04-03 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Lawmakers in the Brazilian Congress view the law change as a reflection of pets' importance for their owners.
New Brazil law allows separated couples joint custody over pets
Courts in Brazil will be able to determine shared custody arrangements for the pets of separating couples under new laws.
Lawmakers in the Brazilian Congress viewed the law change as a reflection of the importance people place on their pets.
The legislation means that, if a couple separates without reaching an agreement regarding their pet, "a judge will determine the shared custody arrangement and the equitable distribution of the animal's maintenance expenses between the parties".
Currently, the country of 213 million people has about 160 million pets, according to the Instituto Pet Brasil.
For the law to apply to separating couples, the animal must have spent the majority of its life with the pair.
Shared custody will not be granted in cases in which one of the parties has a prior criminal record, or a history or risk of domestic violence.
Members of Congress said there had been an increase in pet custody disputes in courts, while noting the law responds to "changes that have occurred in Brazilian society in recent decades", according to a statement accompanying the law.
The statement added that couples with fewer children tend to have closer relationships with their animals, "often considered true family members".
Currently in the UK, dogs are legally seen as inanimate objects akin to cars, houses or other personal items, meaning custody cases come down to determining who the sole owner is.
In 2014, France changed its law so pets were considered "living and feeling beings" rather than "moveable goods". That change meant couples would be able to fight for shared custody in divorce cases.
Australia currently has no legislation on how the courts should navigate living arrangements for pets after a break-up.
The most recent example of a pet being given joint custody was in Spain in 2021. A judge granted joint custody of a dog to a separated couple who went to court to determine who the pet should live with.
The Madrid court considered that both parties were "jointly responsible" and "co-caretakers" of Panda the dog.
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04-03 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
The judge left in place three allegations against Baldoni, meaning the civil trial will go ahead next month.
Judge dismisses most of Blake Lively's claims in harassment lawsuit against Baldoni
A federal judge has dismissed most of the claims in a sexual harassment lawsuit that actress Blake Lively filed against her It Ends with Us co-star Justin Baldoni.
Judge Lewis Liman threw out 10 of 13 allegations in Lively's case, including harassment and defamation.
He left in place three claims against Baldoni - breach of contract, retaliation, and aiding and abetting in retaliation - which will now go to a civil trial in New York on 18 May.
The Hollywood legal battle began in 2024 when Lively sued Baldoni, accusing him of harassment and a smear campaign on the set of their hit movie. He denied it and counter-sued.
A member of Lively's legal team, Sigrid McCawley, told the BBC's US partner CBS the case "has always been and will remain focused on the devastating retaliation and the extraordinary steps the defendants took to destroy" the actress' reputation.
She noted that the sexual harassment claims were dropped, "not because the defendants did nothing wrong", but because of a technicality.
Lively plans to testify during the trial, McCawley said, and would continue "to shine a light on this vicious form of online retaliation".
The BBC has contacted Baldoni's lawyers for comment.
A judge last year dismissed Baldoni's $400m (£295m) counter-lawsuit against Lively, which alleged civil extortion, defamation and invasion of privacy.
The case stems from interactions between Baldoni and Lively on the set of It Ends With Us, an adaption of a best-selling Colleen Hoover novel.
The film features Lively as the main character, Lily Bloom, a young woman who grew up witnessing domestic abuse and finds herself in the same position years later.
Lively's legal team have accused Baldoni and his film studio, Wayfarer, of planning to wreck her reputation, including by social media manipulation and using friendly journalists to sow certain narratives.
She shared details of the allegations in a New York Times article published before her lawsuit.
Lively filed a lawsuit against Baldoni's Wayfarer Studios in December 2024, alleging he sexually harassed her on set and retaliated against her for bringing those complaints, among other allegations.
In his 152-page opinion on Thursday, Judge Liman listed a host of reasons for dismissing the many allegations against Baldoni.
For one, he said, harassment claims Lively brought against Baldoni under California law did not hold up because the filming - where the misconduct allegedly occurred - took place in New Jersey.
