Salvadoran man in Trump immigration row to be deported to Uganda: officials

A Salvadoran man at the center of a row over President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown was rearrested on Monday and is set to be deported to Uganda, officials said.Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was wrongly deported to El Salvador in March and then sent back to the United States, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on X.The Department of Homeland Security said the 30-year-old Abrego Garcia “will be processed for removal to Uganda.”Abrego Garcia was released last week from a jail in Tennessee, where he is facing human smuggling charges, and allowed to go home to Maryland pending trial.He was required to check in with ICE in Baltimore on Monday as one of the conditions of his release.Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, one of Abrego Garcia’s attorneys, told a crowd of supporters outside the ICE field office that his client was taken into custody when he turned up for the appointment.”Shame, shame,” the protestors, some of whom were holding signs saying “Free Kilmar,” chanted.”The notice stated that the reason was an interview,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said. “Clearly that was false. There was no need for them to take him into ICE detention.”He was already on electronic monitoring from the US Marshal Service and basically on house arrest,” he said. “The only reason that they’ve chosen to take him into detention is to punish him.”The attempt to deport Garcia to Uganda in East Africa adds a new twist to a saga that became a test case for Trump’s harsh crackdown on illegal immigration — and, critics say, his trampling of the law.- ‘Administrative error’ -Abrego Garcia had been living in the United States under protected legal status since 2019, when a judge ruled he should not be deported because he could be harmed in his home country.Then he became one of more than 200 people sent to El Salvador’s CECOT mega-prison as part of Trump’s crackdown on undocumented migrants.But Justice Department lawyers admitted that the Salvadoran had been wrongly deported due to an “administrative error.”He was returned to US soil only to be detained again in Tennessee on human smuggling charges.Abrego Garcia denies any wrongdoing, while the administration alleges he is a violent MS-13 gang member who smuggled other undocumented migrants into the country.On Thursday, when it became clear Abrego Garcia would be released the following day, government officials made him a plea offer: remain in custody, plead guilty to human smuggling and be deported to Costa Rica.He declined the offer.The case has become emblematic of Trump’s crackdown on illegal migration.Right-wing supporters praise the Republican president’s toughness, but legal scholars and human rights advocates have blasted what they say is a haphazard rush to deport people without even a court hearing, in violation of basic US law.

Typhoon Kajiki lashes Vietnam, killing one as thousands evacuate

Vietnam’s central belt was lashed by Typhoon Kajiki on Monday, with at least one person killed by deluges and gales howling more than 130 kilometres per hour, as tens of thousands of residents were evacuated from the path of the tempest.The typhoon — the fifth to affect Vietnam this year — roiled the Gulf of Tonkin with waves of up to 9.5 metres (31 feet) before hitting shore around 3:00 pm (0800 GMT).Nearly 44,000 people were evacuated from the region as 16,000 military personnel were mobilised and all fishing boats in the typhoon’s path were called back to harbour.Two domestic airports were shut and 35 flights cancelled before it landed between Ha Tinh and Nghe An provinces, tearing the roofs off more than 600 homes according to authorities.”I have never experienced such strong winds in all my life,” 38-year-old Nguyen Thi Phuong told AFP in Vinh city, the provincial capital of Nghe An which was stricken by widespread blackouts on Monday night.One fatality was reported by the agriculture ministry, with at least eight more people wounded.The typhoon made landfall packing windspeeds between 118 and 133 kilometres per hour (73 and 82 miles per hour), Vietnam’s National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said.”The risk for flash floods overnight is very high, so we have to stay on high alert,” director Mai Van Khiem told AFP.Waterfront Vinh city was deluged early on Monday, its streets largely deserted with most shops and restaurants closed as residents and business owners sandbagged their property entrances.”I have never heard of a typhoon of this big scale coming to our city,” said 66-year-old Le Manh Tung at a Vinh indoor sports stadium, where evacuated families dined on a simple breakfast of sticky rice.”I am a bit scared, but then we have to accept it because it’s nature — we cannot do anything,” he added.- ‘Never this big’ -Human-caused climate change is driving more intense and unpredictable weather patterns that can make destructive floods and storms more likely, particularly in the tropics.”Normally we get storms and flooding, but never this big,” said 52-year-old evacuee Nguyen Thi Nhan.The typhoon’s power is due to dramatically dissipate after it makes landfall.The Joint Typhoon Warning Center said conditions suggested “an approaching weakening trend as the system approaches the continental shelf of the Gulf of Tonkin where there is less ocean heat content”.China’s tropical resort island of Hainan evacuated around 20,000 residents on Sunday as the typhoon passed its south.The island’s main city, Sanya, closed scenic areas and halted business operations.In Vietnam, more than 100 people have been killed or left missing from natural disasters in the first seven months of 2025, according to the agriculture ministry.Economic losses have been estimated at more than $21 million.Vietnam suffered $3.3 billion in economic losses last September as a result of Typhoon Yagi, which swept across the country’s north and caused hundreds of fatalities.

