoon by U.S. President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform, declaring the deal a success of “Common Sense and Great Intelligence” after 48 hours of backchannel diplomacy spearheaded by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice-President JD Vance. “After a long night of talks mediated by the United States, I am pleased to announce that India and Pakistan have agreed to a FULL AND IMMEDIATE…
The Brazilian government has officially declined a request from the U.S. State Department to classify two of the country’s most notorious criminal gangs, Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV), as terrorist organizations, according to Brazil’s National Secretary of Public Security, Mario Sarrubo. The request was made during a high-level meeting between U.S. and Brazilian officials on Tuesday in Brasília, where American delegates raised concerns over the transnational reach of these gangs, alleging they operate in several U.S. states and pose a security threat. “We don’t have terrorist organizations here,” said Sarrubo following the meeting. “We have criminal…
Food aid for one million refugees in Uganda has been cut off entirely this week, as the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) grapples with a deepening funding crisis. The abrupt halt has triggered widespread fear of starvation, instability, and forced repatriation across Africa’s largest refugee-hosting nation. The WFP sounded the alarm weeks ago, urgently appealing for $50 million to continue supporting refugees escaping war and violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Sudan. However, with international donors pulling back, the agency has now confirmed that it can no longer feed over half of Uganda’s refugee…
Brazil’s cities are facing an unexpected public health crisis: scorpions. Researchers have warned that the arachnids are “taking over” urban environments, with more than 1.1 million stings reported between 2014 and 2023, a staggering 250% increase over the last decade. Published in Frontiers in Public Health, a new study attributes this surge to rapid, unplanned urbanisation combined with the escalating effects of climate change. Makeshift housing in favelas, poor waste management, and crumbling infrastructure have created ideal breeding grounds for scorpions, while hotter temperatures and erratic weather patterns have supercharged their survival. “Urbanisation in Brazil has profoundly reshaped ecosystems,” said…
President Donald Trump abruptly fired Carla Hayden, the Librarian of Congress, on Thursday, marking the latest in a string of high-profile dismissals by the administration and prompting immediate backlash from lawmakers and library advocates across the country. In an email obtained by NBC News, Trent Morse, deputy director of presidential personnel, delivered the news to Hayden on behalf of the president: “Your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately.” A spokesperson for the Library of Congress later confirmed the termination. Robert Newlen, the institution’s Principal Deputy Librarian, informed staff shortly afterward that he would assume duties as…
The Pentagon has issued a new directive ordering the removal of up to 1,000 openly transgender service members from the military, following the Supreme Court’s greenlight for the Trump administration’s controversial ban to take effect while legal challenges continue. The directive, released Thursday, gives all remaining transgender personnel 30 days to self-identify before being subject to medical record reviews and potential discharge. This marks the most aggressive enforcement yet of the administration’s policy against transgender individuals serving in uniform. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who signed the order, made no effort to temper his position. “No More Trans @ DoD,” he…