"None of these acts or occurrences provides the 'substantial connection' to California needed to sustain Lively's sexual harassment claims," Liman wrote.
The judge also said Lively was ineligible to bring certain claims of harassment and retaliation because she was an independent contractor rather than an employee.
Lively had also accused Baldoni's lawyer, Bryan Freedman, of defaming her in a series of statements.
But Liman said that because those statements and others directly referred to the allegations Baldoni was facing in court, Lively's claim of defamation did not hold up.
"To be sure, much of what Lively complains about is not actionable. The Wayfarer Parties were entitled to engage public relations and crisis management specialists to protect their reputations," Liman wrote. "However, certain conduct at least arguably crossed the line."
The judge said some of the retaliation claims Lively brought, in which she accuses Baldoni of engaging in a "co-ordinated campaign" to attack her character and reputation, were worthy of trial.
Shortly after Lively's lawsuit, Baldoni brought defamation cases against Lively, her husband Ryan Reynolds and their publicist, claiming they were aiming to ruin his career and reputation with the allegations, as well as the New York Times.
He alleged that Lively "stole the film" from him and Wayfarer by threatening not to promote it, and that she and others perpetuated a false narrative that Baldoni had harassed her and launched a smear campaign against her.
But in June, Liman dismissed Baldoni's lawsuit, saying his team had "not adequately alleged that Lively's threats were wrongful extortion rather than legally permissible hard bargaining or renegotiation of working conditions".
Evidence in the legal battle has involved texts between Lively and Taylor Swift about Baldoni.
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04-03 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
The comments were an apparent jab at the US leader's sometimes contradictory stance on the US-Israeli war against Iran.
'Be serious... don't speak every day': Macron criticises Trump approach to Iran war
The Iran war requires a "serious" approach that does not change every day, Emmanuel Macron has said, in an apparent reference to US President Donald Trump's seemingly contradictory remarks about the conflict.
"This is not a show. We are talking about war and peace and the lives of men and women," the French president told journalists upon arrival in South Korea for a state visit.
"When you want to be serious you don't say every day the opposite of what you said the day before," Macron added.
"And maybe you shouldn't be speaking every day. You should just let things quieten down."
Macron was answering questions on the US-Israel war in Iran, which has now entered its second month. France and other European countries have supported some of the US operations in the region, but have so far resisted getting dragged into the war.
Trump and his administration have so far offered mixed messages on the conflict, at various times suggesting that a ceasefire was near, that the war had already been won or that the US was going to fight on.
"Alliances like Nato are valuable because of what is unspoken – meaning the trust behind them," Macron said, arguing that casting doubt on one's commitment to the organisation emptied it of its substance.
Partners sign agreements and show up if issues arise, Macron added, "rather than commenting on them every day to say that you will or will not respect them".
"I feel like there is too much chatter, it's all over the place," he said.
He added he was unwilling to comment on an operation that the US and the Israelis "decided on by themselves", Macron said. "They then lament that they are alone in an operation they decided on alone. It's not our operation."
However, in the wake of the February 2026 war the US president said it was the "last best chance to strike at Iran's nuclear weapons programme".
"I remind you that six months ago were told that everything had been destroyed and all had been sorted out," Macron noted.
He argued that international observers were needed to check the nuclear development situation in Iran, and a framework to prevent further enriching.
"You still have today and you'll still have in the future people who have the know-how, hidden laboratories, etc. So it's not targeted military action even lasting a few weeks which can sort out the nuclear problem for good."
Trump has been on the offensive against France, which he accuses of failing to help in the war on Iran.
At a private lunch on Wednesday, Trump mocked Macron by imitating a French accent and saying that his wife Brigitte "treats him extremely badly" and that Macron was still "recovering from the right to the jaw".
Trump was likely referring to a 2025 video which showed Macron being shoved in the face by Brigitte.
Macron dismissed the comments as "neither elegant nor up to standard".
"I won't respond to them, they don't deserve a reply," he said.
The comments on Macron's marriage have been exceptionally badly received in France, where even staunch Macron critics came to his defence.
