US extends ban on passports for North Korea travel

US extends ban on passports for North Korea travel

WASHINGTON

The Trump administration is extending a ban on the use of U.S. passports for travel to North Korea for another year.

A State Department notice released Monday says the ban will remain in place until Aug. 31, 2020, unless revoked by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The ban was imposed in September 2017 by then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and renewed in 2018. Tillerson took the unusual measure following the death of an American student, Otto Warmbier, who had been detained in North Korea.

The State Department says it determined “there continues to be serious risk to United States nationals of arrest and long-term detention” for Americans traveling to North Korea, according to the notice that will be published in the Federal Register this week.

Afghanistan vows to crush IS havens after attack

KABUL, Afghanistan

Afghanistan’s president on Monday vowed to “eliminate” all safe havens of the Islamic State group as the country marked a subdued 100th Independence Day after a horrific wedding attack claimed by the local IS affiliate.

President Ashraf Ghani’s comments came as Afghanistan mourns at least 63 people, including children, killed in the Kabul bombing at a wedding hall late Saturday night. Close to 200 others were wounded.

Many outraged Afghans ask whether an approaching deal between the United States and the Taliban to end nearly 18 years of fighting – America’s longest war – will bring peace to long-suffering civilians. The bomber detonated his explosives in the middle of a dancing crowd, and the IS affiliate later said he had targeted a gathering of minority Shiites, whom it views as apostates deserving of death.

Danish PM: Trump’s idea of buying Greenland is ‘absurd’

COPENHAGEN, Denmark

Greenland is not for sale and U.S. President Donald Trump’s idea of buying the semi-autonomous Danish territory in the Arctic from Denmark is “an absurd discussion,” Denmark’s prime minister said.

Mette Frederiksen, who was visiting the world’s largest island to meet Premier Kim Kielsen, told reporters: “Greenland is not Danish. Greenland is Greenlandic. I persistently hope that this is not something that is seriously meant.”

Frederiksen said Sunday that the Arctic, with resources that Russia and others could exploit for commercial gain, “is becoming increasingly important to the entire world community.”

Epstein signed will before suicide, records show

NEW YORK

New court records show Jeffrey Epstein signed a will just two days before he killed himself in the Manhattan federal jail.

A law firm representing Epstein’s estate confirmed Monday that the papers were filed last week in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The records put the estate at more than $577 million but list no details of any beneficiaries.

A copy of the will was first published by the New York Post.

Associated Press