Trump tightens squeeze with revised travel ban

U.S. President Donald Trump slaps new travel restrictions on citizens from North Korea, Venezuela and Chad, expanding to eight the list of countries covered by his original bans that have been blasted by critics and challenged in court. Donald Trump is back with a revised travel ban, and it's tougher than ever. The U.S. president on Sunday (September 24) signing a sweeping new order expanding visa restrictions to citizens from North Korea, Venezuela and Chad, on top of five Muslim-majority countries that were already on the blacklist. The announcement comes just as Trump's original temporary ban was due to expire. The new policy will go into effect in mid-October, and is permanent. Trump has taken to Twitter to defend the move, saying "Making American Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we can't safely vet." The revised ban continues to squeeze travel from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and Somalia. Although Sudan has been lifted from the list after officials said it met new screening standards. Restrictions range from an almost total ban on travellers from Syria to looser restrictions for Venezuela, which only target certain senior government officials and their families. Although North Korea is now on the list, White House officials admit the number of North Koreans travelling to the U.S. is very low and that most Pyongyang officials, including Kim Jong Un, are already banned. Although the new order is permanent, the White House says it will consider lifting restrictions on countries that meet strict standards. The new policy has already triggered a backlash from rights activists who say just because it now includes North Korea and Venezuela doesn't hide the fact that it's still a Muslim ban.