According to the US president, the president has imposed a new blanket travel ban on 12 nations because he claims it is for national security.
Twelve countries are subject to a travel ban, with seven others imposed by US President Donald Trump.
And it’s not the first of its kind; Trump also issued a similar order in 2017 that targeted nations with a Muslim majority.
He claims that the most recent initiative is intended to safeguard national security, but its opponents claim that it is racist and unrelated to safety.
What is the real issue with the ban, and what might Trump gain from it?
Mohammed Jamjoom, the presenter
Guests:
Refugees International’s Director for Americas and Europe, Yael Schacher
Eid al-Adha, one of the biggest holidays in the Islamic calendar that honors sacrifice and submission to God, is observed by Muslims all over the world.
Despite the devil’s attempts to keep him from the act, the festival, which runs from June 6 through to June 9, honors the Prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to follow God’s command to sacrifice his only son Ismail.
Ibrahim was three times before the devil, but the prophet reacted by pelving him with stones. God stayed in his father’s hand and spared his son by offering him a lamb to sacrifice in the process.
The slaughter of an animal, typically a goat, sheep, cow, bull, or camel, is traditionally observed as the “Feast of Sacrifice,” with the meat being distributed among neighbors, family members, and the less fortunate.
Adult Muslims observe the annual Hajj, a once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, at the same time as the event’s beginning.
At the Jamarat complex in Mina, near Mecca, pilgrims at Hajj take part in a symbolic “stoning of the devil” in memory of Ibrahim’s resistance to Satan.
Three concrete walls represent the three locations where the devil is said to have allegedly tried to deter Ibrahim from obeying God during the stoning ritual.
Pilgrims dumped their pebbles overnight from Muzdalifah, a hill with a significant spiritual significance just a few kilometers from Mecca.
An estimated 1.6 million pilgrims threw their stones at Mina’s concrete walls on Friday, and the devil was worshipped there.
After more than three and a half years on the ground, Russia’s Wagner mercenary group declares its intention to leave Mali.
The paramilitary force claimed on Friday that it had successfully carried out its operation in West Africa against armed groups.
The group claimed in a post on its Telegram channel that it had forced rebel forces to oust their leaders and had retaken control of all of the country’s regional centers, forcing all of their leaders to be killed and put under control of the Malian military regime.
However, Wagner’s decision to leave Mali leaves the country without Russian combatants. Russia Corps, a separate Kremlin-backed paramilitary organization founded after Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin failed a mutiny against the Russian military in June 2023, will continue to operate under its purview.
In a statement released by Africa Corps in reference to Mali’s capital city, it stated that “Russia does not lose ground, but rather, continues to support Bamako at a more fundamental level.”
According to Nicolas Haque, a journalist from neighboring Senegal, “Russian security advisers are stepping in where the mercenaries are stepping out.”
The focus may shift away from “fighting jihadists,” according to Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation, as opposed to “the Russian military engagement in Mali will continue.”
Three Russian mercenaries are seen in northern Mali in an unofficial photo provided by the French military.
JNIM fighters claim a deadly attack on an army base.
More than 100 Malian soldiers and some mercenaries are said to have been killed in recent weeks by rebel fighters as a result of the shift in the Russian presence in Mali.
The violence included one attack on Sunday that left at least 30 soldiers dead at central Mali’s Boulkessi army base, which was carried out by Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), an armed group in the Sahel.
Local officials told Reuters that the base has since been abandoned by the military.
According to Haque, the Tuareg rebels supported by Ukraine are responsible for some of the country’s mercenary attacks.
The Ukrainians are supporting Tuareg rebels fighting Russian mercenaries in the heart of Africa, according to Haque.
After being fired by the Premier League team after two years as manager of Tottenham Hotspur, Ange Postecoglou expressed his intense pride.
The 59-year-old Australian won the Europa League last month when Tottenham defeated Manchester United to claim their first trophy in 17 years.
After their worst top-flight campaign since 1976-1977, the club fired him on Friday, leaving them one place above the Premier League’s relegation zone after 22 defeats.
He said in a statement released shortly after his confirmation that “my overriding emotion is one of pride” when I consider my time as Tottenham Hotspur manager.
“It will live with me forever for me to lead one of England’s historic football clubs and restore the glory it deserves.” I’ll never forget having that conversation with those who genuinely enjoy this club and seeing how much they both appreciated it.
That night in Bilbao marked the culmination of two years of dedication, unwavering faith, and hard work. Many people claimed that it was impossible to accomplish what many said was impossible, and there were many difficulties to overcome.
Postecoglou said his accomplishments should prevent Tottenham from having to wait so long for their next trophy in the run-up to the Europa League final.
He said, “We have laid the foundations that this club should not have to wait 17 more years for their next success.” I have a lot of faith in this group of players, and I’m aware that they have much more potential and potential.
Postecoglou had a message for the supporters, despite Tottenham’s supporters’ disagreements regarding his future.
He said, “I sincerely want to thank the supporters who make up the club’s lifeblood.” Although I am aware of some challenging times, I always believed that they wanted me to succeed, which gave me all the motivation to keep going.
