Donald Trump’s outspoken former adviser Steve Bannon has praised Boris Johnson and Tommy Robinson in the same interview, describing the Tory MP as being potentially “a great prime minister” and the far-right activist as a “force of nature”.The US rightwing populist said he admired Johnson and that the former foreign secretary had “nothing to apologise for” after his controversial descriptions of fully veiled Muslim women in a newspaper column.He said Johnson should continue to make similar points. He told the Sunday Times (paywall): “Boris just needs to be Boris – true to his nature and his calling – and I think he has potential to be a great prime minister, not a good one.”Bannon has been in contact with Johnson since he resigned from government last month, although he added: “Any conversations I have with active political figures are confidential – I consider Boris Johnson someone who understands the physics in the ebb and flow of events. Those individuals are rare.”On Robinson, Bannon said: “Tommy is not just a guy but a movement in and of himself now. He represents the working class and channels a lot of the frustration of everyday, blue-collar Britons … He is a force of nature – like Kanye [West] – not built to be managed.”Robinson was jailed for contempt of court after he filmed outside Leeds crown court during a trial, but was released on bail this month after an appeal court ruled that he should face a retrial on technical grounds.The row over whether it was appropriate for the Conservative party to refer Johnson to its own disciplinary processes continued through the weekend. On Thursday, the party said it had asked an assessor to review dozens of complaints that had been made after he compared women wearing the burqa to letterboxes and bank robbers.The former Conservative minister Damian Green, an ally of Theresa May, said he feared Johnson was “being turned into a martyr by the alt-right”, which would be “a disaster for him and the Conservative party”.He wrote in the Mail on Sunday: “I am particularly concerned by reports that President Trump’s sacked adviser Steve Bannon is forming a Europe-wide far-right campaign group – and has been in touch with Boris. I hope that no Conservative politician, including Boris, is taking advice from him about how the Conservative party should behave.”Meanwhile, Tell Mama, the government-backed hate crime monitoring group, said there had been a surge in anti-Muslim abuse aimed at women wearing the hijab and niqab. It said the majority of niqab-wearing victims who had called Tell Mama’s helpline since the article appeared said the perpetrator either used phrases such as “letterbox” or referred to Johnson.The secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, Harun Rashid Khan, said: “The impact of Boris Johnson’s comments is real and worrying, and indicates the importance of a full, transparent and independent investigation into his conduct, in particular given the lack of action in previous cases of Islamophobia in the party.”A former aide to David Cameron accused Boris Johnson of “moral emptiness”, casual racism and “courting fascism”. Lord Cooper, a former pollster who worked for Cameron at No 10, said: “The rottenness of Boris Johnson goes deeper even than his casual racism and his equally casual courting of fascism. He will advocate literally anything to play to the crowd of the moment. His career is a saga of moral emptiness and lies – pathetic, weak and needy, the opposite of strong.”Rightwing Tories continued to defend him. Jacob Rees-Mogg, leader of the party’s anti-EU right wing, criticised the prime minister for backing the investigation into Johnson’s remarks. Rees-Mogg said May had countenanced a “show trial” of Johnson because of her personal rivalry with him.Johnson has returned from holiday but a close friend of his said he was “as likely to ride naked down Blackfriars cycle lane waving an EU flag” as he was to apologise. His father, Stanley, writing in the Sunday Telegraph, said his son was “spot on” in his comments on the burqa but should have gone further and called for a ban in certain circumstances. Topics Steve Bannon The far right Tommy Robinson Boris Johnson Conservatives news

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Russian foreign ministry said on Wednesday that it was Russia’s duty to fight terrorists in Syria’s Idlib until their “complete and final liquidation”, and called on other countries to support that effort, not obstruct it. In a statement, the ministry said its actions in Idlib province were in line with multilateral agreements aimed at stamping out violent militant groups. “Russia considers it its duty to closely follow these agreements and will continue to destroy terrorists until their final and complete liquidation,” the ministry said in the statement. Reporting by Polina Ivanova and Christian Lowe; Writing by Tom Balmforth; Editing by Christian LoweOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

