USA: Judge Allows Hawaii State To Challenge New Travel Ban

Hawaii requested emergency court intervention on Wednesday to halt a revised executive order from President Donald Trump placing U.S. entry restrictions on refugees and travellers from six Muslim-majority countries.

Arguing that the new travel ban violates the U.S. Constitution, the state asked a Hawaii federal court to grant a temporary restraining order that should apply nationally.

U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson ruled earlier in the day that the state could sue over Trump's new order, which was signed by the president on Monday.

It is the first legal challenge to the revised order.

Watson said the state could revise its initial lawsuit, which had challenged Trump's original ban signed in January.

A hearing is set for March 15, a day before the new ban is to go into effect.

The government has said the president has wide authority to implement immigration policy and that the travel rules are necessary to protect against terrorist attacks.

Some legal experts have said court challenges will be more difficult now because changes to the order give exemptions to more people.

The revised travel order changed and replaced the original, more sweeping ban issued on Jan. 27 that caused chaos and protests at airports and was challenged in more than two dozen lawsuits around the country. A federal judge in Seattle put the first order on hold, in a decision upheld by an appeals court in San Francisco.

The new order is much more narrowly tailored. It keeps a 90-day ban on travel to the United States by citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, but excludes Iraq and applies the restriction only to new visa applicants. It also removed an indefinite ban on all refugees from Syria.

The order no longer covers legal residents or existing visa holders, and makes waivers possible for some business, diplomatic and other travellers.

Immigration advocates have said the new ban, like the original one, discriminates against Muslims.

But the first hurdle in a lawsuit is proving "standing" to sue, which means finding someone who has been harmed by the policy. With so many exemptions, legal experts have said it might be hard to find individuals that a court would rule have a right to sue.

Hawaii claims its state universities would be harmed by the order because they would have trouble recruiting students and faculty. It also says the island state's economy would be hit by a decline in tourism. The court papers cite reports that travel to the United States "took a nosedive" after Trump's actions.

The state was joined by a new plaintiff named Ismail Elshikh, an American citizen from Egypt who is an Imam at the Muslim Association of Hawaii whose mother-in-law lives in Syria, according to the lawsuit.

"This second Executive Order is infected with the same legal problems as the first Order," the state said in court papers filed on Tuesday. The President's order "is subjecting a portion of Hawaii's population, including Dr. Elshikh, his family, and members of his Mosque, to discrimination and second-class treatment," Hawaii said.

The lawsuit says that Elshikh fears his mother-in-law will not be able to enter the country under the new order. "The family is devastated," the filing said.

One of the groups eligible for waivers under the new ban are those seeking to visit or live with a close relative and who would face hardship if denied entry.

Adam Lauridsen, a San Francisco attorney representing students challenging Trump's first order, said the waiver provisions in the new ban are similar to case-by-case exemptions allowed in the first ban. Earlier legal challenges were allowed to move forward despite those waivers, he said.

In support of its actions, the Trump administration has cited a section of law that says the president can suspend entry to the United States by "any class" of foreigners if he finds it would be "detrimental to the interests" of the country.

EGYPT: EgyptAir Implementing Trump Travel Ban, Someone Tell Trump It Is Bad For America Tourism And Travel

EgyptAir has confirmed that it’s the among the airlines implementing a travel ban for Muslims from seven countries following a directive by US President Donald Trump.

According to Hossam Hussein, an EgyptAir official who is responsible for the carrier’s daily flight to New York, authorities there had notified them hours earlier of the new restrictions.

The directive calls for airlines to prevent U.S. immigration visa holders from seven Muslim-majority countries from boarding flights to the United States.

The countries affected are Sudan, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia and Libya.

Officials at EgyptAir however said holders of diplomatic passports or government officials from the affected countries would be allowed to board.

The move by the US President has sparked confusion and anger after immigrants and refugees were kept off flights and left stranded in airports.

CROATIA: Croatian Tourism And The Migrant Crisis: What You Need to Know

Croatia. So where is it exactly anyway? And is it safe?

Located somewhere in Eastern Europe, Westerners have often had trouble with the geography of Croatia. A part of former Yugoslavia, the newest version of Croatia - the modern independent one - is less than 25 years old, and given the trauma in the region in recent decades, tourists comfortable in destinations like Spain and Greece can be excused a certain level of ignorance.

The recent terror attack in Paris, and the confirmation on November 16, 2015, that a passport alleged to belong to one of the bombers had passed through Croatia on October 8, has raised - in some quarters at least - questions about the safety of Croatia as a tourist destination, specifically in terms of emails to this portal after we published the story earlier today. Despite the tragic recent events, I will confess to a wry smile when the first email came in.

