Supermarket Manager, English Teacher, YouTuber: Sohei Kamiya's Sanseito Party Shakes Up Japan
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News18
34 minutes ago
- News18
‘Going Back Means Death': Fate of Afghans Promised US Resettlement Hangs In The Balance
Last Updated: Afghans who assisted US troops in their 2-decade presence in Afghanistan were promised a resettlement in the United States for a better life, however, their future hangs in limbo. The lives of over 250,000 Afghans who worked with the US forces in Afghanistan and were promised resettlement in the United States hang in limbo as the Trump administration is rolling back programmes that were created to assist them, according to a report. Those Afghans live in fear that if they are sent back to Afghanistan, they could face retribution from the ruling Taliban, The Washington Post reported. Such repatriation efforts have already been set in motion in the United Arab Emirates, according to cables obtained by the US media outlet. The Afghans who are living in fear include a woman whose husband the Taliban regime assassinated after he was found fighting alongside the US military, a man who worked with NATO in Afghanistan and then went on to spend around a year like a 'prisoner" in Qatar, among thousands of others waiting in Afghanistan and 90 other countries. They were promised the possibility of a new life in the US after they worked with the US forces. Since President Donald Trump returned to office, the US has stopped processing refugees and cut government funding for Afghan flights through two executive orders. Officials said that this month, the State Department also laid off staff and shut down the office that helped Afghans move to the US. Moving back to Afghanistan 'would be my own death sentence", one Afghan in the UAE said, The Washington Post reported. 'I am not insisting that I must be taken to the United States. My only wish is, please do not hand me over to my executioners," he said on the condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation from the Taliban. An official described internal deliberations and said, 'Wherever they end up, they end up. They are now another country's problem." The White House denied that the Trump administration does not care about the fate of such Afghans who helped the US military. Trump said on Truth Social over the weekend that he would 'try to save" Afghans who are facing repatriation in the UAE. A senior administration official, who spoke anonymously about internal decisions, said the changes to how Afghan refugees are handled are meant to make sure the US only takes in people the government considers truly deserving. The official added that the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program is still processing about 900 cases each week. SIVs are designed to help Afghans who faced serious danger because they worked with the US. As of May 20, around 167,000 of the more than 250,000 Afghans eligible for resettlement were SIV applicants, the report said, citing a document. During the 20 years of US military's presence in Afghanistan, American troops depended heavily on Afghan locals who worked as interpreters, soldiers, doctors, and civil society workers, among other roles. In 2006, the US created a legal way for these Afghans to move to America to lead a better and safer life. Since the Taliban retook full control in 2021, nearly 195,000 Afghans have been resettled in the US, according to Jessica Bradley Rushing, who was recently laid off as deputy director for communications and engagement at the State Department's Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts (CARE). When Trump retuned to office on January 20, 2025, over 250,000 Afghans across 90 countries were eligible for resettlement in the US, Rushing said. According to a State Department report dated May 20, the exact number stands at 269,124. The State Department did not respond when asked if it had approved deportations from the UAE to Afghanistan, The Washington Post reported. The Taliban has, however, said that it welcomes the return of Afghans who are no longer eligible to stay abroad. view comments Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: July 23, 2025, 17:52 IST News world 'Going Back Means Death': Fate of Afghans Promised US Resettlement Hangs In The Balance Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Japan's Far Right Sanseito Party Makes Big Gains In Upper House Election
Tokyo: Japan's far-right populist Sanseito party was one of the biggest winners in the weekend's upper house election, attracting many voters with its "Japanese First" platform that included calling for tougher restrictions on foreigners and the curtailment of gender equality and diversity policies. Sanseito added 14 seats in Sunday's vote to the one seat already held by its leader in the 248-member upper house, the less powerful of Japan's two-chamber parliament. The surge in the party's popularity came amid the backdrop of a historic loss by the long-governing conservative coalition of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, with Sanseito attracting frustrated voters struggling with economic problems. Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya said Tuesday that he has no interest in forming an alliance with conventional parties like Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party, or LDP. Kamiya said he is open to cooperating with other emerging parties, but he's expected to wait in the hopes of gaining more seats in the more powerful lower house. His ambition is to have more influence to possibly form a multiparty coalition like those in Europe. Sanseito, which translates to "Participate in Politics," started in 2020 when Kamiya gathered people on YouTube and social media to create a political group to attract voters discontent with conventional parties. The group began to grow as its members started winning seats in local assemblies, stepping up its presence and grassroots support base. After the start of the coronavirus pandemic, his online approach quickly got traction, fueled partly by an anti-vaccine stance. Sanseito achieved a foothold in national politics in 2022 when Kamiya won a six-year term in the upper house. The party won three seats in the October election in the lower house. The party holds 15 seats in the upper house, compared with the 122 held by Ishiba's governing coalition, but Kamiya has been steadily reaching a much larger audience. Sanseito has gained more than 100,000 YouTube subscribers over the past few weeks to nearly 500,000, compared to the the LDP's 140,000. Sanseito party stood out from Japan's other parties, with a tough anti-foreigner stance as part of its "Japanese First" platform, apparently inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" policy. Under his slogan, Kamiya proposes a new agency to handle regulations on foreigners. During the election, the party campaigned for stricter screening for allowing Japanese citizenship and to exclude non-Japanese from welfare benefits. Critics say that the party's stance has encouraged the spread of xenophobic rhetoric in the election campaign and on social media, prompting other ultraconservative candidates to be outspoken. A typical claim is that a rapid increase in foreign workers has hurt Japanese workers' wages and that foreigners use a large share of welfare benefits and have made Japanese society unsafe. That resonated with many Japanese, even though most foreign residents pay taxes and social security as required, and only account for about 3% of both Japan's total population and of welfare benefit recipients. His xenophobic views, antisemitic remarks and emphasis on Japan's ethnic purity have alarmed human rights activists and many experts, prompting protests. Kamiya's party, and another big winner, the Democratic Party for the People, which pushed for an increase of "take home wages," attracted workers who feel frustrated and ignored by conventional parties. Their advance is also part of a new move led by younger people connecting on social media with hopes of changing Japan's political landscape, Izuru Makihara, a politics professor at the University of Tokyo, told a NHK television talk show. Sanseito is still inexperienced and its future success depends on whether its elected members can achieve policies, he said. Kamiya, a former Self-Defense Force reservist and an assembly member in the western town of Suita, promotes an anti-vaccine and anti-globalism platform, while backpedaling on gender equality and sexual diversity. He has repeatedly talked favorably about Trump for taking bold measures. During his campaign, he said that Trump's leadership is part of a growing anti-globalism movement in the West, and that "we share the same concern." He also told a party leaders' debate that Trump policies are for protecting U.S. national interest and are good examples that Japan should follow. Kamiya is supportive of Trump's move to repeal decarbonization and diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Kamiya, a fiery speaker, is also known for stirring controversy and has become a target of scrutiny as his party gained attention. He has blamed the government's gender equality policies for triggering Japan's declining birth rate and population. Kamiya, who opposes allowing a female-line emperor, was also criticized for suggesting that the imperial family would have to turn to concubines if the government was too slow in taking measures to ensure a stable succession.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
EU readies €100 billion no-deal plan to match Trump's 30% tariff
The European Union plans to quickly hit the US with 30% tariffs on some €100 billion ($117 billion) worth of goods in the event of no deal and if US President Donald Trump carries through with his threat to impose that rate on most of the bloc's exports after Aug. 1. As a part of a first wave of countermeasures, the EU would combine an already approved list of tariffs on €21 billion of US goods and a previously proposed list on an additional €72 billion of American products into one package, a European Commission spokesman said on Wednesday. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Artificial Intelligence MBA Technology healthcare Cybersecurity Degree PGDM Operations Management Public Policy Healthcare Product Management Data Analytics CXO Others Data Science others Data Science MCA Leadership Project Management Finance Management Design Thinking Digital Marketing Skills you'll gain: Duration: 7 Months S P Jain Institute of Management and Research CERT-SPJIMR Exec Cert Prog in AI for Biz India Starts on undefined Get Details The US exports, which include industrial goods such as Boeing Co. aircraft, US-made cars and bourbon whiskey, would face a levy that matches Trump's 30% threat, according to people familiar with the matter. The tariffs would be prepared to come into force next month but only if there is no deal and the US implements its levies after the August deadline, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. The euro extended a fall after the report, down 0.3% at $1.1723, leading losses among major currencies. German bonds trimmed an earlier decline. Live Events The plans come as EU member states, including Germany, have hardened their positions in response to the US stiffening its negotiating stance. Berlin would be willing to even support the activation of the EU's anti-coercion instrument, or ACI, in a no-deal scenario, a government official said on condition of anonymity. This tool would come into play only if a deal fails to materialize. Trump announced two tariff deals on Tuesday — one with the Philippines and another with Japan, and both featured across-the-board duties on their imports that were lower than initially threatened. Also noteworthy was the 15% US levy on Japanese autos that was lower than the current 25% rate on major car exporters including the EU. European leaders are in Tokyo on Wednesday and Beijing on Thursday for talks with some of the the bloc's biggest trading partners in Asia. The ACI is the 27-nation EU's most potent trade tool and a growing number of member states is pushing for its use if a deal isn't reached. The instrument is primarily designed as a deterrent and is currently not on the table, with its activation requiring a qualified majority of member states to support the move. The ACI would enable the EU to launch a broad range of retaliatory actions, including new taxes on US tech giants, targeted curbs on US investments, and limiting access to the EU market. 'We are now approaching the decisive phase in the tariff dispute with the USA. We need a fair, reliable agreement with low tariffs,' German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday after a meeting with his Czech counterpart Petr Fiala. 'Without such an agreement, we risk economic uncertainty at a time when we actually need exactly the opposite.' The Commission, the EU's executive arm, is discussing the instrument with member states, the people said. While some capitals having been pushing to use the tool, most want to wait to see how the situation develops beyond Aug. 1 before progressing discussions further to try to achieve the required majority, they added. The overwhelming preference is to keep negotiations with Washington on track in a bid for an outcome to the impasse ahead of next month's deadline. EU and US negotiators are scheduled to continue talks on Wednesday.
