US Issues ‘Level 2' Travel Warnings for Citizens Traveling to Italy, Belgium
The U.S. Department of State has issued new travel advisories for American citizens visiting Italy and Belgium due to the 'risk of terrorist violence,' upgrading both countries to a Level 2 warning.
In a
'Terrorists may attack with little or no warning,' the embassy bulletin said, adding that common targets may include public areas such as transportation centers, shopping malls, markets, tourist areas, local government offices, hotels, clubs, restaurants, and other sites.
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If a U.S. citizen visits either Italy or Belgium, the State Department
The State Department did not explain why both countries were upgraded to 'Level 2 - Exercise Increased Caution.'
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There are four levels of travel advisories: Level 1 – Exercise Normal Precautions, Level 2 – Exercise Increased Caution, Level 3 – Reconsider Travel, and Level 4 – Do Not Travel. The highest level is usually reserved for war zones, countries with authoritarian governments, or areas with excessive criminal activity, such as kidnappings.
Other
It comes as some countries in Europe have issued stronger advisories on traveling to the United States in recent months, including the UK and Germany.
German officials in March
While a valid Electronic System for Travel Authorization or a valid U.S. visa 'constitutes a right to entry into the USA,' Germany's Foreign Office
A criminal convicted in the United States, overstaying a visa for a short period, giving false information, or other offenses can lead to arrest, detention, and deportation, Germany's foreign office further warned.
'Any further questions concerning entry into the USA should be clarified with the relevant U.S. diplomatic mission abroad well in advance of departure,' the office said.
In an update issued in March, the UK government
'You may be liable to arrest or detention if you break the rules. If you're not sure how these requirements apply to you, contact the U.S. Embassy or a consulate in the UK,' the country's government said.
The updates came after President Donald Trump earlier this year signed executive orders meant to shore up border security and crack down on illegal immigration,
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Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bold move to keep Americans safe from ‘terrorists' is basis for US travel ban for some African nations
President Donald Trump's restrictions on travel from 10 African countries are being praised by analysts for improving U.S. security internationally and domestically. The president said on X the travel ban was being introduced after a terror attack against a pro-Israel group advocating for Hamas to release Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado, last weekend, allegedly by an Egyptian man who had overstayed his visa. In a White House fact sheet, Trump said, "We will restore the travel ban, some people call it the Trump travel ban, and keep the radical Islamic terrorists out of our country." Suspect In Boulder Terror Attack Determined To Be Egyptian Man In Us Illegally: Fbi This point was backed by the State Department's principal deputy spokesperson, Tommy Pigott. In a briefing Thursday, Pigott said, "This is a national security imperative". But observers believe there is an external, international reason. Read On The Fox News App "Most, if not all, of the African countries were added to this list either because of extreme instability and thus terrorist havens or because relations between them and the U.S. is either extremely poor or non-existent," Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of FDD's Long War Journal, told Fox News Digital. "For instance, the U.S. has been historically hard on Eritrea for its human rights abuses and also alleged support for terrorism. While in Chad, its military regime kicked the U.S. military out of its territory last year, further hurting the U.S. military posture in Africa." Trump Bans Travel To Us From Several Countries To Block 'Dangerous Foreign Actors' Some of the restricted African countries listed below pose significant potential security concerns for the U.S. The world's two principal Islamist terror groups, ISIS and al Qaeda, represented here by Al-Shabaab, both operate openly in Somalia. The White House described it this week as "a terrorist safe haven." A briefing note accompanying the travel ban declared, "A persistent terrorist threat emanates from Somalia's territory. Somalia also remains a destination for individuals attempting to join terrorist groups that threaten the national security of the United States." The U.S. Africa Command mounted five air attacks against operators from both groups in just the 12 days up to June 2. Fighting and subsequent piles of bodies in the streets have been reported in the past month in Tripoli, the Libyan capital. The U.N.'s Support Mission in Libya recently posted on X that the situation could "spiral out of control." "The historical terrorist presence within Libya's territory amplifies the risks posed by the entry into the United States of its nationals," the White House note states, adding U.S. border officials can't properly vet Libyans because "there is no competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents in Libya." The U.S. has already imposed sanctions against the leaders of both parties involved in a two-year civil