Turkish student at Tufts University detained, video shows masked people handcuffing her

Turkish student at Tufts University detained, video shows masked people handcuffing her
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Turkish national Rumeysa Ozturk, a doctoral student at Tufts University has been detained by federal agents without explanation, her lawyer said on Wednesday. (X/@Osint613)
Turkish student at Tufts University detained, video shows masked people handcuffing her
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US Department of Homeland Security agents accompanying Turkish national Rumeysa Ozturk, a doctoral student at Tufts University, after having handcuffed her without explanation on Wednesday. (X/@ConflictTR)
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Updated 26 March 2025
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Turkish student at Tufts University detained, video shows masked people handcuffing her

Turkish student at Tufts University detained, video shows masked people handcuffing her
  • Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, had just left her home in Somerville to meet with friends Tuesday night when she was detained by US Department of Homeland Security agents
  • “We are unaware of her whereabouts and have not been able to contact her,” her lawyer said

BOSTON: A Turkish national who is a doctoral student at Tufts University has been detained by federal agents without explanation, her lawyer said on Wednesday.
Rumeysa Ozturk, 30, had just left her home in Somerville to meet with friends Tuesday night when she was detained by US Department of Homeland Security agents, lawyer Mahsa Khanbabai said in a petition filed in Boston federal court.
Surveillance video obtained by The Associated Press appears to show six people, their faces covered, taking away Ozturk’s phone as she yelled and was handcuffed.
“We’re the police,” members of the group are heard saying in the video.
A man is heard on camera saying, “Why are you hiding your faces?”
Khanbabai said that Ozturk was meeting friends for iftar, a meal that breaks a fast at sunset during Ramadan.
“We are unaware of her whereabouts and have not been able to contact her. No charges have been filed against Rumeysa to date that we are aware of,” Khanbabai said in a statement.
Ozturk has a visa allowing her to study in the United States, Khanbabai said.
Neighbors said they were left rattled by the arrest, which played out at 5:30 p.m. on a residential block.
“It looked like a kidnapping,” said Michael Mathis, a 32-year-old software engineer whose surveillance camera picked up the footage of the arrest. “They approach her and start grabbing her with their faces covered. They’re covering their faces. They’re in unmarked vehicles.”
Tufts University President Sunil Kumar sent out a statement early Wednesday saying the school had received reports that federal authorities had taken an international graduate student into custody and that the student’s visa had been terminated.
“The university had no pre-knowledge of this incident and did not share any information with federal authorities prior to the event,” Kumar said.
Kumar did not name the student, but Tufts University spokesperson Patrick Collins confirmed that Ozturk is a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.
Messages sent to spokespeople for DHS and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency were not immediately returned on Wednesday.
US District Judge Indira Talwani issued an order on Tuesday giving the government until Friday to answer why Ozturk was being detained. Talwani also ordered that Ozturk not be moved outside the District of Massachusetts without providing advance notice.
Once notice is given, Ozturk shall not be moved out of the district for at least 48 hours, Talwani wrote.
Ozturk was one of four students last March who co-authored an op-ed piece in The Tufts Daily, criticizing the university’s response to its community union Senate passing resolutions demanding that Tufts “acknowledge the Palestinian genocide,” disclose its investments and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel.

“These resolutions were the product of meaningful debate by the Senate and represent a sincere effort to hold Israel accountable for clear violations of international law,” the op-ed said.
It added that the university’s response to the resolutions “has been wholly inadequate and dismissive of the Senate, the collective voice of the student body.”
Students and faculty elsewhere have also recently had visas revoked or were blocked from entering the US because they attended demonstrations or publicly expressed support for Palestinians. President Donald Trump ‘s administration has been citing a seldom-invoked legal statute that authorizes the secretary of state to revoke visas of noncitizens who could be considered a threat to US foreign-policy interests.
Before attending Tufts, Ozturk graduated with a master’s degree from the Developmental Psychology program at Teachers College at Columbia University in New York, according to an alumni spotlight article in 2021. Her focus was children’s media. She was also a 2018 Fulbright scholar at Columbia.
Reyyan Bilge, a psychology professor at Northeastern University and friend of Ozturk, described her as a “soft spoken, kind and gentle soul” who is deeply focused on her research and not closely involved in the campus protests.
“She’s really interested in developmental aspects of cognition and its overlap with children’s media,” Bilge said. “She’s not an activist person.”
The pair first met at Istanbul Sehir University, where Bilge supervised her thesis, before working together on cognitive research and co-publishing papers. They remained close once Ozturk arrived in the United States to continue her studies on the Fulbright Scholarship.
“Over the 10 years I’ve known her, she’s never spoken badly to anyone else, let alone being antisemitic or racist,” Bilge said.


