Newsmakers 5/23/2025: Reporters' roundtable
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — This week on Newsmakers: Tim White and Ted Nesi are joined by Target 12's Eli Sherman and Alexandra Leslie to break down the week in the news, including flag and budget controversies at Providence City Hall, the U.S. House reconciliation bill, next year's World Cup and more.
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Yahoo
13 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump hits 10 African countries with travel ban and restrictions
Africa is the continent worst affected by the travel ban announced by US President Donald Trump, with seven of the 12 countries on the list, which comes into effect on Monday. The order prohibits people from Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia and Sudan - as well as Afghanistan, Myanmar, Haiti, Iran and Yemen - from entering the US. In addition, there will be travel restrictions on people from Burundi, Sierra Leone, Togo, Cuba, Laos, Turkmenistan and Venezuela - they will no longer be able to travel to the US on certain visas. "We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm," Trump said in a video posted on X. The US president said the list could be revised if "material improvements" were made and additional countries could also be added as "threats emerge around the world". The White House said these "common-sense restrictions" would "protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors". Live updates: Trump signs ban on travel to US by nationals from 12 countries What we know about Trump's latest travel ban In a video posted to his Truth Social website, Trump said the recent alleged terror attack in Boulder, Colorado "underscored the extreme dangers" posed by foreign nationals who had not been "properly vetted". However, the suspect in that attack is an Egyptian national and Egypt is not one of the affected countries. According to the White House explanation of the travel ban, countries such as Libya, Somalia and Sudan lack competent authorities which can issue passports or civil documents and conduct "appropriate screening measures". All are currently embroiled in civil wars. In addition, the White House said: "A persistent terrorist threat also emanates from Somalia's territory" and there was a "historical terrorist presence within Libya's territory". The other countries affected had high rates of people overstaying their visas, ranging from 15% in Togo to 70% for some types of visa for nationals of Equatorial Guinea. Somalia immediately pledged to work with the US to address any security issues. In a statement, Somali ambassador to the US, Dahir Hassan Abdi, said his country "values its longstanding relationship" with America. The ban takes effect on 9 June, a cushion that avoids the chaos that unfolded at airports nationwide when a similar measure took effect with virtually no notice eight years ago. Visas issued before that date will not be revoked, the order said. Dual nationals and athletes in major sporting events such as the 2026 men's football World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles will not be affected. The travel ban fulfils a promise Trump made during his 2024 election campaign and is likely to draw swift legal challenges. He signed a similar order in 2017, during his first term in office. It featured some of the same countries as his latest order, including Libya, Somalia and Iran. Critics called that a "Muslim ban" as the seven countries initially listed were Muslim majority. The White House revised the policy, ultimately adding two non-Muslim majority countries, North Korea and Venezuela. This was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. President Joe Biden, who succeeded Trump, repealed the ban in 2021, calling it "a stain on our national conscience". Is there a genocide of white South Africans as Trump claims? Unpacking the South African land law that so inflames Trump Trump's tariffs could be death knell for US-Africa trade pact How jeans and diamonds pushed Lesotho to the top of Trump's tariffs list Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Focus on Africa This Is Africa
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Iranians' World Cup dream crushed by US travel ban
A year out from kick-off, Iranian football fans are watching their World Cup dream slip away after a US travel ban barred them from entering the land of "Great Satan" to cheer on their team. The 2026 tournament will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, but most matches, including the final, are scheduled to be played on American soil. Many in Iran had clung to hopes of cheering from the stands until Wednesday when US President Donald Trump rolled out a new travel ban on 12 countries including Iran, which will take effect from Monday. "My friends and I have been waiting for years to watch Team Melli (a nickname for the national team) play in a World Cup on US soil, and when they qualified, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Sohrab Naderi, a real estate agent in Tehran, told AFP. "Now with the new travel ban, that dream is shattered because of politics that we don't care about and have no control over," said the 46-year-old who attended the 2022 World Cup in Qatar which saw the US side defeat Iran 1-0 in the group stage. The prospect of Iran competing in a US-hosted tournament comes against the backdrop of a decades-long enmity, with diplomatic ties broken since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The two sides are currently engaged in high-stakes talks over Iran's nuclear programme, with the United States threatening military action if no deal can be reached. - 'Degrading to all Iranians' - Trump said the new travel ban was prompted by a makeshift flamethrower attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado that US authorities blamed on a man they said was in the country illegally. The ban will not apply to athletes competing in either the 2026 World Cup or the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the order said. Nonetheless, supporters who had dreamed of crossing the Atlantic to cheer on their team will no longer be able to make the trip. "Every Iranian has the right to support their team, just as much as any other country, whether the game is in America or in any other country," said Hasti Teymourpour, a 16-year-old football fan. Since his return to office in January, Trump has reinstated his "maximum pressure" policy of sanctions against Iran and vowed that "something bad" would happen unless the Iranians "move quickly" towards a nuclear deal. Naderi, who called the ban "inhumane" and "degrading to all Iranians", still hopes the Iran-US nuclear talks will yield a deal that might persuade Trump to reconsider. The outcome of the US-Iran talks that began in April remains unclear, and many