07/07/2025

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Rescuers search for missing girls as Texas toll rises to 43

US deportees arrive in Sudan JUBA: A group of eight criminal migrants, deported from the United States and stranded for weeks at a military base in Djibouti, arrived in South Sudan on Saturday, said a Foreign Ministry official. Only one deportee is from South Sudan but the US administration has sought to remove unwanted migrants to third countries as other nations sometimes refuse to accept returnees. The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement describing the eight men as “barbaric, violent criminal illegal aliens” with convictions for murder, sexual assault and robbery. The rest of the group comprises two men from Myanmar, two from Cuba, and one each from Vietnam, Laos and Mexico. They initially left the United States for South Sudan in May but their flight ended up in Djibouti when a US district court imposed a stay on third country deportations. That ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court on Thursday. “They arrived in Juba early today from Djibouti,” the South Sudanese official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said they had been brought by US Marines but provided no other details. “These sickos were finally deported to South Sudan on Independence Day,” said US Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin of Homeland Security in the statement. “After weeks of delays by activist judges that put our law enforcement in danger, ICE deported these eight barbaric criminal illegal aliens who are so heinous even their own countries will not accept them,” she said. South Sudan is one of the world’s poorest countries and in the midst of renewed violent political instability. Trump campaigned for president promising to expel millions of undocumented migrants from the United States. He has taken action to speed up deportations since returning to the White House. – AFP

from Camp Mystic, Jane Ragsdale, was also confirmed dead. Flash flood warnings remained in place over the weekend across central Texas, where heavy rain led to around eight deaths in three other counties bringing the state-wide death toll to at least 50. Officials and locals alike were shocked by the speed and intensity of the flooding. “We didn’t know this flood was coming,” Kerr County official Rob Kelly said Friday. “The predictions were definitely off,” and the rain was “double of what was anticipated”, Kerrville city official Dalton Rice said. – AFP

and other belongings caked in mud. The windows of camp cabins were shattered, apparently by the force of the water. Michael, who only gave his first name, was searching the camp for his eight-year-old daughter. “I was in Austin and drove down once we heard about it,” he said, adding that he was hoping for a “miracle”. The obituary section of the Kerrville community news site was dotted with tributes to local victims, including Camp Mystic’s owner and director Dick Eastland. Director of Heart O’ The Hills summer camp located about a mile

“The water reached the top of the trees. About 10m or so,” said resident Gerardo Martinez, 61. “Cars, whole houses were going down the river.” Flash floods, which occur when the ground is unable to absorb torrential rainfall, are not unusual. On Saturday, Sheriff Leitha said 27 children from the Camp Mystic in the flooded Kerr County were still missing. Around 750 girls were attending the camp. US media reported that four of the missing girls were dead, citing their families. The camp, located along the banks of the Guadalupe, was in disarray, with blankets, teddy bears

WASHINGTON: dispute between President Donald Trump and his main campaign financier Elon Musk took another fractious turn on Saturday when the space and car billionaire announced the formation of a new political party, saying Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax Bill would bankrupt America. A day after asking his followers on his X platform whether a new US political party should be created, Musk declared in a post that “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom”. “By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!” he wrote. The announcement from Musk comes after Trump signed his self styled “big, beautiful” tax-cut and spending Bill into law on Friday, which Musk fiercely opposed. Musk, who became the word’s richest man thanks to his Tesla car company and his SpaceX satellite firm, spent hundreds of millions on Trump’s re-election and led the The HUNT: Rescuers searched on Saturday for 27 girls missing from a riverside summer camp in Texas, after torrential rains caused devastating flooding that killed at least 43 people – with more rain pounding the region. “We have recovered 43 deceased individuals in Kerr County. Among the deceased we have 28 adults and 15 children,” said Kerr Country Sheriff Larry Leitha. Leitha earlier put the number of evacuated people at 850, including eight reported injured. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he was expanding a state disaster declaration and was requesting additional federal resources. Texas Department of Emergency Management chief Nim Kidd said air, ground and water-based crews were scouring the length of the Guadalupe River for survivors and the bodies of the dead. “We will continue the search until all those who are missing are found,” he said. The flooding began on Friday, the start of the fourth of July holiday weekend, as months’ worth of rain fell in a matter of hours, causing the Guadalupe River to rise by 8m in 45 minutes. The National Weather Service warned that more rain was forecast, and that “excessive runoff may result in flooding of rivers, creeks, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations”. In Kerrville on Saturday, the usually calm Guadalupe was flowing fast, its murky waters filled with debris. o Guadalupe River rose 8m in 45 minutes

A large truck lies on the riverbank after being swept downstream in Centre Point, Texas. – AFPPIC

Musk announces ‘America Party’

Melbourne arson suspect charged SYDNEY: Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building The restaurant was extensively damaged, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for Australia’s Jews. It said the fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne’s oldest, was set as those inside sat down to Sabbath dinner.

concern that Musk’s feud with Trump could hurt their chances to protect their majority in elections next year. Asked on X what was the one thing that made him go from loving Trump to attacking him, Musk said: “Increasing the deficit from an already insane US$2T (RM8.44 trillion) under Biden to US$2.5T. This will bankrupt the country.” There was no comment from Trump or the White House on Musk’s announcement. The feud with Trump, often described as one between the world’s richest man and the world’s most powerful, has led to several precipitous falls in Tesla’s share price. Despite Musk’s deep pockets, breaking the Republican-Democratic duopoly will be a tall order, given that it has dominated American political life for more than 160 years, while Trump’s approval ratings in polls in his second term have generally held firm above 40%, despite often divisive policies. – Reuters

Department Government Efficiency from the start of the president’s second term aimed at slashing government spending. The first sign of investor dissatisfaction with Musk’s announcement followed later in the day. Investment firm Azoria Partners will postpone the listing of a Tesla exchange-traded fund, Azoria CEO James Fishback said in a post on X. Fishback is asking Tesla’s board to clarify Musk’s political ambitions and said the new party undermines the confidence shareholders had that he would be focusing more on the company after leaving government service in May. Musk said previously that he would start a new political party and spend money to unseat lawmakers who supported the Bill. Trump earlier this week threatened to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Musk’s companies receive from the federal government. Republicans have expressed of

There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of Victoria state. Counterterrorism detectives late on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old resident of Sydney, capital of neighbouring New South Wales, charging him with offences including criminal damage by fire. Authorities have not identified the man. “The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing,” police said in a statement. Authorities are investigating whether the synagogue fire was linked to a disturbance on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, in which one person was arrested for hindering police.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog went on X to “condemn the vile arson attack”. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday described the alleged arson, which comes seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists, as shocking and said those responsible should face the full force of the law. “My government will provide all necessary support towards this effort,” Albanese posted on X. Homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles in Australia have been targeted by antisemitic vandalism and arson. The incidents included a fake plan by organised crime to attack a Sydney synagogue. – Reuters