"For Donald Trump to speak to him like that and to speak of his wife in such a manner - I find that absolutely unacceptable," said Manuel Bompard of hard-left France Unbowed party.
Tehran has retaliated to the strikes on its territory by closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway which enables the passage of a large proportion of the world's energy supply. In the absence of a quick resolution to the closure, Trump has said the countries most affected by the disruption should solve the problem themselves.
Macron pushed back against the idea of a military operation to liberate the strait, saying it was "unrealistic" because it would take too long and be too dangerous.
"It would expose anyone crossing the strait to coastal threats from the [Iranian] Revolutionary Guards, who possess significant resources, as well as ballistic missiles, [and] a host of other risks," he said.
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04-03 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Makers of plastic and glass bottles are struggling to access raw materials as the war squeezes supplies.
Fears cost of water and beer to soar as India's scorching summer hits
Indians are bracing for summer, with temperatures expected to cross 45C in some parts of the country. But the war with Iran is already putting India's $6bn bottled water industry under strain as manufacturers struggle to access crucial raw materials.
Last month, market leader Bisleri increased prices by 11%, making a box of 12 one-litre bottles costlier by 24 rupees ($0.26; £0.20). Brands like Bailley and Clear Premium Water have also increased their prices, Reuters news agency reported.
According to a study by Data for India, about 15% of urban households and 6% of rural households depend on bottled water for their drinking needs. Relying on bottled water is expensive, especially for people in rural areas. But access to clean water remains a challenge in many parts of India, especially in summer, due to reasons including water shortages, groundwater contamination and infrastructure gaps.
Brands and bottle manufacturers warn that a prolonged war will risk making a crucial commodity prohibitively expensive for many Indians. About 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which is now almost completely blocked by Iran. The disruption in global shipping has sent global fuel prices soaring.
India, which relies heavily on oil and gas imports to meet domestic demand, is feeling the pressure.
Vijaysinh Dubbal, president of the Maharashtra Bottled Water Manufacturers Association, explains that the main reason bottled water - which is largely sold in plastic bottles - has become expensive is because of the surging costs of crude oil. The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil briefly hit $119 (£90) earlier this week, close to its highest since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran.
Crude oil is used to make Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) resin pellets - granules that are heated and passed through moulds to create PET preforms. These preforms, which look like plastic test tubes, are sold to brands and bottle manufacturers to be shaped into plastic bottles of the desired shape and size.
"The cost of preforms has increased from 115 rupees a kg to around 180 rupees per kg. There is also a shortage in the supply of preforms," Dubbal says, adding that about 20% of bottle manufacturing plants in Maharashtra state have temporarily shut operations.
While some companies have increased prices, Dubbal says many brands and vendors have absorbed them so far, shielding consumers.
So, the price of a one-litre bottle of drinking water, which sells for about 20 rupees, or that of a five-litre one, which sells for about 60-70 rupees, has largely remained unchanged.
"But absorbing extra costs is not a sustainable practice for companies. If things get worse, customers are likely to face the heat," he says.
He adds that the strain on supply couldn't have come at a worse time, since there's a surge in demand for bottled water and non-alcoholic beverages during April and May - peak summer months in India.
Vaibhav Saraogi, director of Chemco Plastic Industries Pvt Ltd, one of India's largest suppliers of PET preforms, says that a surge in the prices of preforms will impact the entire packaging industry and not just bottled water.
The size of India's PET packaging market was $1.5bn in 2024 and is expected to reach $2.2bn by 2033. Apart from bottled water and beverages, PET packaging is also used extensively in industries like beauty, pharmaceuticals and even in restaurants and food delivery as customers seek out convenience and affordability.
Makers of glass bottles too are bearing the brunt of the war.
Last month, the Brewers Association of India - which represents major global brewers like Heineken and Carlsberg - told Reuters news agency that glass bottle prices have surged around 20%, and that it has asked its member companies to approach states for a 12-15% increase in beer prices (alcohol prices are regulated by different states differently in India).
The Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies has also written to states to increase prices, the agency reported.
