The United States has confirmed it completed the deportations of eight men to South Sudan, a day after a US judge cleared the way for President Donald Trump’s administration to send them to the violence-hit African country.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Saturday that the men were deported a day earlier, on US Independence Day on Friday, after they lost a last-minute legal bid to halt their transfer.
The eight detainees – immigrants from Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Myanmar, South Sudan and Vietnam – had been held under guard at a US military base in Djibouti for weeks.
A staffer working at Juba airport in South Sudan told the Reuters news agency that the aircraft carrying the men had arrived on Saturday at 6am local time (04:00 GMT). Their current location is not known.
In a statement, DHS said the eight men had been convicted of a range of crimes, including first-degree murder, robbery, drug trafficking and sexual assault.
Their case had become a flashpoint in ongoing legal battles over the Trump administration’s campaign of mass deportations, including removals to so-called “third countries” where rights groups say deportees face safety risks and possible abuses.
“These third country deportations are wrong, period. And the United States should not be sending people to a literal war zone,” progressive Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal wrote on social media earlier this week, urging the deportations to be blocked.
The eight men had been held in a converted shipping container in Djibouti since late May, when an earlier deportation flight to South Sudan was halted by the courts over due process concerns.
The US Supreme Court has twice ruled that the Trump administration could deport them to countries outside of their homelands, issuing its latest decision on Thursday (PDF).
That same night, the eight detainees had filed an appeal, arguing that their “impermissibly punitive” deportation to South Sudan would violate the US Constitution, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment”.
But Judge Brian Murphy of Boston, whose rulings had previously halted efforts to begin deportations to the African country, ruled on Friday evening that the Supreme Court had tied his hands, clearing the way for the deportations to go ahead.
On Saturday, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin hailed the removals as “a win for the rule of law, safety and security of the American people”.
The US State Department advises citizens not to travel to South Sudan due to “crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict”.
The United Nations has also warned that a political crisis embroiling the African country could reignite a brutal civil war that ended in 2018.
Last week, Blaine Bookey, legal director at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies at the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco, condemned the US’s use of deportations to third countries.
Kneecap were supporting Fontaines DC at Finsbury Park, London, and discussed Liam Og O hAnnaidh’s upcoming court date and events in the Middle East during their time on stage
Next month will see “the second time Kneecap have beat the British Government in court”, the Irish rap trio said at their largest gig to date.
The 45,000-strong crowd in Finsbury Park, London watched them walk on in front of a screen that said “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people”.
They were supporting Irish band Fontaines DC, whose front man Grian Chatten joined to perform their collaboration Better Way To Live.
People echoed the Belfast group’s chants when they repeated the “f*** Keir Starmer” and “you’re just a s*** Jeremy Corbyn” comments made at Glastonbury the previous weekend.
Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs as Mo Chara, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court earlier this month charged with a terror offence and will return next month.
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Fellow member Naoise O Caireallain, who uses the stage name Moglai Bap, said “if anyone’s free on the 20th of August, you wanna go to the court and support Mo Chara” before shouting “free Mo Chara, free, free Mo Chara”.
Wearing a keffiyeh, O hAnnaidh responded: “I appreciate it, the 20th of August is going to be the second time Kneecap have beat the British Government in court – in their own court, on their own terms, and we’re going to beat them for the second time. I tell you what, there is nothing like embarrassing the British Government. ”
Last year Kneecap won a discrimination challenge over a decision by former business secretary Kemi Badenoch to refuse them a £14,250 funding award.
The UK Government conceded it was “unlawful” after the band launched legal action claiming the decision to refuse the grant discriminated against them on grounds of nationality and political opinion.
It was agreed that the £14,250 sum would be paid by the Government to the group.
During the performance the group intermittently broke off the mosh pits and raucous crowd by addressing the war in Gaza, which is a recurring theme of their shows.
O hAnnaidh said: “It’s usually around this point of the gig that we decide to talk about what’s happening in Palestine.
“I understand that it’s almost inhumane that I’m thinking of new things to say on stage during a genocide, for sound bites.
“It’s beyond words now, like, we always used to say obviously they’re being bombed from the skies with nowhere to go, but it’s beyond that now.
“They’ve been being starved for a few months on end, and not only that, the areas that they have set up, to collect aid and food, have turned into killing fields and they’re killing hundreds a day trying to collect food. ”
He continued: “It’s beyond words, but again, we played in Plymouth last night to 750 people and we did the same thing, so it doesn’t matter how big or small our audience is, Kneecap will always use the platform for talking about this. ”
O Caireallain had said earlier in the show: “They can try and silence us, they can try and stop us, but we’re not going to stop talking about Palestine – as long as there’s a genocide happening in Palestine we’re going to keep talking about it and yous are going to keep talking about it, and they can’t stop us. ”
The UN human rights office has recorded 613 killings near humanitarian convoys and at aid distribution points in Gaza run by an Israeli-backed American organisation since it began operations in late May.
