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UK immigration enforcement teams made 609 arrests in January, marking a 73% increase from the same period in 2024, AFP reported. This effort is part of the Labour government’s plan to address undocumented migration and combat people-smuggling rings. The arrests were conducted at over 800 locations, including restaurants, nail salons, car washes, and convenience stores. This surge comes after Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer reversed his predecessor Rishi Sunak’s controversial plan to deport migrants to Rwanda, opting instead to dismantle criminal gangs involved in illegal migration. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper emphasised that…

French President Emmanuel Macron trumpeted the benefits of artificial intelligence Sunday, ahead of a two-day Paris summit on the technology and its potential benefits and pitfalls. Co-hosted with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the summit has a slew of stated aims including “mapping” AI governance around the world, promoting the idea of more ethical, accessible and frugal AI and pushing for European sovereignty over the technology. But announcements ahead of the gathering could have been confused with Macron’s annual “Choose France” investor conference, with tens of billions pledged for investment…

SEOUL: North Korea said on Saturday that its nuclear weapons are meant solely for combat use against enemies threatening its people and world peace, and not for negotiations. The statement comes after US President Donald Trump hosted Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the White House on Friday. The two leaders expressed their commitment to ensuring North Korea ends its nuclear weapons programme. KCNA did not mention the meeting between the US and Japanese leaders but instead cited reported comments by officials of NATO and the EU that reiterated demands…

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Friday called for the shutdown of USAID, escalating his unprecedented push to dismantle the humanitarian agency.  In a post on his Truth Social app, he claimed the agency was deeply corrupt, writing, “THE CORRUPTION IS AT LEVELS RARELY SEEN BEFORE. CLOSE IT DOWN!”  The move has sparked chaos across the agency’s global network and fuelled concerns over the decline of US influence on the international stage. In the three weeks since he began his new term, Trump has launched a crusade led by his top donor…

Iran on Friday condemned Washington’s move to impose sanctions related to shipping Iranian crude oil to China worth hundreds of millions of dollars, calling them as “illegal” and “unjustified”. “The decision of the new US government to exert pressure on the Iranian nation by preventing Iran’s legal trade with its economic partners is an illegitimate, illegal and violative measure,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement. The US move was “categorically unjustified and contrary to international rules”, Baqaei added. The US Department of the Treasury on Thursday announced…