World
Biden sending 1,500 troops for Mexico border migrant surge
Published
11 months agoon
By
FNN NEWSWASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration will send 1,500 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border ahead of an expected migrant surge following the end of coronavirus pandemic-era restrictions.
Military personnel will do data entry, warehouse support and other administrative tasks so that U.S. Customs and Border Protection can focus on fieldwork, White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday.
The troops “will not be performing law enforcement functions or interacting with immigrants, or migrants,” Jean-Pierre said. “This will free up Border Patrol agents to perform their critical law enforcement duties.”
The troops will carry out this support for 90 days, said Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, “until CBP can address these needs through contracted support.”
It’s unclear when the troops would be deployed.
The COVID-19 restrictions allowed U.S. officials to turn away tens of thousands of migrants crossing the southern border, but those restrictions will lift May 11, and border officials are bracing for an expected surge of migrants. Even amid the restrictions, the administration has seen record numbers of people crossing the border, and President Joe Biden has responded by cracking down on those who cross illegally and by creating new pathways meant to offer alternatives to a dangerous and often deadly journey.
Biden’s actions follow similar moves by then-President Donald Trump, who deployed active duty troops to the border to assist border patrol personnel in processing large migrant caravans, on top of National Guard forces that were already working in that capacity. There are already 2,500 National Guard members at the border, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
The Pentagon on Tuesday approved the request for troops by DHS, which manages the border, one of the officials said.
But the deployments have a catch: As a condition for Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s previous approval of National Guard troops to support the border mission throughout fiscal year 2023, which ends this Oct. 1, DHS had to agree to work with the White House and Congress “to develop a plan and implement solutions to staffing and funding shortfalls to maintain border security and the safe, orderly, and humane processing of migrants that do not involve the continued use of DOD personnel and resources after FY2023,” said Pentagon spokesman Air Force Lt. Col. Devin Robinson.
As part of the agreement, DOD requested quarterly updates from DHS on how it would staff its border mission without service members throughout this fiscal year; it was not immediately clear if those updates have happened or if DHS will be able to meet its terms of the agreement — particularly under the strain of another migrant surge.
DHS said the request for a temporary surge of extra troops is part of their effort to get ready to fully assume the border mission, including their effort to enact measures to reduce migration, improve processing and speed removal of illegal immigrants.
“U.S. Customs and Border Protection is investing in technology and personnel to reduce its need for DOD support in coming years, and we continue to call on Congress to support us in this task,” the agency said in a statement.
For Biden, who announced his Democratic reelection campaign a week ago, the decision signals his administration is taking seriously an effort to tamp down the number of illegal crossings, a potent source of Republican attacks, and sends a message to potential border crossers not to attempt the journey. But it also draws potentially unwelcome comparisons to Biden’s Republican predecessor, whose policies Biden frequently criticized. Congress, meanwhile, has refused to take any substantial immigration-related actions.
Jean-Pierre downplayed any similarity to how Biden is handling the migrant surge compared to Trump’s use of troops during his term.
“DOD personnel have been supporting CBP at the border for almost two decades now,” Jean-Pierre said. “So this is a common practice.”
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World
CTO to Spotlight the Caribbean at Routes Americas 2024 in Bogotá
Published
6 days agoon
March 13, 2024By
FNN NEWSBRIDGETOWN, Barbados (March 13, 2024) – The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) is poised to positively impact the Routes Americas in Bogotá, Colombia, next week. This premier air service development forum uniting the Americas brings together senior decision-makers from the region’s leading airlines, airports and other tourism and aviation stakeholders.
The CTO delegation, led by Secretary-General and CEO Dona Regis-Prosper and Faye Gill, Director of Membership Services, will attend at the CORFERIAS business and exhibition center from March 19 to 21, 2024.
“In an era where connectivity is the driving force behind recovery and progress, our participation in Routes Americas is a significant step for the Caribbean. It’s a platform that allows us to amplify our presence and forge essential partnerships within the global aviation ecosystem,” emphasized Regis-Prosper. “This is a part and parcel of our continued commitment to enhancing the region’s visibility and fostering meaningful interactions that pave the way for more connections to and within the Caribbean.”
