“The Ghanaian authorities have no legal basis to continue to detain these persons, much less in military custody,” he said. “We are hoping the court pronounces on the legality of the government’s action.”

He estimated that 42 individuals have so far been brought into the country, though his team has only verified the identities of 14. “We’re not in a position to say whether or not among those individuals are also Ghanaian nationals,” he added.

Barker-Vormawor described conditions at Bundase Military Camp, where several deportees are reportedly held, as “terrible,” citing lack of healthcare and poor food. “Bundase is a military training camp, not designed or habilitated for keeping civilians,” he said, noting that the situation may breach international detention standards such as the UN Mandela Rules.

He also warned that Ghana may be violating the Convention Against Torture, which prohibits returning people to countries where they face risk of harm.

The UN has expressed deep concern over increasing deportations of vulnerable Haitians, particularly pregnant women and newborns, from the Dominican Republic. As reported by the IOM, on a single day, over 400 deportees, including mothers and infants, were sent back to Haiti, where they face dire living conditions. The UN emphasises the urgent need for humanitarian support upon arrival, highlighting the disruptive impact of escalating violence and limited resources in Haiti.

Dominican President Defends Immigration Policies Amid Criticism

Dominican President Luis Abinader has rebuffed allegations of racist policies regarding immigration after Amnesty International demanded an end to mass deportations of Haitians. As mentioned in Abinader's statements and reported by AA , he encouraged the rights organisation to direct its focus on the humanitarian crisis in Haiti instead. The President justified the controversial health protocols and border security measures as necessary to protect Dominican interests amid the ongoing migration crisis.

Nightclub Owner Acknowledges Structural Issues Before Tragic Collapse

Antonio Espaillat, co-owner of a nightclub in Santo Domingo, admitted that plaster tiles had frequently fallen from the venue's ceiling due to persistent water damage, long before a catastrophic roof collapse killed over 200 people. He revealed that the establishment had never received a structural review, despite ongoing issues. Families of victims are now pursuing legal action for alleged negligence. CP24 reports that the Dominican government has pledged to investigate the disaster.

Global Innovator Jonathan J to Boost Dominican Startups at INDOTEL 4.0 Congress

Renowned innovator Jonathan J. Mentor will serve as a judge and startup trainer for INDOTEL’s inaugural I+D Lab and International Congress 4.0, held May 6–7 at Hotel Jaragua, Santo Domingo. According to Dominican Today , Mentor joins top Dominican tech leaders to identify and accelerate standout startups, providing them with expert training, mentorship, and national recognition. Through the I+D Lab, INDOTEL aims to grow the digital economy, drive high-quality tech ventures, and position the Dominican Republic as a regional innovation leader.

Dominican Republic's Recent Crackdown on Undocumented Migrants in Hospitals

In a targeted operation, the Dominican Republic deported over 130 undocumented Haitian women and children from hospitals as part of an immigration crackdown initiated by President Abinader. Under new regulations, hospitals are required to verify patients' legal documentation before treatment, raising concerns from medical professionals who argue that such measures deter vulnerable migrants from seeking necessary healthcare, Channel 5 Belize reports.

At the heart of the dispute is the Alien Enemies Act (AEA), a law dating back to 1798 that allows the government to detain or deport nationals of hostile nations during times of conflict. Former President Donald Trump invoked the law through a presidential proclamation, labeling the Tren de Aragua gang as an "invading force" and justifying deportations under national security grounds.

In its unsigned opinion, the conservative-majority Court stated that while the administration may proceed with removals under the AEA, individuals facing deportation must be given “notice and an opportunity to challenge their removal.” The ruling requires those legal challenges to be filed in Texas, not in Washington, D.C., where the original case was filed.

The decision appears to block the immediate resumption of controversial deportation flights, which last month transported hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to a high-security prison in El Salvador. Those flights, which occurred without court hearings, were carried out shortly after Trump’s proclamation was issued.

