10/04/2025

THURSDAY | APR 10, 2025

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White House told to restore access of news agency

US revokes legal status of Biden-era app migrants WASHINGTON: Migrants who obtained temporary permission to live in the United States through the CBP One app under former president Joe Biden have received orders to self-deport “immediately“, US media reported on Tuesday. A US Homeland Security Department spokesperson told AFP that “formal termination notices” have been issued to certain “illegal aliens“ but did not provide details on how they were selected. “Affected aliens are urged to voluntarily self-deport using the CBP Home app. Those who refuse will be found, removed and permanently barred from re-entry.” Starting in January 2023, the CBP One app allowed migrants to schedule appointments at certain southwestern US ports of entry and was a central part of the Biden administration’s humanitarian parole strategy. The latest orders could affect more than 930,000 migrants, National Public Radio reported. President Donald Trump cancelled further entries via the CBP One app on the first day of his second term. Doing so blocked access to a platform that allowed migrants in Mexico to make appointments with US officials at designated border crossings, during which they could apply for temporary residency. Trump vowed to deport “millions” of undocumented migrants as he was sworn in for his second term, after running an election campaign that focused on illegal immigration. On the campaign trail, Trump likened migrants to “animals” and “monsters“, claiming they were responsible for violent crime across the country. “Cancelling these paroles is a promise kept to the American people to secure our borders and protect national security,“ the spokesperson said on Tuesday. Those whose paroles were cancelled were informed via email that the department was exercising its discretionary authority under US law to do so. The latest orders come after the Trump administration terminated the legal status of 532,000 Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan migrants last month, giving them weeks to leave the country. – AFP MEXICO CITY: A three-year-old girl in western Mexico died after contracting avian influenza A (H5N1), becoming the country’s first fatal human case of the disease, Xinhua reported, quoting health authorities on Tuesday. The deceased patient tested positive on April 1 and died at 1.35am local time (0735 GMT) on Tuesday due to respiratory complications caused by the infection. Local authorities traced the patient’s contacts and no additional human cases have been identified. Bird flu is a viral disease that affects birds, mammals and occasionally humans, the ministry said. Globally, 464 fatal human cases of H5N1 have been reported in 24 countries over the past two decades, according to the World Health Organisation. – Bernama-Xinhua HAWAII CONFIRMS MEASLES CASE IN CHILD WASHINGTON: The Hawaii Health Department said on Tuesday a measles case was confirmed in a child on O’ahu on Monday. The child, who is under the age of five, recently returned from international travel with the parents, it added. – Reuters MEXICO REPORTS FIRST H5N1 HUMAN DEATH

WASHINGTON: A US federal judge ordered the White House on Tuesday to restore the access of the Associated Press (AP) to President Donald Trump’s official events, saying it had no right to bar media for their “viewpoints”. AP journalists and photographers have been barred from the Oval Office and from traveling on Air Force One since mid-February because of the news agency’s decision to continue using “Gulf of Mexico” and not “Gulf of America”, as decreed by Trump. District judge Trevor McFadden said the “viewpoint-based denial of AP’s access” was a violation of the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech and of the press. He ordered the White House to “immediately rescind the denial of AP’s access to the Oval Office, Air Force One and other limited spaces when such spaces are made o Restrictions must be reasonable and not viewpoint-based, says judge

rotation system that happens to exclude AP,“ said AP lawyer Charles Tobin. In his ruling, McFadden said: “Access restrictions must be reasonable and not viewpoint-based. So, while AP does not have a constitutional right to enter the Oval Office, it does have a right to not be excluded because of its viewpoint.” He noted that the restrictions have “cut deeply into AP’s business, both financially and in terms of lost opportunities”. In its style guide, AP noted that the Gulf of Mexico has “carried that name for more than 400 years” and the agency “will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen”. “As a global news agency that disseminates news around the world, AP must ensure place names and geography are easily recognisable to all audiences.” The White House Correspondents Association lauded McFadden’s decision. “We are thrilled that AP reporters, photographers and video journalists are to be allowed back into presidential events from which they had been banned by the administration just for using words the White House did not like.” – AFP

open to other members of the White House press pool.” He put off the implementation of his order for five days to give the White House time to reply or file an appeal with a higher court. AP spokesperson Lauren Easton welcomed the court’s decision. “Today’s ruling affirms the fundamental right of the press and public to speak freely without government retaliation. This is a freedom guaranteed for all Americans in the US Constitution.” AP filed suit against the White House after it began denying the wire service’s reporters and photographers access to some of Trump’s official events. Since Trump returned to the presidency, his administration has sought to radically restructure the way the White House is covered, notably by favouring conservative podcasters and influencers. Two weeks after barring AP, the White House stripped journalists of the nearly century-old power to decide which of the profession’s own number will be members of a pool of reporters and photographers covering presidential events. “The White House changed its policy to a

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The exact number of people inside the club at the time of the collapse remains unclear. – AFPPIC

Nightclub roof collapses, at least 113 dead SANTO DOMINGO: A roof collapse at a nightclub in the Dominican Republic capital left at least 113 people dead on Tuesday, and emergency crews were working frantically after nightfall to pull survivors from the rubble. 98 yesterday. The capacity of the emergency crews was increased as “more heavy equipment has been used to speed up the removal of debris and continue search efforts“, said presidential spokesperson Homero Figueroa. The disaster struck during a concert by popular Dominican merengue singer

Nelson Cruz, a seven-time MLB All-Star. Former MLB players Octavio Dotel and Tony Blanco also died in the collapse, local authorities confirmed. Dotel died en route to a local hospital after being pulled from the debris, a sports ministry spokesman said. Dotel, 51, debuted for the New York Mets in 1999 and played until 2013 for more than a dozen teams. Relatives are receiving psychological support and the cause of the roof collapse remains under investigation, officials said. Authorities have issued a call for Dominicans to donate blood. On Tuesday, the club issued a statement saying it is working “fully and transparently” with authorities. – Reuters

About 155 people were injured. Families of the victims gathered near the Jet Set nightclub seeking information about their loved ones. “I have family members that are still in the rubble and we do not know what happened to them,“ said 17-season Major League Baseball (MLB) player Pedro Martinez. Dominican Republic emergency operations centre head Juan Manuel Mendez said the exact number of people inside the club at the time of the collapse remains unclear, adding that the preliminary death toll reached

Rubby Perez, who was among those killed, according to his manager and family members near the site. The event was attended by politicians, athletes and other prominent figures. Another victim was northern Monte Cristi province governor Nelsy Cruz, said President Luis Abinader, who visited the scene and declared three days of national mourning. Cruz was the sister of former baseball player