At 100, Dr Mahathir still seeking out his better Malaysia
Former Malaysian prime minister Mahathir Mohamad in an interview with The Straits Times in Putrajaya, Malaysia, on July 8.
- As he turns 100, Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has acknowledged a flaw.
'Maybe I am not so good at communicating,' he told The Straits Times on July 8, just two days shy of becoming a centenarian.
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Straits Times
26 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Judge to weigh blocking Trump on birthright citizenship despite Supreme Court ruling
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media, after the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to the power of federal judges by restricting their ability to grant broad legal relief in cases as the justices acted in a legal fight over President Donald Trump's bid to limit birthright citizenship, in the Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington D.C., June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno/File Photo CONCORD, New Hampshire - A federal judge will consider on Thursday whether to prevent President Donald Trump's administration from enforcing his executive order limiting birthright citizenship after the U.S. Supreme Court restricted the ability of judges to block his policies using nationwide injunctions. American Civil Liberties Union lawyers are set to ask U.S. District Judge Joseph Laplante at a hearing in Concord, New Hampshire, to grant class action status to a lawsuit they filed seeking to represent any babies whose citizenship status would be threatened by implementation of Trump's directive. Granting class status would empower Laplante, if he is inclined to do so, to issue a fresh judicial order blocking implementation of the Republican president's policy nationally. The ACLU and others filed the suit just hours after the Supreme Court on June 27 issued a 6-3 ruling, powered by its conservative majority, that narrowed three nationwide injunctions issued by judges in separate challenges to Trump's directive. The suit was filed on behalf of non-U.S. citizens living in the United States whose babies might be affected. Under the Supreme Court's decision, Trump's executive order would take effect on July 27. Looking to seize upon an exception in the Supreme Court's ruling, the lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that the decision allows judges to continue to block Trump policies on a nationwide basis in class action lawsuits. The three judges who issued nationwide injunctions found that Trump's directive likely violates citizenship language in the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment. The amendment states that all "persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside." Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business S'pore to launch new grant for companies, expand support for workers amid US tariff uncertainties Singapore PAP appoints new heads of backbench parliamentary committees Singapore Singaporean fugitive charged over alleged drug trafficking, faces death penalty if convicted World 'Do some homework': 6 key exchanges between US Senator Duckworth and S'pore envoy nominee Sinha Sport No pain, no gain for Singapore's water polo teams at the world championships Singapore New regional centre for sustainable aviation in Asia-Pacific launched in Singapore Multimedia 60 objects to mark SG60: Which is your favourite? Business Fresh grads should 'stay calm' in job search; uptick in hiring seen: Tan See Leng The Justice Department has argued that Trump's order conforms with the Constitution and has asked Laplante to find that the plaintiffs cannot sue as a class. The Supreme Court's ruling did not address the legal merits of Trump's order, which the Republican president issued as part of his hardline immigration agenda on his first day back in office in January. Trump's order directs federal agencies to refuse to recognize the citizenship of U.S.-born children who do not have at least one parent who is an American citizen or lawful permanent resident, also known as a "green card" holder. More than 150,000 newborns would be denied citizenship annually if it takes effect nationally, according to Democratic-led states and immigrant rights advocates who have challenged it. The justices ordered lower courts to reconsider the scope of the three injunctions that had blocked Trump's order from being enforced anywhere in the country against anyone after finding judges lack the authority to issue so-called "universal injunctions" that cover people who are not parties to the lawsuit before the judge. Although the Trump administration hailed the ruling as a major victory, federal judges have continued to issue sweeping rulings blocking key parts of Trump's agenda found to be unlawful. Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who wrote the decision for the court, made clear that it did not prevent plaintiffs from obtaining essentially the same type of relief as provided in a nationwide injunction by instead bringing class action lawsuits that seek to represent all similarly situated people, among other exceptions. Immigrant rights advocates launched two proposed class actions that same day, including the one before Laplante, who in a related case also concluded in February that Trump's order was likely unconstitutional. Laplante, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, ruled that Trump's order contradicted the 14th Amendment and a 1898 Supreme Court ruling interpreting it. In that case, United States v. Wong Kim Ark, the Supreme Court interpreted that amendment as recognizing the right to birthright citizenship regardless of the immigration status of a baby's parents. Laplante agreed at the time that an injunction was warranted, saying that "the denial of citizenship to the plaintiffs' members' children would render the children either undocumented noncitizens or stateless entirely." But Laplante limited the scope of his order to members of the three immigrant rights nonprofit organizations who pursued the case before him. ACLU lawyers are now urging Laplante to go further by certifying a nationwide class of babies and their parents who would be affected by Trump's order, saying that absent a court order thousands of families nationally would be unprotected. Trump's administration counters that the three noncitizens parents and expectant parents seeking to serve as lead plaintiffs have immigration statuses that are too different to be able to pursue a single class action together and that an injunction at this time would "short circuit" the usual lengthier process required for them to obtain relief. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Iran urges U.S. nuclear watchdog to drop 'double standards'