war that has reportedly killed 150,000 and displaced 12 million. The U.S. claims up to 28% of Sudanese overstay their visas. The criminal records of Eritreans are not available for inspection by U.S. officials. With an overstay rate of up to 55%, the White House also reported that "Eritrea has historically refused to accept back its removable nationals." Critics Have Meltdown And Accuse Trump Of Imposing Renewed 'Muslim Ban' Through 'Disgusting' Travel Order The West African country is causing concern in Washington as it deepens relations with Russia. Chad President Idriss Deby went to Moscow last year for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Kremlin Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was then warmly welcomed in Chad's capital, N'Djamena, for a reciprocal visit. Russia's shadowy Wagner private mercenary group's importance in the country is being questioned after three of its members were arrested in September and sent back to Moscow. Banning nationals this week, the U.S. said Chad has had a visa overstay rate of up to 55%. In Chad, President Deby responded by saying, "I have instructed the government to act in accordance with the principles of reciprocity and suspend the issuance of visas to U.S. citizens." People from this West African country have reportedly overstayed their F, M and J visas by up to 70%. Depending on the visa category, up to 35% of citizens in the U.S. are reported to have overstayed their visas. Overstaying is the main issue for the other African countries whose nationals are partially restricted and now have only limited entry into the U.S. Has an overstay rate of up to 35%, and, the White House says, "has historically failed to accept back its removable nationals." Togo suffers from poor governance, nepotism and widespread corruption, which reportedly goes all the way to the president's office. Over 50% of the population lives below what's regarded as the international poverty line. Togo's nationals have an overstay rate of up to 35% in the U.S. Burundi vies with South Sudan for the dubious title of poorest country in the world. Yet soaring inflation has caused a devastating rise in food prices. A former rebel group has led the country for two decades in a climate of political unrest and alleged repression. Burundi's citizens have an overstay rate of up to 17% in the article source: Bold move to keep Americans safe from 'terrorists' is basis for US travel ban for some African nations
Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Will visa delays and border fears keep international fans away from the Club World Cup in the US?
As the United States readies for the FIFA Club World Cup, concern over such things as international travel, fan safety and even economic uncertainty threaten to diminish enthusiasm for the tournament. The United States will see the arrival of 32 professional club teams from around the globe to 11 cities for the tournament. There's a $1 billion prize pool. The Club World Cup is considered in many ways to be a dress rehearsal for the big event, the 2026 World Cup to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. But there seems to be little buzz for the Club World Cup at home or abroad. The expansion of the field from seven to 32 teams has diminished the exclusivity of the event, and ticket sales appear slow. At the same time, the tournament is being played amid reports of foreign tourists being detained and visa processing delays. Chaotic U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities and President Donald Trump's travel bans aren't exactly reassuring international fans, either. Trump's policies appear to have already impacted travelers. The National Travel and Tourism Office released data showing visitors to the U.S. from foreign countries fell 9.7% in March compared to the same month last year. The travel forecasting company Tourism Economics has predicted that international arrivals would decline 9.4% this year. The U.S. Travel Association, a nonprofit group that represents the travel industry, has urged the Trump administration to improve such things as visa processing and customs wait times ahead of a series of big sporting events on U.S. soil, including the Club World Cup beginning June 14, the Ryder Cup later this year, next summer's World Cup, and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Association President Geoff Freeman said, for example, that the wait in Colombia for a visa interview appointment is upwards of 18 months — already putting the 2026 World Cup out of reach for some travelers. He said his organization is working with the White House's World Cup Task Force to address issues. 'They (the task force) recognize how important this event is: success is the only option. So we're eager to work with them to do whatever it is we need to do to ensure that we can welcome the millions of incremental visitors that we think are possible,' Freeman said. 'But these underlying issues of visa and customs, we've got to address.' Column: Pride and community at Chicago White Sox's Mexican Heritage Night game amid immigration crackdownsSecretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing last month, suggested consular staff could be put on longer shifts and that artificial intelligence could be used to process visas. 