WASHINGTON: Citizens of eight countries will face new restrictions on entry to the US under a proclamation signed by President Donald Trump on Sunday.
The new rules, which will impact the citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen, will go into effect on October 18.
The restrictions rage from full travel bans on nationals from countries like Syria to more targeted restrictions. A suspension of non-immigrant visas to citizens for Venezuela, for instance, applies only to senior government officials and their immediate families.
The announcement comes the same day as Trump’s temporary ban on visitors from six Muslim-majority countries is set to expire, 90 days after it went into effect. That ban had barred citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen who lack a “credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States” from entering the US
“As President, I must act to protect the security and interests of the United States and its people,” reads the proclamation.
Officials stressed that valid visas would not be revoked as a result of the proclamation. The order also permits, but does not guarantee, case-by-case waivers .
The restrictions are targeted at countries that Department of Homeland Security officials say refuse to share information with the US or haven’t taken necessary security precautions.
“The acting secretary has recommended actions that are tough and that are tailored, including restrictions and enhanced screening for certain countries,” said Miles Taylor, counselor to acting Homeland Security Secretary Elaine Duke, said Friday.
Unlike Trump’s first travel ban, which sparked chaos at airports across the country and a flurry of legal challenges, officials said they had been working for months on the new rules, in collaboration with various agencies and in conversation with foreign governments.
The restrictions are based on a new baseline developed by DHS that includes factors such as whether countries issue electronic passports with biometric information and share information about travelers’ terror-related and criminal histories. The US then shared those benchmarks with every country in the world and gave them 50 days to comply.
The eight countries are those that refused or were unable to comply.
Trump last week called for a “tougher” travel ban after a bomb partially exploded on a London subway.
“The travel ban into the United States should be far larger, tougher and more specific-but stupidly, that would not be politically correct!” he tweeted.
Critics have accused Trump of overstepping his authority and violating the US Constitution’s protections against religious bias. Trump had called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” during his campaign.
The new policy could complicate the Supreme Court’s review of the order, which is scheduled for argument next month.
North Korea, Venezuela, Chad among 8 countries on new US travel ban
North Korea, Venezuela, Chad among 8 countries on new US travel ban
Rescue crews work to free people trapped under a collapsed apartment building in Istanbul
TV images showed firefighters shifting rubble by hand from the flattened three-story building in Kucukcekmece on the city’s European side. Two injured people were pulled from the debris, broadcaster CNN Turk reported.
The Istanbul governor’s office said the structure collapsed at 8:40 a.m. local time (0545 GMT). The cause was not immediately clear.
More than 59,000 people were killed last year when a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck parts of southern Turkiye and neighboring Syria. The disaster highlighted the poor enforcement of building regulations in Turkiye.
Heatstroke killed 33 Indian polling staff on last voting day— state election chief
- Security guards, sanitation staff included among 33 Indian polling staff who died from heat
- Indian PM Modi expected to win third successive landslide election after results are announced
Lucknow, INDIA: At least 33 Indian polling staff died on the last day of voting from heatstroke in just one state, a top election official said Sunday, after scorching temperatures gripped swathes of the country.
While there have been reports of multiple deaths from the intense heatwave — with temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) in many places — the dozens of staff dying in one day marks an especially grim toll.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said temperatures at Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh reached 46.9 degrees Celsius (116 Fahrenheit).
Navdeep Rinwa, chief electoral officer for the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where voting in the seventh and final stage of elections ended Saturday, said 33 polling personnel died due to the heat.
The figure included security guards and sanitation staff.
“A monetary compensation of 1.5 million rupees ($18,000) will be provided to the families of the deceased,” Rinwa told reporters.
Experts say that when a person is dehydrated, extreme heat exposure thickens their blood and causes organs to shut down.
Rinwa reported a separate incident in which a man queueing to vote in the city of Ballia lost consciousness while waiting in line.
“The voter was transported to a health facility, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival,” Rinwa said.
India is no stranger to searing summer temperatures.
But years of scientific research have found climate change is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent and more intense.
Hindu-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks set to win a third straight landslide election victory after voting ended on Saturday.
Exit polls showed he was well on track to triumph and Modi himself was certain he had prevailed.
The results will be formally announced on Tuesday.
Heatstroke kills 33 Indian polling staff on last voting day: state election chief
- Navdeep Rinwa, chief electoral officer for the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where voting in the seventh and final stage of elections ended Saturday, said 33 polling personnel died due to the heat
LUCKNOW: At least 33 Indian polling staff died on the last day of voting from heatstroke in just one state, a top election official said Sunday, after scorching temperatures gripped swathes of the country.
