Afghan skipper Rashid Khan (ANI Photo/Jitender Gupta)

Afghanistan kept their Super Eights hopes alive with a five-wicket win over UAE on Monday, but qualification is still out of their hands. After the victory, South Africa moved into the Super Eights from Group D with six points from three matches. New Zealand, who have four points from three games, can seal the second spot if they beat Canada in Chennai on Tuesday. In that case, Afghanistan, currently on two points from three matches, will be knocked out even if they defeat Canada in their final group match on February 19 in Chennai.

Captain Rashid Khan remained hopeful despite the uncertainty. “Hoping for the best. Yes, (we) still have a little bit of hope, we can make it to the next stage and we just need to come up with a positive mindset (against Canada),” Rashid said at the post-match presentation. “Next game, you never know, it’s a T20 game, we’ll have to come up with a good brand of cricket. Even if we don’t make it to the next round, we want to play with the same brand of cricket and make the country and our people proud and happy.” Rashid said he was pleased to get points on the board after the heartbreaking loss to South Africa in a match decided in the second Super Over. “Happy to finish with a win, it’s important to have points in a T20 World Cup. To restrict them (UAE) under 160 was a good effort, we pulled things back, but we didn’t do well in the first 10 overs. That’s been a problem for us in all the games and something we need to work on,” he said. “We know how aggressive he (Rahmanullah Gurbaz) is. He goes out with a positive mindset – it doesn’t always work, but it’s good for the team when he gets going. We’ve quite a lot of experience, Azmat (Azmatullah Omarzai) has played a lot, (Mohammad) Nabi is the most experienced guy in the team. It’s always good to have experience and that’s something most important.” Player of the Match Azmatullah Omarzai, who returned figures of 4/15 from four overs and struck 40 not out off 21 balls, explained his approach. “I was trying to bowl in the hard length and hit the pitch hard. “It was funny, first ball was a wicket, but the ball didn’t didn’t carry. I took four wickets again. That first wicket got the momentum for us. “When I went to bat, I looked at the scoreboard. There were a lot of balls (left) for us. We needed to play straight and rotate the strike and I was speaking to my partner, (to) just play straight and we were waiting for the bad ball. “It was a good game where everyone did really well and everyone did hard work (on the South Africa game), but the result did not work our way, but we came back really well and hope we will do it again in the next match.

Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad and Rashid Khan (AP)

Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott described his side’s defeat to South Africa as “devastating”, admitting the narrow loss in a dramatic T20 World Cup contest would linger with his players. The Proteas edged Afghanistan after a gripping encounter that required two Super Overs, leaving South Africa relieved and Afghanistan heartbroken in one of the most remarkable matches since the tournament began in 2007. Addressing the media after the game on Wednesday, Trott reflected on the emotional toll of back-to-back defeats in a demanding group.

“Just shows what we have as a side. So we’ve got some amazing players and it’s just really devastating for the guys after a tough loss a few days ago against New Zealand and now against South Africa in a tough group as well,” Trott said. The South African-born former England Test batter acknowledged that such losses can hurt deeply. “These guys are never shy of rising up against the challenges that they face throughout their lives on and off the field. “So today they should be very proud and obviously these types of losses sometimes they can hurt and sting for a while but I think it’s important we look at those areas that we did really well in, but also areas that we could improve and things we could have done better. “I think South Africa fielded pretty well actually as well. The run out, a few catches on the boundary, on the ring, those sorts of things. I think they fielded really well. Maybe that was the difference today a little bit,” the Afghanistan head coach said. Under Trott’s guidance, Afghanistan have made significant strides, reaching the semifinals in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup and the quarterfinals of the 2023 ODI World Cup. Though he is set to step down after this tournament, Trott declined to reflect on his tenure, insisting his focus remains on the remaining fixtures. Trott also reserved special praise for Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who smashed 84 off 42 balls in the chase of 187 and followed it with a blistering 18 off 4 balls in the second Super Over. “Those innings as we saw today, I think he should play more often if I’m honest, with the amount of talent that he has and the physique and the sporting ability and natural hand-eye coordination. “He wears his heart on his sleeve and he’s quite an animated character. I think the years that I’ve been with him now, I’m just trying to get him to be a little bit more consistent in everything that he does.”

Cricket fans at Chepauk watching the ICC T20 World Cup match between Afghanistan vs New Zealand
| Photo Credit: RAGU R

Donald Trump is sending 35 criminal illegal aliens back to the UK amid his immigration crackdown that triggered shockwaves across America and the world.

The Britons feature on a list of shame dubbed the ‘worst of the worst’ drawn up and published by Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.

