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Sky News

43 minutes ago

• Sky News

Mahmoud Khalil: US student detained by immigration officials over pro-Palestinian protests released

Why you can trust Sky News Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil has been released after 104 days in immigration detention in the US. A judge ruled the Columbia University graduate student should be released on Friday. He has become a symbol of Donald Trump's crackdown on protests on university campuses after being arrested by the US immigration agency ICE on 8 March. "Whether you are a US citizen, an immigrant or just a person on this land doesn't mean that you are less of a human," he said after being released from detention in Louisiana. Mr Khalil is a legal US resident and isn't accused of breaking any laws during pro-Palestine protests, where he served as a spokesperson for student activists. He is expected to head to New York to reunite with his wife, who is a US citizen, and his baby son, who was born while Mr Khalil was in detention. 0:49 "Justice prevailed, but it's very long overdue," he said. "This shouldn't have taken three months." The Trump administration is seeking to deport Khalil over his role in the protests. However, Judge Michael Farbiarz said it would be "highly, highly unusual" for the government to continue detaining a legal resident who was unlikely to flee and hadn't been accused of any violence. During an hour-long hearing conducted by phone, the New Jersey-based judge said the government had "clearly not met" the standards for detention. 0:47 The government is appealing Mr Khalil's release, and an immigration judge, Judge Jamee Comans, has ordered the student to be "removed". "An immigration judge, not a district judge, has the authority to decide if Mr Khalil should be released or detained," wrote the Department of Homeland Security in a post on X. The US secretary of state Marco Rubio is pushing for Mr Khalil to be expelled from America because he says his continued presence could harm foreign policy. The Trump administration argues that noncitizens who take part in pro-Palestinian protests should be deported, as it considers the protests to be antisemitic. 0:54 Civil rights groups, such as the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), which is suing the administration, argue this conflates antisemitism with criticism of Israel in order to silence dissent. Judge Farbiarz ruled the government can't deport Mr Khalil on the basis that his presence could undermine foreign policy, but it can continue deportation over allegations that he lied on his green card application. Mr Khalil disputes these allegations. He had to surrender his passport but will get his green card back and be given official documents permitting limited travel within the country, including New York and Michigan to visit family, New Jersey and Louisiana for court appearances and Washington to lobby Congress. Judge Farbiarz's decision comes after several other students targeted for their activism have been released from custody, including another former Palestinian student at Columbia, Mohsen Mahdawi; a Tufts University student, Rumeysa Ozturk; and a Georgetown University scholar, Badar Khan Suri.

The Independent

an hour ago

• The Independent

Billy Porter says Trump would be in jail if he was a black man

Broadway and Pose star Billy Porter has said that if Donald Trump was a black man he would have been in jail by now. Speaking to Matt Chorley for BBC Newsnight, Porter discussed the re-election of Donald Trump and the challenges faced by Democrats and activism in the United States. Porter said, 'We need to be focused on the fact he's not in jail… If he was a black man, he would be in jail.' He also speculated that the re-election of President Trump was a "backlash" to the election of President Obama because 'America is a racist country."

BBC News

an hour ago

• BBC News

Iran and Israel exchange strikes after Iran rules out nuclear talks while under attack

