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US Supreme Court gives Trump a victory over restrictions on mail-in voting
The?U.S. The?U.S. Supreme Court lifted on Monday a judicial ruling that had prevented President Donald Trump from implementing an executive order restricting the use of mail-in votes ahead of the November midterm elections, which will determine control of Congress. However, another judicial ruling remains. The Justice Department received an emergency request from the Justice Department to suspend an injunction issued by U.S. judge Indira Talwani in Boston in June, which prevented the Republican President from implementing his directive against a coalition consisting of 23 states, mostly governed by Democrats, and Washington, D.C., who had sued in order to stop him. The court is conservatively majority with a 6 to 3 margin. Three liberal justices were dissidents from the ruling. As the midterm elections approach, the Supreme Court's decision leaves the door open for states to sue again in the future. However, the court didn't act on a second injunction that Talwani issued on August 11, which blocked the U.S. Postal Service across the country is not enforcing stricter voting rules in accordance with the directive. The judge made this order as part of a separate lawsuit brought by voting rights groups. The Justice Department had asked the Supreme Court to clarify that it applied its decision to both of Talwani's?injunctions. However, the justices didn't do this on Monday. Both lawsuits challenged Trump's executive order as being unconstitutional. TRUMP'S MARK EXECUTIVE ORDDER Trump's March executive order directed the Department of Homeland Security?to compile and transmit to each state a list of U.S. Citizens eligible to vote, while the Justice Department prioritized investigating and prosecuting local and state election officials who issued ballots to people deemed "not qualified" to vote at federal elections. The order also mandated that the U.S. Postal Service will only deliver ballots to those voters who are on the approved list of mail-in votes for each state. Postal Service has recently implemented Trump's directive. Trump has promised to stop the use of mail in ballots before the midterm elections. He has also cast doubts on their security, even though evidence of voter fraud has been rare. Republicans want to keep control of Congress during the fiercely contested midterm elections. Republicans would benefit disproportionately from limiting mail-in votes, as Democratic voters are more likely to use them than Republican voters. JUDGE RULED TRUMP lacked authority Talwani ruled in June that the President lacked authority to order any changes in the way states administer federal election, noting that states are responsible for determining 'voter eligibility requirements' under the U.S. Constitution. The judge noted that federal agencies are unable to compile accurate lists of citizens for each state. The Justice Department had said that the lawsuit against Trump's directive was premature, and the states lacked the legal standing to sue at this point. The administration stated that the agencies haven't taken any concrete steps to impact the states, and any harm they claim is speculation. The states claim that their claims are real and that the "rushed effort to change the rules for mail voting just before the midterm elections in November risks disenfranchising substantial numbers of voters." The judge rejected administration arguments. He found that the lawsuit was not filed too "soon" and that states had a legal right to file the suit because they would be subjected to disruption of election administration, compliance costs, and the credible threat of criminal prosecution. Trump's executive orders is part of a larger effort to fundamentally change the U.S. election system. Trump, who has made false claims of widespread fraud in U.S. elections including his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden, has pressed the Republican-controlled Congress to pass a contentious package of voting restrictions called the SAVE America Act. (Reporting from Andrew Chung, New York; Editing done by Will Dunham and Matthew Lewis.)
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WestJet cabin staff approves proposed deal following strike
WestJet's?flight attendants voted on Monday to accept a tentative deal that would?increase wages?"by a?more than 18%?over the next three years?, according to their union. This follows a strike earlier in the month that resulted in hundreds of cancellations. Flight attendants at the airline 'also received duty pay premiums as part of an 'overall shift in North America where cabin crews are challenging compensation structures based primarily on flying time, rather than each?hour worked. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents 4,400 WestJet Flight Attendants, sought compensation for the period from when members report to work until their clock-out. The 'tentative agreement' would offer a premium to compensate for time that was previously unpaid. Air Canada, Alaska Air, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and American Airlines have all introduced a pay-for-boarding system or specified ground time. This has increased the pressure on other carriers to recognize more of what attendants do on duty. On August 3, the?union announced that it had tentatively reached a?deal with Canada’s second largest?carrier which is owned by Onex Corp.
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Sources say that the derailment of Rusal in Guinea has stopped alumina exports.
