ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - An accountant for U.S. President Donald Trump’s one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort admitted in trial testimony on Friday that she helped backdate documents and falsify financial records at Manafort and his business partner’s request to reduce his tax burden and help him qualify for loans. Cynthia Laporta, who prepared Manafort’s tax returns starting in 2014, told a jury in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, that she was testifying under an immunity agreement with the government to avoid being prosecuted as Manafort was charged with bank fraud and tax fraud. One member of the jury nodded in apparent agreement when U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis cut off the prosecution’s questioning to ask her if she was afraid of being prosecuted herself. “Correct,” answered Laporta, explaining that she went along with accounting maneuvers suggested by Manafort and his longtime business associate Rick Gates because she did not want to create problems for her firm or lose a top client. “I very much regret it,” Laporta said on the trial’s fourth day as prosecutors build their case that Manafort hid tens of millions of dollars he earned working for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine to evade taxes. Laporta, the 14th witness to testify for the prosecution, was the most damaging yet for Manafort in the first trial arising from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Related CoverageManafort accountant tells court tax treatment of loan was wrongManafort accountant, at trial, says money transfers raised concernsManafort has pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of bank and tax fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts, charges that largely pre-date the five months Manafort worked for Trump, some of them as campaign chairman. Once the jury had been dismissed for the day, Ellis gave defense lawyers a green light for detailed cross examination of Laporta on Monday. “You are not limited in your cross examination of her,” Ellis said. Both Laporta and fellow accountant Philip Ayliff, her predecessor who handled Manafort’s tax filings at the firm KWC, testified that they had no knowledge that Manafort controlled foreign bank accounts. The government has provided trial evidence of Manafort controlling a web of overseas accounts in Cyprus and elsewhere. Such accounts must be reported to tax authorities if they contain $10,000 or more. Laporta also detailed multiple examples in which Manafort and Gates sought to doctor financial records. One instance involved classifying revenue from a Cyprus-based company as a loan to lower his taxable income, Laporta testified. “It’s hard-hitting testimony that creates an uphill battle for the defense, but that’s what cross examination is for,” said Andrew Boutros, a former federal prosecutor who is now a white collar defense lawyer. “I don’t know if there is enough to convict him right now, but they’re laying the groundwork for it.” A conviction would give momentum to Mueller’s probe, in which 32 people and three companies have been indicted or pleaded guilty. Trump, angered by any questions about the legitimacy of his election win, has called Mueller’s investigation a witch hunt and wants it to be shut down. FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort arrives for arraignment on a third superseding indictment against him by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on charges of witness tampering, at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., June 15, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstAfter spending the first two days of the trial laying out Manafort’s lavish spending, the prosecution is now digging into how he accounted for the more than $60 million he made in Ukraine and his efforts to allegedly mislead banks to get loans once the income from Ukraine dropped off precipitously in 2014. Manafort’s attorneys have signaled they will seek to blame Gates, who was Trump’s deputy campaign chairman in 2016. Gates pleaded guilty in February and is expected to testify against Manafort, possibly next week. Prosecutor Uzo Asonye focused some of his questioning on money transfers from a Cyprus-based company called Telmar Investments Ltd, which records showed had paid Manafort’s firm more than $5 million for consulting work. That income posed a problem for Manafort when it came time to prepare his business tax returns in September 2015, Laporta testified. She said Gates told her in a conference call the income level “was too high” and proposed reclassifying a portion of it as a loan. Laporta said she knew it was “inappropriate” but agreed to alter the records to show that Manafort’s firm received a $900,000 loan from Telmar in 2014, a change that would save Manafort nearly a half million dollars in taxes, Laporta said. Manafort signed an agreement to account for that loan that was backdated, according to Laporta and an exhibit shown to the jury. Slideshow (2 Images)Trial consultant Roy Futterman, who is following the trial but not involved in it, said, “The prosecution is doing a very good job of keeping a brisk pace, putting witnesses on for short direct examinations, keeping it lively and keeping very tight messages for each witness.” Manafort’s attorneys do not seem to have scored a lot of points on cross-examination, Futterman said, but added that the witnesses who have testified so far are not “the main targets.” Earlier on Friday prosecutors asked Ayliff about Manafort’s accounting of a $1.5 million transfer in 2012 from Peranova Holdings Ltd as a loan, even as records showed that no interest or principal was paid on it in subsequent years. Peranova is one of numerous Cypriot entities that prosecutors have said Manafort controlled. Ayliff testified that KWC did not know Manafort controlled Peranova, and that if the transfer was a payment related to his consulting work in Ukraine it would have been treated as income - not as a loan - on his tax returns. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Nathan Layne in Alexandria, Virginia; additional reporting by Karen Freifeld and Susan Heavey; Writing by Warren Strobel; Editing by Will Dunham and Grant McCoolOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong’s government said violence and illegal protests were pushing the city to an “extremely dangerous edge”, as police fired multiple rounds of tear gas to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters on Sunday and Beijing said it would not let the situation persist. The Chinese-controlled city, an Asian financial hub, has been rocked by months of protests that began against a proposed bill to allow people to be extradited to stand trial in mainland China and have developed into calls for greater democracy. A general strike aimed at bringing the city to a halt is planned for Monday. Many flight departures were shown as being cancelled on Monday and a source and media reports said this was due to aviation workers planning to strike. Late on Sunday, hundreds of masked protesters blocked major roads, spray painted traffic lights, started fires and prevented transport from entering the Cross-Harbour Tunnel linking Hong Kong island and the Kowloon peninsula. “We sprayed the traffic light because we don’t want traffic to work tomorrow and we don’t want citizens to go to work,” said one protester who was clad from head to toe in black. Riot police confronted the protesters, who have adopted flash tactics, shifting quickly from place to place to evade capture and using online platforms such as Telegram to direct hundreds of people. In a strongly worded statement late on Sunday the government said the events of the day showed once again that violence and illegal protests were spreading and pushing Hong Kong toward what it called “the extremely dangerous edge.” Such acts had already gone far beyond the limits of peaceful and rational protests and would harm Hong Kong’s society and economic livelihood, it said. After the peaceful demonstrations finished earlier on Sunday, protesters blocked roads in the town of Tseung Kwan O in the New Territories, set up barricades and hurled hard objects including bricks at a police station. Police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters after a separate rally in the island’s Western district where thousands of people gathered to urge authorities to listen to public demands. Protesters had begun a march towards China’s Liaison Office, which has been a flashpoint at previous protests. Later on Sunday night, police fired tear gas in the shopping area of Causeway Bay to dispel protesters, forcing stores and popular shopping malls including Times Square to close early. Police said the protesters were “participating in an unauthorised assembly”, similar to Saturday when they fired multiple tear gas rounds in confrontations with black-clad activists in the Kowloon area. The protests have become the most serious political crisis in Hong Kong since it returned to Chinese rule 22 years ago after being governed by Britain since 1842. They have also presented the biggest popular challenge to Chinese leader Xi Jinping in his seven years in power. Demonstrators react as riot police point strong flashlights to their face after an anti-extradition bill protest in Hong Kong, China August 5, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone SiuChina’s official news agency Xinhua said on Sunday: “The central government will not sit idly by and let this situation continue. We firmly believe that Hong Kong will be able to overcome the difficulties