Trump's travel ban on 12 countries goes into effect early Monday
[WASHINGTON] US President Donald Trump's order banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the US goes into effect at 12.01 am ET (0401 GMT) on Monday (Jun 9), a move the president promulgated to protect the country from 'foreign terrorists.'
The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The entry of people from seven other countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – will be partially restricted.
Trump, a Republican, said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbour a 'large-scale presence of terrorists,' fail to cooperate on visa security, have an inability to verify travellers' identities, as well as inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the US.
He cited last Sunday's incident in Boulder, Colorado, in which an Egyptian national tossed a petrol bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators as an example of why the new curbs are needed. But Egypt is not part of the travel ban.
The travel ban forms part of Trump's policy to restrict immigration into the US and is reminiscent of a similar move in his first term when he barred travellers from seven Muslim-majority nations.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign Up
Sign Up
Officials and residents in countries whose citizens will soon be banned expressed dismay and disbelief.
Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said he had instructed his government to stop granting visas to US citizens in response to Trump's action.
'Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of US dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and its pride,' he said in a Facebook post, referring to countries such as Qatar, which gifted the US a luxury airplane for Trump's use and promised to invest billions of US dollars in the US.
Afghans who worked for the US or US-funded projects and were hoping to resettle in the US expressed fear that the travel ban would force them to return to their country, where they could face reprisal from the Taliban.
Democratic US lawmakers also voiced concern about the policies.
'Trump's travel ban on citizens from over 12 countries is draconian and unconstitutional,' said US Representative Ro Khanna on social media late on Thursday. 'People have a right to seek asylum.' REUTERS
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Ukraine rejects claim of Russian forces entering key central region
KYIV – Kyiv's armed forces rejected as 'disinformation' Russia's claim that its ground troops have crossed into Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time, even as prospects for a US-brokered ceasefire remain elusive. Separately, Ukraine and Russia continued testy exchanges over the details of a planned large prisoner swap agreed to during last week's talks in Turkey. The exchange is likely to move ahead in the coming days. Russia's defence ministry said on June 8 that units of its 90th tank regiment had crossed the western administrative border of Donetsk into neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk, in what would be a symbolic milestone in their years-long offensive. In response, Ukraine's southern defence forces said its troops were 'holding their section of the front' while involved in a situation that, while 'tense,' is still contained within the Donetsk region. At issue is the potential advance by Moscow's land forces into one of Ukraine's most populous and industrialised areas. The value of reaching the edge of the region appears mostly symbolic, as Kremlin troops are still more than 140km away from the regional capital of Dnipro, which is also protected by the river of the same name and its system of estuaries. Yet creeping further west could fuel the aggressive posture taken by President Vladimir Putin, who's sticking with maximalist goals in Ukraine while resisting US President Donald Trump's efforts to bring him to the negotiating table. Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, behind Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa, with a pre-war population of about 1 million people. Before the war's start, Dnipropetrovsk was Ukraine's second most populated region after Donetsk, and is the second-largest territory by land mass after the Odesa region. It's home to a major steel industry, coal mining and machine building and is an important logistics hub for the army. A few days ago, Kremlin forces were estimated to be about 2km from the provincial border. The advance takes place at a time Russia has recently seized small amounts of territory in Ukraine's far north-east. It also brings the war onto the soil of two provinces which so far haven't been officially earmarked for annexation by Mr Putin. The Russian leader has demanded that Kyiv surrender all of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces, which Russia illegally annexed in 2022 but doesn't fully control. That's in addition to Crimea, which Kremlin forces illegally annexed in 2014. Russia's slow-going ground war has picked up speed again. Kremlin units in recent days have been advancing closer to the regional capital of Sumy in Ukraine's north-east. Parts of the Sumy region were occupied during Russia's 2022 full-scale invasion, and liberated in a Ukrainian counteroffensive. President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that Russia's renewed focus on the Sumy region was 'not a surprise' for the Ukrainian army, which is doing its best to repel the advance. Sumy's regional governor said on June 8 there was no need for an emergency evacuation of residents, according to the public broadcaster Suspilne. Ukraine's coordination headquarters for the treatment of POWs on June 8 said 'everything is moving according to plan' to move ahead with a major prisoner swap agreed on June 2, which will also include the return of bodies of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers held in Russia. Russia on June 7 suggested Ukraine was to blame for delays in starting the exchange. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Israel reveals tunnel under Gaza hospital, says body of Sinwar's brother found there
