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Trump’s travel ban hits Pakistan, 26 % decline in non-immigrant US visas for Pak nationals in 2017

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Trump’s travel ban hits Pakistan, 26 % decline in non-immigrant US visas for Pak nationals in 2017

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Analysis by Politico shows “notable drop” in visas issued in Muslim-majority countries, in addition to the eight nations targeted under the travel ban

Pakistan may not figure on the list of Muslim-majority nations targeted by US President Donald Trump’s travel ban but the country is definitely being hit by the policy of its traditional ally. An analysis done by American political journalism magazine Politico for the six months since Trump’s travel ban came into effect shows a 26 per cent decline in the number of US non-immigrant visas issued to Pakistani nationals in 2017 compared to the corresponding average of the previous year.

The Politico analysis reported by Pakistan’s media major – Dawn – says there has been a “notable drop” in the number of visas issued to people from Muslim-majority countries overall, in addition to those targeted by Trump’s travel ban, with Arab states among the hardest hit. The US president had, shortly after being elected to office earlier this year, passed an executive order which initially barred travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and Sudan from coming into America. Later Iraq and Sudan were dropped from the list and Chad, North Korea and Venezuela were added to it.

The report in Dawn states that although Pakistan is not on the list of countries that were barred by the Trump administration, it ─ along with a few other South Asian countries ─ has also seen a decline in the number of US visas issued to its citizens.

The issuance of visas to the seven countries initially named in the ban dropped 44 per cent this year compared to the monthly average data from March to August in fiscal year 2016, Politico reported, with Syria and Yemen seeing the steepest declines.

Visitor visas to Arab nations have seen a decline of 16 per cent, while the number of visas issued to people from 50 Muslim-majority countries in general has dropped by eight per cent.

The Politico analysis shows that from countries that are directly barred under the travel ban, Iran witnessed a 37 per cent decline in the number of visas issued over the six-month period since early-2017 compared to the period of March-August 2016, whereas Somalia saw a 42 per cent drop in visas in the same time period.

Interestingly, some Muslim-majority countries like the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan witnessed an increase in non-immigrant visas.

The decline in issuance of US visas to people from Muslim-majority nations may, however, also be because several citizens of these countries who otherwise aspired to go to the United States now choose against it, ostensibly to avoid the hassle and embarrassment of applying for the visa and being rejected.

How Politico conducted its analysis

Politico’s analysis is based on visa data provided by the US State Department. The magazine compared the average number of non-immigrant visas issued from March to August 2017 with the corresponding time period in 2016.

“Experts consulted for this story said the six-month sample offered an informative picture of visa issuances,” Politico said while releasing its findings.

The data does not take into account the number of visa applications, which makes it impossible to assess the difference in visa application rejections before and after the travel ban.

-Courtesy: Politico and Dawn

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Tiger Woods confirms relationship with Vanessa Trump, Donald Trump Jr’s ex-wife

Tiger Woods has officially confirmed his relationship with Vanessa Trump, Donald Trump Jr’s former wife. The pair shared the news via social media following weeks of public curiosity.

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Tiger Woods and Vanessa Trump confirmed relationship on social media

Tiger Woods has confirmed that he is in a relationship with Vanessa Trump, the former wife of Donald Trump Jr. The golfing icon made the announcement public via a heartfelt post on social media, requesting privacy as their relationship moves forward.

“Love is in the air and life is better with you by my side! We look forward to our journey through life together,” Woods wrote to his 6.4 million followers on X. He also asked for privacy for all those close to them.

Vanessa Trump was married to Donald Trump Jr from 2005 until their separation in 2018. The former couple shares five children, including 17-year-old Kai, who is expected to play collegiate golf at the University of Miami in 2026. Notably, Kai attends the same school as Woods’s children, Sam and Charlie, and recently competed alongside Charlie at a golf invitational.

The couple had been the subject of growing speculation across gossip platforms in recent weeks. Despite being known for guarding his personal life, Woods made the relationship public, drawing comparisons to his 2013 social media announcement about dating Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn.

In the past, Woods explained that going public was a strategy to deter paparazzi and safeguard his children. His children Sam and Charlie were born during his marriage to Elin Nordegren, which ended in 2010 following revelations of Woods’s extramarital affairs.

