World

Republicans Push to Strip NY Mayor Mamdani of U.S Citizenship

Published

4 weeks ago

November 10, 2025

Eric

New York City mayoral election, becoming the city’s first Muslim and first South Asian mayor-elect, Republican detractors in Washington, DC, said they would try to stop him from taking office.

President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold federal funds to New York City if Mamdani won, lent credence to misleading questions about Mamdani’s citizenship and falsely accused the Ugandan-born 34-year-old of being a communist.

Some Republican lawmakers requested investigations into Mamdani’s naturalisation process and have called for stripping him of his United States citizenship and deporting him, accusing him without evidence of embracing communist and “terrorist” activities.

“If Mamdani lied on his naturalisation documents, he doesn’t get to be a citizen, and he certainly doesn’t get to run for mayor of New York City. A great American city is on the precipice of being run by a communist who has publicly embraced a terroristic ideology,” Representative Andy Ogles from the Republican party said in an October 29 news release, after asking US Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate Mamdani.

“The American naturalisation system REQUIRES any alignments with communism or terrorist activities to be disclosed. I’m doubtful he disclosed them. If this is confirmed, put him on the first flight back to Uganda.”

Randy Fine, the Republican representative from Florida, misrepresented Mamdani’s time in the US when he said on October 27 on Newsmax: “The barbarians are no longer at the gate, they’re inside. … And Mamdani, having just moved here eight years ago, is a great example of that, becoming a citizen. Look, it is clear with much of what I have read that he did not meet the definition to gain citizenship.”

PolitiFact found no credible evidence that Mamdani lied on his citizenship application.

Born in Uganda, Mamdani moved to the US in 1998, when he was seven years old, and became a US citizen in 2018. For adults to become US citizens, they generally must have lived continuously in the country as a lawful permanent resident for five years, or three years if married to a US citizen.

Denaturalisation, the process of revoking a person’s citizenship, can be done only by judicial order. It’s been used sparingly, such as for removing Nazis who fled to the US after World War II or people convicted of or associated with “terrorism”.

Immigration law experts said they have seen no evidence to support Ogles and Fine’s assertions about Mamdani’s application.

“Denaturalisation is an extreme, rare remedy that requires the government to prove either illegal procurement or a willful, material lie – at a minimum, clear, unequivocal and convincing evidence that the fact would have changed the outcome at the time of naturalisation,” said immigration lawyer Jeremy McKinney. “I’ve seen no credible proof he was ineligible when he took the oath or that any omission was material.”

Ogles and Fine did not respond to PolitiFact’s requests for comment by publication.

Africa

Loyal Soldiers Foil Military Coup in Benin Republic

Published

20 minutes ago

December 7, 2025

Eric

Benin’s government said on Sunday its armed forces had foiled a coup attempt after a group of soldiers in the West African nation claimed on national television to have seized power.

The attempted coup was the latest threat to democratic rule in the region, where militaries have in recent years seized power in Benin’s neighbours Niger and Burkina Faso, as well as in Mali, Guinea and, only last month, Guinea-Bissau.

At least eight soldiers, several holding weapons, went on state television on Sunday morning to announce that a military committee led by Colonel Tigri Pascal had taken over and was dissolving national institutions, suspending the constitution and closing air, land and maritime borders.

“The army solemnly commits to give the Beninese people the hope of a truly new era, where fraternity, justice and work prevail,” said a statement read by one of the soldiers.

A few hours later, Interior Minister Alassane Seidou said the West African country’s armed forces had thwarted the attempted coup.

“Therefore, the government urges the population to go about their business as usual,” he said.

A government spokesperson, Wilfried Leandre Houngbedji, said that 14 people had been arrested in connection with the coup attempt as of Sunday afternoon, without providing details.

Foreign Minister Olushegun Adjadi Bakari had earlier told Reuters that “a small group” of soldiers had attempted to overthrow the government but that forces loyal to President Patrice Talon were working to restore order.

He said the coup plotters had only managed to take control of state television, which was cut after the soldiers read out their statement. It resumed broadcasting shortly afterwards, allowing the interior minister to read his statement saying the coup bid had been foiled.

West Africa’s regional bloc ECOWAS and the African Union condemned the coup attempt.

The coup attempt came as Benin was preparing for a presidential election in April that would mark the end of the tenure of incumbent Talon, in power since 2016.

In their TV statement, the soldiers mentioned the deteriorating security situation in northern Benin “coupled with the disregard and neglect of our fallen brothers-in-arms.”