Israeli soldiers walk out from a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis at the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing ground operation of the Israeli army against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun Israeli soldiers walk out from a tunnel underneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis at the Gaza Strip, amid the ongoing ground operation of the Israeli army against Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun Israel reveals tunnel under Gaza hospital, says body of Sinwar's brother found there KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza - The Israeli army said on Sunday it had retrieved the body of Hamas' military chief Mohammed Sinwar in an underground tunnel beneath a hospital in southern Gaza, following a targeted operation last month. Another senior Hamas leader, Mohammad Shabana, commander of the Rafah Brigade, was also found dead at the scene along with a number of other militants, who are still being identified, said IDF spokesperson, Brigadier General Effie Defrin. Israeli forces gave a small group of foreign reporters a tour of the tunnel that had been uncovered beneath the European Hospital in Khan Younis, which Defrin said was a major command and control compound for Hamas. "This is another example of the cynical use by Hamas, using civilians as human shields, using civilian infrastructure, hospitals, again and again," said Defrin. "We found underneath the hospital, right under the emergency room, a compound of a few rooms. In one of them we found, we killed Mohammed Sinwar," he said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sinwar's death last month, but Defrin said they now had his DNA which proved beyond doubt it was him. Hamas has not commented on reports of the death of either Sinwar or Shabana. Sinwar was the younger brother of Yahya Sinwar, the Palestinian militant group's deceased leader and mastermind of the October 2023 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people according to Israeli tallies, and which triggered the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Shabana was one of Hamas's most senior and battle-hardened commanders in southern Gaza. He played a central role in constructing the network of tunnels under the southern city of Rafah, which were used for ambushes and cross-border raids. DESTRUCTION The drive to Khan Younis in Israeli military vehicles showed widespread devastation, with countless buildings lying in ruins, and piles of rubble collected at the roadside. The Israeli military has raided or besieged numerous hospitals during the war, alleging that Hamas uses them to conceal fighters and orchestrate operations -- a charge Hamas has repeatedly denied. While Israel has presented evidence in certain cases, some of its assertions remain unverified. Defrin said the army had carefully planned the strike near the European Hospital in order not to damage it. A large trench dug infront of the Emergency Room entrance led down to a hole in the claustrophobic, concrete tunnel, that was used as a hideaway by Hamas fighters, the army said. During the search of the site, Israeli forces recovered weapon stockpiles, ammunition, cash and documents that are now being reviewed for intelligence value. "We will dismantle Hamas because we cannot live with this terror organisation right in our backyard, right across our border," Defrin said. More than 54,000 Palestinians have died during the ongoing Israeli assault, according to Gaza health authorities. The U.N. has warned that most of Gaza's 2.3 million population is at risk of famine. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Ukraine's Zelenskiy vows to press on with prisoner exchanges with Russia
FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a press briefing following phone calls with U.S. President Donald Trump, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine, May 19, 2025. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo Ukraine's Zelenskiy vows to press on with prisoner exchanges with Russia Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy vowed on Sunday to press on with prisoner exchanges with Russia and said any failure by Moscow to uphold humanitarian accords cast doubt over U.S. and other efforts to end the more than three-year-old conflict. Zelenskiy also warned Ukrainians to be attentive to air raid warnings in the aftermath of heavy Russian air attacks. The president was speaking a day after Russian officials accused Ukraine of postponing the latest prisoner swap indefinitely. A Ukrainian official had already rejected the Russian allegation. Speaking in his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said Ukraine had not yet received the full list of prisoners to be released under agreements clinched in talks in Turkey. "The Russian side is therefore, like always, even in these matters, is trying to play some kind of dirty political and information game," Zelenskiy said. "The important thing is to get a result, to ensure that people are brought home. We believe that the exchanges will continue and will do everything for this. "If the Russians do not stand by agreements even in humanitarian matters, it casts great doubt on all international efforts -- including those by the United States in terms of talks and diplomacy." U.S. President Donald Trump has put pressure on both Ukraine and Russia to move towards a resolution on the war. Ukraine has said it backs a U.S. call for a 30-day ceasefire, while Russia says certain conditions must first be met. In concluding his address, Zelenskiy urged Ukrainians to be especially attentive to air raid warnings. "In the coming days we must pay attention to air raid warnings," he said. "Look after yourselves, look after Ukraine." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
