Latest news with #RagehOmaar
ITV News
25-07-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
Why Afghan refugees are being deported from Iran to face Taliban rule
More than a million Afghan refugees have been thrown out of Iran and sent back to their own country, where many face an uncertain fate. ITV News International Affairs Analyst Rageh Omaar reports on the world's unseen refugee crisis. Iran has hosted millions of Afghan refugees for decades. Many of them have known nothing else, other than their lives in Iran. In the past few weeks, this all came to an end. First came the formalities of the paperwork - sending them back to the country they or their parents fled. Then came the shock of confronting the emotional reality of being forcibly deported. Deportations of illegal migrants are a global topic - especially in the West. However, the stark number of Afghans being deported from Iran is startling: 1.5 million sent back so far this year. So why is Iran doing this now? In June this year, Israel conducted a devastating strike on Iran's critical military and nuclear facilities and assassinated senior Iranian military officials. Iran's suspicion is that Israeli intelligence recruited desperate and poor Afghan refugees to be agents, and guide Israeli strikes to their targets. A video produced by the Iranian military shows what they say is a bunker near a military site - with Afghans hiding inside it. So now many, like Maryam, are being forced to return to a country ruled by the Taliban. Mayram told ITV News that Iranian security forces were not allowing Afghans to live or work there. She has returned to Afghanistan and is searching for a home for her family. Her story is the same for millions of Afghans, especially women, returning to a country where there are virtually no humanitarian agencies. And many female returnees are not allowed to be educated or go outside unaccompanied by a male relative. This came after years of Western intervention in Afghanistan to be rid of the Taliban so that refugees could return safely, and not under duress.
ITV News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- ITV News
'The crescendo is rising': Pakistan's high commissioner to UK on 'retaliating if attacked' by India
Watch in full: Pakistan's High Commissioner told ITV News International Affairs Analyst Rageh Omaar after a deadly militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir has left tensions at boiling point The issue of Kashmir has not just been a deep political and strategic wound between India and Pakistan for over 70 years, it has also been the principal spark from which numerous military confrontations between these two nuclear armed nations have been ignited. And so it proves now. Last week India accused Pakistan of aiding and abetting militants behind an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people. The Indian authorities said that at least two of the four attackers were Pakistani nationals, something that Pakistan has strongly rejected. The accusations and counter-accusations between India and Pakistan over Kashmir are nothing new. However what matters is in the most recent case, accusations have gone several levels higher and have seen India taking military measures that indicate it is considering a strike against Pakistan - for what it says is a Pakistani inspired and supported attack. Speaking to ITV News, Dr Mohamed Faisal, Pakistan's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom was frank. Whilst saying that Pakistan was concentrated on de-escalating the situation, he said that if attacked, Pakistan would "definitely" respond. "There should be no doubt," he said. "If the Indians attack they would be appropriately answered - but we don't want that. This is not our desire. We want peaceful resolution." Notably he indicated that regional and global powers were acting as third-party go between to make sure that this latest crisis over Kashmir did not come to open conflict - something he said no one in the region wanted to see. He said it would be 'undiplomatic' of him to say who those powers were, but said several such nations were involved. It was also interesting to hear him say openly that this conflict mattered because both India and Pakistan were nuclear powers. Nations outside of the so-called 'Nuclear 5' - The United States, Russia, China, the UK, and France who are officially recognized as nuclear-weapon states by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) - rarely speak about it their nuclear status. But to hear an acknowledgment that India and Pakistan are nuclear powers is interesting. This crisis could easily have escalated rapidly over the past four days into open conflict. Asked if things were worsening between the two countries, Dr Faisal said: "The crescendo is rising, the plateau has not happened. The downward spiral begins after the plateau." The fact it hasn't is a sure sign that major powers are making sure it doesn't - and that was clear from Dr Faisal's interview with ITV News.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
ITV News star Rageh Omaar returns to screens after live health scare
Rageh Omaar has returned to ITV for the first time since falling ill during a live broadcast last year. The broadcaster, 57, had a suspected mini stroke while presenting News At Ten in April 2024, which led to widespread concern from viewers as well as Ofcom complaints questioning why he was permitted to continue. Omaar claimed producers attempted to take him off air, but said he insisted he was able to work and was allowed to finish the 30-minute programme. More than one year on, Omaar led a pre-recorded segment on west Africa on Friday (11 April), which is thought to be his first foreign dispatch after a slow return behind the scenes In concerning footage that was broadcast live, Omaar slurred and stumbled over his words but remained on air until the programme ended almost half an hour later. ITV confirmed the broadcaster had received hospital treatment and said he was 'recovering at home with his family'. A spokesperson said: 'We appreciate viewers of last night's News at Ten were concerned about Rageh Omaar's wellbeing. 'Following medical treatment at hospital, he is now recovering at home with his family. We are wishing Rageh a speedy recovery and look forward to him being back on screen when he feels ready.' The presenter subsequently issued a statement confirming that he had received medical attention after the event and thanked viewers and colleagues for their concern. He said: 'I would like to thank everyone for their kindness and good wishes, especially all the medical staff, all my wonderful colleagues at ITV News, and our viewers who expressed concern. 'At the time, I was determined to finish presenting the programme. I am grateful for all the support I've been given.' ITV News told The Independent they refute all allegations that they knowingly allowed the presenter to work while sick. After working for news channel Al Jazeera for a period, Omaar joined ITV News as a special correspondent in 2013 and was later promoted to ITV News' international affairs editor. He is the presenter of the broadcaster's foreign current affairs programme, ITV On Assignment.
