A federal appeals court on Monday rejected a request by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to allow it to revoke the temporary legal status of hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans living in the United States.The Boston-based 1st U.

S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to put on hold a judge’s order halting the Department of Homeland Security’s move to cut short a two-year “parole” granted to the migrants under Trump’s Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden. The administration’s action marked an expansion of the Republican president’s hardline crackdown on immigration and push to ramp up deportations, including of noncitizens previously granted a legal right to live and work in the United States.The administration argued that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had discretion to categorically end the migrants’ status and that the judge’s order was forcing the U.S. government to “retain hundreds of thousands of aliens in the country against its will.”But a three-judge panel comprised entirely of appointees of Democratic presidents said Noem “has not at this point made a ‘strong showing’ that her categorical termination of plaintiffs’ parole is likely to be sustained on appeal.”Karen Tumlin, a lawyer whose immigrant rights group Justice Action Center pursued the case, welcomed the court’s decision.She called the administration’s actions “reckless and illegal.”The administration could now ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.“The Trump administration is committed to restoring the rule of law to our immigration system,” Homeland Security Department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.“No lawsuit, not this one or any other, is going to stop us from doing that.”A lawsuit by immigrant rights advocates representing migrants challenged the agency decision to pause various Biden-era programs that have allowed Ukrainian, Afghan, Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, and Venezuelan migrants to enter the country.While the case was pending, the Homeland Security Department on March 25 announced in a Federal Register notice that it had decided to terminate the two-year parole granted to about 400,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelan migrants.U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani, an appointee of Democratic President Barack Obama, on April 25 halted the agency’s action, which she said revoked previously granted parole and work authorisations for migrants on a categorical basis and without a necessary case-by-case review.She said the department’s sole basis for declining to allow the migrants’ parole status to naturally expire was based on a legal error, as it wrongly concluded doing so would foreclose the department’s ability to legally expedite their deportations. (Reuters/NAN)

German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius is to retain his post in the new Cabinet, his Social Democratic Party (SPD) said Monday, as the party unveiled its picks for ministerial positions.

The SPD is set to enter the new German Government as the junior partner in coalition with Friedrich Merz’s conservative bloc, made up of the Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Bavaria-only Christian Social Union (CSU).

The partners were to sign off on the 144-page coalition agreement at 12 p.

m. (1000 GMT) on Monday, before Merz can be elected Germany’s new chancellor by parliament on Tuesday.

The conservatives emerged as the winner from February’s parliamentary elections, followed by the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), which was designated as a “confirmed right-wing extremist’’ organisation by domestic intelligence last week.

The SPD, traditionally one of the two main political forces in Germany, fell to third place after a difficult period in office under the leadership of outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz.

With centrist parties ruling out cooperation with the AfD, a policy known as the “firewall’’, a coalition between the CDU/CSU alliance and the SPD became inevitable in spite of the clashes.

They clashed on the issues such as migration and the economy during the election campaign.

SPD co-leader Lars Klingbeil was to become vice chancellor and finance minister after striking up a strong partnership with Merz during negotiations to form a coalition.

Four of the incoming SPD ministers are women: Bärbel Bas as labour minister, Verena Hubertz for construction, Reem Alabali-Radovan as development minister and Stefanie Hubig taking on the justice portfolio.

Carsten Schneider was to be the SPD’s new environment minister, but there was no place in the Cabinet for Klingbeil’s colleague as co-leader, Saskia Esken.

Pistorius, widely seen as the SPD’s most popular politician, was the only member of the outgoing Cabinet to keep his position.

“The SPD is putting together a team that is ready to boldly shape our country,’’ the party’s leadership said in a joint statement on Monday.

“Experienced personalities from federal and state politics meet new faces who stand for the generational change in the SPD.’’

The conservatives outlined their choices last week, with Katherina Reiche as economy minister and the CSU’s Alexander Dobrindt taking the interior portfolio.

Once Merz is elected and his Cabinet sworn in, the new administration can get to work, exactly six months after Scholz’s centre-left coalition imploded amid in-fighting, triggering early elections.

It faced a long list of pressing challenges, from Germany’s ailing economy and crumbling infrastructure of the threat to European security from Russia and an ever-more abrasive U.S. president.

Scholz, meanwhile, was to receive an official send-off later on Monday, with a special military ceremony known as a tattoo to be held in his honour in Berlin

 Zimbabwe has started celebrating its National Culture Month from May 1 to May  31,  following Cabinet approval of the 2025  programme under the theme “Celebrating Indigenous Voices.”

According to the Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Jenfan Muswere,  the initiative was intended to promote cultural heritage, diversity, and unity.

This news was reported by New Ziana.

“This initiative is aimed at celebrating our rich cultural heritage, promoting cultural diversity, and fostering national unity,” he stated.

The minister said throughout May, Zimbabwe will observe National Culture Month with a structured weekly programme.

He said the first week will focus on traditional cooking methods and historical recipes. In the second week, Indigenous Fashion Week will highlight traditional clothing from various communities.

Muswere added that the third week will feature the official national launch of the celebration, while the fourth week will center on Indigenous Languages and Cultural Dialogue, including performances, poetry readings, film screenings, and language workshops