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UK Joins Other Nations In Pulling Embassy Staff From Iran

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Britain on Friday withdrew its embassy staff from Iran, following in the footsteps of other European nations as well as Australia and New Zealand amid the conflict with Israel.

Due to the current security situation, we have taken the precautionary measure to temporarily withdraw our UK staff from Iran,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

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Our embassy continues to operate remotely,” it added.

On the eighth day of the war between Iran and Israel, the British ministry said it continued to call for de-escalation between the two sides.

READ ALSO: Crude Sinks As Trump Delays Decision On Iran Strike

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But the statement added: “We take the protection of our staff and British nationals extremely seriously and we have long advised against all travel to Iran.”

Earlier Friday, Australia also shuttered its Tehran embassy and ordered officials to leave the country, Sydney said, citing a “deteriorating security situation”.

Both countries join a string of nations closing diplomatic missions in Iran since Israel launched air strikes a week ago, claiming its arch enemy was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.

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Australia has directed all its officials and their dependents to leave Iran, and suspended its Tehran embassy operations, Foreign Minister Penny Wong told a news conference in Adelaide.

READ ALSO: Israel’s Netanyahu Says Iran Will ‘Pay Heavy Price’ After Hospital Hit

This is not a decision taken lightly. It is a decision based on the deteriorating security environment in Iran,” she said.

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Wong said there were about 2,000 Australians and family members registered in Iran who wanted to depart, and another 1,200 in Israel.

Other nations that have suspended Tehran embassy operations include Bulgaria, Czech Republic, New Zealand, Portugal, and Switzerland.

Switzerland said it was temporarily closing its diplomatic mission in the Iranian capital, but would continue to fulfil is role in representing US interests in Iran.

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READ ALSO: Iran TV Urges Deletion Of WhatsApp, Alleges It Shares Data With Israel

“In view of the intensity of military operations in Iran and the highly unstable situation on the ground, the FDFA has decided to temporarily close the Swiss embassy in Tehran,” the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said.

European powers meanwhile met with Iranian officials in Geneva on Friday, and hoped to offer “a diplomatic solution”, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.

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Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy said “a window now exists within the next two weeks to achieve a diplomatic solution”, while agreeing with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio that “Iran can never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon”.

AFP

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US Suspends Work Visas For Nigerian, Foreign Truck Drivers

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The United States government has suspended the issuance of work visas for Nigerian and other foreign truck drivers, citing job security concerns and safety risks for American citizens.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the decision on Thursday, saying it takes immediate effect.

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According to him, the rising number of foreign truck drivers on U.S. highways is both threatening lives and reducing opportunities for American truckers.

READ ALSO:JUST IN: US Visa Restrictions On ECOWAS Countries Threaten Regional Prosperity — FG

Effective immediately, we are pausing all issuance of worker visas for commercial truck drivers.

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“The increasing number of foreign drivers operating large tractor-trailer trucks on U.S. roads is endangering American lives and undercutting the livelihoods of American truckers,” Rubio said.

The move comes under President Donald Trump’s renewed clampdown on immigration since returning to office in January 2025.

READ ALSO:US Visa Adjudication Sparks Concerns Over Diplomatic Relations

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As part of new measures, travellers from countries with high visa overstay rates or weak travel databases will be required to pay a bond of $5,000 to $15,000 before obtaining certain categories of visas.

The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria also directed all visa applicants to disclose their social media handles from the past five years, warning that failure to comply could result in denial of applications and possible ineligibility for future visas.

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Judge Orders Closure Of Trump’s Controversial ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Migrant Camp

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A US federal judge on Thursday barred the Trump administration and Florida state government from bringing any new migrants to the detention centre known as “Alligator Alcatraz” and ordered much of the site to be dismantled, effectively shuttering the facility.

Florida’s government swiftly announced it would appeal the decision.

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The detention centre was hastily assembled in just eight days in June with bunk beds, wire cages and large white tents at an abandoned airfield in Florida’s Everglades wetlands, home to a large population of alligators.

President Donald Trump, who has vowed to deport millions of undocumented migrants, visited the centre last month, boasting about the harsh conditions and joking that the reptilian predators will serve as guards.

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The White House has nicknamed the facility “Alligator Alcatraz,” a reference to the former island prison in San Francisco Bay that Trump has said he wants to reopen.

The centre was planned to hold 3,000 migrants, according to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

But it has come under fire from both environmentalists and critics of Trump’s crackdown on migration, who consider the facility to be inhumane.

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The new ruling on Thursday by District Judge Kathleen Williams comes after a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration by Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity.

READ ALSO:Trump, Putin Make No Breakthrough On Ukraine Deal, End Summit

The environmental groups argue that the detention centre threatens the sensitive Everglades ecosystem and was hastily built without conducting the legally required environmental impact studies.

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– Sixty-day deadline –

Earlier this month, Williams had ordered further construction at the centre to be temporarily halted.

Now she has ordered the Trump administration and the state of Florida — which is governed by Republican Ron DeSantis — to remove all temporary fencing installed at the centre within 60 days, as well as all lighting, generators and waste and sewage treatment systems.

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The order also prohibits “bringing any additional persons onto the… site who were not already being detained at the site.”

READ ALSO:Trump Threatens 250% Tariffs On Foreign Pharmaceuticals

Several detainees have spoken with AFP about the conditions at the centre, including a lack of medical care, mistreatment and the alleged violation of their legal rights.

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“They don’t even treat animals like this. This is like torture,” said Luis Gonzalez, a 25-year-old Cuban who called AFP from inside the centre.

He recently shared a cell with about 30 people, a space enclosed by chain-linked fencing that he compared to a chicken coop.

The Trump administration has said it wants to make this a model for other detention centres across the country.

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Japan City Mulls Two-hour Daily Smartphone Limit

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A Japanese city will urge all smartphone users to limit screen time to two hours a day outside work or school under a proposed ordinance that includes no penalties.

The limit, which will be recommended for all residents in central Japan’s Toyoake City, will not be binding, and there will be no penalties incurred for higher usage, according to the draft ordinance.

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The proposal aims “to prevent excessive use of devices causing physical and mental health issues… including sleep problems,” Mayor Masafumi Koki said in a statement on Friday.

The draft urges elementary school students to avoid smartphones after 9:00 pm, and junior high students and older are advised not to use them after 10:00 pm.

READ ALSO:Two Japanese Boxers Die From Brain Injuries At Same Event

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The move prompted an online backlash, with many calling the plan unrealistic.

“I understand their intention, but the two-hour limit is impossible,” one user wrote on social media platform X.

In two hours, I cannot even read a book or watch a movie (on my smartphone),” wrote another.

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Others said smartphone use should be a decision for families to make for themselves.

The angry response prompted the mayor to clarify that the two-hour limit was not mandatory, emphasising that the guidelines “acknowledge smartphones are useful and indispensable in daily life”.

READ ALSO:Japan’s Petabit: What To Know About Internet Speed That Can Download 67 Million Songs In A second

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The ordinance will be considered next week, and if passed, it will come into effect in October.

In 2020, the western Kagawa region issued a first-of-its-kind ordinance calling for children to be limited to an hour a day of gaming during the week, and 90 minutes during school holidays.

It also suggested children aged 12 to 15 should not be allowed to use smartphones later than 9:00 pm, with the limit rising to 10:00 pm for children between 15 and 18.

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Japanese youth spend slightly over five hours on average a day online on weekdays, according to a survey published in March by the Children and Families Agency.

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