World

The US Justice Department on Friday appealed in part a judge’s decision to halt the review of seized documents from former president Donald Trump’s Florida estate, asking to continue its investigation of those materials marked as classified.

Federal investigators have been blocked since last week from reviewing thousands of documents taken by the FBI from Trump’s seaside mansion, after a judge sided with the former president and decided to appoint an independent arbiter to sort through the files.

The Justice Department, in its filing Friday evening, argued that Judge Aileen Cannon “fundamentally erred in appointing a special master and granting injunctive relief,” but would limit its appeal to just the “roughly 100 records bearing classification markings,” recovered from Trump’s estate.

Delaying the review of the classified documents, which it argues are government property, “impedes the government’s efforts to protect the Nation’s security,” the Justice Department said.

“It also irreparably harms the government by enjoining critical steps of an ongoing criminal investigation and needlessly compelling disclosure of highly sensitive records, including to Plaintiff’s counsel,” the filing added, referring to Trump’s lawyers.

Trump is facing mounting legal pressure, with the Justice Department saying top-secret documents were “likely concealed” to obstruct an FBI probe into his potential mishandling of classified materials.

He has denied all wrongdoing, and said the raid on his mansion was “one of the most egregious assaults on democracy in the history of our country,” while making it a major talking point at his political rallies.

The appeal will be heard first by a three-judge panel on the 11th Circuit, but could ultimately wind up at the Supreme Court.

On Thursday, Judge Cannon appointed Raymond Dearie to review the files, as the so-called special master.

The 78-year-old senior federal judge in New York was one of two people proposed by Trump’s legal team.

Dearie issued an order on Friday for Trump’s lawyers and the Justice Department counsel to meet with him in New York early next week.

Agenda items for the Tuesday meeting are to be submitted by either side by the close of business on Monday, Dearie ordered.

In addition to the documents probe, Trump faces investigations in New York into his business practices, as well as legal scrutiny over his efforts to overturn results of the 2020 election, and for the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol by his supporters. 

World leaders begin gathering in London from Saturday for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, as princes William and Harry are set to lead a vigil of her grandchildren at her coffin.

The queen’s death on September 8 aged 96, after a record-breaking 70 years on the throne, has sparked an outpouring of emotion.

Members of the public braved waits that at one point were estimated to be up to 24 hours and chilly night-time temperatures to view her coffin.

Lines have snaked for miles along the River Thames since Wednesday when her coffin was brought to the UK parliament complex to lie in state.

Police are mounting Britain’s biggest-ever security operation for Monday’s funeral, as hundreds of dignitaries including US President Joe Biden are set to jet in. 

The queen’s successor, King Charles III, will meet on Saturday with the prime ministers of the Commonwealth realms — the 14 former colonies over which he now reigns in addition to Britain. 

From Australia and New Zealand to Canada, they have formally proclaimed him their new sovereign.

But republican movements are gaining ground, and efforts to keep them all in the royal fold will likely be a feature of his reign.

Charles on Friday wrapped up his maiden tour as monarch to the four nations of the United Kingdom with a visit to Wales, part of an operation dubbed “Spring Tide” to launch him in his new role.

Large crowds in Cardiff chanted “God save the king” as he shook hands with well-wishers following a multi-faith service in Llandaff Cathedral, and at Cardiff Castle.

Charles met Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford, an avowed republican, and there was isolated booing on the streets after the new monarch was quick to declare his son William the new Prince of Wales.

But Drakeford said questions over the future of the monarchy were “a footnote to the dominant feelings of the day”.

– ‘Tide of emotion’ –

Back in London, Charles held a 15-minute vigil with his siblings — Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward — around their mother’s casket on Friday night.

They stood, eyes lowered and silent, while members of the public filed past.

Andrew — stripped this year of his royal titles over a sex assault scandal — was allowed to wear military uniform for the only time during the 11-day mourning period.

The Duke of York, as he is also known, flew Royal Navy helicopters during the 1982 Falklands War with Argentina.

The vigil will be repeated on Saturday evening by eight of the queen’s grandchildren, including the new heir to the throne Prince William and his estranged brother Harry.