Syrian refugee says UK government has ‘broken her heart’ by blocking terminally ill mother’s visit

Syrian refugee says UK government has ‘broken her heart’ by blocking terminally ill mother’s visit
Updated 22 sec ago
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Syrian refugee says UK government has ‘broken her heart’ by blocking terminally ill mother’s visit

Syrian refugee says UK government has ‘broken her heart’ by blocking terminally ill mother’s visit
  • Ola Al-Hamwi fled Syria with her husband, Mostafa Amonajid, in 2015 after the couple lost their baby in a bombing

LONDON: A Syrian refugee has said the British Home Office has “broken her heart” after it moved to block her terminally ill mother from traveling to the UK to spend her final days with the grandchildren she has never met, it was reported on Sunday.

Ola Al-Hamwi fled Syria with her husband, Mostafa Amonajid, in 2015 after the couple lost their baby in a bombing.

They were unable to take Al-Hamwi’s mother, Soaad Al-Shawa, with them when they escaped the conflict.

Now living in Glasgow with their three children, aged seven, five and one, Al-Hamwi and Amonajid were granted refugee status and applied to bring Al-Shawa, 57, to the UK under the refugee family reunion scheme — but their request was rejected, The Guardian newspaper reported.

Al-Shawa, who has only communicated with her grandchildren via video calls, was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer last year.

In November, doctors in Syria gave her about six months to live. A second application for family reunion was submitted following her diagnosis, but was again rejected by the Home Office.

The family appealed the decision, and in April a judge at the first-tier tribunal of the immigration court ruled in their favor, citing Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to family life.

The family were overjoyed by the decision.

“My mum really perked up when she heard the news and started to eat more,” said Al-Hamwi. “All she wants to do before she dies is to see us and the kids.”

Plans were swiftly made for Al-Shawa’s neighbors to help her travel to neighboring Jordan or Lebanon, where Amonajid would meet her and accompany her to the UK.

Because Al-Hamwi and Amonajid are refugees, they are unable to return to Syria themselves to be with her.

However, on April 10, the Home Office submitted a request for permission to appeal the judge’s ruling to a higher court — a process that can take an average of eight months.

The news has left the family devastated.

“There isn’t much time, if we can get her here we will provide everything for her. When the Home Office asked for permission to appeal against the decision of the judge who said my mum could come here they didn’t think about how they are breaking my heart,” Al-Hamwi said.

“My message to the Home Office is, ‘Please help my mum to see us before she dies.’ We haven’t told my mum that the Home Office has asked to appeal against the decision for her to come to the UK,” she added.

The family’s solicitor, Usman Aslam, said: “We could feel the family’s relief when they won the appeal, then their horror that the Home Office have sought permission to appeal. We immediately sought an expedition of their permission application.

He continued: “I have written to the Home Office directly expressing my outrage. Whilst I fully respect their right to seek permission to appeal, it is regrettable they have chosen this case of a dying woman. We are hoping that the Home Office will show compassion and allow her to spend what little time she has left with her family.”

A Home Office spokesperson told the Guardian: “It would be inappropriate to comment while legal proceedings are ongoing.”


Bangladeshi police seek Interpol red notice for ex-PM Hasina

Bangladeshi police seek Interpol red notice for ex-PM Hasina
Updated 20 April 2025
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Bangladeshi police seek Interpol red notice for ex-PM Hasina

Bangladeshi police seek Interpol red notice for ex-PM Hasina
  • Authorities are also requesting Interpol red notice for Hasina’s ministers
  • Police move is part of trial process over student protest killings last year

DHAKA: Bangladeshi police have requested an Interpol red notice against ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is wanted for alleged involvement in the killings of hundreds of people during student protests that forced her to step down and flee last year.