On Friday its spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said the rights office was not able to attribute responsibility for the killings, but “it is clear that the Israeli military has shelled and shot at Palestinians trying to reach the distribution points” operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).
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The GHF has denied any serious injuries or deaths on its sites and says shootings outside their immediate vicinity are under the purview of Israel’s military.
The Israeli military has said previously it fires warning shots to control crowds or at Palestinians who approach its troops.
Bayern Munich midfielder Jamal Musiala looks set for another prolonged spell on the sidelines after suffering a serious ankle injury in the side’s 2-0 Club World Cup quarter-final defeat by Paris St-Germain.
It was Musiala’s first start in months as, since early April, he had been recovering from a hamstring injury that had kept him out of the final month of Bayern’s Bundesliga campaign.
At the end of an entertaining but goalless first half at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Musiala was caught by PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma while chasing down an overhit Michael Olise pass near the byeline.
Germany international Musiala emerged from the challenge screaming in agony and clutching his left ankle, while several players – including the distraught Donnarumma – had to avert their eyes as the Bayern physios sprinted on to the pitch.
“He has had to go to hospital,” Bayern manager Vincent Kompany told DAZN. “It didn’t look good. The overwhelming feeling is hopefully it’s not as bad as it looks and he gets through this one. “
Kompany added in his post-match news conference: “I’ve rarely been so angry at half-time, not against my players.
“There are many things in life that are much more important than this, but in the end, for these guys, it’s their life. He came back from a setback, and then it happens in the way it happens and you feel powerless.
“You try and get strength out of it because you want to do it for Jamal. The thing that gets my blood still boiling at the moment, it’s not the result.
“I understand this is football, but it’s the fact that it happened to someone that, for one, enjoys the game so much, but also is very important for us. “
German football expert Raphael Honigstein said: “The Bayern Munich players were evidently rattled and you could see maybe it took some time, when they came out from half-time, to readjust and find their focus again.
‘Something you don’t want to see on the field’
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Despite missing 11 games through injury this season, Musiala was still one of Bayern’s most influential players in 2024-25, registering 29 goal involvements – 21 goals and eight assists – in 44 competitive appearances.
The club recently confirmed he will inherit Bayern’s iconic number 10 shirt from the departing Leroy Sane next term, giving him the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of club legends such as Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Lothar Matthaus and Arjen Robben.
Having scored a hat-trick off the bench in Bayern’s 10-0 thrashing of Auckland City in their opening Club World Cup group game, Musiala was hoping to kick on against PSG in Atlanta – but the 22-year-old’s evening was cruelly cut short.
“It’s important we talk about Musiala,” said PSG and former Dortmund right-back Achraf Hakimi. “I want to give my support to him. We hope to see him back on the pitch soon. “
Ousmane Dembele – who netted PSG’s second goal after Desire Doue’s opener – also said his thoughts are with the Germany international.
“Shout out to Jamal Musiala,” he said. “[The injury] is something you don’t want to see on the field. “
‘He is a legend’ – Muller bids farewell
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Saturday’s game also marked the end of Thomas Muller’s trophy-laden career with boyhood side Bayern.
The 35-year-old, who made a club-record 756 appearances, won 13 league titles and two Champions Leagues during his time in Bavaria, was due to leave on 30 June but had his contract extended so he could participate at this summer’s Club World Cup.
He scored his 250th and final goal for Bayern – a trademark close-range finish – in the 10-0 victory over Auckland last month.
Muller has yet to decide his next career move, telling US broadcaster CBS Sports recently that he will “figure out” his future “in the next couple of weeks”.
“If there’s no perfect solution for me, maybe I’ll decide to end my career,” he said. “Let’s see what happens. “
Kompany paid tribute to Muller after Saturday’s defeat, saying: “Bayern Munich is a club of so many legends – and he ranks at the very top.
“He got a send-off in front of the fans [at Bayern’s last Bundesliga match] and he lived every moment of this tournament. You see his performances [in games] but also in training. He is a legend.
Bayern Munich midfielder Jamal Musiala looks set for another prolonged spell on the sidelines after suffering a serious ankle injury in the side’s 2-0 Club World Cup quarter-final defeat by Paris St-Germain.
