CountryStory
U.S.President Donald Trump on Monday denied his immigration order was to blame for the chaos at the nation's airports over the weekend, instead pointing to computer glitches, protesters and even the "tears of Senator Schumer.""There is nothing nice about searching for terrorists before they can enter the country," Trump wrote in a series of early morning tweets. "This was a big part of my campaign. Study the world!"In another tweet, Trump defended his decision to take swift action on his proposed travel ban, saying there are "a lot of bad 'dudes' out there.""If the ban were announced with a one week notice, the 'bad' would rush into our country during that week," Trump said.Trump's order temporarily suspends all immigration for citizens of seven majority Muslim countries for 90 days.
Saudi ArabiaRockets fired by Yemeni rebels into Saudi Arabia on Monday damaged a United Nations office in the kingdom's southern Asir region, Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV reported.The glass entrance of the U.N. building in Dhahran al-Janoub province, along the border with Yemen, was damaged by a Katyusha rocket launched by the Iran-allied Houthi group who control Yemen's capital, Al-Arabiya reported, citing its correspondent.There was no immediate comment from the U.N. or the Houthis.Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies have launched thousands of bombing raids in Yemen since March 2015 in a military campaign to support the country's exiled government.Several dozen Saudi soldiers have been killed in clashes along the long, rugged border with Yemen.
SyriaSyria warned Monday of safe zones for civilians that U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed interest in creating, saying it would have to come in coordination with the Syrian government, otherwise it would be unsafe and violate the Arab nation's sovereignty.The announcement was made in Damascus by Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem during a meeting with the head of the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR, Filippo Grandi, who began an official visit to Syria on Monday.The announcement came about a week after the Trump administration's expressed interest in setting up safe zones for civilians in war-torn Syria, an idea that was greeted with caution by Russia and Turkey, who have taken the lead in the latest peace efforts to end the Mideast country's devastating six-year war.