In recent weeks, authorities have ramped up pressure on protesters in Hong Kong, calling their demonstrations “terrorism” and hinting at Chinese military intervention. With Chinese troops hovering just outside Hong Kong, U.S. national security advisor John Bolton has warned Beijing to avoid a new Tiananmen Square moment, a provocative reference to the massacre of Beijing protesters 30 years ago.What are the tough tactics and could they backfire, locking authorities and protesters in a cycle of violence?Police use of forceAs Beijing has increased its intervention warnings, Hong Kong police have grown increasingly tough. They have grabbed protesters out of crowds, fired nonlethal projectiles at people just a few feet away and hurled tear gas into subways. Last week, a young woman was struck in the face with a beanbag round — a small pillow containing lead shot — rupturing her eye. The same night, undercover police dressed like protesters arrested a young demonstrator named Chow Ka-lok, and knelt on his neck, twisting his arms and grinding his face into the road as he wept.United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has expressed concern about the level of violence. Her spokesman, Richard Colville, cited evidence that police employed anti-riot measures “prohibited by international norms and standards.” Advertisement Activist organizations including Amnesty International and Hong Kong’s Progressive Lawyers Group have condemned excessive use of force, and dozens of medical staffers from Hong Kong hospitals have staged sit-ins to protest police brutality.Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, for her part, has repeatedly endorsed police actions and dismissed calls for an inquiry. Beijing has also supported the toughened approach.Threats of military action from ChinaEarly last week, People’s Daily and the Global Times, state-run Chinese publications, aired video of paramilitary police armored personnel carriers and military trucks in Shenzhen, just across the Chinese border, preparing for what was described as major exercises. The People’s Armed Police is a crack unit trained to put down terrorist attacks, rebellions and riots. Satellite photos emerged Wednesday of the vehicles parked in a stadium. Advertisement On Aug. 13, President Trump cited U.S. intelligence sources as saying that China’s military was moving toward the Hong Kong border.And Global Times Editor Hu Xijin tweeted the same day that if Hong Kong failed to control the protests, intervention was “inevitable.”Action by Chinese military stationed at a garrison in Hong Kong or an anti-terrorism police force in Shenzhen could result in a high number of casualties and undermine freedoms guaranteed to Hong Kong by China until 2047, including autonomy, the right to protest, free speech and a free press.Arrests by undercover police dressed as protestersHong Kong police undercover officers dressed as protesters were filmed on Aug. 11 arresting Chow. The police said undercover officers rounded up only core “extremists.”The strategy fed protesters’ fears, and two days later, demonstrators at the Hong Kong airport confronted the men they suspected of being mainland police: Fu Guohao, who wrote recent Global Times articles suggesting that protesters have lost support internationally and in Hong Kong; and Xu Jinyang, whose ID, protesters said, showed that he is a mainland China auxiliary policeman, a claim denied by Chinese officials. Advertisement Images and video of Fu, tied to an airport trolley, went viral in mainland China, triggering a swell of social media outrage. He became an instant hero on Chinese social media for telling the protesters, “I support Hong Kong police. Now beat me.” Hong Kong protesters took their organizing principle from Bruce Lee. Now some are having second thoughts Hong Kong protesters took their organizing principle from Bruce Lee. Now some are having second thoughts Hong Kong protests have led to some clashes with civilians and suspected spies as well as police. Some protesters are rethinking their tactics. Propaganda and contradictory reportsHong Kong and Chinese authorities and Chinese state media have sought to portray the protesters as a small group of radicals.China’s media have grown increasingly vitriolic, condemning demonstrations as “riots” and “terrorism” and dubbing them as a “color revolution,” a reference to Beijing’s warnings it will never tolerate protests such as those in Eastern Europe and the Middle East that toppled governments.Beijing also blames the protests on the United States and other nations, accusing them of using Hong Kong to attack China’s sovereignty.Amid outrage over police use of beanbag rounds, Chinese state media reported that the young woman was actually injured by protesters, a claim contradicted by witnesses. Other reports not backed by evidence include claims that protesters were paid, and that some fired on police with grenade launchers.Tough justice Advertisement The handover agreement that governed Hong Kong’s 1997 transfer from Britain to China