Headline

Woman Loses Bid To Restore UK Citizenship After Joining IS

Published

1 year ago

February 22, 2023

A woman who was stripped of her British citizenship after travelling to Syria as a teenager to marry an Islamic State group fighter lost her legal battle on Wednesday to reverse the decision.

The ruling from Judge Robert Jay means that Shamima Begum, 23, cannot return to the UK from her current home in a refugee camp in northern Syria.

Begum was aged 15 when she left her east London home for Syria with two school friends in 2015. While there, she married an IS fighter and had three children, none of whom survived.

In February 2019, she said she was left stateless when former Britain’s home secretary, Sajid Javid, revoked her British citizenship on national security grounds after she was found in the Syrian camp.

A UK tribunal ruled in 2020 that she was not stateless because she was “a citizen of Bangladesh by descent”.

The UK Supreme Court last year refused Begum permission to enter the UK to fight her citizenship case. She subsequently took her case to the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.

In rejecting her appeal on Wednesday, Jay said “under our constitutional settlement these sensitive issues are for the secretary of state to evaluate and not for the commission”.

He said, however, that there was “considerable force” in Begum’s arguments and that Javid’s conclusion that she travelled voluntarily to Syria “is as stark as it is unsympathetic.

“Further, there is some merit in the argument that those advising the secretary of state see this as a black-and-white issue when many would say that there are shades of grey,” he added.

– Trafficking claims –
The interior ministry said it was “pleased that the court has found in favour of the government’s position”.

Begum is one of the hundreds of Europeans whose fate following the 2019 collapse of the Islamist extremists’ self-styled caliphate has proved a thorny issue for governments.

Begum’s lawyer, Samantha Knights, told the five-day SIAC hearing last November that Begum had been “influenced” along with her friends by a “determined and effective” IS group “propaganda machine”.

There was “overwhelming” evidence she had been “recruited, transported, transferred, harboured and received in Syria for the purposes of ‘sexual exploitation’ and ‘marriage’ to an adult male”, she added in written submissions.

The process by which the government took the decision to remove Begum’s citizenship was “extraordinary” and “over hasty”, she added.

James Eadie, representing the government, said Begum “travelled, aligned, and stayed in Syria for four years” and that she only left IS-controlled territory for safety reasons “and not because of a genuine disengagement from the group”.

Javid “properly considered” all the factors before making his decision, and the case was about “national security”, not trafficking, he added.

Begum’s apparent lack of remorse in initial interviews drew outrage, but she has since expressed regret for her actions and sympathy for IS victims.

In a documentary last year, she said that on arrival in Syria she quickly realised IS were “trapping people” to boost the caliphate’s numbers and “look good”.

Some 900 people are estimated to have travelled from Britain to Syria and Iraq to join IS. Of those, around 150 are believed to have been stripped of their citizenship.

AFP

Headline

Pop Star Justin Bieber Sparks Concern After Seen Crying Amid Rumours Of Rift With Wife

Published

16 hours ago

April 28, 2024

Editor

Pop sensation Justin Bieber has stirred concern among fans after posting a series of emotional selfies on Sunday, that has been linked to the rumoured split with his wife.

The 30-year-old singer took to Instagram over the weekend to share multiple photo dumps, offering glimpses into various aspects of his life.

From his surprise appearance at Coachella, where he performed during Tems’ set, to moments of leisure such as playing golf, enjoying the beach, smoking, and trying on different trainers, Justin Bieber’s posts provided a look into his world.

It was, however, one particular set of images that garnered significant attention from fans.

In a close-up series of selfies, Bieber appeared visibly distressed, with tears streaming down his face.

The pop star stared solemnly into the camera, his emotions laid bare for all to see, as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

Despite the intimate portrayal of his emotions, Bieber offered no explanation or caption for his tearful display, leaving fans puzzled and concerned about his well-being.

Justin Bieber’s personal life has come under the spotlight since the recent rumors surrounding his marriage to wife Hailey Bieber (neé Baldwin), 27.

The couple, who tied the knot in 2018, has faced speculation about the state of their relationship on multiple occasions.