UN Security Council vote on embattled Lebanon peacekeepers delayed

An expected United Nations Security Council vote on the future of the blue helmet peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon, which has faced US and Israeli opposition, was pushed back on Monday as negotiations continued.The Council is debating a French-drafted compromise that would keep the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), deployed in 1978 to separate Israel and Lebanon, in place for one more year while it prepares to withdraw.Talks began last week and it had been thought a vote could come as soon as Monday, but diplomatic sources indicated that a vote would now come by the end of the week. The force’s mandate ends Sunday.In the latest draft text seen by AFP, the Council would signal “its intention to work on a withdrawal of UNIFIL with the aim of making the Lebanese Government the sole provider of security in southern Lebanon.”Under a truce that ended a recent war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, Beirut’s army has been deploying in south Lebanon and dismantling the militant group’s infrastructure there.Lebanon has been grappling with the thorny issue of disarming Hezbollah, with the cabinet this month tasking the army with developing a plan to do so by the end of the year. The Iran-backed militant group has pushed back.Under the truce, Israel was meant to completely withdraw from Lebanon, though it has kept forces in several areas it deems strategic and continues to conduct strikes across Lebanon. The resolution would extend until August 31, 2026 the mandate of the 10,800-strong force made up of Indonesian, Indian, Italian, Ghanaian, Nepalese and other nationalities.It was not clear if Washington, which wields a veto on the Security Council, would accept the compromise language, with a State Department spokesman previously telling AFP it would not comment on Council deliberations.The text also contained language “condemning the incidents that affected United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon premises and forces, injuring several peacekeepers” — a reference to strikes by US ally Israel on UNIFIL positions that have caused injuries and damage. Israel was not specifically named.Ahead of the vote, a senior UN official warned that “to completely eliminate (UNIFIL’s) capacity at this point, or very quickly, would not serve anybody in the region,” calling any abrupt withdrawal risky.The official said UNIFIL had facilitated the deployment of 8,300 Lebanese armed forces troops to 120 locations, assisting with logistics, funds and even fuel as well as training support.UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric last week called the force’s support of Lebanon’s army “critical,” adding “we have always felt and known that UNIFIL is a presence of stability along the blue line.”

