South African minister meets U.S. representative in push for trade deal
South African Trade Minister Parks Tau has met U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer for talks, Tau's office said on Friday, as Africa's biggest ec...
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the military to take effect, a decision that could lead to the discharge of thousands of servicemembers and marks a significant rollback of transgender rights under federal policy.
In a brief, unsigned order typical for emergency applications, the court granted the Justice Department’s request to lift a nationwide injunction issued by a federal judge that had blocked the ban from being enforced while litigation continues. The decision came with the court's 6-3 conservative majority voting in favor. Liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
The ruling reverses a lower court order by U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle in Seattle, who had previously found that the ban likely violated the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection and called it “unsupported, dramatic and facially unfair.” Settle concluded that the government had provided no evidence of harm resulting from allowing transgender people to serve openly.
The policy stems from an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in January, shortly after returning to office, which reversed the Obama-era policy reinstated by President Joe Biden allowing transgender individuals to serve openly in the armed forces.
Trump’s directive argued that transgender identity is incompatible with the requirements of military service, claiming that it reflects a “falsehood” and that individuals with gender dysphoria lack the qualities of “humility and selflessness” needed in the military.
Following the executive order, the Pentagon issued guidance disqualifying current servicemembers and applicants diagnosed with gender dysphoria or who have undergone gender transition procedures. While waivers are allowed in limited cases deemed essential to “warfighting capabilities,” the policy imposes sweeping restrictions.
The lawsuit challenging the ban was filed by seven active-duty transgender troops, a transgender man seeking to enlist, and a civil rights organization. The San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had earlier declined to pause Judge Settle’s injunction, prompting the administration’s appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Justice Department argued that the injunction unlawfully restricted the executive branch’s authority over military policy and ignored the “substantial deference” typically afforded to the Pentagon’s judgments on personnel matters.
The decision adds to a growing list of measures under Trump aimed at curtailing transgender rights. These include orders to recognize only two legal sexes, eliminate federal funding for gender-affirming care, and ban transgender girls and women from competing in female sports.
The Supreme Court is also expected to rule by June in a separate high-profile case involving the legality of Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, which could further shape the national legal landscape for transgender rights.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
South African Trade Minister Parks Tau has met U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer for talks, Tau's office said on Friday, as Africa's biggest economy tries to reach a deal to roll back steep U.S. tariffs.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the testing of unmanned drones on Thursday and ordered their capabilities be strengthened through artificial intelligence (AI), state media KCNA said on Friday.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 19th of September, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that the U.S., Canada and Mexico complement each other, as the three countries prepare to review a trilateral trade pact.
Suspected fragments of a missile believed to have been used to shoot down a drone may have been found in the eastern Lublin region, Polish military police said, more than a week after Poland, backed by NATO jets, shot down Russian drones in its airspace.
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