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CNN
15 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Trump's travel ban allows athletes from affected nations into US for the World Cup and Olympics. Fans may be stuck at home
President Donald Trump's latest travel limitations may keep fans from the 19 named nations from seeing their athletes compete in some of the globe's most important sporting events in the next several years, even if the on-field competition won't be affected. The president's proclamation does not appear to have a major immediate impact on planning for the World Cup, 2028 Summer Olympics or other major international sporting events scheduled for his second term in office as athletes, coaches, support staff and immediate family members will still be able to enter the country. But fans from those nations now face an even more uphill battle to see games in person, despite members of the Trump administration encouraging the world to come to the US for these global events. Trump's travel ban fully restricts travel from Afghanistan; Myanmar, also known as Burma; Chad; Republic of the Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Haiti; Iran; Libya; Somalia; Sudan; and Yemen. There are partial restrictions for Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. But there are exceptions carved out in the proclamation, including for athletes, coaches, important staffers and immediate family for athletes traveling to the US for the World Cup, Olympics and 'other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.' The proclamation also states that people who have existing visas to be in the United States will not have their visas revoked as a part of the travel ban. That means the Iranian national team – which has already qualified for the 2026 World Cup – will be able to play in the tournament, as would Sierre Leone, Sudan, Libya, Burundi, Venezuela, Cuba and Haiti should those teams qualify. Those nations are still in the fight for qualification for the World Cup as the tournament field becomes clearer. The Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Chad, Togo and Somalia all appear to be longshots for World Cup qualification and Afghanistan, Laos, Myanmar, Yemen and Turkmenistan have already been eliminated. While the teams, their staffs and their immediate family would be able to travel to the US for the tournament, the travel ban would likely keep most of their fans from coming into the country for any games. With the tournament being hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada, fans from the affected nations may be able to still travel to cheer on their teams in the tournament should they be scheduled in either Mexico or Canada. With qualification still ongoing, those fans won't know if that will happen for quite some time – qualification for the tournament doesn't wrap up until later this year and the drawing of teams into groups won't happen until that is done. The US visa process for fans of the affected nations is already arduous and, even without a ban in place, the approvals would take time. There are already concerns over how long approvals for visas into the US may take for fans hoping to see World Cup action. There are 42 countries that are a part of the US visa waiver program, meaning their citizens are allowed to stay in the country for up to 90 days for tourism or business without a formal visa. Some of the countries that are most synonymous with the men's World Cup – defending champion Argentina, five-time winner Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and even tournament co-host Mexico – are not a part of that program. While the Trump administration has promised to speed up visa approvals for fans looking to cheer on their teams, the lengthy review process for nations that are not in the visa waiver program might have kept fans from the 19 nations affected by the proclamation from coming to the US anyway. When asked specifically about whether fans from Iran and other affected nations would be given exemption from the travel ban for the World Cup, State Department principal deputy spokesman Thomas Pigott demurred. 'Both people that are coming and Americans would hope that we can have confidence that when people come to United States, when they come, that they are properly vetted,' Pigott told reporters on Thursday. 'I think this goes to the exact same consideration. I think this is part of what it means to host an event of this magnitude, to make sure that we can have that confidence. And again, we're in constant communication with countries about ways that we can see the vetting process we need to see, have that collaboration, make sure that we're having those security concerns addressed.' In a response to CNN Sports' question Friday on whether fans should expect to not be able to come to the US for the World Cup or Olympics, a State Department spokesperson said, 'We are implementing the President's directive to secure U.S. borders and protect American communities and citizens. We are not going to get into hypotheticals or specific cases about application of the Proclamation.' Athletes already in the US, such as the many Venezuelans and Cubans who play in Major League Baseball, are exempted from the travel ban. When asked about these athletes, the White House pointed toward the section of the proclamation that states 'no immigrant or nonimmigrant visa issued before the applicable effective date of this proclamation shall be revoked pursuant to this proclamation.' Many foreign athletes who play in the United States do so under the P-1A visa and those are valid for five years. There are still some unanswered questions about the travel ban and its effect on international sporting events held in the US. While the World Cup and Olympics are specifically spelled out in the proclamation, other tournaments – like soccer's Gold Cup or track and field meets – are not. CNN has reached out to the State Department for additional information on how the secretary of State would determine what constitutes a major sporting event and what the timeline for that decision would look like. The Trump administration has made it clear that it wants foreign visitors to come to the US for the World Cup and Olympics, but immigration concerns remain top of mind, as evidenced by a comment Vice President JD Vance made last month during the first meeting of the White House's World Cup task force. 'I know we'll have visitors, probably from close to 100 countries,' said Vance. '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.' Noem's department includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which is responsible for deportations out of the US. Organizers of LA 2028 said at a news conference on Thursday that they were confident the travel ban will not affect the Summer Olympics and appreciated the federal government for recognizing the Games' importance. 'It was very clear in the directive that the Olympics require special consideration and I actually want to thank the federal government for recognizing that,' LA28 Chairman and President Casey Wasserman said, according to the Associated Press. 'It's very clear that the federal government understands that that's an environment that they will be accommodating and provide for,' he said. 'We have great confidence that that will only continue. It has been the case to date and it will certainly be the case going forward through the games.' The US Travel Association said in a statement that, while the proportion of annual foreign visitors affected by the ban is just 0.5%, the major global events taking place in the US over the next few years represent an opportunity to attract new visitors to the US. 'The travel industry supports policies that make the United States both secure and welcoming. In some instances, this is a challenging balance to achieve, and we respect the administration's efforts,' the association told CNN Sports in a statement.
