Trump: Judge orders release of redacted search court papers
A US judge has ordered investigators to release a redacted version of court papers that convinced him to authorise a search of Donald Trump's estate, BBC reported.
The public version of the affidavit, a document that includes the evidence gathered by prosecutors, could reveal new details about the inquiry.
The Department of Justice opposed releasing an uncensored version amid its ongoing investigation.
The FBI search was part of a probe into the potential mishandling of documents.
The former US president has denied wrongdoing and insists the classified files that investigators say were found at Mar-a-Lago in Florida this month had already been declassified by himself.
On Thursday, US Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart ordered the affidavit to be released with redactions by noon (16:00 GMT) on Friday.
His ruling came shortly after the justice department confirmed that it had submitted to the judge a copy of the affidavit with proposed redactions.
Even in redacted form, the affidavit could provide clues as to why Mr Trump allegedly took classified documents with him in the chaotic final days of his presidency and what he did with them while they were stored in Palm Beach.
The rest may have to wait for when - or if - any criminal charges are filed, according to BBC.
The warrant itself was released on 12 August alongside an inventory of recovered items that showed 11 sets of classified files were removed from the estate.
Several news organisations have applied for the affidavit to be unsealed, citing public interest given the historic nature of the search of a former president's home.
Mr Trump and his lawyers - who have characterised the Mar-a-Lago search as politically motivated and unlawful - have called for the unredacted affidavit to be released.
A spokesman for Mr Trump, Taylor Budowich, said that efforts to "hide" its contents were "cynical" and could be used to "hide government corruption".
Earlier this week, Mr Trump's legal team asked that the investigation be frozen and that an independent third-party attorney, known as a special master, be brought in to oversee the documents that the FBI took during the search.
The search warrant indicates FBI agents wanted to see if Mr Trump committed a crime by improperly handling government records when he took them from the White House to Mar-a-Lago as his administration ended.
US presidents are required to transfer documents and emails to the National Archives when they leave office, BBC reported.
Zaporizhzhia: World narrowly avoided radiation accident - Zelensky
Europe faced the prospect of a radiation disaster on Thursday when a Russian-occupied nuclear plant was disconnected from Ukraine's power grid, President Volodomyr Zelensky has said, BBC reported.
It was only due to back-up electricity kicking in that the Zaporizhzhia plant was able to operate safely, he added.
Fires had earlier damaged overhead power lines, cutting the plant off.
There is growing concern over fighting near the complex, which is the largest nuclear plant in Europe.
"If the diesel generators hadn't turned on, if the automation and our staff of the plant had not reacted after the blackout, then we would already be forced to overcome the consequences of the radiation accident," President Zelensky warned on Thursday night.
The damage was caused by fires which Ukraine's state nuclear agency said had interfered with power lines connecting the plant on Thursday, temporarily cutting Zaporizhzhia off from the national grid for the first time in its history."As a result, the station's two working power units were disconnected from the network," Kyiv officials said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned that having "a secure off-site power supply from the grid is essential for ensuring nuclear safety".
Satellite images taken on Wednesday showed an extensive fire burning in the immediate vicinity of the nuclear complex.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed the damage on Russian shelling, and in his nightly address accused Moscow of putting Ukraine and Europe "one step away" from disaster, according to BBC.
But local Russian-appointed governor Yevgeny Balitsky blamed the Ukrainian military for the strikes, accusing them of causing power outages to the region as a result.
The BBC was not able to independently verify who was responsible.
The plant "remained connected to a 330kV line from the nearby thermal power facility that can provide back-up electricity if needed," the IAEA said in a statement, citing Ukraine's state nuclear agency.
It added that all six nuclear reactor units remained disconnected from the power grid despite the line having been restored later on Thursday.
Normally the nuclear plant supplies one-fifth of Ukraine's total electricity - so its continued disconnection from the national grid would pose serious challenges for Ukraine.
The nuclear site has been occupied by Russian military forces since early March but continues to be operated by Ukrainian nuclear technicians.
