Headline

Pope To Trump: Your Planned Deportations Would Be ‘Calamity’

Published

1 year ago

January 19, 2025

Pope Francis said Sunday US President-elect Donald Trump’s promised large-scale deportation operation of undocumented migrants would be “a calamity”.

Trump, who returns to the White House on Monday, has pledged to take a hardline stance against an estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States.

“If it is true, it will be a calamity, because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing pay”, Francis said during an interview with Italian television channel Nove.

The Republican billionaire has vowed to carry out “the largest deportation operation in American history,” though any deportation program will face legal challenges, as well as potential refusals by some countries to accept deportees.

Francis, who received Trump at the Vatican during his first term in the White House in 2017 for a half-hour meeting, has criticised him for his anti-migrant policies in the past.

In February 2016, when asked about the then-US presidential hopeful’s anti-immigration stance, he said: “Anyone, whoever he is, who only wants to build walls and not bridges is not a Christian”.

And last year the Argentine Jesuit made a rare foray into the US election season to call harsh anti-migrant attitudes “madness” and criticise right-wing US Catholic figures for overly conservative stances.

Trump, 78, has also vowed to end birthright citizenship, calling it “ridiculous”, though it is guaranteed by the US constitution.

Analysts also expect him to issue executive orders on other aspects of immigration policy, and he is weighing declaring a national emergency, which would allow him to unlock Pentagon resources.

Headline

Indian Court Denies Bail To Nigerian Man Over Drug Charges

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

A court in India has denied bail to a 44-year-old Nigerian national, Cristian Soporuchukwu, who is currently facing drug trafficking charges in the country.

Cristian Soporuchukwu initially entered India on a business visa but was later arrested over allegations of involvement in the sale of hard drugs.

Reports indicated that after arriving in India, Soporuchukwu travelled through Goa, Delhi, and Mumbai, where he allegedly established links with suspected drug traffickers.

He was accused of purchasing MDMA crystals and distributing them to college students and information technology workers.

According to reports, operatives of the Beguru Police arrested Cristian Soporuchukwu in April 2025 for allegedly selling MDMA crystals around Begur Lake and the AECS Layout Road area.

The New Indian Express reported that the High Court of Karnataka subsequently dismissed the Nigerian’s bail application.

“The anti-narcotics wing seized about 1 kg of MDMA crystals, a pocket weighing machine, 10 zip-lock covers, a mobile phone and a scooter from him,” the report stated.

Justice V. Srishananda, while ruling on the bail application, reportedly held that errors relating to the grounds of arrest could not automatically justify bail in serious narcotics-related offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, NDPS, Act.

The court further noted that Cristian Soporuchukwu had allegedly overstayed his visa in India, according to the report.

Headline

Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

Headline

US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

Published

2 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.