The billionaire sultan of Johor state has been sworn in as Malaysia’s new king under the nation’s unique rotating monarchy system.
Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, 65, took his oath of office at the palace and signed the instrument of the proclamation of office in a ceremony witnessed by other royal families, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and cabinet members.
A coronation ceremony will be held at a later time.
Under the unique system, the heads of Malaysia’s nine royal families take turns to be the King, known as the “Yang di-Pertuan Agong” every five years.
Image: Pic: REUTERS
Known for his large collection of luxury cars and motorbikes, Sultan Ibrahim has wide-ranging business interests from real estate to mining, including a stake in Forest City – a £79bn China-backed land reclamation and development project off Johor.
The new monarch has close ties with Anwar, and his rule could bolster the prime minister’s united government, which faces strong Islamic opposition.
Image: Pic: REUTERS
Ahead of his installation, Sultan Ibrahim told Singapore’s The Straits Times newspaper he intends to be an active monarch and proposed that Malaysia’s state oil firm Petroliam Nasional and the country’s anti-corruption agency should report directly to the King.
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He also spoke of his plans to revive a stalled high-speed rail link project between Malaysia and Singapore, with a border crossing through Forest City.
Image: Pic: REUTERS
Prime Minister Ibrahim later downplayed the statements, saying all opinions can be discussed without disregarding the federal constitution, state media reported.
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Sultan Ibrahim takes on his duties as King amid renewed political tensions in Malaysia.
The country has seen ongoing political turmoil since 2018 when the then-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition was ousted from power for the first time since independence, prompting the monarch to play a greater role.
Image: Pic: REUTERS
Nine ethnic Malay state rulers have taken turns as King for five-year terms under the world’s only such system since Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957.
Sultan Ibrahim’s election to the national throne by his fellow rulers in October was widely expected based on an established rotation order.
Sultan Nazrin, the ruler of Perak state and next in line to the throne, was re-elected as deputy monarch.
Donald Trump will speak to Vladimir Putin by phone later today – with the White House saying “we’ve never been closer to a peace deal” in Ukraine.
In a post on Truth Social, the US president said he would be speaking to his Russian counterpart on Tuesday morning – adding: “Many elements of a Final Agreement have been agreed to, but much remains.
“Thousands of young soldiers, and others, are being killed. Each week brings 2,500 soldier deaths, from both sides, and it must end NOW.”
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After crunch talks in Saudi Arabia between US and Ukrainian diplomats, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that Kyiv would accept a 30-day pause in fighting if Russia committed to it as well.
Since then, Mr Putin has said he agrees fighting in Ukraine should end – but warned “lots of questions” remain over the proposed ceasefire.
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‘We have to keep pressure on Putin’
It comes as Ukraine’s air defence units said they shot down 90 of 174 drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack on Monday.
Russiahas been attacking the Odesa region with drones and missiles on a daily basis for three weeks, the air force said – adding that 70 other drones were disrupted in the attack.
Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper added a civilian was injured during the strikes, which damaged a kindergarten, a house, a shop and a car.
Biden children’s security detail revoked
In other developments, Mr Trump said on Truth Social that he is “immediately” revoking Secret Service protection that was being given to Joe Biden’s children.
He claimed 18 agents were assigned to Hunter Biden’s protective detail while in South Africa this week – and added Ashley Biden had 13 agents assigned to her detail who “will be taken off the list”.
Israel says it is currently carrying out “extensive strikes on terror targets” across the Gaza Strip.
A statement added that “from now on, Israelwill act against Hamaswith increasing military force”.
According to the Reuters news agency, a senior Hamas official said Israel is unilaterally ending the Gaza ceasefire agreement.
Early on Tuesday, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said at least 44 people were killed in the airstrikes.
Image: An ambulance outside al Aqsa Hospital. Pic: AP
In a statement, the Prime Minister’s Office said Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz ordered the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to “act forcefully” against Hamas.
It came after the militant group “repeatedly refused to release our hostages and rejected all offers it received from the US presidential envoy, Steve Witkoff, and from the mediators”.
“The operational plan was presented late last week by the IDF and approved by the political echelon,” the statement added.
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The IDF and Shin Bet described the strikes as “extensive” – and said they were against “terror targets belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization in the Gaza Strip”.
A Palestinian source who lives in central Gaza told Sky News’ US correspondent Mark Stone the strikes were “not a surprise” and that “I guess the strongest ones can do whatever they want”.