The year is 2002. An Englishman working as an aid worker in Somalia has just returned from two holidays on his accumulated days off. The first - to Mumbai just as a major nuclear stand-off with Pakistan was escalating - was followed by seven days in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. The Englishman, a veteran of the Rwandan genocide, had (incorrectly) the label 'war zone junkie' written all over him, and several of his friends expressed concern when he announced he was buying a house on an island in Croatia in 2002.

Croatia? Wasn't that part of the Balkan quagmire and too dangerous to visit? Indeed it had been seven years hence, although the island itself suffered no direct action save a blockade and a couple of cursory bombs on the cleared strip of a UNESCO World Heritage Site which passes off as the island's 'airport'.

As this war zone junkie fielded email after email advising me to get psychiatic help, I responded in the only way I could - by sending pictures of the house, town and heavenly island I had discovered off the beaten track. My friends - shocked at the beauty and tranquility, having assumed I was seeking something else - begged for more information. My house was completely full in my absence that summer, and several friends are now home owners on Hvar.

I mention the story for to me it is similar to what is happening today. Croatia has been in the news more than most countries regarding the migrant crisis in recent weeks, not so much because it is a dangerous and violent place, more because it is a country which has shown its humanity - partly the result of its own painful recent past, perhaps - where neighbouring countries have shut their doors. It would have been easy for Croatia to follow the example of Hungary, erect a fence, and ignore the migrant misery on its borders.

Croatia chose not to, and while I have issues with the current government, their handling of the crisis has been humane and exemplary, and it has done much to enhance Croatia's reputation internationally. As long as Germany has kept its open door policy, Croatia has argued that it is merely a transit route to the final destination. And what are the statistics?

Almost 400,000 migrants and refugees have now passed through Croatia in recent weeks. Just 10 (including two Cubans and a Russian) have applied for asylum, meaning 399,990 or so have - or are in the process of - passing through. There have been two refugee births and one death from natural causes, and no major incidents of crime or violence. Migrants and refugees enter the country from Serbia, pass by a transit camp, and they are then escorted to the Slovenian border and onwards. What tensions occur tend to happen at border crossings, far away from the beaches of Dalmatia.

What does this have to do with Croatian tourism? Absolutely nothing, apart from one thing - if, like me, you have been impressed by Croatia's humane handling of the crisis, you might consider vacationing here to find out more about the country's exceptional hospitality.

For such a huge amount of temporary visitors, the effect on everyday life has been minimal, especially in the tourist areas, for two reasons. Firstly, it is winter, and as 99% of Croatian tourism is based on the summer and shoulder seasons, the crisis has not really impacted the tourist season in terms of timing. The migrant crisis is an EU crisis, and one would hope that a solution to the current status quo must be found in the coming weeks. And secondly, the bulk of Croatian tourism takes place on the Adriatic coast and islands, a different world from the migrant route, and akin to being in St Tropez and hearing about the horrors of events in Paris.

Croatia is safe. Croatia is stunningly beautiful. Croatia is humane. And looking forward to your visit.

More Refugees Will Invade Europe If Wars Don't Stop

Macedonia's Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki has said that his country might follow Hungary's example and build a border fence to stem the influx of refugees trekking through the Balkans to reach Western Europe.

The news comes as foreign ministers from four Central European nations are meeting in Prague on Friday, amid a growing rift over the refugee crisis.

The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia reject quotas proposed by the EU Commission, which proposed 120,000 additional asylum seekers per year to be shared out between 28 member states.

"We too will need some kind of physical defence to reduce illegal border crossing. Either soldiers or a fence or a combination of the two," Poposki was quoted as saying in an interview with Hungarian business weekly Figyelo on Thursday.

He said his country was currently forced to let the 3,000 to 4,000 migrants who arrive in his country on a daily basis continue their journey to Serbia and Hungary unimpeded.

"There is no European consensus on how we can handle this question," he said.

As of 0600 GMT on Friday, an estimated 7,600 refugees had already crossed into Macedonia from Greece in a 24-hour period, according to the UN refugee agency.

Peter Salama, UNICEF's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said millions of people in Syria could become refugees and head to Europe if there is no end to the war.

Refugees from the border between Greece and Macedonia on Friday, said the situation has settled down after tensions.

At the border crossing station, from where our correspondent was reporting, about 1,500 had crossed on Friday morning. They are reportedly being organised into groups of 50 people.

From there, public transportation will then take them to the border with Serbia, our correspondent said.

But overnight, the situation was tense, with "impatient" refugees facing off with the police.

"Macedonian border police had blocked their path and frustrations grew once more," she said. "This is not the first time for the Macedonian border guards to use force."

