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Parked vehicles have created a steel barrier which stretches for miles along the US border with Mexico in the latest measure to deter migrants from crossing into Texas.

The US has been expelling Haitians from a large makeshift camp at the border, which at one point had attracted more than 12,000 migrants.

Around 8,600 people remain at the camp beneath the Del Rio International Bridge, which spans the Rio Grande from Texas to Mexico’s Ciudad Acuna, after more than 3,000 migrants were moved.

Texas Department of Safety vehicles line up along the bank of the Rio Grande near an encampment of migrants, many from Haiti, near the Del Rio International Bridge, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021, in Del Rio, Texas. The U.S. is flying Haitians camped in a Texas border town back to their homeland and blocking others from crossing the border from Mexico. 
PIC:AP
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The vehicles have been lined up along the bank of the Rio Grande near the camp. Pic: AP

Law enforcement officers on horseback were pictured using what appeared to be aggressive tactics against the migrants – and a barrier has now been set up along the border, using vehicles belonging to the Texas National Guard and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Greg Abbott, the Republican governor of Texas, has backed his approval of the tactics – and criticised the Biden administration for not doing more, claiming local people and officials had “taken the lead on securing the border”.

But US Vice President Kamala Harris criticised the way the migrants had been treated, when she said: “What I saw depicted, those individuals on horseback treating human beings the way they were, was horrible.”

She added she supported an investigation into the horseback incidents, while homeland security officials called the images “extremely troubling”.

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In recent days, US authorities have removed at least 4,000 people from the site for processing in detention centres.

More than 500 Haitians have been deported to their homeland on four flights, with repatriations set to continue on a regular basis, the US Department of Homeland Security said.

A U.S. border patrol officer grabs the shirt of a migrant trying to return to the United States along the Rio Grande river, after having crossed from the United States into Mexico to buy food, as seen from Ciudad Acuna, in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico September 19, 2021. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril
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A migrant is pursued by a US patrol along the Rio Grande river

Some of those returned reacted angrily as they stepped off flights at Port-au-Prince airport in the Haitian capital after spending large amounts of money to travel from the troubled Caribbean nation via South America, hoping for a better life in the US.

The disturbances underscored the instability in the Caribbean nation – it is the poorest in the Western hemisphere, where a presidential assassination, rising gang violence, and a major earthquake have spread chaos in recent weeks.

The rapid expulsions were made possible by a pandemic-related authority adopted by former president Donald Trump in March 2020, which allows for migrants to be immediately removed from the country without an opportunity to seek asylum.

Unaccompanied children are exempt from the order, a decision which was made by President Joe Biden.

 United States Border Patrol agent on horseback tries to stop a Haitian migrant from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Acuna Del Rio International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas on September 19, 2021. - The United States said Saturday it would ramp up deportation flights for thousands of migrants who flooded into the Texas border city of Del Rio, as authorities scramble to alleviate a burgeoning crisis for President Joe Biden's administration
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Tactics by US border patrols on horseback have been widely criticised. Pic: Getty Images
Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. take shelter in make-shift migrant camp near the International Bridge between Mexico and the U.S., as they wait to be processed, in Del Rio, Texas, U.S. September 21, 2021. REUTERS/Go Nakamura
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Migrants seeking asylum in the US take shelter near the Del Rio International Bridge

Mexico has also begun moving Haitian migrants away from the border, authorities said on Tuesday, signalling their support for the US as the situation creates a political headache for Mr Biden.

Republican politicians with an eye on the 2022 midterm elections, when they will bid to retake control of Congress, have been quick to portray the camp as the result of a push to end some migration restrictions.

There are also reports that some of the Haitian migrants facing expulsion back to their homeland are instead being released in the US, with some observed at the Del Rio bus station by Associated Press journalists.

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Ten thousand pages of Robert F Kennedy assassination records released

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Ten thousand pages of Robert F Kennedy assassination records released

About 10,000 pages of records related to the assassination of Robert F Kennedy (RFK) nearly 60 years ago have been released publicly for the first time.

The senator, who was the brother of US president John F Kennedy (JFK), was shot dead at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on 6 June 1968, moments after giving his victory speech for winning California’s Democratic presidential primary.

His assassin, Sirhan Sirhan, was convicted of first-degree murder and is serving life in prison.

RFK’s assassination, much like his brother’s in 1963, has been the subject of much speculation.

His son, Robert F Kennedy Jr, previously said he believed his father was killed by multiple gunmen, an assertion that contradicts official accounts.

After the documents were released on Friday, director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said they would “shine a long-overdue light on the truth”.

Many files related to the senator’s assassination had already been released, but the ones posted to the US National Archives and Records Administration on Friday had not been digitised and sat for decades in storage facilities maintained by the federal government.