The source then said, according to Mr Stone, that “we were sure that this war wouldn’t end” and added: “I wish they (Israel) would open the Rafah border crossing (into Egypt).
“I wish to leave. I cannot take it anymore.”
It comes almost two months after a three-phase ceasefire was reached by Hamas and Israel to pause the war.
Over the first phase of the ceasefire, which lasted six weeks, Hamas released 33 Israeli hostages held in Gaza and five Thai nationals, in exchange for around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
But since the first phase officially concluded, both Israel and Hamas have failed to agree on how to progress with the second phase – which would see the release of the remaining Israeli hostages and end the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff proposed extending the first phase through to the end of Ramadan and Passover, or until 20 April, which Hamas rejected.
At the start of March, Israel said it stopped all goods and supplies to Gaza after claiming Hamas was refusing to “accept the Witkoff outline for continuing the talks, which Israel agreed to”. Hamas called it “a war crime and a blatant attack”.
The war in Gaza began after Hamas militants carried out a cross-border raid into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people and capturing around 250 hostages, according to Israeli officials.
Israel responded by launching an air and ground offensive in Gaza which has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, say Gaza health officials.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Fox News interview that US President Donald Trump’s administration was consulted by Israel on the strikes earlier on Monday.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor has met Donald Trump in the Oval Office after complaining about Ireland’s “illegal immigration racket”.
The 36-year-old told Mr Trump that his work ethic was “inspiring”, with the two men sharing jovial comments about the fighter’s suit and a map featuring the Gulf of Mexico labelled as the Gulf of America.
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In comments made in the White House briefing room before the meeting during the St. Patrick’s Day visit, he said he was visiting the White House to “raise the issues the people of Ireland face”.
“What is going on in Ireland is a travesty,” he said. “Our government is the government of zero action with zero accountability.”
Image: Trump and McGregor meeting in the Oval Office. Pic: X/@MargoMartin47
McGregor warned “Ireland is at the cusp of potentially losing its Irishness” due to the “illegal immigration racket”.
“Ireland and America, we are siblings. We consider America our big sibling. So it’s important for Ireland to be a peaceful, prosperous country for 40 million Irish Americans to have a place to visit, [to] come back to their home.
“So we wish for our relationship with the United States to continue, and we wish to be taken care of by the big bro. The United States should look after its little bro. And that’s how we feel,” McGregor said.
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who appeared alongside McGregor in the briefing room, said: “We couldn’t think of a better guest to have with us on St. Patrick’s Day.”
At a meeting with Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin last week, Mr Trump said McGregor was his favourite Irish person partly because “he’s got the best tattoos I’ve ever seen”.
Image: UFC fighter Conor McGregor speaks with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt at his side during a visit to the White House in Washington. Pic: Reuters
But Mr Martin and deputy prime minister Simon Harris have been critical of today’s Trump-McGregor meeting.
In a post on X, Mr Martin said: “McGregor’s remarks are wrong, and do not reflect the spirit of St Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland.”
Meanwhile, Mr Harris said that McGregor was not in the US to represent Ireland and did not speak for the people of Ireland, and “has no mandate to”.
In exclusive comments made to Sky News’ David Blevinsabout Mr Martin’s comments,McGregor said: “Shame on him for saying that, speaking down on an Irish man.”
He added: “Every metric available to us has shown that the government of Ireland has failed the people of Ireland.”
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Mr Trump is well known for his support of Ultimate Fighting Championship, which McGregor is best known for competing in, and attended bouts during the 2024 presidential campaign.
McGregor is a controversial figure in Ireland after a woman who accused him of raping her won her civil case and was awarded more than £200,000 in damages.
Tesco was among the retailers that stopped selling alcohol brands linked to McGregor after Nikita Hand was awarded €248,603 (£206,000) after a jury found McGregor assaulted her in a hotel in 2018.
McGregor is appealing against the outcome of the civil case.
McGregor also pleaded guilty to assaulting a man in a Dublin pub in 2019 and has been subject to several other allegations of assault and sexual assault.
His social media posts were also linked to the 2023 Dublin riots. Irish police were reportedly investigating McGregor’s posts for alleged incitement to hatred in relation to the riots.
McGregor, nicknamed the Notorious, rose to worldwide prominence for winning several UFC championships.