| Visa holders rush to board flights to US amid reprieve Posted: 04 Feb 2017 05:25 PM PST  Visa holders from seven majority-Muslim countries affected by President Donald Trump's travel ban hurried to board U.S.-bound flights Saturday, fearing they might have only a slim window through which ...
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| The Latest: DOJ acts to appeal ruling lifting travel ban Posted: 04 Feb 2017 05:08 PM PST  The Latest on the reaction to a court order blocking U.S. President Donald Trump's ban on travelers and immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries (all times Eastern):
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| Trump lambastes judge who lifts travel ban, vows to fight Posted: 04 Feb 2017 04:25 PM PST  By Yeganeh Torbati and Kinda Makieh WASHINGTON/DAMASCUS (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday denounced a judge who lifted the travel ban he had imposed on citizens of seven mainly Muslim countries, taking an unusual jab at an independent branch of the U.S. government as he vowed to bring back the restrictions. Trump's personal attack on U.S. District Judge James Robart went too far for some who said he was undermining an institution designed to check the power of the White House and Congress. As the ban lifted, refugees and thousands of travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen who had been stopped in their tracks last weekend by Trump's executive order scrambled to get flights to quickly enter the United States.
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| Protestors march across US capital in solidarity with immigrants Posted: 04 Feb 2017 04:16 PM PST  At the Capitol building they held a peaceful rally across the street from the Supreme Court, decrying the president's recent order barring refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. "Donald, Donald can't you see, we don't want you in DC," the diverse crowd chanted. The president's controversial order prohibits entry to all refugees, regardless of nationality, for 120 days, and bars Syrian refugees indefinitely.
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| Thousands protest in US, Europe over Trump travel ban Posted: 04 Feb 2017 04:03 PM PST  From London and Paris to New York and Washington, thousands of people took to the streets Saturday in American and European cities to protest US President Donald Trump's travel ban, even as it was suspended by a federal judge. In an executive order issued on January 27, Trump slapped a blanket ban on nationals of seven mainly Muslim countries -- Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- barring their entry to the United States for 90 days. On the other side of the Atlantic, about 3,000 people demonstrated in New York, Trump's home town where protests against the property magnate-turned-world leader are near-daily.
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| US suspends enforcement of travel ban; Trump bashes judge Posted: 04 Feb 2017 03:50 PM PST  WASHINGTON (AP) — The government on Saturday suspended enforcement of President Donald Trump's refugee and immigration ban and scurried to appeal a judge's order, plunging the new administration into a crisis that has challenged Trump's authority — and ability to fulfill campaign promises.
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| Fly to US immediately, relieved legal volunteers recommend Posted: 04 Feb 2017 03:43 PM PST  Jubilant lawyers at New York's leading airport on Saturday urged visa holders from seven predominantly Muslim countries to fly to the United States immediately while Donald Trump's travel ban remains in tatters. Volunteers manning a crisis-management headquarters behind a diner at John F. Kennedy International Airport breathed a collective sigh of relief on Saturday, delighted that one week after the explosive order came into effect a federal judge in Seattle had suspended it. Renee Paradis, 39, who has a solo practice in New York and worked on Senator Bernie Sanders' failed presidential bid last year, said the sense of happiness contrasted sharply with the gloom of a week earlier over deportations.
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| Trump attacks US judge as travel ban rolled back Posted: 04 Feb 2017 01:43 PM PST  The US government began to roll back Donald Trump's contentious travel ban targeting citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries Saturday, after a stinging legal defeat for the new president. Government agencies and major global airlines said they would recognize valid visas and cease enforcing Trump's order, after a federal judge in Washington state put a block on the measures pending a wider legal review. Thousands of people from London and Paris to New York and Washington staged fresh protests against the Republican leader, who took office just two weeks ago vowing to shake up American politics as usual.
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| Jordan drones hit IS arms depot, barracks in southern Syria Posted: 04 Feb 2017 12:30 PM PST AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Jordan says it has carried out airstrikes against Islamic State targets in southern Syria, hitting an arms depot, a warehouse for making car bombs and barracks used by the extremist group. |
| U.S.-backed Syrian force in new phase of Raqqa assault Posted: 04 Feb 2017 11:30 AM PST  By Rodi Said and Tom Perry RAQQA PROVINCE, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - An alliance of U.S.-backed militias started a new phase of its campaign against the Islamic State-held city of Raqqa on Saturday, aiming to complete its encirclement and sever the road to militant strongholds in Deir al-Zor province. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in a statement the action was being undertaken with "increasing support from the (U.S.-led) international coalition forces" through both air strikes and backing from coalition special forces on the ground. The SDF, which includes the powerful Kurdish YPG militia, launched its multi-phased campaign in November aimed at encircling and ultimately capturing Raqqa.
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| New Pentagon chief an instant hit in Japan, South Korea Posted: 04 Feb 2017 10:49 AM PST  TOKYO (AP) — In his debut abroad as the first retired general to lead the Pentagon in more than half a century, Jim Mattis found that in Japan and South Korea his experience in uniform is seen as an asset.
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| Trump travel ban: airlines allow blocked travellers back on board Posted: 04 Feb 2017 10:33 AM PST Major global airlines including British Airlines, Emirates and Air France began boarding passengers bound for the United States after a court order lifted a travel ban imposed on them a week earlier by US President Donald Trump. A Seattle-based federal judge, James Robart, on Friday issued a nationwide order blocking Trump's ban on nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries, in the most severe legal blow to the president's executive order. |
| Iraqi artist protests Trump ban with graffiti Posted: 04 Feb 2017 09:52 AM PST  BASRA, Iraq (AP) — An Iraqi graffiti artist has taken to the streets of the southern city of Basra to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's ban on visitors from seven Muslim-Majority countries. The ban was blocked Friday by a U.S. federal judge and while Trump denounced the judge and vowed to overturn the ruling, his government has so far complied.