UN Security Council vote on embattled Lebanon peacekeepers delayed

An expected United Nations Security Council vote on the future of the blue helmet peacekeeping mission in south Lebanon, which has faced US and Israeli opposition, was pushed back on Monday as negotiations continued.The Council is debating a French-drafted compromise that would keep the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), deployed in 1978 to separate Israel and Lebanon, in place for one more year while it prepares to withdraw.Talks began last week and it had been thought a vote could come as soon as Monday, but diplomatic sources indicated that a vote would now come by the end of the week. The force’s mandate ends Sunday.In the latest draft text seen by AFP, the Council would signal “its intention to work on a withdrawal of UNIFIL with the aim of making the Lebanese Government the sole provider of security in southern Lebanon.”Under a truce that ended a recent war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, Beirut’s army has been deploying in south Lebanon and dismantling the militant group’s infrastructure there.Lebanon has been grappling with the thorny issue of disarming Hezbollah, with the cabinet this month tasking the army with developing a plan to do so by the end of the year. The Iran-backed militant group has pushed back.Under the truce, Israel was meant to completely withdraw from Lebanon, though it has kept forces in several areas it deems strategic and continues to conduct strikes across Lebanon. The resolution would extend until August 31, 2026 the mandate of the 10,800-strong force made up of Indonesian, Indian, Italian, Ghanaian, Nepalese and other nationalities.It was not clear if Washington, which wields a veto on the Security Council, would accept the compromise language, with a State Department spokesman previously telling AFP it would not comment on Council deliberations.The text also contained language “condemning the incidents that affected United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon premises and forces, injuring several peacekeepers” — a reference to strikes by US ally Israel on UNIFIL positions that have caused injuries and damage. Israel was not specifically named.Ahead of the vote, a senior UN official warned that “to completely eliminate (UNIFIL’s) capacity at this point, or very quickly, would not serve anybody in the region,” calling any abrupt withdrawal risky.The official said UNIFIL had facilitated the deployment of 8,300 Lebanese armed forces troops to 120 locations, assisting with logistics, funds and even fuel as well as training support.UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric last week called the force’s support of Lebanon’s army “critical,” adding “we have always felt and known that UNIFIL is a presence of stability along the blue line.”

Stocks edge downwards after rallying on US rate hopes

Stocks edged downwards on Monday after earlier rallies in Europe and Asia, investors locking in gains fuelled by the clear shift toward lower rates by the US Federal Reserve.Fed chief Jerome Powell told central bankers at their annual conference in Wyoming last Friday that “the balance of risks appears to be shifting” toward signs of weakness in the world’s largest economy.Investors interpreted that as a sure signal of a rate cut at the Fed’s meeting next month, as inflation has not shown signs of soaring in the wake of President Donald Trump’s tariffs blitz.”Powell basically delivered the 25 basis points before the September meeting,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, an analyst at Swissquote Bank.Wall Street soared on the news ahead of the weekend but opened Monday with the major exchanges slightly down, while the dollar continued to fall — lower interest rates make the greenback less appealing to foreign investors.All eyes now turn toward a US GDP report on Thursday and a key inflation gauge coming on Friday for clues on how far rates might fall — or not — in the coming months.”The data — especially the inflation data — will tell if there could be further rate relief into the year-end,” Ozkardeskaya said. Asian markets benefited from the rally, with Tokyo rising almost half a percent while Hong Kong finished up 1.9 percent, boosted by a surge in Chinese tech giant Alibaba.Trading on European markets was largely flat — though London was closed for a public holiday — with many investors happy to take profits while awaiting Wednesday’s earnings report from AI-chip heavyweight Nvidia.The stock fell sharply last week as investors worried that the enthusiasm for artificial intelligence may be overdone, which cast a pall over the wider tech sector after months of strong gains.In corporate news, shares in Danish wind group Orsted plunged 16 percent after the US government halted construction at an offshore site that is 80 percent complete.It was the latest move by Trump’s administration against wind power and other renewables in favour of oil and gas.France’s Valneva tumbled 22 percent following a US suspension of its chikungunya vaccine over “serious” side-effects, raising doubts about one of the few vaccines for the virus.Dutch coffee group JDE Peet’s jumped 17 percent after it accepted a 15.7 billion euro takeover bid from US drinks giant Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP).- Key figures at around 1340 GMT -New York – Dow: DOWN 0.2 percent at 45,536.93 pointsNew York – S&P 500:  DOWN 0.2 percent at 6,453.74New York – Nasdaq: DOWN 0.3 percent at 21,434.78 Paris – CAC 40: DOWN 0.5 percent at 7,938.31 pointsFrankfurt – DAX: FLAT at 24,357.25London – FTSE 100: CLOSED for Summer Bank HolidayTokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.4 percent at 42,807.82 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 1.9 percent at 25,829.91 (close)Shanghai – Composite: UP 1.5 percent at 3,883.56 (close)Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1701 from $1.1722 on FridayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3503 from $1.3523Dollar/yen: UP at 147.49 yen from 146.94 yenEuro/pound: DOWN at 86.67 pence from 86.69 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 1.0 percent at $64.3 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.8 percent at $67.76 per barrelburs-jxb/cw