The Independent
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
ITV News star Rageh Omaar returns to screens after live health scare
Rageh Omaar has returned to ITV for the first time since falling ill during a live broadcast last year. The broadcaster, 57, had a suspected mini stroke while presenting News At Ten in April 2024, which led to widespread concern from viewers as well as Ofcom complaints questioning why he was permitted to continue. Omaar claimed producers attempted to take him off air, but said he insisted he was able to work and was allowed to finish the 30-minute programme. More than one year on, Omaar led a pre-recorded segment on west Africa on Friday (11 April), which is thought to be his first foreign dispatch after a slow return behind the scenes In concerning footage that was broadcast live, Omaar slurred and stumbled over his words but remained on air until the programme ended almost half an hour later. ITV confirmed the broadcaster had received hospital treatment and said he was 'recovering at home with his family'. A spokesperson said: 'We appreciate viewers of last night's News at Ten were concerned about Rageh Omaar 's wellbeing. 'Following medical treatment at hospital, he is now recovering at home with his family. We are wishing Rageh a speedy recovery and look forward to him being back on screen when he feels ready.' The presenter subsequently issued a statement confirming that he had received medical attention after the event and thanked viewers and colleagues for their concern. He said: 'I would like to thank everyone for their kindness and good wishes, especially all the medical staff, all my wonderful colleagues at ITV News, and our viewers who expressed concern. 'At the time, I was determined to finish presenting the programme. I am grateful for all the support I've been given.' ITV News told The Independent they refute all allegations that they knowingly allowed the presenter to work while sick. After working for news channel Al Jazeera for a period, Omaar joined ITV News as a special correspondent in 2013 and was later promoted to ITV News' international affairs editor. He is the presenter of the broadcaster's foreign current affairs programme, ITV On Assignment.
The Guardian
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Rageh Omaar returns to ITV's News at Ten after illness on live programme
The broadcaster Rageh Omaar has carried out his first foreign dispatch for ITV since he was taken to hospital last year after falling ill while presenting the News at Ten. The ITV News international affairs editor, 57, featured in a prerecorded package on west Africa on ITV's News at Ten on Friday evening. It is understood to be the first foreign assignment he has undertaken for the programme since an incident last April when he appeared shaky and had difficulty reading the news fluently. He was taken to hospital and given 'medical treatment' for an undisclosed condition. The incident caused widespread concern from viewers on social media and a rerun of the news programme was pulled from ITV's +1 channel. In a statement, Omaar said at the time: 'I would like to thank everyone for their kindness and good wishes, especially all the medical staff, all my wonderful colleagues at ITV News, and our viewers who expressed concern. 'At the time, I was determined to finish presenting the programme. I am grateful for all the support I've been given.' Omaar is understood to have been gradually returning to work over the past few weeks, appearing on online platforms such as ITVX. A video released on ITV News's YouTube account on Friday showed Omaar interviewing Ivorian businessman Tidjane Thiam, the leader of PDCI-RDA, the main opposition party in Ivory Coast. Omaar covers major news stories across the world, and presents ITV's current affairs programme On Assignment. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion He joined ITV in 2013 as a special correspondent and presenter for ITV News, having begun his career as a print journalist in 1990 at the Voice newspaper in London before moving to Ethiopia as a freelance foreign correspondent. He became a household name during the 2003 invasion of Iraq while reporting for the BBC from a hotel rooftop in Baghdad, winning a best TV news journalist prize at the Ethnic Multicultural Media Academy that year.