Vithob Shet, CEO of Vitrum Glass, a leading manufacturer and marketer of amber glass bottles - tinted bottles largely used by pharma companies and breweries - says that the price rise is a result of the fluctuating supply of natural gas.
Natural gas is used by glass manufacturers to run their furnaces, which melt sand, soda ash, limestone and recycled glass into molten glass blobs which are then shaped into bottles.
But India has tightened its natural gas regulations since the war began, prioritising supply for domestic use and some commercial industries.
Some, like Vitrum Glass, are using oil to make up for the shortage, but the high cost of crude is spiking production costs.
India's government has stressed that the country's energy supplies are stable, but several commercial eateries across the country have shut since the war began du
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04-03 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Ordinary people from various parts of Iran describe expanding strikes, economic pain and fear of repression.
'I haven't slept for days': Iranians describe mounting desperation after a month of war
Warning: this article contains details which some readers may find distressing.
Until that moment the war was something happening in other parts of Tehran.
It had not touched the lives of "Setareh" and her colleagues. Then she heard an ominous noise and vibrations reached into the office.
She called out to her workmates: "I think it's a bomb." They left their desks and climbed the stairs to the roof of the building.
"We saw smoke rising into the sky, but we didn't know what place had been targeted," she recalls.
"After that, everyone working in the company panicked. People were shouting and screaming and running away. For one to two hours the situation stayed like that complete chaos." That same day her boss shut the business and laid off his staff.
Despite strict state censorship, the BBC has been able to use trusted sources on the ground to obtain testimony from a range of Iranians in different parts of the country.
We cannot give Setareh's real name or say what kind of work she does - no detail that might possibly identify her to the regime's secret police. But we can say that she is a young woman from Tehran who loved going to work, where she could meet her friends, share stories of their lives and, of course, there was the guarantee of weekly wages.
Now the nightly bombing has stolen her ability to sleep naturally. She lies awake worrying about the present, and the future.
"I can honestly say I haven't slept for several nights and days in a row. I try to relax by taking very strong painkillers so I can sleep. The anxiety is so intense that it has affected my body. When I think about the future and imagine those conditions, I truly don't know what to do."
By "those conditions" she means economic hardship and her fear of future street fighting between the regime and its enemies. The war has cost Setareh her job and she is running out of money.
Millions of Iranians are in a similar position. Even before the war, the economy was in deep crisis, with food prices rising by 60% in the previous year. Setareh describes mounting desperation as people run out of resources to survive.
"We cannot afford even basic food. What's in our pockets does not match market prices... Iran has also been under sanctions for years, and the problems created by the Islamic Republic means that during this time we couldn't build any savings, at least enough to survive now or depend on something. To put it simply, the people I thought might have money to lend also don't have anything."
Economic hardship spurred the huge nationwide protests of late 2025 and early 2026, and Setareh believes it will happen again.
"I don't know how this massive wave of unemployment will be handled. There is no support system and the government will do nothing for all these unemployed people. I believe the real war will start if this war ends without any outcome." The outcome she wants is the end of the regime.
We received information from sources on the ground in six different cities. These were conversations with individuals from a cross-section of society - shopkeepers, taxi drivers, public sector workers and others.
All described growing economic pressure and most spoke of their hope that the war might bring about the fall of the government.
"Tina" is a nurse in a hospital outside Tehran and is worried about shortages of medicine.
"The shortage is not yet widespread, but it is starting," she says.
"The most important issue is that this war must not reach hospitals. If the conflict continues and infrastructure is targeted and medicines cannot be imported, then we will face very serious problems."
She is haunted by the images of war that she's witnessed in recent weeks. In the aftermath of bombings, bodies arrived at the hospital "that were not recognisable... some had no hands, some had no legs - it was horrifying".
A recurring memory is the pregnant young woman caught in an air strike early in the war.
"Because of bombardment in her area - her home was close to a military centre - their house was damaged. When they brought her to the hospital, neither the mother nor the foetus was alive.
"Both had died. She had been just two months away from giving birth but sadly neither she nor her baby survived. It was a very terrible situation."
