World

Germany has expelled 14 rejected asylum seekers from Afghanistan amid angry protests that the war-wracked country is unsafe for those who return.

A chartered Czech plane with the Afghans on board, all of them men, took off late October 24 from Leipzig in eastern Germany and arrived in Kabul on October 25.

Around 150 demonstrators gathered at the airport in Leipzig to protest against the expulsions.

Eleven of those expelled had criminal records for acts such as manslaughter, causing grievous bodily harm, sexual abuse of children, fraud, and theft, Interior Ministry spokeswoman Annegret Korff told reporters on October 25.

The other three Afghans had refused to cooperate on establishing their identity, she added.

Saxony state Interior Minister Markus Ulbig told public radio that Berlin was sending a "loud and clear message" that those not granted refugee status following an official review "no longer have a right to be in Germany."

Germany has granted asylum to most refugees from war-torn Syria. But the German government has argued it can safely repatriate asylum seekers to Kabul and other parts of Afghanistan.

In Berlin, leading Greens deputy Claudia Roth urged the authorities to stop the deportations, noting that about 250 people were killed in Taliban attacks in Afghanistan in the past week.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has been struggling to bring down the numbers of asylum seekers after the arrival of more than 1 million migrants and refugees -- mainly from Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan -- since 2015.

Based on reporting by AFP and dpa

The U.S. government announced it will start admitting refugees from most countries again after a 120-day ban, but will impose new restrictions on refugees from Iran and 10 other countries where it sees security risks.

While the government allowed its temporary refugee ban to expire as scheduled on October 24, it was replaced with a restrictive new executive order that refugee agencies said would continue to make access difficult for about half of all refugees who recently have sought sanctuary in the United States.

"The security of the American people is our highest priority," said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Associate Director Jennifer Higgins.

Besides Iran, refugee agencies said restrictions -- such as requiring a 90-day review of applicants by intelligence and security agencies -- will apply to refugees from Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.

All of the countries singled out except North Korea are predominantly Muslim, and together they have accounted for the largest share of refugees seeking sanctuary in the United States.

In the fiscal year ending on September 30, for example, out of 53,716 refugees accepted into the United States, 22,150 came from Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Somalia.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court on October 24 dismissed a case challenging the legality of the refugee ban, citing its expiration.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and Reuters