The Court's opinion did not directly address those earlier deportations. However, the ruling underlines that such actions cannot proceed without due process going forward.

The decision follows a temporary order by U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg, who had halted the deportations and ordered the government to return removed migrants. The Biden administration did not comply, citing “state secrets privilege” and withholding further information from the court. A hearing last week examined whether the administration had defied Boasberg’s order.

Trump celebrated the ruling on his Truth Social platform, calling it a “GREAT DAY FOR JUSTICE IN AMERICA ” and asserting that it reaffirmed a president’s authority to protect the nation.

Earlier in March, Islamabad declared that 800,000 Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) would be invalidated, marking the second phase of a sweeping deportation drive. The first phase had already pushed an estimated 800,000 undocumented Afghans back across the border.

The raid on her restaurant by police was a turning point. Since then, the ten Afghan women she employed have stayed home, afraid of being rounded up and sent back to a country where women's freedoms have been stripped away under Taliban rule, including bans on education, many jobs, and even visiting public spaces like parks.

"I have no one to return to. The Taliban won't accept us," Raufi said, her voice breaking with emotion.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced additional returns scheduled for Friday, including a flight operated by a U.S. aircraft expected to arrive at 6:00 p.m. local time.

Speaking during a televised event on state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), Maduro said these repatriations mark a new phase of coordination with the United States, Mexico, and Honduras, El Comercio reports.

According to Maduro, two groups will land in Venezuela on Thursday: one carrying approximately 300 Venezuelans returning from Mexico at 11:00 a.m. local time and another flight arriving at 3:00 p.m. with over 200 migrants he claimed were "rescued from U.S. prisons," some of whom had been detained for over a year.

“In the vast majority of cases, they are economic migrants who left as a result of the economic war and sanctions , looking for a better future, and who ended up persecuted by the U.S. government,” Maduro said.

The Venezuelan government says 1,471 citizens have returned home since February 2025 under the Vuelta a la Patria program, which was launched in 2018. The initiative aims to provide a safe path back for Venezuelans who emigrated during the country's economic crisis but now seek to return.

In a move to tighten his grip on power, Daniel Ortega appointed his wife and co-president, Rosario Murillo, as co-head of Nicaragua’s Army. According to CiberCuba , the decision was fast-tracked through a legislative reform approved unanimously by the ruling party-dominated National Assembly. This step further consolidates the couple’s control over state institutions, including the military.

Trump ends parole programme for Nicaragua

DHS Secretary Kristi Noem announced the end of the CHNV parole program for citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, effective March 25, 2025. Beneficiaries must leave the U.S. by April 24, 2025, or when their parole expires—whichever comes first—unless they’ve applied for another immigration benefit. DHS will prioritise the removal of those who overstay and revoke related work authorisations, JD Supra reports.

Panama ex-president Martinelli approved for asylum in Nicaragua

Panama approved safe passage for ex-president Ricardo Martinelli to take asylum in Nicaragua, citing humanitarian reasons. Martinelli, convicted of money laundering and sentenced to nearly 11 years, had been sheltering in Nicaragua’s embassy. According to The Strait Times , Nicaragua granted him asylum in 2024, as it has done for other former Central American leaders.

Ortega 'secretly' receives planes of deported Nicaraguans

In the first two months of Trump’s presidency, five ICE Air deportation flights carrying Nicaraguan migrants landed in Managua, according to CONFIDENCIAL . Four flights departed from Louisiana and one from Texas, all operated by Global X Airlines. The flights, arriving on the first and third Thursdays each month, use the call sign G6-6194. While not listed on Nicaragua’s official airport registry, they are tracked on flight platforms and documented by local aviation enthusiasts.

U.S. report says religious freedom in Nicaragua ‘abysmal’

Religious persecution in Nicaragua has worsened, according to a new U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report. Calling the situation “abysmal,” the report criticizes President Ortega and Rosario Murillo for targeting the Catholic Church through arrests, exiles, and legal crackdowns, especially since churches sheltered protesters in 2019, as reported by Persecution.org .