guaranteed Hong Kong citizens the right to freedom of speech and peaceful protest action. Since protests broke out 10 weeks ago, nearly 750 people have been arrested, 44 of whom were charged last month with rioting, a crime that could result in up to 10 years behind bars.After the airport blockade, Assistant Police Commissioner Mak Chin-ho announced that convictions for endangering people’s safety at the airport could result in life imprisonment.Those charged with rioting include a Cathay Pacific pilot, a nurse, a 16-year-old student and a 41-year-old woman. A student leader was charged with weapons possession after laser pointers were found in his bag.China’s official media support a harsh line from Hong Kong police and judges: “Strict law enforcement from the police force is the first step, and harsh justice from judges in Hong Kong is the second step. The police and judicial system share the same mission of combating rioters,” a People’s Daily editorial said.In response, independent lawyers in Hong Kong staged a protest march against political prosecutions. And a group of anonymous prosecutors in the territory published an open letter accusing Hong Kong Justice Minister Teresa Cheng of sacrificing legal principles for politics. 1/16 Hong Kong protest supporters in Taipei, Taiwan, wear masks depicting bloody flowers. (Chiang Ying-ying / AP) 2/16 Protesters occupy roads in Sheung Wan during a protest against a proposed extradition bill from Victoria Park in Hong Kong on Sunday. (Laurel Chor / AFP/ Getty Images) 3/16 Protesters clash with police after taking part in an anti-extradition bill march on Sunday in Hong Kong. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images) 4/16 Protesters clash with police after taking part in an anti-extradition bill march on Sunday in Hong Kong. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images) 5/16 Protesters clash with police amid tear gas after taking part in an anti-extradition bill march on Sunday in Hong Kong. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images) 6/16 Protesters clash with police after taking part in an anti-extradition bill march on Sunday in Hong Kong. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images) 7/16 Police officers arrest a protester in the Admiralty district of Hong Kong. Dozens of masked men rushed barricades at Hong Kong’s main pro-democracy site, triggering clashes as demonstrators tried to push them back and police struggled to contain the chaos. (Pedro Ugarte / AFP/Getty Images) 8/16 Riot police shoot tear gas while anti-extradition bill protesters take part in a rally at Sheung Wan in Hong Kong on Sunday. The organizer of the march, the Civil Human Rights Front, is urging the government to set up an independent commission of inquiry to be led by a judge, to look into the policing of recent extradition protests. (JEROME FAVRE/EPA-EFE/REX/JEROME FAVRE/EPA-EFE/REX) 9/16 Hong Kong police clear the street with tear gas during an anti-extradition bill march in Hong Kong on Sunday. (Billy H.C. Kwok / Getty Images) 10/16 Protesters run from tear gas fired by police after a march against a controversial extradition bill in Hong Kong on Sunday. (Vivek Prakash / AFP / Getty Images) 11/16 A protester kicks a tear gas canister during a confrontation in Hong Kong on Sunday. ((Ming Ko / AP)) 12/16 Protesters clash with police after taking part in an anti-extradition bill march on Sunday in Hong Kong. (Chris McGrath / Getty Images) 13/16 Riot police shoot rounds of tear gas at anti-extradition bill protesters on Connaught Road West in Hong Kong on Sunday. (Jerome Favre / EPA-EFE / REX /) 14/16 Protesters react to tear gas fired by police after a march against a controversial extradition bill in Hong Kong on Sunday. (Vivek Prakash / AFP / Getty Images) 15/16 Medical workers help a protester in pain from tear gas fired by policemen on a street in Hong Kong on Sunday. (Bobby Yip / AP) 16/16 A protester reacts in pain from tear gas fired by policemen on a street in Hong Kong on Sunday. (Bobby Yip / AP ) Pressure on businessHong Kong businesses are under increasing pressure from China to show loyalty. Besides the arrest of a pilot charged with rioting, Cathay Pacific airline crews have been banned from joining or supporting future protests. Beijing has also ordered staffers at state-owned enterprises to avoid flying the Hong Kong-based airline.The airline responded by declaring its strong support for Hong Kong authorities, condemning the rallies and warning that any staff who supported or participated in “illegal protests” faced dismissal. It announced Wednesday that it had sacked the pilot arrested during protests who was charged with rioting, and a second officer who “misused information” related to the protests. The company earlier fired two ground staffers for leaking passenger information.The actions of airline staff triggered a Chinese social media campaign to boycott the airline and Cathay Pacific CEO Rupert Hogg resigned Friday in the wake of the pressure.Last