NAIROBI/WASHINGTON: The United States has deported to Rwanda a resettled Iraqi refugee who it long tried to extradite in response to Iraqi government claims that he worked for Daesh, according to a US official and an internal email.
Omar Abdulsattar Ameen, who was granted refugee status in the US in 2014, denied Iraqi charges that he murdered a police officer as a Daesh operative, and a judge found in 2021 that the version of events in the case against him was “not plausible.”
But the administrations of Joe Biden and Donald Trump both pursued his removal from the country, accusing him of lying on his refugee application by saying he had not interacted with terrorist groups.
After the start of his second term in January, Trump launched a sweeping crackdown on immigration and attempted to freeze the US refugee resettlement program.
Ameen was sent to Rwanda earlier this month, according to the US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, and the internal email seen by Reuters.
A US State Department spokesperson declined to comment on Ameen’s case, and the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Rwanda’s government spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Online news outlet The Handbasket, which broke the news of Ameen’s deportation, cited a leaked cable from the US embassy in Kigali as saying that Rwanda had agreed to receive additional third-country nationals under a “new removal program.”
Reuters was not able to confirm the contents of the cable or any deal between the United States and Rwanda.
The central African country has positioned itself as a destination country for migrants that Western countries would like to remove.
It signed an agreement with Britain in 2022 to take in thousands of asylum seekers from the UK before the deal was scrapped last year by then newly-elected Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
After his arrest in 2018 following murder charges in Iraq, Ameen’s case was cited by the first Trump administration and some Republicans in Congress as an example of security risks posed by refugees and an argument against resettling them in the US
A US magistrate judge refused to allow his extradition to Iraq in 2021, saying there was overwhelming evidence Ameen was living as a refugee in Turkiye at the time of the alleged murder, but the US government continued to push for his deportation to a third country.
Human Rights Watch said in 2021 that his treatment showed “a system of arbitrary detention and cruel enforcement.”
US deports Iraqi man at center of debate on refugee policy
https://arab.news/zkn7p
US deports Iraqi man at center of debate on refugee policy
- Omar Abdulsattar Ameen, who was granted refugee status in the US in 2014, denied Iraqi charges that he murdered a police officer as a Daesh operative
- Ameen was sent to Rwanda earlier this month according to the US official who spoke on condition of anonymity
Russian strike kills 12 Ukrainian soldiers during training: Kyiv
Kyiv did not say where the strike took place, but stressed the soldiers were not taking part in a “mass gathering” and most were in their shelters during the attack.
The Ukrainian army has in recent weeks faced pressure to investigate what some see as glaring lapses in ensuring the safety of training soldiers.
Six soldiers training close to the border were killed by a Russian strike last month, in what one Ukrainian opposition politician called a “crime” by army leadership.
“Today, on June 1, the enemy launched a missile strike on the location of one of the training units of the Ukrainian army,” the Ukrainian army said in a statement.
“As of 12:50 p.m. (0950 GMT), 12 people are known to have been killed and more than 60 wounded.”
“If it is established that the deaths and injuries of the servicemen were caused by the actions or inaction of officials, those responsible will be brought to strict accountability,” it added.
Separately on Sunday, the Russian army said it had captured another village in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, where Kyiv fears Moscow could mount a fresh ground assault.
Russia claims to have captured several settlements in the region in recent weeks, and has massed more than 50,000 soldiers on the other side of the border, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Authorities in the region have evacuated more than 200 villages amid intensified shelling.
China’s Yunnan hit with floods, mudslides from intense rains
- Over 600 tourists visiting rural scenic spots in the area on Saturday found themselves trapped, according to Xinhua, which reported 500 of them had been rescued by Sunday
BEIJING: Heavy rainfall triggering flash floods and mudslides have damaged roads, destroyed buildings and claimed bridges, wreaking havoc in China’s southwestern Yunnan province on a long holiday weekend.
No casualties were reported but more than 4,800 residents in Gongshan county were affected, with about one-third of them urgently relocated, state news agency Xinhua said.
Over 600 tourists visiting rural scenic spots in the area on Saturday found themselves trapped, according to Xinhua, which reported 500 of them had been rescued by Sunday.
Road access to mountainous sites popular with hikers such as Bingzhongluo town and Yubeng village in neighboring Deqin county were cut off, state broadcaster CCTV.
The Dulong river saw flood waters swell to record levels, according to historical logs from a hydrological monitoring station.