'We want it to be a success. It's a priority for the president,' said Rubio. But the Trump administration may have added to the concerns for international visitors by issuing a ban on travelers from 12 countries, with restrictions on travel from nine more countries. Iran, one of the countries named, has qualified for the World Cup. The proclamation included an exemption for 'any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the secretary of state.' It did not mention fans. There are signs current immigration policies were already impacting soccer fans and spurring worries over safety. A Latin American supporters group in Nashville stayed away from a recent Major League Soccer game because of ICE activity in the city. The city's Geodis Park is set to host three Club World Cup matches. Danny Navarro, who offers travel advice to followers on his social media platforms under the moniker TravelFutbolFan, said the World Cup Task Force announcement did not allay fears about travel, especially when Vice President JD Vance said, 'We want them to come. We want them to celebrate. We want them to watch the game. But when the time is up, they'll have to go home. Otherwise, they'll have to talk to (Homeland Security) Secretary (Kristi) Noem.' That insinuated fans visiting the United States for the World Cup could use it to stay in the country, which is nonsensical, Navarro maintained. For many countries, fans traveling to the World Cup — an expensive travel plan with hiked flight and hotel prices — are broadly viewed as higher-spending and lower-risk for host nation security planning. Navarro put the onus on FIFA. 'They must know that there is an anxiety among international travelers wanting to come in. They must know there's an anxiety among the U.S. fan base that is multicultural and wanting to go to all these places. Are they going to? Are they going to be harassed by ICE?' Navarro said. 'There is just a lot of uncertainty, I would say, too much uncertainty, that the fan base doesn't want to think about.' It remains to be seen how outside factors will ultimately impact the Club World Cup, which is not the global spectacle or draw that the World Cup is. Ticket sales, which were based on a dynamic pricing model, appear to be slow, with lowered prices from earlier this year and a slew of recent promotions. For a match between Paris Saint-Germain and Botafogo at the Rose Bowl on June 19, there were wide swaths of available seats going for $33.45. FIFA created an incentive program that says fans who buy two or more tickets to the Club World Cup 'may' be guaranteed the right to purchase one ticket to the World Cup next summer. Navarro said economic uncertainty and fears of inflation may make fans hesitant to spend their money on the Club World Cup — when the more desirable World Cup is looming. What the Trump travel ban means for the 2026 World Cup and 2028 Olympics in the USIn some host cities, there's little sign the Club World Cup is happening. A light rail station in Seattle had a lone sign advertising the event. The Seattle Sounders are among the teams playing in the tournament. Hans Hobson, executive director of the Tennessee State Soccer Association, suggested part of the problem is that, unlike the national teams that play in the World Cup, some of the club teams playing in Nashville are just not known to U.S. fans. 'It's not leagues that they watch. If it was the Premier League or the Bundesliga or something like that, then they'd go, 'Oh, I know players there. Let's go check it out,' Hobson said. There were tickets available to LAFC's match against Esperance Sportive de Tunisie in Nashville on June 20 for $24.45. FIFA President Gianni Infantino has traveled to several host cities to gin up enthusiasm. He has promised 'the world will be welcomed.' But some say the United States isn't exactly rolling out the red carpet for visitors in the current climate. 'I could see trepidation for anyone looking to travel to the U.S. at this current political climate,' said Canadian national team coach Jesse Marsch. 'So it's a sad thing, I think, that we have to talk about visiting the U.S. in this way but I think everybody has to make decisions that are best for them and that fit best with what's going on in their life and their lifestyle.'
Atlantic
3 hours ago
- Atlantic
Paris Can Be Intimidating—But It Has Great Butter
This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. The Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain's account of his international adventures, made him famous—and cemented the stereotype of the Ugly American. One hundred and fifty-eight years later, Caity Weaver followed him to Paris. Caity and I chatted about her hilarious recounting of her trip in The Atlantic, why Paris can feel so intimidating, and the only food she ate there that she actually liked. Isabel Fattal: If you could go back in time and travel to Paris with Mark Twain, would you? Caity Weaver: Could I be assured of a safe return? Isabel: Yes, for imagination's sake. Caity: Absolutely. I would go anywhere with him. One of the things I was struck by when I reread this book before my trip was how unbelievably funny it is. Of course I knew that Mark Twain was 'a humorist,' but there were sections where I was laughing out loud. I think a lot of times when people think of old books, they get an idea in their head of a book that's really stuffy or boring. But this was cracklingly interesting. As a reader, it's rewarding to come across prose like that. As a writer, it's extremely irritating and intimidating. This man was funnier than I'll ever be, and he did it in 1869. Isabel: Do you have a favorite line or