Latest news with #Landau
18-07-2025
- Politics
Japan, U.S., S. Korea Reconfirm Cooperation over N. Korea
News from Japan Politics Jul 18, 2025 20:50 (JST) Tokyo, July 18 (Jiji Press)--Senior diplomats from Japan, the United States and South Korea on Friday reconfirmed that the countries will work closely together to deal with North Korea's military cooperation with Russia and cyberattacks including cryptocurrency thefts by Pyongyang. Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Takehiro Funakoshi, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo met in Tokyo for about an hour and 35 minutes. This was the first meeting among the three countries' vice minister-level diplomatic officials since such talks in Seoul last October, and also the first since the launch of the second administration of U.S. President Donald Trump and the inauguration of South Korean President Lee Jae-myung. Funakoshi, Landau and Park expressed "serious concerns" over North Korea's nuclear and missile development, confirming their countries' engagement in the efforts to completely denuclearize North Korea based on relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions. On North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals decades ago, Funakoshi expressed his gratitude to Landau and Park, who both backed actions taken by Japan. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
IOL News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
US deports ‘dangerous' migrants to Eswatini: Are South Africa's boarders safe?
Last month, the US Supreme Court cleared the way for the Donald Trump administration to resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own, without allowing them to present evidence of possible harm they could face. Image: Sora AI Immigration expert Professor Loren Landau of Wits University says it is too early for South Africa to be concerned about potential fallout, after the US the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that a deportation flight carrying immigrants from multiple countries landed in Eswatini. Last month, the US Supreme Court cleared the way for the Donald Trump administration to resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own, without allowing them to present evidence of possible harm they could face. The ruling was a significant victory for the administration's aggressive immigration agenda. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) resumed third-country deportation flights on Tuesday, sending five immigrant detainees -each from a different country - to Eswatini. The men, originally from Vietnam, Laos, Jamaica, Cuba, and Yemen, reportedly have criminal records, including convictions for murder and sexual assault, according to a social media post by DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin. 'Today, DHS conducted a third-country deportation flight to Eswatini. These criminal illegal aliens are so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back,' the DHS said in the post. 'Under the leadership of the secretary of homeland security (Kristi Noem) and President Donald Trump, we are removing these convicted criminals from our soil so they can never hurt another American victim.' Video Player is loading. 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Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Speaking to IOL News, Landau questioned the legality and ethical implications of such deportations. 'Typically, deportations can only occur with the agreement of a person's country of citizenship,' Landau said. 'In this case, these are removals akin to the deals Denmark has struck with Rwanda. Effectively, the US (and other countries) are creating publicly funded detention facilities in other countries.' He drew a comparison to how Western nations export waste to Africa. 'Much like the US and Europe pay African countries to process our material waste - computers, clothes…they are effectively paying African states to process what Americans see as their human detritus.' Eswatini, which borders South Africa, has long struggled with porous borders. Asked if South Africa should be concerned about potential consequences, Landau said, 'The numbers of people likely to be sent to Eswatini will be relatively small. It is also unclear whether they will be held in detention or allowed to move freely.' 'At this point, it is too early to know what the consequences will be for South Africa. The bigger concern is how this affects regional diplomacy and cooperation.' While the deportees in this instance are not refugees or asylum seekers, Landau warned that the practice sets a dangerous precedent. 'My understanding is that these are not refugees or asylum seekers, but undocumented migrants,' he said. 'Nonetheless, it does set a dangerous precedent for the rule of law, human rights, and basic human dignity.' He added that this trend contributes to a troubling global dynamic. 'It also helps to reinforce a global color line, in which the US (and others pursuing similar actions) seek to create a white future for themselves. This is a fruitless effort, but one that sends a clear message that the wealthy West is not for them.' Landau also questioned the long-term logistics and accountability. 'Who takes responsibility for these deportees once they arrive, especially if they have committed serious crimes?' he asked. 