The move is a continuation of the release of historic withheld files ordered by US President Donald Trump, in an apparent bid to prove the transparency of his administration.

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Trump announcing release of JFK files in March

It started when he signed an executive order back in January for the release of thousands of files about JFK’s assassination, many of which were made public in March.

The files gave readers more details about the US’s covert operations during the Cold War-era, but did not lend legitimacy to any of the many conspiracy theories surrounding the former president’s death.

Read more:
Robert F Kennedy Jr: Who is Donald Trump’s health chief?
Trump teases date for ‘even more important’ second UK state visit

RFK Jr, who is also Mr Trump’s health secretary, commended the president and Ms Gabbard for their “courage” and “dogged efforts” to release the files.

“Lifting the veil on the RFK papers is a necessary step toward restoring trust in American government,” he said in a statement.

In a statement, Ms Gabbard said: “Nearly 60 years after the tragic assassination of senator Robert F Kennedy, the American people will, for the first time, have the opportunity to review the federal government’s investigation thanks to the leadership of president Trump.”

Lawyers for RFK’s killer have been pushing for his release for decades, saying he is unlikely to reoffend or pose a danger to society.

A parole board deemed Sirhan suitable for release in 2022, but California governor Gavin Newsom rejected the decision in 2022, keeping him in state prison.

A different panel denied him release in 2023, saying he still lacked insight into what caused him to shoot RFK.

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Donald Trump says second UK state visit could happen in September

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Donald Trump says second UK state visit could happen in September

Donald Trump has said his second state visit to the UK could take place in September.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer handed over an invitation from the King when he visited Washington in February.

Trump teases return to UK – latest updates

Buckingham Palace previously only said the visit would happen “when diaries allow”, but Mr Trump told reporters on Thursday: “I think they are setting a date for September.”

“I don’t know how it can be bigger than the last one,” he said.

“The last one was incredible, but they say the next one will be even more important.”

Sir Keir Starmer the Trump charmer.
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Sir Keir Starmer handed Trump the invite earlier this year. Pic: PA

Mr Trump will become the only elected political leader in modern times to be invited to two state visits by a British monarch.

The president called the UK a “great country” in his comments at the White House on Thursday and said it was “an honour to be a friend of King Charles and the family, William”.

His first state visit was in 2019, when he was hosted by the late Queen.

Second-term US presidents who have already made a state visit usually get tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.

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The president was hosted by the Queen in June 2019. Pic: Reuters
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The president was hosted by the Queen in June 2019. Pic: Reuters

But Mr Trump is set to get all the pomp and ceremony laid on again in his honour – with another state banquet likely at Buckingham Palace.

The Royal Family‘s soft power diplomacy is viewed as a way of currying favour with the president, who’s known for his love of the monarchy and links to the UK through his mother, who was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.

It comes as the government seeks an economic deal with the US, in the hope of potentially lessening the impact of the president’s tariffs.

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Four in hospital as police deal with active shooter at Florida university

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Four in hospital as police deal with active shooter at Florida university

Four people are in hospital as police deal with an active shooter on a university campus in Florida.

Videos showed people running through traffic, fleeing the scene, around the time of the shooting at the student union at Florida State University’s campus in Tallahassee.

Local police were “on the scene or on the way”, according to an alert sent out by the school and students have been told to “shelter in place”.

The FBI is also said to be responding to the incident.

Florida State University students wait for news amid an active shooter incident at the school.
Pic: AP/Kate Payne
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Florida State University students wait for news amid an active shooter incident at the school.
Pic: AP/Kate Payne

In a statement, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said it was “actively receiving and caring for patients” from the incident.

“At this time, details are still unfolding, and we do not yet have specific information to share. However, we want to assure the community that our teams are fully mobilised and prepared to provide the highest level of care and support to all those affected,” it added.

President Donald Trump said he was fully briefed on the incident and described it as “a shame”.

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He added: “It’s a horrible thing. Horrible that things like this take place.”

Florida governor Ron DeSantis, in a statement posted on X, said: “Our prayers are with our FSU family and state law enforcement is actively responding.”

Ambulances, fire trucks and police vehicles raced to the campus around midday local time (5pm UK time) on Thursday.

As students streamed away from the area of the student union in their hundreds, some were visibly emotional and others were glued to their phones.

Dozens later gathered near the university’s music school, waiting for news.

Florida State University student Daniella Streety told NBC News of the chaos that unfolded at the scene.

She remained on lockdown in a campus building and said: “I did see them carry out one student in what looked like on a stretcher and kept them in the road until an ambulance was able to pick them up.”

Joshua Sirmans, 20, was in the university’s main library when he said alarms began going off warning of an active shooter.

Police escorted him and other students out of the library with their hands over their heads, he said.

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