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A group of Joaldunak, called Zanpantzar, take part in the carnival between the Pyrenees villages of Ituren and Zubieta, northern Spain, on Monday. In one of the most ancient carnivals in Europe, dating from before the Roman empire, companies of Joaldunak (cowbells) parade the streets costumed in sandals, lace petticoats, sheepskins around the waist and shoulders, colored neckerchiefs, conical caps with ribbons and a hyssop of horsehair in their right hands and cowbells hung across their lower back. The Associated Press

Nation

South Carolina

Convicted lawyer denied new trial

COLUMBIA -- A South Carolina judge on Monday denied Alex Murdaugh's bid for a new trial after his defense team accused a clerk of court of tampering with a jury.

Judge Jean Toal said she wasn't sure if Colleton County Clerk Becky Hill was telling the truth that she never spoke to jurors about the case. But Toal said the 12 jurors who testified all said any comments did not directly influence their decision to find Murdaugh guilty.

District of Columbia

Attorney general to undergo surgery

WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Merrick Garland will undergo back surgery this weekend and delegate his duties to the deputy attorney general during the procedure, the Justice Department said Monday.

The news comes as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin returns to work at the Pentagon following a hospitalization that was criticized for being kept secret for days.

New York

NRA head admits to wrongful expenses

NEW YORK -- National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre acknowledged at a civil trial Monday that he wrongly expensed private flights for his family and accepted vacations from vendors doing business with the nonprofit gun rights organization without disclosing them.

It was LaPierre's second day of testimony before a Manhattan jury that will decide if the outgoing NRA chief executive violated rules governing charities and nonprofits.

World

Gaza Strip

Israeli military destroys Gaza cemetery

KHAN YOUNIS -- Israel's military brought foreign journalists to an area of southern Gaza where its forces had destroyed an Islamic cemetery and a mosque in the process of unearthing tunnels used by Hamas militants. The military says it found a Hamas command and control center in a tunnel that ran underneath both the mosque and the cemetery.

Under international law, mosques, cemeteries and other religious sites hold special "protected" status.

Pakistan

Iran seeks to improve mutual security

ISLAMABAD -- Pakistan and Iran on Monday agreed to work together to improve security cooperation in the wake of deadly airstrikes by Tehran and Islamabad earlier this month that killed at least 11 people, marking a significant escalation in fraught relations between the neighbors.

The development came after the top Iranian diplomat, Hossein Amirabdollahian, held talks in Islamabad with his Pakistani counterpart, Jalil Abbas Jilani.

Japan

Citizens launch lawsuit against police

TOKYO -- A group of Japanese citizens, including a man of Pakistani descent, launched a civil lawsuit against the country's police on Monday, accusing the authorities of racial profiling and discrimination and demanding an end to the practice.

The case, to be heard in Tokyo District Court, comes as Japan in recent years has seen an influx of workers from abroad.

Starting at /week.