South Sudan rescinds its decision to deny a deportee entry after the US revokes visas
JUBA, South Sudan (AP) — South Sudanese officials said Tuesday that they will allow a foreign national entry into the country after their initial refusal to do so prompted the United States to revoke the visas of all its citizens.
Congolese national Makula Kintu will be accepted into the country 'in the spirit of maintaining friendly relations' between South Sudan and the U.S., said foreign affairs ministry spokesperson Apuk Ayuel Mayen.
Last Friday, officials refused entry to Kintu, who had been deported from the United States, saying he illegally used the travel documents of a South Sudanese national, Nimeri Garang.
The following day, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. would revoke all visas for South Sudanese citizens because the country had failed to accept the return of its citizens deported from the United States 'in a timely manner.'
On Monday, South Sudanese officials decried the move as unfair, saying Kintu's case was an isolated one and it had cooperated with all other deportation cases.
The U.S had said it was 'prepared to review" the decision to revoke all visas "when South Sudan is in full cooperation.'
Edmund Yakani, executive director for the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, a local advocacy group, applauded the South Sudanese government's decision to allow Kintu into the country.
'The issues associated with the identity of the deportee should be handled legally without harming the South Sudanese in totality,' Yakani told The Associated Press.
South Sudan's political landscape is fragile and recent violence between government troops and armed opposition groups has escalated tensions.
Last week, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged regional and international leaders to prevent South Sudan from falling 'over the abyss' into another civil war.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
CNN Data Guru: ICE Raids Have Put Trump's Approval Rating ‘Underwater'
President Donald Trump's immigration policies, once his strongest issue with voters, may now be pummeling his approval ratings. On Friday's broadcast of CNN News Central, CNN Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten said the president's immigration policies and handling of subsequent protests have been 'awful, awful, awful' for his ratings. In fact, Trump is now sitting at the lowest approval rating of his second term. 'This is simply put, one of the worst polling weeks for Donald Trump that we've seen,' Enten told viewers on Friday. The CNN analyst cited two polls, one from Quinnipiac University released June 11 and one from AP-NORC released June 12, which place the president's approval rating at just 38 percent and 39 percent, respectively. According to CNN's poll tracker, that places the president at a 3-point drop in both polls. In short, Enten says the president is 'very much way way way underwater.' While the president's overall approval rating has suffered, Enten says things are looking especially dire when it comes to his immigration policies. According to CNN's aggregate, Trump's approval rating on the specific issue of immigration has dropped a staggering six points in the last two weeks as ICE raids spark protests nationwide. Where Trump's approval rating on immigration sat at +4 on June 1, by Friday morning, it had dropped to -2. 'They have turned against the president on his core strength,' said Enten of Trump's supporters. 'He is now underwater on the issue that has been strongest for him.' The drop in approval for Trump's handling of immigration marks a major change in voters' perception of the president, who has previously leaned on immigration as one of his strongest issues among supporters. Just four days ago, on Monday, Enten said on CNN News Central that Trump's approval rating on immigration had 'gone up like a rocket' since his first term. In fact, Enten said his high rating had emboldened the president to send National Guard troops into Los Angeles on June 8, as he believed stoking conflict with California Gov. Gavin Newsom would help his approval ratings. 'Trump is begging for a fight on this because he knows what he's doing so far is working with the American electorate,' Enten told host John Berman on June 9. Now, the CNN data chief says the tactic was far from successful. 'I said at the beginning of this week that Donald Trump wanted this fight,' said Enten during Friday's broadcast. 'Maybe he shouldn't have.' Also hurting Trump's approval rating is his planned military parade, scheduled for Saturday to celebrate his 79th birthday. According to the AP-NORC poll, which Enten referenced on Friday morning's broadcast, a whopping 60 percent of respondents across the political spectrum said the parade was not a good use of government funds, while just 38 percent said it was a good use. This is not the first time Trump's approval ratings have fluctuated dramatically since he took office in January. As Enten noted in Friday's broadcast, the president's numbers also plummeted around the 100th day of his presidency on April 30. On April 29, CNN News Central reported that the president's approval rating had dropped to just 41 percent. It was the lowest rating of any president approaching the 100th day of their term since modern pollsters started tracking presidential approval ratings during the Eisenhower administration. Just six weeks earlier, the president had reached his highest approval rating to date in an NBC poll, which placed him at 47 percent among all respondents. At the time, 55 percent of respondents in the NBC poll said they approved of his immigration policy, while CNN reported the number as 51 percent. Now, the AP-NORC poll reports that number is down to 46 percent. The Quinnipiac poll is even more dire, placing the rating at just 43 percent. 'At this point,' said Enten on Friday, 'He's much more towards the trough of his popularity than the crest of it.'