It is an image made more poignant by stories from Tina's childhood. Her mother was pregnant with her during the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s and told her of having to flee to bomb shelters as Iraqi missiles struck their city. Nearly a million people - Iranians and Iraqis, military and civilian - are estimated to have died in the conflict, with Iran suffering the greatest number of casualties.
The war's legacy made Tina want to work as a nurse.
"Hearing those stories always made me stop and think, to imagine myself in those circumstances and place myself in her situation. Now, I find myself in the same kind of situation my mother once face
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04-03 00:00 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Bondi's time as America's top law enforcement officer was overshadowed by the justice department's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation.
Trump removes US Attorney General Pam Bondi
US President Donald Trump has removed Attorney General Pam Bondi - a longtime ally and fierce defender of his administration - from her post as America's top law enforcement officer.
Trump praised her in a post on Truth Social and said she would be "transitioning" to a role in the private sector.
Bondi's time leading the justice department was often overshadowed by its handling of the release of files relating to Jeffrey Epstein and its investigation into the convicted sex offender.
She is the second Trump administration official in recent weeks to be cut from her post, after Kristi Noem was ousted as homeland security chief in March. Bondi will be replaced by her former deputy, Todd Blanche.
Bondi said she would be "working tirelessly" to transfer her work to Blanche, adding that the job had "been the honour" of a lifetime.
She added that in her new private sector position - which she did not identify - she would "continue fighting for President Trump and this administration".
The announcement comes less than two months after a combative congressional hearing in which Bondi was peppered with questions from lawmakers - at times descending into shouting matches in which she called one Democrat a "washed-up loser".
As recently as Thursday morning, Trump was defending Bondi, saying: "She is a wonderful person and she is doing a good job."
But hours later, Trump confirmed her departure on Truth Social, saying that her new private sector role would be "announced at a date in the near future".
Trump lauded Bondi's performance as attorney general in his post, saying she had done "a tremendous job overseeing a massive crackdown in crime across our country".
But the president had reportedly grown increasingly frustrated with Bondi, in particular over her handling of the Epstein files.
When she was sworn into the post in February 2025, she vowed transparency over the Epstein case and promised to release an alleged client list associated with the disgraced financier, who died in 2019.
The department later said no such list existed.
In the end, millions of files related to Epstein were released under pressure - including from Trump supporters - and only after Congress passed a law requiring the Department of Justice to make unclassified records public.
The agency, and subsequently Bondi, faced bipartisan backlash, with lawmakers accusing the justice department of failing to obscure some identifying information about survivors, while protecting the identities of those who were not victims.
A handful of Republicans who worked with her closely over the years praised her on Thursday.
"Pam Bondi led this Department with strength and conviction and I'm grateful for her leadership and friendship," Blanche wrote on X. "We will continue backing the blue, enforcing the law, and doing everything in our power to keep America safe."
Others celebrated her departure.
Among them was Kentucky Republican congressman Thomas Massie, a regular critic of Bondi's handling of the Epstein files.
"I hope the next AG will release all the Epstein files according to the law and follow up with investigations, prosecutions and arrests," he wrote on X.
California Democrat Ro Khanna - who worked with Massie on the bipartisan law to compel the release of the files - told the BBC's Newsnight programme: "This shows that Congress isn't a doormat."
Khanna said lawmakers should refuse to confirm Blanche as the next attorney general unless he will "submit to investigating and prosecuting this Epstein class, this group of men who felt that they could write their own rules, play by their own roles, and treated the rest of us as dispensable".
Another Republican critic of Bondi's, South Carolina representative Nancy Mace, accused her of having "stonewalled every effort to hold the guilty accountable" and "seriously undermined" Trump with her handling of the files.
Survivors also told the BBC that Bondi had yet to meet them or respond to their emails about Epstein's wrongdoing, and that the matter had become a political liability for Trump.
Bondi has called Epstein a "monster" and told the victims she was sorry for the abuse they endured.
Most recently, a congressional committee formally summoned Bondi to answer questions over her handling of the Epstein investigation. She was expected to appear before them this month.
