US will build repair facilities for the Philippine navy near the disputed South China Sea
The U.S. Embassy said Wednesday the project will take place at Oyster Bay and Quezon town in western Palawan province. It said in a statement that it underscored the treaty allies' aim to maintain a 'free, open and resilient Indo-Pacific.'
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Winnipeg Free Press
11 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘Fear is the tool of a tyrant', fired federal prosecutor Maureen Comey tells colleagues
WASHINGTON (AP) — Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey who as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan worked on cases against Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, said in a note to colleagues that 'fear is the tool of a tyrant' and that her firing without reason should fuel 'a fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power.' 'If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain,' Comey said in the note, which was obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday. 'Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought.' 'Instead of fear,' she added, 'let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place. A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. Of commitment to seek justice for victims. Of dedication to truth above all else.' Until her firing Wednesday, Comey had been a veteran lawyer in the Southern District of New York, long considered the most elite of the Justice Department's prosecution offices. Her cases included the sex trafficking prosecution of Epstein, who killed himself behind bars in 2019 as he was awaiting trial, and the recent case against Combs, which ended earlier this month with a mixed verdict. Her termination represented the latest Justice Department effort to fire lawyers without explanation, a trend that has raised alarm over a disregard for civil service protections designed to prevent terminations for political reasons. The department has also fired a number of prosecutors who worked on cases that have provoked Donald Trump's ire, including some who handled U.S. Capitol riot cases and lawyers and support staff who worked on special counsel Jack Smith's prosecutions of the Republican president. She was long seen as a potential target given her father's fraught relationship over the last decade with Trump. The Justice Department recently appeared to acknowledge the existence of an investigation into James Comey, though the basis for that inquiry is unclear. Maurene Comey had most recently been among the prosecutors in the sex trafficking and racketeering case against Combs. The failure to convict the hip-hop mogul of the main charges, while gaining a conviction on prostitution-related charges that will likely result in a prison sentence of just a few years, was viewed by some fellow lawyers as a rare defeat for prosecutors. But she was successful in numerous other prosecutions, most notably the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges for helping financier Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. In that case, she delivered a rebuttal argument during closings, as she did in the Combs case. Her firing comes as Attorney General Pam Bondi faces intense criticism from some members of Trump's base for the Justice Department's decision not to release any more evidence in the government's possession from Epstein's sex trafficking investigation. Some right-wing internet personalities, like Laura Loomer, who have been critical of Bondi's handling of the Epstein files, had been calling for Maurene Comey's firing. James Comey was the FBI director when Trump took office in 2017, having been appointed by then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and serving before that as a senior Justice Department official in Republican President George W. Bush's administration. But his relationship with Trump was strained from the start. The FBI director resisted a request by Trump at a private dinner to pledge personal loyalty to the president — an overture that so unnerved the FBI director that he documented it in a contemporaneous memorandum. Trump soon after fired Comey amid an investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump's presidential campaign. That inquiry, later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, would ultimately find that while Russia interfered with the 2016 election and the Trump team welcomed the help, there was insufficient evidence to prove a criminal collaboration. Trump's fury at the older Comey continued long after firing him from the bureau, blaming him for a 'hoax' and 'witch hunt' that shadowed much of his first term. Comey disclosed contemporaneous memos of his conversations with Trump to a friend so that their content could be revealed to the media. The following year, Comey published a book calling Trump 'ego driven' and likening him to a mafia don. Trump, for his part, has accused Comey and other officials of treason. _____ Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister in New York contributed.
Toronto Star
34 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Israeli strike hits Gaza church, killing 3 and wounding priest who was close to Pope Francis
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli shell slammed into the compound of the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing three people and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest, according to church officials. The late Pope Francis, who died in April, had regularly spoken to the priest about the situation in the war-ravaged territory. The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the 21-month Israel-Hamas war. Israel issued a rare apology and said it was investigating.
Toronto Star
an hour ago
- Toronto Star
Pro-Palestinian protester takes issue with Israeli team at Tour de France
TOULOUSE, France (AP) — A man protesting the participation of an Israel-based team in the Tour de France ran onto the course as the leaders raced for the finish line on Wednesday. Norwegian rider Jonas Abrahamsen won the 11th stage in a photo finish just ahead of Swiss rider Mauro Schmid, but their final sprint was accompanied by a man running alongside who wore a T-shirt saying, 'Israel out of the Tour,' and who waved a keffiyeh, the black-and-white checkered headscarf that has become a potent symbol of the Palestinian cause.
