International News
South Korea To Send Plane For Workers Detained In US Raid
South Korea plans to send a chartered plane as early as Wednesday to bring back hundreds of workers detained in a US immigration raid, the country’s flag carrier, Korean Air, told AFP.
US immigration officials detained 475 people, including hundreds of South Korean workers, during a massive raid Thursday at a Hyundai-LG battery plant being built in the southern state of Georgia.
Officials in the United States called it the largest such raid on a single site carried out so far under President Donald Trump’s nationwide anti-immigration crackdown.
Seoul’s foreign minister left for Washington on Monday for further talks, calling the mass detention of the country’s nationals a “grave situation” and pledging to secure the workers’ swift return “in good health.”
The country’s flag carrier Korean Air said it aims to send a chartered Boeing 747-8i as early as Wednesday to Atlanta.
“That is our goal for now,” a Korean Air spokeswoman told AFP Tuesday.
Seoul has said that a deal to release and repatriate the detained workers had been “concluded” with the US, and that a chartered plane would fly them home once administrative procedures were complete.
In addition to being a key security ally on the Pacific Rim, South Korea is Asia’s fourth-biggest economy and a key automaker and electronics producer with multiple plants in the United States.
Seoul has heeded Washington’s repeated call for global investment in US businesses during tariff negotiations with countries around the world.
The site of the raid is a $4.3 billion joint venture between two South Korean firms –- Hyundai and LG Energy Solution –- to build a battery cell manufacturing facility in Georgia.
Experts say majority of detained South Korean workers were likely to have been on visas that do not allow for hands-on construction work.
Trump on Sunday warned foreign companies to obey US law following the raid, writing on social media: “Your Investments are welcome, and we encourage you to LEGALLY bring your very smart people.”
LG Energy Solution has said 47 of its employees had been arrested — 46 South Koreans and one Indonesian.
The company has also said about 250 of those arrested were believed to be employed by its contractor, and most of them were South Koreans.
Hyundai has said it understood none of those arrested are its employees.
German authorities deported at least 137 Nigerian citizens across five chartered flights between February and June 2026, according to migration monitoring reports.
Data from the DERS Team and Refugees4refugees.org shows the deportations occurred in phases, with 27 Nigerians returned in February, 37 in March through a joint European Union operation, 24 in April, 23 in May, and 26 in June.
The February operation departed from Stuttgart and landed at Lagos Cargo Airport, with Baden-Württemberg listed as a primary participant. The March operation represented the largest single return of Nigerians recorded over three years and was executed in collaboration with Spain, Austria, and Belgium.
The reports indicate a growing reliance on multi-national chartered flights by European states to repatriate undocumented or non-resident individuals to Nigeria.
The United States has condemned the killing of members of the family of Plateau-based cleric, Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo, describing the attack as horrific and urging Nigerian authorities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
In a statement shared on X on Thursday, the US Department of State’s Bureau of African Affairs expressed condolences to the victims’ families and called for stronger measures to prevent further attacks on vulnerable communities across Nigeria’s Middle Belt.
“The United States strongly condemns the horrific killing of members of Rev. Ezekiel Dachomo’s family in Plateau State, Nigeria. The continued violence targeting Christian communities and other vulnerable populations in Nigeria’s Middle Belt is deeply alarming,” the bureau said
The US said it had already engaged Nigerian officials on the worsening security situation, stressing that urgent action was needed to curb recurring attacks and hold perpetrators accountable.
“As I discussed last week with Nigerian officials, we must do more to prevent violent acts. The perpetrators must be held accountable, and urgent action is needed to strengthen security and protect Christians and other vulnerable communities,” the statement added.
The bureau reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government to combat terrorism and violent extremism, stressing that Christians and other Nigerians should be able to practise their faith without fear of violence.
The statement followed the July 12 attack on Kum community in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State, where nine members of Rev. Dachomo’s extended family, including a two-month-old baby, were killed.
According to the cleric, the attackers, believed to be armed Fulani militias, asked for him by name before opening fire on his relatives.
Dachomo, who serves as Regional Chairman of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN) in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, said his family had repeatedly been targeted because of his outspoken criticism of the violence in Plateau State.
He recalled that his grandmother and an uncle were also killed in previous attacks, adding that days after burying his relatives, he received a written death threat from the same group, warning that he would be their next target.
Saudi Arabia has updated its tourist eVisa programme for 2026, limiting eligibility in Africa to only three countries as part of its list of 66 nations whose citizens can apply through the Kingdom’s online visa platform.
The move leaves most African countries, including Nigeria, outside the simplified entry scheme.
The electronic visa allows eligible travellers to visit Saudi Arabia for tourism, leisure activities, family visits and Umrah, excluding the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Applications are completed online, eliminating the need for embassy visits and lengthy visa processing.
Saudi authorities said the eVisa forms part of ongoing efforts to expand tourism, attract international visitors and simplify travel procedures through a fully digital application system. The visa is available only to citizens of approved countries and territories listed on the Kingdom’s official tourism portal.
Below is the list of African countries eligible for Saudi Arabia’s eVisa.
1. Mauritius
2. Seychelles
3. South Africa
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