week, Chinese officials addressed more than 500 Hong Kong business leaders and pro-Beijing politicians in Shenzhen, calling on them to support local authorities. They also asked them to organize “positive energy” Hong Kong rallies. Days later, businesses associated with three powerful Hong Kong tycoons, including real estate billionaire Peter Woo, released statements condemning protests. Woo accused some protesters of purposely stirring up trouble while Swire Pacific and Sun Hung Kai Properties called for protests to end.Could the strategy backfire?Facing turmoil, China and Hong Kong authorities could crush resistance, but it would be at the risk of long-term alienation of the young protest generation and of an economic downturn caused by capital flight.It could also fuel additional support for the protesters and more anger toward political officials and police, once described as “Asia’s finest.”A key reason for the protests, as well as “Occupy” demonstrations in 2014, analysts say, is disquiet over China’s creeping intrusion into Hong Kong’s political autonomy and freedoms — such as the arrests of booksellers and a tycoon in Hong Kong, who later showed up in the hands of police on the mainland.“Really the seeds of the current conflict is largely sown by Beijing’s own policies. And I would make the same point, that its current actions sow the seeds for conflict down the track in five years’ time or 10 years’ time,” said Adam Ni, China analyst at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. “There are steps the Hong Kong and Beijing government could take to ramp down the current escalation, by turning back police violence. Beijing could dial down its rhetoric. But I think now it’s very much about antagonism and these ‘radicals’ who are beyond the pale. We have a hardening of positions on both sides.”The crisis has already frayed Hong Kongers’ trust in politicians and police. According to the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute, only 20% said this month that they would support Lam if an election were held the next day. More than 75% supported an independent inquiry into police brutality during the protests. The level of satisfactionwith the police force fell to 39%, the lowest level since the organization began polling the issue in 2012.While some might argue that compromise could risk an escalation of future democratic demands, a further crackdown could imperil relations with young Hong Kong residents.A recent study by three prominent academics found protesters were mainly young, well-educated people or students with at least some tertiary education, more than half of whom who view themselves as part of the middle class. Moreover, only 3% of Hong Kongers ages 18 to 29 think of themselves as Chinese, according to a 2017 survey by the University of Hong Kong.

Mr. Graham said he had also been highly skeptical when Mr. Trump insisted last year that Mr. Obama had tapped his phones in Trump Tower, a stunning assertion for which he offered no proof.“I thought, ‘Well, that doesn’t seem right to me,’” Mr. Graham said last week. But, he noted, it was later revealed that one of Mr. Trump’s former campaign associates, Carter Page, had in fact been under surveillance. And on “Spygate,” the senator added, “There seems to be something to this one. I want to find out: Did it happen? Is there a good reason?”Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, distanced himself from the president’s sinister language, but not necessarily the questions he had raised about the informant. “I wouldn’t describe it the way he described it,” Mr. Cornyn said. “Confidential informant? Spy? I guess he can use his own words.”Then, like many lawmakers who once denounced the president’s assaults on law enforcement agencies, Mr. Cornyn gave the president a level of validation, saying it was worth knowing what the F.B.I.’s “motivation” was in the inquiry into the Trump campaign.Mr. Trump is not the first public figure to charge that he is the subject of a shadowy plot. Mrs. Clinton memorably declared during impeachment proceedings against her husband, Bill Clinton, that they were the victims of a “vast, right-wing conspiracy,” although the president himself never used the word at the time.Mr. Meacham pointed to an 1866 speech at a tumultuous moment of post-Civil War Reconstruction, in which President Andrew Johnson said that his political enemies were plotting to assassinate him. President Richard M. Nixon believed that an elitist cabal led by Ivy League-educated denizens of Georgetown and Washington Post journalists was working secretly to bring him down. Both presidents, Mr. Meacham noted, were self-made men who harbored deep insecurities, not unlike the current Oval Office occupant.Erick Erickson, the founder of the conservative website RedState, who once described Mr. Trump as a “walking, talking National Enquirer,” said the president’s invented stories also speak to the public’s desire to have an easy explanation for events it cannot control.

