Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said the Fourteenth Amendment enshrined citizenship as a fundamental constitutional right.

“Citizenship, then and now, was the right to have rights—to freely participate in our political community,” Roberts wrote, adding that the amendment extended that guarantee to “every free-born person in this land.”
Three conservative justices dissented, arguing that Trump’s executive order should have been allowed to take effect. Justice Clarence Thomas, in a lengthy dissent, said the court had wrongly interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment beyond its original purpose, which he argued was to secure equal rights for formerly enslaved Black Americans.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the majority in rejecting Trump’s order but based his decision on existing federal statute rather than the Constitution. He agreed with the dissenters that the executive order did not violate the Constitution itself, indicating that Congress could amend federal law in the future to alter birthright citizenship rules.

Trump’s executive order, signed on the first day of his second presidential term, was a central element of his administration’s broader immigration agenda. The policy had been blocked by several lower federal courts and never took effect anywhere in the United States while legal challenges proceeded.

The case reached the Supreme Court after the administration appealed a ruling by a federal court in New Hampshire that declared the order unlawful.
The administration argued that children born to parents who were in the United States unlawfully or temporarily were not “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment and therefore were not automatically entitled to citizenship.

The majority rejected that interpretation, relying on the amendment’s text, its historical context and the Supreme Court’s landmark 1898 decision in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, which established that children born in the United States to foreign nationals are citizens by birth.

Legal experts estimate that more than 250,000 children born annually in the United States would have been affected by the executive order. The proposed restrictions would have applied not only to undocumented immigrants but also to individuals legally residing in the country on temporary visas, including students and applicants for permanent residency.

The ruling marks one of the most significant judicial setbacks for Trump’s immigration agenda during his second term and reaffirms more than a century of constitutional precedent governing citizenship by birth.

The Jakarta Corruption Court also imposed a fine of 1 billion rupiah ($55,870) and ordered Makarim to pay 809 billion rupiah ($45 million) in restitution. The court said failure to pay the restitution would result in an additional five-year prison term.

Prosecutors alleged that Makarim approved the procurement of Chromebook laptops and related software at inflated prices while disregarding internal evaluations, causing an estimated $120 million in losses to the state. The purchases were made under the Education Ministry’s remote learning program introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Makarim, 41, pleaded not guilty throughout the proceedings and announced he would immediately appeal the verdict.

“I have effectively been sentenced to 15 years because I have been ordered to pay 809 billion rupiah in restitution, which I do not have,” Makarim told reporters after the ruling. He added that he would continue challenging the conviction through the legal process.

Before entering public office in 2019, Makarim founded Gojek, transforming the Indonesian ride-hailing startup into one of Southeast Asia’s largest technology companies. Originally launched as a motorcycle ride-hailing and courier platform, Gojek expanded into food delivery, digital payments and other on-demand services, becoming Indonesia’s first unicorn startup and reaching a valuation of about $10 billion by 2019.

Former President Joko Widodo appointed Makarim as education minister in 2019, citing his experience in technology and innovation to help modernize Indonesia’s education system.

In his closing statement before the court last week, Makarim said the prosecution could discourage talented professionals and young Indonesians from entering public service. He argued that the case carried broader implications for public confidence in government service.

The verdict marks the latest high-profile corruption conviction involving a former senior Indonesian government official and is expected to be challenged through the country’s appeals process.

GENEVA— The United Nations warned on Tuesday that the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Central Africa could cost the continent up to $3.6 billion in economic losses and eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs if the disease spreads beyond its current hotspots, underscoring the growing risk of a broader development crisis.

The outbreak of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, which currently has no approved vaccine or treatment, has infected 1,307 people and claimed 377 lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo since authorities declared the outbreak on May 15, according to the Congolese government.

A smaller number of infections has also been reported in neighboring Uganda, while health experts have cautioned that the virus could spread to additional countries, including South Sudan.

Damien Mama, the United Nations Development Programme’s resident representative in the Democratic Republic of Congo, said swift international action and adequate funding remained critical to containing the outbreak before its economic consequences deepen.

“If we have the resources and we step up, we can contain this outbreak and prevent further losses,” Mama said. He warned that failure to contain the virus could transform the health emergency into a prolonged regional development crisis.

