Court allows Trump travel ban to take effect pending appeal

US President Donald Trump. The ban is in the interest of Americans' security, he argues. PHOTO | SCOTT OLSON | AFP

The US Supreme Court has said the government could fully enforce a revised ban on travellers from six mainly Muslim countries pending appeal, backing President Donald Trump in the year-long battle over the controversial measure.

The court stayed October rulings from two lower courts that had blocked implementation of the ban on visitors from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen while legal challenges to it continued.