Harry — who served two tours with the British army in Afghanistan — has reportedly also been given special permission to wear his military uniform despite no longer being a working royal.

The move appeared to be the latest olive branch offered to Harry by the royals after he and his wife Meghan launched accusations of racism in interviews from their new home in the US.

The personal sorrow of the queen’s family has been playing out in the glare of intense international attention.

But the queen’s youngest son Edward said: “We have been overwhelmed by the tide of emotion that has engulfed us and the sheer number of people who have gone out of their way to express their own love, admiration and respect.”

– Beckham joins queues –

The most striking manifestation of public reverence for the queen has been the vast queues of the hundreds of thousands of people wanting to bid her farewell. 

Officials warned on Friday that expected queuing time had reached over 24 hours and briefly paused admission when the lines reached capacity. 

Those paying their respects included former England football captain turned fashion icon David Beckham, who spent 12 hours to reach Westminster Hall. 

“It’s very emotional, and the silence and the feeling in the room is very hard to explain,” he told reporters after filing past the coffin.

“We’re all there to say thanks to Her Majesty for being kind, for being caring, for being reassuring throughout the years.”

June Nayler, 76, a retired former local authority worker from Milton Keynes in central England was undaunted by the long wait she faced as she joined the back of the line in Southwark Park.

“I’m here now and going to make it all the way — it’s my duty to do it,” she told AFP. 

“I’m just overcome by the crowds and number of people turning out.”

The public have until Monday morning to view the coffin before the queen is honoured with Britain’s first state funeral in nearly six decades. 

The spectacular ceremony at Westminster Abbey — expected to be watched by millions around the globe — will see 142 sailors pulling the gun-carriage bearing her lead-lined coffin. 

It will be attended by more than 2,000 guests, but leaders from countries at loggerheads with the UK such as Russia, Belarus and Afghanistan have not been invited.

A private burial will follow at Windsor Castle after a committal service.

South Africa’s leader on Friday agreed to cooperate closely with US President Joe Biden on health, security and climate but warned against punishing African nations for maintaining ties with Russia.

The Biden administration has put a new focus on Africa after being taken aback by the reluctance of some nations to condemn Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, which has triggered sweeping Western sanctions.

President Cyril Ramaphosa enjoyed unusually warm treatment from Biden, who walked him back to his motorcade at the White House, weeks after Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to South Africa and promised that the United States will listen more to Africans.

“We really need to make sure we fully understand one another,” Biden said as he welcomed Ramaphosa in the Oval Office. “Our partnership is essential.”

Ramaphosa said he sought to work together on security, including in South Africa’s troubled neighbor Mozambique, as well as on climate change, a key priority for the Biden administration.

Starting his visit over breakfast with Vice President Kamala Harris, Ramaphosa voiced gratitude to the United States for its “considerable support” on the Covid pandemic as the Biden administration donates 1.1 billion vaccine doses around the world.

“The visit really is about strengthening the relationship between South Africa and the United States,” Ramaphosa said, adding that Washington had a “key role” to play on security across Africa.

But Ramaphosa warned Biden over a piece of legislation that has passed through the US House of Representatives which would require a strategy to counter Moscow’s role in Africa.

Ramaphosa said he explained that Africans should not be “punished” for their historic non-aligned position among major powers.

“I think it will harm Africa and marginalize the continent,” Ramaphosa told reporters after his meetings.

“We should not be told by anyone who we can associate with.”

The legislation, called the Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act, has yet to clear the Senate and US policymakers stress that it does not in itself lay out any repercussions for African countries.

– ‘Histories’ behind Russia stance –

Successive US administrations have focused much of their energy in Africa on countering the growing influence of China, which has become the continent’s dominant trading partner.

But Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered a new front in the battle for influence in Africa, where many nations have been reluctant to embrace the West in its campaign to pressure Moscow.

South Africa’s Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor denied being neutral but said “there are reasons for the perspectives that exist and one should never, I think, try to pretend that there aren’t histories.”

She pointed to the former Soviet Union’s championing of anti-apartheid forces compared with periods of Western cooperation with South Africa’s former white supremacist regime.

