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Colombia on Sunday backed down and agreed to accept deported citizens sent on US military aircraft, hours after President Donald Trump threatened painful tariffs to punish the defiance to his mass deportation plans.Colombia’s leftist president, Gustavo Petro, had earlier said he would only take back citizens “with dignity,” such as on civilian planes, and had turned back two US military aircraft with repatriated Colombians.Trump, less than a week back in office, responded furiously and threatened sanctions of 25 percent that would quickly scale up to 50 percent against Latin America’s fourth largest economy.Petro initially sought to hit back and impose his own tariffs on US products, but by the end of the volatile Sunday he had backed down.Colombian Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo told a late-night news conference that his country had “overcome the impasse” and would accept returned citizens.A White House statement said that Colombia has agreed to “unrestricted acceptance of all illegal aliens from Colombia returned from the United States, including on US military aircraft, without limitation or delay.””Today’s events make clear to the world that America is respected again,” it said.”President Trump will continue to fiercely protect our nation’s sovereignty, and he expects all other nations of the world to fully cooperate in accepting the deportation of their citizens illegally present in the United States.”Trump said he would suspend implementation of the tariffs. It had been unclear even earlier how quickly Trump could impose tariffs on Colombia, historically one of Washington’s closest allies in Latin America, which enjoys a free-trade agreement with the United States.Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose wife is Colombian-American, suspended issuance of visas at the US embassy in Bogota and said visas would be revoked to Colombian government officials and their immediate family members.The White House said the visa measures would stay in place until the first planeload of deportees returns.Trump also vowed to subject Colombians to greater scrutiny at US airports.- Concerns over treatment -Trump — who during his campaign said that immigrants were “poisoning the blood” of the United States — took office with promises to round up and swiftly deport undocumented people.While some countries including Guatemala have accepted military deportation flights, Trump had faced resistance from Petro, a former guerrilla elected in 2022 as Colombia’s first left-wing leader.”The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants,” Petro wrote earlier on X.The Colombian government earlier said it was instead ready to send its presidential plane to the United States to transport the migrants “with dignity.”Petro also said there were 15,600 undocumented Americans living in his country and asked them to “regularize their situation,” while ruling out raids to arrest and deport them.Petro’s initial hard-ball tactics infuriated his many critics in the historic US ally.Former right-wing president Ivan Duque accused Petro of “an act of tremendous irresponsibility” for refusing what he called Colombia’s “moral duty” to take back illegal migrants and warned US sanctions would take an “enormous” toll.- ‘Tied hands and feet’ -Trump’s deportation threats have put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home of most of the United States’ estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.Brazil, which is also led by a left-wing president, voiced outrage over treatment by the Trump administration of dozens of Brazilian migrants deported back to their country on Friday. The migrants, who were deported under a bilateral agreement predating Trump’s return, were handcuffed on the flight, in what Brazil called “flagrant disregard” for their basic rights.Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was among the 88 deported migrants, told AFP: “On the plane they didn’t give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn’t even let us go to the bathroom.””It was very hot, some people fainted.”The president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, called for an urgent meeting of leaders from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to take place Thursday in Tegucigalpa to discuss migration following the latest US moves.While previous US administrations also routinely carried out deportations, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.

