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UK Opens Door For Nigerian Teachers

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Nigeria has been listed among African countries whose citizens can now apply for qualified teacher status through the Teaching Regulation Agency in the United Kingdom, from February 2023.

Other foreign countries which the offer extends to include Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Singapore, South Africa, Ukraine and Zimbabwe.

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A publication early December on the UK government’s website, by its Department for Education, announced the application for interested non-UK nationals.

The PUNCH reports that the applicants do not even necessarily require initial teaching qualifications as the country offers a training programme for the potential migrants.

The notice read, “From February 1, 2023, teachers who qualified in the following nine countries (listed above) will also be able to apply to the QTR through the TRA.

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“This change is part of the launch of a new service.

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“Teachers from all eligible countries will have to show they meet a consistent set of criteria for the award of the QTS. Over time, this route will be opened to qualified teachers from every country outside the UK.

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“To apply for assessment – only QTS, you do not need a formal teacher training qualification.

“However, you must have: a minimum of two years teaching experience,a first (bachelor’s) degree from a UK or non-UK university, an English language qualification which is the same standard as a grade four General Certificate of Secondary Education, a maths qualification which is the same standard as a grade four GCSE to teach children aged three to 11 in primary school, a physics, chemistry or biology (science) qualification which is the same standard as a grade four GCSE.”

 

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Trump Considering Deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia To Uganda

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The Trump administration is weighing the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda in the coming days, according to a notice from the Department of Homeland Security sent to his lawyers on Friday.

The notice, disclosed in a court filing in Abrego Garcia’s human smuggling case in Tennessee, came shortly after his release from criminal custody pending trial on federal charges. His lawyers accused the government of attempting to use the deportation threat as a tactic to “coerce” him into a plea deal.

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Let this email serve as notice that DHS may remove your client, Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, to Uganda no earlier than 72 hours from now (absent weekends),” the notice stated.

Officials had previously suggested that Abrego Garcia, who was unlawfully deported to El Salvador earlier this year before being returned to the US in June, could face deportation to a third country.

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However, it was unclear until Friday whether the administration would allow his trial to conclude before initiating removal proceedings.

Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, one of Abrego Garcia’s attorneys, described the move as “retaliation” by the government.

“The government’s decision to send Kilmar Abrego Garcia to Uganda makes it painfully clear that they are using the immigration system to punish him for exercising his constitutional rights,” he told CNN.

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Under an order issued last month by US District Judge Paula Xinis, officials must provide Abrego Garcia and his legal team with at least 72 business hours’ notice before any deportation to a third country, giving him time to raise potential claims of torture or persecution.

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Court filings submitted on Saturday revealed that earlier in the week, the government had proposed a deal under which Abrego Garcia would plead guilty to two federal charges and be deported to Costa Rica after serving his sentence.

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Costa Rica had confirmed willingness to receive him as a refugee or grant him legal status, according to a letter from its government to the US embassy.

His attorneys said the offer was renewed Friday evening, giving him until Monday morning to accept or lose the option permanently.

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His defence team argued that the deportation threats and plea offers highlight a pattern of “vindictive and selective prosecution” against Abrego Garcia, who previously challenged his deportation to El Salvador. They urged Judge Waverly Crenshaw to dismiss the case.

“There can be only one interpretation of these events: the DOJ, DHS, and ICE are using their collective powers to force Mr. Abrego to choose between a guilty plea followed by relative safety, or rendition to Uganda, where his safety and liberty would be under threat,” his lawyers wrote.

It is difficult to imagine a path the government could have taken that would have better emphasized its vindictiveness,” they added. “This case should be dismissed.”

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UK To Bar Criminals From Football Matches, Pubs, Travel Under New Policy

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The United Kingdom (UK) has unveiled new sentencing powers that will ban criminals from pubs, concerts, and sports matches as part of its Plan for Change.

According to a statement available on the UK government website on Sunday, Judges will be able to curtail offenders’ freedoms with driving limits, travel bans, and restriction zones confining them to specific areas.

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The release, which quoted Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said: “Widening the range of punishments available to judges is part of our Plan for Change to cut crime and make streets safer.