'Presumably, the US will be paying the countries to do this. However, there is likely to be little supervision, and conditions for detainees and prisoners across Africa rarely meet global - or even national - human rights standards.' According to reports, the resumption of third-country deportations comes as US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued new guidance allowing deportations to non-native countries under certain conditions, in as little as six hours. In some cases, immigrants may be sent without guarantees they won't be persecuted or tortured. The guidance states that while ICE must serve a notice of removal in a language the immigrant understands, officers are not required to ask if the person fears being sent to the designated country. If the individual expresses fear, they are to be screened for protection within 24 hours. However, ICE may still attempt to send them to another country - even one they have expressed fear of. IOL
Miami Herald
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
‘We are living through the most difficult times,' Havana activists tell U.S. diplomats
In an event marking another anniversary of the July 11 mass protests in 2021, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau told a gathering of Cuban activists in Havana on Tuesday that the Trump administration will continue advocating for the release of political prisoners on the island and is committed to supporting the Cuban people's fight for freedom and democracy. Landau addressed in Spanish a group of relatives of political prisoners, independent artists and journalists, religious leaders, former political prisoners and human rights activists gathered at the residence of the U.S. ambassador in Havana, Mike Hammer, via a video call from Washington. In a video message in Spanish played at the start of the meeting, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was traveling to Asia and unable to join in, told the group that the July 11 protests marked 'a change and a new era' and that the videos of the demonstrations had 'inspired' Cuban exiles who 'hope for freedom for Cuba.' 'You, who are there, who don't give up, inspire us every day,' he said. 'I know there is an enormous risk, that it is not easy to challenge a regime that does everything possible to punish you and your families. It is much easier to leave the country than stay there and fight for the future of a free and sovereign Cuba.' In a rebuke of Cuban goverment leaders' accusations that the ongoing economic crisis on the island is the result of U.S. sanctions, Rubio said his administration is aware Cubans are suffering shortages of medicines and blackouts, but said that is the result of 'a regime that just does not know how to govern.' Although the July 11 demonstrations were followed by a government crackdown and hundreds of arrests, since then smaller protests have erupted regularly all over the country as the economy continues falling apart, and the government provides little response beyond calls to resist and renewed accusations against the United States. In a recent Communist Party meeting last week, Cuba's leader, Miguel Díaz-Canel, accused the U.S. of 'betting on a political and social crisis that leads to an uprising during the summer' in a belated acknowledgment of growing discontent among the population. Several of the hundreds of Cubans arrested during the 2021 protests remain in prison, some serving harsh sentences. A few were released, thanks to a deal with the Vatican and the Biden administration, but then were sent back to prison, including prominent Cuban opposition leader José Daniel Ferrer. His family has accused the Cuban government of torturing him. Landau called on the Cuban government to release the political prisoners and expressed concern in particular for the situation of Ferrer, longtime opposition member Felix Navarro, who is also in poor health, and rapper Maykel Gonzalez, known as Maykel Osorbo, who recently staged a hunger strike. Cuban participants advocated for the release of the political prisoners and expressed deep concerns about the human rights situation on the island, a crackdown on freedom of speech and internet restrictions. Berta Soler, the leader of the dissident group Ladies in White, said she was particularly worried about Ferrer and increased repression and limitation of movement of the group's members. 'We are living through the most difficult times for the Cuban nation. It's a country that is completely destroyed, as if devastated by war,' said Elsa Morejón, a Cuban religious and human rights activist and the wife of Oscar Elías Biscet, a prominent Cuban dissident who was also in attendance. When Landau asked those in the room what the U.S government could do to provide more humanitarian aid to alleviate scarcities for the Cuban people 'without enriching the government,' Morejón said she favored the distribution of more humanitarian aid through churches, 'but the greatest help would be freedom,' she quipped. Although meetings between U.S. diplomats and Cuban activists have not been uncommon in the past, Tuesday's event occurred at a time of heightened diplomatic tensions. Several dissidents and independent journalists were arrested or placed in home detention so they could not attend the 4th of July celebration at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, and there were concerns that Cuban authorities would prevent some of the people invited from attending Tuesday's event. Hammer acknowledged during the meeting that some attendees would likely face retaliation. At various times, the U.S. officials praised the Cubans in the room for their courage. 