Update: Date: 08:22 BST Title: Trump says his director of national intelligence is 'wrong' on Iran Content: This video can not be played Watch: Trump says Tulsi Gabbard is 'wrong' on Iran More now from US President Donald Trump, who spoke to reporters yesterday on the tarmac next to Air Force One. He was asked what intelligence he has that suggests Iran is building a nuclear weapon, when his intelligence community has previously said they have no evidence. "Well, then my intelligence community is wrong. Who in the intelligence community said that?" Trump asked. The reporter replied that it was Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. "She's wrong," Trump quickly replied. In March, Gabbard told Congress that US intelligence agencies determined Iran had not resumed its suspended 2003 nuclear weapons programme, even as the nation's stockpile of enriched uranium - a component of such weapons - was at an all-time high. Update: Date: 08:19 BST Title: Trump won't let Iran develop a nuclear weapon Content: Jake KwonNorth America correspondent In March Tulsi Gabbard told a Senate Committee Iran was not building nuclear weapons. After Mr Trump said she was wrong, Ms Gabbard blamed the media for distorting her words and now says that she believes Iran could build nuclear weapons within weeks. President Trump insisted that Iran had gathered a 'tremendous amount of material' and could have a weapon within weeks - or if not weeks then months – and the US couldn't let that happen. On Thursday, Mr Trump said he would decide within the next fortnight whether the US should join the strikes on Iran. He now says two weeks is the 'maximum' time Iran has to reach a deal with the US – hinting that he could make a decision before the 14 days are up. The IAEA earlier this month expressed concern that Iran had amassed enough uranium enriched up to 60% purity - a short, technical step away from weapons grade, or 90% - to potentially make nine nuclear bombs. Update: Date: 08:02 BST Title: Iran only ready for diplomatic talks once aggression stops - a recap Content: Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi On Friday, top diplomats from the UK, EU, Germany and France held hours-long talks with their Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, in Geneva. The Europeans had hoped to make progress on a diplomatic breakthrough at what UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy called a "perilous moment". But the talks didn't yield the outcome they wanted. Araghchi told reporters afterwards Iran was only "ready to consider diplomacy once the aggression is stopped" and Israel is held accountable "for the heinous crimes committed". He added that Iran's nuclear programme was peaceful, and that Iran would continue to "exercise its legitimate right of self-defence". "I make it crystal clear that Iran's defence capabilities are non-negotiable." Update: Date: 07:49 BST Title: Israel says senior Iranian commander killed in strike - reports Content: Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday the IDF had killed a senior Iranian commander in a strike on an apartment in the city of Qom, local media and Reuters news agency reported. Saeed Izadi was responsible for financing and arming Hamas ahead of its October 7 attacks on Israel, Katz said. "This is a major achievement for Israeli intelligence and the Air Force," Katz said in a statement. "Justice for the murdered and the hostages. Israel's long arm will reach all its enemies." Izadi was a member of Iran's powerful Quds Force, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responsible for overseas activities, including supporting Iran's proxies in the region. The IRGC is yet to confirm Izadi's death. Update: Date: 07:36 BST Title: European discussions yield no breakthrough, but Iran ready to keep talking Content: Lyse DoucetChief international correspondent, reporting from Geneva Yesterday, European foreign ministers met with their Iranian counterpart in Geneva. Here are the key takeaways from the discussions: More than three hours of discussions in Geneva yielded no breakthrough. But European ministers emerged convinced that Iran was ready to keep talking, and more willing to put issues on the table which hadn't been there before. They all emphasised that Iran has to resume its talks with the United States. In his statement, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he was ready to meet with the Europeans again, but would only consider diplomacy with the US once Israeli attacks stopped and, in his words, the aggressor was held accountable. Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who flew straight to Geneva after meetings in Washington with US officials, came with tough messages – that the threat of U.S. military action was real, but a window for diplomacy was still open. No one can say for sure for how long. Lammy warned it was 'a perilous moment'. The message from Europe's top diplomats was that only a negotiated agreement - not more military action - could provide a lasting solution to Iran's nuclear programme, and to regional stability. Update: Date: 07:18 BST Title: Israeli military intercept Iranian strikes overnight, IDF says Content: Israel says it has intercepted multiple Iranian drones that entered its airspace overnight and this morning. Two were intercepted by the Israeli air force in Israeli-occupied Syrian territory roughly an hour apart, just just before 07:00 (5:00 BST) and 08:00 (06:00 BST) local time, according to the IDF. It says a third was intercepted less than an hour later just north of the West Bank. Update: Date: 07:04 BST Title: Israel strikes Isfahan nuclear facility - Iranian state media Content: Israel has continued its military operation against Iran's nuclear infrastructure overnight. Iranian state media reports an Israeli attack on a nuclear facility in Isfahan in the early hours of this morning. Iranian air defences reportedly responded to the attack, causing loud explosions. The attack did not cause the leakage of any hazardous material, Fars News Agency reports, although there has been no update yet from the UN's atomic agency, the IAEA, on the facility's status. Overnight, the Israeli military said it launched a "series of strikes" against missile storage and infrastructure sites in central Iran. Update: Date: 07:02 BST Title: Iran and Israel exchange strikes, as Iran refuses nuclear talks while attacks continue Content: Missiles fired from Iran in retaliation for Israeli attacks are seen in the sky over the Hebron, West Bank Good morning and welcome to our live coverage as Israel and Iran continue to exchange strikes on the ninth day of the ongoing conflict. Israel targets nuclear infrastructure in fresh strikes as Iranian media report an attack on a nuclear site in Ifsahan, in the centre of the country. Israeli Defense Forces say they struck down several drone and missile attacks from Iran overnight. It comes after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi ruled out nuclear talks while under attack. Speaking to reporters yesterday, Aragchi said Iran is "ready to consider diplomacy once again once the aggression is stopped" and "the aggressor is held accountable for the heinous crimes committed". We'll continue to bring you the latest developments and analysis throughout the day, stay with us.