The Kremlin has signalled it will allow international inspectors to visit the complex - but until that happens it is difficult to verify what is happening on the ground.
It comes amid claims from Kyiv that Moscow could be trying to intentionally divert power from the occupied nuclear plant to reconnect it to Russia's own power grid.
There were media reports on Thursday of power outages across towns and villages in neighbouring parts of Russian-occupied Ukraine.
The mayor of Enerhodar, which is located next to the nuclear plant, claimed on Thursday that the city had no power or water at all and there were also reports of power cuts in the Russian-occupied cities of Melitopol and Kherson.
Washington officials condemned any bid by Moscow to redirect the power generated by the Zaporizhzhia plant away from Kyiv's national grid.
"The electricity that it produces rightly belongs to Ukraine," US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Thursday evening, adding that "no country should turn a nuclear power plant into an active war zone."
Nepal logs 444 new Covid-19 cases, three deaths on Thursday
Nepal recorded 444 new Covid-19 cases and three deaths on Thursday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 996 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 211 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 958 people underwent antigen tests, of which 233 tested positive. The Ministry said that 307 infected people recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours. As of today, there are 4, 199 active cases in the country.
Nepse plunges by 18. 29 points on Thursday
The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 18. 29 points to close at 2,039.55 points on Thursday. Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 3. 78 points to close at 394. 51 points. A total of 4,234,137 units of the shares of 219 companies were traded for Rs 1. 71 billion. Meanwhile, Upper Hewakhola Hydropower Company Limited was the top gainer today with its price surging by 9. 99 percent. Likewise, Mailung Khola Jal Vidhyut Company Limited was the top loser with its price dropped by 5. 82 percent. At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 92 trillion.
KMC demolishes illegal structures built by Alfa Beta in New Baneshwor (In pictures)
The Kathmandu Metropolitan City on Thursday demolished structures constructed illegally by the Alfa Beta in New Baneshwor.
A team led by Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah dismantled the structures built against the map.
Mayor Shah along with his team had reached AlfaBeta this afternoon after the concerned side ignored the 35-day public notice issued earlier by the Metropolitan City.
When Shah reached the site, the operator asked the mayor to show the blueprint of the building.
Furious Shah asked a counter question to the operator, “who should have the blueprint of the building you or me?”
After some time, the team reached the Alfa Beta with the blueprint and a dozer.
The Alfa Beta had been operating a pharmacy in an illegal way.
The underground floor made for the parking will also be vacated at the direction of the KMC.
Prepare detailed report of all electoral constituencies: Coalition leaders tell task force
A meeting of the ruling coalition held on Thursday directed the task force to prepare a detailed report of all the constituencies for the electoral alliance. A meeting held at the official residence of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba in Baluwatar directed the task force to prepare and submit the detailed report of the 165 electoral constituencies, Nepali Congress leader and Minister for Communications and Information Technology Gyanendra Bahadur Karki said. He said that the task force will prepare the report and submit it to the top guns of the ruling coalition. The task force is also preparing to submit the claims made by the parties on seat sharing to the top level. Minister Karki said that the issue of seat sharing will be finalized soon. Earlier, the issue of seat sharing was discussed among the senior leaders after the task force could not forge a consensus.
Taiwan opposition politician takes war games concerns to China
A senior member of Taiwan’s main opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), has told a top Chinese official of Taiwanese people’s concerns about Beijing’s war games near the island, in what the party described as “frank” talks, Reuters reported.
China, which claims democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, has been holding massed military drills near the island to express its anger at a visit to Taipei this month by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
KMT Deputy Chairman Andrew Hsia arrived in China for what his party said was a pre-planned visit to the Taiwanese business community and on Wednesday night met Zhang Zhijun, head of China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, a quasi-official body that handles ties with Taiwan.
Taiwan’s government has criticised Hsia for his timing, and some senior KMT officials have expressed reservations about the trip.
“Deputy Chairman Hsia said he wanted to reflect Taiwan’s public opinion and must not mince his words,” the KMT said in a statement after the meeting in the eastern Chinese city of Kunshan, according to Reuters.