In anticipation of Routes Americas, CTO, in collaboration with Airport Strategy & Marketing (ASM), recently hosted a groundbreaking two-day training event in Barbados on airline route development titled “Aviation Marketing, Incentives & Negotiation”. According to Regis-Prosper, this initiative signifies a crucial step in the organization’s strategy to enhance air access to and from the Caribbean.
Throughout next week’s three-day event in South America, delegates will engage in an immersive program featuring face-to-face meetings, networking opportunities, and access to exclusive industry insights.
A highlight of the event is the Caribbean-focused panel discussion “Aviation Competitiveness in the Caribbean”, scheduled for Tuesday, March 19, from 2:35 pm to 3:20 pm. Panelists include Kenneth Romer (Deputy Director General, The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Investments and Aviation); Trevor Sadler (CEO, interCaribbean Airways); Hans van de Velde (CEO, Windward Islands Airways International – WINAIR); Rafael Echevarne (Director General Latin America & Caribbean, Airports Council International – ACI); and Peter Cerdá (Regional Vice President, The Americas, IATA), with David Appleby (Director, ASM) moderating.
This session will explore the competitive landscape of the Caribbean aviation sector, highlighting efforts to boost air connectivity within the region and to emerging markets in South America and Europe. Despite challenges of several destinations recovering to pre-2019 levels of flight frequencies and seat availability, the discussion promises to uncover strategic approaches toward financial and traffic resurgence and explore new growth avenues in the aviation sector.
During the conference, the CTO team will meet with its members and airline partners. The CTO’s Caribbean-themed booth will be located at Stand S24.
World
Caribbean officials search for 2 people aboard a yacht they say was hijacked by 3 escaped prisoners
Published
3 weeks agoon
February 24, 2024By
FNN SPORTSSAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Authorities in the eastern Caribbean said they were trying to locate two people believed to be U.S. citizens who were aboard a yacht that was hijacked by three escaped prisoners from Grenada.
The Royal Grenada Police Force said in a statement released on Friday that they were working on leads “that suggest” the two occupants of the yacht may have been killed.
“This investigation is in its infancy stage,” police said.
The nonprofit Salty Dawg Sailing Association identified the owners as Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel. It said they are “veteran cruisers” and longtime members of the association, calling them “warmhearted and capable.” A relative of Hendry didn’t immediately return a message seeking comment on Saturday.
The association said that a cruising skipper had contacted the association about a member’s yacht, Simplicity, that was found “anchored and abandoned” off a beach on the island of St. Vincent.
“The good Samaritan had boarded the boat and noted that the owners … were not onboard and found evidence of apparent violence,” the association said in a statement Thursday.
The association said Hendry and Brandel had sailed the yacht in last year’s Caribbean Rally from Hampton, Virginia, to Antigua, and were spending the winter cruising in the eastern Caribbean.
“This is a very upsetting event and details are still unconfirmed by the authorities, but this does appear to be a tragic event,” said Bob Osborn, the association’s president. “In all my years of cruising the Caribbean, I have never heard of anything like this.”
Authorities in Grenada said they have dispatched senior investigators and a forensic specialist to the nearby island of St. Vincent, where the escaped prisoners were arrested on Wednesday.
The prisoners, ages 19, 25 and 30, were charged a couple of months ago with one count of robbery with violence. The eldest inmate also was charged with one count of rape, three counts of attempted rape and two counts of indecent assault and causing harm, police in Grenada said.
The three men escaped from their holding cell on Feb. 18, according to police.
Authorities said a preliminary investigation suggests that the three men seized the yacht from Grenada’s capital, St. George’s, and traveled to St. Vincent. The owners of the yacht haven’t been identified.
World
The body of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed over to his mother, aide says
Published
3 weeks agoon
February 24, 2024By
Willie DavidThe body of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been handed over to his mother, a top aide to Navalny said Saturday on his social media account.
Ivan Zhdanov, the director of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, made the announcement on his Telegram account and thanked “everyone” who had called on Russian authorities to return Navalny’s body to his mother.