Talon has been credited with reviving the economy, but the country has also seen an increase in attacks by jihadist militants that have wreaked havoc in Mali and Burkina Faso.

In April, the government said that 54 soldiers were killed in an attack in the north by an affiliate of Al Qaeda.

Last month, Benin adopted a new constitution creating a Senate and extending the presidential mandate from five to seven years, in what critics said was a power grab by the ruling coalition, which has nominated Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni to be its candidate.

The opposition Democrats party, founded by Talon’s predecessor Thomas Boni Yayi, saw its proposed candidate rejected because of what a court ruled was insufficient backing from lawmakers.

Benin experienced several military coups and coup attempts in the first decades after independence from France in 1960. But there has not been a power grab by force in the country since it held multi-party elections in 1991.

Source: Reuters

Africa

Soldiers Strike in Benin Republic, Removes Talon, Takes over Govt

Published

5 hours ago

December 7, 2025

Eric

Military personnel in Benin on Sunday announced that they had ousted President Patrice Talon, although his entourage said he was safe and the army was regaining control.

Soldiers calling themselves the “Military Committee for Refoundation” (CMR), said on state television that they had met and decided that “Mr Patrice Talon is removed from office as president of the republic”.

The announcement follows two coups in Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau in as many months. Benin is bordered in the north by Niger and Burkina Faso, which have also seen military takeovers.

The French Embassy said on X that “gunfire was reported at Camp Guezo” near the president’s official residence in the economic capital.

It urged French citizens to remain indoors for security.

But Talon’s entourage said Talon, who has been president of the west African nation for 10 years and is due to step down in April, was safe.

“This is a small group of people who only control the television. The regular army is regaining control. The city and the country are completely secure,” his office told AFP.

Benin’s political history has been marked by several coups and attempted coups.

Talon, who came to power in 2016, is due to reach the end of his second term in 2026, the maximum allowed by the constitution.

The main opposition party has been excluded from the race to succeed him, and instead the ruling party will vie for power against a so-called “moderate” opposition.

Talon, a 67-year-old former businessman dubbed the “cotton king” of Cotonou, has been praised for bringing economic development to Benin but is regularly accused by his critics of authoritarianism.

AFP

World

US Moves to Impose Visa Restrictions on Sponsors, Supporters of Violence in Nigeria

Published

4 days ago

December 3, 2025

Eric

The United States Department of State on Wednesday announced that it is outlining new measures to address violence against Christians in Nigeria and other countries.

The policy, according to a statement released by the department, targets radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani ethnic militias, and other actors responsible for killings and attacks on religious communities.

“The United States is taking decisive action in response to the mass killings and attacks on Christians carried out by radical Islamic terrorists, Fulani militias, and other violent groups in Nigeria and beyond,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement.

According to the statement, a new policy under Section 212(a)(3)(C) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows the State Department to restrict visas for individuals who have “directed, authorised, significantly supported, participated in, or carried out violations of religious freedom,” and, when appropriate, extend those “restrictions to their immediate family members.”

It stated that, as President Donald Trump made clear, the “United States cannot stand by while such atrocities are happening in Nigeria, and numerous other countries.”

Rubio noted that the visa restrictions could be applied “to Nigeria and any other governments or individuals engaged in violations of religious freedom.”

The announcement followed a briefing by US House Republicans on Tuesday, highlighting rising religious violence in Nigeria.

The session was convened at the direction of President Donald Trump, who instructed the House Appropriations Committee on October 31 to investigate what he described as the slaughter of Christians in the country.

The briefing, led by House Appropriations Vice Chair and National Security Subcommittee Chairman Mario Díaz-Balart, included members of the House Appropriations and House Foreign Affairs Committees, as well as religious freedom experts.

Participants included Representatives Robert Aderholt, Riley Moore, Brian Mast, Chris Smith, US Commission on International Religious Freedom Chair Vicky Hartzler, Alliance Defending Freedom International’s Sean Nelson, and Dr Ebenezer Obadare of the Council on Foreign Relations.

President Bola Tinubu recently approved Nigeria’s delegation to the new US–Nigeria Joint Working Group, formed to implement security agreements from high-level talks in Washington led by National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu.

The move follows growing concerns over terrorism, banditry, and targeted attacks on Christians in Nigeria, prompting increased US scrutiny and warnings about the protection of vulnerable faith communities.

On November 20, the US House Subcommittee on Africa opened a public hearing to review Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern, placing the country under heightened scrutiny for alleged religious-freedom violations.

Lawmakers examined the potential consequences of the designation, which could pave the way for sanctions against Nigerian officials found complicit in religious persecution.

The Punch