It was Musiala’s first start in months as, since early April, he had been recovering from a hamstring injury that had kept him out of the final month of Bayern’s Bundesliga campaign.
At the end of an entertaining but goalless first half at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Musiala was caught by PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma while chasing down an overhit Michael Olise pass near the byeline.
Germany international Musiala emerged from the challenge screaming in agony and clutching his left ankle, while several players – including the distraught Donnarumma – had to avert their eyes as the Bayern physios sprinted on to the pitch.
“He has had to go to hospital,” Bayern manager Vincent Kompany told DAZN. “It didn’t look good. The overwhelming feeling is hopefully it’s not as bad as it looks and he gets through this one.
“I’ve rarely been so angry at half-time, not with the players. For these youngsters [like Musiala], it’s their life. A guy like Jamal lives for this.
“My blood boils at that moment, the fact that it happened to a guy who loves this sport and is very important to our team. “
German football expert Raphael Honigstein said: “The Bayern Munich players were evidently rattled and you could see maybe it took some time, when they came out from half-time, to readjust and find their focus again.
‘Something you don’t want to see on the field’
Getty Images
Despite missing 11 games through injury this season, Musiala was still one of Bayern’s most influential players in 2024-25, registering 29 goal involvements – 21 goals and eight assists – in 44 competitive appearances.
The club recently confirmed he will inherit Bayern’s iconic number 10 shirt from the departing Leroy Sane next term, enabling him to follow in the footsteps of club legends Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Lothar Matthaus and Arjen Robben.
Having scored a hat-trick off the bench in Bayern’s 10-0 thrashing of Auckland City in their opening Club World Cup group game, Musiala was hoping to kick on against PSG in Atlanta – but the 22-year-old’s evening was cruelly cut short.
“It’s important we talk about Musiala,” said PSG and former Dortmund right-back Achraf Hakimi. “I want to give my support to him. We hope to see him back on the pitch soon. “
Ousmane Dembele – who netted PSG’s second goal after Desire Doue’s opener – also said his thoughts are with the Germany international.
“Shout out to Jamal Musiala,” he said. “[The injury] is something you don’t want to see on the field. “
Muller to ‘figure out’ future after final Bayern appearance
Getty Images
Saturday’s game also marked the end of Thomas Muller’s trophy-laden career with boyhood side Bayern.
The 35-year-old, who made a club-record 756 appearances, won 13 league titles and two Champions Leagues during his time in Bavaria, was due to leave on 30 June but had his contract extended so he could participate at this summer’s Club World Cup.
He scored his 250th and final goal for Bayern – a trademark close-range finish – in the 10-0 victory over Auckland last month.
Having now played his final game for the German giants, Muller says he will “figure out” his future “in the next couple of weeks”.
“If there’s no perfect solution for me, maybe I’ll decide to end my career,” he said in a recent interview with US broadcaster CBS Sports. “Let’s see what happens. “
Kompany paid tribute to Muller after Saturday’s defeat, saying: “Bayern Munich is a club of so many legends – and he ranks at the very top.
“He got a send-off in front of the fans [at Bayern’s last Bundesliga match] and he lived every moment of this tournament. You see his performances [in games] but also in training. He is a legend.
-17 L Woad (Eng*); -10 M Sagstrom (Swe); -9 K Rudgeley (Aus); -8 C Tamburlini (Swi), C Hull (Eng), B Fernandez (Esp), A Garvey (NZ), A-C Mora (Fra)
Selected others:-7 A Foster (Ire); -6 E Hamilton (Eng); -4 M Rhodes (Eng), H Screen (Eng), A Hewson (Eng), G Hall (Eng), M MacLaren (Eng); -3 D Harry (Wal); -2 L McClymont (Sco*), L Maguire (Ire), C Williams (Wal); Level E Fleming (Ire*)
* denotes amateur
English amateur Lottie Woad fired a bogey-free six under 67 to hold a seven-shot lead going into the final day of the Women’s Irish Open.
The 21-year-old, who is bidding to become the first non-professional to win on the Ladies European Tour since 2022, went into the day three shots ahead.
She made a birdie on the first and third before increasing her advantage with birdies on the sixth, eighth, 15th and 16th. A par save on 17 saw her finish the day six under par, sitting on top of the leaderboard with a score of 17 under par.
The amateur said she was “very happy” with her display and “wants to win” the tournament.
She added: “The front nine I played really nicely and it was stress-free, the back nine I had to make a few par saves, but I chipped in pretty well and made some up and downs, which kept the momentum.
“I want to win it. I’m going to keep playing my game and see where it puts me and keep playing well. I think you can still be pretty aggressive on this golf course. “
