President Donald Trump has expanded a US travel ban, barring nationals of five additional countries and people travelling on Palestinian Authority-issued documents from entering the US. The White House said the restrictions were intended “to protect the security of the United States” and will come into force on 1 January. Full-entry restrictions will be imposed on people from Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria as well as Palestinian Authority passport holders. The administration also moved Laos and Sierra Leone, which were previously subject to partial restrictions, to the full ban list and put partial restrictions on 15 other countries, including Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Trump, who has tightened immigration controls since returning to the White House in January, said the expanded travel ban was necessary because of what his administration described as failures in screening and vetting systems overseas. Officials cited high visa overstay rates, unreliable civil records, corruption, terrorist activity and a lack of cooperation in accepting deported nationals. The announcement followed the arrest of an Afghan national suspected of shooting two National Guard troops over the Thanksgiving weekend, an incident the White House pointed to in highlighting its security concerns. This is the third time Trump […]