Liban: le Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU négocie toujours sur l’avenir des Casques bleus

Le Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU poursuivait lundi ses discussions sur l’avenir de la force de maintien de la paix des Nations unies dans le sud du Liban (Finul), alors que sa prolongation d’un an voulue par la France et Beyrouth se heurte à l’hostilité des Etats-Unis et d’Israël.Les 15 membres du Conseil avaient commencé la semaine dernière des discussions autour d’un projet de résolution préparée par les Français et qui vise à renouveler ce mandat des quelque 10.800 Casques bleus – fournis entre autres par l’Indonésie, l’Inde, l’Italie, le Ghana ou encore le Népal – qui font tampon entre Israël et le Liban depuis mars 1978.Mais le vote initialement prévu lundi, qui doit avoir lieu avant l’expiration du mandat actuel dimanche, a été reporté à une date indéterminée, les négociations se poursuivant, ont indiqué lundi plusieurs sources diplomatiques à l’AFP.Un projet de texte, consulté par l’AFP, propose de prolonger la présence de la Finul jusqu’au 31 août 2026, tout en exprimant “l’intention (du Conseil) de travailler à un retrait de la Finul, avec l’objectif que seul le gouvernement libanais assure la sécurité dans le sud” du pays.Ce vote intervient au moment où Beyrouth s’est engagé à désarmer et à démanteler le groupe chiite pro-iranien Hezbollah d’ici la fin de l’année, sous pression de Washington et dans le cadre de l’application du cessez-le-feu ayant mis fin à la guerre avec Israël en 2024.- “Stabilité”-Mardi dernier, le président libanais Joseph Aoun a plaidé pour le maintien des Casques bleus car, a-t-il fait valoir, “toute limitation du mandat de la Finul (…) aurait un impact négatif sur la situation, alors qu’Israël continue d’occuper certaines portions du territoire libanais”.De fait l’accord de cessez-le-feu prévoit également un retrait israélien de la zone, mais Israël, dont l’armée s’est plusieurs fois accrochée avec la Finul, maintient des troupes dans des positions frontalières jugées stratégiques et mène régulièrement des frappes chez son voisin du nord.Le pays, qui mène plusieurs guerres dans la région, menace même de ré-attaquer le Liban si le Hezbollah, dorénavant très affaibli, n’est pas complètement désarmé.Le projet de résolution “appelle le gouvernement israélien à retirer ses dernières forces au nord de la Ligne bleue (démarcation des Nations unies établie en 2000, ndlr), y compris de cinq positions tenues en territoire libanais”.Alors que les Etats-Unis sont tout aussi hostiles à la Finul que leur allié israélien, un porte-parole du département d’Etat a refusé de commenter les délibérations du Conseil de sécurité où Washington dispose d’un droit de veto.Le porte-parole du secrétaire général de l’ONU Antonio Guterres, Stéphane Dujarric, a lui jugé “crucial” le soutien qu’a apporté la Finul à l’armée du Liban, avec l’aide au déploiement de 8.300 militaires libanais, une assistance logistique, de l’argent, du carburant et de la formation.”Nous avons toujours eu le sentiment que la présence de la Finul apportait de la stabilité le long de la Ligne bleue”, ligne de démarcation fixée par l’ONU entre le Liban et Israël, a-t-il déclaré.