Foreign News
US unveils new app for ‘self-deportations’
The Trump administration is repurposing a mobile application – originally created to facilitate asylum appointments – into a way for undocumented migrants already in the US to “self-deport”.
The app, known as CBP Home, allows migrants to submit an “intent to depart”, which US Customs and Border Patrol says offers them a chance to leave without “harsher consequences”.
US officials have repeatedly suggested that undocumented migrants in the country should leave voluntarily, rather than be arrested and subject to deportation.
This is the latest move in the White House’s effort to dramatically overhaul the US immigration system, which has included promises of mass detentions.
Originally launched as CBP One in 2020, the mobile application was expanded during the Biden administration to allow prospective migrants to book appointments to appear at a port of entry.
At the time, officials credited the application with helping reduce detentions at the border and portrayed the technology as part of a larger effort to protect asylum seekers making the often dangerous journey.
Now, on the newly rebranded application, undocumented migrants identify themselves and declare their intention to leave the country.
In a statement, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said that by self-deporting through the app, migrants “may still have the opportunity to return legally in the future and live the American dream”. “If they don’t, we will find them, we will deport them, and they will never return,” she added.
The app also asks migrants whether they have “enough money to depart the United States” and whether they have a “valid, unexpired passport from your original country of citizenship”.
The BBC has contacted DHS for further details about how the process works once the forms on the app are filled out.
CBP Home can also be used to apply and pay for I-94 entry and exit cards up to seven days before travel, book inspections for perishable cargo and check wait times at US border crossings.
According to DHS, the app is meant to complement a $200m (£155m) domestic and international ad campaign calling for undocumented migrants to “stay out and leave now”.
The Trump administration moved quickly to scrap the CBP One app as part of a larger shift in immigration strategy. It also paused parole programmes, and an uptick in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the country followed.
In late February, the administration said it would create a national registry for undocumented migrants and those failing to sign up could possibly face criminal prosecution.
The registration requires any undocumented migrants above the age of 14 to provide the US government an address and their fingerprints.
Experts said that the registration system will face hurdles, as it is difficult to enforce and fraught with logistical challenges.
[BBC]
The auction house Sotheby’s has postponed its sale in Hong Kong of hundreds of sacred jewels linked to the Buddha’s remains, after a threat of legal action by the Indian government.
The sale of the collection – described as one of the most astonishing archaeological finds of the modern era – had drawn criticism from Buddhist academics and monastic leaders. India had said it offended the global Buddhist community.
Sotheby’s said the suspension would allow for discussions between the parties.
A British official named William Claxton Peppé unearthed the relics in northern India nearly 130 years ago, alongside bone fragments identified as belonging to the Buddha himself.
The auction of the collection, known as the Piprahwa Gems of the Historical Buddha Mauryan Empire, Ashokan Era, circa 240-200 BCE, was due to take place on 7 May.
In a letter to the auction house two days earlier, the Indian government said that the relics constituted “inalienable religious and cultural heritage of India and the global Buddhist community. Their sale violates Indian and international laws, as well as United Nations conventions”.
A high-level Indian government delegation then held discussions with Sotheby’s representatives on Tuesday.
In an emailed statement, Sotheby’s said that in light of the matters raised by India’s government “and with the agreement of the consignors, the auction … has been postponed”.
It said updates on the discussions would be shared “as appropriate”.
Notice of the gems sale had been removed from its auction house by Wednesday and the website page promoting the auction is no longer available.
William Claxton Peppé was an English estate manager who excavated a stupa at Piprahwa, just south of Lumbini, the believed birthplace of Buddha. He uncovered relics inscribed and consecrated nearly 2,000 years ago.
The findings included nearly 1,800 gems, including rubies, topaz, sapphires and patterned gold sheets, stored inside a brick chamber. This site is now in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
Sotheby’s had said in February that the 1898 discovery ranked “among the most extraordinary archaeological discoveries of all time”.
[BBC]
Four anonymous housekeepers are suing Motown legend Smokey Robinson for $50 million (£37 million), accusing him of sexual assault.
A complaint filed in Los Angeles superior court accuses the 85-year-old of sexual battery, false imprisonment, negligence and gender violence, in addition to a number of labour violations related to wages, breaks, meal times and overtime pay.
The lawsuit also names Robinson’s wife, Frances Robinson, claiming she contributed to a hostile work environment, and used “ethnically pejorative words and language”.
Representatives for the Robinsons did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and the accusations could not be independently verified.
Robinson was Motown’s first hitmaker, writing number one hits like Mary Wells’ My Guy and the Temptations’ My Girl.
Born William Robinson Jr in Michigan, he was both a talent scout for the record label and one of its most prominent recording artists, known for songs like Tracks of My Tears, Shop Around and Tears of a Clown.
He has spots in both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Halls of Fame, and claims to have credits on more than 4,000 songs.
Robinson’s reputation and stature was an intimidating factor for his accusers, who were made to feel “powerless”, their lawyer said at a press conference in Los Angeles.
“They’re Hispanic women who were employed by the Robinsons earning below minimum wage,” said John Harris.
“As low-wage women in vulnerable positions, they lacked the resources and options necessary to protect themselves from sexual assaults.”
