ATLANTA (AP) — A federal judge who rejected efforts by former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to move his charges in the Georgia election subversion case to federal court is set to hear arguments on Monday from former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark on the same issue.

GENEVA (AP) — The rights situation in Russia has “significantly deteriorated” since President Vladimir Putin launched his war against Ukraine in February last year, an expert commissioned by the U.N.’s top human rights body said in her first report on the country on Monday.

Mariana Katzarova, the special rapporteur on Russia’s rights situation mandated by the Human Rights Council, chronicled the domestic crackdown that has largely targeted critics of Putin’s war as well as other opposition voices in Russia.

KIEV, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Ukrainian government dismissed all six deputy defense ministers and the state secretary of the Defense Ministry, said Taras Melnychuk, the cabinet's representative in the parliament, on Monday.

Deputy Defense Ministers Volodymyr Havrylov, Rostyslav Zamlynskiy, Hanna Malyar, Denys Sharapov, Andriy Shevchenko and Vitaliy Deynega, as well as State Secretary Kostyantyn Vashchenko have been ousted by the cabinet, Melnychuk wrote on Telegram.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court’s decision siding with Black voters in an Alabama redistricting case gave Democrats and voting rights activists a surprising opportunity before the 2024 elections.

New congressional maps would have to include more districts in Alabama and potentially other states where Black voters would have a better chance of electing someone of their choice, a decision widely seen as benefiting Democrats.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Newly acquitted of impeachment charges, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is back on the job and getting back to the usual.

Promises to keep dragging the Biden administration into court. Support from former President Donald Trump. And coming soon, a sit-down with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

ISLAMABAD, Sept 18 (NNN-APP) – Supreme Court of Pakistan’s senior Judge, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, took oath as the 29th Chief Justice of Pakistan yesterday, according to a statement from the President House Media Wing.

Pakistani President, Arif Alvi, administered the oath at a ceremony held at the President House in Islamabad, attended by caretaker Prime Minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Chief of Army Staff, Asim Munir, senators and foreign ambassadors.

Isa assumed the office after his predecessor, Justice Umar Ata Bandial, retired on Saturday, after completing his tenure.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Republicans who control the North Carolina legislature with veto-proof majorities are close to wresting supervision of elections from the governor and the governor’s party — almost always the Democrats for over a century.

A bill that could reach Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk this week would, among other changes, take away from him and future governors the power to appoint members of the State Board of Elections. It would give that authority to legislative leaders instead.

KYIV, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Ukraine plans to sue Poland, Hungary and Slovakia in the World Trade Organization over bans on Ukrainian agricultural products, Ukrainian officials said on Monday.

The appeal could be sent "in the near future", a senior official said, and followed a decision by the three countries bordering Ukraine to ban imports of the country's key export commodities.

Politico had earlier on Monday quoted Ukrainian Trade Representative Taras Kachka as saying in an interview that Kyiv planned to sue the three countries.

MOSCOW, September 18. /TASS/: The capital's re-elected Mayor Sergey Sobyanin has officially assumed his post, taking the oath of office at the inauguration ceremony in Moscow, a TASS correspondent reported.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Six Ukrainian deputy defense ministers were fired Monday following the dismissal two weeks ago of Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov in a corruption scandal, officials said, as heavy fighting continued in the east.

Deputy defense ministers including Hanna Maliar, Vitalii Deyneha and Denys Sharapov, as well as the state secretary of the Ministry of Defense, Kostiantyn Vashchenko, were fired, according to the Telegram account of Taras Melnychuk, permanent representative of the Cabinet of Ministers.

ROME, Sept 18 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck central Italy north of Florence on Monday morning, sending residents into the streets but causing no immediate damage, authorities said. 

Schools were closed in some areas as a precaution and trains were delayed pending checks on the railway lines.

Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) measured the quake at 4.8 on the Richter scale, with its epicentre near Marradi, a town of about 3,000 residents in the province of Florence within the Apennine mountain range.

KYIV, Sept 18 (Reuters) - The Ukrainian government dismissed six deputy defence ministers on Monday following the appointment of a new defence minister earlier this month.

The government gave no reason for the dismissals, but such moves are common after a new minister's appointment. Those removed included Hanna Maliar, who frequently issues public updates on Russia's war on Ukraine.