Political leanings determine both how organised social media networks are in India and how likely they are to share fake news. And in both spheres, networks supporting India’s right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government are outpacing others, particularly those that oppose it, a new BBC study shows.The study, published yesterday (Nov. 12), tried to investigate why and how citizens share misinformation in India.Its authors—three BBC journalists who partnered with small teams at two agencies, The Third Eye and Synthesis—interviewed 40 subjects who had given them extensive permission to track their social media activity on their mobile phones, including on WhatsApp.The researchers also used network analysis to map the relationships between around 16,000 influential Twitter accounts that may have shared or amplified fake news. This revealed a dramatic difference between “pro-BJP amplifiers” clustered on the far right side of the map and “anti-BJP amplifiers” on the far left.“…the anti-BJP amplifiers are very loosely interconnected, but the pro-BJP amplifiers are very closely interconnected,” the researchers noted. This means the pro-BJP accounts are more likely to share the same content and have more overlapping connections with one another.The study also noted a large difference between the ways key political leaders, drawing support from either side, engage with the amplifiers.While Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi did not follow anti-BJP amplifiers on Twitter, prime minister Narendra Modi followed many pro-BJP amplifiers, including sources that have published fake news. In fact, the researchers found that up to 30 accounts in the pro-BJP cluster had been the original sources of at least one piece of fake news. Modi followed 15 of them.The researchers found 34 Twitter handles in all being the sources of fake news, making the vast majority of them pro-BJP accounts.This predominance of right-wing handles gelled with the data that the researchers found while looking at fake news on other platforms. For example, referring to the social media accounts of their interview subjects, they noted that “fake news messages leaning right seemed to be dominant in people’s WhatsApp and Facebook fields.”The tightly-knit nature of the pro-BJP cluster may also be related to another of the study’s findings: the difference between the way interview subjects conceived of their identities.One key reason why right-wing Indians share social media content is a desire to express one’s “sociopolitical identity.” This, the researchers said, was often linked to national pride and Hindu pride. When narratives put forth in fake-news messages upheld values such as “Hindu power and superiority” and “preservation and revival,” then “validation of identity trumps verification of facts,” the study claimed.Similar feelings existed in the left-wing, but its overall effect on social media was diluted by a broader set of identities on the left.The multiple identities on the right are all bound by common narratives, according to the researchers. On the left, however, there’s no such common narrative; there are only “micro identities” marked by religion, language, and caste, the study said.The left is “not animated by a unified narrative but occasionally cohere around particular issues,” the study noted. So when an event occurs, sharing activity increases among left-wing Indians, but “when the news cycle dies down their sharing dies down too,” it said.Read Quartz’s coverage of the 2019 Indian general election here.

