President Trump bans people from some countries from travelling to USA
US President Donald Trump has signed a ban on travel to the United States for citizens from twelve mostly African and Asian countries.Entry by people from seven other countries will be restricted in part.President Trump says the ban, which comes into effect next week, would keep America safer.However, human rights groups have criticised his plans, calling them "cruel," and some experts say it is likely to be challenged in US courts.This is the second time President Trump he has ordered a ban on travel from certain countries - he signed a similar order in 2017, during his first term in office.
What has Donald Trump announced?
From 9 June, citizens from 12 countries will be blocked from travelling to the US.Those countries are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen. Nationals from another seven countries - Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela - will face a partial ban.However, there are a few situations when the new rules won't apply.These include some dual citizens - people who are citizens of two countries at the same time - as well as for athletes travelling to America to compete in events.Several major sporting tournaments are due to be held in the US over the next few years including the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.The order also says the American government may grant exemptions on a "case-by-case" basis.The White House said these were "common sense restrictions" which would "protect Americans" and help keep the country safer.The US president made immigration a big issue in last year's election campaign.
What has the reaction been to the ban?
Sone people and organisations have criticised President Trump's plan and it is expected to be challenged in court.Politicians from President Trump's rival Democratic Party in the US said the ban "betrayed" the ideals of the USA's founders and warned it would "only further isolate" America on the world stage.Human rights groups have also spoken out against the ban.Amnesty International USA described it as "discriminatory, racist, and downright cruel." There has also been reaction from some of the countries named in President Trump's list.Somalia promised to work with the United States to address any security issues.Venezuela's Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello warned that "being in the United States is a great risk for anyone, not just for Venezuelans."
Has this happened before?
President Trump ordered a similar travel ban during his first term in the White House in 2017.It featured some of the same countries as his latest order, including Iran, Libya and Somalia.Thousands gathered at airports around the US to protest against the ban, including lawyers who offered their services for free to help those affected.In 2021, when Joe Biden became US President after Donald Trump, he scrapped the travel ban.
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In Uji, Japan's historic matcha capital, demand for premium green tea is outpacing supply. As tourists scramble for tins, locals fear that tradition may be getting diluted. 10:00 is an important time in Uji, Japan. It's when the matcha shops open. The town is just a half hour train ride from Kyoto and is world-renowned for matcha, the pulverised green tea traditionally frothed with hot water. Just before the hour, I stroll off the subway and head straight to nearby Nakamura Tokichi Honten; once the supplier of tea to the emperor and now arguably the most prestigious matcha purveyor in Japan. I've heard securing a table at their cafe can be difficult, so I grow nervous as two girls scamper ahead of me. The cafe hasn't officially opened yet, so I grab a numbered ticket to reserve a spot. Somehow there are already 35 people ahead of me in line. While I wait, I stroll through the shop and browse the many matcha products lining the shelves – ice creams, confections, even matcha-infused noodles. But I'm looking for some of the actual stuff: matcha powder. I notice a lady with a basket full of green tins, and a commotion breaks out in the corner. A diminutive Japanese store worker tries to restock a shelf, but she barely places a tin down before it is eagerly snatched up in the throng of tourists. She is swarmed on all sides by grabby arms, and some people even reach directly into her basket to snag canisters of the precious powder. She yells out in Japanese, but her message is lost on the foreign ears surrounding her. Realising these are the few matcha tins left in the shop, I reach into the crowd to wrap my fingers around a white canister. Someone grabs my hand, then grunts and lets go. A second later, a tall woman with an American accent yells out, "It's gone. All the matcha's gone." My guess is that it's not past 10:05. 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Rich with antioxidants and with a more tempered caffeine boost, matcha has seen skyrocketing demand around the world. Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries reports that 4,176 tons of matcha were produced in 2023, a threefold increase since 2010. Ballooning in parallel is Japan's tourism industry: 2024 saw nearly 37 million tourists, a record high. Market reports show that the beverage's popularity is largely attributed to its health benefits, and the grinch-green drinks and desserts also play well on social media. There's no singular grading system for matcha, but many shops will broadly categorise their powders as ceremonial, premium or culinary. Ceremonial matchas are typically made from the newest leaves of the season and are valued for their rich, almost umami flavour, with no bitterness. On the other end of the matcha-tasting spectrum is culinary matcha, which tends to be coarser and has a slight bitter taste – better suited for saccharine confections. Falling in between the two are premium or daily use grades, which are versatile in use. Tomomi Hisaki, general manager at the Tsujirihei flagship store, says that international visitors have a particular proclivity for top-grade ceremonial matchas and often buy stashes in bulk. But she says supply cannot keep up with demand. "High-grade Uji matcha is not something that can be mass-produced in the first place," she says. For one, tea leaves destined for ceremonial matcha are grown in the shade, as the darkness produces a richer, more umami and astringent flavour. "However, if you cover it, it will not be able to photosynthesize, so it will not grow, and the harvest will be small," she says. Another bottleneck in production, Hisaki explains, is the traditional stone mills. These mills produce a particularly fine powder, but each mill can only yield about 400g of tea after eight hours – enough for 13 tins. 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What could one possibly do with so much of the finest quality tea? I don't know that man, but I suspect he wasn't buying the matcha for tea ceremonies. I suspect that like me, he and the folks back home enjoy diluting the beverage with milk and sugar in the form of a matcha latte, maybe even baking a batch of cookies. I also suspect that most folks, like me, don't have a refined enough palate to distinguish between the top tiers of matcha. Plus, the grassy green product loses its freshness after sitting in a pantry for months. Yet I see that when we're hundreds of miles from home and the opportunity arises, it can be all too tempting to drop our polite inhibitions and allow greed to overtake our graces. How many tins would I have taken, given the opportunity? "I think it's wonderful that the matcha of Japan is spreading," says Hisaki, "I would like more people to enjoy it for health, tea ceremonies and cultural inheritance." But she urges visitors not to hoard supplies for resale. 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