President Donald Trump on Tuesday expanded a US travel ban by barring nationals of seven more countries, including Syria, as well as Palestinian Authority passport holders, from entering the United States.

The White House said that Trump, who has long campaigned to restrict immigration, was acting “to protect the security of the United States.”

“President Trump signed a proclamation further restricting and limiting the entry of foreign nationals to the US,” the White House said.

The move has imposed full restrictions and entry limitations on nationals from five countries – Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan, and Syria – in addition to the initial list of 12 countries.

“Full restrictions have also been imposed on individuals holding Palestinian Authority-issued travel documents,” it added.

This is an evolving story and is being updated with new information.

• Amnesty terms CM’s act “assault” woman’s dignity.
• Says no one has right to police woman’s faith or clothing.
• Mehbooba Mufti says CM should resign immediately.
  

Amnesty International, Indian politicians and other rights groups have strongly condemned Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for pulling down the hijab (veil) of Nusrat Parveen, a newly recruited Muslim doctor, during an official event.

The Bihar CM, a day earlier, had removed the hijab of the Muslim doctor at “Samvad”, the CM’s secretariat, where appointment letters were being handed over to newly recruited doctors.

In a statement, Aakar Patel, Chair of the Board at Amnesty International India, said: “This act was an assault on this woman’s dignity, autonomy and identity.”

“When a public official forcibly pulls down a woman’s hijab, it sends a message to the general public that this behaviour is acceptable,” he added.

Patel said that no one has the right to police a woman’s faith or clothing.

Such actions deepen fear, normalise discrimination and erode the very foundations of equality and freedom of religion, he added.

Patel said that this violation demands unequivocal condemnation and accountability and sought urgent steps to ensure that no woman is subjected to such degrading treatment.   

The shocking incident triggered a wave of anguish among minorities in the country and drew strong criticism from home and abroad.

In India, demands are growing to file a harassment case against the Bihar chief minister over the humiliation of a Muslim doctor.

Political leaders, journalists, and human rights organisations called the incident “shameful”.

Opposition party Congress assailed the CM and said that his act is “unforgivable”.

Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti said that the CM should resign immediately.

Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav said that the CM’s move was “shameful”, while Indian journalist Mohammad Zubair said that if he had been in his senses, CM Kumar would not have done this.

Academic Ashok Swain wrote on social media that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rudeness and Islamophobia in India have received official approval.

Human rights activist Deepika Pushkar Nath called it a serious incident of “sexual harassment”.

In India, hate crimes against religious minorities have alarmingly increased during the tenure of PM Modi.

Last month, a US report recommended designating India as a country of “special concern” due to religious prejudice and serious violations of religious freedom.

US Commission on International Religious Freedom, in its report, exposed religious discrimination in India and extremist policies of the RSS and the BJP’s Hindutva agenda.

The report revealed that Modi and the BJP had implemented discriminatory policies against minorities in line with the Hindutva ideology.

It added that the BJP, as the political wing of the RSS, promotes Hindu nationalism.

The RSS has been involved for decades in violent acts against minorities, particularly Muslims and Sikhs.

The number of people facing acute food insecurity in Afghanistan this winter is on the rise, and now stands at more than 17 million, the United Nations warned Tuesday.

“The situation is getting worse, and we need to act now as Afghanistan is entering the winter period where needs are highest,” said Jean-Martin Bauer, director of food security and nutrition analysis at the UN’s World Food Programme.

More than 17 million people are facing acute food insecurity: “three million more than last year”, he told a press briefing in Geneva.

Furthermore, “there are almost four million children in a situation of acute malnutrition”, he said.

Speaking from WFP’s Rome headquarters, Bauer said the situation was down to a combination of factors, including drought affecting crops and livestock, earthquakes that have plunged many families into poverty, and cuts in international aid.

Added to this, the return of more than 2.5 million Afghans from Iran and Pakistan this year “is putting stress on very limited resources” and the “very limited infrastructure in the country”.

WFP expects a similar number of people to return to Afghanistan in 2026.

The organisation currently has only 12% of the funds needed for its programmes in the country.

Bauer indicated that due to lack of money, WFP is unable to undertake its usual winter preparations, such as pre-positioning food resources in vulnerable communities.

He urged donors to step forward to avert “the most extreme impact” in Afghanistan.

“What we need is $570 million over the next six months to provide essential assistance to about six million people in Afghanistan,” he said.

“We need to make sure that the country remains in the headlines […] because of the very high levels of vulnerability,” he added.