US to Reopen Land Borders in November for Fully Vaccinated

A truck leaves the Canada-United States border crossing at the Thousand Islands Bridge. REUTERS/Lars Hagberg
A truck leaves the Canada-United States border crossing at the Thousand Islands Bridge. REUTERS/Lars Hagberg
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US to Reopen Land Borders in November for Fully Vaccinated

A truck leaves the Canada-United States border crossing at the Thousand Islands Bridge. REUTERS/Lars Hagberg
A truck leaves the Canada-United States border crossing at the Thousand Islands Bridge. REUTERS/Lars Hagberg

The US will reopen its land borders to nonessential travel next month, ending a 19-month freeze due to the COVID-19 pandemic as the country moves to require all international visitors to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Vehicle, rail and ferry travel between the US and Canada and Mexico has been largely restricted to essential travel, such as trade, since the earliest days of the pandemic. The new rules, to be announced Wednesday, will allow fully vaccinated foreign nationals to enter the US regardless of the reason for travel starting in early November, when a similar easing of restrictions is set to kick in for air travel into the country. By mid-January, even essential travelers seeking to enter the US, like truck drivers, will need to be fully vaccinated, The Associated Press reported.

Senior administration officials previewed the new policy late Tuesday on the condition of anonymity to speak ahead of the formal announcement.

Both Mexico and Canada have pressed the US for months to ease restrictions on travel that have separated families and curtailed leisure trips since the onset of the pandemic.

The latest move follows last month's announcement that the US will end country-based travel bans for air travel, and instead require vaccination for foreign nationals seeking to enter by plane.

Both policies will take effect in early November, the officials said. They did not specify a particular date.



Car Bombing Kills 13 Pakistani Soldiers Near Afghan Border

A Pakistani policeman keeps watch on a roadside during the month of Muharram, in Lahore, Pakistan, 27 June 2025. EPA/RAHAT DAR
A Pakistani policeman keeps watch on a roadside during the month of Muharram, in Lahore, Pakistan, 27 June 2025. EPA/RAHAT DAR
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Car Bombing Kills 13 Pakistani Soldiers Near Afghan Border

A Pakistani policeman keeps watch on a roadside during the month of Muharram, in Lahore, Pakistan, 27 June 2025. EPA/RAHAT DAR
A Pakistani policeman keeps watch on a roadside during the month of Muharram, in Lahore, Pakistan, 27 June 2025. EPA/RAHAT DAR

An explosive-laden car rammed into a Pakistani military convoy on Saturday in a town near the Afghan border, killing at least 13 soldiers, sources said.

Four Pakistani intelligence officials and a senior local administrator told Reuters that the convoy was attacked in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan district.

Around 10 other soldiers were wounded, some critically, and they were being airlifted to a military hospital, the sources said.

"It was huge, a big bang," said the local administrator, adding that residents of the town could see a large amount of smoke billowing from the scene from a great distance.

One resident said that the explosion rattled the windowpanes of nearby houses, and caused some roofs to collapse.

No one has so far claimed responsibility.

The Pakistani military did not respond to a Reuters request for a comment.

The lawless district which sits next to Afghanistan has long served as a safe haven for different militant groups, who operate on both sides of the border.

Islamabad says the militants run training camps in Afghanistan to launch attacks inside Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies, saying the militancy is Pakistan's domestic issue.

Pakistani Taliban also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an umbrella group of several militant groups, has long been waging a war against Pakistan in a bid to overthrow the government.

The Pakistani military, which has launched several offensives against the militants, has mostly been their prime target.