passage from the book? Caity: There was a section where he wrote about what he calls 'the Old Travelers'—well-traveled know-it-alls you sometimes encounter abroad: 'They will not let you know anything. They sneer at your most inoffensive suggestions; they laugh unfeelingly at your treasured dreams of foreign lands; they brand the statements of your traveled aunts and uncles as the stupidest absurdities.' Isabel: If you could ask Twain one question about his trip, what would it be? Caity: I would say: 'Sam, Mr. Clemens, did you go to the Louvre? Did you set foot inside the Louvre, really?' I can't prove that he didn't, but I strongly suspect that he didn't. And I feel like he would tell me. Can't kid a kidder. Isabel: You write in your story about the possibility that Twain was ashamed about not understanding the art at the Louvre. Does visiting Paris make a person feel like they need to have a certain level of cultural knowledge? Did you feel intimidated at any point? Caity: I feel like a completely idiotic, disorganized, disheveled crumb bum anywhere, but especially in Paris. It's like walking into a very fancy hotel lobby. Some people are going to be really comfortable there, and some people are going to think, Am I gonna be arrested for walking into this hotel lobby? Paris is so just-so. I find it to be an intimidating place. The combination of not really speaking the language and the city being so beautiful … I felt a little bit on edge there. Isabel: I have one bone to pick with you. I think you were eating wrong in Paris. You didn't eat anything yummy! Caity: I sure didn't. (Well, I had great ramen.) Isabel: What went wrong? Caity: I didn't eat anything I absolutely loved except the butter. I had a crêpe suzette—delicious, and thrilling to have a small fire caused in a restaurant at your behest. I had some croissants. I really was hoping to be able to write, 'Oh my God, I found the best croissant in the world,' and I just don't think I did. But the butter: unbelievably good. I took so many notes for myself trying to describe the color and the taste of the butter. [ Reads through her notes.] I suppose I am an Ugly American, because this is my description of butter: 'creamy; has a scent; smells almost like movie theater butter.' The color was such a rich, deep yellow, almost like how an egg yolk can sometimes tip over into orange. My notes say, 'So fatty and rich.' Next bullet point: 'like if the whole room were made out of pillows.' And then: 'Yes, I realize I am describing a padded cell.' But it was an ultimate richness, softness, like, Just let me roll around in a padded cell. That was how I felt eating this butter. I took dozens of photos in my hotel room trying to capture its exact hue, and failed to. I encountered another group of Americans in my hotel lobby who were trying to figure out a way to transport butter home in their luggage. I involved myself in their conversation, as Americans do: What if the hotel was willing to store it in a freezer, in an insulated lunch bag? We devoted quite a bit of time to solving this problem. Caity: Oh, no, I think they're probably enjoying that butter right now. I wanted to bring a bunch of dried sausage back to the U.S. And then, after I purchased it, I realized that I could get in trouble for flying with it. I ate so much saucisson in my hotel room so fast. I worried such a dense concentration of salt might cause my heart to shut down. I Googled something like: How much dried sausage too much. Here are three Sunday reads from The Atlantic: The Week Ahead Essay A High IQ Makes You an Outsider, Not a Genius By Helen Lewis Who has the highest IQ in history? One answer would be: a 10-year-old girl from Missouri. In 1956, according to lore, she took a version of the Stanford-Binet IQ test and recorded a mental age of 22 years and 10 months, equivalent to an IQ north of 220. (The minimum score needed to get into Mensa is 132 or 148, depending on the test, and the average IQ in the general population is 100.) Her result lay unnoticed for decades, until it turned up in The Guinness Book of World Records, which lauded her as having the highest childhood score ever. Her name, appropriately enough, was Marilyn vos Savant. And she was, by the most common yardstick, a genius. I've been thinking about which people attract the genius label for the past few years, because it's so clearly a political judgment. You can tell what a culture values by who it labels a genius—and also what it is prepared to tolerate. The Renaissance had its great artists. The Romantics lionized androgynous, tubercular poets. Today we are in thrall to tech innovators and brilliant jerks in Silicon Valley. Vos Savant hasn't made any scientific breakthroughs or created a masterpiece. She graduated 178th in her high-school class of 613, according to a 1989 profile in New York magazine. She married at 16, had two children by 19, became a stay-at-home mother, and was divorced in her 20s. She tried to study philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis, but did not graduate. More in Culture Catch Up on The Atlantic When Pete Hegseth's Pentagon tenure started going sideways The travel ban shows that Americans have grown numb. The Trump administration is spending $2 million to figure out whether DEI causes plane crashes. Photo Album Spend time with our photos of the week, which include images of monsoon flooding in India, Dragon Boat Festival races in China, a huge tomato fight in Colombia, and more.