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a meeting in Ilam, Iran, June 12, 2025. Iran's Presidential website/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY/File Photo DUBAI - Iran's president said on Thursday the U.N. nuclear watchdog should drop its "double standards" if Tehran is to resume cooperation with it over the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme, Iranian state media reported. President Masoud Pezeshkian last week enacted a law suspending cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the IAEA said it had pulled its last remaining inspectors out of Iran. Relations between Iran and the IAEA have worsened since the United States and Israel bombed Iranian nuclear facilities in June, saying they wanted to prevent Tehran developing an atomic weapon. Iran says its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes only and denies seeking atomic weapons. "The continuation of Iran's cooperation with the agency (IAEA) depends of the latter correcting its double standards regarding the nuclear file," state media quoted Pezeshkian as telling European Council President Antonio Costa by phone. "Any repeated aggression (against Iran) will be met with a more decisive and regrettable response," he said. Tehran accuses the IAEA of failing to condemn the attacks by the United States and Israel, and says the nuclear watchdog paved the way for the bombing by issuing a resolution declaring Iran in breach of its non-proliferation obligations. The bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities led to a 12-day war, during which Iran launched drones and missiles at Israel. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Business S'pore to launch new grant for companies, expand support for workers amid US tariff uncertainties Singapore HDB flats less attainable in 2024 compared with 2022: Report Singapore PAP appoints new heads of backbench parliamentary committees Sport No pain, no gain for Singapore's water polo teams at the world championships World 'Do some homework': 6 key exchanges between US Senator Duckworth and S'pore envoy nominee Sinha Singapore New regional centre for sustainable aviation in Asia-Pacific launched in Singapore Multimedia 60 objects to mark SG60: Which is your favourite? Business Fresh grads should 'stay calm' in job search; uptick in hiring seen: Tan See Leng IAEA inspectors have not been able to inspect Iran's facilities since the bombing campaign, even though IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has said it is his top priority. REUTERS
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Greek lawmakers vote on North Africa asylum ban as rights groups cry foul
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: Migrants talk with the authorities, after Greece rescued hundreds of migrants off the islands of Gavdos and Crete in separate incidents, according to the Greek Coast Guard, in the port of Agia Galini, Greece, July 6, 2025. REUTERS/Stefanos Rapanis/File Photo ATHENS - Greek lawmakers prepared to vote on legislation on Thursday that would temporarily halt the processing of asylum applications of people coming from North Africa, a move rights groups have called illegal. The vote comes amid a surge in migrant arrivals to the island of Crete and as talks with Libya's Benghazi-based government to help stem the flow were cancelled acrimoniously this week. Greece, one of the main gateways into the European Union for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa, has taken an increasingly tough stance on migration since Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' centre-right party came to power in 2019, building a fence at its northern land borders and boosting sea patrols in the east. Sea arrivals of migrants travelling from northeastern Libya to its southern islands of Crete and Gavdos, the closest European territory to North Africa, have surged this year. In response, Mitsotakis' government proposed legislation on Wednesday stipulating that migrants crossing illegally to Greece from North Africa by sea would not be able to file for an asylum for three months. A vote on the law, which would also allow authorities to quickly deport those migrants without any prior identification process, was expected later on Thursday or early on Friday. Human rights groups said the asylum ban would violate international and European law, and called on the Greek government to recall it. "Seeking refuge is a human right; preventing people from doing so is both illegal and inhumane," the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said in a statement. Mitsotakis - whose government controls 155 lawmakers in the 300-seated parliament - said on Wednesday the ban was "an emergency response to an emergency situation". Greece has long been accused by aid groups of forcibly ejecting migrants at its sea and land borders, also known as "pushbacks," an illegal practice. A Greek naval court has charged 17 coastguard officers over one of the Mediterranean's worst shipwrecks two years ago, in which hundreds of people are believed to have drowned. REUTERS