In a new assessment, the UNDP outlined three possible scenarios for the outbreak’s economic impact. Under the most favorable scenario, where transmission remains confined largely to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, the outbreak would reduce Congo’s gross domestic product by an estimated $1 billion.

Under the worst-case scenario, the disease spreads to additional countries, including Rwanda and Angola, while higher fuel prices linked to the Iran crisis further weaken economic activity. In that case, Africa’s gross domestic product could decline by as much as $3.6 billion and approximately 328,000 jobs could be lost, according to the report.

The UN warning highlights the potential for infectious disease outbreaks to generate significant economic disruption beyond their immediate public health consequences, particularly in regions already facing multiple humanitarian and economic challenges.

KABUL — Abdul Ahad Momand, Afghanistan’s first and only astronaut, has died at the age of 67 after battling cancer, his family and associates said, bringing to a close the life of a national figure whose 1988 space mission remains a landmark in the country’s history.

Momand died on June 21 at a hospital in Stuttgart, Germany, where he had lived since leaving Afghanistan in 1992 during the country’s civil war.

Former Afghan President Ashraf Ghani paid tribute to Momand in a message on X, describing him as Afghanistan’s first and only astronaut and extending condolences to his family.

In 1988, Momand, then a 29-year-old Afghan Air Force pilot, was selected to participate in the Soviet Union’s Intercosmos program, which sent astronauts from allied countries into space during the Cold War.

Following months of training, he launched aboard the Soyuz TM-6 spacecraft with Soviet cosmonauts Vladimir Lyakhov and Valery Polyakov, spending nine days aboard the Mir space station conducting scientific research.

His return journey aboard Soyuz TM-5 was delayed by technical problems, extending the mission by one day and leaving the crew temporarily stranded in orbit before they returned safely to Earth.

According to an Associated Press report published at the time, Momand said before the mission that the flight would help identify Afghanistan’s mineral resources, assess hydroelectric potential and study glaciers and earthquake risks.

During the mission, he delivered a televised message to Afghanistan from orbit, expressing hope that peace would one day replace the violence affecting his homeland. He also carried and recited verses from the Qur’an during the flight, a moment later described by Ghani as symbolizing Afghanistan’s national and Islamic identity in space.

Born in Andar district of Ghazni province, Momand received military training in Afghanistan and the Soviet Union before joining the Afghan Air Force.

His death prompted tributes from Afghans who regarded him as a national hero whose journey into space offered a rare moment of unity during a period marked by conflict.

Momand is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son. Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.

An AFP journalist at the scene reported that one person was shot dead as running battles unfolded between demonstrators and police officers in the densely populated settlement in eastern Nairobi.

The unrest followed allegations that two activists, Maxwell Kiarie and Abdulaziz Molu, had been abducted by security forces in separate incidents over the past two weeks. Kenyan authorities had not publicly commented on the allegations.

Wanjira Wanjiru of the Mathare Social Justice Center said activists had planned a peaceful gathering to demand the release of the two men, describing their disappearance as part of growing concerns over alleged enforced disappearances.

“The action underscores growing concern over enforced disappearances,” Wanjiru said in a statement.

Images circulating on social media appeared to show small groups of protesters confronting police officers as tear gas drifted through parts of the settlement. Reuters could not independently verify the footage.

The protests came less than a week after Kenyan authorities deployed large numbers of security personnel across Nairobi during a day of remembrance organized by campaigners for demonstrators killed in earlier protests.

Although the June 25 commemorations passed without widespread unrest, rights groups and activists said several campaigners were arrested while others were reported missing for several days following the security operation.

Mathare, one of Nairobi’s largest informal settlements, is home to several hundred thousand residents and has frequently been the site of demonstrations over social, political and economic grievances.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson announced the itinerary during a regular news briefing in Beijing, saying Wang would hold bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of each of the four countries during the week-long visit.

The ministry did not provide additional details on the agenda for the meetings or identify specific issues expected to be discussed during the tour.

The visit will take Wang to all four Nordic countries over a seven-day period, marking one of China’s latest high-level diplomatic engagements in Northern Europe.

Further details on the discussions are expected to be released by the Chinese Foreign Ministry as the visit progresses.

The blaze erupted in a naphtha pipeline at a facility operated by Haldia Petrochemicals in Purba Medinipur district, about 130 km (80 miles) southwest of Kolkata, before spreading to nearby residential areas.