and challenges ahead.” During the night, protesters split into several different directions to disrupt transport networks. Police said they were “seriously paralysing traffic and affecting emergency services” and warned them to stop immediately. The leaderless nature of the protests has seen participants adopt a strategy called “be water”, inspired by a maxim of the city’s home-grown martial arts legend, Bruce Lee, that encourages them to be flexible or formless. Police said more than 20 people had been arrested since Saturday for offences including unlawful assembly and assault. During Sunday protesters marched and brandished coloured leaflets, calling for a mass strike across Hong Kong on Monday and shouting “Restore Hong Kong” and “Revolution of our time”. “We’re trying to tell the government to (withdraw) the extradition bill and to police to stop the investigations and the violence,” said Gabriel Lee, a 21-year-old technology student. Lee said he was particularly angered that the government was not responding to protesters’ demands or examining the police violence. What started as a response to the now suspended extradition bill has grown into demands for greater democracy and the resignation of leader Carrie Lam. “Even if Carrie Lam resigns, its still not resolved. It’s all about the Communist Party, the Chinese government,” said Angie, a 24-year-old working for a non-government organisation. On Saturday, protesters set fires in the streets, outside a police station and in rubbish bins. Thousands of civil servants joined in the protests on Friday for the first time since they started, defying a warning from authorities to remain politically neutral. [nL4N24Y3BF] The protests have adapted rapidly since the start of June with the movement spreading from the Admiralty area, where the legislative council is located, across to the whole city for the first time. Previous protests have also targeted mainland visitors to try to make them understand the situation in Hong Kong, which is officially termed a Special Administrative Region of China. Slideshow (29 Images)Young people have mostly been at the forefront of the protests, angry about broader problems including sky-high living costs and what they see as an unfair housing policy skewed towards the rich. Hong Kong has been allowed to retain extensive freedoms, such as an independent judiciary but many residents see the extradition bill as the latest step in a relentless march toward mainland control. Months of demonstrations are taking a growing toll on the city’s economy, as local shoppers and tourists avoid parts of its famed shopping districts. [L4N24V177] Reporting by Marius Zaharia, Felix Tam and Twinnie Siu; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Michael Perry, Kenneth Maxwell, Angus MacSwan and Frances KerryOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - An accountant for U.S. President Donald Trump’s one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort admitted in trial testimony on Friday that she helped backdate documents and falsify financial records at Manafort and his business partner’s request to reduce his tax burden and help him qualify for loans. Cynthia Laporta, who prepared Manafort’s tax returns starting in 2014, told a jury in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, that she was testifying under an immunity agreement with the government to avoid being prosecuted as Manafort was charged with bank fraud and tax fraud. One member of the jury nodded in apparent agreement when U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis cut off the prosecution’s questioning to ask her if she was afraid of being prosecuted herself. “Correct,” answered Laporta, explaining that she went along with accounting maneuvers suggested by Manafort and his longtime business associate Rick Gates because she did not want to create problems for her firm or lose a top client. “I very much regret it,” Laporta said on the trial’s fourth day as prosecutors build their case that Manafort hid tens of millions of dollars he earned working for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine to evade taxes. Laporta, the 14th witness to testify for the prosecution, was the most damaging yet for Manafort in the first trial arising from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Related CoverageManafort accountant tells court tax treatment of loan was wrongManafort accountant, at trial, says money transfers raised concernsManafort has pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of bank and tax fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts, charges that largely pre-date the five months Manafort worked for Trump, some of them as campaign chairman. Once the jury had been dismissed for the day, Ellis gave defense lawyers a green light for detailed cross examination of Laporta on Monday. “You are not limited in your cross examination of her,” Ellis said. Both Laporta and fellow accountant Philip Ayliff, her predecessor who handled Manafort’s tax filings at the firm KWC, testified that they had no knowledge that Manafort controlled foreign bank accounts. The government has provided trial evidence of Manafort controlling a web of overseas accounts in Cyprus and elsewhere. Such accounts must be reported to tax authorities if they contain $10,000 or more. Laporta also detailed multiple examples in which Manafort and Gates sought to doctor financial records. One instance involved classifying revenue from a Cyprus-based company as a loan to lower his taxable income, Laporta testified. “It’s hard-hitting testimony that creates an uphill battle for the defense, but that’s what cross examination is for,” said Andrew Boutros, a former federal prosecutor who is now a white collar defense lawyer. “I don’t know if there is enough to convict him right now, but they’re laying the groundwork for it.” A conviction would give momentum to Mueller’s probe, in which 32 people and three companies have been indicted or pleaded guilty. Trump, angered by any questions about the legitimacy of his election win, has called Mueller’s investigation a witch hunt and wants it to be shut down. FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort arrives for arraignment on a third superseding indictment against him by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on charges of witness tampering, at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., June 15, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstAfter spending the first two days of the trial laying out Manafort’s lavish spending, the prosecution is now digging into how he accounted for the more than $60 million he made in Ukraine and his efforts to allegedly mislead banks to get loans once the income from Ukraine dropped off precipitously in 2014. Manafort’s attorneys have signaled they will seek to blame Gates, who was Trump’s deputy campaign chairman in 2016. Gates pleaded guilty in February and is expected to testify against Manafort, possibly next week. Prosecutor Uzo Asonye focused some of his questioning on money transfers from a Cyprus-based company called Telmar Investments Ltd, which records showed had paid Manafort’s firm more than $5 million for consulting work. That income posed a problem for Manafort when it came time to prepare his business tax returns in September 2015, Laporta testified. She said Gates told her in a conference call the income level “was too high” and proposed reclassifying a portion of it as a loan. Laporta said she knew it was “inappropriate” but agreed to alter the records to show that Manafort’s firm received a $900,000 loan from Telmar in 2014, a change that would save Manafort nearly a half million dollars in taxes, Laporta said. Manafort signed an agreement to account for that loan that was backdated, according to Laporta and an exhibit shown to the jury. Slideshow (2 Images)Trial consultant Roy Futterman, who is following the trial but not involved in it, said, “The prosecution is doing a very good job of keeping a brisk pace, putting witnesses on for short direct examinations, keeping it lively and keeping very tight messages for each witness.” Manafort’s attorneys do not seem to have scored a lot of points on cross-examination, Futterman said, but added that the witnesses who have testified so far are not “the main targets.” Earlier on Friday prosecutors asked Ayliff about Manafort’s accounting of a $1.5 million transfer in 2012 from Peranova Holdings Ltd as a loan, even as records showed that no interest or principal was paid on it in subsequent years. Peranova is one of numerous Cypriot entities that prosecutors have said Manafort controlled. Ayliff testified that KWC did not know Manafort controlled Peranova, and that if the transfer was a payment related to his consulting work in Ukraine it would have been treated as income - not as a loan - on his tax returns. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Nathan Layne in Alexandria, Virginia; additional reporting by Karen Freifeld and Susan Heavey; Writing by Warren Strobel; Editing by Will Dunham and Grant McCoolOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - An accountant for U.S. President Donald Trump’s one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort admitted in trial testimony on Friday that she helped backdate documents and falsify financial records at Manafort and his business partner’s request to reduce his tax burden and help him qualify for loans. Cynthia Laporta, who prepared Manafort’s tax returns starting in 2014, told a jury in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, that she was testifying under an immunity agreement with the government to avoid being prosecuted as Manafort was charged with bank fraud and tax fraud. One member of the jury nodded in apparent agreement when U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis cut off the prosecution’s questioning to ask her if she was afraid of being prosecuted herself. “Correct,” answered Laporta, explaining that she went along with accounting maneuvers suggested by Manafort and his longtime business associate Rick Gates because she did not want to create problems for her firm or lose a top client. “I very much regret it,” Laporta said on the trial’s fourth day as prosecutors build their case that Manafort hid tens of millions of dollars he earned working for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine to evade taxes. Laporta, the 14th witness to testify for the prosecution, was the most damaging yet for Manafort in the first trial arising from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Related CoverageManafort accountant tells court tax treatment of loan was wrongManafort accountant, at trial, says money transfers raised concernsManafort has pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of bank and tax fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts, charges that largely pre-date the five months Manafort worked for Trump, some of them as campaign chairman. Once the jury had been dismissed for the day, Ellis gave defense lawyers a green light for detailed cross examination of Laporta on Monday. “You are not limited in your cross examination of her,” Ellis said. Both Laporta and fellow accountant Philip Ayliff, her predecessor who handled Manafort’s tax filings at the firm KWC, testified that they had no knowledge that Manafort controlled foreign bank accounts. The government has provided trial evidence of Manafort controlling a web of overseas accounts in Cyprus and elsewhere. Such accounts must be reported to tax authorities if they contain $10,000 or more. Laporta also detailed multiple examples in which Manafort and Gates sought to doctor financial records. One instance involved classifying revenue from a Cyprus-based company as a loan to lower his taxable income, Laporta testified. “It’s hard-hitting testimony that creates an uphill battle for the defense, but that’s what cross examination is for,” said Andrew Boutros, a former federal prosecutor who is now a white collar defense lawyer. “I don’t know if there is enough to convict him right now, but they’re laying the groundwork for it.” A conviction would give momentum to Mueller’s probe, in which 32 people and three companies have been indicted or pleaded guilty. Trump, angered by any questions about the legitimacy of his election win, has called Mueller’s investigation a witch hunt and wants it to be shut down. FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort arrives for arraignment on a third superseding indictment against him by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on charges of witness tampering, at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., June 15, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstAfter spending the first two days of the trial laying out Manafort’s lavish spending, the prosecution is now digging into how he accounted for the more than $60 million he made in Ukraine and his efforts to allegedly mislead banks to get loans once the income from Ukraine dropped off precipitously in 2014. Manafort’s attorneys have signaled they will seek to blame Gates, who was Trump’s deputy campaign chairman in 2016. Gates pleaded guilty in February and is expected to testify against Manafort, possibly next week. Prosecutor Uzo Asonye focused some of his questioning on money transfers from a Cyprus-based company called Telmar Investments Ltd, which records showed had paid Manafort’s firm more than $5 million for consulting work. That income posed a problem for Manafort when it came time to prepare his business tax returns in September 2015, Laporta testified. She said Gates told her in a conference call the income level “was too high” and proposed reclassifying a portion of it as a loan. Laporta said she knew it was “inappropriate” but agreed to alter the records to show that Manafort’s firm received a $900,000 loan from Telmar in 2014, a change that would save Manafort nearly a half million dollars in taxes, Laporta said. Manafort signed an agreement to account for that loan that was backdated, according to Laporta and an exhibit shown to the jury. Slideshow (2 Images)Trial consultant Roy Futterman, who is following the trial but not involved in it, said, “The prosecution is doing a very good job of keeping a brisk pace, putting witnesses on for short direct examinations, keeping it lively and keeping very tight messages for each witness.” Manafort’s attorneys do not seem to have scored a lot of points on cross-examination, Futterman said, but added that the witnesses who have testified so far are not “the main targets.” Earlier on Friday prosecutors asked Ayliff about Manafort’s accounting of a $1.5 million transfer in 2012 from Peranova Holdings Ltd as a loan, even as records showed that no interest or principal was paid on it in subsequent years. Peranova is one of numerous Cypriot entities that prosecutors have said Manafort controlled. Ayliff testified that KWC did not know Manafort controlled Peranova, and that if the transfer was a payment related to his consulting work in Ukraine it would have been treated as income - not as a loan - on his tax returns. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Nathan Layne in Alexandria, Virginia; additional reporting by Karen Freifeld and Susan Heavey; Writing by Warren Strobel; Editing by Will Dunham and Grant McCoolOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

But while she acknowledged that she dealt with Mr. Gates when she could not reach Mr. Manafort, Ms. Washkuhn testified that Mr. Manafort was fully in charge of his financial affairs, personally approving every bill that she paid.Still, she acknowledged that in early 2016, as Mr. Manafort sought to mortgage some of his seven or eight homes, Mr. Gates was the one who peppered her with demands for inaccurate financial statements.“Does not make sense,” Mr. Gates wrote her when she refused to alter a financial statement to show income that Mr. Manafort’s company was supposedly expecting, as opposed to what it had in hand.Judge T. S. Ellis III of the United States District Court in Alexandria, Va., has repeatedly tangled with Mr. Mueller’s team over their attempts to present evidence about Mr. Manafort’s extravagant spending when he was flush with funds from his work in Ukraine.In a brief hastily filed Wednesday night, prosecutors tried to allay the judge’s concerns that they were trying to sway the jury with unnecessary, salacious details. Part of Mr. Manafort’s motive to hide income and deceive banks, they argued, was that he had grown used to his material wealth.In similar cases, they said, courts have held that “evidence of a defendant’s spending and lifestyle is relevant to his intent and is not unduly prejudicial.”On Thursday morning, the owner of a company that cared for Mr. Manafort’s home in the Hamptons testified about his client’s landscaping needs. His workers, he said, spent four, if not five, days a week caring for the property, which spanned at least an acre, and planted “hundreds and hundreds” of flowers. Some were arranged in a design, spelling out the letter M for Manafort in red, surrounded by white.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - An accountant for U.S. President Donald Trump’s one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort admitted in trial testimony on Friday that she helped backdate documents and falsify financial records at Manafort and his business partner’s request to reduce his tax burden and help him qualify for loans. Cynthia Laporta, who prepared Manafort’s tax returns starting in 2014, told a jury in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, that she was testifying under an immunity agreement with the government to avoid being prosecuted as Manafort was charged with bank fraud and tax fraud. One member of the jury nodded in apparent agreement when U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis cut off the prosecution’s questioning to ask her if she was afraid of being prosecuted herself. “Correct,” answered Laporta, explaining that she went along with accounting maneuvers suggested by Manafort and his longtime business associate Rick Gates because she did not want to create problems for her firm or lose a top client. “I very much regret it,” Laporta said on the trial’s fourth day as prosecutors build their case that Manafort hid tens of millions of dollars he earned working for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine to evade taxes. Laporta, the 14th witness to testify for the prosecution, was the most damaging yet for Manafort in the first trial arising from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Related CoverageManafort accountant tells court tax treatment of loan was wrongManafort accountant, at trial, says money transfers raised concernsManafort has pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of bank and tax fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts, charges that largely pre-date the five months Manafort worked for Trump, some of them as campaign chairman. Once the jury had been dismissed for the day, Ellis gave defense lawyers a green light for detailed cross examination of Laporta on Monday. “You are not limited in your cross examination of her,” Ellis said. Both Laporta and fellow accountant Philip