NEW YORK // American states are scrambling to block Donald Trump’s revised travel ban, lodging legal challenges and asking for emergency hearings to prevent new restrictions come into force on Thursday.
This week four states joined with Washington to request that the injunction against Mr Trump’s initial ban be further applied to its replacement. Meanwhile 14 more states offered backing to a challenge launched by Hawaii last week.
Opponents say the new version may have been streamlined to avoid tales of American residents being barred from flying home, but it still discriminates against Muslims.
Bob Ferguson, Washington state’s attorney general who has become something of a folk hero for overturning the first ban, said: “No one is above the law, not even the president – and I will hold him accountable to the constitution.
“Cutting some illegal aspects of President Trump’s original travel ban does not cure his affront to our constitution.”
Mr Trump’s first attempt at banning arrivals from seven mainly Muslim nations – Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria and Yemen – provoked mass protests at airports where passengers were detained on arrival.
It lasted only a week.
A Seattle court imposed an injunction blocking the ban after Mr Ferguson argued that families, universities and businesses were suffering because of the ban. It was later upheld on appeal.
The revised version exempts nationals from Iraq, green card holders as well as other travellers who have already secured visas, and allows for discretionary waivers.
In so doing it aims to avoid the bungled implementation of the original, which still managed to win the backing of more than half of registered voters, according to a Morning Consult/Politico poll published last month.
However, opponents say the revised version still amounts to a Muslim ban and falls foul of the US constitution.
On Monday, Mr Ferguson lodged papers with the same Seattle court accusing the government of attempting to dodge judicial authority by trying to impose a new order.
“Injunctions are not suggestions,” reads his emergency motion. “When a court enjoins a defendant from enforcing policies, the defendant cannot evade the injunction by announcing that it will continue only some of the illegal policies. Yet that is what Defendants attempt here.”
He asked for a hearing on Tuesday.
Justice James Robart, who heard the original case, said he would not schedule court time until Wednesday, just a day before the new ban is due to come into force.
Instead he asked the government to file its response by the close of business on Tuesday.
A second defeat for the president would be deeply embarrassing.
During the election campaign he accused President Barack Obama and his rival Hillary Clinton of failing to properly tackle terrorism. He made a point of referring to “radical Islamic terrorism” and repeatedly warned of the risks of allowing tens of thousands of Syrian refugees into the country for fear they represented a terrorist “Trojan horse”.
He promised to ban all foreign Muslims from entering the country until he had a chance to review the immigration system.
That promise – although watered down – now stands at the heart of the legal challenges.
“President Trump campaigned on the promise of ‘a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States’,” runs Washington state’s legal case. “Although he was repeatedly asked to reconsider this promise, he refused. Put simply, the ‘Muslim ban’ was a centrepiece of the president’s campaign for months.”
The complaint claims the second executive order violates the first, tenth and 14 amendments of the US constitution, which were designed, respectively, to prevent the government from preferring one religion over another, to afford everyone the right to due legal process and to ensure that all individuals be treated without bias.
California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Oregon have all joined the case.
The attorney general of New York said international students from the six designated countries enrolled in local institutions were worth an estimated $28.8 million to the state’s economy in 2015.
Eric Schneiderman said: “As our complaint details, President Trump’s second executive order is just a Muslim Ban by another name, seeking to accomplish the same unlawful and unconstitutional goals of the first ban.
“The Trump administration’s continued intent to discriminate against Muslims is clear – and it undermines New York’s families, institutions, and economy.”
New York is anticipating its first drop in visitor numbers since 2008 as a result of the ban. The city forecasts welcoming 300,000 fewer international visitors in 2017, representing a 2.1% decrease on last year’s figures.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2
Vinicius Junior (71') Mariano (90 2')
Barcelona 0
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Uefa Champions League play-off
First leg: Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Ajax v Dynamo Kiev
Second leg: Tuesday, August 28, 11pm (UAE)
Dynamo Kiev v Ajax
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
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Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
PRESIDENTS CUP
Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:
02.32am (Thursday): Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas
02.47am (Thursday): Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
03.02am (Thursday): Adam Scott/An Byeong-hun v Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau
03.17am (Thursday): Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan v Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed
03.32am (Thursday): Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen v Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
