10 airports face US, UK curbs
Washington/London, March 21: Travellers to the US and the UK from a select countries in the Middle East and Africa cannot carry large electronic devices like cameras and laptops as cabin baggage under a new ban imposed by two countries, citing terrorism concerns.
While the US ban would apply to eight countries, including Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, the British order applies to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia.
According to the US security restrictions, passengers will have to check-in any device bigger than a smartphone — including iPads, Kindles and laptops — before clearing security or boarding, officials said.
Washington, March 21: A retired police chief, Hassan Aden, 52, says he was “profiled” at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport because of his name.
Mr Aden was returning from Paris on March 13 after celebrating his mother’s 80th birthday when a US Customs and Border Protection officer at JFK airport asked him if he was traveling along, the Independent reported. Mr Aden replied he was and the officer said, “Let’s take a walk.”
The retired cop said he was escorted to a makeshift office and was prohibited from using his cellphone. Mr Aden said he told an officer he was a retired police chief and a career law enforcement officer, but the man said he had “no control” over the situation and it “didn’t matter” what his job was. According to the Independent, another officer explained that someone on a “watch list” had been using Mr Aden’s name as an alias, and his information was being cross-checked with another agency.
Mr Aden’s mother is Italian and father Somali. He lamented the country’s shift toward “cold, unwelcoming” policies such as Donald Trump’s travel ban. While he is not a Muslim, he said such policies could lead to attitudes that would make authorities suspicious of his name. — Agencies