Ayliff, her predecessor who handled Manafort’s tax filings at the firm KWC, testified that they had no knowledge that Manafort controlled foreign bank accounts. The government has provided trial evidence of Manafort controlling a web of overseas accounts in Cyprus and elsewhere. Such accounts must be reported to tax authorities if they contain $10,000 or more. Laporta also detailed multiple examples in which Manafort and Gates sought to doctor financial records. One instance involved classifying revenue from a Cyprus-based company as a loan to lower his taxable income, Laporta testified. “It’s hard-hitting testimony that creates an uphill battle for the defense, but that’s what cross examination is for,” said Andrew Boutros, a former federal prosecutor who is now a white collar defense lawyer. “I don’t know if there is enough to convict him right now, but they’re laying the groundwork for it.” A conviction would give momentum to Mueller’s probe, in which 32 people and three companies have been indicted or pleaded guilty. Trump, angered by any questions about the legitimacy of his election win, has called Mueller’s investigation a witch hunt and wants it to be shut down. FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort arrives for arraignment on a third superseding indictment against him by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on charges of witness tampering, at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., June 15, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstAfter spending the first two days of the trial laying out Manafort’s lavish spending, the prosecution is now digging into how he accounted for the more than $60 million he made in Ukraine and his efforts to allegedly mislead banks to get loans once the income from Ukraine dropped off precipitously in 2014. Manafort’s attorneys have signaled they will seek to blame Gates, who was Trump’s deputy campaign chairman in 2016. Gates pleaded guilty in February and is expected to testify against Manafort, possibly next week. Prosecutor Uzo Asonye focused some of his questioning on money transfers from a Cyprus-based company called Telmar Investments Ltd, which records showed had paid Manafort’s firm more than $5 million for consulting work. That income posed a problem for Manafort when it came time to prepare his business tax returns in September 2015, Laporta testified. She said Gates told her in a conference call the income level “was too high” and proposed reclassifying a portion of it as a loan. Laporta said she knew it was “inappropriate” but agreed to alter the records to show that Manafort’s firm received a $900,000 loan from Telmar in 2014, a change that would save Manafort nearly a half million dollars in taxes, Laporta said. Manafort signed an agreement to account for that loan that was backdated, according to Laporta and an exhibit shown to the jury. Slideshow (2 Images)Trial consultant Roy Futterman, who is following the trial but not involved in it, said, “The prosecution is doing a very good job of keeping a brisk pace, putting witnesses on for short direct examinations, keeping it lively and keeping very tight messages for each witness.” Manafort’s attorneys do not seem to have scored a lot of points on cross-examination, Futterman said, but added that the witnesses who have testified so far are not “the main targets.” Earlier on Friday prosecutors asked Ayliff about Manafort’s accounting of a $1.5 million transfer in 2012 from Peranova Holdings Ltd as a loan, even as records showed that no interest or principal was paid on it in subsequent years. Peranova is one of numerous Cypriot entities that prosecutors have said Manafort controlled. Ayliff testified that KWC did not know Manafort controlled Peranova, and that if the transfer was a payment related to his consulting work in Ukraine it would have been treated as income - not as a loan - on his tax returns. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Nathan Layne in Alexandria, Virginia; additional reporting by Karen Freifeld and Susan Heavey; Writing by Warren Strobel; Editing by Will Dunham and Grant McCoolOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - An accountant for U.S. President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort testified on Friday that she prepared his tax returns despite her concerns about money transferred from overseas that was classified as loans. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis asked the accountant, Cynthia Laporta, whether she was testifying under an immunity agreement because she was concerned that she could be prosecuted. She answered: “Correct.” Reporting by Nathan Layne; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Eric BeechOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Reuters) - An accountant for U.S. President Donald Trump’s one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort admitted in trial testimony on Friday that she helped backdate documents and falsify financial records at Manafort and his business partner’s request to reduce his tax burden and help him qualify for loans. Cynthia Laporta, who prepared Manafort’s tax returns starting in 2014, told a jury in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, that she was testifying under an immunity agreement with the government to avoid being prosecuted as Manafort was charged with bank fraud and tax fraud. One member of the jury nodded in apparent agreement when U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis cut off the prosecution’s questioning to ask her if she was afraid of being prosecuted herself. “Correct,” answered Laporta, explaining that she went along with accounting maneuvers suggested by Manafort and his longtime business associate Rick Gates because she did not want to create problems for her firm or lose a top client. “I very much regret it,” Laporta said on the trial’s fourth day as prosecutors build their case that Manafort hid tens of millions of dollars he earned working for pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine to evade taxes. Laporta, the 14th witness to testify for the prosecution, was the most damaging yet for Manafort in the first trial arising from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. Related CoverageManafort accountant tells court tax treatment of loan was wrongManafort accountant, at trial, says money transfers raised concernsManafort has pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of bank and tax fraud and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts, charges that largely pre-date the five months Manafort worked for Trump, some of them as campaign chairman. Once the jury had been dismissed for the day, Ellis gave defense lawyers a green light for detailed cross examination of Laporta on Monday. “You are not limited in your cross examination of her,” Ellis said. Both Laporta and fellow accountant Philip Ayliff, her predecessor who handled Manafort’s tax filings at the firm KWC, testified that they had no knowledge that Manafort controlled foreign bank accounts. The government has provided trial evidence of Manafort controlling a web of overseas accounts in Cyprus and elsewhere. Such accounts must be reported to tax authorities if they contain $10,000 or more. Laporta also detailed multiple examples in which Manafort and Gates sought to doctor financial records. One instance involved classifying revenue from a Cyprus-based company as a loan to lower his taxable income, Laporta testified. “It’s hard-hitting testimony that creates an uphill battle for the defense, but that’s what cross examination is for,” said Andrew Boutros, a former federal prosecutor who is now a white collar defense lawyer. “I don’t know if there is enough to convict him right now, but they’re laying the groundwork for it.” A conviction would give momentum to Mueller’s probe, in which 32 people and three companies have been indicted or pleaded guilty. Trump, angered by any questions about the legitimacy of his election win, has called Mueller’s investigation a witch hunt and wants it to be shut down. FILE PHOTO: Former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort arrives for arraignment on a third superseding indictment against him by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on charges of witness tampering, at U.S. District Court in Washington, U.S., June 15, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan ErnstAfter spending the first two days of the trial laying out Manafort’s lavish spending, the prosecution is now digging into how he accounted for the more than $60 million he made in Ukraine and his efforts to allegedly mislead banks to get loans once the income from Ukraine dropped off precipitously in 2014. Manafort’s attorneys have signaled they will seek to blame Gates, who was Trump’s deputy campaign chairman in 2016. Gates pleaded guilty in February and is expected to testify against Manafort, possibly next week. Prosecutor Uzo Asonye focused some of his questioning on money transfers from a Cyprus-based company called Telmar Investments Ltd, which records showed had paid Manafort’s firm more than $5 million for consulting work. That income posed a problem for Manafort when it came time to prepare his business tax returns in September 2015, Laporta testified. She said Gates told her in a conference call the income level “was too high” and proposed reclassifying a portion of it as a loan. Laporta said she knew it was “inappropriate” but agreed to alter the records to show that Manafort’s firm received a $900,000 loan from Telmar in 2014, a change that would save Manafort nearly a half million dollars in taxes, Laporta said. Manafort signed an agreement to account for that loan that was backdated, according to Laporta and an exhibit shown to the jury. Slideshow (2 Images)Trial consultant Roy Futterman, who is following the trial but not involved in it, said, “The prosecution is doing a very good job of keeping a brisk pace, putting witnesses on for short direct examinations, keeping it lively and keeping very tight messages for each witness.” Manafort’s attorneys do not seem to have scored a lot of points on cross-examination, Futterman said, but added that the witnesses who have testified so far are not “the main targets.” Earlier on Friday prosecutors asked Ayliff about Manafort’s accounting of a $1.5 million transfer in 2012 from Peranova Holdings Ltd as a loan, even as records showed that no interest or principal was paid on it in subsequent years. Peranova is one of numerous Cypriot entities that prosecutors have said Manafort controlled. Ayliff testified that KWC did not know Manafort controlled Peranova, and that if the transfer was a payment related to his consulting work in Ukraine it would have been treated as income - not as a loan - on his tax returns. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Nathan Layne in Alexandria, Virginia; additional reporting by Karen Freifeld and Susan Heavey; Writing by Warren Strobel; Editing by Will Dunham and Grant McCoolOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The video shows Deripaska, the wealthiest man in Russia, meeting with Sergei Prikhodo, a Russian deputy prime minister, aboard a luxury yacht off the coast of Norway. The images included in Navalny’s video were posted to Instagram in 2016 by Anastasiya Vashukevich, a 21-year-old model and escort whose professional name is Nastya Rybka and who claims she was paid to spend time with the men.In a video that has been viewed more than 4 million times, Navalny claims that the trip constitutes a bribe by Deripaska to the government official. He also alleges that Deripaska was updating Prikhodo on the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign, with information that he had received from Paul Manafort, the former Trump campaign manager. Manafort, who was recently indicted by the Justice Department for money laundering and tax fraud, has been paid millions of dollars for consulting advice by Deripaska since 2007.In the video, Navalny says, “An oligarch takes a top government official on a ride on his own yacht–that’s a bribe. An oligarch pays for all of this, including young women from escort agencies. Believe it or not, that is also a bribe.”The Manafort allegation is what intrigues some Russian anti-corruption watchdogs. “More interestingly the investigation exposes a potential secret communication channel linking President Trump’s campaign–Paul Manafort– Oleg Deripaska–and the Russian government,” said Roman Borisovich, the supervisory board member of the Russian Anti-Corruption Foundation, in an email to Fast Company.Last September, the Washington Post reported that Manafort had offered Deripaska updates on the campaign in an email he sent to the mogul just two weeks before Trump secured the Republican nomination. The email is among thousands of documents turned over to special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his probe into Russian election interference. Deripaska’s spokesman denied that he ever received such an email. Manafort’s spokesman, meanwhile, denied that briefings took place, suggesting that the email was just an innocuous offer for a “routine” briefing on the state of the campaign.YouTube, which received a legal notice from the Russian court regarding the videos, did not ask Navalny to remove the video, as has been reported, but simply forwarded the notice to him, say sources close to the company. YouTube has yet to decide how to respond to the legal notice. A company spokesperson declined comment.

Former Trump adviser George Papadopoulos should spend at least some time in prison for lying to the FBI during the Russia investigation, prosecutors working for special counsel Robert Mueller said in a court filing on Friday.The filing also revealed several new details about the early days of the investigation. The prosecutors disclosed that Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump during the 2016 election, caused irreparable damage to the investigation because he lied repeatedly in an interview in January 2017.Those lies, they said, resulted in the FBI missing an opportunity to properly question a professor Papadopoulos was in contact with who told him Russians possessed “dirt” on Hillary Clinton, in the form of emails. The filing by the special counsel’s office strongly suggests the FBI had contact with Joseph Mifsud while he was in the US during the early part of the investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates.According to prosecutors, the FBI “located” Mifsud in Washington about two weeks after Papadopoulos’ interview and Papadopoulos’ lies “substantially hindered investigators’ ability to effectively question” him. The filing does not relate any details of an interview with the professor. “The defendant’s lies undermined investigators’ ability to challenge the professor or potentially detain or arrest him while he was still in the United States,” Mueller’s team writes, noting that Mifsud left the US in February 2017 and has not returned.Prosecutors note that investigators also missed an opportunity to interview others about Mifsud’s comments or anyone else who might have known about Russian efforts to obtain derogatory information on Clinton during the campaign.“Had the defendant told the FBI the truth when he was interviewed in January 2017, the FBI could have quickly taken numerous investigative steps to help determine, for example, how and where the professor obtained the information, why the professor provided the information to the defendant, and what the defendant did with the information after receiving it,” the court filing says. Prosecutors also detail a series of interviews with Papadopoulos after he was arrested in July 2017, saying he did not provide “substantial assistance”. As part of a plea deal, Papadopoulos later pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI.The filing recommends Papadopoulos spend at least some time incarcerated and pay a fine of nearly $10,000. His recommended sentence under federal guidelines is zero to six months, but prosecutors note another defendant in the case spent 30 days in jail for lying to the FBI. The Russia investigation began as an FBI counter-intelligence operation in July 2016, triggered by information about Papadopoulos. The operation was taken over by Mueller. Papadopoulos was the first Trump adviser to plead guilty in Mueller’s investigation. Since then, Mueller has returned two sweeping indictments that detail a Russian campaign to undermine the US election, hurt Clinton and help Trump. Thirteen Russian nationals and three companies are charged with participating in a conspiracy by manipulating social media platforms. Last month, Mueller indicted 12 Russian intelligence operatives, accusing them of hacking the computer systems of Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic party and releasing tens of thousands of private emails through WikiLeaks. According to that indictment, by April 2016 the Russians had stolen emails from Democratic groups including the Clinton campaign and were beginning to plan how to release the documents. The same month, according to court papers, Mifsud told Papadopoulos he had met senior Russian government officials in Moscow and learned they had “dirt” on Clinton in the form of “thousands of emails”. Topics Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Russia Europe Trump administration news

The Washington state Republican Matt Shea has been abandoned by donors over a document he distributed which condemned abortion and same-sex marriage and outlined a “Biblical Basis for War”.The minority caucus chair in the Washington state house wrote: “If they do not yield – kill all males.”Shea is seeking a fifth term as representative for district four, centred on the Spokane Valley. Amid rising concern over far-right invective, particularly over immigration, and its relevance to violent attacks such as the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue last week, the case brought him to national attention. Now, new information has emerged about Shea’s beliefs and associations on the far right.Shea’s oft-expressed belief that Muslims and leftists are organizing “counter-states” within the US appears to have been sourced from a conspiracy-minded seven-page memo by Rich Higgins, a national security council staffer in the Trump administration who was fired in July 2017 after the document became public.Shea has promoted versions of Higgins’ claim that “the hard left is aligned with Islamist organizations at local, national and international levels”, and its claim of links between “‘deep state’ actors, globalists, bankers, Islamists and establishment Republicans”.Higgins also alleges such groups believe that “for their visions to succeed, America must be destroyed” and Donald Trump removed from office.According to Higgins, the broader aims of this “cabal” include “population control”, administered by “certain business cartels in league with cultural Marxists/corporatists/Islamists who will leverage Islamic terrorism in order to justify the creation of a police state”, and the maintenance of a high level of immigration.Higgins also wrote that beneficiaries of supposed subversive activities include “international banking”, a term often used as an antisemitic code word. The “cultural Marxism” narrative that underpins the document, meanwhile, has been described as inherently antisemitic, due to its baseless allegations of a subversive conspiracy among Jewish intellectuals of the Frankfurt school, with the aim of bringing down western civilization.The conspiratorial overtones of the Higgins memo resonate with recent concerns about far-right discourse in the US.Far-right claims about immigration have come under greater scrutiny since similar beliefs were expressed by Cesar Sayoc – the suspect in the sending of pipe bombs to prominent Trump critics including Barack Obama, the Clintons and the financier George Soros – and by Robert Bowers, who is charged with killing 11 people and wounding six at a Pittsburgh synagogue.The Higgins memo has been heavily promoted by groups like the John Birch Society (JBS), with which Shea has formed an apparent alliance.Shea has hosted Alex Newman, a writer for the JBS magazine the New American, on his podcast. The two men shared a stage at last month’s New Code of the West conference in Whitefish, Montana, which also featured the leader of the 2016 Oregon wildlife refuge occupation, Ammon Bundy. Shea has promoted visits by Newman to the Spokane area. Newman has lauded Shea’s speeches.At the New Code of the West conference, Shea recommended his listeners read the Higgins memo.