US expands travel ban, adds N Korea, Chad to the list

The United States has expanded the controversial travel ban by slapping the restrictions on eight countries - North Korea, Iran, Chad, Libya, Syria, Venezuela, Yemen and Somalia, read a statement released by the White House on Monday.

Sudan has been dropped off the list from the banned countries, whereas Chad, North Korea and Venezuela are new to the list of affected countries.

The new travel ban will come into effect on October 18.

"As President, I must act to protect the security and interests of the United States and its people," said the US President Donald Trump in a statement.

Last week, President Trump alluded a "tougher" travel ban, post partially explosion of a bomb on a London subway.

For the last three months, the Trump administration used an executive order to ban foreign nationals of six Muslim-majority countries from entering the US.