Under her leadership, the justice department has pursued a number of criminal investigations into political opponents of the president, including California Senator Adam Schiff, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey.
In September, Trump pushed Bondi to more aggressively investigate his political adversaries. He said in a social media post addressed directly to Bondi: "We can't delay any longer, it's killing our reputation and credibility."
The justice department under her tenure faced questions over its handling of the investigation into federal immigration agents fat
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04-02 06:04 · 中东,伊朗,核问题,谈判,中东
在欧盟协调下，伊朗核问题相关方重启谈判，讨论恢复核协议
Javier Solana, the European Union foreign policy chief and Ali Larijani, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, met for a second day of talks on Sunday.
Although Larijani reported “some progress” after the first meeting on Saturday, the Iranian foreign ministry in Tehran said on Sunday that the question of suspending enrichment work – a key demand if sanctions are to be avoided – was a “thing of the past”.
“Iran will not take a step back,” ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters.
Asefi said the Vienna talks between Solana and Larijani, had been “good” but that Iran “rejected any negotiations with preconditions”.
The talks between Solana and Larijani have widely been seen as possibly being the last chance to avert UN Security Council moves to impose sanctions against Tehran over its atomic programme.
Larijani said on Saturday: “We have had good and constructive talks and we have made some progress in some areas.“
The talks came after two days of uncertainty reflecting doubts over whether they would achieve anything.
The Solana-Larijani meeting was originally scheduled for Wednesday but postponed at the last minute.
Uranium enrichment
The reluctance of both sides to commit to the talks betrayed a war of nerves that has intensified since Iran ignored a council deadline of August 31 to stop enriching uranium, a process that could yield atomic bombs.
Neither side provided details about what had been discussed at the meeting.
Before the talks, Solana had wanted Larijani to clarify Iran‘s
21-page reply to an offer of trade and other incentives to halt its nuclear fuel programme.
Specifically, Solana was expected to home in on hints in the response that Tehran could curb the programme if engaged in negotiations to implement the benefits on offer.
Larijani meanwhile was expected to again rule out the precondition that enrichment be suspended indefinitely.
A diplomat from one of three EU states, France, Britain and Germany, in the sextet of powers who made the offers said: “We don’t think this meeting will provide a basis for negotiations.”
Diplomatic sanctions
Regardless of the Vienna talks, Nicholas Burns, the US undersecretary of state, said after a meeting of the six in Berlin on Friday that Washington expected the council to begin deliberations next week on a draft sanctions resolution.
But key EU allies as well as Russia and China voiced growing doubt about the speed with which Washington wanted to pursue financial and diplomatic sanctions against Tehran, its arch-foe but also the world’s fourth-biggest oil exporter.
To various degrees, they prefer further talks to explore a compromise that would save face on both sides.
Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, speaking after a China-EU summit in Helsinki on Saturday, urged the international community to exercise caution over sanctions and reiterated his government’s call for Iran to “take seriously” concerns over the programme.
He said: “Sanctions or pressure will not necessarily bring about the goal of solving the Iran nuclear issue.
“Our objective is to promote an ultimate peaceful resolution of the Iran nuclear issue.”
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04-02 06:04 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
Trump attended the arguments in person, a rare move by a sitting president that underscores the high stakes of the case.
US Supreme Court appears sceptical of Trump plan to limit birthright citizenship
The Supreme Court has appeared sceptical of President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship, a sign the justices could strike down a key element of his immigration agenda.
A majority of the court seemed unconvinced the US should stop granting citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants and some temporary US visitors.
The administration has argued that limiting birthright citizenship is necessary to rein in illegal immigration. Opponents argue it would upend more than a century of precedent and unravel a cornerstone of US immigration law.
Trump attended the oral arguments on Wednesday, a rare move by a sitting president that underscored the case's high stakes.
A defeat for the Republican president would mark a second straight setback at the high court, following the decision last month that invalidated his global tariffs. A win would help Trump deliver on his pledge to reshape America's immigration policies.
