Latest news with #travelban
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Why US suspend visa processing for dia embassy for Niger Republic
Di United States Embassy for Niamey, Niger Republic, don suspend all visa processing and issuance until further notice. Tori by Reuters say a one internal memo from Washington on July 25 direct di embassy officials to stop all visa process until di US govment finish addressing dia "concerns wit di govment of Niger". Di directive go affect all immigrant and non-immigrant visa categories, but most diplomatic and official visas no go dey affected, according to one tok-tok pesin for US State Department. Dem no give any specific reason for dis move, but di State Department tok-tok pesin say "the Trump Administration dey focused on protecting our nation and our citizens by upholding di highest standards of national security and public safety thru our visa process". Remember say in June dis year President Donald Trump bin don ban 12 kontris, including seven for Africa, from entering di US, and also restrict visa from seven odas. Di African kontris for di list na: Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia and Sudan. While Burundi, Sierra Leone and Togo dey for di partial travel restriction list. Niger Republic no follow for any of dem. However, e clear say di relationship between di two kontris no dey smooth, especially since di military bin take ova power for Niger Republic in July 2023. In April of 2024, di military junta ask di US goment to withdraw dia troops for dia kontri, and by September, Washington say di withdrawal of almost 1000 US soldiers wey bin dey di kontri don dey complete. Sabi pipo say dis move don change di relations between di US and Niger well-well. But apart from dat, President Trump since e come into power for di second time, don put in place very hard policies about immigration. E order a nationwide campaign to arrest migrants who dey stay for di kontri illegally, and im Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operatives don conduct dozens of raids to catch and deport pipo. Even legal immigrants like pipo wit student visas and green card holders still fit chop deport if officials determine say dey support Palestinians or dey criticise Israel for di war in Gaza. Di Trump administration say such actions dey pro-Hamas and na threat to U.S. foreign policy. Last week, tori bin break say about 8000 Cameroon citizens fit chop deportation from di US afta one court bin approve for di Trump administration to remove di Temporary Protected Status wey Cameroonians bin dey enjoy. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio tell tori pipo for May dis year say di number of visas wey im office don revoke dey in di thousands. Also di State Department under Rubio leadership don tight dia social media vetting for pipo wey dey apply for U.S visa. One Nigerian woman carry cry go social media for June dis year afta authorities deport am from di US wen dem go thru her instagram messages.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Drew McIntyre is stuck in the UK, WWE reportedly working to bring him back
Earlier today, Drew McIntyre took to social media to cut a promo amongst cows. Wait, huh? I'll allow him to explain, and it's bad news for WWE right now: 'It's quite the week I've had. You want to know how it's been capped off? I can't get back in America, they wouldn't let me board my flight. … I'm in England still, at my buddy's wedding, and what a wedding it was. Planning to go back, train for SummerSlam but no, no, no, I got blocked. 'Wife and I walked up to the gate, trying to check in, always goes perfectly fine. Not this time. 'Sir, you don't have your U.S. passport. I know who you are. I know you've lived there for a long time. I know you're showing me pictures of your passport and your global entry, and it doesn't matter, I know exactly who you are, your property and the likes. But, no, we can't let you in the country.'' He went on to say his wife went back home to look after their cat before turning it into a kayfabe issue and blaming Jelly Roll, the man he was scheduled to wrestle against at SummerSlam. According to PW Insider, this is a real issue WWE is currently working to resolve and McIntyre is genuinely stuck. We'll see if they can get things figured out in time for one of the biggest shows of the year. More from Not everyone is marking out about Eva Marie's return Mansoor's Raw Debut was classic WWE Is this who caught Lilly's eye? Former WWE champs face off on (checks notes) Main Event Yes, Angel Garza shoved a rose up Drew Gulak's butt on Raw Raw recap & reactions: Flip the switch Flair already added to title match at WrestleMania Backlash EVA MARIE IS BACK
The Guardian
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Saudi Arabia accused of banning women's rights activists from leaving the country
Saudi Arabia is banning large numbers of its own citizens from leaving the country in a 'cruel' attempt to silence criticism, say human rights activists. High-profile women's rights campaigners, including Loujain al-Hathloul, who pushed for the right for women to drive in Saudi Arabia, and Maryam al-Otaibi, one of three sisters targeted by the authorities for their activism, appear to have been given long travel bans. These restrictions frequently extend to family members. The apparent crackdown comes at the same time as the country is encouraging international tourists to visit and its hosting of leading cultural and sporting events, including the 2034 men's Fifa World Cup. 'Saudi Arabia has really been in the spotlight over the imprisonment of political prisoners, including my sister. It was difficult to justify and brought negative PR. It is much easier for them to have travel bans to control people,' said Lina al-Hathloul, an activist and sister of Loujain. '[These travel bans] are a new tactic to not only silence critics, but to make sure the people around them that could be their voice are also silenced. It's a collective punishment on the family,' she added. After being released from prison, many political and women's rights activists are being given long travel bans. These are either publicly announced by a court or revealed when a person tries to leave the country and is barred from doing so by border officials. The human rights organisation ALQST (al-qist means 'justice' in Arabic) has published a list of 20 individuals under what it describes as 'cruel and unlawful' court-imposed travel bans, but says there are likely to be many more subject to unofficial bans. Loujain's prison sentence included a travel ban on release of two years and 10 months, which was due to expire on 12 November 2023. Since then she has remained unable to travel, said ALQST, despite having received no formal notification from the authorities of any new ban, either judicial or administrative. 'They [former prisoners] can be seen in public life, which gives the impression of freedom to the outside world. But the authorities and the former prisoner know very well that they have to live in constant self-censorship, not able to voice their opinions, concerns or prison experiences,' said Lina. In a response to UN requests for information, Saudi officials said that Loujain al-Hathloul and Maryam al-Otaibi were not subject to any restrictions 'other than those set out in the final court judgment handed down to Loujain al-Hathloul, prohibiting her from travelling abroad for the period of time stipulated in the judgment, and in the administrative decision issued by the competent authority prohibiting Maryam al-Otaibi from travelling abroad'.
NHK
22-07-2025
- Business
- NHK
US govt. employee banned from leaving China
The US State Department says an employee of the Patent and Trademark Office who made a personal visit to China has been barred from leaving the country. A State Department spokesperson told NHK on Monday, "We are tracking this case very closely and are engaged with Chinese officials to resolve the situation as quickly as possible." The Patent and Trademark Office is a federal agency under the US Department of Commerce. The Washington Post has reported that the employee is a Chinese American man, who traveled to China several months ago to visit family. The paper said the man is being prevented from leaving China after he failed to disclose on his visa application that he worked for the US government. A female executive of major US bank Wells Fargo has also been blocked from leaving China. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday that the woman "is involved in a criminal case currently being handled by Chinese law-enforcement authorities and is subject to exit restrictions." The spokesperson added that "anyone, Chinese and foreigners alike, should abide by Chinese laws in China." Reuters news agency said Wells Fargo has suspended all employee travel to China in response to the incident.
Bloomberg
21-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
State Department Confirms China Barred US Citizen From Leaving
The US State Department confirmed that a US Patent and Trademark Office employee has been barred from leaving China, and said officials were working to resolve the situation. The department said the employee was 'made subject to an exit ban' while traveling in China 'in a personal capacity.'