The women are suing under the pseudonyms Jane Doe 1, 2, 3 and 4, due to the sexual misconduct allegations, including rape, being levelled against the musician.
Three are former housekeepers and one was the singer’s personal assistant, cook and hairdresser, according to court documents.
In the lawsuit, all four women claim that Robinson would summon them to various areas of his properties in Chatsworth, Bell Canyon and Las Vegas, at times when his wife was away.
Sometimes emerging naked from a shower, he forced them to have various types of sex over a number of years, starting in 2006, the lawsuit alleges.
Jane Does 1, 3 and 4 all allege Robinson sexually assaulted them in the “blue bedroom” of his Chatsworth residence, claiming he would lay down a towel to protect the bed sheets prior to the assaults.
Jane Doe 2’s allegations state that Robinson raped her in the laundry room and garage of his Chatsworth residence, where closed-circuit cameras were unable to see.
The women claim that during the alleged assaults, Robinson used physical barriers and threats of force to prevent them from fleeing.
The lawsuit also includes several allegations of workplace violations.
All four women say they worked 10 hours a day, for six days a week without being paid minimum wage or overtime. They also claim to have worked holidays without receiving a holiday rate.
According to their lawsuit, the employees all quit because of the alleged sexual misconduct and hostile work environment.
The BBC has contacted Robinson’s representatives for a response to the lawsuit.
No police reports or criminal charges have been filed against the musician.
A spokesperson for Los Angeles County District Attorney said the women’s claims were not under review because law enforcement had not presented a case.
Los Angeles police said they had no statement on the matter.
[BBC]
On Wednesday evening, under the domed ceiling of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, 133 cardinals will vote to elect the Catholic Church’s 267th pope.
The day will begin at 10:00 (09:00 BST) with a mass in St Peter’s Basilica. The service, which will be televised, will be presided over by Giovanni Battista Re, the 91-year-old Cardinal Dean who was also the celebrant of Pope Francis’ funeral.
In the early afternoon, mobile signal within the territory of the Vatican will be deactivated to prevent anyone taking part in the conclave from contacting the outside world.
Around 16:15 (15:15 BST), the 133 cardinal electors will gather in the Pauline Chapel and form a procession to the Sistine Chapel.
Once in the Sistine Chapel, one hand resting on a copy of the Gospel, the cardinals will pronounce the prescribed oath of secrecy which precludes them from ever sharing details about how the new Pope was elected.
When the last of the electors has taken the oath, a meditation will be held. Then, the Master of Pontifical Liturgical Celebrations Diego Ravelli will announce “extra omnes” (“everybody out”).
He is one of three ecclesiastical staff allowed to stay in the Sistine Chapel despite not being a cardinal elector, even though they will have to leave the premises during the counting of the votes.
The moment “extra omnes” is pronounced marks the start of the cardinals’ isolation – and the start of the conclave.
The word, which comes from the Latin for “cum clave”, or “locked with key” is slightly misleading, as the cardinals are no longer locked inside; rather, on Tuesday Vatican officials closed the entrances to the Apostolic Palace – which includes the Sistine Chapel- with lead seals which will remain until the end of the proceedings. Swiss guards will also flank all the entrances to the chapel.
Diego Ravelli will distribute ballot papers, and the cardinals will proceed to the first vote soon after.
While nothing forbids the Pope from being elected with the first vote, it has not happened in centuries. Still, that first ballot is very important, says Austen Ivereigh, a Catholic writer and commentator.
“The cardinals who have more than 20 votes will be taken into consideration. In the first ballot the votes will be very scattered and the electors know they have to concentrate on the ones that have numbers,” says Ivereigh.
He adds that every other ballot thereafter will indicate which of the cardinals have the momentum. “It’s almost like a political campaign… but it’s not really a competition; it’s an effort by the body to find consensus.”
If the vote doesn’t yield the two-third majority needed to elect the new pope, the cardinals go back to guesthouse Casa Santa Marta for dinner. It is then, on the sidelines of the voting process, that important conversations among the cardinals take place and consensus begins to coalesce around different names.
According to Italian media, the menu options consist of light dishes which are usually served to guests of the residence, and includes wine – but no spirits. The waiters and kitchen staff are also sworn to secrecy and cannot leave the grounds for the duration of the conclave.
From Thursday morning, cardinals will be taking breakfast between 06:30 (05:30 BST) and 07:30 (06:30 BST) ahead of mass at 08:15 (07:15 BST). Two votes then take place in the morning, followed by lunch and rest. In his memoirs, Pope Francis said that was when he began to receive signals from the other cardinals that serious consensus was beginning to form around him; he was elected during the first afternoon vote. The last two conclaves have all concluded by the end of the second day.
There is no way of knowing at this stage whether this will be a long or a short conclave – but cardinals are aware that dragging the proceedings on could be interpreted as a sign of gaping disagreements.
As they discuss, pray and vote, outside the boarded-up windows of the Sistine Chapel thousands of faithful will be looking up to the chimney to the right of St Peter’s Basilica, waiting for the white plume of smoke to signal that the next pope has been elected.
[BBC]
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