Woods’s most recent public relationship before Vanessa Trump was with Erica Herman, which ended in 2022 after a long-term partnership and legal disputes over property matters.

Woods also shares a professional connection with the Trump family. He has played golf with Donald Trump on multiple occasions and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Trump in 2019. In February, Woods was also seen attending a meeting with Trump to discuss developments in the golf world, especially around the emergence of the Saudi-backed LIV tour.

The announcement comes shortly after Woods revealed he had ruptured his Achilles tendon, ruling him out of the upcoming Masters tournament.

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Israeli airstrike kills Hamas political leader Salah al-Bardaweel in southern Gaza

Sources aligned with Hamas further disclosed that the attack not only killed Bardaweel, a key figure in the group’s political office, but also his wife, marking a significant blow to the organization’s leadership structure.

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An Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza, claimed the life of Salah al-Bardaweel, a prominent political leader within Hamas, as reported by both Hamas and Palestinian media outlets in the early hours of Sunday, March 23.

Sources aligned with Hamas further disclosed that the attack not only killed Bardaweel, a key figure in the group’s political office, but also his wife, marking a significant blow to the organization’s leadership structure.

Israel ramped up its military campaign in Gaza earlier that week, resuming large-scale strikes on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. The Israeli government pointed to Hamas as the reason for the renewed offensive, accusing the group of violating a ceasefire agreement that had held since January 19.

That truce, which lasted nearly two months, had offered a rare period of calm in the volatile region. The collapse of this agreement has reignited tensions, with both sides trading blame for the breakdown.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been vocal about the overarching goal of the war, emphasizing that Israel seeks to completely dismantle Hamas as both a military force and a governing body in Gaza. In this latest wave of attacks, Netanyahu underscored that a key objective is to compel Hamas to release hostages still held captive, a lingering issue from previous escalations. The intensified strikes reflect Israel’s determination to weaken the group’s operational capacity.

The casualties from Tuesday’s bombardment included high-ranking Hamas officials, such as Essam Addalees, who served as the de facto head of the group’s administrative government, and Mahmoud Abu Watfa, the chief of internal security.

Several other mid-level officials were also killed, further disrupting Hamas’ organizational framework. Palestinian health authorities reported a devastating toll, stating that at least 400 individuals perished in the strikes on Tuesday alone. More than half of those killed were women and children, highlighting the heavy civilian cost of the operation.

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US President Trump says he will pay out of his pocket to Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore for overtime stay in space

“Nobody told me about this. If it comes to it, I’ll pay it from my own pocket, alright? I’ll sort it for them,” Trump declared, visibly taken aback. “Is that it? That’s peanuts for what they’ve been through,” he added, marvelling at the modest sum given their ordeal.

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US President Donald Trump has expressed surprise upon learning that NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who endured an extended nine-month stint aboard the International Space Station (ISS), hadn’t received overtime pay.

Addressing reporters at a White House briefing, Trump even floated the idea of covering the costs himself, after the reporter highlighted that the duo were owed $1,430—$5 daily for 286 days.

“Nobody told me about this. If it comes to it, I’ll pay it from my own pocket, alright? I’ll sort it for them,” Trump declared, visibly taken aback. “Is that it? That’s peanuts for what they’ve been through,” he added, marvelling at the modest sum given their ordeal.

The astronauts, including Williams and Wilmore, alongside Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, returned to Earth on Wednesday via SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, splashing down off Tallahassee, Florida.

Trump showered praise on SpaceX chief Elon Musk for the rescue. “Thank heavens for Elon. Without him, who knows how long they’d have been stuck up there?” he remarked, crediting Musk’s ingenuity for their safe return.

For Williams and Wilmore, seasoned test pilots for Boeing’s Starliner capsule, what began as an eight-day mission ballooned into over nine months due to technical snags—helium leaks and thruster glitches—that rendered their craft unfit for the journey back.

The Starliner returned empty in September 2024, leaving them reliant on SpaceX. Trump underscored the physical toll of prolonged space stays. “After nine or ten months, the body starts breaking down—bones, blood, the works. It gets grim beyond 14 months. Without Elon, they’d be in a fix,” he said.

In a tangent, Trump drew parallels between Musk’s challenges and his own, claiming Tesla faced vandalism akin to the 6 January 2021 riots. “Elon’s had his share of trouble too,” he noted, blending admiration with a touch of defiance.

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