Since being sworn in as president of the world’s most powerful nation, Donald Trump has been sure to lavish the standard bearer of the conservative right Fox News with scoops, favors and an exclusive interview.Everything might appear to be rosy in the post-inaugural honeymoon period, but the relationship — a political marriage of convenience — between the two sides has not always been so smooth.”We’re back to work. We’re not collecting checks in our pajamas anymore,” said one of the channel’s star anchors Jesse Watters, host of “The Five” talk-show, taking aim at the Biden administration.”It’s fun to watch the Democrats and the media completely broken and just getting ruled over. Thank God. Look at what this government is capable of. I’m just, I’m invigorated.”Since Trump’s return to the White House Monday, the most popular news channel has been the big winner on the broadcast battlefield.Owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Fox News scored the first TV interview with the 47th president in the Oval Office.The task was entrusted to network stalwart Sean Hannity who was seen as so close to Trump during his first term that he was dubbed his “shadow chief-of-staff.”The White House press corps are being reminded of the privileged status enjoyed by their competitor, being brushed off by spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt when journalists asked about Elon Musk’s apparent criticism of an investment announced by Trump.Leavitt told them she had already addressed the spat on Fox News, while it was one of the channel’s journalists who revealed the contents of the letter left by Biden for Trump.During the day, the channel focuses on news, with its journalists reporting from the field. But in the evening, the channel is transformed and its stars fete the president between ads for his $110 “Save America” coffee table book and a Trump wine to honor his stints as the 45th and 47th president.- ‘Extreme tendencies’ -“The Trump administration wants an outlet to reach their constituency, and the ‘MAGA’ (Make America Great Again) crowd — and that’s where they happen to look at a lot of their news,” said Jeffrey McCall, a communication professor at DePauw University, explaining the enduring influence of Fox News.The White House is also “probably looking for the most sympathetic interviewers”.The channel points to its blockbuster ratings, pulling 71 percent of primetime news channel viewers — having extended its lead over closest competitors CNN and MSNBC since the election.It even claims first place among Democrats and Independents who watched the inauguration on a cable news channel.While podcasts, social media and viral digital content have eroded the influence of legacy media, 78-year-old Trump remains a loyal consumer of traditional news.”Fox News, in contrast to the podcasting world, has a lot of clout with congressional elites,” said Reece Peck, author of “Fox Populism.”Speculation abounds in media circles about just how long the honeymoon between Trump and Fox News can last.”Trump has not had the best relationship with Fox News,” said McCall, reflecting the sometimes turbulent ties between Murdoch and Trump.The Republican has frequently condemned the channel like on the evening of the 2020 presidential election when it called the key swing state of Arizona for Biden, and when he subsequently attacked the channel for being too soft on Kamala Harris.Some Fox News commentators also distanced themselves from Trump after the violent attack on the Capitol by his supporters in 2021, almost all of whom were pardoned or had sentences commuted by the new president this week.”I don’t think anyone can really predict how the relationship between Trump and the media is going to play out said Mark Lukasiewicz of Hofstra University’s communications school. The only given is that “the second Trump administration is much more empowered and emboldened than the first… to the extent there were traditional guardrails, whether it was in the media or in Congress who were resisting some of Donald Trump’s more extreme tendencies — those seem to have largely disappeared.””The line has moved,” he said. “It remains to be seen how far it moves.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered sweeping tariffs and sanctions against Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept military deportation flights, seeking to punish one of his most defiant critics in Latin America.Colombia’s left-leaning President Gustavo Petro did not back down, announcing his own tariffs against US products, as he vowed that returning migrants be treated with dignity.Trump, back in office for less than a week, promised to impose 25 percent tariffs on products from Colombia — the source of one-fifth of coffee in the United States — and to raise them to 50 percent in a week.It was unclear how quickly the tariffs would come as Colombia, historically one of Washington’s closest allies in Latin America, enjoys a free-trade agreement with the United States.”These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.Not to be outdone, Petro, a former leftist guerrilla, said he had instructed his minister for external trade “to raise tariffs on imports from the US to 25%.”In a long broadside on X addressed to Trump he declared: “You will never dominate us.”Secretary of State Marco Rubio, days away from a trip to Latin America aimed at pushing Trump’s agenda, said that the US embassy in Bogota was suspending all issuance of visas.He also said he was imposing visa restrictions on Colombian officials and their immediate family members, with Trump vowing to subject Colombians to greater scrutiny at US airports.- ‘I forbid entry’ -Trump — who during his campaign said that immigrants were “poisoning the blood” of the United States — took office with promises to round up and swiftly deport undocumented people.While some countries including Guatemala have accepted military deportation flights, Trump has faced resistance from Petro, elected in 2022 as the first left-wing leader of Latin America’s fourth-largest economy.”The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants,” Petro wrote earlier on X.Petro said he had “turned back US military planes.” Trump said two US planes were not allowed to land.The Colombian government said it was instead ready to send its presidential plane to the United States to transport the migrants “with dignity.”Petro said he was also ready to allow civilian US flights carrying deported migrants to land, as long as those aboard were not treated “like criminals.”He additionally urged what he said were the more than 15,600 undocumented Americans living in his country to “regularize their situation,” while ruling out raids to arrest and deport them.Petro’s Colombian critics reacted furiously to what they saw as his reckless rumble with Trump.Former right-wing president Ivan Duque accused Petro of “an act of tremendous irresponsibility” for refusing what he called Colombia’s “moral duty” to take back illegal migrants and warned US sanctions would take an “enormous” toll.- ‘Tied hands and feet’ -Trump’s deportation threats have put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home of most of the United States’ estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.Brazil, which is also led by a left-wing president, voiced outrage over treatment by the Trump administration of dozens of Brazilian migrants deported back to their country on Friday. The migrants, who were deported under a bilateral agreement predating Trump’s return, were handcuffed on the flight, in what Brazil called “flagrant disregard” for their basic rights.Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was among the 88 deported migrants, told AFP: “On the plane they didn’t give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn’t even let us go to the bathroom.””It was very hot, some people fainted.”The president of Honduras, Xiomara Castro, called for an urgent meeting of leaders from the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) to take place Thursday in Tegucigalpa to discuss migration following the latest US moves.While previous US administrations also routinely carried out deportations, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.

