AFP

Tears flowed and flags waved as 200 New Yorkers became US citizens Saturday during a special naturalization ceremony at the city’s famed Ellis Island, which once welcomed thousands of immigrants daily.

Citizenship candidates hailing from about 60 different countries filed into the former immigration station’s great hall, where some 12 million people entered the United States over the course of six decades in the early 20th century. 

The ceremony, the first of its kind on the island since 2016, marked the anniversary of the constitution’s signing in 1787 and kicks off the government’s annual “citizenship week.”

The 200 new US citizens are among 19,000 that will be sworn in across the country this week, US Citizenship and Immigration Services said.

As sunlight streamed through the enormous arched windows, the emotion in the room was palpable as the group took an oath of allegiance to the United States, less than a mile away from the Statue of Liberty.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland presided, telling the newest American citizens: “This country — your country — wholeheartedly welcomes you.”

The head of the Justice Department choked back tears recounting how his own relatives fled religious persecution in Eastern Europe. 

He said two of his grandmother’s siblings were unable to escape, and died in the Holocaust.

“I have often thought about what members of my family felt as they came through buildings like this one,” he said. “And I have often thought about what their decisions meant for my own life.”

Before the ceremony, Lovell Brown, a 31-year-old originally from Jamaica, told AFP she was excited to be on the island for the first time for “such a big moment.”

“I just feel like I’m actually a part of the United States now,” said the teacher, who has lived in the United States since she was 17.

“It makes me feel like I belong here.”

– Immigration row –

The ceremony took place under a cloud of increasingly politicized controversy over arrivals of undocumented migrants in the United States.

It came a few days after some 50 migrants arrived unexpectedly on Martha’s Vineyard, a tony resort island in Massachusetts where the Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, had sent them in a highly political move.

Right-wing American governors have been busing, and now flying, migrants to cities largely populated by Democrats as a means of denouncing President Joe Biden’s immigration policy, which they say has allowed undocumented migrants to cross the border with Mexico in large numbers.

On Thursday morning, Texas’s Republican Governor Greg Abbott sent two buses carrying migrants not far from the official residence of Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, a place chosen deliberately as she is overseeing the divisive issue of immigration for the White House. 

Garland broadly alluded to the country’s political tensions.

“Overcoming the current polarization in our public life is, and will continue to be, a difficult task,” he said. “But we cannot overcoming it by ignoring it.”

The pandemic sparked citizenship application backlogs and slowed the naturalization process. 

According to the most recent annual report from the US Department of Homeland Security, 814,000 people became citizens in 2021, up 30 percent from 628,000 the year before, when the Covid-19 epidemic brought much of public life to a halt.

– ‘I found my home’ –

Umaru Kabir Ahmed, 63, has lived in the United States since 1989 after leaving his native Nigeria.

The Bronx resident, who works in a nursing home, said he first applied to become a citizen in 2012. 

“I’m happy,” he said, explaining that his new documents reflect the American sensibility he’s cultivated over his three decades here. 

“A lot has changed — the way I talk, the way I eat, the way I sleep, the way I dress,” he said.

Some 40 percent of current US citizens can trace ancestry to Ellis Island, which opened in 1892.

Today it is part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, accessible to the public by ferry and managed by the National Park Service.

At its peak in the early 20th century, thousands of people passed through Ellis Island daily — waiting in long lines for medical and legal inspections that sometimes resulted in detention, separated families, or denial of entry.

The naturalization ceremony’s contrast to the conditions immigrants faced then wasn’t lost on Warren Lawson, a 44-year-old from South Africa and Britain who has lived in the United States since 2016.

He said he felt lucky to be on the island and “learn about the history and see it firsthand.”

Lawson said he wanted citizenship because “this is probably the place that my kids are going to live for the rest of their lives, and I want to grow old in the same place as them.”

“I found my home.”

Smash hits like “Squid Game” and “Parasite” may make it look easy, but Emmy-winner Lee Jung-jae says South Korean cinema spent years learning how to reach unprecedented global audiences through stories about the competitiveness and violence of modern life.

Lee spoke to AFP just days after making history as the first foreign-language performer to win the Emmy for best actor in a drama with “Squid Game” — the most-watched Netflix show of all time.

“As a piece of work that is not in English that we’re able to bring to the global audience, we’re very happy about that,” said Lee.

“Even from Korea everybody was so happy and they were sending me congratulating messages,” he said during an interview at the Toronto film festival.

“When I go back there’s a lot of interviews and things waiting for me!”