It means more ‘worst of the worst’ criminals are being deported back to the UK from America than to Afghanistan or Iraq. There are 19 Afghans on the list, and 31 Iraqis.

A Daily Mail analysis of the countries of origin of the ‘worst of the worst’ illegal migrants also shows more are being sent back to the UK than France, Germany and Italy combined.

France is receiving nine, Germany eight, and Italy 10.

Offenses committed by the Britons include homicide, drug trafficking, sexual exploitation of minors, fraud, and making bomb threats.

Those on the list include three British women.

Mugshots of British criminals who feature on Donald Trump’s ‘worst of the worst’ list of illegal aliens being deported from America. Their pictures have been published online by the US Department of Homeland Security 

President Donald Trump has removed more than 700,000 illegal immigrants from the United States

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with ICE agents during an operation in Arizona

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said more than half of the 35 British criminals – 22 of them – had already been deported.

She told the Daily Mail: ‘If you break the law, you will face the consequences. Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the US.

‘The 35 criminal illegal aliens from the UK listed on the Worst of the Worst website [have] criminal histories including multiple counts of homicide, enticement of a minor, lewd or lascivious acts with a minor, robbery, assault, aggravated assault, weapons offenses, and drug trafficking.

’22 of these criminal illegal aliens have already been removed from the US.

‘Under President Trump’s and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s leadership, DHS has already removed more than 700,000 illegal aliens.’

(L) Rosalie McCann, an illegal immigrant from the UK, had a conviction for identity theft, and was arrested in Pennsylvania, according to the US Department of Homeland Security; (R) Mohamed Bah, an illegal immigrant from the UK, had gun and assault convictions, and was arrested in Hagerstown, Maryland, according to the US Department of Homeland Security

(L) Harry Stacey, an illegal immigrant from the UK, had a conviction for drug trafficking and was arrested in Bentonville, Arkansas, according to the US Department of Homeland Security; (R) Raechal Wood, an illegal immigrant from the UK, had a conviction for drug possession, and was arrested in Ocala, Florida, according to the US Department of Homeland Security

It comes as Trump, Noem and ICE are embroiled in turmoil in the wake of the recent fatal shootings of protesters Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration agents in Minneapolis.

The ‘worst of the worst’ list – which is expected to grow – reflects the approach of Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, who has been at odds with Noem over how best to enforce the president’s immigration policies.

Noem pursued a strategy of high-profile raids to round up as many illegal immigrants as possible, sometimes joining operations herself in tactical gear and taking TV cameras along.

Homan has argued for a more targeted approach to capture and deport the ‘worst of the worst’ illegal alien criminals – like the ones featured on the list of shame.

In the wake of the fatal ICE shootings Trump sent Homan to Minneapolis to ‘fix’ the problem there.

Homan subsequently confirmed that future immigration operations would be ‘targeted’ against specific individuals.

President Trump’s ICE is returning 35 ‘worst of the worst’ illegal immigrants to Keir Starmer’s UK

(L) Winston Percival Lee, an illegal immigrant from the UK, had a conviction for homicide and was arrested in New York, according to the US Department of Homeland Security; (R) Richard Castle, an illegal immigrant from the UK, had had convictions including sexual exploitation of a minor, and was arrested in Missouri, according to the US Department of Homeland Security

The list of shame so far also features 25 criminals from Russia and 34 from Ukraine.

There are 137 from China, 347 from Venezuela, and 62 from Somalia, according to an analysis by the Daily Mail.

In total, the number of illegal aliens so far featured on the ‘worst of the worst’ list was 20,249 as of January 28.

The country with by far the most citizens on it is Mexico with 9,739.

The 35 UK-origin criminals represent only a portion of the total removals to the UK under Trump’s widespread immigration crackdown.

Tom Homan, Trump’s Border Czar, wants to target the ‘worst of the worst’ illegal immigrants

An anti-ICE protester in Minneapolis in the wake of the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by immigration agents

Federal agents clash with rioters on the streets of Minneapolis

A protest against ICE in downtown Minneapolis

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the three women on the ‘worst of the worst’ list include Raechal Wood, who it said had a conviction for drug possession and was detained by ICE in Florida.

Jessica Bell Tulloch had convictions for offenses including robbery and was arrested in New Jersey, according to the DHS.

Rosalie McCann was convicted of identity theft and held in Pennsylvania, the list showed.

Also on the ‘worst of the worst’ list was Sean Bourne, who was shown as convicted of homicide and assaulting a police officer, and detained in Orlando, Florida.