During more than two hours of arguments, US Solicitor General John Sauer sought to convince the justices that the 14th Amendment - which establishes birthright citizenship and was extended to formerly enslaved people - and subsequent court rulings and laws passed by Congress all mistakenly expanded birthright citizenship.
Chief Justice John Roberts, a key swing vote on the court, questioned Trump's authority to exclude children of undocumented immigrants from receiving US citizenship.
"I'm not quite sure how you can get to that big group," Roberts said.
The oral arguments turned on a key clause in the 14th Amendment, which grants citizenship to all people born or naturalised in the US who are "subject to the jurisdiction thereof".
Sauer argued that the clause should only apply to the children of foreign diplomats and a few other limited groups.
Parents who are in the country illegally when their children are born have "allegiance" to their home countries and therefore don't fall under the jurisdiction of US law, he said.
"Jurisdiction means allegiance," Sauer said. Citing a previous court opinion, he later argued that "permanent residence and domicile decides [citizenship]. That's what the court should be bound by."
But several justices said that interpretation would fundamentally reshape how Americans and people worldwide understand the US birthright citizenship process.
Justice Elena Kagan said the administration was seeking to undo a legal tradition of birthright citizenship that dates back to English common law.
"What the 14th Amendment did was accept that tradition and not attempt to put any limitations on it. That was the clear rationale," the liberal justice said.
Several justices also pointed to the 1898 Supreme Court ruling, United States v Wong Kim Ark, the landmark decision that upheld birthright citizenship in the case of a child born to Chinese immigrants living in the US.
Cecillia Wang, an ACLU attorney representing the plaintiffs in court on Wednesday, used the decision to argue that Trump's executive order should be overturned.
"If we agree with you how to read Wong Kim Ark, then you win," Justice Brett Kavanaugh said. "That could be just a short opinion."
Whether the court ultimately issues a broad or narrow opinion remains to be seen. The difference between a sweeping ruling on constitutional grounds versus a more tailored opinion on statutory grounds is a critical one, legal experts said.
The justices could choose to focus on a 1952 law passed by Congress that codified birthright citizenship and not wade into the larger constitutional debate, said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration law expert.
"The court does not like to rule on constitutional issues if it doesn't have to," Yale-Loehr said. "The court could argue that the Trump executive order is invalid on statutory grounds."
The justices are expected to issue their decision in June.
It would be the first major immigration case decided by the court on its merits since Trump started his second term.
The court has taken up other immigration cases, but has so far sent them back to lower courts for further review.
Trump's push to end birthright citizenship is one part of his larger immigration crackdown.
But it's nevertheless a longtime goal of many on the right, and something Trump has supported since his first term in office.
A victory in this case would help Trump make the case that he is delivering on his campaign pledge to limit illegal immigration.
A loss would be a setback to Trump's immigration agenda.
But it would also represent a larger blow to his efforts to aggressively expand executive power since returning to office.
The ruling in February overturning Trump's sweeping global tariffs showed that the justices are not willing to give Trump a blank cheque to bypass Congress and the courts.
Trump signalled his interest in the case by attending arguments on Wednesday.
Critics said his appearance was an improper effort t
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04-02 06:04 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
New DNA testing has solved the 51-year-old case of murdered teenager Laura Ann Aime, according to investigators.
Utah teen identified as victim of serial killer Ted Bundy
Officials in Utah have formally closed a 51-year-old cold case after using new DNA technology to identify a murdered teenager as a victim of serial killer Ted Bundy.
Laura Ann Aime, 17, disappeared after leaving a party on Halloween in 1974. Her body was discovered about one month later by hikers in the American Fork Canyon.
The Utah County Sheriff's Office announced on Wednesday that new testing "confirmed irrefutably that DNA evidence recovered from Laura's body verified the existence of DNA belonging to Bundy".
Between February 1974 and February 1978, Bundy murdered at least 30 women. He has also been linked to many more killings throughout the country.
