Confusion Grips Airports as Courts Limit Trump Travel Curbs

Confusion reigned at airports around the world Sunday over exactly which citizens from the seven nations subject to President Donald Trump’s immigration ban are still permitted to fly to the U.S. Airlines at international hubs from Dubai to London Heathrow were grappling with the implications of three court rulings in the U.S. Saturday and Sunday that have temporarily blocked the enforcement of parts of Trump’s executive order. In the hours after the presidential edict, many airports imposed blanket bans on U.S. travel for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, with Amsterdam Schiphol turning away seven people with valid visas, and Cairo denying boarding to migrants accompanied by United Nations officials.

Trump’s Emerging Europe Policy Prompts Calls for Closer EU Unity

European governments called for cool heads and tighter unity as they reacted with shock to President-elect Donald Trump’s remarks slamming NATO and predicting European Union nations would follow the U.K. out of the bloc. Trump’s comments, which call into question the depth of continued U.S. support for free trade and European defense, sent shock-waves around the EU at a time when governments are already battling to deal with the rise of nationalism, Brexit and a belligerent Russia.

Czech Republic, Slovakia to cooperate on guarding air spaces

The Czech Republic has approved a plan for Czech and Slovak air forces to cooperate in protecting air spaces over the two neighboring countries that once formed Czechoslovakia. The Czech Defense Ministry says the protection both the Czech Republic and Slovakia already receive as NATO members is effective only for military threats.

Summers and Eurasia Start the New Year With Dire Global Warnings

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said investors are far too sanguine about the risks of Donald Trump’s policies, which analysts at Eurasia Group say could contribute to a level of global instability not seen since World War II. The Harvard professor, a Democrat who was Treasury chief under Bill Clinton, on Tuesday cited the possibility of protectionist measures by the U.S. as well as changes to foreign policy and domestic social programs as issues that are creating “extraordinary uncertainty.”

Russia Urges Libya Leadership Role for UN-Defying Military Chief

Russia threw its weight behind a powerful Libyan army commander, Khalifa Haftar, who’s in conflict with the UN-backed government there, saying he must have a role in the leadership of the crisis-wracked state. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov criticized the United Nations’ envoy to Libya for favoring other political forces in the North African country.