US court rejects bid to restore travel ban Donald Trump
Donald Trump

Donald Trump

A US appeals court in San Francisco has denied an emergency motion filed by the justice department to reinstate President Donald Trump’s halted immigration ban.

The decision from the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit means the ban will remain frozen throughout the weekend, and that a decision on a further request to restore the ban will be put off until at least this afternoon.

The justice department filed an appeal on Saturday to reinstate an executive order barring citizens from seven mainly Muslim countries and temporarily banning refugees, even as travellers raced to enter the country while the ban was lifted.

The appeal aimed to reverse a federal judge’s Friday order that lifted the travel ban, warning the decision posed an immediate harm to the public.

“Appellants’ request for an immediate administrative stay pending full consideration of the emergency motion for a stay pending appeal is denied,” the late-night appeals court order stated.

The court asked those legally challenging the ban — the states of Washington and Minnesota — to provide documents detailing their opposition to the Trump administration’s appeal by the end of the day yesterday.

The justice department was given a deadline of 3pm today to supply documents further supporting its position.

The state department said last week that up to 60 000 people had their visas revoked as a result of Trump’s ban, although a justice department lawyer put the number at closer to 100 000.

The restrictions on all refugees and travellers from the seven countries went into effect a week ago, wreaking havoc at airports across the US and leaving travellers trying to reach the country in limbo.

The political backlash for Trump has been equally severe, with the order driving numerous mass protests.

Meanwhile, Sudan on Saturday vowed to enhance its bilateral relations with Washington despite Trump banning the African country’s citizens from entering the United States.

Citizens of Sudan, along with those from six other Muslim-majority countries, have been banned from entering the United States, although a US federal judge on Friday ordered a temporary nationwide halt to Trump’s ban.

The ban on Sudanese travellers came just weeks after former US president Barack Obama lifted a 20-year-old US trade embargo imposed on Sudan.

Despite the travel ban, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour vowed that Khartoum will work towards enhancing bilateral ties with Washington.

“Sudan and the United States have many common goals, including fighting terrorism jointly in the region and internationally,” Ghandour said in a message to new US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, a foreign ministry statement said.

“Such joint efforts led to the removal of US sanctions on Sudan,” Ghandour said without specifically reacting to Trump’s ban, but insisting that Khartoum was “committed to enhancing bilateral ties between the two countries”.

Last week Trump barred Syrian refugees indefinitely and blocked citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan from entering the United States for 90 days.

Refugees from countries other than Syria are barred from entry for 120 days.

On January 13, Obama announced the lifting of some economic sanctions imposed on Sudan two decades ago, in an attempt to improve ties with Khartoum.

Sudan has been subject to a US trade embargo since 1997 for its alleged support for Islamist groups. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was based in Khartoum from 1992 to 1996.

The United States has also blacklisted Sudan as an alleged state sponsor of terrorism since 1993.

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.

The helicopters would reinforce the army’s reconnaissance and attack capabilities in “the war against terrorism”, it said.

A government official said the six Bell OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters were the first batch of a total order of 24 of the same type.

The rest are due for delivery in March.

— AFP

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