While there have been reports of multiple deaths from the intense heatwave — with temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) in many places — the dozens of staff dying in one day marks an especially grim toll.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said temperatures at Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh reached 46.9 degrees Celsius (116 Fahrenheit).
Navdeep Rinwa, chief electoral officer for the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where voting in the seventh and final stage of elections ended Saturday, said 33 polling personnel died due to the heat.
The figure included security guards and sanitation staff.
“A monetary compensation of 1.5 million rupees ($18,000) will be provided to the families of the deceased,” Rinwa told reporters.
Experts say that when a person is dehydrated, extreme heat exposure thickens their blood and causes organs to shut down.
Rinwa reported a separate incident in which a man queueing to vote in the city of Ballia lost consciousness while waiting in line.
“The voter was transported to a health facility, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival,” Rinwa said.
India is no stranger to searing summer temperatures.
But years of scientific research have found climate change is causing heatwaves to become longer, more frequent and more intense.
Hindu-nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks set to win a third straight landslide election victory after voting ended on Saturday.
Exit polls showed he was well on track to triumph and Modi himself was certain he had prevailed.
The results will be formally announced on Tuesday.
China says it saw armed Philippine personnel on vessel in disputed South China Sea
- Incident occurred near the Second Thomas Shoal, an area of the South China Sea where Beijing and Manila have had an escalating maritime dispute for months
BEIJING: China’s Coast Guard discovered that personnel on a Philippine vessel in disputed waters last month “carried guns on deck,” Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said in a post on social media on Sunday.
The incident occurred near the Second Thomas Shoal, it said, an area of the South China Sea where Beijing and Manila have had an escalating maritime dispute for months.
Ukraine’s Zelensky disappointed ‘some world leaders’ may not be at peace talks
- Ukraine is trying to whip up attendance at the peace meeting in Switzerland this month
- Zelensky said more than 100 countries and organizations had signed up to the conference
SINGAPORE: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed disappointment Sunday that “some world leaders” had not signed up to a peace summit, after China signalled Xi Jinping would not attend and with Joe Biden yet to commit.
Zelensky made the remarks at a security forum in Singapore as he appealed for more military aid for Ukraine, which has been ceding ground to Russian troops.
Ukraine is also trying to whip up attendance at the peace meeting in Switzerland this month where it hopes to win broad international backing for its vision of the terms needed to end Russia’s war.
Zelensky said more than 100 countries and organizations had signed up to the conference, and he urged Asia-Pacific nations to join.
“We are disappointed that some world leaders have not yet confirmed their participation in the peace summit,” Zelensky said at the Shangri-La Dialogue, without mentioning China or the United States by name.
The peace summit threatens to be overshadowed if key Ukraine backer Biden — who is locked in campaigning against Donald Trump and has given no sign he would participate — ultimately stays away.
China also said Friday it would be “difficult” to participate in the conference if Russia did not participate.
Beijing believes the conference “should have the recognition of Russia and Ukraine, equal participation of all parties and fair discussion of all peace plans,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular news conference.
“Otherwise, it is difficult for the conference to play a substantive role in restoring peace,” she said.
Zelensky also met with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday on the sidelines of the Singapore security forum. Zelensky told reporters they had a “very good” meeting.
In a post on X, Zelensky said the pair discussed “the defense needs of our country, bolstering Ukraine’s air defense system, the F-16 coalition, and drafting of a bilateral security agreement.”
In a readout of the talks, Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder said Austin reiterated “unwavering US support for Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression.”
Austin also “reaffirmed the US commitment to maintaining the strong support of a coalition of over fifty countries to help Ukraine defend its freedom,” Ryder said.
The meeting came after Washington decided to partially lift restrictions on using US-provided weapons to strike inside Russia, which Zelensky has hailed as a “step forward.”
Zelensky and Austin last met face-to-face in December in Washington, where Zelensky made a last-ditch plea for US aid before it ran out.
The US Congress approved in April a $61-billion aid package for Ukraine following months of political wrangling, unlocking much-needed arms for the country’s outgunned troops.
Chinese defense spokesman Wu Qian told AFP he was not aware of any plans for Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun to meet with Zelensky in Singapore.
Ukraine is struggling to hold back a Russian ground offensive in the Kharkiv region, where Moscow recently made its largest territorial gains in 18 months.
Zelensky has been touring European nations in recent days seeking more military aid for Ukrainian troops, and warning partners of the risks if they show any signs of fatigue over the war.
“It is very important for Ukrainians that the world does not get tired... that the world understands that it cannot get tired of the war launched by the aggressor,” Zelensky said in Portugal on Tuesday.
