US sends third-country deportees under secrecy to the small African kingdom of Eswatini
The U.S. has already deported eight men to another African nation, South Sudan, after the Supreme Court lifted restrictions on sending people to countries where they have no ties. The South Sudanese government has declined to say where those men are after they arrived nearly two weeks ago.
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Winnipeg Free Press
3 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
UN talks with rival leaders of Cyprus fail to reach deal on new border crossings
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief said Thursday that he would have liked more results from his meetings with the rival leaders of divided Cyprus, while the Turkish Cypriot leader said he was 'very, very upset' that there was no agreement on opening four new border crossings. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the meetings 'constructive' and pointed to progress on four of the six initiatives that the leaders agreed to in March. He cautioned, however, that 'there's a long road ahead.' The Mediterranean island was divided in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup by Athens junta-backed supporters of uniting the island with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence, and it maintains more than 35,000 troops in the island's northern third. Negotiations between the rivals have been stalled since 2017. When asked whether he would start a new round, Guterres responded that there is more to be done before any negotiations. The current talks are 'complex,' he said, stressing the very different views of Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots on a solution. 'I think we are building, step by step, confidence and creating the conditions to do concrete things to the benefit of the Cypriot people,' the secretary-general said. The agreed-upon, U.N.-endorsed framework for a peace deal has been a reunified Cyprus as a federation composed of Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot zones. Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar has been demanding a two-state deal ever since his 2020 election. He faces reelection in October and says he's running on the same two-state platform with Ankara's full backing. Tatar told reporters after the meeting that 'unless our sovereign equality and equal international status is reaffirmed, we will not resume formal negotiations for the resolution of the Cyprus problem.' Greek Cypriots reject any agreement that would formalize partition, fearing Turkey would seek to control the entire island in light of its demand to maintain a permanent troop presence and military intervention rights in Cyprus. Turkey also insists the minority Turkish Cypriots should have veto rights over all federal government decisions. Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides did not speak to reporters after the meeting, which included the foreign ministers of guarantor countries Turkey and Greece and a United Kingdom deputy minister. Despite differences on the future of Cyprus, the rivals have made some progress on trust-building measures. Guterres told reporters that four initiatives had been achieved: creating a technical committee on youth; initiatives on the environment and climate change, including the impact on mining areas; the restoration of cemeteries; and an agreement on demining, where technical details still need to be finalized. He said discussions will continue on opening four new crossings between the Greek and Turkish sides of the island and on solar energy in the buffer zone between them, which is patrolled by a U.N. peacekeeping force. Tatar accused Christodoulides of preventing the announcement of the four border crossings on Thursday by insisting that one of them go through the buffer zone, which he called unacceptable to Turkish Cypriots. He also sharply criticized Greek Cypriots for pursuing legal action over the sale of properties in the Turkish Cypriot north, saying the moves 'are certainly damaging to the relations of the two peoples and are aimed at damaging our economy and our tourism.' Property rights are a deeply contentious issue in Cyprus. A recent boom in construction of luxury villas and apartments in the north has prompted Cypriot legal authorities to take a more assertive stance toward realtors and developers to discourage what they say is the large-scale 'illegal usurpation' of Greek Cypriot land. Guterres said the meeting also produced an understanding on a consultative body for civil society engagement, exchange of cultural artifacts, an initiative on air quality monitoring and addressing microplastic pollution. The secretary-general said Tatar and Christodoulides agreed to meet with him in late September during the annual gathering of world leaders at the General Assembly and to hold another informal meeting later in the year.
Toronto Star
24 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Louisiana cancels $3 billion coastal restoration project funded by oil spill settlement
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana on Thursday canceled a $3 billion repair of disappearing Gulf coastline, funded by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill settlement, scrapping what conservationists called an urgent response to climate change but Gov. Jeff Landry viewed as a threat to the state's way of life. Despite years of studies and reviews, the project at the center of Louisiana's coastal protection plans grew increasingly imperiled after Landry, a Republican, took office last year. Its collapse means that the state could lose out on more than $1.5 billion in unspent funds and may even have to repay the $618 million it already used to begin building.
Winnipeg Free Press
33 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Chinese university announces expulsion of student after relationship with foreigner
A Chinese university announced the expulsion of a female student for 'damaging national dignity' after she was accused of 'improper interactions' with a foreign man, generating heated discussions across Chinese social media about whether the university had gone too far. Over the last several days, the expulsion has drawn thousands of comments on platforms such as Xiaohongshu and Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, many of which question whether the school has the right to judge her personal life and elevate it to a matter of national import. In an announcement posted last week, Dalian Polytechnic University in the country's northeast declared that the student would be 'expelled' in 60 days, saying she violated the university rule against 'having improper interactions with foreigners that damage national dignity.' 'Your misbehaviors on December 16, 2024, caused a terrible negative impact,' the announcement said, without giving details on what constituted the 'misbehaviors.' The university released her name, but AP is not publishing it out of privacy concerns. The incident taps into multiple issues in China The university's actions illustrate a number of issues percolating in modern Chinese society, including discussions around gender bias and a full-on push toward nationalism. Chinese internet users have connected the accused university student to videos posted by Danylo Teslenko, also known as Zeus, a professional Ukrainian gamer showing him being intimate with an Asian-looking young woman in a hotel room. AP cannot independently verify if the woman in the video is the student. Some on social media called the school's decision to expel the student a sign of the 'Taliban style,' by which a particular nation or group claims ownership over a woman's body. Others call it misogyny, asking if a Chinese man would be considered a 'national pride' if he had sex with a foreign woman. The Paper, a state-run newspaper in Shanghai, said it was not just 'inappropriate' to publish the student's full name but also 'may even violate the Personal Information Protection Law.' 'It is improper to graft private affairs onto the public domain for public disposal,' said The Paper. Teslenko, the gamer, confirmed on Sunday that he posted 'a few videos on Telegram with a girl I met in Shanghai' but later deleted them 'as soon as I understood the seriousness of the situation,' according to his post on X, formerly known as Twitter. 'Our faces were visible, but there was no explicit content or anything disrespectful in those videos,' the post said, 'I have never said that Chinese girls are easy.' Media reports said Teslenko and the student met at the final of the Perfect World Shanghai Major, a gaming competition held in December 2024. An email sent to Dalian Polytechnic University was not immediately answered.
