List of All Articles with Tag 'w'

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign condemned Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a clash over how the history of

All-Star shortstop Dansby Swanson has been activated by the Chicago Cubs after he was sidelined by a bruised left heel

Members of the US Senate have backed calls for safe haven for an Afghan pilot threatened with deportation to Rwanda, saying he and other veterans should not be left in “legal limbo”. The pilot, who served alongside coalition forces in Afghanistan, said he hoped he might be able to find a new life in the US, but slammed the UK government for failing to offer him refuge. The Afghan Air Force official, who arrived in Britain last year, says he feels abandoned by the UK Home Office who are refusing to process his asylum claim. American senators from across the political divide told The Independent that Afghan allies who supported coalition forces should be supported to new lives in the States. The Independent is campaigning for the pilot and other Afghan veterans to be given asylum in countries for whom they have bravely risked their lives. Dozens of military chiefs, politicians, diplomats and celebrities have backed the call. The Republican senator Thom Tillis, from North Carolina, said that the fact that people who helped US service members are stuck in third countries needed to be fixed. He said initially that many people worried that Afghans coming to the United States would not be properly vetted. “I think many of those things worked themselves out and we still owe them,” he said. “I believe we owe it to those who serve alongside our men and women and our Nato partners and allies, to get them where they want to be.” Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, told The Independent that Afghan veterans should not be left with uncertain immigration status. She said Afghans who “helped our military literally are holding letters from top military people saying that they saved their lives and they should not be in legal limbo”. The pilot, who flew combat missions in support of British and US forces, arrived in the UK via a boat last November and has been waiting to find out his fate ever since, with his young family in hiding in Afghanistan. The threat of deportation to Rwanda has still not been removed despite the UK’s Court of Appeal ruling that the government’s returns agreement is illegal. Without the notice being removed, his application for asylum in the UK cannot progress. He told The Independent: “I don’t know why they haven’t removed the notice. I am scared they are still trying to send people to Rwanda and of course I am worried about what they will do next. Lately, I am completely disappointed in the UK government.” The airman has been forced to turn to the US for help, with the White House pledging to “take care of the folks who helped us during the longest war in this country”. He is being considered for possible sanctuary in the US and has had his initial relocation interview. In order to access the so-called P1 scheme, he had to be personally referred by a US official. Speaking about his disappointment with UK, he said: “At the moment, I feel like it doesn’t matter who you are, or what you did with the allies, troops or partner countries. Right now I hear lots of Afghan diplomats, military generals, and others, they are saying that the government doesn’t care about us, who we are and what we did with them. I think the government is not seeing us as colleagues. “When they came to Afghanistan, they were saying we are your friends and we will help you. Now I think they have completely forgotten us.” The pilot spoke about his hope that the US would accept him: “I am happy that the US government is helping me, but on the other side I am not happy about the instability of not knowing where I should be or where I will be. I don’t know which country I will be in and my family needs comfort and a new life.” Dan Jarvis, a Labour MP and former soldier in Afghanistan, said: “This pilot risked his life on combat missions in support of coalition forces. That he faces the threat of deportation from the UK to Rwanda stands as a mark of shame on No 10 Downing Street, whose policy position is increasingly at odds with the much more decent approach taken by the White House.” He continued: “There is considerable angst amongst the Armed Forces community and beyond that the UK government seems unwilling or unable to honour the commitments made to these men. This isn’t just a point of principle, it’s a matter of honour and a failure to do the right thing in this case will further undermine our international reputation.” Kevan Jones MP, of the defence select committee, added: "We owe a huge debt of gratitude to these individuals and the government dragging its feet on supporting them is a national disgrace." Most Afghans who arrived in the United States were permitted on temporary humanitarian grounds. But a bipartisan group of senators is trying to change the law to adjust their status to permanent resident. The group wanted to add the Afghan Adjustment Act, to a series of must-pass bills during the final year of the 117th Congress. But senators failed to garner enough support to include their legislation in final versions of last year’s National Defense Authorisation Act (NDAA). Ms Klobuchar, the Minnesota senator, is one of the Afghan Adjustment Act’s Democratic sponsors. She told The Independent she hoped the bill would pass in the future and had strong support from senior Republicans on the Senate’s Armed Services, Judiciary and Veterans Affairs committees. “We’re building support and would hope to have a vote on the defense authorisation act,” she said. Another Democratic sponsor of the Adjustment Act, Delaware senator Chris Coons, told The Independent the legislation is about fulfilling America’s commitment to its veterans. "The core objective of this bill is to ensure that every Afghan currently here is vetted and has a pathway towards a legal status in the United States making it possible for additional Afghans who served alongside our troops and the troops of our treasured Nato allies like the United Kingdom, to have a safe path in a safe passage to our country while addressing legitimate security concerns of my colleagues is a valuable core purpose of this bill," he said. Sign The Independent’s petition calling for UK to support Afghan war heroes who served alongside Britain A UK government spokesperson said: “Whilst we don’t comment on individual cases, we remain committed to providing protection for vulnerable and at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan and so far have brought around 24,500 people impacted by the situation back to the UK. “We continue to work with like-minded partners and countries neighbouring Afghanistan on resettlement issues, and to support safe passage for eligible Afghans.” Read More Tobias Ellwood’s call to reopen talks with Taliban sparks backlash: ‘Were Afghan women spoken to?’ Afghan judge who put Taliban members behind bars ‘overjoyed’ to be given sanctuary in UK Biden turns up heat on UK over asylum for Afghan hero pilot

