Uzbekistan held a presidential election on Sunday that looked set to hand incumbent Shavkat Mirziyoyev a third term as head of...

Donald Trump continues to be the clear favorite to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Donald Trump’s lawyer Alina Habba has stepped down from her role defending the former president in the fraud lawsuit filed against him by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Ms Habba has taken up a new role with Mr Trump’s Save America leadership political action committee. A press release issued by the PAC says that Mr Trump appointed Ms Habba to be his legal spokesperson and general counsel to Save America, though she will also still assist the former president with “certain legal matters”. “Alina has worked diligently and tirelessly on many of the witch-hunt cases that have been unfairly brought against President Trump,” said Steven Cheung, communications director for the Trump 2024 campaign. The statement continues: “While the Habba Madaio Law firm will continue to assist the President in certain legal matters, Ms Habba will withdraw from the New York Attorney General’s case against the Trump Organization and President Trump and other cases, in order to devote her time to Save America and her duties as his media representative on legal matters.” Ms Habba says: “It is an honour to be asked by such a leader as President Trump to help Save America. Being able to devote more time to addressing publicly his many legal matters is the privilege of a lifetime.” The appointment is effective immediately. Ms Habba is also tied to and more widely known for her role in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case and was called before the federal grand jury. She spoke on Jesse Watters’ Fox News show amid news that the grand jury indicted Mr Trump on charges related to his allegedly unlawful retention of national defence information. The attorney claimed the indictment was a distraction from supposed impropriety on behalf of President Joe Biden of which House Republicans have so far failed to produce any evidence. “Every single time there is a coordinated dance that is becoming obvious to the American people because they are smart,” Ms Habba said. She added that the indictments of the twice-impeached former president were the equivalent of a “shiny ball” meant to distract the American public. “I’m embarrassed to be a lawyer at this moment,” she said. “Honestly, I am ashamed. I’m ashamed to be a lawyer. I’m ashamed that this is the state of our country.” Ms Habba claimed the indictment showed the United States had a two-tiered system of justice. “And it is so obvious that there’s this dual system of justice,” she said. “This is selective prosecution, selective persecution. It is absolute persecution. It is Russia third world stuff, and it should not be happening.” Read More Trump lawyer says she’s ‘ashamed’ and ‘embarrassed’ over secret papers indictment Trump attorneys worry some may snitch to feds as documents probe closes in, report claims Trump attorney Alina Habba reveals why his mugshot shouldn’t be released AOC says idea Trump is victim of a ‘two-tier’ justice system is an insult to Black and brown Americans

An Oklahoma judge has thrown out a lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, dashing an effort to obtain some measure of legal justice by survivors of the deadly racist rampage

The foreign ministers of Russia and Turkey spoke by telephone on Sunday, a day after Ankara angered Moscow

US Reaper drones in Syria were able to seek out and destroy a top Isis commander on Friday despite interference from the Russian military, the Pentagon said on Sunday. In a statement to The Associated Press, the Defense Department said that a group of Reaper aircraft destroyed a motorcycle being ridden by Usamah al-Muhajir, thought by US forces to be a top commander of Islamic State forces remaining in the Aleppo region of Syria. Isis has been pushed out of every inch of territory over which it once claimed military control, but pockets of fighters and leaders of the terrorist group remain dispersed around the region, plotting attacks against Syrian forces and the west. The Independent has reached out to the Pentagon for further comment. Photos and video released by the agency showed the moment that the aircraft were confronted by Russian fighter jets carrying out “unsafe” maneuvers as they sought their target, which according to defence officials took place just hours before the successful strike. More follows... Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary

After major blows to his agenda by the Supreme Court, President Joe Biden is intent on making sure voters will have the final say

While the scuffles may be verbal as leading Republicans jostle to become the party’s 2024 presidential nominee, down at the state level things have actually turned physical — at least in Michigan, and not for the first time. Tensions boiled over within the Michigan Republican Party on Saturday resulting in an altercation at a hotel to which the police were called. The GOP’s state committee came together for a meeting at the Doherty Hotel in Clare as members have been feuding over the party’s direction and the leadership approach of the new chairwoman, Kristina Karamo, The Detroit News reports. Some Michigan Republicans arriving at the venue on Saturday were frustrated to find the meeting was limited only to members of the state committee and was taking place behind a locked door. In an interview with The Detroit News, James Chapman, a Republican from Wayne County, said he had travelled to Clare for the meeting but was forced to listen to it through a locked door. Mr Chapman said he and others said the Pledge of Allegiance together in the lobby outside the meeting, after which he jiggled the doorknob of the meeting room. It was then that Mark DeYoung, chairman of the Clare County Republican Party, approached the door, saw someone flip him off through a small window, and opened it. “He kicked me in my balls as soon as I opened the door,” Mr DeYoung said, adding that Mr Chapman ran at him and slammed him into a chair. Mr DeYoung gave his account to the outlet over the phone from an emergency room where he said he was being treated for a broken rib. For his part, Mr Chapman alleges that Mr DeYoung had swung at him and said: “I’ll kick your ass.” Mr DeYoung denies this happened. Continuing, Mr Chapman says he removed his glasses, took Mr DeYoung by the legs and knocked him down: “When you see me taking my glasses off, I’m ready to rock.” Multiple police officers were at the scene after the scuffle and Mr DeYoung said he intended to press charges against Mr Chapman. “We’re so divided,” Mr DeYoung said from the hospital. “I just wish we could come together.” This is also not the first time internal tensions have erupted. The Washington Post reported in June: “At least four county parties in Michigan have been at open war with themselves, with members suing one another or putting forward competing slates that claim to be in charge. The night before an April state party meeting, two GOP officials got into a physical altercation in a hotel bar over an attempt to expel members.” Other tension stems from criticism of Ms Karamo, who became the chairwoman in February, for not providing more information about fundraising and spending. The Post also reported that she has struggled to raise money and abandoned the party’s longtime headquarters. Ms Karamo had recently removed Matt Johnson, the budget committee chairman, citing “dereliction of duty and several other grievances”. Mr Johnson had said spending was “so far out of proportion with income as to put us on the path to bankruptcy”. The Michigan Republican Party was trounced in the 2022 midterms — Ms Karamo lost a run for secretary of state in November by 14 percentage points to her Democrat rival — and has found itself out of power in the state legislature for the first time in four decades. The Democratic Party also controls the state Senate and Governor Gretchen Whitmer comfortably won reelection by 11 points in November 2022. Continuing internal struggles will likely make it even harder for a Republican candidate to take the state in 2024’s presidential election. Read More Trump attorney who was key to election conspiracies retires from legal practice Forget everything else: These four states will decide the presidency Trump tells Michigan Republicans that EVs will ‘decimate’ state’s auto industry Prosecutors are prepared to hit Trump and his allies with new charges, sources say Trump mocked for bursting into bizarre moaning sounds at Michigan GOP dinner

With no end in sight to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, NATO leaders are gathering in Lithuania this week for their annual summit at a time when the world's biggest security alliance is facing new tests of its unity

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Israel and Saudi Arabia are a long way from a normalization agreement that would involve a defense treaty

A top House Republican said Sunday he agreed with the Biden administration's contentious decision to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine as part of a new military aid package, while a prominent progressive Democrat said the US risks "losing our moral leadership" over the move.

When cities and utilities excavate water mains to work on them, they often uncover lead water pipe as well