The makers of a new documentary alleging the iconic “Napalm Girl” photo was deliberately credited to the wrong photographer — claims denied by the Associated Press — said Sunday that it is “critical” to “share this story with the world.” “The Stringer,” which premiered at the Sundance film festival, chronicles an investigation into rumors that the devastating image which helped change global perceptions of the Vietnam War was actually taken by a little-known local freelancer.Nick Ut, the AP staff photographer credited with the photo of a nine-year-old girl fleeing naked from a napalm strike, won a Pulitzer Prize. He has always said that he took the photo. Ut’s lawyer attempted to block the film’s release.AP published a report last week detailing its own investigation into the controversy, which found “nothing that proves Nick Ut did not take the photo,” but said it had not yet been granted access to the film’s research.”AP stands ready to review any and all evidence and new information about this photo,” the organization said in an updated statement Sunday. The new film was triggered when Carl Robinson, the photo editor on duty in AP’s Saigon bureau on the day the image was captured, began speaking out about the provenance of the photo.In the film, Robinson says he was ordered to write a photo caption attributing the photo to Ut by Horst Faas, AP’s two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning chief of photos in Saigon.”I started writing the caption… Horst Faas, who had been standing right next to me, said ‘Nick Ut. Make it Nick Ut,'” says Robinson.After interviewing Robinson, the filmmakers identified the long-lost name of a Vietnamese freelance photographer who is visible in other photos of the infamous scene at Trang Bang on June 8, 1972.They eventually tracked down Nguyen Thanh Nghe, who states in the film that he is certain he took the photo.”Nick Ut came with me on the assignment. But he didn’t take that photo… That photo was mine,” he says.Executive director Gary Knight, a photojournalist who led the film’s investigation, told AFP it was “critical” that members of the news media “hold ourselves to account.””The photograph in question is one of the most important photographs of anything ever made, certainly of war,” he said.”Just getting that recognition (for Nghe)… it was always important for us as a film team to share this story with the world,” added director Bao Nguyen.- ‘Speaking up’ -One question repeatedly raised in response to the new allegations is why it took so long for anybody to speak up.Robinson says that, at the time of the photo being captioned, he feared for his job. He added he consequently felt it was “too late” to speak out, until he learned the name of the freelancer decades later.Ut’s lawyer Jim Hornstein told AFP that Robinson had a “50-year vendetta against Nick Ut, AP and Horst Faas,” and said “a defamation action will soon be filed against the film makers.”In the documentary, Nghe’s family say he consistently spoke at home of his regret about losing credit for the photo.Nghe says: “I felt upset. I worked hard for it, but that guy got to have it all. He got recognition, he got awards.” Nguyen, the film’s director, said the idea that the family are “only now are speaking up… is sort of a fallacy.”Within their own circles, they’ve been saying this for so long,” Nguyen said.Knight said there has always been “a huge power imbalance in journalism.” “It has been dominated by white, Western heterosexual males for as long as I’ve been in it, and before,” he said.- ‘Investigating’ -The filmmakers also hired INDEX, a France-based non-profit that specializes in forensic investigations, which concluded it is “highly unlikely” Ut was in the right position to take the photo.AP’s latest statement repeats its request for the filmmakers to share evidence, including eyewitness accounts and the INDEX report.”When we became aware of this film and its allegations broadly, we took them very seriously and began investigating,” it says.”We cannot state more clearly that The Associated Press is only interested in the facts and a truthful history of this iconic photo.”

