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A doctor who has lived in America for 61 years loses his US citizenship
Virginia: American doctor loses citizenship after 61 years | Check his unbelievable story
PTC Web Desk: A 62-year-old Virginia-based doctor, after a lifetime of dedicated service and citizenship, has been thrown into a baffling state of statelessness. Dr Siavash Sobhani’s jaw-dropping revelation came when a routine passport renewal turned into an ordeal. Born and bred in the United States, Dr Sobhani recently discovered he’s no longer a US citizen due to a bureaucratic hiccup linked to his father’s diplomatic status.
A perplexing letter from the State Department shattered his world, revealing he was mistakenly granted citizenship at birth, leaving him in a bewildering citizenship limbo.
This startling twist left the doctor reeling. “I’ve been here all my life, contributing to society, serving my community,” Dr. Sobhani expressed to ‘The Washington Post’. Yet, abruptly learning he’s not a citizen after 61 years was profoundly disorienting, he added.
Facing an exorbitant legal battle, spending over USD 40,000 in fees, and an uncertain timeline for resolution, Dr Sobhani is distressed about the ambiguity ahead. He worries about the protracted process of regaining his rights, raising concerns about missing out on crucial family moments and travel freedoms.
The unforeseen turmoil has not only disrupted his retirement plans but also dashed hopes of exploring other countries. Unable to visit ailing family members abroad or support friends in times of need, Dr Sobhani finds himself in a nightmarish scenario with no clear resolution in sight.
In a cruel turn of fate, this American doctor’s world has been upended, highlighting a bureaucratic nightmare that could happen to anyone.
- With inputs from agencies
Three US doctors die in Yemen shooting
A Yemeni has shot dead three American doctors and critically wounded a US pharmacist today at a missionary hospital in the south of the impoverished country.
Yemeni officials named the gunman as 32-year-old Abed Abdel Razzak Kamel and said he was an Islamist militant who had told police after his arrest that he had shot the two men and two women to “cleanse his religion and get closer to Allah”.
The US embassy confirmed the victims were American citizens and said they were working at the Jibla Baptist Hospital in Ebb province, some 170km (105 miles) south of the capital Sanaa.
“The gunman confessed to being a member of (Yemen’s) Islamic Jihad group and said he shot the Americans because they were preaching Christianity in a Muslim country,” one Yemeni official said.
Witnesses said Kamel had entered the hospital posing as a patient and then opened fire on the four Americans at the outpatient clinic when it was his turn to receive treatment.
Yemen is seen in the West as a haven for Muslim militants, including members of the al Qaeda network which Washington blames for the attacks on the United States last year.
Anti-US sentiment has been running high in many Arab countries in recent months, prompted by anger at Washington’s support for Israel, the US-led war against Afghanistan, and a possible attack against Iraq.
US officials declined to name the victims and said in a statement a team of US investigators had been sent to Jibla.
“We still don’t know how to describe this incident,” a US diplomat said.
Julie Toma, a Jibla hospital administrator, said she believed it was an isolated incident.
She said she believed the shooting was linked to preparations to hand the American hospital – which was set up in Yemen in 1964/5 – over to a Yemeni administration.
“It was a backlash against that. It was an isolated incident,” Toma said, adding that as a Westerner she felt safe living in Yemen.
The US statement, however, advised American citizens to bolster their security and said it was requesting additional security for the already fortified embassy building.
Local security sources linked Kamel to Ali Jarallah, a member of an Islamist opposition party who shot dead a prominent opposition official earlier this week.
Both men were trained in Afghanistan, the sources said.
Many people carry firearms in the impoverished state where traditional tribal and clan customs often take precedence over government regulations, especially in the north.
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Three-year-old American orphan is being held hostage by Hamas after his parents were killed, White House reveals – as Congressman raises nightmare scenario that other terror …
- The toddler’s unnamed parents were killed in the Hamas massacre on October 7
- Around 239 people are still believed to be detained by the terror group in Gaza
- Florida Rep Jared Moskowitz warned other terror groups could be involved
A three-year-old American orphan is among the hostages held by Hamas, the White House has revealed.
