NEWS OF THE DAY

From Around the World

_1 Sahel militants: French military says operations by French and Malian forces have killed 30 extremists in Africa’s Sahel region in recent days, amid steppedup efforts to combat jihadist groups in the area. Two air strikes Friday involving one of France’s first armed drones killed 20 militants in the restive border zone where Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso meet, according to a French military statement. Earlier last week, two French commando operations killed about 10 others in the border zone where extremists groups including Islamic State in the Grand Sahara operate, the statement said.

_2 Plane crash: U.S. aviation investigators have arrived at the site of a fatal plane crash in Istanbul, Turkey’s staterun Anadolu news agency reported Saturday. A team from aircraft manufacturer Boeing and the U.S. civil aviation authority inspected the wreckage of the Pegasus Airlines Boeing 737 that skidded off a runway at Sabiha Gokcen airport Wednesday, killing three people. The aircraft, which split into three pieces in the accident, will later be dismantled and removed by crane, Anadolu said. The crash happened as the 11yearold aircraft landed in strong winds and heavy rain. The U.S. team is looking to see if there were any technical factors that could have contributed to the accident, Anadolu reported.

_3 British ambassador: Britain has appointed Karen Pierce as its new ambassador to the U.S., replacing a veteran diplomat whose unvarnished portrayal of the Trump administration led to an embarrassing transAtlantic spat. The appointment of Pierce, who is ambassador to the United Nations, comes as Britain embarks on efforts to strike a trade deal with the United States after its departure from the European Union. Former ambassador Kim Darroch resigned in July. President Trump expressed fury when Darroch’s forthright, unfiltered views on the U.S. administration appeared in leaked diplomatic documents. He questioned whether the Trump White House “will ever look competent.” _4 Clergy abuse: The Legion of Christ religious order, discredited years ago by its pedophile founder, has elected an American priest as its new superior as it seeks to recover from new sex abuse and coverup scandals that have renewed calls for it to be disbanded. The Rev. John Connor is the first American to lead the order based in Mexico. Among Legion priests, Connor is seen as a reformer. But he has also been accused of mishandling a case of a priest accused by several women of crossing physical and emotional boundaries in the U.S. Connor, who has been in charge of the Legion in North America since 2014, has apologized for those who were hurt. The Vatican took the Legion over in 2010 after determining that its late founder, the Rev. Marcial Maciel, sexually abused at least 60 seminarians. _5 Judicial independence: Thousands of Poles rallied Saturday in Warsaw to show their support for the country’s rightwing leadership as it overhauls the justice system to put it under government control. Those who rallied described the legislative changes as a matter of national sovereignty. They urged the government not to back down in its standoff with the European Union, which has sharply criticized the judicial overhaul. The rally came four days after President Andrzej Duda, who is aligned with the ruling party, signed into law muchcriticized legislation that gives politicians the power to fine and fire judges whose actions and decisions they consider harmful. The EU and many Polish judges say the changes violate the separation of powers essential in a democracy.