“When criminals break society’s rules, they must be punished. Those serving their sentences in the community must have their freedom restricted there too.

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These new punishments should remind all offenders that, under this Government, crime does not pay.

“Rightly, the public expect the government to do everything in its power to keep Britain safe, and that’s what we’re doing.’

The UK government further explained that the changes will toughen up community punishments to deter reoffending and force offenders back onto the straight-and-narrow.

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“As part of the Government’s work to do everything in its power to keep Britain safe, offenders coming out of prison and supervised by the Probation Service will also face similar restrictions and an expanded mandatory drug testing regime,” the statement added.

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The government also explained that criminals without known drug habits will, in the future, face this scrutiny, not just those with a history of substance misuse.

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Offenders who break the rules face being brought back to court or hauled back to prison as punishment, depending on the sentence they are serving.

Limited bans for Crimes amid prison congestion

Before this new policy shift, judges in the UK are able to give out limited bans for specific crimes, for example, football bans for crimes committed inside a stadium on match day, to prevent further antisocial behaviour.

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However, the Government will change the law shortly so that such bans can be handed down as a form of punishment for any offence in any circumstance.

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“It will form part of wider reforms to sentencing to ensure punishments cut crime and prisons never again run out of places for dangerous offenders.

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“Over 2,400 prison places have opened since July 2024 with the Government investing £7 billion to create a total of 14,000 as the prison population increases.

“Investment in the Probation Service will also receive a huge boost with an increase of up to £700 million by 2028/29, up from the annual budget of around £1.6 billion today.”

This week, it was revealed that the number of Probation Officers has increased by seven per cent in the last 12 months, with trainee probation officer numbers also seeing a surge of 15 per cent. This follows the Government’s commitment to recruit a further 1,300 this year, in addition to the 1,000 trainee probation officers recruited last year.

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New technology, including artificial intelligence, will lighten the administrative burden and free up time for probation staff to increase supervision of the most dangerous offenders and keep the public safe.

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Leader Of UK Christian Group Convicted Of Sexually Abusing Women

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Chris Brain, 68, the leader of a UK Christian group once backed by the Church of England, has been convicted of sexually abusing nine women in his congregation.

A jury delivered the final verdicts on Thursday.

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‎Brain led the Nine O’Clock Service, an evangelical movement in Sheffield during the 1980s and 1990s. The group was known for its nightclub-style worship, held at 9 p.m. on Sundays, which included live music and drew large crowds of young people.

‎Prosecutors said Brain used his authority to control members of the congregation, isolating them from family and friends, and used his position to commit sexual assaults. He also maintained a group of young women known as the “lycra nuns” who assisted him, his wife, and his daughter at home, prosecutor Tim Clark told the court.

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‎The leader of the UK Christian group was charged with 36 counts of indecent assault and one count of rape involving 13 women between 1981 and 1995. He denied the charges, claiming any sexual contact was consensual.

‎Following a trial at Inner London Crown Court, he was convicted of 17 counts of indecent assault against nine women. He was acquitted of 15 other charges, while the jury could not reach a verdict on four additional indecent assault charges and the rape allegation. The Crown Prosecution Service said it would “carefully consider” whether to seek a retrial.

‎The Nine O’Clock Service had received approval from the Church of England. In 1990, the Archbishop of Canterbury-elect George Carey met with Brain to discuss his methods, and his ordination was expedited. Prosecutors said the group even spent heavily to purchase the costume worn by Robert De Niro in the 1986 film The Mission for his ceremony.

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‎Brain resigned shortly before a BBC documentary aired in 1995, accusing him of inappropriate sexual behaviour. Carey later said he was “crushed and let down” when the allegations became public.

‎In court, Brain admitted to receiving massages from congregation members that sometimes became sexual but denied manipulating or controlling them.

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‎Bishop of Sheffield Pete Wilcox said in a statement: “What happened was an appalling abuse of power and leadership that should never have occurred. Where concerns were raised in the past and were not acted upon properly, that was a failing of the Church. For those institutional failures, I offer an unreserved apology.”

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