“And finally, I want to thank everyone who spent the past two years with me every day. Fantastic group of young men who are now the football team’s legends, as well as the outstanding coaches who never once doubted our ability to achieve something extraordinary. We will always be connected.
Ange Postecoglou and his players celebrate the Europa League title with Robert Couldridge.
The 59-year-old ultimately paid the price for Tottenham’s 17th-place finish in the Premier League.
Tottenham stated in a statement that the board has come to an agreement that a change would be beneficial for the club.
We started the 2023/24 Premier League (PL) season with a strong start, and we now have 78 points from all 66 of those matches. Our worst-ever PL season resulted from this.
Postecoglou’s appointment comes one day after his team’s victory over Manchester United 1-0 in Bilbao, which earned them their first silverware since 2008, and it also qualifies them for the Champions League the following year.
The former Celtic manager has been questioned about his future for a number of months, but he made a statement early last year that he always won a trophy in his second year in charge.
Tottenham’s league campaign was their worst since 1976-1977 when they last saw their club fall into the top flight. He also led them to the semifinal of the League Cup.
Since Postecoglou defeated United in the first game, several of the club’s first teams have backed the club, but chairman Daniel Levy is now looking for his fifth full-time manager in six years since Mauricio Pochettino was fired in 2019.
The club claimed that there were “extenuating circumstances” at times, including injuries and a choice to prioritize our European campaign. We can’t base our decision on emotions associated with this success, even though winning the Europa League this year ranks as one of the Club’s greatest moments.
Thomas Frank of Brentford and Oliver Glasner of Crystal Palace are just two managers linked with the Tottenham job.
Postecoglou will leave with his pride intact and a sizable bonus, but his recent admission at the Europa League victory parade to say that the third season of a TV show is always better than the first one seems hollow.
For Postecoglou, everything went so smoothly. Spurs’ best top-flight season since the 1961 title-winning team’s debut season was led by him to its best start since 1961.
The momentum had long since lost, and despite finishing fifth in his first campaign, it had soon faded.
Tottenham lost 22 top-flight games this season and only received 38 points. The only victories they made in their last 12 league games came against a Southampton side, who had only managed five points from the total.
Postecoglou cites a lengthy injury history that prevented him from seeing the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Dejan Kulusevski, Destiny Udogie, Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, and Son Heung-min for significant lengths.
However, he has come to the conclusion that Postecoglou is not the ideal leader to lead the club forward, despite it being one of Levy’s long-serving chairman’s toughest decisions.
In the club statement, it is stated that “we have made what we believe is the right decision to give us the best chance of success going forward.”
The former US President Joe Biden’s administration, according to the US Department of Transportation, went overboard by assuming a high electric vehicle adoption rate when formulating fuel economy regulations.
The DoT published the “Resetting the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Program” (CAFE) rule in response to that declaration on Friday, opening the way for looser fuel standards. The fuel economy standards will be revised in a separate rule from President Donald Trump’s administration.
In the United States, we are making automobiles more affordable and simpler to produce. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement that the previous administration had violated CAFE standards by making an electric vehicle mandate.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of the department, which wrote its rule last year under Biden, pretended “significant numbers of EVs would continue to be produced regardless of the agency’s standards, increasing the level of standards that could be considered maximum feasible,” it said on Friday.
A change in policy toward Biden
In a January order, Duffy ordered NHTSA to rescind fuel economy standards set forth in Biden’s model years, which had a goal to significantly reduce fuel consumption for cars and trucks.
The DoT mandated a 2 percent increase in fuel economy for cars produced between 2027 and 2031 in a release last year, which was then led by Pete Buttigieg.
The DoT claimed at the time that it would help save gas costs for consumers by up to $600 annually. The Biden administration’s climate change strategy included it as well.
“These new fuel economy standards will save our country billions of dollars, lower our dependence on fossil fuels, and make everyone’s air cleaner.” The advantages of this rule will continue to be in American hands for many years, according to NHTSA Deputy Administrator Sophie Shulman at the time.
The NHTSA announced in June 2024 that CAFE standards would increase from the current 39.1mpg for light-duty vehicles to about 50.4 miles per gallon (4.67 litres per 100km) by 2031.
The government announced last year that the rule for passenger cars and trucks would cut fuel costs by 64 billion gallons, reduce emissions by 659 million metric tons, and generate net savings of $ 35.2%.
Senate Republicans’ latest proposal, which would eliminate fines for breaking CAFE regulations, was released late on Thursday as part of a comprehensive tax bill that would ease automakers’ ability to produce gasoline-powered vehicles.
After paying nearly $400,000 in penalties from 2016 through 2018, Stellantis paid $ 190.7 million in civil penalties for not meeting US fuel economy requirements for 2019 and 2020. GM previously paid $128.2m in penalties for 2016 and 2017.
Stellantis defended the Senate Republican proposal to “relief while DoT develops its proposal to reset the CAFE standards,” saying that “immediate relief is required to preserve affordability and freedom of choice.”