“I think we’ve been fairly clear, in our view, that war doesn’t assist anyone and that we believe the inhumane actions we have seen against the people of Ukraine can’t be defended by anybody,” she said this week at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.

The United States has sought to highlight the invasion’s role in soaring food prices, as Ukraine was one of Africa’s largest suppliers of grain.

Russia has sought to blame food scarcities on Western sanctions, an argument dismissed by the United States, which says it is not restricting agricultural or humanitarian shipments.

South Africa’s top diplomat broke with the usual polite bipartisanship of foreign dignitaries visiting Washington, not mincing words on Biden’s Republican predecessor Donald Trump, who notoriously referred to nations in the developing world with an epithet.

“We relate very well, I think probably better, with the Democrats than the Republicans,” she said. “You will recall how President Trump described Africa and no one has apologized for that as yet.”

Trump was the first US president in decades not to visit sub-Saharan Africa. Biden has not yet visited but has pledged a renewed interest, including with a summit of African leaders planned in Washington this December.

The UN General Assembly is back in person after the pandemic disruption but in a world as full of crises as ever, with the war in Ukraine set to pit the West against Russia.

Some 150 world leaders will descend on New York for a week of diplomacy, with all required to come in person to speak save one — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, granted an exception as he leads the fight against Russian invaders.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, speaking ahead of the summit that formally begins Tuesday, said that the world’s divisions “are the widest they have been since at least the Cold War.”

“Our world is blighted by war, battered by climate chaos, scarred by hate and shamed by poverty, hunger and inequality,” Guterres said.

“As fractures deepen and trust evaporates, we need to come together around solutions.”

For the two previous years, the annual meeting that jams traffic through Midtown Manhattan had been a more subdued affair with leaders allowed to send in videos.

The General Assembly voted Friday to let Zelensky speak by video. Seven nations voted against including Russia, saying that the right should be extended to all leaders, with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as Chinese President Xi Jinping, not planning to travel to New York.

Several US adversaries are expected, however, including Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, defying loud protests from their opponents in the United States.

Richard Gowan, who follows the United Nations for the International Crisis Group, said that Zelensky’s speech will “get 1,000 times more attention than most in-person speeches by other leaders.”

“But Zelensky has to be careful. A lot of non-Western politicians are resentful of the West’s focus on Ukraine and worry that the war is distracting international attention from issues like the global food crisis,” he said.

The US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, acknowledged the concerns, saying that despite discussions on Ukraine, “it will not be the only thing that we’re dealing with.” 

“We cannot ignore the rest of the world and what is happening in the rest of the world, the impact of climate change, the impact of the pandemic, conflicts elsewhere in the world,” she said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday will co-chair a summit on food security with the African Union, European Union and Spain as high global prices — worsened by the invasion of major grain producer Ukraine — bring new hunger around the world.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s office said that he will seek “dialogue with our partners from the South to avoid planting this idea that it’s the West against the rest.”

– Push on climate –

Despite the shift toward normalcy, the schedule of the General Assembly was scrambled by the death of Queen Elizabeth II. US President Joe Biden, who traditionally would have been one of the first speakers Tuesday and who would have led the food summit, will instead speak Wednesday.

And with Covid concerns lingering, the United Nations is still limiting the size of delegations and requiring the wearing of masks in the towering headquarters on the East River.

Prime Minister Liz Truss, who took office two days before the death of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, will fly after the funeral to the United Nations on her first foreign trip since taking office.

The UN summit will also mark a fresh occasion to build momentum on global action on climate change, amid mounting signs that the planet is descending into dangerous levels of warming.

“We have run out of time to waste,” said Ambassador Walton Webson of Antigua and Barbuda, heading the Alliance of Small Island States.

“Our islands are being hit with more severe and more frequent climate impacts and recovery comes at the cost of our development,” he said.

Guterres said he will use the week to speak frankly with leaders amid guarded hopes for further progress on climate during the next climate summit, COP27, in Egypt in November.

Western leaders voiced revulsion and outrage Thursday after Ukraine found a mass grave outside the formerly Russian-occupied city of Izyum and said that almost all of the exhumed bodies showed signs of torture.

