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My name is Mahmoud Khalil and I am a political prisoner: Columbia University student issues first statement after U.S. immigration arrest

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My name is Mahmoud Khalil and I am a political prisoner: Columbia University student issues first statement after U.S. immigration arrest


Protestors pray outside the main campus of Columbia University during a demonstration to denounce the immigration arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist who helped lead protests against Israel at the university, in New York City, U.S., on March 14, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University Palestinian graduate student who the Trump administration is seeking to deport for his role in pro-Palestinian protests, called himself a political prisoner on Tuesday (March 18, 2025), in his first direct comments since his detention.

The detention of Mr. Khalil, a U.S. permanent resident, has been condemned by multiple human rights groups as an assault on free speech and due process. Over 100 Democratic lawmakers from the U.S. House of Representatives have questioned the detention’s legality in a letter to the administration of Republican President Donald Trump.


Also read | Should immigrants have the same right to protest as citizens?

Justice Department lawyers say Mr. Khalil, 30, was subject to deportation because Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined his U.S. presence could have “adverse foreign policy consequences.”

Mr. Khalil’s case could test where courts draw the line between protected speech guaranteed to citizens and non-citizens alike under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment, and the executive branch’s view that some protests can undermine foreign policy.

“My name is Mahmoud Khalil and I am a political prisoner,” Khalil said in a letter made public on Tuesday.

“My arrest was a direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza, which resumed in full force Monday night,” Khalil said in the letter, referring to the latest renewed Israeli strikes on Gaza that local authorities said killed over 400 Palestinians.

Mr. Khalil’s lawyers have urged that he be released immediately. Mr. Khalil became a U.S. lawful permanent resident last year. His wife is eight months pregnant.

His March 8 arrest sparked protests in different U.S. cities, including in New York City on Tuesday when hundreds gathered at Times Square demanding his release.

Mr. Trump has vowed to deport pro-Palestinian activists who took part in protests on U.S. college campuses against Israel’s war in Gaza following an October 2023 Hamas attack. Trump has alleged the protesters are antisemitic and support Hamas militants.

Pro-Palestinian advocates, including some Jewish groups, say their criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza is wrongly conflated with antisemitism by their critics while their support for Palestinian rights is conflated with support for Hamas militants. Khalil said in Tuesday’s letter his arrest was indicative of anti-Palestinian racism.

The government has not elaborated how Khalil could harm U.S. foreign policy. Trump, without evidence, has accused him of supporting Hamas. Khalil’s legal team says he has no links to Hamas.

Published – March 21, 2025 10:03 am IST



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Did JD Vance’s sister say ‘her brother did not kill the Pope’? Truth behind viral satire video – The Times of India

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April 23, 2025

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Did JD Vance’s sister say ‘her brother did not kill the Pope’? Truth behind viral satire video – The Times of India


JD Vance has become a meme as he was one of the last visitors of Pope Francis on Easter Sunday, hours before the Pope died.

As Vice President JD Vance became a meme after his Sunday meeting with Pope Francis, as he was one of the last visitors of the Pope before he died, a satirical video has been doing the rounds on X claiming that JD Vance’s sister issued a statement that her brother did not kill the Pope. Those who do not know JD Vance’s sister or comedian Blaire Erskine fell prey to the video — though the content of the video was enough to establish that it was a satirical video.
“JD did not kill the Pope. The Pope had pneumonia. Now does JD suck all the air out of a room when he enters. Yes, he does. Our mama used to call him ‘my little queen’ like ‘my little queen vacuum’ because he would suck so much. He would suck the air out of the room. He would suck his thumb. He would s**k. If the Pope had pneumonia and JD came in the room, I bet it was harder for the Pope to breathe because JD was sucking all the air. That way, yes he kill…but he DIDN’T KILL the Pope, directly…” the comedian said many people believe that she was really the sister of the vice president. Some users called the video AI-generated, but it was just a skit by Blaire Erskine who is known for her spoof videos in which she makes fun of right-wing political figures, like after this viral video, she made fun of defense secretary Pete Hegseth.
JD Vance, in real life, has a half-sister, Lindsay Ratliff whom their mother Bev Vance raised as a single mother after her divorce from her first husband.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel also took a dig at JD Vance for his meeting with the Pope and said it was unfortunate that the Pope had to spend his last day on Earth with JD. “Oh man, what a way to go, huh?” Kimmel said in his Monday monologue. “I mean, ‘Holy Father, do you have any last wishes?’ ‘Not this! Not a meet and greet with Vice President Maybelline. No thank you.'”
Then Kimmel also read out an X post that Vance wrote shortly after the Sunday meeting, where he wrote, “Today I met with the Holy Father Pope Francis. I am grateful for his invitation to meet, and I pray for his good health. Happy Easter!” So, now we know JD Vance is bad at praying, too,” Kimmel joked.





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U.S. will ‘walk away’ unless Russia and Ukraine agree deal: Vance

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April 23, 2025

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U.S. will ‘walk away’ unless Russia and Ukraine agree deal: Vance


U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance warned Wednesday (April 23, 2025) that the United States would “walk away” unless Russia and Ukraine agree a peace deal, as envoys from Washington, Kyiv and European nations gathered for downgraded talks in Britain.