The brutal social satire about misfits and criminals competing for cash in twisted versions of schoolyard games followed in the footsteps of South Korea’s “Parasite,” which two years earlier became the first foreign-language movie to win best picture at the Oscars.

“For a long time, Korean cinema has been trying to figure out how to connect better with global audiences,” said Lee.

“Now, as a result of these years-long efforts, we see a lot of high-quality content, that has resonated around the world and won critical acclaim.”

It has also been a huge commercial success: “Squid Game” director Hwang Dong-hyuk is writing an eagerly-awaited second season, with Lee teasing that his character Seong Gi-hun “will be completely different” this time around.

– ‘Overly competitive’ –

But before then comes “Hunt,” Lee’s directorial movie debut, which earned a prestigious “gala presentation” premiere this week at the Toronto International Film Festival — relatively rare for an Asian-language film. 

The twisty Cold-War era spy thriller in which Lee also stars is loosely based on real 1980s political events, including an attempted assassination of South Korea’s president and the defection of a North Korean pilot.

Lee said the film shares some themes with “Squid Game” — including its unflinching depiction of violence, as rival South Korean spies turn against and even torture one another.

For instance, it too looks at how an “overly competitive society could actually lead to people hurting each other.”

“Hunt” has already topped the box office in its home country, and will be released in North American theaters and on-demand streaming on December 2 by Magnolia Pictures. 

But in a further sign of how Korean movie-making is adapting to the needs of its new-found audience, the final version reflects a more global film.

Following its initial screening at the Cannes film festival in May, some critics complained the plot was difficult to follow for Western audiences not familiar with Korean politics, so Lee re-cut it to simplify some elements, and revised the subtitles.

But, he emphasized, the film is less about Korean history and more about “how this violence is happening all around the world globally,” hurting ordinary people.

“This movie is about these two protagonists and whether their principles are righteous.”

“What’s most important is, because it’s an espionage action-drama, that I just want you to really enjoy the film,” he said.

– ‘Growing closer’ –

When “Parasite” director Bong Joon-ho stunned Hollywood by winning best picture at the Oscars in 2020, he spoke about the importance of overcoming “the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles.”

Lee said he has not discussed South Korea’s newfound global clout with Bong, but agreed that the country’s culture “has become widely understood globally” as the world becomes more inter-connected via technology such as global streaming and social media.

“In Korea actually we watch a lot of content from different countries and all around the world, so it’s very natural for us,” he said.

He added: “The world is a lot closer now… Korea’s distinctive story is not something that is difficult for foreign audiences to understand.”

“It’s natural. With everyone growing closer to each other, it’s not difficult to understand the emotions — whether it’s pain or grief — of others, because we live in a world where feelings are shared instantly.”

The EU presidency on Saturday called for the establishment of an international tribunal for war crimes after new mass graves were found in Ukraine.

“In the 21st century, such attacks against the civilian population are unthinkable and abhorrent,” said Jan Lipavsky, foreign minister of the Czech Republic which holds the European Union’s rotating presidency.

“We must not overlook it. We stand for the punishment of all war criminals,” he added in a message on Twitter.

“I call for the speedy establishment of a special international tribunal that will prosecute the crime of aggression.” 

The appeal follows the discovery by Ukrainian authorities of around 450 graves outside the formerly Russian-occupied city of Izyum with some of the exhumed bodies showing signs of torture.

Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, in his evening address, said that “new evidence of torture was obtained” from the bodies buried there.

“More than 10 torture chambers have already been found in various cities and towns liberated in Kharkiv region,” he added, describing the discovery of electrical implements for torture.

“That’s what the Nazis did. This is what Ruscists do. And they will be held accountable in the same way — both on the battlefield and in courtrooms,” he promised.

“Among the bodies that were exhumed today, 99 percent showed signs of violent death,” Oleg Synegubov, head of Kharkiv regional administration, said on social media.

“There are several bodies with their hands tied behind their backs, and one person is buried with a rope around his neck,” he added.

– ‘Probably 1,000 tortured and killed’ – 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the mass graves likely provided more evidence that Russia is committing war crimes in its pro-Western neighbour. French President Emmanuel Macron described what had happened in Izyum as atrocities.

The Ukrainian parliament’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, said there were “probably more than 1,000 Ukrainian citizens tortured and killed in the liberated territories of the Kharkiv region”. 

The United Nations in Geneva has said it hopes to send a team to determine the circumstances of the deaths.