“There are two counter-states that have been established in America,” he began. “Rich Higgins’ memo is a must-read for everyone. Rich Higgins’ memo is tremendous.”He then explained his belief that far-left “antifa” groups were cooperating with Muslims in subverting the US government.The Higgins memo has also been promoted by members of the so-called “American Redoubt” movement, which encourages religious conservatives to relocate to the Pacific north-west. On the 29 October episode of Radio Free Redoubt, the host, who broadcasts under the pseudonym John Jacob Schmidt, read the memo in full.Shea contributes a pre-recorded weekly message to Radio Free Redoubt, which also broadcasts on ACN, a Christian radio network in eastern Washington state. Shea’s campaign expenditure records show four monthly payments to ACN of $1,250 each.Following a Rolling Stone story, Spokane resident Tanner Rowe released the “Biblical Basis for War” document on his Facebook page. Rowe showed the Guardian a version of another document which he said came from a January meeting of the Liberty State movement, which aims to create a new state in eastern Washington.Another local man, Ian Pickett, said he attended a rally in Colville at which Shea spoke in support of Liberty State. Pickett said flyers were handed out under the heading “Stevens County Property Rights Group”. The flyer contained a list of policies to be pursued in the notional 51st state, he said, among them “open public lands”, “no gay marriage” and “no legalized marijuana”.Since drawing attention to the flyers on social media, Pickett has been characterized by Shea as “antifa”. He said he had received threatening texts from disguised phone numbers and had been criticised several times on Radio Free Redoubt.Rowe said he worked on Shea’s security detail in 2016, but had not spoken to him since 2017. He said he was given the “Biblical Basis for War” document by someone who attended an American Redoubt-related event at a hotel in 2014. Shea has acknowledged that he wrote the document, though he has disputed the interpretation of it as a “battle plan for when the government collapses”.Rowe described his own politics as “libertarian” and “constitutionalist” and said he and Shea “share some beliefs”. But he said he supported liberty for all: “If you want to buy a gun, go buy a gun. If you’re gay, go and get married.” Shea’s involvement in plans to carve a 51st state out of eastern Washington, he said, was motivated by his wish for “a theocratic state”.Spokane county sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, a longtime Shea critic and a Republican, pointed to the politician’s links with the Marble community in Stevens county, north of Spokane.In a recent series of video podcasts, Knezovich alleged that Marble county was linked to the white supremacist Christian Identity movement. He also pointed to Shea’s relationship to the Coalition of Western States (Cows), a group of conservative legislators who involved themselves in the Malheur occupation in Oregon in January 2016.Knezovich said Shea has been building a political machine. “They have a game plan of taking over local governments and they are steadily working towards that,” he said. He added: “Anyone who criticizes Matt Shea is immediately demonized, hounded and harassed.” Asked if he thought Shea was a white supremacist, Knezovich said he could not say.“But,” he added, “he does hang out with a whole bunch of people who are in that sphere.”Shea’s opponent in Tuesday’s election, Ted Cummings, said that since the “Biblical Basis for War” document broke, donations had come in from around the US. The sums were not enormous, he said, but “the donations say that all across the country people are saying that we’re not letting hate take root”.Over time, he added, “the campaign has shifted from issues like labor, jobs, and healthcare to Matt Shea’s fitness for office”.Shea once called journalists “dirty, godless, hateful people”. He did not respond to a request for comment. Topics The far right Republicans US politics US midterms 2018 features

China’s ambassador to the UK has warned that Britain’s approach to the Hong Kong protests has damaged the relationship between the two countries. Liu Xiaoming has been summoned for a dressing down from the head of the UK’s diplomatic service, Sir Simon McDonald, over the spat. ‘The fundamental principles guiding our two countries is mutual respect, non-interference into internal affairs,’ Liu said. Foreign Office calls in China ambassador over Hong Kong protests

President Trump renewed his promise of loyalty to the members of the National Rifle Association at their annual meeting in Indianapolis today. But behind the scenes, the powerful gun rights group is engaged in a kind of civil war between top leaders and the group’s longtime public relations and strategy firm, Ackerman McQueen. The infighting has made public damaging allegations of misspent funds, self-dealing, and financial mismanagement. The National Rifle Association’s incendiary leader, Wayne LaPierre, wrote a letter to the NRA’s board last night, claiming that he was being pressured to resign by the organization’s current president and by Ackerman McQueen, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the letter, obtained by the Journal, LaPierre wrote that he was told that unless he resigned, damaging allegations would be made to the board against him regarding sexual harassment of a staff member and financial improprieties, including expenses spent on his wardrobe and staff travel. LaPierre said the pressure to resign came from the organization’s current president, Lt. Oliver North, and others, and was “styled, in the parlance of extortionists, as an offer I can’t refuse.” LaPierre’s allegations mark an escalation of an internal battle between the NRA and its powerful longtime public relations and advertising firm, Ackerman McQueen, over the organization’s finances. The NRA filed a lawsuit against Ackerman McQueen last week, accusing the company of withholding key details from its bills to the gun group, including information about a separate contract it had with North.LaPierre was told, he wrote, that “I needed to withdraw the lawsuit against [Ackerman McQueen] or be smeared.” North, a combative and prominent conservative commenter, was once at the heart of the Iran-Contra affair. He was unexpectedly named as the NRA’s president, typically a largely symbolic role, a year ago, replacing a lower-key gun industry executive. LaPierre has served as the NRA’s executive vice president since 1991. He is known for his fear mongering right-wing rhetoric and his no-holds-barred approach to defending gun rights. Most famously, in the wake of a shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that left 20 small children dead, LaPierre refused to compromise on gun control laws, arguing “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong’s government said violence and illegal protests were pushing the city to an “extremely dangerous edge”, as police fired multiple rounds of tear gas to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters on Sunday and Beijing said it would not let the situation persist. The Chinese-controlled city, an Asian financial hub, has been rocked by months of protests that began against a proposed bill to allow people to be extradited to stand trial in mainland China and have developed into calls for greater democracy. A general strike aimed at bringing the city to a halt is planned for Monday. Many flight departures were shown as being cancelled on Monday and a source and media reports said this was due to aviation workers planning to strike. Late on Sunday, hundreds of masked protesters blocked major roads, spray painted traffic lights, started fires and prevented transport from entering the Cross-Harbour Tunnel linking Hong Kong island and the Kowloon peninsula. “We sprayed the traffic light because we don’t want traffic to work tomorrow and we don’t want citizens to go to work,” said one protester who was clad from head to toe in black. Riot police confronted the protesters, who have adopted flash tactics, shifting quickly from place to place to evade capture and using online platforms such as Telegram to direct hundreds of people. In a strongly worded statement