Venezuela’s Chavista government confirmed on Thursday the resumption of repatriation flights for Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States, as part of the ongoing “Return to the Homeland” Plan. The announcement follows a renewed bilateral agreement reached with U.S. Special Envoy Richard Grenell. Merco Press reports that the initiative was formally announced by National Assembly Speaker Jorge Rodríguez, who attributed previous delays to Washington, citing the revocation of Chevron’s operating license in Venezuela by President Donald Trump as a contributing factor.

Chevron contractors still operating in Venezuela despite Trump ultimatum

Despite a Trump administration ultimatum that aimed to halt U.S. business activities in Venezuela, contractors working with oil giant Chevron have continued operations in the country, highlighting the complexities of enforcing sanctions amid shifting geopolitical and energy priorities, inkl reports.

Venezuelan gov't appeals for foreign investment ahead of oil sanctions deadline

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is seeking international investment as the country braces for a new wave of U.S. sanctions targeting the oil sector. In a televised meeting on Tuesday, Maduro declared Venezuela open to foreign investment in oil, gas, petrochemicals, and refining, urging global partners to "produce and make profits." Despite offering incentives, Venezuela’s oil industry continues to struggle with underinvestment, poor maintenance, and U.S. sanctions, which have deterred even non-U.S. firms. Maduro also reviewed key national projects and called for plans focused on production, domestic supply, and exports, reports Venezuelanalysis .

American Kitesurfer detained for months in Venezuela

People reports that Lucas Hunter, 37, was motorcycling and kitesurfing along Colombia’s northern coast when he sent a chilling voice note to his sister Sophie: he had been seized by Venezuelan military forces after accidentally approaching the border. "They took me across the border. I’m being held in Venezuela, help me," he said. Sophie, 30, who lives in Switzerland, says she immediately feared the worst. "He was trying not to scare me, but I could tell he was terrified," she recalls. The siblings had planned to travel together, but after Sophie fell ill, Lucas went ahead alone with his non-refundable ticket and passion for kitesurfing.

Venezuelan community heads to DC to urge Trump admin against Maduro engagement

Members of the Venezuelan-American community are launching a renewed effort to raise awareness about what they describe as the threat posed by Nicolás Maduro’s regime to the United States. inkl reports that leading the charge is the Venezuelan-American civic organization IVAC, which is organising its fourth caravan to Washington, D.C., with a clear message: Maduro’s criminal network poses a serious risk to U.S. national security.

“On October 22, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), conducted a large-frame charter removal flight to the Republic of India of Indian nationals who did not establish legal basis to remain in the United States,” a statement from the US Department of Homeland Security was quoted by local reports .

The DHS further indicated that it forms part of its commitment to pursuing sustained cooperation with the Indian government and other international partners to reduce and deter irregular migration and “jointly work to counter human smuggling”.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reinforced its approach to curbing illegal migration to the United States.

The DHS said the Securing the Border Presidential Proclamation, enacted in June 2024, has been effective in reducing border encounters.

Since the proclamation and an accompanying Interim Final Rule came into effect, encounters at points between official entry ports along the southwest border have dropped by 55%, according to the DHS statement .

The US has so far returned more than 160,000 individuals and operated more than 495 international repatriation flights to more than 145 countries, including India.

The Philippines, the United States, and Japan have entered into a collaborative agreement aimed at bolstering cyber and digital resilience. This initiative was formalised during the US-Japan-Philippines Trilateral cyber and digital dialogue at the 9th Singapore International Cyber Week. Co-chaired by officials from the three nations, the dialogue covered various pivotal areas including civilian cybersecurity, workforce development, maritime cybersecurity, and information sharing. The overarching objective is to enhance international cyberspace stability, improve data security, and advance capacity-building efforts. Critical to these discussions was the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules Forum, which aims to facilitate data flow while ensuring privacy protection. This ongoing initiative comes on the heels of a previous bilateral dialogue aimed at fortifying the cybersecurity landscape and digital economy resilience between the Philippines and the US, the Philippine Inquirer reports.