CBC
23-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Teachers' rep feeling ‘positive' about minister's potential pivot on funding
New Brunswick Teachers' Association president Peter Lagacy is encouraged the minister of education is talking about reversing a budget decision that led to cuts among educational support staff.
CBC
23-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Teachers' rep encouraged by minister's potential pivot on budget decision
The president of the New Brunswick Teachers' Association says he's feeling "positive" about the potential reversal of budget decisions that led to cuts of some educational support staff. Peter Lagacy said recent comments by Education Minister Claire Johnson suggest she's been listening to how recent budget decisions could negatively affect the school system. "She certainly seems to be willing to take all information and perhaps go back and readjust them and help look at things," Lagacy said at a news conference Friday. His comments come amid a swirl of controversy about how the Department of Education is funding the province's seven school districts, which are in charge of school operations like hiring teachers and support staff. While the department upped the districts' funding by $200 million this fiscal year, directives on how to spend large chunks of the money left the districts with less than they said they needed. That forced districts to cut dozens of support roles, including school library workers and staff who help children with behavioural problems. The department also wants to see districts redirect 150 teachers out of administrative roles and back into classrooms — a request that some districts have balked at. In response to the uproar by the districts, Johnson said Thursday her department was looking at potentially redirecting funds and stretching out some short-term targets over a longer timeline. "It's all on the table, and we're in discussions right now. We're working with the districts," she said at the time. Recruitment, retention top issue, Lagacy says Even if the department were to change tack on recent controversial funding decisions, the NBTA wants to see a strategy by the province specifically aimed at improving the recruitment and retention of teachers, Lagacy said. "I think we've asked for a strategy ... from central government for the past while and I think, you know, that strategy needs to be front and centre of anything moving forward," he said. Lagacy said the department budgeted $4 million this year specifically for recruitment and retention, however, he said it's unclear exactly what the plan is for that money. "They set in the budget $4 million, but money alone isn't enough. So we need the action behind that and the strategy." Lagacy said those issues could be improved through better "flexibility" in teachers' work days, by giving them time dedicated to meeting parents, and having professional development sessions. "And so, just being able to do your job well takes time and can certainly go a long way in retaining someone." Lagacy said he'd be in favour of the province piloting an altered school calendar next year that would see two days per month carved out for non-teaching activities. "I think if there are communities and schools and parents who are supportive of that plan, I don't see why we wouldn't want that going forward." CBC News was not granted an interview with Johnson, but was provided a statement by email. In it, she said her department is working with the NBTA on a retention and recruitment strategy for qualified teachers and other education professionals.
BBC News
23-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Teaching support for Barnsley SEND pupils gets £600k boost
An extra £600,000 a year is to be spent by a council on employing more staff to work with pupils who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), including those with visual and hearing to a report to Barnsley Council's cabinet, a hearing support team of three specialist teachers and one support worker currently helped a total of 222 the vision support team consisted of three teachers and one support worker helping 137 children, including 23 who were report said the new funding would pay for more specialist staff for those children, and would also pay for extra staff to support SEND children at risk of exclusion from school. Specialist teachers and support workers already help children in mainstream schools, but there has been an increase in SEND pupils and some have complex report stated there had been a "steady growth" in the number of children requiring British Sign Language, and those children had "the highest level of complexity"."There may not be a high number of children with these needs, but they do require highly specialist support," it said."If support was not made available locally, more children may be required to attend specialist provision out of the borough." 'Additional curriculum' According to the report to go before Barnsley Council's cabinet later this month: "All these children require specialist support.""Children with high needs who are in a mainstream setting require access to an additional curriculum, for example touch typing, visual stimulation and Braille," it said."For children who require support to enhance their independence, including independent travel and living skills, the caseload is currently 91 children, with one specialist and no support workers."Fifteen of those children are cane or pre-cane users, and 16 require the highest packages of support."The report said that four new hearing and vision support workers would be employed by the authority at an annual cost of £173, addition to that, £426,322 would be spent on employing 11 SEND teachers and support workers would help SEND children who were at risk of being excluded from school, the report two specialist teachers had a caseload of more than 200 council said keeping children in mainstream schools benefited them, but it was also cheaper as the average cost of a special school place was £70, Council's cabinet is expected to discuss the report's findings at a meeting on 28 May. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
RNZ News
15-05-2025
- Politics
- RNZ News
School support staff protest outside Erica Stanford's Auckland office for more pay
School staff gathering outside Education Minster Erica Stanford's office in Browns Bay. Photo: RNZ/ Victor Waters Dozens of people are gathered outside the electorate office of Erica Stanford in northern Auckland this morning. The group are protesting recent pay equity changes and calling for increased pay for school support staff ahead of the budget next week. They were organised by the New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) union and plan to hand an open letter to Stanford. NZEI has told RNZ it is negotiating collective agreements with the Ministry of Education which has offered zero-percent pay increases. School staff gathering outside Education Minster Erica Stanford's office in Browns Bay, Auckland. Photo: RNZ/Victor Waters Jan Monds, a teacher aide at Knighton Normal School in Hamilton, joined the protest and said support staff felt undervalued. "I'd love Minister Stanford to come in and hoist, toilet, tube feed a child, and deal with medically fragile children, deal with those that are in Year 6 and are struggling to read and write," she said. "I think she may get a better sense of what we do." Monds said support staff needed more funding to meet tamariki's needs. The recent pay equity changes were a kick in the stomach, she said. "It's just another means by which the government have let us know that they really don't value us nor the work we do," Monds said. Stanford has been approached for comment.
