US PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday banning the citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States, saying the move was needed to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats.

The directive is part of an immigration crackdown Mr. Trump launched this year at the start of his second term, which has also included the deportation to El Salvador of hundreds of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members, as well as efforts to deny enrollments of some foreign students and deport others.

The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The entry of people from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela, will be partially restricted.

“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” Mr. Trump said in a video posted on X. He said the list could be revised and new countries could be added.

The proclamation is effective on June 9, 2025 at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT). Visas issued before that date will not be revoked, the order said.

During his first term in office, Mr. Trump announced a ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.

Former President Joseph R. Biden, a Democrat who succeeded Mr. Trump, repealed that ban on nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen in 2021, calling it “a stain on our national conscience.”

Mr. Trump said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbor a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” fail to cooperate on visa security and have an inability to verify travelers’ identities, inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the United States.

“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States,” Mr. Trump said.

He cited Sunday’s incident in Boulder, Colorado in which a man tossed a gasoline bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators as an example of why the new restrictions are needed.

An Egyptian national, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, has been charged in the attack. Federal officials said Mr. Soliman had overstayed his tourist visa and had an expired work permit — although Egypt is not on the list of countries facing travel limits.

BEING IN THE US A ‘BIG RISK’
Somalia immediately pledged to work with the US to address security issues.

“Somalia values its long-standing relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised,” Dahir Hassan Abdi, the Somali ambassador to the United States, said in a statement.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro, responded on Wednesday evening by describing the US government as fascist and warning Venezuelans of being in the US
“The truth is being in the United States is a big risk for anybody, not just for Venezuelans … They persecute our countrymen, our people for no reason.”

A spokesperson for the Taliban-led Afghan foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pakistan’s foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment on how it would handle the thousands of Afghans waiting in Islamabad who had been in the pipeline for US resettlement.

Calls early on Thursday to the spokesperson of Myanmar’s military government were not answered.
The travel ban threatens to upend a 31-year-old Myanmar teacher’s plan to join a US State department exchange program, which was slated to start in September.

“It is not easy to apply nor get accepted as we needed several recommendation letters,” said the teacher, who currently lives in Thailand and asked not to be named because her visa application is still outstanding.

“In my case, I would get to work at universities that provide digital education,” she said, adding that she had not been updated by the program after Mr. Trump’s announcement.

Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign focused on a tough border strategy and he previewed his plan in an October 2023 speech, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and “anywhere else that threatens our security.”

Mr. Trump issued an executive order on January 20 requiring intensified security vetting of any foreigners seeking admission to the US to detect national security threats. — Reuters

MOSCOW/VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV urged Russia to take steps towards ending the conflict in Ukraine when he spoke to President Vladimir Putin for the first time, the Vatican said on Wednesday.

“The pope made an appeal for Russia to make a gesture that favors peace, emphasizing the importance of dialogue for achieving positive contacts between the parties and seeking solutions to the conflict,” the Vatican said.

It confirmed that Leo, the first US pope, had spoken by telephone to Mr. Putin on Wednesday afternoon. The readout of the call was unusual for the Vatican, which does not always issue statements about papal phone calls.

“There was talk about the humanitarian situation, the need to facilitate aid where necessary, ongoing efforts for the exchange of prisoners, and the value of the work carried out in this regard by Cardinal (Matteo) Zuppi,” the Vatican added. Zuppi, the archbishop of Bologna, has been the Vatican’s peace envoy for Ukraine.

Mr. Putin for his part thanked Leo, who became pontiff almost four weeks ago, for offering to help settle the conflict and told him Ukraine was intent on “escalating” the war, the Kremlin said.

US President Donald J. Trump has previously said the pope offered to host Russia-Ukraine negotiations at the Vatican.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other officials have said the Vatican is not a suitable site for peace talks between two largely Orthodox Christian countries.

Mr. Putin highlighted “that the Kyiv regime is banking on escalating the conflict and is carrying out sabotage against civilian infrastructure sites on Russian territory,” the statement said, describing those acts as terrorism.

The Kremlin restated that the conflict’s “root causes” must be addressed, a reference to Russian demands that Ukraine adopt a neutral status and NATO rule out eastward expansion.

Russia has sought to cultivate good ties with the new pope and his predecessor, Francis, especially on humanitarian issues, like family reunifications.