The macabre discoveries came a little more than five months after the Russian army, driven out of Bucha near the capital Kyiv, left behind hundreds of corpses of civilians, many of whom had signs of torture and summary executions.

On Thursday, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said she wanted Russian President Vladimir Putin to face the International Criminal Court over war crimes in Ukraine.

In Washington, US President Joe Biden warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin against using chemical or tactical nuclear weapons in the wake of serious losses in his war in Ukraine.

“Don’t. Don’t. Don’t,” Biden said, in an excerpt from an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” aired Friday evening.

“You would change the face of war unlike anything since World War II,” Biden said.

– ‘Pushing them back’ –

On the ground, Ukrainian forces have recaptured thousands of square kilometres in recent weeks thanks to a counter-offensive in the north-east and now threaten enemy positions in the south, as the fighting and bombings continue.

The Russians “are angry because our army is pushing them back in its counter-offensive,” said Svitlana Shpuk, a 42-year-old worker in Kryvyi Rih, a southern town, and Zelensky’s hometown, which was flooded after a dam was destroyed by Russian missiles.

Synegubov said an 11-year-old girl had been killed by missile fire in the region.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Donestk in eastern Ukraine which has been partially controlled by Russian-backed separatists since 2014, said on social media that a thermal power plant was “shelled by Russian invaders” on Saturday morning in Mykolaivka.

Ukrainian firefighters were battling the blaze, he said, adding that the Russian shelling had led to interruptions to drinking water supply.

“The occupiers are deliberately targeting infrastructure in the area to try to inflict as much damage as possible, primarily on the civilian population,” he charged.

He had earlier reported that two civilians had been killed and 11 wounded in the past 24 hours by Russian fire.

– Few residents on the streets –

In its daily briefing in Moscow, the Kremlin said it had carried out “high-precision” strikes against Ukrainian positions in the Mykolaiv and Kharkiv regions.

In the northeastern town of Kupiansk, which was recaptured last week by Ukrainian forces, clashes continued with the Russian army entrenched on the eastern side of the Oskil river.

Few residents ventured out into the streets where Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers were moving about. 

A column of smoke rose over the east of the city, where an ammunition depot was burning. 

In the centre of the small town, the damaged police station stood deserted, the tattered red flag of the Russian army lying on the ground outside.

The Ukrainian army in a statement said “the enemy carried out four missile strikes and 15 air strikes during the day, as well as more than 20 multiple rocket launcher strikes on civilian and military sites in Ukraine”.

In the relative calm of Kyiv on Saturday, hundreds of Ukrainians took part in a farewell ceremony at the national opera house for former ballet dancer and later teacher Oleksandr Shapoval. He was killed at the age of 47 in the east of the country while fighting the Russians.

Shapoval was hit by mortar fire on September 12, near the town of Mayorsk in the Donetsk region.

Meanwhile Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant began receiving power from the national grid once again, the UN’s atomic agency (IAEA) said Saturday, after it was cut off from external power, raising the risk of an accident. 

The Russian-occupied plant, the largest in Europe, had been cut from the national grid since September due to shelling.

The EU presidency on Saturday called for the establishment of an international tribunal for war crimes after new mass graves were found in Ukraine.

“In the 21st century, such attacks against the civilian population are unthinkable and abhorrent,” said Jan Lipavsky, foreign minister of the Czech Republic which holds the European Union’s rotating presidency.

“We must not overlook it. We stand for the punishment of all war criminals,” he added in a message on Twitter.

“I call for the speedy establishment of a special international tribunal that will prosecute the crime of aggression.” 

The appeal follows the discovery by Ukrainian authorities of around 450 graves outside the formerly Russian-occupied city of Izyum with most of the exhumed bodies showing signs of torture.

“Among the bodies that were exhumed today, 99 percent showed signs of violent death,” Oleg Synegubov, head of Kharkiv regional administration, said on social media.

“There are several bodies with their hands tied behind their backs, and one person is buried with a rope around his neck,” he added.

“Russia leaves only death and suffering. Murderers. Torturers,” said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Some of the remains exhumed included children and people who were likely tortured before dying, he added.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday said that the graves likely provided more evidence that Russia is committing war crimes in its pro-Western neighbour, and French President Emmanuel Macron said what happened in Izyum were atrocities.

“I condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed in Izyum, Ukraine, under Russian occupation,” Macron tweeted.