In early July, a student-led movement began with peaceful demonstrations initially sparked by opposition to public-sector job quotas.

But they were met with a violent crackdown by security forces after two weeks, which according to UN estimates left more than 600 people dead. The deaths led to a nationwide uprising that forced Hasina to resign and leave for neighboring India in early August, ending her 15 years in power.

By October, Bangladesh’s International Crimes Tribunal had issued arrest warrants for Hasina and more than 40 other people who are linked to the protest killings.

“The assistance from Interpol is being sought to repatriate the accused persons,” Enamul Haque Sagor, assistant inspector general at the Bangladesh Police Headquarters, told Arab News on Sunday.

“Our all-out efforts are there to make (the red notice issuance happen) as soon as possible.”

Red notices are published by Interpol, an intergovernmental organization of 196 member countries. They serve as requests for law enforcement around the world to detain individuals for whom member states have issued arrest warrants.

Bangladeshi police are also seeking red notices for 11 other people linked to the protest killings, including Hasina’s Awami League general secretary, Obaidul Quader, and former home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal.

The red notice application was submitted at the request of the International Crimes Tribunal, which had sought police assistance after issuing the arrest warrant last year.

The special court will hear at least 70 cases related to the July-August violence.

Established in 2010 during Hasina’s rule, the International Crimes Tribunal is a domestic court responsible for investigating and prosecuting suspects of the 1971 genocide committed by the Pakistan Army and its local collaborators during the Bangladesh Liberation War. It also has jurisdiction over other war crimes and crimes against humanity.


King Charles and Queen Camilla greet crowds after Easter service

King Charles and Queen Camilla greet crowds after Easter service
Updated 21 min 5 sec ago
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King Charles and Queen Camilla greet crowds after Easter service

King Charles and Queen Camilla greet crowds after Easter service
  • Prince Andrew’s attendance was notable after he was absent from the royals’ Christmas service amid scrutiny of his links with an alleged Chinese spy

LONDON: Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla briefly greeted onlookers after an Easter service at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, an important fixture in the calendar of the monarch, who is supreme governor of the Church of England.
Charles and Camilla, who was wearing a pale blue hat and dress, were joined by the Princes Andrew and Edward, Anne, the Princess Royal, and other family members at the 15th Century chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Prince Andrew’s attendance was notable after he was absent from the royals’ Christmas service amid scrutiny of his links with an alleged Chinese spy. The scandal-hit prince was accompanied by his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York.
The king’s oldest son and heir William, the Prince of Wales, and his wife Catherine were absent. They are spending Easter with their children in Norfolk, east England.
Camilla, who was handed a posy of flowers, wished “Happy Easter” to members of the crowd after the Easter Matins service.
On Thursday, the king used his annual Easter message to reflect on war, human suffering and the heroism of those who risk their lives to help others.
In 2024, the Easter service was Charles’ first appearance at a public event following the announcement of his cancer diagnosis in the previous month.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, was also treated for cancer last year. She said in January she was relieved in be in remission.


India seeks to strengthen energy ties with Saudi Arabia during Modi’s visit

India seeks to strengthen energy ties with Saudi Arabia during Modi’s visit
Updated 20 April 2025
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India seeks to strengthen energy ties with Saudi Arabia during Modi’s visit

India seeks to strengthen energy ties with Saudi Arabia during Modi’s visit
  • Saudi-India trade worth nearly $43bn in 2023-24; energy alone worth $25.7bn
  • Modi, crown prince to co-chair second meeting of Saudi-India Strategic Partnership Council 

NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday for his third visit, as India seeks to strengthen strategic ties with the Kingdom, particularly in the energy sector.

During his two-day trip, Modi is scheduled to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, where they will hold bilateral talks and co-chair the second meeting of the Saudi-India Strategic Partnership Council.

“The visit is important also on account of the obvious significance of Saudi Arabia as a strategic partner for India … Saudi Arabia is a leading voice in the Islamic world, and is increasingly playing an important role in regional developments,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told a press briefing on Saturday.

As premier, Modi made his first trip to Saudi Arabia in 2016. Following the crown prince’s first visit to India in February 2019, the Indian leader made his second trip to the Kingdom that October, when the two countries established the Strategic Partnership Council.

