Global Pulse

分类： politics

  • Turkish riot police use water cannons ahead of deposed opposition leader’s speech to rally

    Turkish riot police use water cannons ahead of deposed opposition leader’s speech to rally

    A deepening political crisis gripped Turkey this week as riot police deployed water cannons and pepper spray to block thousands of opposition supporters from gathering for a planned address by ousted main opposition leader Ozgur Ozel in the western stronghold of Izmir, escalating a conflict that has already seen a police raid on party headquarters and growing accusations of judicial politicization.

    The turmoil traces back to last Thursday, when an Ankara appeals court overturned the results of the 2023 Republican People’s Party (CHP) congress that elected Ozel as the party’s new leader. The court ruling forcibly removed Ozel and his entire core leadership team from their posts, reinstating his 77-year-old predecessor Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who led the opposition for 13 years against long-serving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with limited electoral success. Critics across Turkey’s political opposition widely view the court order as a politically motivated attack designed to weaken the CHP ahead of potential early national elections.

    Ozel, who had planned to address his supporters at Izmir’s Cumhuriyet Square on Tuesday, found his path blocked by heavy security deployments: steel barricades sealed off access to the public space, and lines of riot police turned back crowds heading to the event. Footage broadcast by pro-opposition outlet Halk TV showed dozens of mostly middle-aged attendees being soaked by high-powered water cannons as they attempted to push past the security cordon, with local media confirming that police also used pepper spray to disperse the gathering. Despite the blockade, Ozel eventually reached the square before relocating to a nearby public space, where he delivered his speech to thousands of cheering, gathered supporters.

    The confrontation in Izmir comes just days after a violent standoff at CHP’s national headquarters in Ankara. Following the court ruling, Ozel and his supporters barricaded themselves inside the building to protest the decision. On Sunday, riot police stormed the headquarters, firing plastic pellets and pepper spray to end the occupation, in a move that further inflamed tensions across the opposition bloc.

    Speaking from Izmir, Ozel called on Kilicdaroglu to honor the will of the party’s 2 million registered members and immediately schedule a new leadership congress to resolve the dispute. “Don’t divide the party, don’t stop our march to power,” Ozel stated, adding that the party should let the full membership choose their leader directly. Kilicdaroglu has not yet issued a public response to the call for a new vote.

    The escalation comes against a shifting electoral backdrop in Turkey. Polling consistently shows the CHP running neck-and-neck with Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), and while the next national election is not formally scheduled until 2028, political analysts widely expect Erdogan to call early elections to capitalize on current economic momentum. Ozel led the CHP to major gains in the 2024 municipal elections, solidifying the opposition’s control of key major cities including Istanbul and Ankara, gains that first demonstrated the CHP’s growing electoral competitiveness after years of underperformance.

    Critics of Erdogan’s government frame the court ruling against Ozel as the latest in a years-long series of legal actions targeting CHP leadership and elected officials. The most high-profile of these actions is the ongoing criminal case against Istanbul’s popular CHP mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who has emerged as the leading potential opposition challenger to Erdogan in the next presidential election. Imamoglu has been imprisoned since March 2023, and the charges against him could result in decades of prison time and a permanent ban from political office. Independent observers widely argue that these legal cases, most centered on unproven corruption allegations, are intended to neutralize the CHP’s most popular figures ahead of the next election.

    The Erdogan government has repeatedly rejected accusations of political interference in the judiciary, insisting that Turkish courts operate independently and free from executive pressure. The confrontation in Izmir unfolded one day ahead of the major Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, a point highlighted in Erdogan’s televised holiday message, where the president called for national unity and reconciliation. “I hope this vacation will be an occasion for hearts to soften, for those who are estranged to reconcile, for grievances to be resolved,” Erdogan said, with no direct mention of the ongoing opposition crisis.

  • Senegal’s sacked PM Sonko elected parliamentary Speaker in challenge to president

    Senegal’s sacked PM Sonko elected parliamentary Speaker in challenge to president

    Just days after being abruptly dismissed from his post as Senegal’s prime minister, Ousmane Sonko has secured one of the most powerful positions in the West African nation: Speaker of the National Assembly. The unexpected political shakeup has amplified long-simmering tensions between Sonko and his former ally-turned-president Bassirou Diomaye Faye, setting the stage for potential gridlock at the highest levels of Senegalese government.