Earlier on Saturday, Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny’s widow, accused President Vladimir Putin of mocking Christianity by trying to force his mother to agree to a secret funeral after his death in an Arctic penal colony.
“Thank you very much. Thanks to everyone who wrote and recorded video messages. You all did what you needed to do. Thank you. Alexei Navalny’s body has been given to his mother,” Zhdanov wrote.
Navalny, 47, Russia’s most well-known opposition politician, unexpectedly died on Feb. 16 in an Arctic penal colony and his family have been fighting for more than a week to have his body returned to them. Prominent Russians released videos calling on authorities to release the body and Western nations have hit Russia with more sanctions as punishment for Navalny’s death as well as for the second anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine.
Navalny’s mother, Lyudmila Navalnaya, is still in Salekhard, Navalny’s press secretary Kira Yarmysh said on X, formerly Twitter. Lyudmila Navalnaya has been in the Arctic region for more than a week, demanding that Russian authorities return the body of her son to her.
“The funeral is still pending,” Yarmysh tweeted, questioning whether authorities will allow it to go ahead “as the family wants and as Alexei deserves.”
Earlier Saturday, Navalny’s widow said in a video that Navalny’s mother was being “literally tortured” by authorities who had threatened to bury Navalny in the Arctic prison. They, she said, suggested to his mother that she did not have much time to make a decision because the body is decomposing, Navalnaya said.
“Give us the body of my husband,” Navalnaya said earlier Saturday. “You tortured him alive, and now you keep torturing him dead. You mock the remains of the dead.”
Authorities have detained scores of people as they seek to suppress any major outpouring of sympathy for Putin’s fiercest foe before the presidential election he is almost certain to win. Russians on social media say officials don’t want to return Navalny’s body to his family, because they fear a public show of support for him.
Navalnaya accused Putin, an Orthodox Christian, of killing Navalny.
“No true Christian could ever do what Putin is now doing with the body of Alexei,” she said, asking, “What will you do with his corpse? How low will you sink to mock the man you murdered?”
Saturday marked nine days since the opposition leader’s death, a day when Orthodox Christians hold a memorial service.
People across Russia came out to mark the occasion and honor Navalny’s memory by gathering at Orthodox churches, leaving flowers at public monuments or holding one-person protests.
Muscovites lined up outside the city’s Christ the Savior Cathedral to pay their respects, according to photos and videos published by independent Russian news outlet SOTAvision. The video also shows Russian police stationed nearby and officers stopping several people for an ID check.
They included Elena Osipova, a 78-year-old artist from St. Petersburg who stood in a street with a poster showing Navalny with angel wings, and Sergei Karabatov, 64, who came to a Moscow monument to victims of political repression with flowers and a note saying “Don’t think this is the end.”
Also arrested was Aida Nuriyeva, from the city of Ufa near the Ural Mountains, who publicly held up a sign saying “Putin is Navalny’s murderer! I demand that the body be returned!”
Putin is often pictured at church, dunking himself in ice water to celebrate the Epiphany and visiting holy sites in Russia. He has promoted what he has called “traditional values” without which, he once said, “society degrades.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected allegations that Putin was involved in Navalny’s death, calling them “absolutely unfounded, insolent accusations about the head of the Russian state.”
Musician Nadya Tolokonnikova, who became widely known after spending nearly two years in prison for taking part in a 2012 protest with her band Pussy Riot inside Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral, was one of many prominent Russians who released a video in which she accused Putin of hypocrisy and asked him to release Navalny’s body.
“We were imprisoned for allegedly trampling on traditional values. But no one tramples on traditional Russian values more than you, Putin, your officials and your priests who pray for all the murder that you do, year after year, day after day,” said Tolokonnikova, who lives abroad. “Putin, have a conscience, give his mother the body of her son.”
Lyudmila Navalnaya said Thursday that investigators allowed her to see her son’s body in the morgue in the Arctic city of Salekhard. She had filed a lawsuit at a court in Salekhard contesting officials’ refusal to release the body. A closed-door hearing had been scheduled for March 4.
Yarmysh, Navalny’s spokesman, said that Lyudmila Navalnaya was shown a medical certificate stating that her son died of “natural causes.”