US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered sweeping tariffs and sanctions against Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights, as Bogota responded in kind with a 25 percent levy on US goods.Trump, back in office for less than a week and peeved after President Gustavo Petro said he turned back US military planes carrying immigrants, began the tariff tit-for-tat by saying he would impose 25 percent on Colombian products, which would rise to 50 percent in a week.His authority to do so was unclear as Colombia, historically one of Washington’s closest allies in Latin America, enjoys a free-trade agreement with the United States.Trump also said he would immediately revoke visas for Colombian government officials and “supporters” of President Gustavo Petro — and subject Colombians to greater scrutiny at airports.”These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.Not to be outdone, Petro, writing on X, said that he had instructed his minister for external trade “to raise tariffs on imports from the US to 25%.”Trump took office with promises to round up and swiftly deport foreigners unlawfully in the United States, but has faced resistance from Petro, elected in 2022 as the first left-wing leader of Latin America’s fourth-largest economy.”The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants,” Petro wrote earlier on X.In a later post, he said he had “turned back US military planes.” Trump said two US planes were not allowed to land.The Colombian government said it was instead ready to send its presidential plane to the United States to transport “with dignity” the migrants whose flights were blocked by Bogota.Petro also said he was ready to allow civilian US flights carrying deported migrants to land, as long as those aboard were not treated “like criminals.”In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Petro had authorized the flights but then “canceled his authorization when the planes were in the air.”The Colombian leader meanwhile said that more than 15,600 undocumented Americans were living in his country and urged them to “regularize their situation,” while ruling out raids to arrest and deport them.The trip comes days before Rubio is set to visit Latin America — but not Colombia — on his first trip as top US diplomat.- ‘Tied hands and feet’ -Trump’s deportation threats have put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home of most of the United States’ estimated 11 million undocumented migrants.Brazil, which is also led by a left-wing president, voiced outrage over treatment by the Trump administration of dozens of Brazilian migrants deported back to their country on Friday. The migrants, who were deported under a bilateral agreement predating Trump’s return, were handcuffed on the flight, in what Brazil called “flagrant disregard” for their basic rights.Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was among the 88 deported migrants, told AFP: “On the plane they didn’t give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn’t even let us go to the bathroom.””It was very hot, some people fainted.”Several deportation flights since Trump’s return to office have garnered public and media attention, although such actions were also common under previous administrations.In a break with prior practice, however, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft for some repatriation flights, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.Several Latin American countries have vowed to welcome back citizens, many of whom have been living and working in the United States for years, with open arms.The Mexican government said it planned to open nine shelters for its citizens and three more for deported foreigners, under a scheme called “Mexico embraces you.”President Claudia Sheinbaum said the government would also provide humanitarian assistance to deported migrants from other countries before repatriating them.Honduras, a central American country that is also a large source of migrants to the United States, said it was launching a program for returnees entitled “Brother, come home,” which would include a “solidarity” payment, food and access to employment opportunities.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered sweeping tariffs and sanctions against Colombia in retaliation for its refusal to accept deportation flights, doubling down on his immigration crackdown as he sought to silence a chorus of defiance in Latin America.Trump, back into office for less than a week, said he would impose tariffs of 25 percent on Colombian products that would rise to 50 percent in a week. His authority to do so was unclear as Colombia, historically one of Washington’s closest allies in Latin America, enjoys a free-trade agreement with the United States.Trump also said he would immediately revoke visas for Colombian government officials and “supporters” of President Gustavo Petro — and subject Colombians to greater scrutiny at airports.”These measures are just the beginning. We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the criminals they forced into the United States!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.Trump took office with promises to round up and swiftly deport foreigners unlawfully in the United States, but has faced resistance from Petro, elected in 2022 as the first left-wing leader of Latin America’s fourth-largest economy.”The United States cannot treat Colombian migrants as criminals. I forbid entry to our territory to US planes carrying Colombian migrants,” Petro wrote on X.In a later post, he said he had “turned back US military planes.” Trump said two US planes were not allowed to land.The Colombian government said it was instead ready to send its presidential plane to the United States to transport “with dignity” the migrants whose flights were blocked by Bogota.Petro also said he was ready to allow civilian US flights carrying deported migrants to land, as long as those on board were not treated “like criminals.”The Colombian leader later said more than 15,600 undocumented Americans were living in his country and urged them to “regularize their situation,” while ruling out raids to arrest and deport them.The trip comes days before Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to visit Latin America — but not Colombia — on his first trip as top US diplomat as he seeks support for Trump’s policies.He is also not scheduled to visit Mexico, which has been critical of the use of military planes for deportations.