    The path to Sonko’s new role cleared quickly over the weekend, when the outgoing parliamentary speaker stepped aside voluntarily to make way for the popular opposition-turned-government figure. Sonko’s Pastef party holds an absolute majority in the National Assembly, a controlling bloc that gave him unobstructed path to the speaker’s office. Within 24 hours of Monday’s vote confirming his new position, Faye moved to fill the vacant prime minister role, appointing respected economist Ahmadou Al Aminou Lo to the post.

    The rupture between Faye and Sonko is the culmination of months of steadily deteriorating relations. Sonko, a fiery populist who has built his political brand on unflinching criticism of establishment leadership, has openly pushed back against Faye’s approach to managing Senegal’s mounting debt crisis, breaking ranks publicly with the president he helped put in office. The 51-year-old politician has remained a towering figure in Senegalese politics, particularly among the nation’s large youth demographic, where his anti-establishment rhetoric resonates deeply.

    Political analysts warn that Sonko’s new role as the country’s second-highest ranking official will create significant headwinds for Faye’s policy agenda. Without Sonko and his parliamentary majority on his side, Faye could face major obstacles passing and implementing key legislation. Complicating any potential move to break the deadlock is Senegal’s constitutional framework: the president is barred from dissolving parliament until at least two years after the most recent legislative election, meaning any attempt to dissolve the body before November 2026 would be legally invalid.

    This current political standoff has a clear backstory that stretches back to the 2024 presidential election. Sonko was widely expected to run for the nation’s top office that year, but a defamation conviction barred him from appearing on the ballot. In his place, Sonko endorsed Faye, who went on to win the presidency and appointed Sonko as his prime minister. What began as a united political partnership quickly fractured, however, as disagreements over economic policy and leadership style widened into an open rift.

    For Senegal, a country that has a history of recurring leadership tussles amid ongoing economic strain from its growing debt burden, the latest split between the president and the newly installed parliamentary speaker adds another layer of uncertainty to the nation’s political future.

  • ‘A distraction’: Anti-corruption commissioner Paul Brereton defiant as exit looms

    ‘A distraction’: Anti-corruption commissioner Paul Brereton defiant as exit looms

    The sudden resignation of Paul Brereton, the inaugural head of Australia’s National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), has sparked intense political debate, with the outgoing commissioner defending his record and framing his exit as a necessary step to end distractions for the integrity watchdog.

    Brereton formally stepped down from his post on Monday, and just one day later, he appeared before a Senate estimates hearing to lay out his reasoning for the unexpected departure. The former Major-General told attendees that ongoing public and parliamentary scrutiny of his longstanding ties to the Australian Defence Force (ADF) had become an unmanageable distraction for the nascent anti-corruption body. Brereton has retained an unpaid role with the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force (IGADF), where he assists with an ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct by Australian special forces personnel in Afghanistan.

    “Every time the NACC’s chief executive officer appears before this committee, he is forced to answer questions about me,” Brereton told the hearing. “All press focus is drawn to me and my overlapping roles, and that has become a distraction. That is why I decided removing that distraction is in the best interest of the organization.”

    The resignation comes in the wake of an inquiry by NACC Inspector Gail Furness, which probed Brereton’s handling of a declared conflict of interest connected to the commission’s decision not to probe referrals from the Robodebt royal commission. The inquiry’s draft findings labeled Brereton’s actions as meeting the technical definition of “officer misconduct” — a classification Brereton has warned has created a culture of fear among NACC staff.

    “Given the incredibly broad definition that counts any error of fact or any error of law as officer misconduct, we now have a commission where staff are terrified of making any mistake, because they fear they will face a misconduct finding,” he said.

    Brereton pushed back against claims of intentional wrongdoing, noting that his early involvement in the Robodebt probe was conducted entirely in good faith. While he acknowledged that with hindsight, he should have recused himself from the process from the start and apologized for the resulting delays, he rejected arguments that his actions were the core cause of the harm suffered by Robodebt victims. “To suggest that that is the main cause of the appalling tragedy that the Robodebt aged victims have suffered is overstating the case entirely,” he said. In a formal statement, Brereton reiterated that he would continue to reject any claims of improper conduct.