“We’ve issued a very explicit proposal to both the Russians and the Ukrainians, and it’s time for them to either say ‘yes’, or for the United States to walk away from this process,” Mr. Vance told reporters in India.

U.S. media reported that President Donald Trump was ready to accept recognition of annexed land in Crimea as Russian territory, and Mr. Vance said land swaps would be fundamental to any deal.

“That means the Ukrainians and the Russians are both going to have to give up some of the territory they currently own,” he added.

The reports said the proposal was first raised at a meeting with European nations in Paris last week.

The latest round of diplomacy comes amid a fresh wave of Russian air strikes that shattered a brief Easter truce.

A Russian drone strike on a bus transporting workers in the southeastern city of Marganets killed nine people and wounded at least 30 more, the Dnipropetrovsk regional governor said Wednesday (April 23, 2025).

Ukrainian authorities also reported strikes in the regions of Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava and Odesa.

In Russia, one person was reported wounded by shelling in the Belgorod region.

‘Work for peace’

U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy had been due to lead a meeting of Foreign Ministers in London on Wednesday (April 23, 2025), but his Ministry said the talks had been downgraded, a sign of the difficulties surrounding the negotiations.

“The Ukraine Peace Talks meeting with Foreign Ministers today is being postponed. Official-level talks will continue,” the Foreign Office said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “as far as we understand, it has not yet been possible to reconcile positions on any issues, which is why this meeting did not take place”.

U.S. Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg is still expected to attend, along with Emmanuel Bonne, diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron.

Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he had arrived in London with Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga, who is “likely” to meet Mr. Lammy.

“Despite everything, we will work for peace,” Mr. Yermak wrote on Telegram.

A Ukraine presidency source later told AFP that the delegation would meet with Mr. Kellogg, and that “there will be more meetings with Europeans, different meetings”.

U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff is to visit Moscow this week.

According to The Financial Times, President Vladimir Putin told Mr. Witkoff he was prepared to halt the invasion and freeze the current front line if Russia’s sovereignty over the Crimean Peninsula, annexed in 2014, was recognised.

Mr. Peskov responded by saying that “a lot of fakes are being published at the moment”, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

Mr. Zelenskyy said Tuesday (April 22, 2025) that his country would be ready for direct talks with Russia only after a ceasefire, though the Kremlin has said it cannot rush into a ceasefire deal.

Mr. Trump promised on the campaign trail to strike a deal between Moscow and Kyiv in 24 hours but has since failed to secure concessions from Putin to halt his troops in Ukraine.

He said at the weekend he hoped an agreement could be struck “this week”.

Trump ‘frustrated’

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he had presented a U.S. plan to end the war and discussed it with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during a phone conversation after the Paris meeting last week.

Both Mr. Rubio and Mr. Trump have warned since that the United States could walk away from peace talks unless it saw quick progress.

Mr. Trump “wants to see this war end… and he has grown frustrated with both sides of this war, and he’s made that very known”, his spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday (April 22, 2025).

Mr. Rubio had said in Paris he would go to London if he thought his attendance could be useful.

But Mr. Lammy wrote on X late Tuesday (April 22, 2025) that he had instead had a “productive call” with Mr. Rubio.

Mr. Trump proposed an unconditional ceasefire in March, the principle of which was accepted by Kyiv but rejected by Mr. Putin.

The White House welcomed a separate agreement by both sides to halt attacks on energy infrastructure for 30 days, but the Kremlin has said it considers that moratorium to have expired.

Published – April 23, 2025 05:30 pm IST



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Gunmen kill two policemen guarding polio team in Pakistan’s Balochistan province – The Times of India

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6 hours ago

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April 23, 2025

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Gunmen kill two policemen guarding polio team in Pakistan’s Balochistan province – The Times of India


Two Pakistani police officers were shot dead on Wednesday while protecting a polio vaccination team in the Teeri area of Mastung district in Balochistan, officials confirmed, marking the second fatal attack on such teams since the nationwide inoculation drive began earlier this week.
According to local administrator Manan Tareen, the attack occurred when two unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire on the officers as they stood guard outside a house where the health workers were administering polio drops to children.
“One of the policemen died on the spot while the other was critically injured and later died at the hospital,” Tareen told AFP. “The team of health workers remained unharmed, as they were inside a house conducting vaccinations.”
The identity of the attackers remains unknown, and no group has claimed responsibility for the assault. However, such attacks have been routinely carried out by militant outfits who view the vaccination campaigns with suspicion, often accusing them of being cover operations for espionage.
Shahid Rind, a spokesperson for the provincial government, confirmed the death toll and said security agencies are investigating the attack. He added that despite the assault, vaccination efforts would continue and security around teams would be reviewed and strengthened.
This incident follows a similar attack earlier this week in the restive province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where a police officer was gunned down while accompanying a vaccination team.
Polio remains endemic in only two countries—Pakistan and Afghanistan—and efforts to eradicate the virus have been severely hampered by repeated attacks on health workers and their security escorts. Since 2012, more than 100 health workers and police personnel have been killed in such targeted assaults in Pakistan.
The Pakistani government has continued its fight against polio with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international partners. The current nationwide campaign aims to immunize millions of children under the age of five, especially in high-risk areas like Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.





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