US President Donald Trump signed a proclamation banning citizens of a dozen countries from travelling to the US.
US President Donald Trump has signed a ban on travel to the US from 12 countries in a bid to “protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors”.
The ban will come into place from June 09.
The 12 countries are set to be banned from travelling to the US are : Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
Another seven countries have come under a partial ban: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
In a video message, Trump cited the recent attack in Colorado as an example of foreign nationals entering the US without being “properly vetted”. The alleged attacker was an Egyptian national – but Egypt has been left out of the ban.
The travel ban has been met with dismay in the targeted countries. Venezuela has described the Trump administration as “supremacists who think they own the world”, while Somalia has pledged to “engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised”.
Despite its sweeping nature, the travel ban contains exemptions to some, such as immigrants who are “ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran” and athletes travelling for major sporting events.
In addition, Trump has also signed an executive order to restrict foreign student visas at Harvard University, and ordered an inquiry into what he says was a “conspiracy” to cover up former President Joe Biden’s cognitive health decline.
(BBC News)