Syrian refugees Bassem, his wife Marwa, and their child Ali, were among those in the crowd. They left Syria 25 days ago, entering Greece through the island of Rhodes.

Bassem and Marwa said that they feared Ali would not make the Mediterranean crossing.

"We know it's going to be difficult here, we know some don't want us, but it's still much better than Syria," Bassem said.

Along with neighbouring Serbia, Macedonia has become a major transit country for tens of thousands of refugees who trudge up from Greece, after risking their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea crammed into makeshift boats.

The majority are heading for Germany, which has pledged to welcome hundreds of thousands more refugees having already taken in 450,000 to date since January.

So far, more than 160,000 have already crossed through Macedonia on their way to Serbia and Hungary this year.

Last month, the small Balkan nation declared a state of emergency as it struggled to cope with the relentless stream of people.

Reports overnight said that Hungary's government is considering declaring a state of emergency within the next week.

Hungary completed a razor-wire barrier along its 175km border with Serbia in late August, but it has failed to stop distraught refugees from scaling the barrier.

The central European nation is building another fence four metres high that it aims to complete by late October or early November, and the government has said it will be manned by the military.

Some 85 percent of those hoping to eventually reach wealthy EU nations such as Germany or Sweden are not merely in search of a better life, but have been forced to leave because of wars in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, according to the UN's refugee agency.

Hungary to deploy army to stop refugees from crossing border, so the Hungarian government announced.

On Friday, the wife of an Austrian politician said Hungarian police have been feeding refugees "like animals in a pen" inside a border camp.

Michaela Spritzendorfer filmed the footage of the refugees surging forward against the fences surrounding them as officers toss food packets to them.

It reportedly happened at a makeshift camp in the Hungarian town of Rozke.The incident was filmed on the same day the UN commissioner on refugees said conditions were getting worse there.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama has ordered his administration to increase the number of Syrian refugees allowed into the country.

The United States has taken in just 1,500 Syrians since the civil war began in 2011.

BURUNDI: Burundi Releases Rwandans, Complains Its Citizens Held In Kigali

Burundi has released some Rwandans held incommunicado after Kigali appealed to the Bujumbura government, while accusing its northern neighbour of detaining its citizens on similar suspicions of espionage.

Dozens of Rwandans are being held in Bujumbura and Cibitoke on suspicion that they were spying for the Rwandan government. 14 of the more than 30 Rwandan nationals who were arrested in Burundi were released last week.

Burundi in turn says Rwanda is detaining its citizens on similar accusations. At least 29 Burundians are thought to be held by Rwandan authorities on suspicion of spying for Bujumbura.

The Burundian ambassador to Rwanda Alexis Ntukamazina confirmed to The EastAfrican that Burundian nationals are being detained in Rwanda but said that the two governments are working together to see how they can be released.

“Yes, I can confirm that we are aware of some Burundians who are detained in Rwanda and we are working to see how this matter can be resolved,” said Mr Ntukamazina, without specifying the number or reasons they were arrested.

“As you might have seen in the media, some Rwandans who were detained in Burundi have already been released. I am confident the remaining ones will be released too. We are brothers and sisters and we believe this matter will be resolved in a short time,” he added.

The Rwanda National Police spokesperson Chief Superintendent Celestin Twahirwa could not confirm the development, instead referring to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to sources, the Burundians were arrested between April and August after they were suspected of spying for the Burundian government.

“Most of them came in masquerading as refugees, but they would later be suspected or found to be spies or members of Imbonerakure (a pro-government militia group) who were sent to spy on fellow countrymen seeking refuge in Rwanda,” a Burundian refugee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

Diplomatic ties between Rwanda and Burundi have not been good over the past months after Kigali expressed concern over the violence in the country.

Burundi in turn accused Rwanda, which is hosting over 70,000 Burundian refugees, of allowing opposition members a safe haven to regroup and wage war against the government.

Bujumbura has accused Kigali of supporting rebel groups planning to wage war against President Pierre Nkurunziza’s government, accusations that the Rwandan government has vehemently denied.

The two countries previously shared warm relations and depended on each other for cross-border trade while social relations thrived.

HUNGARY: Migrants Stuck In Hungary Train

According to the Hungarian authorities a record number of migrants from many parts of the Middle East, Africa and Asia are crossing the border from Serbia. Since the beginning of 2015 the number of migrants using the so-called Balkans route has exploded with migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey and then travelling on through Macedonia and Serbia before entering the EU via Hungary.

The massive increase, said to be the largest migration of people since World War II, led Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban to order Hungary's army to build a steel and barbed wire security barrier along its entire border with Serbia, after more than 100,000 asylum seekers from a variety of countries and war zones entered the country so far this year.