“The first priority was to convey the dissatisfaction and worries of the Taiwanese people about the mainland military’s continuous exercises in the waters around Taiwan,” it added.
The KMT described the meeting, over dinner, as being an honest exchange of opinions on both sides.
China’s official Xinhua news agency said Zhang, who previously led the Taiwan Affairs Office, described the current situation as one of “tension and turmoil”.
“The relevant countermeasures we have taken are a just move to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, curb and combat ‘Taiwan independence’ splitism and foreign interference,” Xinhua reported, Reuters reported.
Taiwan’s government rejects China’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.
The KMT traditionally favours close relations with China, though it has condemned Beijing’s war games.
The KMT ruled China before retreating with its defeated Republic of China government to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s Communist forces, which set up the People’s Republic of China.
Thai PM suspended while court mulls if he defied term limits
Thailand’s Constitutional Court suspended the prime minister from his duties on Wednesday while it decides whether the man who led a military coup in 2014 has violated the country’s term limits, potentially opening a new chapter of turmoil in the nation’s troubled politics, Associated Press reported.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s removal is likely to only be temporary since the court has generally ruled in the government’s favor in a slew of political cases.
Any decision to allow the general to stay on risks invigorating a protest movement that has long sought to oust him and reopening deep fissures in Thailand, which has been rocked by repeated bursts of political chaos since a coup toppled then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2006.
Since then, Thaksin, a telecoms billionaire whose populist appeal threatened the traditional power structure, has remained at the center of the country’s politics, as his supporters and opponents fought for power both at the ballot box and in the streets, sometimes violently. The 2014 takeover ousted his sister from power.
Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, a close political ally of Prayuth and part of the same military clique that that staged the coup, will take over as acting prime minister, a spokesman for the prime minister’s office said Wednesday. Anucha Burapachaisri added that Prayuth would respect the court’s decision and called on others to do the same.
But those who want Prayuth gone don’t want Prawit in power either.
“No Prayuth. No Prawit. No military coup government,” a leading protest group said in a statement after the court decision Wednesday.
The group known as Ratsadon, or The People, issued a new call for protests, but only a small number came in response.
Prayuth’s detractors contend he has violated a law that limits prime ministers to eight years in power — a threshold they say he hit Tuesday since he officially became prime minister on Aug. 24, 2014.
But his supporters contend his term should be counted from when the current constitution, which contains the term-limit provision, came into effect in 2017. Another interpretation would start the clock in 2019, following the election, according to Associated Press.
The case — in which the court is deciding whether a coup-leader has stayed in power too long — highlighted Thailand’s particular political culture: Often the soldiers who overthrow elected leaders then try to legitimize their rule and defuse opposition by holding elections and abiding by constitutional restrictions.
For instance, while Prayuth initially came to power in a coup, he won the job legally after a general election in 2019.
By a vote of 5 to 4 on Wednesday, the court agreed to suspend the prime minister from his duties while it considers a petition from opposition lawmakers. The court’s announcement said Prayuth must submit his defense within 15 days of receiving a copy of the complaint, but it did not say when it would rule.
He will remain in his other post of defense minister, according to Anucha, the spokesman.
Polls show Prayuth’s popularity is at a low ebb, with voters blaming him for mishandling the economy and botching Thailand’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to demand that Prayuth and his Cabinet resign, while also calling for the constitution to be amended and the monarchy to be reformed.
Several confrontations between the student-driven protest movement and authorities became violent. A legal crackdown on activists further embittered critics.
Small protests appealing again to Prayuth to step down and the Constitutional Court to force him to if he didn’t have been held daily since Sunday, but drawn only small crowds, Associated Press reported.
“I am very pleased. Gen. Prayuth has stayed for a long time and had no vision to develop the country at all,” Wuttichai Tayati, a 28-year-old who works in marketing, said while protesting in Bangkok on Wednesday. “At least taking him out for now might make Thailand move forward a bit.”
Even if Prayuth does go, replacing him with Prawit will not resolve the standoff.