    The commissioner confirmed he received Furness’ draft investigation report back in March, a standard step in the inquiry process, but declined to comment on specific findings, noting that procedural fairness processes are still ongoing. Brereton also emphasized that he had proactively disclosed all his ADF ties to all relevant statutory officers, arguing that his limited unpaid work for IGADF — totaling less than 30 hours over three years, mostly outside of work hours — did not require further detailed disclosure to NACC leadership. He compared the demand for full details of his ADF work to asking for personal information about his religious attendance or recreational sports participation.

    Brereton stressed that the constant need to defend himself against allegations had eaten into an undue amount of his time, and more importantly, had diverted the NACC from its core anti-corruption work. “Regardless of the particular nature of the allegations, this distraction is preventing both of us from doing our work,” he said.

    The outgoing commissioner faced sharp criticism from crossbench senators during the hearing. Greens Senator and Canberra representative David Pocock attacked Brereton for refusing to take ownership of missteps during the NACC’s early establishment. “It seems to me, in your final appearance, there’s just absolutely no ownership of any of the stumbles and things that have happened in the establishment of the NACC, and I find that very disappointing from a leader of your stature,” Pocock said. Brereton responded simply that Pocock was entitled to his opinion.

    Brereton also confirmed he had not received any indication from the federal government that it had lost confidence in his leadership. “I accept that I have in some way contributed to this outcome, but I do not accept that my standards have in any way fallen below an appropriate standard,” he said. Earlier, he declined to immediately release a copy of his resignation letter to the Governor-General, saying he needed to first check for personal information that should remain private.

    Brereton’s tenure as the NACC’s inaugural commissioner was marked by persistent controversy from the start. As early as September 2025, he announced he would recuse himself from all defence-related referrals to the NACC specifically to avoid the distraction that now led to his resignation. In total, the hearing confirmed that NACC Inspector Gail Furness has received nearly 90 conflict of interest complaints against Brereton in less than six months, covering issues including the procurement of counsel assisting the commission. Brereton told the hearing on Tuesday that 40 of those complaints were filed during a 48-hour period following a coordinated social media campaign against him.

    In a statement released Monday, Attorney-General Michelle Rowland thanked Brereton for his work standing up the new national integrity body. “Commissioner Brereton has made an invaluable contribution to the establishment of the NACC as its inaugural commissioner,” she said. The federal government will now launch a merit-based selection process to appoint Brereton’s replacement as head of the anti-corruption commission.

  • ‘Give a damn’: Albanese government lashed as anti-racism framework languishes

    ‘Give a damn’: Albanese government lashed as anti-racism framework languishes

    A fiery partisan clash has erupted in Australian federal parliament over the Albanese government’s prolonged delay in allocating implementation funding for the country’s landmark National Anti-Racism Framework, with a senior Greens senator accusing the ruling Labor government of callous disregard for the daily harms experienced by communities of color across the nation.

    Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi delivered the scathing critique during Tuesday afternoon’s Senate estimates hearing, calling out the government for failing to earmark any funding for the framework’s rollout in the 2026-27 federal budget, more than 19 months after the policy document was formally released. The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) first unveiled the comprehensive framework in November 2024, which outlines 63 targeted actionable recommendations to counter systemic and interpersonal racism across four critical Australian sectors: law, education, healthcare, and media.

    Faruqi emphasized that even the nation’s top racial justice official has repeatedly pushed the federal government for urgent progress. “The Race Discrimination Commissioner has written to the Attorney-General on multiple occasions literally pleading for action on the National Anti-Racism Framework, and yet the only response that even the Race Discrimination Commissioner gets is it is being carefully considered,” Faruqi told the hearing. “But, while you are carefully considering people are being harmed every single day in this country.”

    She directly addressed Labor Senator Nita Green during the heated exchange, stating, “it just seems to me, Minister, that the government really does not give a damn about what people of colour are facing in the community every single day.”

    Green pushed back firmly against Faruqi’s accusations, rejecting the claim that the government is neglecting anti-racism action. She countered that the federal government already provided AHRC with funding to develop the framework in the first place, and is currently taking a deliberate, all-encompassing approach to evaluating the 63 recommendations.

    “It’s not a requirement that the government would respond in the way that other reports require a response,” Green noted. “But, we’re considering those recommendations, and further to that, we’re certainly committed to a holistic response to address racism.”

