04/04/2026

SATURDAY | APR 4, 2026

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Check finds 49 violations at ICE detention camp

U.S. ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF TOLD TO RETIRE WASHINGTON: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has directed army Chief of Staff Gen Randy George to step down and retire, according to multiple media outlets on Thursday, reported Xinhua. As the US army’s most senior general, George is being removed amid the US–Israeli conflict against Iran, with no immediate explanation for the decision. Hegseth wants someone in the role who will implement President Donald Trump’s and his own vision for the army, according to a report from CBS News. The army chief of staff typically serves for four years. George was nominated for the position by former president Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate in 2023, meaning he would normally have held the role until 2027. The current Vice-Chief of Staff Gen Christopher LaNeve will serve as acting chief of staff, CBS News reported. – Bernama-Xinhua PLANE CRASH IN MEXICO KILLS THREE MEXICO CITY: At least three individuals were killed and one seriously injured when a small aircraft crashed on Thursday in Huejotzingo in the central Mexican state of Puebla, authorities said, reported Xinhua. According to Puebla’s civil protection agency, the aircraft went down minutes after taking off from the Hermanos Serdan International Airport. Local media reported that the aircraft may belong to an aviation school. The identities of the victims have not been released. The cause of the crash is under investigation. – Bernama-Xinhua MAN HELD FOR FIRING PYROTECHNICS ON TRAIN BERLIN: A man armed with two knives has been arrested after setting off pyrotechnics on a high-speed train in Germany, injuring 12 individuals, police said yesterday. The incident occurred on Thursday on an Intercity Express train bound for Frankfurt in western Germany, with about 180 passengers evacuated. German media reported that the suspect allegedly threatened to carry out an attack and said he wanted to kill people, public radio station Deutschlandfunk reported, citing witness statements that the man threw pyrotechnic devices filled with plastic pellets. – AFP

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WASHINGTON: An inspection found 49 violations of detention standards at the largest US migrant detention camp, located in El Paso, Texas, which has faced criticism from immigration advocates opposed to President Donald Trump’s crackdown. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency’s office of detention oversight carried out a congressionally mandated inspection over three days in February and its report was released this week. The report found 49 “deficiencies” at the US$1.2 billion (RM4.8 billion) facility, called Camp East Montana.

Cuba pardons 2,000 prisoners amid pressure from Trump HAVANA: Cuba’s government announced on Thursday that it was pardoning 2,010 prisoners as a “humanitarian” gesture during Holy Week, after pledging in March to release dozens amid heightened US pressure. The announcement comes days after US President Donald Trump eased a de facto oil blockade on Cuba by allowing a Russian tanker to deliver crude oil to the island. Washington has called for change in communist-run Cuba’s system of government while Trump has mused about “taking” the island. However, the two sides have also held talks recently. “It seems not far-fetched to think this is a sign that some of the conversation between both governments is advancing. Perhaps slowly, but advancing,“ said University of Miami Cuban Studies chair Michael Bustamante. “I think we will also have to see who is included in these releases to have a sense of their potential political significance.“ The Cuban government did not identify those who were pardoned nor say what crimes they had committed or when they would be released. The presidency said the “humanitarian and sovereign gesture” was based on the nature of the crimes, good behaviour in prison, health reasons and time served. It said the individuals being freed include young people, women and prisoners over 60 years old who are scheduled for early release within the next six months to a year. Foreigners and Cuban citizens residing abroad are among those being pardoned, it added. The government said those released would not include people who committed murder, sexual assault, drug-related crimes, theft, illegal slaughter of livestock and crimes against authority. – AFP Democrat, visited the facility and said detainees there endured foul-tasting drinking water, rotten food and inadequate healthcare. – Reuters curb illegal immigration. Conditions at ICE facilities have been under scrutiny. At least 14 immigrants have died in ICE custody from January through late March, according to the agency. This follows 31 deaths last year, a two-decade high. Of the deaths in 2026, at least two took place at Camp East Montana. Late last year, US Representative Veronica Escobar, a Texas

o Five deficiencies on medical care, 22 on use of force and restraints, 11 on facility security and control

crackdown been condemned by rights groups and others as being in violation of due process and free speech. Advocacy groups say it has created an unsafe environment for minorities and raised concerns about racial profiling. Trump has cast the government’s actions as an attempt to improve domestic security and that has

It defined a “deficiency” as “any violation of detention standards, policies or operational procedures, as applicable”. There were 22 deficiencies related to the “use of force and restraints”, 11 related to “facility security and control” and five related to “medical care”, the report said. The Trump administration has pursued an aggressive immigration

FRESH FLORA ... Growing team leader and plant specialist Martin Einchcomb tending to a flowerbed in the Great Fountain Garden before the start of the Hampton Court Palace Tulip Festival in southwest London. – AFPPIC

Annual French Muslim gathering banned in Paris PARIS: Police here on Thursday banned an annual gathering of French Muslims north of the capital, citing a “major terrorist risk” that it might be targeted. underlined the seriousness of the threat inside France. to death after they objected to their relationship, prosecutors said on Thursday. The girl lived with her

When the 74-year-old grandfather heard her cries and rushed to the scene, the boyfriend stabbed him, prosecutors said. The teens inflicted six knife wounds on the grandmother and five on the grandfather, said Schneider. Police found the bodies in the house’s basement on Tuesday morning. The teens were arrested that afternoon at a nearby industrial lot, after buying three high-end phones using thousands of euros they had found in a box in the grandparents’ room, said Schneider. The girl told investigators that her grandmother had slapped her because she objected to her relationship with her boyfriend, the prosecutor said. The girl faces up to 30 years’ prison if not tried as a minor, and the boy faces up to 20 years’ prison. – AFP

French prosecutors said the attempted attack might have been linked to a pro-Iran group, as security fears flare over the war in the Middle East. Police also cited a polarised political debate during municipal elections last month. The decision comes as the French Interior Ministry prepares a draft law designed to address the danger of radical Islamist elements infiltrating Muslim groups. The Bill is due to be presented to President Emmanuel Macron’s Cabinet at the end of the month, the ministry said, confirming a report by newspaper Le Parisien. In a separate development, a 16-year-old girl in France and her 15-year-old boyfriend have admitted to stabbing her grandparents

grandparents, her legal guardians, in Villers-Semeuse in northeastern France, a town of 3,700 people whose mayor described the victims as “very active” members of the local community. The girl had told investigators that she had planned the killings ahead of time, and her boyfriend had “agreed to take part”, said public prosecutor Francois Schneider. The boyfriend had snuck into her house over the weekend, angering the grandmother when she discovered him in her granddaughter’s room on Monday morning, according to prosecutors. The girl told investigators that she then started stabbing her 71-year-old grandmother.

The Annual Gathering of the Muslims of France had been due to take place at Bourget, just north of Paris, from yesterday until Monday. The order banning it issued by Paris police said there was a risk that “small far-right groups” might try to disrupt the event. The police order said the event was “taking place in a particularly tense international and national context”. The gathering was “exposed to a significant terrorist risk targeting the Muslim community”, it added. The order cited a foiled bid last weekend to bomb the Bank of America building in Paris, describing how that event