President Trump signs travel ban targeting 12 countries with ‘hostile attitudes’ to the US
President Trump has signed an order banning people from 12 countries from entering the US.
He said Sunday’s attack in Colorado had shown “the extreme dangers” of “foreign nationals who are not properly vetted, as well as those who come as temporary visitors and overstay their visas”.
“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” the president said.
The countries affected are: Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The White House said some had a “significant terrorist presence” and accused others of poor screening for dangerous individuals, as well as not accepting deported citizens.
People from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will face partial restrictions.
Mr Trump’s proclamation said America must ensure people entering don’t have “hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles” – and don’t support terror groups.
Protests took place when Mr Trump announced his first travel ban in 2017. Pic: Reuters
The move echoes a controversial and chaotic order enacted eight years ago during his first term, when he banned people from predominately Muslim countries.
The countries initially targeted then were Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen.
President Trump said on Thursday that policy was a “key part of preventing major foreign terror attacks on American soil”.
His new list notably removes Syria after Mr Trump met the country’s leader recently on a trip to the Middle East.
Athletes competing in the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics will also be exempt, as will others such as permanent US residents and Afghans with special immigrant visas.
The list was put together after the president asked homeland security officials and the director of national intelligence to compile a report on countries whose citizens could pose a threat.
The ban takes effect from 9 June – but countries could be removed or added.
The proclamation states it will be reviewed within 90 days, and every 180 days after, to decide if it should be “continued, terminated, modified, or supplemented”.
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President Trump’s first travel restrictions in 2017 were criticised by opponents and human rights groups as a “Muslim ban”.
It led to some chaotic scenes, including tourists, students and business travellers prevented from boarding planes – or held at US airports when they landed.
Mr Trump denied it was Islamophobic despite calling for a ban on Muslims entering America in his first presidential campaign.
It faced legal challenges and was modified until the Supreme Court upheld a third version in June 2018, calling it “squarely within the scope of presidential authority”.
World
Suspects arrested over Louvre heist ‘partially admit involvement’ – as officials address inside job theory
The two suspects arrested over the Louvre jewellery heist have “partially” confessed to their involvement in the robbery, according to a prosecutor.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau revealed the development at a news conference on Wednesday.
Four thieves stole nine items – one of which was dropped and recovered at the scene – in a heist pulled off while the world-famous Paris museum was open to visitors on 19 October.
It took the thieves less than eight minutes to steal the jewels. They forced open a window and cut into cases with power tools after gaining access via a vehicle-mounted mechanical lift.
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Suspects in Louvre robbery ‘partially confessed’
Ms Beccuau also said the jewels had not yet been recovered.
“These jewels are now, of course, unsellable,” said Ms Beccuau. “Anyone who buys them would be guilty of concealment of stolen goods. It’s still time to give them back.”
‘No evidence’
Ms Beccuau also addressed reports that police believe the robbery could have been an inside job.
She said that there was “no evidence the thieves benefited from inside help”.
Under French rules for organised theft, custody can run up to 96 hours. That limit is due to expire late on Wednesday, and prosecutors must charge the suspects, release them or seek a judge’s extension.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau speaks during a press conference about the investigation into the Louvre robbery. Pic: Reuters
One suspect is a 34-year-old Algerian national who has been living in France since 2010, Ms Beccuau said. He was arrested Saturday night at Charles de Gaulle airport as he was about to fly to Algeria with no return ticket.
Ms Beccuau said that he was living in the Paris suburb of Aubervilliers, and was known to police mostly for road traffic offences.
The other suspect, 39, was arrested Saturday night at his home in Aubervilliers.
“There is no evidence to suggest that he was about to leave the country,” said Ms Beccuau.
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Louvre jewels ‘have not returned’
The man was known to police for several thefts, and his DNA was found on one of the glass cases where the jewels were displayed, and on items the thieves left behind, she added.
Earlier, French police acknowledged major gaps in the Louvre’s defences.
Paris police chief Patrice Faure told politicians that ageing security systems had left weak spots.
“A technological step has not been taken,” he said.
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Mr Faure also revealed that the Louvre’s authorisation to operate its security cameras quietly expired in July and had not been renewed.
He said the first alert to police came not from the Louvre’s alarms, but from a cyclist outside who dialled the emergency line after seeing helmeted men with a basket lift.
Members of a forensic team inspect a window believed to have been used by the culprits. Pic: Reuters
Mr Faure also rejected calls for a permanent police post inside the museum, warning it would set an unworkable precedent and do little against fast and mobile thieves.
“I am firmly opposed,” he said. “The issue is not a guard at a door; it is speeding the chain of alert.”
World
Israel carries out fresh strike on Gaza and accuses Hamas of preparing ‘imminent terror attack’
The Israeli military says it has carried out a fresh strike on Gaza, in a move that will further raise concerns about the fragility of its ceasefire with Hamas.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it conducted the strike on what it called “terrorist infrastructure” in the area of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.
It said the site was being used to store weapons that it claimed were “intended to be used for the execution of an imminent terror attack against IDF soldiers”.
“IDF soldiers in the southern command remain deployed in accordance with the ceasefire agreement and will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat,” a spokesperson said.
People living in Gaza City said they heard an explosion in Gaza and saw a column of smoke.
Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered earlier strikes after claiming troops had come under fire. Pic: Reuters
It comes after hospital officials said at least 104 people, including 46 children, had been killed overnight in Gaza after Israel launched new strikes.
Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after an Israeli official reported that troops had come under fire in southern Gaza.
Israel claimed a soldier was killed on Tuesday afternoon by “enemy fire” in the southern city of Rafah.
Read more:
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Israel says one of its soldiers killed in Gaza
The decision also followed Hamas’s handover on Monday of body parts that Israel said belonged to a hostage whose remains were partly recovered earlier in the conflict.
Hamas has denied any role in the Rafah shooting and reaffirmed its commitment to the ceasefire.
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The recent ‘ferocious’ attacks are the deadliest strikes since the ceasefire agreement took hold earlier this month.
‘Nothing is going to jeopardise the ceasefire’
US President Donald Trump had said the ceasefire was not at risk, telling reporters: “As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier.”
He added: “So the Israelis hit back and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back. Nothing is going to jeopardise [the ceasefire].
“You have to understand Hamas is a very small part of peace in the Middle East, and they have to behave.”
Following the latest strikes, the Israeli military said it would continue to uphold the ceasefire agreement. It added that it would respond firmly to “any violation”.
Donald Trump said the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was not at risk. Pic: Reuters
‘Very disappointing and frustrating’
Qatar’s Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, said on Wednesday that the attack on the Israeli soldier and the following airstrikes had been “very disappointing and frustrating for us”.
Qatar had been leading peace efforts in Gaza, along with the US and Egypt.
At the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, al-Thani said Hamas militants had been clear they were prepared to give up governance of the enclave, which they have run since 2007.
He added that Qatar had been pushing them to acknowledge that they need to disarm.
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