The toddler’s parents were slaughtered by the terror group during the October 7 massacre inside Israeli territory that saw 1,200 civilians killed and around 200 people taken hostage including at least nine US nationals.
In a call with Qatar’s leader Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani on Sunday, Biden ‘condemned unequivocally the holding of hostages by Hamas, including many young children, one of whom is a three-year-old American citizen toddler, whose parents were killed by Hamas on October 7th.’
The White House statement added: ‘The two leaders agreed that all hostages must be released without further delay.’
It comes amid warnings from Congress that some of the hostages could be held by other terror factions, raising a nightmare scenario for negotiators. Only four prisoners have been released so far.
A three-year-old American orphan is believed to be among the hostages held by Hamas after his parents were slaughtered, the White House has revealed. (Pictured: militants riding an Israeli military jeep in Gaza following the October 7 attack)
The toddler’s unnamed parents were killed by the Palestinian terror group during the October 7 massacre which saw the militants wipe out around 1,200 civilians in Israel. (Pictured: civilians flee the terror attack near Kibbutz Urim in southern Israel on October 7)
President Joe Biden spoke with Qatar’s leader Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani about the harrowing developments on Sunday, and the White House issued a news release showing they discussed the missing American toddler
Florida Rep Jared Moskowitz – who was part of a US delegation to Tel Aviv at the weekend – told ABC’s This Week: ‘The hostages are in several places, some are in the tunnels, some are not in the tunnels.
‘As it turns out some of the hostages might be kept by not Hamas – it might not be Islamic Jihad who have some of these hostages, it might be some of the citizens of Gaza.’
White House security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed nine Americans are still missing in Gaza.
‘There are ongoing negotiations involving the Israelis, the Qataris, and we, the United States, are actively engaged in this as well,’ he told ABC.
‘We want to make sure that we bring home those Americans who have been taken hostage as well as all of the other hostages.’
Sullivan said it’s unknown how many hostages are still alive – but added: ‘There are nine missing American citizens as well as a missing legal permanent [resident], a green card holder.’
‘That’s the number that we are trying to ensure the safe return of, and we have been engaging with the families.
‘In fact, I will personally be seeing family members of the American hostages this coming week.’
Qatar’s government earlier said Al Thani had stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the permanent opening of the Rafah crossing into Egypt in the call with Biden.
Washington has rejected calls from Arab leaders and others for it to pressure Israel into halting its assault on the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip which has so far killed more than 11,000 Palestinians.
In the US and around the world, thousands of people have taken to the streets in protests to demand a ceasefire, but Netanyahu has said this won’t happen until all hostages are released.
As of Sunday, Hamas has released just four of the prisoners, including American nationals Natalie Shoshana Raanan, 17, and her mother Judith Tai Raanan, 59.
Florida Democrat Rep Jared Moskowitz, who was among a US delegation that met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv at the weekend, warned that some hostages could be held by terror groups beyond Hamas
Palestinians wave their national flag and celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of Khan Younis southern Saturday, October 7, 2023
This weekend, I joined a bipartisan, bicameral delegation to Israel, where we met with Prime Minister Netanyahu, Minister of Defense Gallant, and family members of hostages held by Hamas. America will continue to stand by its ally Israel as it defends itself against terror. pic.twitter.com/gvK7JBJWmd
— Congressman Jared Moskowitz (@RepMoskowitz) November 12, 2023
Netanyahu said he still has daily contact with Biden and also has the ‘political and ethical support’ of the American administration.
But the Arab and Muslim world called for an immediate end to military operations in Gaza, rejecting Israel’s justification of self-defense.
A communique issued at the summit urged the International Criminal Court to investigate ‘war crimes and crimes against humanity that Israel is committing’ as it continues to wage war on the Gaza Strip.
The World Health Organization warned on Sunday that Gaza’s largest hospital is ‘not functioning’ and is in a ‘perilous’ state after one airstrike bombardment left it without electricity and water for three days.
Heart-breaking photos show seven newborn babies wrapped in green scrubs laid beside each other on a bed after they were taken out of incubators due to a power outage at Al-Shifa Hospital.