Three sources said that a train owned by Russian aluminium producer?Rusal, derailed over the weekend in Guinea's Dubreka Prefecture, halting exports of alumina and slowing production. Two company officials reported that the train carrying alumina fell off the track near Kagbelen, on Saturday evening. The incident injured four people and forced the suspension of rail traffic. Senior Friguia refinery officials said that alumina production continued at a slower pace after the accident but they could not quantify its impact. Exports are at a standstill. "A team has been dispatched on the site to assess and repair the situation," said the official. They asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak on the subject publicly. Rusal didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. Guinean authorities have not yet released an official statement on the cause of the derailment. RUSAL FACE EXPORT DISRUPTIONS Guinea, the world's leading exporter of the bauxite ore that is used to produce aluminium, faces disruptions in its exports. Rusal runs the only alumina refining plant in the country, with a capacity of 600,000.00 metric tons annually. It supplies?alumina for the Russian aluminium smelters. The derailment of the Rusal ship in Guinea is a further challenge to Rusal's exports since the Iran War disrupted shipping lanes. According to a fourth source, the incident has disrupted the supply of key production inputs such as fuel and caustic soda, which are transported by rail between the port refinery. Rusal's second executive and a mining expert?said that the company had already cut alumina production before the derailment due to?fuel supply issues. Guinea's mining industry relies on a number of privately-operated rail corridors that connect bauxite, iron ore and alumina refineries with export terminals. The derailment, according to a senior official in the transport ministry, highlighted a 'chronic'?shortcoming of railway maintenance. According to the refinery's official, Friguia reopened in 2018 after closing in 2012. Since then, it has produced around 450,000 tons alumina per year. (Reporting and editing by Matthew Lewis; Maxwell Akalaare Adombila, Guinea newsroom)
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Putin gives Russia control over infrastructure that is vulnerable to drone attacks
On Monday, President Vladimir Putin 'granted the Russian state authority to seize control of critical infrastructure that is not adequately protected against Ukrainian drone attacks or other threats. A presidential decree outlines the special powers that will allow Ukraine to temporarily take over management of these facilities. This is at a time where drone attacks on oil refineries, retail warehouses and other critical infrastructure have increased. According to the decree, the state can take control of assets such as physical or financial and formal ownership rights when entities in charge of these?facilities fail to do their job to protect them. This applies to fuel, energy, communication, industrial and transport facilities, as well as other items deemed critical for the economic and security stability of both the state and its population. First Deputy Premier Denis Manturov stated that the measure would not be used on a large scale and should not be seen as a prelude to nationalisation. "This is not a nationalisation or change in ownership." Manturov, quoted by Interfax as saying that the decree allows for the state to be involved in managing an entity in order to "address certain?security concerns". Last week, Putin ordered the government launch a program to rebuild damaged or destroyed commercial warehouses caused by Ukraine in recent weeks. Kyiv has destroyed a significant portion of the storage capacity at Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer. Since July 18, Kyiv has targeted more than two dozen warehouses. Russia's second largest online retailer Ozon said on Monday that four of its southern Russian logistics hubs had been attacked by Ukrainian forces. (Reporting by Editing by Andrew Osborn, Alexandra Hudson)
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UK's Burnham: 'Glorifying dangerous driving in social media is repugnant'
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham referred to the promotion of dangerous driving via social media as "truly repugnant" on Monday, while his government called for tech companies to remove videos after a weekend car crash that killed seven people. In the early morning hours of Saturday, a car that was driven in the wrong direction down a major highway crashed into a police vehicle with armed officers in Northeast England. All five passengers and two officers were killed. Police said that four of the five people in the car had prior convictions. The police said that they had arrested 12 people as part of an investigation into organized criminal activity related to the incident. The accident came after two recent head-on crashes near Dublin. One of them killed five people. This prompted Ireland's chief police officer to warn that some young people are driving wrong way on motorways "for social media". The police said that there is no evidence to suggest the events that led up to the accident were filmed for the purpose of appearing on the short-form video platform TikTok. Burnham described the incident as "devastating" but said that he couldn't say more at this point because an investigation is ongoing. He told Kyiv reporters on Monday that anyone who promotes dangerous driving does something truly reprehensible. Since the accident, the government has raised the issue with social media companies of videos of dangerous driving and asked that they be removed. The police said they had received reports of dangerous driving before the crash, including one vehicle seen ramming into a property in Middlesbrough in northeast England. Police said that both vehicles were operating with cloned plates in order to avoid detection. Nine men and three woman, aged between 19 and 60, were arrested by police in the Teesside region after inquiries conducted over the weekend. Police said that the suspects were detained on suspicion of crimes ranging from possessing a firearm to engaging in 'activities of organised crime groups'. In a press release, Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox stated that the investigation was fast-moving with significant connections to serious criminal activity.