- ‘Tied hands and feet’ -Trump’s threats to deport millions of migrants has put him on a potential collision course with governments in Latin America, the original home of most of the estimated 11 million undocumented migrants in the United States.Brazil, which is also led by a left-wing president, voiced outrage over the treatment by the Trump administration of dozens of Brazilian migrants deported back to their country on Friday. The migrants, who were deported under a bilateral agreement predating Trump’s return to the White House, were handcuffed on the flight, in what Brazil called “flagrant disregard” for their basic rights.Edgar Da Silva Moura, a 31-year-old computer technician who was among the 88 deported migrants, told AFP: “On the plane they didn’t give us water, we were tied hands and feet, they wouldn’t even let us go to the bathroom.””It was very hot, some people fainted.”TV footage showed some passengers descending from the civilian plane with their hands handcuffed and their ankles shackled.Several deportation flights since Trump’s return to office have garnered public and media attention, although such actions were also common under previous administrations.In a break with prior practice, however, the Trump administration has begun using military aircraft for some repatriation flights, with at least one landing in Guatemala this week.Several Latin American countries have vowed to welcome back citizens, many of whom have been living and working in the United States for years, with open arms.The Mexican government said it planned to open nine shelters for its citizens and three more for deported foreigners, under a scheme called “Mexico embraces you.”President Claudia Sheinbaum said the government would also provide humanitarian assistance to deported migrants from other countries before repatriating them.Honduras, a central American country that is also a large source of migrants to the United States, said it was launching a program for returnees entitled “Brother, come home,” which would include a “solidarity” payment, food and access to employment opportunities.

Mel Gibson’s new action film “Flight Risk” has topped the North American box office, taking in an estimated $12 million on a slow winter weekend, industry analysts said Sunday.The Lionsgate movie stars Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Dockery and Topher Grace in a story about a US marshal transporting a mobster-turned-informant across the Alaskan wilderness. The flight proves bumpy when the pilot is revealed to have an ulterior motive. “This is a good opening for an original action thriller,” said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. Though reviews have been “poor,” he said, “business should be good in all parts of the world.”Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King,” slipped to second spot, earning an estimated $8.7 million. Its domestic take stands at $221.1 million, and it has sold $405 million in tickets abroad.Also dropping one spot, to third, was Sony comedy “One of Them Days,” at $8 million. Keke Palmer and singer SZA star in the Issa Rae-produced film, playing roommates scrambling to pay rent or face eviction after a boyfriend squanders their money.Holding steady at fourth, in its sixth weekend out, was Paramount’s animated “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” at $5.5 million. And holding in fifth was Disney animation “Moana 2.” It took in $4.3 million in its ninth weekend out and should soon become the ninth biggest animated film of all time, according to The Hollywood Reporter.Rounding out the top 10 were:”Presence” ($3.42 million)”Wolf Man” ($3.4 million)”A Complete Unknown” ($3.1 million)”Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” ($3 million)”The Brutalist” ($2.9 million)

Donald Trump’s border czar on Sunday defended raiding churches and schools as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration, while acknowledging that deporting all undocumented people in the United States was not “realistic.”Trump began his second term on Monday with a flurry of executive actions aimed at overhauling US immigration.His administration quickly moved to ramp up deportations, including by relaxing rules governing enforcement actions at “sensitive” locations such as schools, churches and workplaces.Asked about the rule change, Tom Homan, a former head of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) tapped to oversee Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda, said Sunday it sends a clear message.”There’s consequences of entering the country illegally. If we don’t show there’s consequences, you’re never going to fix the border problem,” he told ABC News’ “This Week” program.Such actions would nonetheless be made on a “case by case” basis, he said, noting that “many” members of gangs such as MS-13 are teenagers.If there’s a “national security threat or a public safety threat that’s in one of these facilities, then it should be an option,” he said.On Thursday, leaders of three Catholic organizations blasted the rule change, saying in a joint statement that “turning places of care, healing and solace into places of fear and uncertainty for those in need… will not make our communities safer.”When pressed on the Catholic opposition, Homan stood firm.”We’re enforcing laws Congress enacted and the president signed. If they don’t like it, change the law.”Vice President JD Vance, who was also asked about the Catholic pushback in an interview broadcast Sunday, accused one group of being worried about losing funds in the immigration crackdown.”I think that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?” he told CBS’ “Face the Nation.”All eyes during Trump’s first week in office have been on immigration enforcement and deportations, though it was unclear to what extent actions have increased from predecessor Joe Biden.ICE said in posts on X that it had made 593 arrests on Friday and 286 arrests on Saturday.In the 2024 federal fiscal year, agency data shows ICE made 113,431 arrests, or around 310 per day.Homan called on Congress to pass additional funding for dealing with those arrested.”We’re gonna need more ICE beds, a minimum of 100,000. Congress needs to come to the table quick and give us the money we need to secure that border,” he told ABC News.”We’re going to try to be efficient. But with more money we have, the more we can accomplish.”