Shawn Winston Percival Lee was listed as convicted of homicide, and detained in New York, according to the DHS.

Harry Stacey was convicted of drug trafficking in Bentonville, Arkansas, the department said.

Richard Castle was convicted of offenses including ‘sexual exploitation of minor’ and arrested in Springfield, Missouri, according to the ‘worst of the worst’ list.

The DHS says the list was produced to ‘highlight the worst of worst criminal aliens arrested by ICE’.

(L) Phillip Harkins, an illegal immigrant from the UK, had convictions including homicide and robbery, and was arrested in Tallahassee, Florida, according to the US Department of Homeland Security; (R) Sean Bourne, an illegal immigrant from the UK, had convictions including homicide, and was arrested in Orlando, Florida, according to the US Department of Homeland Security

(L) Jessica Bell Tulloch, an illegal immigrant from the UK, had convictions including robbery, and was arrested in New Jersey, according to the US Department of Homeland Security; (R) Leslie Service, an illegal immigrant from the UK, had convictions including ‘threat to bomb,’ and was arrested in Virginia, according to the US Department of Homeland Security

‘Under Secretary Kristi Noem’s leadership, the hardworking men and women of DHS and ICE are fulfilling President Trump’s promise and carrying out mass deportations – starting with the worst of the worst – including the illegal aliens you see here,’ it says.

Noem is currently under heavy pressure over her handling of the Good and Pretti shootings.

She called Good, an unarmed mother, a ‘domestic terrorist,’ and suggested Pretti was ‘brandishing’ a gun, which videos from the scene showed he was not.

On Monday, Trump held a two-hour meeting with her in the Oval Office before sending Homan to Minneapolis, but the president has said she will stay in her job.

President Trump had an emotional phone call with the parents of Staten Island native and Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ollis to inform them that their son would be posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for heroically sacrificing his life in Afghanistan over a decade ago.

Robert and Linda Ollis were in the kitchen of their Staten Island home on Monday when the commander in chief greeted the couple on the phone and asked how they were holding up, according to a video posted on the SSG Michael Ollis Freedom Foundation Facebook page.

“We’re very nervous,” Robert said on speakerphone.

“You should be, because your son is going to get the highest honor that you can have,” Trump shared. “There is no higher honor than the Congressional Medal of Honor.”

The soldier’s father’s eyes lit up at the announcement, his expression shifting into a proud smile.

“He’s looking down at you right now, he’s saying, ‘Well, my mom and dad are handling this pretty well,’” Trump said of their son.

Ollis was just 24 years old, serving as an Army infantryman, when he was killed in Afghanistan on Aug. 28, 2013, during a Taliban attack on Forward Operating Base Ghazni.

In the chaos of the attack, Ollis threw himself between a suicide bomber and a Polish officer, absorbing the deadly blast and laying down his life in an act of pure selflessness.

Witnesses said his actions likely protected more than 40 service members and civilians on the base.

Ollis was initially awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army’s second-highest combat award, before efforts began to elevate the recognition to the Medal of Honor, according to Military Times.

After years of advocacy by his family, veteran groups, elected officials — most notably Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-NY — and the Staten Island community, Trump approved the nation’s highest military honor for Ollis.

The Medal of Honor is reserved only for service members who go above and beyond the call of duty by showing remarkable valor and selflessness in the heat of battle, at the risk of their own lives.

The Medal is awarded after cases are rigorously reviewed, a process that requires detailed battlefield reports, at least two sworn eyewitness accounts, and additional corroborating evidence.

The couple expressed deep gratitude to the president for approving the Medal of Honor, which has been awarded posthumously 618 times, according to the Army.

“Thank you so much, Mr. President. You have no idea the happiness we have,” Robert shared.

“Thank you for facilitating this! This is so wonderful,” Linda said, adding that the family had advocated for their son to receive the honor for years and reached out to countless people before he finally approved it.

Trump also applauded the parents for their tireless work to keep their son’s story alive for more than a decade.

“Otherwise, how are we going to know, right? You know, people don’t know. So I think that’s fantastic,” Trump said.

Trump then told the pair that they would head to the White House for the ceremony, where a “few” recipients would also receive the honor, noting that they were “all brave people.” The president did not clarify whom he was referring to.

“I read what your son did, and it’s — I wouldn’t do it, Linda,” Trump told Ollis’ mother about her son’s bravery.

“I’m not brave enough either,” Linda said with a soft laugh.

“Neither am I. Even though I’m a Vietnam Vet, I still wouldn’t have done it,” Robert added.

Trump encouraged them to gather the family and “go celebrate,” reminding them their son would be proud before ending the call.