fans worry that even if they result in a deal, it may be too late for them. Some Iranians have refused to give up hope, however, seeing in the World Cup an opportunity to thaw relations. "Sports diplomacy can act as a strong catalyst and bring the efforts of political diplomats to fruition sooner," said political commentator Mohammad Reza Manafi. It could be "a great opportunity to help advance diplomacy between the two countries". - Friendly? - In a memorable 1998 World Cup clash, Iranian players handed flowers to their American adversaries and posed together for photos -- a rare public gesture of goodwill between the nations. Iran won 2–1, a victory celebrated in Tehran as a source of both sporting and political pride. With the 2026 draw expected in December, it remains unclear whether Iran and the United States will face off again, but anticipation is building. "The two countries are not hostile to each other, this political discussion is for the governments," said 44-year-old day labourer Siamak Kalantari. Another fan, Mahdieh Olfati, said: "If we face the US again, we'll definitely win." "Ours are real players," the 18-year-old added. Manafi, the commentator, said a friendly before the tournament, possibly hosted by a third country, could help ease tensions. Such a game, he said, could help "achieve what politicians from both sides have not managed to do for years". pdm/mz/ser
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Brazen murders threaten Mexico City's image as pocket of safety in violent nation
By Rafael Escalera Montoto MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -On a Tuesday morning along a busy Mexico City avenue last month, a secretary to the city's mayor pulled her black Audi SUV up to a metro station to pick up a colleague. Their killer was waiting for them. The assassin shot the political staffers at point-blank range through the windshield, and then through the driver's window, before breaking into a sprint and disappearing into the city's morning bustle, CCTV video of the attack seen by Reuters shows. The murders of Ximena Guzman, a secretary to Mexico City Mayor Clara Brugada, and Jose Munoz, the mayor's adviser, immediately sent shockwaves through Mexico City's political and business elite. Not only was this kind of targeted political violence unusual in Mexico City, many of them believed the murders were a clear message to Brugada from organized crime groups to give them free rein. With around 30,000 homicides a year, Mexico has one of the highest murder rates in the world behind Myanmar, Honduras, and Jamaica according to a 2023 report by the UN. But the violence is almost entirely in areas outside the capital: all but one of the 37 candidates for local and federal office killed in the run-up to national elections last year were outside Mexico City. Experts have pointed to powerful drug cartels as the perpetrators. Reuters spoke to five business people who referred to the murders as shocking and terrifying, but declined to be named for fear of putting themselves at risk. One bank executive said he already uses an armored vehicle and didn't expect to boost security measures further. Not since the dramatic assassination attempt in 2020 of Mexico City police chief Omar Garcia Harfuch -- now Mexico's Security Minister -- has the capital seen what at least two experts said is a blatant effort to intimidate its political leaders. The killings have, at least momentarily, pierced the city's reputation as a safe haven from the country's widespread political violence. There is much at stake for the capital. Mexico City is the country's beating heart: a business, political and tourist hub vital to both the functioning of Latin America's second largest economy and its global image. Any sense the city is no longer safe could deal a devastating blow to its image, especially as Mexico co-hosts the 2026 soccer World Cup alongside Canada and the United States. The Mexico City attorney general's office has not released findings from its ongoing investigation into the crime or identified a suspect. But three security analysts told Reuters the public nature of the attack and its high-profile targets point to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most powerful criminal groups in Mexico and labeled by the U.S. as a terrorist organization. The killings showed signs of meticulous preparation, said David Saucedo, a security expert in Mexico City who advises state governments and companies on security issues. He noted they occurred during President Claudia Sheinbaum's morning press conference, where she touted arrests and the confiscation of weapons from criminal groups across several states. "They did it with the objective of dismantling Claudia Sheinbaum's narrative," Saucedo said. "If you want to make a big media splash, you do it in the capital." Mexico City's government and the presidency did not respond to requests for comment. After the killings, Brugada promised the crime would not go unpunished and that her government would continue its fight against violent crime. Mexico City police said the case is being investigated with "the same rigor that every homicide in the city is investigated with." TOURIST HOTSPOT Mexico City in recent years has become a tourist hotspot, with over a million tourists landing at the capital's airport between January and March this year, following only Cancun as the country's airport with the heaviest traffic. Safety has been vital to the city's renaissance as an attractive destination for business and tourism. Between 2019 and 2023, when Sheinbaum was the city's mayor, homicides in the city plummeted by roughly half, according to federal government data - a record she campaigned on in her successful bid the for the presidency. Still, the presence of drug cartels in Mexico City remains beneath the surface. Business owners say it is common for organized crime groups to force nightclubs to allow them to sell drugs in their bathrooms, while some restaurants are told to make extortion payments to operate. Some of the city's wealthier residents have been taking more precautions in recent months, said Fernando Ortega, from Blindaje Diamante, an armored car shop in Mexico City, noting a rise in sales of armored cars this year. "There is a market that might not have the budget for a full armoring, but wants to feel protected," Ortega said. Security analysts say Brugada now faces a dilemma - she cannot let the crime go unpunished but a hardline response risks retaliatory attacks in the city from criminal groups. That mirrors the broader security challenge in the country, especially as U.S. President Donald Trump demands a stronger response to organized crime in Mexico. "Mexico is stuck between a rock and a hard place," said David Shirk, a professor at the University of San Diego, who studies security issues in Mexico.
