Trump administration offers $1,000 to undocumented immigrants to leave US

DHS claims payment will be issued after individuals leave the US and it has been confirmed through their app

The Trump administration has announced a new program offering a $1,000 payment to people in the US without immigration status as an incentive to return to their home country voluntarily.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) outlined the initiative on Monday, pledging “financial and travel assistance” to undocumented immigrants who agree to leave the country using an app called CBP Home.

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UK access to EU crime and illegal migration data reportedly denied

Blow to Starmer’s hopes of post-Brexit reset and efforts to clear asylum claims amid rise of populist right

A UK request for access to shared European Union crime and illegal migration data has reportedly been rejected in a blow to Keir Starmer’s hopes of a post-Brexit relations “reset”.

British negotiators have been hoping to reach a deal on gaining access to the Schengen Information System (SIS), a vital tool for sharing police alerts across borders within the area where 29 countries have abolished passport controls.

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‘Step back from the brink’, Guterres urges India and Pakistan – UN News

  1. ‘Step back from the brink’, Guterres urges India and Pakistan  UN News
  2. 'LeT Involved?': UN Security Council Blasts Pakistan Over Pahalgam  NDTV
  3. Shashi Tharoor shares insider view of UNSC meet: ‘China will veto any resolution against Pakistan…’  Hindustan Times
  4. In closed-door meeting, UNSC asks Pakistan tough questions amid heightened tensions with India  The Indian Express
  5. Pakistan’s objectives ‘largely served and achieved’ by UNSC moot on South Asia tensions: Asim Iftikhar  Dawn
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UK marks VE Day 80th anniversary with large crowds and military pomp

Royal family and war veterans watch 1,300-strong military procession in London while street parties held around UK

As Big Ben chimed at noon and with the Cenotaph, the symbol of sacrifice, draped in the union flag for the first time since its unveiling in 1920, the UK marked the 80th anniversary of VE Day with military pomp before large crowds who had gathered in central London.

Buckingham Palace may have served as the centrepiece of Monday’s spectacle before Thursday’s anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. At the event’s heart, however, were the VVIP second world war veterans, those remaining few who bore actual witness then and who today serve to remind.

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EU to set 2027 deadline for severing energy contracts with Russia – Financial Times

  1. EU to set 2027 deadline for severing energy contracts with Russia  Financial Times
  2. EU to set out plans to halt Russian gas imports by end-2027  Reuters
  3. Europe’s final plan to quit Russian energy: Enlist wary execs  politico.eu
  4. The man with the plan to end Europe’s Russian gas addiction  Financial Times
  5. EU Aims to Sever Energy Ties With Moscow  Bloomberg
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Sudan fails in attempt to make UAE accountable for acts of genocide

Largely expected decision by international court of justice marks second diplomatic victory for Gulf state

An attempt by Sudan’s government to make the United Arab Emirates legally accountable for acts of genocide in West Darfur has been rejected by the international court of justice after the judges voted by 14 to 2 to declare they had no jurisdiction. By a narrower majority the judges voted 9 to 7 to strike the case entirely from the ICJ list.

There have been repeated allegations during the two-year civil war in Sudan that the UAE has been flying arms to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in an attempt to oust the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

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Francis’s popemobile to become a mobile clinic for children in Gaza

Catholic charity says the late pontiff endorsed the idea of creating a ‘vehicle of hope’ to deliver medical aid

Just over a decade ago, the converted Mitsubishi whisked Pope Francis through the streets of Bethlehem before it was left to gather dust. Now, in keeping with one of the late pontiff’s last wishes, the popemobile is being given a second life – as a mobile health clinic for children in the Gaza Strip.

In a region ravaged by more than 18 months of war, the initiative is both symbolic and practical, said Peter Brune, the secretary general of the Catholic charity Caritas Sweden.

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US scientist who touted hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid named to pandemic prevention role

Steven J Hatfill, who promoted the drug despite scant evidence of efficacy, becomes special adviser at HHS

A proponent of using the drug hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid-19 despite scant evidence of its efficacy has been named to a top pandemic prevention role at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Washington Post reports.

Steven J Hatfill is a virologist who served in Donald Trump’s first administration, during which he promoted hydroxychloroquine to treat the virus in the early months of the pandemic, when vaccines and treatments were not yet available. He recently started as a special adviser in the office of the director of the administration for strategic preparedness and response, which prepares the country to respond to pandemics, as well as chemical and biological attacks.

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Who is coming to Putin’s Victory Day parade and how safe is Moscow? – Euronews.com

  1. Who is coming to Putin’s Victory Day parade and how safe is Moscow?  Euronews.com
  2. Moscow releases guest list for Victory Day parade.  The Kyiv Independent
  3. Twenty-nine world leaders are expected at Moscow's World War Two victory commemorations, Kremlin says  Reuters
  4. Rain (Fire) on the Parade  Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA)
  5. Why Russia and Israel should celebrate Victory Day over Nazis together - opinion  The Jerusalem Post
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Huge swings to Labor from Chinese Australian voters in key seats show Liberals failed to rebuild trust, experts say

Community convincingly chooses Labor in Melbourne and Sydney seats, despite opposition efforts to engage after 2022 review

Suburbs with significant Chinese Australian populations in key marginal seats recorded huge swings to Labor of up to 30%, and strategists and analysts warn the Liberal party has failed to rebuild trust with the community.

The Liberal party’s review of the 2022 federal election found hawkish rhetoric on China cost it votes in several seats with high numbers of Chinese Australians. It called for greater community outreach and to rebuild trust before the 2025 poll.

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Queensland unions predict ‘hell of a bloody fight’ if LNP attacks nurses’ right to strike

State government offered to backdate wages for nurses and midwives on condition they do not undertake protected industrial action in May

The Queensland union movement has warned the state’s conservative government it will be in for a “hell of a bloody fight” if it pursues threats to strip nurses and midwives of backpay should they enact their legal right to strike.

A pay dispute between the LNP government and the Queensland Nurses and Midwives’ Union (QNMU) is ongoing after their previous enterprise agreement expired on 31 March.

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Spain: cable theft that caused rail chaos was ‘act of sabotage’, says minister

Signalling cable taken from four locations, delaying high-speed services between Madrid and Seville, week after massive power cut

Spain’s transport minister has said the country’s rail network suffered “an act of serious sabotage” after vital signalling cable was stolen over the busy bank holiday weekend, bringing severe delays to high-speed services between Madrid and Seville that affected more than 10,000 travellers.

Government sources said the problems on the line between the capital and the southern region of Andalucía had been caused by the theft of copper cable from five different locations in the Toledo area, south of Madrid, late on Sunday.

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Target vessel sank before it could be hammered at drill in Philippines – Defense News

  1. Target vessel sank before it could be hammered at drill in Philippines  Defense News
  2. U.S. and Philippine forces cancel ship-sinking drill after World War II-era target prematurely sinks  NBC News
  3. World War II-era target ship prematurely sinks before US and Philippine forces can use in drills  CNN
  4. Warship Sinks Before Planned US Missile Strike Drills With Ally  Newsweek
  5. Navy ship sinks on its own before military exercise in South China Sea  India Today
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UK offshore havens miss deadline for transparency plans

British Virgin Islands criticised for launching financial crime-fighting cartoon mascot before new legislation

UK offshore havens have missed a deadline to publish their plans to improve corporate transparency, as MPs criticised the British Virgin Islands (BVI) in particular for launching a financial crime-fighting cartoon mascot before new legislation.

Jurisdictions including the BVI and Bermuda pledged last year to approve laws allowing access to company ownership data to those with a “legitimate interest” by April 2025, with implementation to follow in June.

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