Two stranded Indian nationals apprehended for trying to enter US illegally
New York: Two Indian nationals have been apprehended by the patrol agents at the US-Mexico border in Arizona after they got stranded while trying to enter America illegally, authorities said.
The duo, including a Sikh man, called for help using technology installed in remote locations to help people in distress.
Agents assigned to the Ajo Border Patrol Station rescued the two migrants following the activation of a US Border Patrol rescue beacon Wednesday evening.
They responded to the rescue beacon located approximately 14 miles northwest of the Lukeville Port of Entry in Arizona and found the two men alone in the beacon.
The two men were in good health, and did not request further medical assistance, the US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.
The duo was transported back to the station for processing, where records checks revealed the men were Indian nationals who were trying to enter US illegally.
The US agency said criminal organizations often abandon migrants in the desert. As a result, many perish along the border every year. US Border Patrol has encouraged anyone in distress to call 911 or activate a rescue beacon before they become a casualty.
Rescue beacons are self-contained solar powered units placed in remote locations considered to be high risk for people in distress. Their metal trussing, approximately 35 feet in height, is equipped with a high visibility strobe light on top of the structure.
Many of the towers utilize a camera system that is used to determine an appropriate response and aid in the rescue event.
Eye-level at the rescue beacon is a panel with a large red button, instructions in multiple languages, and a pictogram of an individual activating the rescue beacon by hitting the button and then waiting for Border Patrol first responders to arrive.
In fiscal year 2018, the United States Border Patrol apprehended people from 113 countries along the southwest border.
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