A French state prosecutor has opened an inquiry into incitement to racial hatred after the selection of a mixed-race teenager to play the folk heroine Joan of Arc in annual festivities in Orléans was met with racist abuse from far-right users of social media.Mathilde Edey Gamassou, 17, was chosen from 250 girls on Monday to play Joan in a spring festival marking the Catholic warrior saint’s breaking of the English siege of Orléans in 1429.Gamassou, whose father is from Benin and whose mother is Polish, is to ride a horse through the central city dressed in armour for the celebration, which dates back nearly six centuries.The announcement was met with a stream of posts on Twitter and far-right websites, branding her selection an exercise in “diversity propaganda” and an attempt to rewrite history.“Joan of Arc was white,” read one Twitter post. “We are white and proud of being white, don’t change our history.” Another comment, on the anti-Muslim site Resistance Republicaine, complained: “Next year, Joan of Arc will be in a burqa.”The local radio station France Bleu Orléans reported that two social media accounts were being investigated over incitement to racial hatred after they compared the teenager to a baboon and used a picture of bananas. The women’s equality minister, Marlene Schiappa, offered her support to the student.“The racist hatred of fascists has no place in the French republic,” she tweeted on Wednesday.Bénédicte Baranger, the president of the committee in charge of choosing a girl for the role, said she was saddened by some of the reactions. “This girl was chosen for who she is; an interesting person and a lively spirit,” Baranger said. “She responds to our four criteria: a resident of Orléans for 10 years, a student in an Orléans high school, and a Catholic who gives her time to others. She will deliver our French history to everyone, as have previous Joans before her.”The mayor of Orléans, Olivier Carré, also defended the teenager.“In 2018, as for 589 years, the people of Orléans will celebrate Joan of Arc played by a young woman who shows her courage, faith and vision,” he wrote on Twitter. “Mathilde has all these qualities.”Outside school, Gamassou is a student of opera at the prestigious Orléans Conservatory and is learning to fence.The end of the brutal six-month siege of Orléans was a turning point in the hundred years war between France and England and the first major French victory.Over the course of the war, between 1337 and 1453, England lost nearly all its territories on the other side of the Channel. Joan of Arc, who was burned at the stake in 1431, is a heroine for many in France but is particularly venerated by the far right as a symbol of national resistance.Agence France-Presse contributed to this report Topics France The far right Race Social media Europe Digital media news

Enlarge this image The Dunn Solar Telescope in Sunspot, N.M. The site was closed for over a week after a security threat. NSO/AURA/NSF hide caption toggle caption NSO/AURA/NSF The Dunn Solar Telescope in Sunspot, N.M. The site was closed for over a week after a security threat. NSO/AURA/NSF A solar observatory in New Mexico reopened Monday after being closed by authorities for 10 days — which spawned national interest and speculation into the cause of its evacuation.Let's get this out of the way: Scientists say that aliens were not involved. On Sept. 6, the Sunspot Solar Observatory was suddenly closed by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, the consortium that operates it, without public explanation.People who work at the observatory, and those who live on the site, were asked to evacuate. The site's post office was also closed.The Otero County sheriff told the local newspaper that his office was alerted but not given any information."The FBI is refusing to tell us what's going on," Sheriff Benny House told the Alamogordo Daily News shortly after the closure. "We've got people up there (at Sunspot) that requested us to standby while they evacuate it. Nobody would really elaborate on any of the circumstances as to why. The FBI were up there. What their purpose was nobody will say.""But for the FBI to get involved that quick and be so secretive about it, there was a lot of stuff going on up there," he added. "There was a Blackhawk helicopter, a bunch of people around antennas and work crews on towers but nobody would tell us anything."From there, it was off to the races. Combine the FBI, a powerful telescope and a location in rural Sunspot, N.M., and you've got all the ingredients for some rampant speculation — government surveillance, aliens, etc. 13.7: Cosmos And Culture UFO Investigations: The Science And The Will To Believe "Why the FBI close the observatory?? People have the right to know!!" one person demanded on the observatory's Google page.The observatory, in Lincoln National Forest, about 170 miles south of Albuquerque, is home to the Dunn Solar Telescope. When it opened in 1969, it was the world's premier high spatial resolution optical solar telescope, the National Solar Observatory says. Though it's now considered a "legacy telescope," the Dunn "continues to be one of the most versatile, user-friendly setups in the world," the observatory says. Arts & Life Long Before Burning Man, Zozobra Brought Fire And Redemption To The Desert New Mexico is already associated in some people's minds with unexplained phenomena. The observatory is about 85 miles southwest of Roswell, N.M., a town long at the center of UFO lore.So what did happen at Sunspot? A security threat, though the specific nature of that threat remains unclear. According