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BREAKING: Hamas releases kidnapped mom, daughter from Illinois

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1 year ago

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BREAKING: Hamas releases kidnapped mom, daughter from Illinois

An American mom and daughter who were kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas for two weeks were released and returned to Israel on Friday night, a spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office confirmed to The Daily Beast.

Israeli authorities identified the women as Judith Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter Natalie, who were captured by Hamas during the Oct. 7 invasion. The spokesperson said Israeli officials received the mom and daughter—who live in Evanston, Illinois—at Israel’s border with the Gaza Strip.

“At this moment they are on their way to a meeting point at a military base in the center of the country, where their family members are waiting for them,” the spokesperson said in a statement around 9:30 p.m. local time.

President Joe Biden confirmed the Raanans’ release in a statement, saying they “endured a terrible ordeal these past 14 days.”

“I am overjoyed that they will soon be reunited with their family, who has been wracked with fear,” the statement said. “These individuals and their family will have the full support of the United States government as they recover and heal.”

A source told the The Jerusalem Post that Judith, 59, is in “poor health.” Natalie, who graduated high school this spring, turns 18 next week, according to her brother Ben Raanan.

Inside the Risky Mission to Rescue Hostages From Hamas

The women had been staying near the Gaza border at a kibbutz, where they’d traveled to celebrate Judith’s mother’s 85th birthday. Loved ones have waited in agony ever since—raising nearly $10,000 with a GoFundMe fundraiser.

Hamas claimed in a statement that it had cut the duo loose for “humanitarian reasons” in response to “Qatari efforts.” They did not specify what role Qatar played in the hostage release.

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In a statement, Al-Qassam said the release was also to “prove to the American people and the world that the allegations of Biden and his fascist administration are false allegations that have no basis in truth.”

The Israeli newspaper Haaertz reported that the two women were handed over to the Red Cross to coordinate their return to Israel.

American Family Haunted by Mom’s Final Screams as Hamas Descended

Hamas is believed to have kidnapped at least 203 people from Israel, including women, children, and the elderly—largely from Israeli communities near the Gaza border. Recordings of some hostages have been released by Hamas, but the status of a majority of those kidnapped remains unknown.

“Jill and I have been holding close in our hearts all the families of unaccounted for Americans,” Biden said in his statement. “And, as I told those families when I spoke with them last week—we will not stop until we get their loved ones home.”

Raanan family members told the Chicago Sun-Times earlier this month that they lost all contact with Judith and Natalie around noon on Oct. 7. They’d reportedly been staying in Nahal Oz, a kibbutz about 1.5 miles from the Gaza border, where Hamas’ surprise attack quickly overran Israeli defenses.

They’d arrived in Israel in early September to celebrate the High Holidays with loved ones, family told the Sun-Times.

Uri Raanan, Natalie’s father, told The Daily Beast that he received confirmation his daughter and ex-wife were being held hostage on Oct. 13, a week before their release.

In an online fundraiser, he wrote: “My daughter and ex-wife got captured by Hamas and taken to Gaza last October 7th. I know they are alive. Please help us.”

BREAKING: Hamas releases kidnapped mom, daughter from Illinois

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Canada denies 13,000 Nigerians refugee status

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4 hours ago

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March 23, 2025

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Canada denies 13,000 Nigerians refugee status

Over 13,000 Nigerians who applied for refugee protection in Canada from January 2013 to December 2024 were rejected.

According to data from the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, this figure includes 811 Nigerians whose applications were turned down in 2024.

The board placed Nigeria among the top five countries with the most rejected claims.

Mexico tops the list with 2,954 rejections, followed by India and Haiti, which have 1,688 and 982 rejected claims, respectively.

Colombia is in fourth place with 723 rejected claims, while Nigeria is in fifth place with 13,171 rejections.

In Canada, asylum seekers get refugee protection if the RPD satisfactorily confirms that their claims meet the United Nations definition of a Convention refugee.