Deportation of two foreign sex offenders

Two foreign sex offenders, namely American Joseph John Graham, 76, and British national Ryan Ashley, 50, are slated for deportation from the Philippines on the grounds of being “undesirable aliens.” Graham's apprehension occurred at Clark International Airport, northwest of Manila, where he faces 55 counts related to child pornography in Florida, alongside the discovery of child abuse material on his phone. Ashley, a registered sex offender from the UK, was detained while attempting to extend his tourist visa following previous convictions for sexual offences against minors. Their arrests were enacted under the Bureau of Immigration's #Shieldkids campaign, which primarily targets child sex offenders, culminating in their blacklisting from re-entering the Philippines, as reported by The Star .

Filipino finishes 1 st runner-up at Miss Aura International 2024

Philippines' Isabelle De Los Santos has garnered recognition as the 1st runner-up at Miss Aura International 2024 , an event hosted in Antalya, Turkey. The title was claimed by Colombia's Yuri Rei. During her Top 5 response, Isabelle conveyed a compelling viewpoint favouring wealth over fame, asserting that financial resources could be leveraged to uplift those in need. She showcased a gown embellished with the word "Aura" on the back. Isabelle also received the Miss Aura International fan vote.

VP Duterte threatens to exhume remains of Marcos Sr.

Philippine Vice-President Sara Duterte has escalated her political feud with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. by threatening to unearth the remains of former dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr . and dispose of them into the sea. This provocative statement follows Duterte's resignation from Marcos Jr.'s cabinet in June, which has exacerbated tensions just as both parties are preparing for the 2024 midterm elections—each eyeing the 2028 presidential race. During a press conference, Duterte condemned the Marcos Jr. administration for its alleged poor governance and articulated feelings of being "used" since their political alliance in the 2022 elections. She has warned of serious repercussions if political hostilities against her persist.

American kidnapped in southern Philippines

An American man named Elliot Onil Eastman has been kidnapped by armed assailants in Mindanao, southern Philippines. The abductors, disguised as police officers, reportedly shot Eastman in the leg during his attempted escape and subsequently transported him by boat to an undisclosed location. The US Embassy is actively liaising with local authorities to manage the situation. Eastman has resided in the region for approximately five months following his marriage to a local resident. As of now, no ransom demands have been made, and the identity of the assailants remains unknown. The Philippine military has expressed readiness to assist in the effort to locate and apprehend the kidnappers, as reported by the Manila Times .

Lidia Baez, a protester who spoke to AFP shared "I come to protest the illegal invasion from Haitians, we have full schools, we have full hospitals, we have a whole corrupt system that keeps those illegals here. We want our homeland to be 'us'... of us, we do not want Haitian invaders in our country."

Manuel Velez added, "The government is taking pressure from international organisations when we put him (President Luis Abinader) to lead us and to do the things that the Dominican people want him to do."

The protest was a response to the Dominican government's plan to deport up to 10,000 undocumented migrants per week as announced on Wednesday, October 2 by presidential spokesman Homero Figueroa.

"This operation aims to reduce the excessive migrant populations detected in Dominican communities," Figueroa explained, adding the expulsions would start "immediately" and be done "according to strict protocols that ensure respect for human rights."

Abdul Ghani Qazizada, who manages the registration of arrivals in Islam Qala, told AFP that most of these refugees entered Iran illegally or overstayed their visas.

Nearly 90% are deported, and expulsions have surged in recent months. Many Afghans are warned they must leave within a week or face a hefty deposit if they are over 18.

Upon arrival, refugees are registered by Afghan authorities and evaluated by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Families receive minimal financial aid of 2,000 Afghanis ($29) per person, while individuals receive nothing.