– ‘Tortured’ –

The Ukrainian parliament’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, said there were “probably more than 1,000 Ukrainian citizens tortured and killed in the liberated territories of the Kharkiv region”. 

Ukraine national police chief Igor Klymenko said they had found multiple torture rooms in the town of Balakliya and elsewhere in Kharkiv since the Russians were driven out.

The United Nations in Geneva has said it hopes to send a team to determine the circumstances of the deaths.

The announcement of this macabre discovery has raised a new wave of indignation in the West.

The discoveries came a little more than five months after the Russian army, driven out of the vicinity of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, left behind hundreds of corpses of civilians, many of whom bore the traces of torture and summary executions.

– “Deeply shocked’ –

The European Union is “deeply shocked” at the discovery by Ukrainian officials of mass graves in the recaptured city of Izyum, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Friday.

“This inhuman behaviour by the Russian forces, in total disregard of international humanitarian law and the Geneva conventions, must stop immediately.

On Thursday, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said she wanted Russian President Vladimir Putin to face the International Criminal Court over war crimes in Ukraine.

In Washington, US President Joe Biden warned his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin against using chemical or tactical nuclear weapons in the wake of serious losses in his war in Ukraine.

“Don’t. Don’t. Don’t,” Biden said, in an excerpt from an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” aired Friday evening.

Biden was responding to an interviewer’s question about the possibility of Putin, whose army is incurring heavy losses in the Ukraine counteroffensive this month, resorting to chemical or tactical nuclear weapons.

“You would change the face of war unlike anything since World War II,” Biden said.

“They will become more of a pariah in the world, more than they have ever been,” the US leader added.

– ‘Pushing them back’ –

On the ground, Ukrainian forces have recaptured thousands of square kilometres in recent weeks thanks to a counter-offensive in the north-east and now threaten enemy positions in the south, as the fighting and bombings continue.

The Russians “are angry because our army is pushing them back in its counter-offensive,” said Svitlana Shpuk, a 42-year-old worker in Kryvyi Rih, a southern town, and Zelensky’s hometown, which was flooded after a dam was destroyed by Russian missiles.

The governor of the Kharkiv region, Oleg Synegoubov, said that an 11-year-old girl was killed by missile fire in the region.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of Donestk in eastern Ukraine which has been partially controlled by Russian-backed separatists since 2014, said on social media that Ukrainian firefighters were battling a fire there and that the bombing had led to cuts in drinking water.

“The occupiers are deliberately targeting infrastructure in the area to try to inflict as much damage as possible, primarily on the civilian population,” he charged.

The Russian army denies targeting civilian infrastructure or residential areas.

In its daily briefing in Moscow, the Kremlin said it had carried out “high-precision” strikes against Ukrainian positions in the Mykolayev and Kharkiv regions.

In the relative calm of Kyiv on Saturday, hundreds of Ukrainians took part in a farewell ceremony at the Kiev national opera house for former ballet dancer and later teacher Oleksandr Shapoval, who was killed at the age of 47 in the east of the country while fighting the Russians.

Shapoval was hit by mortar fire on September 12, near the town of Mayorsk in the Donetsk region.

US President Joe Biden on Saturday headed to London to attend the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

The state funeral, the first in Britain since the death of Winston Churchill in 1965, will take place Monday at Westminster Abbey in London at 11:00 am (1000 GMT).

Biden will be among several hundred leaders from around the world attending the somber and historic event, along with some 2,000 other guests.

While the leaders of the European Union, France, Japan and many other countries will attend, those of Russia, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria and North Korea were not invited.

On Sunday, Biden will attend a reception organized by King Charles III, the White House announced. The two men spoke by phone on Wednesday, with Biden vowing to preserve the “special relationship” between their countries. 

A meeting Biden was to have held Monday with new Prime Minister Liz Truss at her Downing Street residence has been canceled, US and British officials announced, but the two instead will meet Wednesday in New York when both arrive to attend the annual United Nations General Assembly.

World leaders were beginning to gather in London on Saturday to prepare for Monday’s funeral.

Their presence — along with that of hundreds of thousands of mourners from across Britain and around the world — poses an extraordinary challenge to British police.

It will be London’s largest ever policing event, the city’s Metropolitan Police force said Friday. 

More than 2,000 officers have been drafted from across the country to help Scotland Yard.

After the funeral, the queen’s coffin will be transferred by royal hearse to Windsor Castle, west of London, for a committal service.

That will be followed by a family-only burial in which the queen will be laid to rest alongside her late husband Philip, both her parents and her younger sister.