In its definition of the Status of Refugee, the 1951 UN Convention states refugees are persons who have a substantiated fear of persecution because of their race, nationality, religion, political ideology or membership in a particular social group, which can include sexual orientation, gender identity, being a woman and persons living with HIV/AIDS.

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However, in Canada, asylum seekers are expected to show evidence that they are in danger of torture, risk to their life or risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if they return to their country of nationality.

According to the Refugee Board’s application guideline, if an applicant’s “claim is eligible, it is sent to the RPD to start the claim for refugee protection process.”

The breakdown of the rejections showed that 127 Nigerian claims were rejected in 2013, 241 in 2014 and 248 in 2015.

In 2016, 2017 and 2018, 476, 917 and 1,777 claims were rejected, respectively.

In 2019, 3,951 Nigerian applicants were turned down, marking the highest number of rejected claims by Nigerians.

Meanwhile, 1,770, 1,686, 728, 439 and 811 persons were denied protection in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively.

 

Canada denies 13,000 Nigerians refugee status

 

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Nurse punished in UK for addressing convicted transgender paedophile as ‘Mr’

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5 hours ago

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March 23, 2025

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Jennifer Melle

Nurse punished in UK for addressing convicted transgender paedophile as ‘Mr’

A senior nurse in the UK is battling to save her career after facing disciplinary action for refusing to refer to a convicted child sex offender as a woman.

Jennifer Melle, 40, from Croydon, was working at Epsom and St Helier University Hospital Trust when she declined to use female pronouns for a paedophile known as ‘Mr X,’ per report from the London Standard.

The offender, currently serving time in a high-security male prison, was jailed for grooming boys online while posing as a teenage girl.

Following her refusal, Melle claims she was subjected to racial abuse and physical threats.

She was, reportedly, then issued a final written warning and referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for allegedly breaching professional standards.

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NHS lawyers argued that Melle’s Christian belief—that people are born male or female—was “not worthy of respect in a democratic society.”

An internal investigation found she had violated the NMC Code of Conduct by failing to respect the patient’s “preferred identity” and uphold the Trust’s core value of “Respect.”

As a result, Melle has been moved to another ward, which she says is a demotion, and has had her name removed from internal hospital systems, preventing her from applying for additional shifts.

Now, with the backing of the Christian Legal Centre, she has launched legal action against the Trust, alleging harassment, discrimination, and breaches of her human rights.

The case comes amid growing controversy over gender policies in public institutions.

A recent report, the Sullivan Review, revealed that UK police forces have been allowing criminals to self-identify their gender on official records, sparking nationwide debate.

Melle’s legal battle is expected to reignite discussions on the balance between gender identity policies and freedom of belief within the healthcare sector.

Nurse punished in UK for addressing convicted transgender paedophile as ‘Mr’

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Gaza: Iran begins talks with S’Arabia, Egypt as Israel renews attacks

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14 hours ago

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March 23, 2025

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Gaza: Iran begins talks with S’Arabia, Egypt as Israel renews attacks

Iran’s Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Saturday exchanged views with his Saudi Arabian and Egyptian counterparts on Israel’s renewed attacks on Gaza.

In a phone conversation with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Araghchi strongly condemned Israel’s attacks in Gaza, and urged other countries in the region to take collective action, said the Iranian Foreign Ministry in a statement.

For his part, Faisal reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of Israeli aggressions and emphasized regional coordination to prevent further escalation.

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In a separate phone call with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Araghchi condemned Israel’s renewed attacks on Gaza as well as obstruction of humanitarian aid delivery to the Palestinian coastal enclave “in flagrant violation” of the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

The Egyptian foreign minister underscored the need for consultations and diplomatic efforts to prevent further escalation.

Both Egyptian and Iranian ministers agreed to maintain consultations on regional developments.

Gaza: Iran begins talks with S’Arabia, Egypt as Israel renews attacks

Xinhua

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