Officials counted 450 hastily dug graves, some marked by rough wooden crosses at the site in a pine forest only recently recaptured by Ukrainian fighters.

“Among the bodies that were exhumed today, 99 percent showed signs of violent death,” Oleg Synegubov, head of Kharkiv regional administration, said on social media.

“There are several bodies with their hands tied behind their backs, and one person is buried with a rope around his neck,” he added.

“Russia leaves only death and suffering. Murderers. Torturers,” said Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Some of the remains exhumed included children and people who were likely tortured before dying, he added.

The European Union is “deeply shocked” at the newest discovery of a mass grave left by the Russians in the nearly seven-month-old war, said the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

“This inhuman behaviour by the Russian forces, in total disregard of international humanitarian law and the Geneva conventions, must stop immediately,” he said in a statement.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the graves likely provided more evidence that Russia is committing war crimes in its pro-Western neighbor, and French President Emmanuel Macron said what happened in Izyum were atrocities.

“I condemn in the strongest terms the atrocities committed in Izyum, Ukraine, under Russian occupation,” Macron tweeted.

Those responsible “will have to answer for their acts. There is no peace without justice,” he added.

– Putin sticks to his guns –

The discovery added to the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, after his forces were driven into retreat in Kharkiv and are under heavy pressure from Ukrainian troops ion Donetsk and Kherson.

Putin, at a regional summit in Uzbekistan, was told by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that now was “not a time for war”. 

The discovery also came a day after Putin admitted that China, whose leader Xi Jinping was also attending the summit, had expressed “concerns” about the situation in Ukraine, which Russian forces invaded on February 24.

“I think what you’re hearing from China, from India, is reflective of concerns around the world about the effects of Russia’s aggression on Ukraine,” Blinken said in Washington. 

But Putin remained steadfast, despite strong evidence that his forces incurred heavy losses in the Ukraine counteroffensive this month, and as Washington announced another $600 million in arms and ammunition for Kyiv.

“The plan is not subject to adjustment,” Putin said. “Our offensive operations in Donbas itself do not stop. They are going at a slow pace… the Russian army is occupying newer and newer territories.”

Putin said the main goal of the campaign was “the liberation of the entire territory of Donbas.”

He accused Ukrainian forces of attempts to carry out “terrorist acts” and damage Russian civilian infrastructure.

“We are really quite restrained in our response to this, for the time being,” Putin said. “If the situation continues to develop in this way, the response will be more serious.”

– UN speech –

As the investigation into the Izyum mass grave opened, the United Nations overcame  Russian opposition and voted to allow Zelensky to address next week’s General Assembly by video.

Of the 193 member states, 101 voted in favor of allowing Zelensky to “present a pre-recorded statement” instead of in-person as usually required. 

Seven members voted against the proposal, including Russia, and 19 abstained.

“We deeply regret that Russia’s war does not allow our president to participate in person,” said Ukraine’s ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya.

Zelensky’s address is slated for the afternoon of September 21, but changes are likely due to many leaders heading to London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Monday.

– Graves without names –

The exhumations at the forest grave near Izyum were just a part of the horrific revelations of the impact of the war and Russia’s occupation of the area between March and early September.

“This is part, horrifically … of an ongoing story whenever we see the Russian tide recede from the parts of Ukraine that it has occupied,” said Blinken.

Ukraine national police chief Igor Klymenko said they had found multiple torture rooms in the town of Balakliya and elsewhere in Karkhiv since the Russians were driven out.

The United Nations in Geneva said it hopes to send a team to determine the circumstances of the deaths.

At the Izyum site two men in white overalls were digging the sandy soil.

Soon they reached the first body, exhumed it and placed it in a white plastic body bag. As more bodies appeared, the strong smell of rotting flesh spread among the trees and rough wooden crosses.

Where identification was possible, names were attached to the crosses.  

At one spot, a family with a young child was buried, said Oleg Kotenko, the government official in charge of the search for missing persons nationwide.

“They were killed. There are witnesses from the same building. They saw what happened and buried these people here,” he said.

“The graves without names are for those found dead in the street,” he said.