Concerns were raised recently when Hailey’s father, Stephen Baldwin, 57, requested “prayers” for the couple, fueling speculation about potential marital troubles.

Headline

400 Bodies Found In Mass Grave In Gaza Hospital

Published

2 days ago

April 28, 2024

Editor

The government in Gaza have concluded their search of mass graves at a hospital in the south of the strip and said they have uncovered a total of 392 bodies, including some still wearing surgical gowns.

Speaking at a Thursday news conference at Rafah, on April 25, an official from the Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza said workers have identified 165 bodies at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the area earlier this month.

According to Mohammed Al Mighayyer, they are still examining the remaining 227 bodies to determine their identities.

“We found three mass graves, the first in front of the morgue, the second behind the morgue, and the third north of the dialysis building,” he added.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said any suggestion that it had buried Palestinian bodies in mass graves was false, and that a grave at the Nasser complex was dug by Palestinians in Gaza some months ago.

The Gaza Civil Defense acknowledged that around 100 bodies were buried in graves at the Nasser hospital before the IDF operation there.

CNN reports that people had buried the bodies of family members who had been killed on the grounds of the hospital as a temporary measure in January but when they returned after the Israeli military withdrew on April 7, they discovered the bodies had been dug up and then placed in at least one collective grave, not all in the initial spots they were buried in.

The Palestinian Civil Defense also showed graphic images on a TV screen at the news conference showing several almost unrecognizable bodies at the complex and bodies of decomposed children.

Al Mighayyer said the Civil Defense “witnessed the presence of children’s bodies in the mass graves at the Nasser Medical Complex, which proves crimes of genocide.” While the group says it is still examining the bodies, they suspect at least 20 civilians were buried alive in the complex, but it did not explain how it knows this, or offer proof.

Al Mighayyer also claimed there had been cases of executions of patients who had been receiving treatment at the hospital. He said several bodies were found with gunshot wounds to their heads and injuries to their bodies.

Al Mighayyer said at the news conference that the Palestinian Gaza Civil Defense in Gaza “discovered torture marks on [some] bodies.” CNN cannot independently verify these claims.

“Israeli forces buried several bodies in plastic bags at a depth of three meters, which made them decompose quickly.”

“The occupation deliberately concealed evidence of its crimes in the Nasser Complex by changing the plastic shrouds more than once,” he claimed. Video recorded by CNN shows bodies wrapped in three different coloured shrouds: white, black and blue.

Amnesty International has also called for an investigation into the mass graves at the two Gaza hospitals.

I’m response, the Israeli Defense Forces, IDF said:“During the IDF’s operation in the area of Nasser Hospital, in accordance with the effort to locate hostages and missing persons, corpses buried by Palestinians in the area of Nasser Hospital were examined. The examination was conducted in a careful manner and exclusively in places where intelligence indicated the possible presence of hostages.”

The IDF continued: “At the end of February, IDF forces conducted a precise and targeted operation against the terrorist organization Hamas in the Nasser Hospital area. During the operation, about 200 terrorists who were in the hospital were apprehended, medicines intended for Israeli hostages were found undelivered and unused, and a great deal of ammunition was confiscated. The activity was done in a targeted manner and without harming the hospital, the patients and the medical staff.”

Headline

Watch Of Richest Titanic Passenger Sells For £1.17m

Published

2 days ago

April 27, 2024

Editor

A gold watch found on the body of the richest passenger on the Titanic was auctioned in England for £1.17 million ($1.46 million) on Saturday.

It was a record sum for an object linked to the notorious 1912 shipping disaster, said auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son.

A US buyer won the bidding war, smashing the auctioneer’s pre-sale estimate of between £100,000 and £150,000.

The watch, engraved with the initials JJA, belonged to the US business magnate John Jacob Astor.

Astor was 47 when he died as the Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912. He was reputed to be one of the richest men in the world at the time.

He died after having helped his wife, Madeleine, on board one of the lifeboats. She survived the disaster.

Astor’s body was found a week after the disaster, with the watch among his personal belongings.

“The watch itself was completely restored after being returned to Colonel Astor’s family and worn by his son,” said a statement from the auction house.