to a statement from AURA, the consortium and the National Science Foundation decided to vacate the site temporarily because of a security issue: "AURA has been cooperating with an on-going law enforcement investigation of criminal activity that occurred at Sacramento Peak. During this time, we became concerned that a suspect in the investigation potentially posed a threat to the safety of local staff and residents. For this reason, AURA temporarily vacated the facility and ceased science activities at this location. "The decision to vacate was based on the logistical challenges associated with protecting personnel at such a remote location, and the need for expeditious response to the potential threat. AURA determined that moving the small number of on-site staff and residents off the mountain was the most prudent and effective action to ensure their safety." The consortium said that it recognizes that the lack of communication while the facility was being evacuated was "concerning and frustrating for some.""However, our desire to provide additional information had to be balanced against the risk that, if spread at the time, the news would alert the suspect and impede the law enforcement investigation. That was a risk we could not take," the statement says.And the helicopter? House, the sheriff, told The Washington Post that Black Hawk helicopters aren't uncommon in the area.A call to an FBI spokesperson was not immediately returned. A person at the bureau's Albuquerque office said he had no information and could not comment. 13.7: Cosmos And Culture Why We Love Aliens The consortium said the site will have extra security for now, because of people showing up at the facility since its closure: "Given the significant amount of publicity the temporary closure has generated, and the consequent expectation of an unusual number of visitors to the site, we are temporarily engaging a security service while the facility returns to a normal working environment."James McAteer, the New Mexico State University professor who leads operations of the telescope at the site, said he was impressed by the theories that people had come up with for the closure."It was the first time I've had to deny contact with Aliens and Death-by-solar-storm and underground tunnels and New communications via X-rays all at one time," he wrote in an email to NPR.The observatory's reopening means that researchers can get to back to doing what they do: staring at the sun."We cannot wait to get back to work to show everyone the world class research we do every day at the telescope," McAteer said.NPR's Emily Sullivan contributed to this report.

HONG KONG/SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia has banned Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] from supplying equipment for a 5G mobile network citing national security risks, a move the Chinese telecoms gear maker criticized as being “politically motivated”. The ban, announced on Thursday, signals a hardening of Australia’s stance toward its biggest trading partner at a time when relations between the two have soured over Canberra’s allegations of Chinese meddling in its politics. This is also in line with measures taken by the United States to restrict Huawei and compatriot ZTE Corp (000063.SZ) from its lucrative market for similar reasons. Australia said in an emailed statement on Thursday that national security regulations typically applied to telecom carriers would now be extended to equipment suppliers. Firms “who are likely to be subject to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government” would leave the nation’s network vulnerable to unauthorized access or interference, and presented a security risk, the statement said. The statement did not identify the Chinese firm, but an Australian government official said the order was aimed at Huawei and precluded its involvement in the network. Huawei, the world’s largest maker of telecommunications network gear, shot back on Friday saying the 5G ban was “politically motivated” and that it had never been asked to engage in intelligence work on behalf of any government. “Chinese law does not grant government the authority to compel telecommunications firms to install backdoors, listening devices, or engage in any behavior that might compromise the telecommunications equipment of other nations,” it added. Huawei, already a supplier of 4G network in Australia, also pointed out that there was no fundamental difference between 4G and 5G architecture and that the latter provides stronger guarantees around privacy and security. Western intelligence agencies, however, have for years raised concerns about Huawei’s ties to China’s government and the possibility its equipment could be used for espionage. While there is no evidence to back this suspicion, Chinese law does require organizations and citizens to support, assist and cooperate with intelligence work. “That’s what you get when you have the aligned strategy of a Chinese company with the Chinese government,” said John Watters, Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Strategy Officer of cybersecurity firm FireEye Inc (FEYE.O). “(Australia) basically made a decision to spend more money to have more control over their national communication system, because they’re up against a competitor that will sacrifice near-term margin for long-term intelligence advantage.” China expressed concern over Australia’s Huawei 5G ban and said Canberra should not use the excuse of national security to erect barriers and conduct discriminatory practices. “We urge the Australian government to abandon