The climate in Iran has grown increasingly hostile towards Afghan migrants, who are often blamed for rising unemployment and crime. Ramazan Azizi, a construction worker, described being evicted with his wife and three children after entering Iran illegally. They paid a smuggler $1,220 for the journey but faced eviction when their landlord was fined for renting to them. They were then detained in a military camp alongside thousands of others.

In his address, Pope Francis criticised "restrictive laws" and the "militarisation of borders," urging instead for the establishment of safe migration routes. "There are those who work systematically and with every means possible to repel migrants. And this, when done with awareness and responsibility, is a grave sin," he declared.

The Pope reiterated that the Mediterranean Sea, where over 3,000 migrants went missing last year according to UN figures, has tragically become a "cemetery." He also highlighted that deserts, often seen as natural death traps, are sometimes places where migrants are intentionally abandoned. "In the time of satellites and drones, there are migrant men, women, and children that no one must see. Only God sees them and hears their cry," he lamented.

While not pointing fingers at any specific country, Pope Francis emphasised that his concerns extend to all terrains where migrants suffer in isolation, including oceans, lakes, rivers, forests, jungles, and steppes. "We can all agree on one thing: migrants should not be in those seas and in those lethal deserts," he urged. "But it is not through more restrictive laws, it is not with the militarisation of borders, it is not with rejection that we will obtain this result."

What they said

At the press conference, Starmer emphasised that the Rwanda deportation policy would be abandoned, stating that it would have removed only about 1% of asylum seekers and failed as a deterrent. "The Rwanda scheme was dead and buried before it started. It's never been a deterrent. I'm not prepared to continue with gimmicks that don't act as a deterrent," Reuters reports. Starmer asserted. He added, "We're going to have to take the tough decisions and take them early, and we will. We will do that with a raw honesty." Starmer clarified that this approach did not imply any unexpected tax decisions that had not been previously discussed.

The detention came upon a tipoff of their residence on a compound in the city. President of the Malawi Society in Israel, Austin Chipeta told The Malawian Nation that the group that fled Arava and Lion farms is being kept at a maximum-security prison in South Tel Aviv, near Shapira neighbourhood.

Before this, Israel and Malawi had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to guide the labour export to Israeli farms.

But Chipeta explains that many persons run away from the farms to seek greener pastures because contractual obligations are not respected.

“For example, if they agreed to 30 shekels [K14 000] per hour, some farmers would have been paying 25 or 20 shekels.

“Salaries in the farms are much lower. Other jobs, for example, in the manufacturing industry where they run to are paying around 40 shekels [K19 000] per hour. As a leader, I took it upon myself to talk to them [workers] to return to the farms but they would not listen,” Chipeta was quoted by MW Nation.

According to Kenya-based Israel Ambassador to Malawi Michael Lotem the MoU was an interim arrangement to allow a limited number of Malawian workers to work in Israel until a bilateral labour agreement is signed. He said Malawi will only have less than 3 000 slots for farm workers.

The detained Malawian citizens face deportation from the Middle Eastern country.

What they said

The US State Department wrote, "Members of the assessment team were subject to aggressive handling, prolonged interrogation and intimidation, unsafe and forced nighttime transportation, overnight detention and confinement, and forced removal from the country.” Adding that, "The Government of Zimbabwe has said it wants to pursue international re-engagement and democratic reforms. Its actions undermine those claims," Reuters quotes. In a separate statement, USAID administrator Samantha Power said the mission has been "assessing the development and governance context in Zimbabwe" to facilitate efforts to enhance human rights in the country.

Steinborn, a registered sex offender with a conviction for indecent exposure in Kissimmee, Florida, in 1994, falls under the category of undesirable aliens due to a law prohibiting the entry of individuals convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude.

Awasthi, subject to an Interpol blue notice, is under investigation for alleged involvement in fraudulent transactions that cheated the Indian government. Authorities suspect his role in importing products at inflated prices, claiming government subsidies, and profiting from illegal commissions.

Both individuals were promptly booked on the next available flights to their respective points of origin in compliance with their exclusion orders.