A Ukrainian attack drone blasted a Russian ammunition depot in central Crimea on Saturday, sparking a major explosion. Sergey Aksyonov, the Kremlin-appointed head of Crimea, said that there have been no immediate reports of casualties, but that authorities were evacuating civilians within a five-kilometre radius. The Ukrainian military seemed to confirm it had launched the drone strike, after it claimed that it had destroyed an oil depot and Russian arms warehouses in the Krasnohvardiiske region of Crimea, the Ukrainian territory that Moscow illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Local news channels posted videos showing plumes of smoke above settlements, as explosions rumble in the background. The drone attack comes just as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the country’s counteroffensive to push back Russian forces in occupied Ukraine is set to “gain pace.” The much-anticipated effort began later than Kyiv had expected due to a lack of sufficient ammunition supplies from allied countries. But Mr Zelensky said yesterday that the now weeks-old counteroffensive is about to shift in momentum, with Ukraine set to receive more weapons. He called on his allies to provide the war-torn country with more long-range missiles as well as advanced fighter jets, as he addressed international leaders at the Aspen Security Forum. US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told the audience in Colorado that the results of Ukraine’s military effort would only become clear once Kyiv had fully committed its forces. “It is at that moment when they make that commitment that we will really see what the results of the counter-offensive will be,” Mr Sullivan said. Already, recent days have seen Ukraine flexxing its munitions capabilities, as videos have revealed the first confirmed use of US cluster bombs by Ukraine The US had announced previously that it would send the cluster bombs to Ukraine as a part of an $800m package. More than 100 countries have banned the use of these bombs as some of the bomblets may not explode and turn instead into mines on the battlefield, remaining a threat for a long time to come. The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region said on Saturday that Ukraine fired cluster munitions at a village near the Ukrainian border on Friday, but that there were no casualties or damage. Also on Saturday, Ukrainian authorities reported that overnight attacks from Russia on 11 regions had killed at least eight civilians and wounded others. At least four people, including a married couple, were killed as Russian forces on Friday night shelled the settlement of Niu-York, said the regional prosecutor’s office in the eastern Donetsk region. On Saturday morning, Ukraine’s interior ministry said that two civilians died as Russian forces Friday struck Kostiantynivka, a city in the Donetsk region, from multiple rocket launchers. In a post on its official Telegram channel, the ministry said that another civilian was wounded in the same attack, which also destroyed 20 private homes, cars and a gas pipeline. Two more people were also killed near the northern city of Chernihiv, some 100 kilometers from the Russian border, as Russian cruise missiles destroyed the local cultural center and damaged apartment blocks, the regional military administration reported on Saturday morning. Three civilians were wounded as Russian troops overnight shelled a town neighboring the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, local Governer Serhiy Lysak reported. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Russia-Ukraine war – live: Arrest of war blogger who branded Putin a coward ‘likely to spark fury in army’ Tesco, Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s fuel margins have more than doubled since start of Ukraine war Russia comes under pressure at UN to avoid global food crisis and revive Ukrainian grain shipments Russian strikes kill at least 8 civilians as fierce fighting continues in Ukraine's south and east Zelensky sacks Ukraine’s ambassador to UK over Wallace weapons row

Heat waves are bringing about extreme weather across Europe, from wildfires in Greece, to hailstorms in Italy and

Steve Curry was hiking on the Golden Canyon trailhead when he fell unconscious near a restroom around 3.30 pm, as temperatures soared to 121F (49C)

By Timour Azhari and Haider Kadhim BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Several thousand Iraqis demonstrated in Baghdad on Saturday over the burning or

Local sheriffs are investigating after they discovered human remains inside luggage on a property in a rural area outside San Antonio.

McDonald's UK and Ireland chief executive says he commends Ciara Mangan's bravery in speaking out.

Mississippi Republican state Sen. Jeremy England says he intentionally wore a “very embarrassing” Halloween costume to raise money for breast cancer research

Rex Heuermann is currently held at the Suffolk County Detention Center and is on suicide-watch

The Atlanta Braves could be looking to upgrade the middle of the rotation and have been connected to a deal with the White Sox, but not for Lucas Giolito.Despite a number of twists and turns in the Atlanta Braves' trade deadline plans to this point, it seems like we might be right back wher...