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| Tunisia gets 6 US combat helicopters to fight 'terror' Posted: 04 Feb 2017 09:35 AM PST  Tunisia's armed forces have taken delivery of six US-made military helicopters from a total order of 24 for use in its fight against "terror", the government announced Saturday. Prime Minister Youssef Chahed was present at the southern military base of Gabes for the delivery of the aircraft, said a government statement. In May last year, the US State Department approved the sale of the aircraft to Tunisia at a total cost of $100.8 million, in a contract that includes specialised systems support and training.
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| Royal Jordanian gets U.S. instructions lifting travel ban Posted: 04 Feb 2017 08:46 AM PST Jordanian airline Royal Jordanian received instructions from the U.S. authorities on Saturday allowing travelers from Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Sudan, Somali and Iran to board its flights to the United States if they have the necessary visa. "These instructions are effective as of today and cancel the U.S. presidential decision that restricted the entry to America of these above mentioned nationalities," Royal Jordanian spokesman Basel Kilani told Reuters. |
| Passengers get airline ok after US court stays Trump travel ban Posted: 04 Feb 2017 08:45 AM PST  Several airlines on Saturday gave the green light to passengers wanting to fly to the United States who come from countries hit by President Donald Trump's travel ban after a US court suspended his order. Seattle US District Judge James Robart on Friday blocked Trump's controversial ban on travelers from seven Muslim countries, prompting a furious president to condemn it as a "ridiculous" move which he would overturn. Although some airlines said they were waiting to see how the situation develops, carriers including Air France, Qatar Airways, Lufthansa and Swiss Airways said they would carry nationals of the countries concerned if they have a valid visa.
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| AP FACT CHECK: A week's supply of baloney Posted: 04 Feb 2017 08:37 AM PST  Reality took a beating from the Washington blame game this past week. Americans heard about a Kentucky massacre that never happened, a travel ban that was a ban despite it being called something else, and a dark plot to help Russian intelligence that was nothing of the sort. A look at some of the ways political figures strayed into fiction:
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| Etihad, Qatar Airways to let barred passengers back on U.S. flights Posted: 04 Feb 2017 05:49 AM PST Gulf carriers Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways said on Saturday they will allow passengers barred from the United States by President Donald Trump's executive order to board U.S.-bound flights after a federal judge blocked the move. U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) has advised both airlines they can board travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries and all refugees who had been banned under the order, the airlines said. |
| Emirates, Etihad, Qatar to let barred passengers on U.S. flights Posted: 04 Feb 2017 05:49 AM PST Emirates [EMIRA.UL], Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways said on Saturday they will allow passengers barred by President Donald Trump's executive order to board U.S.-bound flights after a federal judge blocked the move. U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) has advised them they can board travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries and all refugees who had been banned under the order, the airlines said. "Acceptance will naturally be subject to checks completed by U.S. authorities as existed prior to the issuance of the Executive Order on 27 January," an Etihad spokesman told Reuters in emailed comments. |
| Air France reopens U.S. flights to passengers hit by travel ban Posted: 04 Feb 2017 02:23 AM PST Air France said on Saturday it had reopened U.S.-bound flights to passengers affected by President Donald Trump's travel ban on nationals from seven Muslim-majority countries, after the executive order was temporarily suspended by a federal court. "Starting today we are implementing this court decision," Air France spokesman Herve Erschler said. A federal judge in Seattle on Friday suspended Trump's week-old executive order barring their travel. |
| Indonesians, Filipinos protest Trump's immigration policy Posted: 03 Feb 2017 11:02 PM PST  JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian and Filipino students on Saturday protested President Donald Trump's immigration policy outside the U.S. embassies in their capitals.
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| Trump's refugee order triggers protests across Australia Posted: 03 Feb 2017 10:31 PM PST  U.S. ties with Australia became strained on Thursday after details about an acrimonious phone call between Trump and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull emerged and Trump said a deal between the two nations on refugee resettlement was "dumb." About 1,000 people gathered in Sydney to protest against Trump's executive order on immigration and to call on Australia to close its offshore processing centers on the tiny Pacific Island of Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. Under the "dumb deal", the United States would take up to 1,250 asylum seekers held on Nauru and Manus.
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| Trump's White House: Five takeaways from Friday Posted: 03 Feb 2017 10:08 PM PST  With the first two weeks of his presidency behind him, Donald Trump arrived at his luxury Mar-a-Lago Florida estate, dubbed the "Winter White House," where he will spend the weekend. The president's long day included slapping new sanctions on Iran and announcing plans to take an ax to a landmark financial reform bill. A few hours before midnight, the White House issued a pledge to fight a judge's order temporarily halting Trump's controversial traveler ban.
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| Anti-IS Syria force launches new phase in Raqa campaign Posted: 03 Feb 2017 04:04 PM PST  US-backed Kurdish and Arab fighters announced on Saturday a new phase in their campaign for the Islamic State group's Syrian stronghold of Raqa, but said they needed more weapons to win. The Syrian Democratic Forces launched their campaign to capture the city last November and have taken some ground further up the Euphrates Valley but are still some distance away. The SDF "announce the beginning of the third phase to liberate Raqa and its surroundings, which will target the eastern part of the province," spokeswoman Jihan Sheikh Ahmed said.
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