Washington, Aug 25,2021: The US Supreme Court ruled against the Biden administration’s bid to end the Trump administration’s so-called Remain in Mexico program, which required asylum-seeking migrants to wait in Mexico while their court proceedings process, a court order revealed.
“The application for a stay presented to Justice lSamuel] Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied,” the court order said on Tuesday. “The applicants have failed to show a likelihood of success on the claim that the memorandum rescinding the Migrant Protection Protocols was not arbitrary and capricious.”
As a result, the Supreme Court refuses to block a lower-court order ruling that requires the Biden administration to reinstate the policy formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the ruling will end Biden’s skirting of immigration laws and will reduce the record number of migrants crossing the US southern border illegally.
Meanwhile, Lindsay Toczylowski, a social justice lawyer who advocates for asylum-seeking migrants and opposes MPP, said the ruling reviving the policy is an actual nightmare that has become real life.
Illegal crossings on the US southern border have hit a 20-year high under the Biden administration with another record-setting month in July, which saw about 212,000 migrant encounters, according to US Customers and Border Patrol. The total number of apprehensions in the region since October – the beginning of the US government’s fiscal year – has now surpassed 1.3 million.
Moscow,Aug 23,2021: Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Oleg Syromolotov on Monday said Moscow is not in a hurry to recognize the new leadership in Afghanistan and does not plan to remove the Taliban from its terror list.
“We do not intend to rush to exclude the Taliban movement from the Russian list of terrorist organizations, or to recognize the new Afghan authorities. We will focus on the practical steps of the new Afghan authorities and the relevant decisions of the UN Security Council,” news agency Sputnik quoted Syromolotov as saying.
The Deputy Foreign Minister further pointed out that it is important that the Taliban has guaranteed amnesty to the Afghan security forces and promised that there would be no purges.
“We also consider as important the assurances of the Taliban movement that it will not allow the use of the territory of Afghanistan against third party countries,” Syromolotov said.
Washington, Aug 21,2021: US officials are in contact with individuals trying to leave Afghanistan and are issuing the necessary documents to ensure their safe transit to the airport in Kabul, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.
“To all of these individuals [trying to leave Afghanistan], whether or not they have a blue passport, we’re providing them with an official document that it is our expectation will facilitate their safe passage to the airport,” Price said during a press briefing on Friday.
Price explained that the US government has established online call centers around the world to talk to people on the ground in Afghanistan about their location and their intentions about leaving the country.
US officials have repeatedly said that the Taliban terror group (banned in Russia) appears to be staying true to their promise of ensuring safe passage for Americans to the Kabul airport. However, several reports have emerged that the Taliban has acted contrary to their pledges.
Aug 20,2021:Criticism of NATO and other Western powers has risen as images of the chaos and desperate fear of Taliban rule were shared around the world.
In one scene captured on social media, a small girl was hoisted over the airport’s perimeter wall and handed to a U.S. soldier.
U.S. President Joe Biden was set to speak about the evacuation efforts at 1 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Friday, having faced a torrent of criticism for his handling of the troop withdrawal, negotiated by the previous U.S. administration.
People who were evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan walk towards a tent to undergo coronavirus disease (COVID-19) testing after arriving in Doberlug-Kirchhain, Germany, August 20, 2021. REUTERS/Matthias Rietschel
Biden is brushing off criticism of his administration’s chaotic Afghan pull-out because he and his aides believe the political fall-out at home will be limited, according to White House allies and administration officials.
Media in Britain reported its spy chiefs may face a grilling over intelligence failings. Several British officials remained on holiday as the Afghan debacle erupted, and Foreign Minister Dominic Raab has been fiercely criticised for his initial response to the unfolding crisis.
The governments of Germany and Australia have also faced calls to do more and speed up the evacuation of citizens and Afghans who fear possible Taliban retribution.
On Thursday, G7 foreign ministers called for a united international response to prevent the crisis from worsening, in comments echoed by countries including Russia.
China said the world should support, not pressure, Afghanistan. read more
A Taliban spokesman told Chinese state media that China has played a constructive role in promoting peace and reconciliation in Afghanistan and was welcome to contribute to its rebuilding. read more
FEAR OF REPRISALS
Since seizing Kabul on Sunday, the Taliban, who ruled with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001 before being toppled by U.S.-led forces for sheltering al Qaeda militants behind the Sept. 11 attacks, have presented a more moderate face this time round.
They said this week they want peace, will not take revenge against old enemies and will respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law.
As the Taliban work to set up a government, including talks with a former president, Hamid Karzai, they are discovering new problems including hundreds of government officials who have not been paid for two months, a Taliban official said.
“It’s too early to say how this problem will be solved but it’s an immediate challenge,” the official said.
A Norwegian intelligence group said in a report the Taliban had begun rounding up Afghans on a blacklist of people linked to the previous administration or to U.S.-led forces that supported it. Complaints by some Afghan journalists have cast doubt on assurances that independent media would be allowed.
Amnesty International said an investigation found the Taliban had murdered nine ethnic Hazara men after taking control of Ghazni province last month, raising fears that the Taliban, whose members are Sunni Muslims, will target Hazaras, who mostly belong to the Shi’ite minority.
A Taliban spokesman was not immediately available for comment on the reports.
A U.S. lawmaker said the Taliban were using files from Afghanistan’s intelligence agency to identify Afghans who worked for the United States.
“They are methodically ramping up efforts to round those folks up,” said Representative Jason Crow, who has been leading efforts in the U.S. Congress to accelerate the evacuation of American-affiliated Afghans.
New Delhi, Aug 20,2021: President Ram Nath Kovind has given assent to the OBC Bill, passed by Parliament unanimously in the recently concluded Monsoon Session, sources said on Friday.
With the President’s signature, the Bill has become law restoring the powers of the states and Union territories to have their own list of OBCs. According to the sources, the legislation was signed on Wednesday.
The Constitution (One Hundred Twenty Seventh) Amendment Bill was passed unanimously by both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. While Opposition parties had been protesting over the Pegasus snooping controversy, new farm laws, price rise and other issues in both Houses, they agreed to debate and pass this legislation.
On May 5, the Supreme Court, in a judgment, said only the Centre has the right to update the OBC list. The Bill was then brought to nullify the effect of the order and restore the powers of the states to identify backward class groups.