    Green also pointed to existing government investment in anti-racism initiatives, including funding for AHRC’s Seen and Heard project, and the recent passage of targeted hate speech regulatory reforms, as proof of the government’s ongoing commitment to combating racism. She added that implementation of the framework is not the sole responsibility of the Commonwealth government: the recommendations are designed to be enacted collaboratively by federal authorities, state and territorial governments, and private sector stakeholders.

    Federal officials echoed this stance during the hearing, noting that the government is also integrating consideration of the framework’s recommendations with ongoing work from the Special Envoys for Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, to address overlapping racial justice priorities across all levels of government.

  • Inquiry into antisemitism in Australia condemns online hatred and bigotry targeting witnesses

    Inquiry into antisemitism in Australia condemns online hatred and bigotry targeting witnesses

    MELBOURNE, Australia — The leader of Australia’s highest-profile public inquiry into antisemitism has publicly denounced a dangerous wave of online bigotry targeting Jewish community members who have stepped forward to share their experiences, condemning the harassment as an unacceptable attempt to intimidate witnesses. The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, a landmark probe granted the nation’s top investigative authority, was established in direct response to one of the worst antisemitic attacks in recent Australian history: a December mass shooting at a Sydney Hanukkah gathering that left 15 people dead. The attack was carried out by two gunmen authorities say were radicalized and inspired by the Islamic State group.

    Since the commission launched its public hearings on May 4, multiple Jewish witnesses who have testified about their personal encounters with antisemitism have been targeted with coordinated online harassment and intimidation, according to the inquiry’s chair, former High Court justice Virginia Bell. In a formal statement released Tuesday, Bell confirmed that the commission has received multiple reports documenting a sharp spike in hate-filled messages directed at witnesses immediately after they gave evidence.

    “I cannot fathom what those spreading this undiluted hatred and bigotry toward members of the Jewish community hope to achieve through these attacks,” Bell said. “This kind of vicious targeting has no place in a public inquiry designed to center the voices of those impacted by antisemitism.”

    The commission is systematically documenting all offensive social media content linked to the harassment, Bell confirmed, adding that one particularly severe case has already been referred to Australian law enforcement for further investigation. The inquiry’s core mandate, she noted, is to comprehensively understand and assess the day-to-day experiences of antisemitism among Australian Jewish communities — acts of intimidation against witnesses directly undermine this foundational goal.

    Over the commission’s first two weeks of public hearings, investigators have focused on mapping the nature and pervasiveness of antisemitism across Australian public institutions and broader society. The inquiry has already faced on-the-ground displays of hate: during the first week of hearings, police confirmed that a 68-year-old man was charged after appearing outside the Sydney commission venue wearing a shirt bearing a prohibited Nazi symbol. The design superimposed a Star of David over a swastika, paired with the slogan: “Antisemitism. Proud to be accused. Speak up!”

    At the time of the incident, the commission released a statement saying it was appalled by the display of explicit antisemitism so close to its proceedings. Officials moved quickly to reassure witnesses that strict safety protocols were already in place around all inquiry venues, reaffirming the commission’s unwavering commitment to its work. “This royal commission is determined to investigate antisemitism in Australia without fear or intimidation,” the commission said in the earlier statement. That resolve has only been reinforced in the wake of the online targeting of witnesses, Bell emphasized Tuesday.

  • North Korea launches ballistic missiles over the sea in latest show of force

    North Korea launches ballistic missiles over the sea in latest show of force

    On Tuesday, North Korea carried out another test of multiple close-range ballistic missiles fired into adjacent waters, South Korea’s national military confirmed, marking the latest addition to Pyongyang’s accelerating string of weapons demonstrations throughout 2025. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the launch originated from Jongju, a city located on North Korea’s northwestern coast.

    In response to the provocation, South Korea’s defense establishment has heightened its surveillance alert level and is maintaining real-time intelligence sharing with key security partners the United States and Japan to monitor further developments. This launch is North Korea’s first weapons test since April 19, when Pyongyang fired a volley of short-range missiles that state media confirmed were equipped with cluster bomb warheads.

    The recent test aligns with a years-long trend of military expansion under North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Since the collapse of his high-profile nuclear diplomacy with former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2019, Kim has prioritized rapid expansion of the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile arsenals. While Trump has repeatedly extended public overtures to restart negotiations with Kim, Pyongyang has rejected all offers to date, demanding that Washington abandon its requirement for North Korean nuclear disarmament as a precondition for any new diplomatic talks.