late on Sunday the government said the events of the day showed once again that violence and illegal protests were spreading and pushing Hong Kong toward what it called “the extremely dangerous edge.” Such acts had already gone far beyond the limits of peaceful and rational protests and would harm Hong Kong’s society and economic livelihood, it said. After the peaceful demonstrations finished earlier on Sunday, protesters blocked roads in the town of Tseung Kwan O in the New Territories, set up barricades and hurled hard objects including bricks at a police station. Police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters after a separate rally in the island’s Western district where thousands of people gathered to urge authorities to listen to public demands. Protesters had begun a march towards China’s Liaison Office, which has been a flashpoint at previous protests. Later on Sunday night, police fired tear gas in the shopping area of Causeway Bay to dispel protesters, forcing stores and popular shopping malls including Times Square to close early. Police said the protesters were “participating in an unauthorised assembly”, similar to Saturday when they fired multiple tear gas rounds in confrontations with black-clad activists in the Kowloon area. The protests have become the most serious political crisis in Hong Kong since it returned to Chinese rule 22 years ago after being governed by Britain since 1842. They have also presented the biggest popular challenge to Chinese leader Xi Jinping in his seven years in power. Demonstrators react as riot police point strong flashlights to their face after an anti-extradition bill protest in Hong Kong, China August 5, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone SiuChina’s official news agency Xinhua said on Sunday: “The central government will not sit idly by and let this situation continue. We firmly believe that Hong Kong will be able to overcome the difficulties and challenges ahead.” During the night, protesters split into several different directions to disrupt transport networks. Police said they were “seriously paralysing traffic and affecting emergency services” and warned them to stop immediately. The leaderless nature of the protests has seen participants adopt a strategy called “be water”, inspired by a maxim of the city’s home-grown martial arts legend, Bruce Lee, that encourages them to be flexible or formless. Police said more than 20 people had been arrested since Saturday for offences including unlawful assembly and assault. During Sunday protesters marched and brandished coloured leaflets, calling for a mass strike across Hong Kong on Monday and shouting “Restore Hong Kong” and “Revolution of our time”. “We’re trying to tell the government to (withdraw) the extradition bill and to police to stop the investigations and the violence,” said Gabriel Lee, a 21-year-old technology student. Lee said he was particularly angered that the government was not responding to protesters’ demands or examining the police violence. What started as a response to the now suspended extradition bill has grown into demands for greater democracy and the resignation of leader Carrie Lam. “Even if Carrie Lam resigns, its still not resolved. It’s all about the Communist Party, the Chinese government,” said Angie, a 24-year-old working for a non-government organisation. On Saturday, protesters set fires in the streets, outside a police station and in rubbish bins. Thousands of civil servants joined in the protests on Friday for the first time since they started, defying a warning from authorities to remain politically neutral. [nL4N24Y3BF] The protests have adapted rapidly since the start of June with the movement spreading from the Admiralty area, where the legislative council is located, across to the whole city for the first time. Previous protests have also targeted mainland visitors to try to make them understand the situation in Hong Kong, which is officially termed a Special Administrative Region of China. Slideshow (29 Images)Young people have mostly been at the forefront of the protests, angry about broader problems including sky-high living costs and what they see as an unfair housing policy skewed towards the rich. Hong Kong has been allowed to retain extensive freedoms, such as an independent judiciary but many residents see the extradition bill as the latest step in a relentless march toward mainland control. Months of demonstrations are taking a growing toll on the city’s economy, as local shoppers and tourists avoid parts of its famed shopping districts. [L4N24V177] Reporting by Marius Zaharia, Felix Tam and Twinnie Siu; Writing by Farah Master; Editing by Michael Perry, Kenneth Maxwell, Angus MacSwan and Frances KerryOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

US Special Counsel Robert Mueller wrote to the country's top lawyer to express frustration at his summary of the Russia investigation.He told Attorney General William Barr in March that his four-page summary lacked "context".Mr Barr's summary said there was no collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, but it did not exonerate the president of obstruction of justice.Mr Mueller has agreed to testify in Congress later in May. According to Mr Mueller's letter released on Wednesday, he has twice requested that Mr Barr reveal more information about his investigation's conclusions.He said the additional information was necessary as Mr Barr's original summary led to "public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation".A justice department spokeswoman said in a statement that "the Special Counsel emphasised that nothing in the Attorney General's [summary] was inaccurate or misleading". "But he expressed frustration over the lack of context... regarding the [report's] obstruction analysis," she said. Five questions for US attorney general The Trump-Russia saga in 350 words What's new in the Mueller report? Mr Mueller's investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election has led to 35 people being charged, including several who were a part of Mr Trump's campaign and administration.Mr Barr, who was appointed by Mr Trump, held a news conference before the full report was made public in which he backed the president.But the mammoth document was released on 18 April in redacted form and senior Democrats said the attorney general's summary had been "misleading".In his letter to Mr Barr, Mr Mueller said his summary "did not fully capture the context, nature and substance of this office's work and conclusions"."There is now public confusion about critical aspects of the results of our investigation," he said."This threatens to undermine a central purpose for which the Department appointed the Special Counsel: to assure full public confidence in the outcome of the investigations," he added.In a statement, the Justice Department said Mr Mueller had been frustrated over a lack of context in media coverage. America's most mysterious public figure Who's who in the drama to end all dramas? The news of Mr Mueller's letter came shortly before Mr Barr appeared before Congress.He is appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and the equivalent House committee on Thursday. Democrats are expected to question him on his handling of the Russia report. Moments before the hearing began, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler told reporters that Mr Mueller and the committee had reached an agreement for him testify later in May, although no specific date has yet been chosen.A number of top Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have strongly criticised Mr Barr in recent days."Attorney General Barr misled the public and owes the American people answers," Ms Pelosi wrote on Twitter.

For years, Facebook has made the pitch to customers that its wealth of user data — from birthdays to favorite television shows — allows it to deliver the right ad to the right person at the right time. These capabilities helped Facebook, along with its rival Google, to take in most of the more than $100 billion in annual online ad spending.But Facebook’s access to the data that powers this revenue model may be starting to dry up. Last year, a new rule in the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation, forced internet companies to comply with stricter safeguards in handling user information. And as customers become more hesitant to share their own data, Facebook and other digital-media companies are moving to regain their trust through additional protections.Now, some of Facebook’s efforts to appease critics who complain of discriminatory practices may further chip away at the model.In the interview, Ms. Sandberg conceded that the changes could make advertising on Facebook less efficient for some customers who had used the targeting practices “in a very fair and nondiscriminatory way,” but added, “We believe that that was a cost well worth bearing.”Under the new approach, Facebook will require advertisers in the areas of housing, employment and credit to use a separate portal that will not include gender or age as targeting options. It will also preclude selecting an affinity group of people interested in a race, ethnicity or religion. The company has generally allowed advertisers seeking to reach members of a race or religion to aim at such affinity groups.The company will continue to allow advertisers in other areas to deliver ads on the basis of age, gender or any affinity groups.Even in the less sensitive areas, advertisers can’t exclude groups associated with race, religion or ethnicity from seeing ads. They can only affirmatively aim ads at them.