Generators used to prop up supplies ran out of fuel yesterday and 36 babies are at risk of dying. Three premature babies and four patients have already died, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
The Hamas-run health ministry accused Israel of deliberately targeting the hospital with airstrikes and claimed that Israeli snipers would regularly take shots at the medical complex.
Muhammad Abu Salmiya, the director of Al Shifa Hospital, said that newborn babies were dying after the hospital suspended operations
Israel’s military confirmed clashes outside the hospital, but IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari denied Al-Shifa Hospital (pictured) was under siege
This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip on November 11, 2023, shows smoke rising over buildings during an Israeli strike on the Palestinian enclave
Israel contends that Hamas gunmen have placed command centers in and around the hospitals, meaning doctors, patients and thousands of evacuees taking refuge in them must leave.
Hamas denies using hospitals this way. Medical staff say patients could die if they are moved and Palestinian officials say Israeli fire makes it dangerous for others to leave.
Israel’s Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter broke ranks as he called the evacuations ‘Gaza’s Nakba’ – a reference to the mass dispossessions of Palestinians after Israel was founded in 1948.
‘Operationally there’s no way to conduct a war the way the IDF wants to conduct it inside Gaza territories,’ Dichter said. ‘I don’t know how it will end’.
The comments drew an immediate slap down from Netanyahu – who is sliding dismally in the polls. The PM said: ‘Every word has meaning when it comes to diplomacy. If you don’t know – don’t speak.’
Meanwhile, a Hamas leader who was presumed dead is alive, Israeli spies are said to believe.
Mohammed Sinwar was pronounced dead in 2014 by Hamas which released an image of him lying on a bloodstained bed.
But in reality, this was a stunt aimed at protecting him from Israeli assassination attempts and he was one of three to four figures behind the October 7 attack.
‘He was 100 percent one of the core team who planned Oct 7,’ a former Mossad counter-terror chief told the Telegraph.
‘In the military leadership he’s very important,’ the source said.
Mohammed Sinwar was pronounced dead in 2014 by Hamas, which released an image of him lying on a bloodstained bed
Sources claim this was a stunt aimed at protecting Mohammed (pictured) from Israeli assassination attempts
Mohammed Sinwar is the younger brother of Yahya Sinwa, Hamas’s leader in Gaza and Israel’s most-wanted terrorist
‘He’s around number seven on the wanted list, alongside the likes of Mohammed Deif, Marwan Issa, and Tawfiq Abu Naim. He’s an important figure and he’s still alive for sure.’
Mohammed Sinwar is the younger brother of Yahya Sinwa, Hamas’s leader in Gaza and Israel’s most-wanted terrorist.
He helped free his elder brother from an Israeli jail during a 2011 prisoner exchange and is considered an ‘expert’ in using kidnappings to secure the release of prisoners, according to Ronen Solomon – an intelligence analyst and author of the Intelli Times blog.
As the war continues to tear Israel and Palestine apart, Biden ordered airstrikes against two facilities in Syria used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards on Sunday.
Carried out by Air Force F-15E fighter jets, the strikes are the latest retaliatory attacks for the daily barrage of rocket hits on US forces in Iraq and Syria.
The US jets hit structures in Abu Kamal and a safe house in Mayadin – used for weapons and ammunition storage and command and control HQs.
The US jets hit structures in Abu Kamal and a safe house in Mayadin – used for weapons and ammunition storage and command and control HQs
On Sunday, five US Army special forces troops were also killed in a helicopter crash in the Mediterranean Sea.
The MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was on a refueling training mission when it crashed off the coast of Cyprus late Friday, officials told The New York Times.
An investigation has been launched but there is no indication of hostile activity.
The Pentagon has dispatched commando teams – including Delta Force and SEAL Team 6 – to the region to stand by for hostage rescues in the Gaza Strip. Cyprus is around 150 miles from Israel.
The helicopter was from the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment – the Night Stalkers – which ferries commando forces on secret raids.
United States European Command (EUCOM) said in a statement: ‘Out of respect for the affected families, and by Department of Defense policy, the identities of the crewmembers are being withheld until 24 hours after next of kin notifications have been completed.’