In 2023-24, Saudi-India trade reached nearly $43 billion, making India Saudi Arabia’s second-largest trading partner, while the Kingdom stands as New Delhi’s fifth-largest.

Saudi Arabia is “a key player” in India’s energy scenario, Misri said.

“We are looking at infusing an even more strategic outlook in the energy partnership between the two countries. And we expect that the forthcoming visit will have some developments related to this as well,” he added.

Bilateral energy trade alone was worth $25.7 billion in 2023-24, with Saudi Arabia being the third-largest source of India’s LPG, crude and petroleum imports.

Modi’s upcoming visit is a follow-up to the crown prince’s trip to India in 2023, when he attended the summit of the Group of 20 biggest economies.

This was followed by the crown prince’s state visit, which saw the two leaders co-chairing the first meeting of the Strategic Partnership Council, and both countries signing around 50 initial pacts and agreeing to form a joint task force for a $100 billion Saudi investment in India.

“This is a very important visit as Saudi Arabia is one of the most important partners of India in the Gulf and Middle East region,” Muddassir Qamar, associate professor at the Center for West Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University, told Arab News on Sunday.

“It is also important as the visit to Saudi Arabia comes at a time of great regional turbulence and uncertainty in international politics, given that Saudi Arabia and India are two of the G20 members and have a similarity of views in regional and global issues.”

Two-way flow of investments, energy security, food security and defense cooperation are likely to be high on the agenda, he said, adding that discussions on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor Agreement are likely to be “top on the priority list,” referring to the trade connectivity plan.

As both countries are working on their respective development plans, namely the Saudi Vision 2030 and India’s Viksit Bharat 2047, they have “ample opportunities to collaborate among businesses and the private sector” across various sectors, including energy, logistics and infrastructure, he added.

Modi’s trip will also boost India’s role in geopolitics, according to Mohammed Soliman, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington D.C.

“Modi’s visit to Saudi Arabia marks a pivotal moment in the deepening of the India-Saudi strategic partnership — strengthening economic ties with $40 billion in trade, securing vital energy supplies, and elevating India’s voice in West Asian geopolitics,” he told Arab News. 

“The visit positions India as a key player in West Asia.” 


Ethiopians celebrate Easter with calls for charity and peace

Ethiopians celebrate Easter with calls for charity and peace
Ethiopian Orthodox Christian pilgrims light candles during the ceremony of the "Holy Fire" at the Deir Al-Sultan Monastery (AFP)
Updated 20 April 2025
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Ethiopians celebrate Easter with calls for charity and peace

Ethiopians celebrate Easter with calls for charity and peace
  • During Fasika, as Easter is known, Christians of all denominations — including the majority Orthodox group — come together to celebrate Jesus' death and resurrection

ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopians marked Easter festivities Sunday with vows to embrace sacrifice, love and peace in a country facing armed conflict and other challenges.
During Fasika, as Easter is known, Christians of all denominations — including the majority Orthodox group — come together to celebrate Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.
For some Ethiopians, religious festivals in recent months have acquired more meaning with the conflict in the Amhara region and instability in neighboring Tigray, where a deadly war ended with a peace deal in 2022.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a statement that it “takes patience, humility and sacrifice to achieve dialogue and reconciliation to heal a nation.”
At the cathedral known as Medhane Alem in the capital Addis Ababa, mammoth congregations took part in services marked by acts of devotion, including kneeling and prostration. The public rituals attest to the passion of Christ.
The presiding priest, Leul Adbaru, urged the faithful to reflect on the meaning of the sacrifice made by Jesus. “Ethiopians ought to believe, understanding for whom Jesus Christ died for on the cross at Calvary,” he said.
Across Addis Ababa, lengthy church services were followed by feasts to mark the end of a 55-day fasting period.
Fitsum Getachew, a casual laborer in the city, waited hours to be served food at Medhane Alem, joining hundreds of worshippers in the meal that included traditional raw meat.
“At this feast prepared by our devout mothers we have partaken of all things, even chunks of raw meat and we are giving thanks unto God,” he said.
For church fundraisers and volunteers like Mulumebet Jembere, charity is the enduring spirit of Fasika. The poor will be looked after, she said.