Before he was executed in Florida in 1989, Bundy confessed to Laura's killing, but since he would not elaborate or give any detail to his actual involvement in her death, "the Sheriff's Department elected to keep this case open until investigators could prove, without a shadow of doubt" that he was her killer, the sheriff said in a statement.
The sheriff added that if Bundy were still alive, prosecutors would pursue the death penalty against him.
Bundy is among America's most infamous serial killers, and began his spree by attacking victims throughout the US Pacific north-west. He later killed victims in Colorado, Utah and Florida.
At the time of Laura's death, he was living in Salt Lake City and studying law at the University of Utah.
The sheriff's statement said Laura was remembered as an "outgoing free spirit who enjoyed outdoor activities and shared a passion for riding horses, hunting and caring for her several siblings".
Bundy was known to often approach women in public places, gain their trust with his charm or a fake injury, and then lure them to secluded areas and kill them.
He was first arrested in 1975 for kidnapping a woman and sentenced to 15 years in jail.
But in 1977 he escaped by jumping out of a prison library window.
He was recaptured for eight days and then escaped again, continuing to kill until he was finally caught in 1978.
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04-02 06:04 · 国际,新闻,BBC,国际
The quake struck between the islands of Manado and Ternate. Tsunami warnings have now been lifted.
Magnitude 7.4 earthquake hits off Indonesia, killing one
A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck in the Molucca Sea off Indonesia's Ternate island early Thursday, killing at least one person.
The quake, which struck at 06:48 local time (22:48 GMT) at a depth of 35km, sparked tsunami warnings which have since been withdrawn.
A 70-year-old woman in North Sulawesi died after being crushed by building debris, and another person broke their leg after jumping off a building, Indonesia's national news agency Antara reported.
While the region experiences high levels of seismic activity, some residents told the BBC this was one of the strongest earthquakes they have felt in at least the past six years.
The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center initially warned that tsunami waves less than 0.3m (1 ft) "were possible" along the coasts of Guam, Japan, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines and Taiwan. The tsunami alert was lifted after two hours.
Journalist Isvara Safitri, who lives in central Manado, recalled how furniture in her room shook for several seconds.
"It was really strong... My head even felt dizzy," Safitri told BBC Indonesian.
Even the roads outside the house were shaking, she said, adding that the earthquake "feels like the strongest" she's experienced over the past six years.
Yayuk Oktiani, who lives in Bitung, a city on the north-eastern coast of Sulawesi, said she often experiences tremors, "but they're never as strong as this one".
Oktiani was at the market when "everything started shaking". Several stores experienced power outages and as the tremors got stronger, people fled, she told the BBC.
She headed straight for her child's school, which is located "very close" to the sea.
"The situation there was chaotic... The teachers immediately told parents to bring their children home, even though they had only just arrived," she told the BBC.
In Ternate, resident Budi Nurgianto said the walls in his house vibrated for what felt like more than a minute. He rushed outside, into a scene of panic.
"There were many people outside... I even saw some people leaving their house without having finished their shower," he told AFP news agency.
Manado and Bitung are located on the island of Sulawesi, while Ternate is a volcanic island in the North Maluku province.
The epicentre of the quake was roughly midway between Manado and Ternate.
At least two aftershocks, with magnitudes 5.5 and 5.2, followed the major quake, with authorities warning of more to come.
The national geological agency reported "damage to buildings and injuries" about an hour after the initial tremor, but did not provide further detail.
Footage from a search and rescue team in Manado shows residents and officials walking through the rubble at a sports complex, with some shouting "oh my God".
Large pieces of furniture were flung onto the ground, with some metallic structures bent out of shape.
A patient at Siloam Hospital in Manado recalled the frantic efforts to evacuate staff and patients.
"We were sitting there drinking tea... [Initially we] didn't realise it was an earthquake. And then we heard a child scream, 'Come down, hurry up,' " said Admini, 69.
Nurses and doctors quickly set up makeshift treatment areas, out in the open and inside vehicles.
"Everyone was huddled together outside," Admini said. "Some were in wheelchairs, others were helping each other."
Additional reporting by Heyder Affan in Jakarta
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