Police said firefighters deployed 12 fire engines to contain the fire, while rescue teams evacuated the injured to nearby hospitals. Those hurt included plant employees and at least two security guards.

Video footage from the scene showed emergency personnel battling the flames as thick black smoke billowed from the burning pipeline.

Naphtha is a highly flammable petroleum product widely used in the production of fuels and petrochemicals, making pipeline fires particularly hazardous.

Authorities said the cause of the fire had not yet been determined.

Haldia Petrochemicals said in a statement that it had launched an investigation into the incident. The company did not immediately provide further details on the extent of the damage or whether plant operations had been affected.

MEmergency response operations remained underway as officials assessed the site and investigated the circumstances surrounding the fire.

The outbreak, first detected on March 18, has prompted government livestock authorities to oversee the destruction of more than one million eggs in addition to large-scale culling of chickens and other domestic birds.

Umesh Dahal, director general of Nepal’s Department of Livestock Services, said infections had been confirmed in 11 districts, including three in the Kathmandu Valley, where authorities have recorded the highest concentration of cases.

Dahal said officials suspect wild crows are contributing to the spread of the virus after infected birds were found dead.

“We are concerned because crows have been found dead from infections,” Dahal said, adding that controlling the movement of wild birds posed a significant challenge.

Nepal first reported an outbreak of bird flu in January 2009. The H5 strain has caused widespread outbreaks among poultry and wild birds globally and is associated with high mortality in infected bird populations.

Authorities said no human deaths linked to bird flu have been reported in Nepal during the current outbreak.

The government’s containment measures also led to the closure of the Central Zoo in Kathmandu earlier this month, marking its first shutdown since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Zoo spokesperson Ganesh Koirala said several birds and animals, including civet cats, owls, vultures and pigeons, had been infected, with a number of animals dying from the disease.

“The zoo has been closed for an indefinite period until the virus is under control,” Koirala said.

Authorities continue surveillance and disease-control operations as they seek to prevent the outbreak from spreading further.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun made the remarks during a regular news briefing after Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao met European Union Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic in Brussels on Monday in an effort to ease growing trade tensions.

“China and the European Union are partners, not rivals,” Guo said, adding that the causes of the EU’s economic difficulties did not originate in China.

Guo said Beijing was prepared to strengthen communication and consultations with the European Union and manage trade differences through constructive dialogue while pursuing mutual development.

Following the meeting, Sefcovic said the current state of trade relations was unsustainable, warning that “the status quo is not an option” as Brussels seeks to address longstanding concerns over its trade relationship with China.

The European Union has expressed increasing concern over China’s expanding trade surplus with the 27-member bloc, arguing that low-cost Chinese exports threaten the competitiveness of European manufacturers.

European officials have also maintained that Chinese companies benefit from substantial state subsidies, creating an uneven competitive environment for businesses operating within the European market.

Beyond trade imbalances, Brussels has also raised concerns over China’s export controls on rare earth elements introduced last year. The materials are critical for a range of industries, including advanced manufacturing, renewable energy technologies and electronics.

Wang and Sefcovic are scheduled to hold another round of trade discussions in China in October as both sides seek to manage differences and avoid further escalation in commercial disputes.

In written responses to Reuters ahead of the July 7-8 NATO summit, Guler said the alliance remained the cornerstone of Euro-Atlantic security and was adjusting to changing geopolitical conditions rather than facing an institutional crisis.

“NATO continues to be an unparalleled and fundamental platform for Euro-Atlantic security and defense. We evaluate the period we are going through not as a crisis, but as a process of adjusting to the changing security environment,” Guler said.

Türkiye will host leaders from the alliance’s 32 member states, along with representatives from Gulf countries and the Asia-Pacific region, as NATO seeks to strengthen cooperation amid growing security challenges.

The summit comes at a time of renewed debate within the alliance over burden-sharing, defense expenditure and Washington’s calls for European allies to assume a greater role in safeguarding regional security, including participation in efforts to reopen navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.

Guler said the United States remained committed to NATO but wanted European allies and Canada to shoulder a larger share of the responsibility for Europe’s defense.

He also said Türkiye should play a greater role in European defense initiatives, arguing that Ankara’s participation was essential to the continent’s long-term security architecture.

According to Guler, discussions at the summit will focus on reinforcing alliance cohesion, reviewing increased defense spending by member states, strengthening defense industry cooperation and sustaining support for Ukraine.