SOUTH AFRICAN LIMBO ENDS WITH NEW PRESIDENT
Cyril Ramaphosa became South Africa’s president with a message of clean government and inclusiveness Thursday, stirring the hopes of South Africans that he can reverse a corrosive period of decline and division under his predecessor, Jacob Zuma. Ramaphosa, a lead negotiator in the transition from apartheid to democracy in the early 1990s, was elected by jubilant ruling party legislators anxious to shed political limbo and get the leadership of the country back on track.
Court received 1.17 million war crimes claims from Afghans.
Since the International Criminal Court began collecting material three months ago for a war crimes case involving Afghanistan, it has gotten a staggering 1.17 million statements from Afghans who say they were victims. The statements include accounts of alleged atrocities not only by groups such as the Taliban and Islamic State but also involving Afghan Security Forces and government-affiliated warlords, the U.S.-led coalition and foreign and domestic spy agencies.
Bannon interviewed in Mueller’s Russia investigation.
Steve Bannon, former chief strategist for President Donald Trump, was interrogated for 20 hours over two days this week as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, sources said. Bannon answered every question put to him by Mueller’s team.
Appeals court declares Trump travel ban unconstitutional.
President Donald Trump’s latest travel ban on travelers from six largely Muslim countries is “unconstitutionally tainted with animus toward Islam,” a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, delivering another blow to the policy. In a 9-4 vote, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it examined statements made by Trump and other administration officials, as well as the presidential proclamation imposing the ban and concluded that it “second-guesses our nation’s dedication to religious freedom and tolerance.
Two freed after shots fired at NSA campus.
FORT MEADE,
Two of the three people in an SUV that was stopped and fired upon when it tried to enter the National Security Agency campus without authorization have been released, an FBI spokesman said Thursday. Investigators are considering the theory that the vehicle made a wrong turn and ended up at the NSA gate.
Railroad officials tell Congress many lines won’t meet deadline for automatic braking system.
WASHINGTON» A decade after Congress ordered the nation’s railroads to install an automatic braking system that could have prevented more that 130 train wrecks, industry officials said Thursday that most lines will need two more years to finish the job. In the 10 years since the installation was mandated, there have been 47 people killed, 648 people injured, and more than $150 million in damage done in 22 train crashes that could have been prevented had the system been in place, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
U.S. denies plan for “bloody nose” strike on North Korea.
The United States doesn’t have a “bloody nose” strategy for North Korea, senators of both parties and a Trump administration official said Thursday, rejecting claims the U.S. wants to strike the North’s nuclear program in a way that avoids an all-out war.
Aniston and Justin Theroux announce separation.
LOS ANGELES»
Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux are separating. Aniston and Theroux were engaged in August 2012 and married in August 2015. They have no children.
Schumer gets married to chef.
Amy Schumer has tied the knot with chef Chris Fischer. People magazine says the two wed in a private ceremony in Malibu on Tuesday.