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UK Police arrest 12 after a crash in which seven people were killed is linked to organised crime
British police, who are investigating a weekend car crash that killed seven people, two of them police officers, announced on Monday they had arrested 12 people as part of a probe into organized criminal activity related to the accident. Cleveland Police stated that officers received reports of dangerous driving by two cars, including one seen ramming into a property in Middlesbrough. Police said that both vehicles were operating with cloned plates to avoid detection. The vehicle that crashed was driving the wrong way on a major highway and collided with a police car armed with weapons, killing all five of its occupants as well as two police officers. Police said that four of the five people in the vehicle had prior convictions. Nine men and three woman, aged 19 to 61 years, were arrested by police in the Teesside region over the weekend after they conducted inquiries. Police said that the suspects were arrested under suspicion of crimes ranging from possessing a firearm to taking part in activities of an organised crime group. In a press release, Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox stated that the investigation was "fast-moving" and complex. It had significant connections to serious criminal activity. The police said that there was no evidence to suggest that the events preceding the accident had been filmed in order to be aired on the short-form video platform TikTok. This follows recent concerns about motorists driving wrong way to gain attention from social media. (Reporting and editing by David Miliken; Sam Tabahriti)
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Putin gives the Russian state the right to control infrastructure that is not properly protected
The Russian state was given the authority by President Vladimir Putin to take control of critical infrastructure facilities that are deemed to have been 'poorly protected' from Ukrainian drone attacks and other threats. A presidential decree outlines the special powers that will allow for temporary management of these facilities. This is at a time where?Ukraine is intensifying drone attacks against oil refineries and retail warehouses. According to the decree, the state can take over 'physical and financial assets' and formal ownership rights when the entity responsible for these 'facilities is judged to be negligent in protecting them and too slow in repairing them after an attack. The new decree included fuel, energy, communications, transport, and logistics facilities, as well as other items deemed to be critical for ensuring?security and stability? of the state?and the people?. Putin ordered last week that the government launch "a" program to rebuild commercial warehouses destroyed or damaged by Ukraine over recent weeks. Kyiv has attacked at least two dozen warehouses belonging to Russia's largest online retailer Wildberries, destroying a significant?chunk? of its storage capacity. Russia's second largest?online retailer Ozon said on Monday that four of its logistic hubs in southern Russia were targeted by Ukrainian attacks. Reporting and Editing by Andrew Osborn
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TotalEnergies CEO: TotalEnergies to invest in expanding Fujairah Oil Export Pipeline in Abu Dhabi
The CEO of TotalEnergies, a French oil company, said that the company will continue to invest in the Middle East in spite of the Iran conflict. This was revealed at a conference on energy in Norway. Patrick Pouyanne previously said that it was important to fund alternate pipelines in order for oil to leave Middle East, given the paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz during the U.S.-Israel war against Iran. Pouyanne stated at the ONS Conference that "we are today the largest traders of oil from Iraq or Qatar... it is clear to me that a certain amount equity needs to be invested in an alternative route." He added, "We will partner with the pipeline that will move?from Baghdad into Syria. I will also make an investment in Abu Dhabi to double the Fujairah pipe." The Habshan-Fujairah Pipeline in Abu Dhabi, also known as the Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline can transport up to 1.8 millions barrels of oil per day. This has proven?crucial for the United Arab Emirates, who are trying to maximize exports out of the Gulf of Oman, just outside of the Strait of Hormuz. The UAE hopes to double that export capacity by next year.
Lockerbie Bombing Trial postponed days before its start by US Judge
The trial of the man accused by authorities of building the bomb that allegedly blew Pan Am Flight 103 out the sky over Lockerbie in Scotland and killed 270 people in 1988 was postponed on Monday by a federal judge.
The jury selection was'scheduled' to begin on Wednesday for the trial of Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir Al-Marimi. Prosecutors claim that the Libyan intelligence agent confessed his involvement in the 1988 bombing.
U.S. district judge Dabney Friedrich said that the defense attorneys wanted to review new evidence.
She said that "the newly-discovered evidence, as well evidence found in other countries", and "the need for the defense determine the best way to defend this case", led her to make the decision.
Friedrich didn't schedule a new date for the trial but instead set up a hearing in court on September 1, to discuss next steps.
Mas'ud has now reached his mid-70s and has pleaded no contest to two criminal charges relating to the destruction of an aircraft that resulted in death. If convicted, he could face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
The Boeing 747 that exploded in London minutes after takeoff on December 21, 1998 killed all 259 passengers, including 190 Americans and 11 people on ground in Scotland.
The bombing turned former Libyan leader Muammar Gadafi - whose government had accepted responsibility for 2003's attack - into an international pariah.
Mas'ud denies wrongdoing, and his lawyers question the credibility of evidence collected by prosecutors. This includes Mas'ud's supposed confession to a Libyan Police?Officer in 2012, one year after rebel forces overthrew Gaddafi's regime.
The trial of Mas'ud in a 'Washington, D.C. Federal 'court has been delayed for years by legal wrangling about the alleged confession, and other issues, which have revealed the complexities of a U.S. prosecution of a decades-old British attack with key evidence gathered in Libya.
Mas'ud was arrested in Libya in 2022 and brought to the U.S. He is accused of constructing a "time-delayed" bomb which was placed into a suitcase and checked luggage in Malta. The suitcase containing explosives eventually found its way to London Heathrow Airport where it was placed in the hold of Pan Am Flight 103.
(source: Reuters)