    In recent months, Kim has also adopted a dramatically hardened stance toward South Korea. He has labeled Seoul Pyongyang’s permanent, most hostile enemy and has taken formal steps to sever all official cross-border political and economic ties. Earlier this year, North Korean officials announced plans to deploy new artillery systems aimed directly at Seoul and commissioned the country’s first operational guided-missile destroyer, further raising military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

    Hours before the Tuesday missile launch, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung used a weekly Cabinet meeting to outline his administration’s new priorities for military modernization. Lee, a liberal politician who has long advocated for improved engagement with Pyongyang, called for accelerated investment to strengthen South Korea’s military capabilities, with a specific focus on expanding artificial intelligence integration and drone warfare capacity. He also reaffirmed South Korea’s ongoing interest in acquiring a nuclear-powered submarine, a proposal that has already been a key topic in diplomatic discussions with Washington.

    Though Lee did not directly address the immediate threat of North Korean missile tests during the meeting, he underlined that a strong, self-reliant South Korean defense posture is critical to both national security and the strength of the U.S.-South Korea alliance. “We must show unwavering resolve to take responsibility for and protect our own security ourselves,” Lee stated, framing military modernization as a core national priority for his administration.

  • Quad foreign ministers hold talks in New Delhi on Indo-Pacific cooperation

    Quad foreign ministers hold talks in New Delhi on Indo-Pacific cooperation

    Diplomatic leaders from the four Quad nations — Australia, India, Japan, and the United States — convened in New Delhi on Tuesday for high-stakes talks focused on deepening collective coordination in the Indo-Pacific and aligning positions on shared anxieties over China’s expanding regional footprint. The meeting, hosted by Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, brought together U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong for closed-door discussions.

    According to a statement from India’s Ministry of External Affairs, the agenda covered recent geopolitical developments across the Indo-Pacific, with targeted talks on unlocking new avenues for cross-nation collaboration. Beyond regional strategy, the ministers also addressed the ongoing conflict in Iran and the disruption to critical energy cargo passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a global chokepoint that carries nearly a fifth of the world’s oil supplies.

    Established as a core strategic bloc, the Quad is built around cooperation on three key pillars: maritime security, resilient global supply chains, and coordinated regional planning, all formed against the backdrop of China’s growing military and economic clout in the Indo-Pacific. The alliance has repeatedly raised concerns over China’s military posturing in the South China Sea and its assertive pursuit of contested maritime territorial claims. For its part, Beijing has pushed back against the Quad’s framing, stating that all its military activities in the region are defensive and designed to protect its legally recognized sovereign rights. Chinese officials have repeatedly characterized the Quad as a coordinated effort by Western and Indo-Pacific democracies to curb the country’s economic growth and global influence.

    Tuesday’s gathering comes just days after U.S. President Donald Trump’s official visit to China, a trip that was closely monitored by Indian diplomatic circles for any hints of a shift in Washington’s policy approach toward Beijing. Rubio, who touched down in India for pre-summit engagements on Saturday, laid out the U.S. vision for the bloc’s future, saying Washington aims to move the Quad beyond its current status as a discussion forum and deliver tangible action on priority issues, from safeguarding maritime domains to securing stable supplies of critical minerals. He also confirmed that diplomatic teams are working to organize a landmark leaders’ summit for the four heads of state before the end of the year, though no official date has been finalized.

    The planned leaders’ summit was originally scheduled to take place in India last year, but the gathering was postponed after frictions emerged in U.S.-India bilateral ties, including public disagreements over trans-Pacific trade tariffs.

  • Tribunal swamped by migration, student visa application review, hearing told

    Tribunal swamped by migration, student visa application review, hearing told

    Australia’s independent body tasked with reviewing government migration and visa decisions is facing an unprecedented operational crisis, as surging appeals from rejected international student visa applicants have pushed caseloads to record levels amid ongoing political debate over the country’s immigration framework.

    New figures revealed during a recent Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday lay bare the scale of the strain on the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). In the 2024-25 financial year alone, the tribunal has already received 39,953 applications to review migration decisions, with the full-year projection hitting 46,653. Migration cases now account for 56% of the ART’s entire active caseload, making it the single largest category of work for the body.

