Briefly

UNITED STATES

Trump replaces campaign manager

US President Donald Trump shook up his campaign staff amid sinking poll numbers less than four months before the election, replacing campaign manager Brad Parscale with veteran GOP operative Bill Stepien, amid recent polls showing he has fallen further behind presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. Trump and Parscale's relationship had been increasingly strained, with the president annoyed by the publicity Parscale had garnered in the role. But the final straw appeared to be a Tulsa, Oklahoma, rally last month that drew an unexpectedly low crowd of about 6,200 people after Parscale had bragged that more than a million people had requested tickets. The president was furious.

EUROPEAN UNION

Court invalidates data-sharing pact

The European Union's top court ruled on Thursday that an agreement that allows big tech companies to transfer data to the United States is invalid, and that national regulators need to take tougher action to protect the privacy of users' data. The ruling to invalidate Privacy Shield will complicate the transfer of a lot of data outside the EU, and it could require regulators to vet any new transfers due to concerns that the US government can snoop on people's data for national security reasons. The case began after former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed in 2013 that the US government was snooping on people's online data and communications. The revelations included detail on how Facebook gave US security agencies access to the personal data of Europeans.

TURKEY

7 security personnel killed in plane crash

A small plane belonging to Turkey's police force has crashed into a mountain in eastern Turkey, killing seven security personnel on board, Turkey's interior minister said on Thursday. The plane was returning from a surveillance and reconnaissance mission late on Wednesday, when it crashed into Mount Artos at an altitude of 2,200 meters, Suleyman Soylu told reporters. The mountain, a dormant volcano, is situated in Van Province, near the border with Iran. All on board, including the two pilots, were members of the national police.

Xinhua - Agencies