'It is very easy for us to express ourselves about what is happening there on the island, but you are there, experiencing it. It moves me that you have overcome your fear,' Landau said. 'You are writing your personal stories but also the history of your country.' Relations between the two countries are at their lowest point in a decade. After coming into office in January, President Donald Trump and Rubio quickly rolled back last-minute actions by the Biden administration to ease sanctions against Cuba and its military. A new presidential memorandum signed last week ordered the expansion of a blacklist of companies with links to the Cuban armed forces. It also threatened sanctions on foreign companies doing business with military-owned companies. The State Department has also expanded visa sanctions to officials linked to the Cuban medical official missions abroad, and bilateral talks on migration and other topics appeared to have been put on pause. Cuba was also added to a list of countries whose nationals face restrictions on entering the United States. Cuban officials have also been at odds with Hammer, the U.S. ambassador in Havana, whose unconventional approach of traveling around the country to meet activists and ordinary people and posting about it on social media has proven popular with Cubans and an irritant for the government. Both Rubio, a Cuban American, and Hammer have been at the receiving end of vitriolic comments from top Cuban officials, state media and even the unofficial Cuban first lady, Lis Cuesta, who called the ambassador 'shameless' in a post in X. The Foreign Ministry made an official protest. In two X publications on the day of Ferrer's arrest in April, Carlos Fernández de Cossío, Cuba's vice foreign minister, suggested that the dissident was sent back to prison in retaliation for Hammer's behavior. 'What is the conduct of the U.S. government when it finds that a foreign diplomat is inciting U.S. citizens to act against the U.S. government, to disrespect the law, to violate terms of conditional release or parole?' he wrote. 'How do U.S. law enforcement agencies respond to such citizens?'
Saba Yemen
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Saba Yemen
Washington revokes visas of British band over Pro-Palestine Stance
Washington – Saba: The U.S. State Department announced on Monday the cancellation of entry visas for members of the British band "Pulp Fiction" after they chanted pro-Palestine slogans, including "Free Palestine" and "Death to the Israeli army," during their performance at the Glastonbury Festival last Saturday. On X (formerly Twitter), U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau criticized the band members in a post on Monday, condemning their chants during the UK festival. Landau claimed that "foreigners who incite violence and hatred are not welcome in our country," adding that the State Department had revoked the band's visas. "Pulp Fiction" was scheduled to perform in around 20 U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C., as part of their American tour. The renowned Glastonbury Festival in Britain witnessed anti-Israel chants during the band's performance. During their show on Saturday, June 28, band members shouted slogans such as "Freedom for Palestine" and "Death to the Israeli army," with the audience joining in. As one of Britain's most prominent punk-rap bands, their performance echoed with pro-Palestine chants across the festival, one of the largest music events in the world. With American and European support, the Israeli occupation army has continued to commit genocidal crimes in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. As of Monday, the death toll has reached 56,531 Palestinians, mostly women and children, with 133,642 others injured—figures that remain non-final, as thousands remain trapped under rubble or in streets, unreachable by rescue teams. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
North Wales Chronicle
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- North Wales Chronicle
Rap duo Bob Vylan banned from US ahead of planned autumn shows
Mr Landau announced the decision to revoke the pair's US visas after one half of the duo, rapper Bobby Vylan chanted 'death, death to the IDF (Israel Defence Forces)' at the festival. The BBC has since expressed its regret at not pulling the live stream of the act's performance during Glastonbury on Saturday, saying the 'antisemitic sentiments' expressed by the group were 'utterly unacceptable'. Bob Vylan played at Coachella in Calfornia earlier this year but will be unable to return to the US when they were set to perform in Chicago, Brooklyn and Philadelphia in the autumn. The duo, formed in Ipswich in 2017, have released four albums addressing issues to do with racism, masculinity and class. Bobby Vylan's real name is Pascal Robinson-Foster, 34, according to reports. In a statement posted to Instagram after the Glastonbury set, Vylan said: 'Teaching our children to speak up for the change they want and need is the only way that we make this world a better place. 'As we grow older and our fire starts to possibly dim under the suffocation of adult life and all its responsibilities, it is incredibly important that we encourage and inspire future generations to pick up the torch that was passed to us.' They are due to perform at Radar Festival in Manchester on Saturday and Boardmasters, a surfing and music festival in Newquay, Cornwall, in August.