    Of these migration appeals, international student visa applications stand out as the biggest driver of growing backlogs. Principal Registrar Michael Hawkins AM confirmed to the hearing that student visa-related cases make up 35% of the ART’s total national caseload. By the end of April 2024, the tribunal had already received 24,545 student visa appeal lodgements, putting the full-year total on track to reach 32,202 across all student and study-related visa subclasses.

    Hawkins explained that the ART has long prioritized processing protection visa cases, which cover asylum seeker claims, each of which requires two to three days of work per application. This focus, however, has left the growing volume of student visa appeals at risk of creating a persistent, long-term backlog. Even though individual student cases take roughly one day to process each, sheer volume has overwhelmed the understaffed body.

    The ART has been grappling with chronic understaffing and resource gaps that compound the caseload pressure. While the tribunal is on track to finalize 60,000 total cases in the 2025-26 fiscal year, this falls short of its 68,000 completion target — and that outcome is only being achieved with 75% of its budgeted staffing levels. Forty-two new tribunal members are set to join the body by early July, but even after new hires start, the ART will still be short roughly 80 full-time equivalent positions. As of July 1, the tribunal will operate with 423 total members, equal to just 347.5 full-time roles, leaving a gap of 82 full-time staff.

    Hawkins noted that the ART is currently prioritizing clearing cases that are more than three years old, a strategy that slows the overall rate of new case completions. “In short, we were budgeted for effectively 60,000 finalisations and we’ve got 90,000 new cases coming in, so we’re always accumulating a 30,000 backlog,” he told the hearing. As of the latest update, 77,938 cases remain waiting for a hearing across all of the ART’s portfolios.

    Between the start of the 2024-25 financial year and the end of April, the ART finalised 18,717 migration application reviews, 18,259 protection visa cases, and more than 4,600 social security-related decisions. Hawkins also thanked Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash for her support in advancing regulatory reforms for the ART through the Senate, pointing out that outdated procedural requirements — including mandatory notice rules for applicants — are currently slowing down decision-making workflows. The revelations come as political tensions over Australia’s immigration policy continue to intensify on the national agenda.

  • 19 Australian women and children linked to Islamic State group set to return from Syria

    19 Australian women and children linked to Islamic State group set to return from Syria

    CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s federal government confirmed Tuesday that a group of seven women and 12 children with ties to the Islamic State terror group have arranged independent travel out of Syrian detention camps to return to Australia, with legal consequences awaiting any member found to have violated Australian counterterrorism laws.

    The cohort is scheduled to land in Sydney and Melbourne later Tuesday, marking the second organized repatriation of Australian citizens from northeastern Syria in less than three weeks. A previous group of 13 Australians in similar circumstances arrived in the country on May 7, also without government support. Three of the four women in that earlier group have since been arrested and jailed on charges including slavery and terrorism-related offenses, and remain in custody as their legal cases proceed.

    In an official statement released Tuesday, Australia’s Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke made clear that the Australian government refused to provide any logistical, financial or diplomatic assistance to facilitate the group’s return. “These are people who made the horrific, deliberate choice to join a dangerous terrorist organization, and they chose to put their own children in an unspeakable, dangerous situation,” Burke said. “Any person among this group who has committed crimes can expect to face the full force of Australian law.”

    Burke emphasized that Australian law enforcement and national intelligence agencies have been developing and updating contingency plans to manage the return of IS-linked citizens since 2014, with established monitoring and risk mitigation protocols already in place. “The government’s top priority, as always, is protecting the safety of the Australian community,” he added.

    Following the departure of this latest group, at least two Australian citizens remain held at Roj Camp, the facility in northeastern Syria near the Iraqi border that has detained people linked to the Islamic State since the terror group’s territorial defeat in 2019. One of the remaining women was blocked from joining this repatriation group by a temporary exclusion order, a legal tool introduced in 2019 that allows Australian authorities to bar high-risk citizens from returning to the country for up to two years. She was originally blocked from travel back to Australia in February, and remains in the camp.

    To date, Australian authorities have overseen two government-coordinated repatriations of women and children from Syrian IS detention camps, while a number of other Australian citizens have returned to the country through independent, unpublicized arrangements. In the May 7 repatriation, two women were taken into custody immediately after landing in Melbourne on allegations their family purchased an enslaved Yazidi woman, while a third woman was arrested at Sydney Airport on charges of being a member of a terrorist organization and traveling to and remaining in a territory controlled by a declared terror group.