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Iranian missiles penetrated Israel's air defenses Friday. How ironclad is the system?
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's multilayered air-defense system was tested Friday night as Iran launched ballistic missiles at Israel, with some reportedly landing in the city of Tel Aviv. Israel's military said it had intercepted the vast majority of the missiles but that some left 'a few impacts on buildings.' An Associated Press reporter saw smoke rising in Tel Aviv after an apparent missile strike. A Tel Aviv area hospital said it was treating 15 injured civilians. The attack was a stiff challenge for Israel's air-defense system, which has intercepted projectiles fired from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran since the start of the war Oct. 7, 2023. They have ranged from short-range rockets to medium-range missiles to attack drones to ballistic missiles like those fired Friday night. U.S. ground-based air defense systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the measures. But the vast majority of Israel's air defense over the past year has been carried out by Israel itself. Over the decades, Israel has developed a sophisticated system capable of detecting incoming fire and deploying only if the projectile is headed toward a population center or sensitive military or civilian infrastructure. Israeli leaders say the system isn't 100% guaranteed, but credit it with preventing serious damage and countless casualties. Here's a closer look at Israel's multilayered air-defense system: This system developed with the U.S. is designed to intercept long-range missiles, including the types of ballistic missiles Iran launched on Tuesday. The Arrow, which operates outside the atmosphere, has also been used in the current war to intercept long-range missiles launched by Houthi militants in Yemen. Also developed with the U.S., David's Sling is meant to intercept medium-range missiles, such as those possessed by Hezbollah in Lebanon. It has been deployed on multiple occasions throughout the war. This system, developed by Israel with U.S. backing, specializes in shooting down short-range rockets. It has intercepted thousands of rockets since it was activated early last decade – including thousands of interceptions during the current war against Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel says it has a success rate of over 90%. Israel is developing a new system to intercept incoming threats with laser technology. Israel has said this system will be a game changer because it would be much cheaper to operate than existing systems. According to Israeli media reports, the cost of a single Iron Dome interception is about $50,000, while the other systems can run more than $2 million per missile. Iron Beam interceptions, by contrast, would cost a few dollars apiece, according to Israeli officials — but the system is not yet operational. ___ This story was originally published on Oct. 2, 2024. It was updated Friday.
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Iranian missiles penetrated Israel's air defenses Friday. How ironclad is the system?
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's multilayered air-defense system was tested Friday night as Iran launched ballistic missiles at Israel, with some reportedly landing in the city of Tel Aviv. Israel's military said it had intercepted the vast majority of the missiles but that some left 'a few impacts on buildings.' An Associated Press reporter saw smoke rising in Tel Aviv after an apparent missile strike. A Tel Aviv area hospital said it was treating 15 injured civilians. The attack was a stiff challenge for Israel's air-defense system, which has intercepted projectiles fired from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Iran since the start of the war Oct. 7, 2023. They have ranged from short-range rockets to medium-range missiles to attack drones to ballistic missiles like those fired Friday night. U.S. ground-based air defense systems in the region were helping to shoot down Iranian missiles, said a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the measures. But the vast majority of Israel's air defense over the past year has been carried out by Israel itself. Over the decades, Israel has developed a sophisticated system capable of detecting incoming fire and deploying only if the projectile is headed toward a population center or sensitive military or civilian infrastructure. Israeli leaders say the system isn't 100% guaranteed, but credit it with preventing serious damage and countless casualties. Here's a closer look at Israel's multilayered air-defense system: The Arrow This system developed with the U.S. is designed to intercept long-range missiles, including the types of ballistic missiles Iran launched on Tuesday. The Arrow, which operates outside the atmosphere, has also been used in the current war to intercept long-range missiles launched by Houthi militants in Yemen. David's Sling Also developed with the U.S., David's Sling is meant to intercept medium-range missiles, such as those possessed by Hezbollah in Lebanon. It has been deployed on multiple occasions throughout the war. Iron Dome This system, developed by Israel with U.S. backing, specializes in shooting down short-range rockets. It has intercepted thousands of rockets since it was activated early last decade – including thousands of interceptions during the current war against Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel says it has a success rate of over 90%. Iron Beam Israel is developing a new system to intercept incoming threats with laser technology. Israel has said this system will be a game changer because it would be much cheaper to operate than existing systems. According to Israeli media reports, the cost of a single Iron Dome interception is about $50,000, while the other systems can run more than $2 million per missile. Iron Beam interceptions, by contrast, would cost a few dollars apiece, according to Israeli officials — but the system is not yet operational. ___ This story was originally published on Oct. 2, 2024. It was updated Friday.