Donald Trump has shaken up America and the world in an extraordinary first week back in the White House that saw him remake the US political universe in his own image.On his first day, Trump signed more executive orders than any president in history, consolidating his power over every lever of the US government.Since then, he has seemingly been everywhere, doing everything all at once to further impose his will — and his conservative, nationalist version of a “golden age” — on the country.The theme has been “promises made, promises kept”: starting with his mass pardons for the 2021 US Capitol rioters and a slew of executive orders from immigration to gender.From Trump and his supporters, the theme has been one of regal, even divine, power. The 78-year-old claimed he was “saved by God” from an assassination attempt to make America great again — and danced with a sword at an inaugural ball. His ally Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, simply hailed the “return of the king.”Trump’s influence on the world stage is outsized too, as he flaunts mass tariffs and threats of American territorial expansion.”Early in his new term, emboldened by his astonishing resurrection, Trump appears to be Godzilla domestically and abroad,” Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, told AFP.- ‘We are so back’ -If Trump’s supporters — and critics — had any doubts about what his second coming would bring, they were dispelled with a few squeaky strokes of a black marker in the Oval Office on Monday.Hours after his inauguration at the US Capitol, Trump signed a pardon of 1,500 rioters who had stormed the same building four years earlier to try to overturn his election loss to Joe Biden.But it was just the start of an avalanche of dizzying changes.The Republican’s orders launched a long-promised immigration crackdown, eliminated birthright citizenship, and said the US government would only recognize two genders.He purged the government of diversity efforts and employees — and then got rid of the internal watchdogs who might challenge his rulings.He yanked the United States out of the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organization.”We are so back,” was the repeated refrain heard in the corridors of the White House.His spokeswoman insisted Trump had delivered “more in 100 hours than any president in 100 days.”And the contrast with Trump’s own first term could not have been greater.Instead of chaos and fights, the first days of Trump 2.0 have been marked by what appears to be careful planning, steely discipline and intense messaging.Internationally, Trump appeared at the Davos forum on a huge screen where he towered over the gathered global elite. Trump has told other countries to either make products in America or face tariffs. All week, he has repeated his territorial threats against Greenland and Panama — calling their sovereignty into question even as he asserted America’s.”Trump is saying: I’m in control,” said Peter Loge, the director of George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs. – ‘Imperial presidency’ -But the return of the Trump show has also brought back some old habits — and challenges.Trump still can’t resist  rehashing grievances against opponents — including a bishop at his inaugural service who urged him to show “mercy” — and continues to deploy falsehoods and exaggerations.Nor can the former reality TV star resist a microphone, holding a series of freewheeling encounters with the press since his return. At one point Trump asked reporters: “Does Biden ever do news conferences like this?” Key promises remain unfulfilled: US grocery prices remain high despite Trump’s pledge that they would come down, and the war in Ukraine that he vowed to end within 24 hours of his return grinds on.But as billionaire Trump promises a golden age, his critics fear it will come with a dark side.For instance, the freed leader of one far-right militia toured the Capitol two days after the January 6 pardons. And a neo-Nazi group paraded at an anti-abortion march in Washington that Trump himself addressed by video message.Trump’s message praised “every child as a beautiful gift from the hand of our Creator” — the same God from whom Trump had claimed a divine mandate in his inaugural address on Monday.”Trump would love to restore the so-called imperial presidency” that existed from Franklin Roosevelt in the 1930s until Richard Nixon’s fall in 1974, said Sabato.However, Sabato added that “era was long gone and Trump lacks the strong public support necessary to sustain the tough image he’s projecting.”While Democrats and the anti-Trump “resistance” that opposed his 2016 victory have largely fallen silent for now, there is already legal action against key parts of his agenda.”We all know Trump. He can’t change and won’t change, so over time much of the public will tire of his antics, just as they did in his first term,” said Sabato.

