UNITED STATES
Trump gets ‘special master’
A federal judge on Monday granted a request by former president Donald Trump’s legal team to appoint a special master to review documents seized by the FBI during a search of his Florida home last month. The decision by US District Judge Aileen Cannon came despite the objections of the Department of Justice, which said an outside legal expert was not necessary in part, because officials had already completed their review of potentially privileged documents. The judge had previously signaled her inclination to approve a special master, asking a department lawyer during arguments this month: “What is the harm?” The appointment might slow the pace of the department’s investigation into the presence of top-secret information at Mar-a-Lago, but it is unlikely to affect any investigative decisions or the ultimate outcome of the probe.
PERU
Congress head ousted
Lawmakers on Monday ousted Lady Camones as Congress president, just a day after the prime minister publicly demanded her removal over leaked audio that showed her discussing how to use the legislature to benefit her party. Camones had been in the role for less than two months and her ouster underscores how the administration of President Pedro Castillo is pushing back aggressively against a hostile Congress that has twice impeached him. Although Castillo has survived the impeachment trials, opposition lawmakers, including Camones, have said they would like to try to oust him for a third time.
UNITED STATES
‘Fat Leonard’ escapes
A military contractor who pleaded guilty to orchestrating the “Fat Leonard” corruption scandal and was under house arrest in San Diego, California, is now on the run after cutting off his GPS monitoring ankle bracelet over the weekend, federal authorities said. Supervisory Deputy US Marshal Omar Castillo said Leonard Glenn Francis removed the tracker on Sunday, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. After police officers found Francis’ home empty, the San Diego Regional Fugitive Task Force and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service began a high-profile search, the newspaper reported. Castillo said neighbors witnessed U-Haul moving trucks coming to and from Francis’ home in the days before his escape. Francis was arrested in San Diego in 2013 and pleaded guilty in 2015 to offering US$500,000 in bribes to US Navy officers. In exchange, the officers passed him classified information and even redirected military vessels to ports that were lucrative for his Singapore-based ship servicing company.
UNITED KINGDOM
Meghan addresses youth
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, on Monday made her first speech in the nation since she and Prince Harry quit as working royals two years ago. Delivering a keynote speech to the One Young World summit, Meghan spoke of her self-doubt as “the girl from Suits” when she attended the same youth event in 2014 alongside world leaders and humanitarian advocates. The duchess was best known for her role in the TV drama Suits before she married Harry. “I was allowed in, to pull up a seat at the table,” Meghan told about 2,000 young people gathered in Manchester, England. “I was so overwhelmed by this experience, I think I even saved my little paper place-marker with my name on it. Just proof — proof that I was there, proof that I belonged, because the truth was, I wasn’t sure that I belonged,” she said.
Hundreds of protesters marched through the Mexican capital on Friday denouncing gentrification caused by foreigners, with some vandalizing businesses and shouting “gringos out!” The demonstration in the capital’s central area turned violent when hooded individuals smashed windows, damaged restaurant furniture and looted a clothing store. Mexico City Government Secretary Cesar Cravioto said 15 businesses and public facilities were damaged in what he called “xenophobic expressions” similar to what Mexican migrants have suffered in other countries. “We are a city of open arms... there are always ways to negotiate, to sit at the table,” Cravioto told Milenio television. Neighborhoods like Roma-Condesa
‘CONTINUE TO SERVE’: The 90-year-old Dalai Lama said he hoped to be able to continue serving ‘sentient beings and the Buddha Dharma’ for decades to come The Dalai Lama yesterday said he dreamed of living for decades more, as the Buddhist spiritual leader prayed with thousands of exiled Tibetans on the eve of his 90th birthday. Thumping drums and deep horns reverberated from the Indian hilltop temple, as a chanting chorus of red-robed monks and nuns offered long-life prayers for Tenzin Gyatso, who followers believe is the 14th reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Looking in good health, dressed in traditional maroon monk robes and a flowing yellow wrap, he led prayers — days after confirming that the 600-year-old Tibetan Buddhist institution would continue after his death. Many exiled Tibetans
Dozens of residents have evacuated remote islands in southern Japan that have been shaken by nearly 1,600 earthquakes in recent weeks, the local mayor said yesterday. There has been no major physical damage on hardest-hit Akuseki island, even after a magnitude 5.1 quake that struck overnight, said Toshima Mayor Genichiro Kubo, who is based on another island. However, the almost nonstop jolts since June 21 have caused severe stress to area residents, many of whom have been deprived of sleep. Of the 89 residents of Akuseki, 44 had evacuated to the regional hub of Kagoshima by Sunday, while 15 others also left another
CEREMONY EXPECTED: Abdullah Ocalan said he believes in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons, and called on the group to put that into practice The jailed leader of a Kurdish militant group yesterday renewed a call for his fighters to lay down their arms, days before a symbolic disarmament ceremony is expected to take place as a first concrete step in a peace process with the Turkish state. In a seven-minute video message broadcast on pro-Kurdish Medya Haber’s YouTube channel, Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said that the peace initiative had reached a stage that required practical steps. “It should be considered natural for you to publicly ensure the disarmament of the relevant groups in a way that addresses the expectations
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