The Vatican statement thanked Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill for his greetings when Leo was elected. Pope Francis had been critical of Kirill’s support for Mr. Putin.

The Russian statement expressed hope the Vatican would “take a more active role” in calling for freedom of religion in Ukraine for members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that has historic links to Russia.

Ukrainian authorities have launched criminal proceedings against many of its clergy because of suspected sympathies for Moscow. A separate Kyiv-based Ukrainian Orthodox Church, formally recognized in 2019, has grown larger in Ukraine during the war. — Reuters

UNITED NATIONS/CAIRO/JERUSALEM — The United States on Wednesday vetoed a draft United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution that demanded an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the war-torn enclave.

The other 14 countries on the council voted in favor of the draft as a humanitarian crisis grips the enclave of more than 2 million people, where famine looms and aid has only trickled in since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade last month.

“The United States has been clear: We would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote, arguing that it would also undermine US-led efforts to broker a ceasefire.

Washington is Israel’s biggest ally and arms supplier.

The Security Council vote came as Israel pushes ahead with an offensive in Gaza after ending a two-month truce in March. Gaza health authorities said Israeli strikes killed 45 people on Wednesday, while Israel said a soldier died in fighting.

Britain’s UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward criticized the Israeli government’s decisions to expand its military operations in Gaza and severely restrict humanitarian aid as “unjustifiable, disproportionate and counterproductive.”

Israel has rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas cannot stay in Gaza. Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told the council members who voted in favor of the draft: “You chose appeasement and submission. You chose a road that does not lead to peace. Only to more terror.”

Hamas condemned the US veto, describing it as showing “the US administration’s blind bias” towards Israel. The draft Security Council resolution had also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and others.

RIVAL AID OPERATIONS
The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in an October 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies. Many of those killed or captured were civilians.

Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. They say civilians have borne the brunt of the attacks and that thousands more bodies have been lost under rubble.

Under global pressure, Israel allowed limited UN-led deliveries to resume on May 19. A week later a controversial new aid distribution system was launched by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the US and Israel.

Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. Israel and the US are urging the UN to work through the GHF, which is using private US security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza for distribution at so-called secure distribution sites.

“No one wants to see Palestinian civilians in Gaza go hungry or thirsty,” Ms. Shea told the Security Council, adding that the draft resolution did not “acknowledge the disastrous shortcomings of the prior method of aid delivery.”

The UN and international aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral, militarizes aid and forces the displacement of Palestinians.

No aid was distributed by the US-backed GHF on Wednesday as it pressed the Israeli military to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its so-called secure distribution sites after a deadly incident on Tuesday.

The GHF said it has asked the Israeli military to “guide foot traffic in a way that minimizes confusion or escalation risks” near military positions, provide clearer civilian guidance and enhance training of soldiers on civilian safety.

‘DELAYS AND DENIALS’
The GHF posted on Facebook that “ongoing maintenance work” would delay the opening of its distribution sites on Thursday. It said on Tuesday that it has so far distributed more than seven million meals since it started operations.

Despite US and Israeli criticism of the UN-led Gaza aid operation, a US ceasefire plan proposes the delivery of aid by the UN, the Red Crescent and other agreed channels. Israel has agreed to the ceasefire plan but Hamas is seeking changes that the US has rejected as “totally unacceptable.”

Ahead of the UN Security Council vote, UN Aid Chief Tom Fletcher again appealed for the UN and aid groups to be allowed to assist people in Gaza, stressing that they have a plan, supplies and experience.

“Open the crossings — all of them. Let in lifesaving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in. Ensure our convoys aren’t held up by delays and denials,” Mr. Fletcher said in a statement.

The UN has long-blamed Israel and lawlessness in the enclave for hindering the delivery of aid into Gaza and its distribution throughout the war zone.

“Enough of suffering of civilians. Enough of food being used as a weapon. Enough is enough is enough,” Slovenia’s UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar told the Security Council.

A similar humanitarian-focused draft resolution is now expected to be put to a vote in the 193-member UN General Assembly, where no countries have a veto power and it would likely pass, diplomats said.

Mr. Danon warned: “Don’t waste more of your time, because no resolution, no vote, no moral failure, will stand in our way.” — Reuters