A four-story building set along the river that had been evacuated collapsed, CCTV reported, showing a video of the structure tipping backwards and disappearing into a cloud of dust.
The intense rainfall over a 12-hour period disrupted power supplies. Repair work to roads and power lines was underway, said state media.
Local authorities had issued a red alert ahead of the rainstorm on Friday night but downgraded it to a yellow alert by Saturday morning.
China uses a four-color warning system that escalates from blue, yellow, orange to red according to the level of precipitation and anticipated risks.
India sees tenfold rise in COVID-19 cases
- India’s official caseload increased to 3,395 on Sunday from 257 on May 22
- No spike in hospitalization rate, pulmonologist says, as symptoms remain mild
NEW DELHI: India has reported a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases over the past 10 days, official data showed on Sunday, with new, more transmissible virus variants believed to be driving the surge.
A new wave of infections emerged in parts of Asia last month, especially Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Thailand.
The new spread of the coronavirus that a few years ago brought the world to a standstill has been linked to JN.1, a highly transmissible variant of the omicron strain of COVID-19. It emerged in late 2023 and spread globally through early 2024, becoming one of the dominant variants in many countries.
India’s current caseload is 3,395 as of Sunday, according to Ministry of Health data – up significantly from the previous official count of 257 on May 22.
The ministry confirmed last week it had detected across the country two subvariants of JN.1 – LF.7 and NB.1.8.1 – which spread faster but are believed to be mild.
“(The) majority of those are mild cases, just like seasonal flu, and we are not seeing any significant admission or emergency visits due to COVID-19. Right now, the situation is under control. Any flu that starts spreading spreads fast like wildfire,” Dr. Nikhil Modi, pulmonology and respiratory medicine specialist at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Delhi, told Arab News.
While in the last 24 hours, four deaths have been recorded – in Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh – the “patients were already suffering from critical illnesses,” Modi said.
“Severe disease is not being reported anywhere significantly.”
India was one of the worst-hit countries during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. At its peak, health authorities recorded over 400,000 new cases per day.
Hospitals across many states were overwhelmed with patients and faced severe shortages of oxygen supplies, hospital beds, ventilators, and critical medicines.
The World Health Organization estimates that 4.7 million deaths in India were directly and indirectly related to COVID-19.
“The way we have seen COVID-19 in 2021, panic is bound to come but things, for the time being, are under control. We are not seeing admissions significantly rising due to COVID, so we should be able to manage. Advisories and preparedness in all hospitals have started, so if the situation changes, we are ready for it,” Modi said.
“Right now, we don’t have to panic about it.”
Two dead and 500 arrested in France during PSG win celebrations
PARIS: More than 500 people were arrested by police during the Champions League final celebrations in France, and two people were reported dead and 192 injured, the interior ministry said on Sunday.
Wild celebrations erupted across the French capital and beyond on Saturday night after Paris St Germain crushed Italian opponents Inter Milan to win the Champions League for the first time, although skirmishes with police later threatened to spoil the party.
The interior ministry's provisional assessment as of Sunday morning was that 559 people had been arrested, including 491 in Paris, which led to 320 people being placed in police custody, 254 of them in Paris.
On the Champs Elysees, bus shelters were smashed and projectiles hurled at riot police, who fired tear gas and water cannon to push back surging crowds as thousands of supporters descended on the boutique-lined boulevard.
The interior ministry on Sunday reported hundreds of fires, including more than 200 vehicles burned. Some 22 members of the security forces and seven firefighters were harmed.
Nearly 200 migrants in small boats rescued in Channel
Lille: Nearly 200 migrants trying to cross the Channel from France to Britain in small boats were rescued between late Friday and late Saturday, French coastal authorities said.
A total 184 people were picked up in four different rescue operations, the maritime prefecture for France’s Channel and northern region said in a statement on Sunday.
In one instance, the motor died on a boat carrying 61 people. In another, nine people on a boat called for assistance.
According to an AFP tally of official figures, 15 people have died so far this year trying to cross the Channel, one of the busiest areas in the world for shipping.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in May announced tougher new policies to tackle high levels of regular and irregular migration, in an attempt to stem a growing loss of support to the hard right.
They include looking at the creation of centers in other countries to take in migrants whose asylum applications have been turned down.
The EU has also unveiled plans to make it easier to send asylum seekers to certain countries outside the bloc, in the latest overhaul aimed at reducing irregular migration.