After working for years alongside the United States to combat the Taliban in Afghanistan, Zahra says she was just days from being evacuated to America when President Donald Trump suspended refugee admissions.She sold her belongings as she awaited a flight out of Pakistan, where she has been embroiled in a three-year process applying for a refugee scheme Trump froze in one of his first acts back in office.”We stood with them for the past 20 years, all I want is for them to stand up for the promise they made,” the 27-year-old former Afghanistan defence ministry worker told AFP from Islamabad.”The only wish we have is to be safe and live where we can have peace and an ordinary human life,” she said, sobbing down the phone and speaking under a pseudonym to protect her identity.The 2021 withdrawal of US-led troops from Kabul ended two decades of war but began a new exodus, as Afghans clamoured to escape Taliban government curbs and fears of reprisal for working with Washington.Trump’s executive order to pause admissions for at least 90 days starting from January 27 has blocked around 10,000 Afghans approved for entry from starting new lives in the United States, according to non-profit #AfghanEvac.Tens of thousands more applications in process have also been frozen, the US-based organisation said.”All sorts of people that stood up for the idea of America, now they’re in danger,” #AfghanEvac chief Shawn VanDiver told AFP. “We owe it to them to get them out.”- ‘Hopes are shattered’ – Trump’s order said “the United States lacks the ability to absorb large numbers of migrants, and in particular, refugees”, and stopped the relocation scheme until it “aligns with the interests of the United States”.But campaigners argue the country owes a debt to Afghans left in the lurch by their withdrawal — which Trump committed to in his first term but was overseen by his successor president Joe Biden.A special visa programme for Afghans who were employed by or on behalf of the United States remains active.But the more wide-reaching refugee scheme was relied on by applicants including ex-Afghan soldiers and employees of the US-backed government, as well as their family members.With America’s Kabul embassy shut, many travelled to neighbouring Pakistan to enter paperwork, conduct interviews and undergo vetting.Female applicants are fleeing the country where the Taliban government has banned them from secondary school and university, squeezed them from public life and ordered them to wear all-covering clothes.”I had a lot of hopes for my sisters, that they should graduate from school and pursue education,” said one of five daughters of an ex-government employee’s family seeking resettlement from Pakistan.”All my hopes are shattered,” said the 23-year-old. “I have nightmares and when I wake up in the morning, I feel like I can’t fall asleep again. I’m very anxious.”The European Court of Justice ruled last year that Afghan women have the right to be recognised as refugees in the EU because Taliban government curbs on women “constitute acts of persecution”.This week, the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor said he was seeking arrest warrants for Taliban government leaders because there are grounds to suspect they “bear criminal responsibility for the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds”.Moniza Kakar, a lawyer who works with Afghan refugees in Pakistan, said some women told her they “prefer suicide than going back to Afghanistan”.The Taliban government has announced an amnesty and encouraged those who fled to return to rebuild the country, presenting it as a haven of Islamic values. But a 2023 report by UN rights experts said “the amnesty for former government and military officials is being violated” and there were “consistent credible reports of summary executions and acts tantamount to enforced disappearances”.- ‘No life left for me’ – Last summer, Pakistan’s foreign ministry complained as many as 25,000 Afghans were in the country awaiting relocation to the United States.Islamabad announced a sweeping campaign in 2023 to evict undocumented Afghans , ordering them to leave or face arrest as relations soured with the Taliban government.At least 800,000 Afghans have left since October 2023, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council. But Afghans awaiting refugee relocation have also reported widespread harassment to leave by authorities in Pakistan.A foreign ministry spokesman told reporters this week Trump’s administration had not yet communicated any new refugee policy to Pakistan.Islamabad is following “the same old plan” where Washington has committed to taking in refugees this year, Shafqat Ali Khan said.Afghans awaiting new lives abroad feel caught between a cancelled future and the haunting prospect of returning to their homeland.”I don’t have the option of returning to Afghanistan, and my situation here is dire,” said 52-year-old former Afghan journalist Zahir Bahand.”There is no life left for me, no peace, no future, no visa, no home, no work: nothing is left for me.”