The rhetoric that China is poised to fill the global leadership vacuum left by Donald Trump’s “America First” policy was represented in a visually compelling way over the weekend.At the annual G7 summit, held this year in Canada, Trump clashed with fellow world leaders over tariffs and trade, and eventually withdrew his endorsement of the group’s joint statement. One of the most awkward moments of the gathering was captured in a photo posted by German chancellor Angela Merkel on her Instagram account that has quickly become an internet classic. In it, Merkel, with other world leaders standing around her, stares coldly down at a seated Trump, who has his arms crossed in apparent defiance.Meanwhile, the scenes were quite different at a weekend summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in China. The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and security organization founded in 2001. It’s viewed by some as a counterbalance to NATO and includes among its eight members Russia, Kazakhstan, and as of last year India and Pakistan.Chinese president Xi Jinping called for “unity and harmony” on global affairs, including free trade and combating terrorists, among the SCO’s member states. In one photo, Xi and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, with smiles on their faces, lead other world leaders to stride into a dining hall. In another, the two autocrats drink what appears to be Chinese liquor together, apparently in a great mood.The contrast was of note to many China watchers:Chinese state media pounced on the discrepancy, too, using it as an opportunity to tout China’s global role:“Against the backdrop of the chaotic meetings of the G7 of the West, the SCO summit in Qingdao was particularly fruitful, and caught the world’s attention,” said an editorial (link in Chinese) in state tabloid Global Times published yesterday (June 10). “Unilateralism is strong on the surface, but in reality it’s difficult to sustain.”

Intel to pay $5M to settle pay discrimination allegations The U.S. Department of Labor says it has settled with chip maker Intel Corp. for $5 million over pay discrimination against female, African American...

On Sunday, dozens of masked men stormed a train station in Hong Kong - assaulting people returning home after a pro-democracy protest, as well as passers-by, with wooden sticks and metal rods.The violence left 45 people injured. It shocked the territory, as footage of the brutal attack quickly circulated online.There has been widespread speculation that the attackers belonged to triads - the name given to organised criminal networks that operate in Hong Kong, and are also known as the Chinese mafia. But what exactly are triads - and could they have been involved? Hong Kong's triads are "very localised" mafia groups with their own established rules and rituals, says Federico Varese, a professor of criminology and expert on organised crime at the University of Oxford."They usually run protection rackets, prostitution and petty drug dealings - they are not international organisations but are very much present in some local neighbourhoods," he says. There are several triads in Hong Kong, but particularly notorious groups include the 14K, Sun Yee On and Wo Shing Wo triads. Triads are hierarchical organisations, with strict codes of conduct and blood brother-like pacts. Hong Kong police criticised over mob violence What are the protests about? While they are mostly active in certain districts in Hong Kong, the phenomenon is well known to locals, and triad activities are often fictionalised - or critics say unfairly glamorised - in local films.For example Martin Scorcese's film The Departed was a remake of Infernal Affairs, a Hong Kong film about triads. Most triad members are working class and have not received higher education, says Prof Varese. They can be any age - triads not youth gangs - although most members tend to join from a young age, he says. Young triad members tend to be "recruited from the neighbourhood - you would have people in the local gang keeping an eye on 'promising' youth". Members undergo a ritual when they are recruited. It traditionally involves chopping the head off a chicken and dripping the blood into a cup which is passed around. The recruits also have the rules of the triad read out to them.They tend to be naked or half-naked when this happens, because "the idea is you have to forget your previous identity, to join a fictitious family where you are all brothers", says Prof Varese. "Once you're in, you could be there for all your life," he adds, although some members do move on to run their own businesses, and become "dormant" members. A South China Morning Post article from 2017 estimated that there could be as many as 100,000 triad members operating in the city, out of a population of 7.3 million. In 2018, there were 1,715 triad-related crimes recorded, according to the Hong Kong Police Force. The majority of cases related to wounding and serious assault, but there were also outbreaks of conflict between rival groups. There have been widespread accusations that the groups who attacked protesters on Sunday are paid-for thugs.It is not the first time such accusations have surfaced. In 2014, tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters occupied the streets, in what became known as the Umbrella protests. A few days into the protest, violence erupted at one of the protest sites in Mong Kok, a working-class district, after attackers punched, kicked and assaulted pro-democracy protesters, while removing tents and barriers they had set up. Police said 19 of the people arrested had triad backgrounds. Prof Varese and Dr Rebecca Wong from City University of Hong Kong studied the 2014 attacks, interviewing eyewitnesses and two people with triad links - including a senior triad member. They concluded that the attackers were affiliated with triads outside of Mong Kok, and had been paid to attack the protesters - although some local triads "opposed the attack as they perceived it as an encroachment of their territory".Informants interviewed by Prof Varesee and Dr Wong suggested that the triads had been paid by "business interests" that may have wanted to impress the Chinese government.Triads "might have found a new role as enforcer of unpopular policies and repression of democratic protests in the context of a drift towards authoritarianism in Hong Kong", the report concludes. There's widespread suspicion that this was the case - and police sources have told the South China Morning Post that they believe the attackers included triad members from 14K and Wo Shing Wo. Prof Varese said Sunday's attack appeared to be a "carbon copy of what happened in 2014", although the attacks appeared to be "more serious" this time since passersby were also attacked.The objective appeared to be "not to kill but to scare people away" and intimidate protesters, he adds."I think it's a deliberate tactic because if they wanted to kill they would kill, although triads are not known to use lethal violence." It's also notable that in both cases, the attacks took place in working-class neighbourhoods, rather than the central business areas where the protests were focused."Triads do not work everywhere. Possibly it is logistically harder to attack areas that are more international, downtown, and diverse." Protesters and activists have made such claims before - but the accusations have always been strongly denied by the authorities.After the 2014 attackers, a top opposition legislator, James To, accused the government of using "organised, orchestrated forces and even triad gangs in [an] attempt to disperse citizens" involved in the pro-democracy protests. The government and police denied colluding with triads, with one police commander calling the claims "ridiculous". During Sunday's attack, many protesters and pro-democracy legislators accused the police of being slow to act - saying they only arrived at the scene after the attackers had left - and long after the first 999 calls were made.The police chief has called the suggestions a "smear", saying that the force is stretched from responding to violent anti-government protests elsewhere. Researchers say thugs-for-hire have been a particularly significant phenomenon in mainland China, where local governments rely on criminals "to expedite their projects and extract formal consent from communities".However, Hong Kong has a separate judicial and legal system from mainland China, and its own local government - and thugs-for-hire are not a common phenomenon there. Reporting by BBC's Helier Cheung and BBC Reality Check's Christopher Giles.