  • ‘I think twice’: Minorities fear World Cup immigration enforcement

    ‘I think twice’: Minorities fear World Cup immigration enforcement

    As the 2026 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico draws near, a historic moment for global football has become a source of deep anxiety for immigrant and minority communities across the US, who fear heightened immigration enforcement will put them at risk of detention or deportation even as they gather to cheer on their nations.

    For Haitian immigrant Emile, a 40-something truck driver based in Ohio who asked to keep his last name private, the excitement of Haiti’s first World Cup appearance in more than 50 years is tempered by constant fear. This year’s tournament marks Haiti’s return to the global football stage for the first time since 1974, a milestone Emile describes as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “Singing my country’s national anthem in a stadium in front of the whole world is a historic moment that no one would want to miss,” he told Agence France-Presse. “But at the same time, I think twice. I don’t want to be arrested by ICE.”

    Emile, who currently benefits from temporary protected status (TPS) that shields him from deportation to crisis-stricken Haiti, has followed his lawyer’s advice to avoid air travel entirely over fears he will be apprehended by agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at airport security checkpoints. He is far from alone in this anxiety.

    Across the country, immigrant communities have grown increasingly wary of ICE’s aggressive enforcement tactics. For years, communities have watched heavily armed, masked ICE agents conduct high-profile, often violent raids in major US cities. Public outrage reached a boiling point after ICE agents shot and killed two American demonstrators during an operation in Minneapolis.

    Monica Sarmiento, a representative of the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, told AFP the pervasive enforcement has created a constant climate of fear. “Now, people are making sure that they are aware to what they are doing and they don’t feel safe,” she said. “They are afraid. We have seen very aggressive tactics (from ICE) that have gone after not only undocumented communities but also people with protective status.”

    Sarmiento noted that a large majority of immigrants targeted by ICE enforcement do not pose a public safety threat: 70% of those arrested, detained and deported in recent operations have no criminal record, and many have lived in the US for decades, contributing to local economies through tax payments. “Many of them have been here for decades, paying taxes for decades,” she added. “We are living in a fearful and hostile environment across the country, and not only for the World Cup but every single day.”

    Of the 104 total World Cup matches, 78 will be played across US cities between the tournament’s opening on June 11 and final on July 19. That means millions of fans—including hundreds of thousands of immigrant and minority supporters—will travel across the country to attend matches, bringing them into increased contact with law enforcement and immigration officials.

    The US Hispanic community, which makes up 20% of the national population and has large concentrations in World Cup host states including California, Texas and Florida and major host cities Miami, Los Angeles, Dallas and New York, has been particularly vocal about concerns over increased ICE activity around stadiums and fan zones. The roughly 850,000-strong Haitian American community, concentrated largely in Miami and New York, also faces elevated risk: the Trump administration has moved to end the TPS program that protects thousands of Haitian immigrants like Emile from deportation to Haiti, which is grappling with devastating gang violence, political collapse and extreme poverty.

    Fears have been amplified by recent high-profile cases of immigration enforcement targeting sports spectators. Last year, Human Rights Watch documented the case of an asylum seeker who was arrested by ICE and deported after attending the Club World Cup final in New Jersey with his children. Rights groups now warn that foreign tourists traveling to the US for the 2026 World Cup could also be targeted by immigration agents near stadiums and popular fan gathering zones.

    In April, more than 120 US civil rights organizations—including the prominent American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)—jointly issued an official travel advisory, warning all attendees, players, journalists and international visitors of the “risk of serious rights violations” during their time in the US. The advisory outlines a range of potential harms, from denied entry to racial profiling, arbitrary arrest, detention, deportation, and even cruel or deadly treatment while in ICE custody.

    In response to press inquiries from AFP, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, downplayed the concerns. ICE has a long history of participating in security detail for major US events, including the annual Super Bowl. “International visitors who legally come to the United States for the World Cup have nothing to worry about,” a DHS spokesperson said. “What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is whether or not they are illegally in the US.”

    FIFA, football’s global governing body, also responded to AFP’s request for comment, stating that it “is committed to respecting all internationally recognized human rights and strives to promote the protection of these rights.” Despite official reassurances, however, many immigrant fans across the US remain unconvinced, choosing to skip the historic tournament rather than risk their ability to stay in the country they call home.