Tag: ban

Hanoi to ban motorbikes by 2030 to curb pollution, traffic

  by Tran Thi Minh Ha Agence France Presse Officials in Vietnam’s traffic-choked capital Hanoi vowed on Tuesday to banish motorbikes by 2030 to ease environment and congestion woes, a decision that swiftly divided a city where two-wheelers are the main means of transportation. Hanoi is famed for legions of motorbikes — sometimes stacked with entire families or overloaded with deliveries — that clog roads in a fast-growing city with limited public transportation. There are […]

US six-country travel ban takes effect with few exceptions for relatives

by Paul Handley Agence France-Presse  WASHINGTON DC, United States (AFP) – United States President Donald Trump’s ban on refugees and travelers from six mainly Muslim countries went into effect late Thursday, after a Supreme Court decision allowed it to go forward following a five-month battle with rights groups. The Trump administration says the temporary ban is necessary to block terrorists from entering the country, but immigrant advocates charge that it illegally singles out Muslims. The […]

Trump travel ban to take partial effect

by Paul Handley Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States President Donald Trump’s order to block arrivals from six mainly Muslim countries takes partial effect Thursday after he won a Supreme Court victory over rights groups. But implementation of the order after five months of legal challenges could be chaotic, in part due to the meaning of a key term used in the court’s ruling Monday: “bona fide.” The court said that […]

Trump claims victory as court partially reinstates travel ban

by Paul Handley Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States Supreme Court on Monday partially reinstated Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban targeting citizens from six predominantly Muslim countries, prompting the president to claim a victory for national security. The court said it would examine the case in full in October but said the ban could now be enforced for travelers from the targeted countries “who lack any bona fide relationship with […]

US says no laptop ban on board flights from Europe for now

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States aviation security officials stepped back Tuesday from imposing a ban on carry-on computers on flights coming from Europe, which had been proposed to guard against possible bomb-laden electronics from the Islamic State group. But the Department of Homeland Security said a ban, already in place for US-bound flights from the Middle East, could still be implemented for Europe if the threat level worsens. In a phone discussion with […]

EU demands talks with US over possible airline laptop ban

  BRUSSELS, Belgium (AFP) – The European Union is seeking urgent talks with Washington over a possible United States ban on carry-on computers on European flights to the US, an EU source said Friday. The EU has not yet received a response from Washington to its request, the source said. The US Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday it was close to a decision to extend to Europe an existing ban imposed on eight countries, […]

US may widen ban of carry-on computers on planes

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States may soon expand its ban on air passengers carrying computers on board on US-bound flights, Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said Wednesday. The threat of a terror group trying to blow up an aircraft mid-flight is constant, he told a Senate hearing on border security, suggesting that the current ban might not have gone far enough. “It’s real, I think it’s getting realer,” he said of the […]

NBA: Knicks’ Noah banned for 20 games for testing positive for drugs

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — New York Knicks center Joakim Noah apologized on Tuesday for the failed drug test that resulted in a 20-game ban, vowing to bounce back from what he called a “mistake” that “backfired.” Noah, the son of French tennis legend Yannick, was suspended by the NBA on Saturday after testing positive for an illicit substance reputed to have effects similar to anabolic steroids. Noah has said he ingested the drug […]

US to ban some airline passengers from carrying large electronic devices

LOS ANGELES, United States (Reuters) — Passengers traveling on certain United States-bound foreign airline flights will have to check in electronic devices larger than a cell phone once US authorities formalize a new ban in response to an unspecified terrorism threat, US officials told Reuters on Monday (March 20). The new rule is expected to be announced Tuesday by the Department of Homeland Security, the officials said, adding that it had been under consideration since the […]

EU court rules workplace headscarf ban legal

by Bryan McManus Agence France Presse LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg (AFP) — European companies can ban employees from wearing religious or political symbols including the Islamic headscarf, the EU’s top court ruled Tuesday in a landmark case. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said it does not constitute “direct discrimination” if a firm has an internal rule banning the wearing of “any political, philosophical or religious sign.” The Luxembourg-based court was considering the case of a Muslim […]

Malaysia PM says citizens ‘effectively hostages’ in N. Korea

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AFP) — Malaysian citizens are effectively being held hostage in North Korea, the prime minister said Tuesday after Pyongyang banned them from leaving the country in a row over the assassination of Kim Jong-Nam. “This abhorrent act, effectively holding our citizens hostage, is in total disregard of all international law and diplomatic norms,” Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a statement. © Agence France-Presse

Shanghai expands public smoking ban

SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — Shanghai widened its ban on public smoking Wednesday as China’s biggest city steps up efforts to stub out the massive health threat despite conflicts of interest with the state-owned tobacco industry. Nearly a quarter of adults in the commercial hub of 24 million people are smokers, according to the state-run People’s Daily newspaper, citing data from the Chinese Association of Tobacco Control. Shanghai has had a limited ban on public smoking […]