Iran's Oscar-winning director to skip awards over Trump visa ban

Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi said Sunday he will not attend next month's Academy Awards, comparing President Donald Trump's visa ban on seven Muslim countries to the actions of hardliners in his own country. Farhadi, nominated for Best Foreign Language Film for "The Salesman", said in a statement carried by Iranian news agencies that he had initially planned to attend the ceremony in Los Angeles, but had been forced to change his mind. Trump signed an executive order on Friday p