THE US'S TRANSPORTATION Security Administration has issued new security directives following Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's attempted Christmas Day bombing of Northwest flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit.
All passengers travelling to the US through or from terror-sponsoring states or so-called "countries of interest" have to go through "enhanced screening".
Countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism are Cuba, Iran, Sudan, and Syria, while "countries of interest" include Afghanistan, Algeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and Yemen.