ideological prejudices and provide a fair competitive environment for Chinese companies’ operations in Australia,” foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily news briefing on Thursday. The commerce ministry said Australia had made a wrong decision that would negatively impact companies in both nations. Australia had previously banned Huawei from providing equipment for its fiber-optic network and moved to block it from laying submarine cables in the Pacific. But Huawei’s exclusion from the mobile network comes at a time of particularly strained relations between Australia and China, which outgoing Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had two weeks ago sought to reset with a conciliatory speech. A Huawei shop is pictured in Singapore August 8, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar Su“It is ... out of step with this attempt to reset the relationship,” said James Leibold, Associate Professor of Politics and Asian Studies at La Trobe University. “They’re not going to forget Turnbull’s earlier strident language anytime soon,” he said. Turnbull will be replaced as prime minister by Treasurer Scott Morrison who won a Liberal party leadership vote on Friday. Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Byron Kaye in SYDNEY; Additional reporting by Sijia Jiang in HONG KONG, Jonathan Barrett in SYDNEY and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Darren Schuettler, Alexandra Hudson and Himani SarkarOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The crisis engulfing the criminal justice system over its approach to rape cases is revealed by startling figures that show less than a third of prosecutions brought against young men result in a conviction.According to statistics, men aged 18 to 24 in England and Wales are consistently less likely to be found guilty than older men on trial. Young men accounted for more than a quarter of defendants in rape-only cases in the five years to 2017-18.The findings are the first in the Guardian’s series focusing on rape, which is consistently one of the most contentious and sensitive issues facing the police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).Senior CPS staff believe the failure to secure convictions reflects a desperate need to educate jurors, who appear particularly reluctant to punish young men at the start of their adult life for serious sexual assaults.The figures highlighting the disparities are set out in a freedom of information request released by the CPS to the Labour MP Ann Coffey.They cover a five-year period and highlight how difficult it is to secure successful prosecutions of men under the age of 25.According to the figures: The conviction rate last year in rape only trials involving 18- to 24-year-old men was 32% – the lowest of any age group. The number of successful prosecutions against men aged 25-59 was much higher – at 46 %. In the past five years, the conviction rate for 18- to 24-year-old men who stood trial has not risen above a third. Of the 1,343 rape cases the CPS has taken against young men, only 404 were were convicted – an average of 30%. The conviction rate for 18- to 24-year-olds in all rape cases – including those involving child abuse and domestic abuse – stood at 35% in the five years to 2017-18. However, the conviction rate in the same types of cases for men aged 25-59 was significantly higher – 49%. The figures cast doubt on the ability of juries to provide equal access to justice for all rape complainants, regardless of the age of their alleged attacker, according to experts and campaigners.Coffey, who chairs the all-party parliamentary group for runaway and missing children and adults, said the figures were a symptom of a much wider problem. “The vast majority of rape victims choose not to report to the police,” she said. “One significant reason for this is fear of not being believed. Everybody should be concerned that young women are not getting access to justice. This brings the whole justice system into disrepute.”Coffey said the figures suggested a “reluctance on the part of juries to find young men guilty of date rape”.“This may reflect the prevailing attitudes of society and therefore juries to women, who are often blamed for putting themselves in risky situations,” she said. “Juries seem to view evidence through the lens of stereotypes.“There is still a dominance of rape myths in our culture, including that a woman who has drunk a lot cannot complain if she ends up being raped or that it is only rape if someone has injuries.”An intense media focus on the small number of false allegations of rape “perpetuates the public perception that lying about rape is common when in fact the opposite is true”, she added.Nazir Afzal, the former chief crown prosecutor for north-west England and adviser to the Welsh government on violence against women, said the complainants in trials with younger defendants were also likely to be younger.“Juries are told, rightfully, that you have to find not guilty if you are not sure and the perception is that the younger the victim is are the less believable you are,” he said. “Also, in my experience, juries are more likely to make allowances for a defendant the younger he is, this idea that he may not have known what he was doing at 24, but if he was older than that he does.”Dr Dominic Willmott from the University of Huddersfield, who has carried out extensive research into jury bias in sexual offence cases, said the figures were shocking but not surprising.“Scientific research shows us quite clearly that jurors are simply less willing to convict young defendants of rape for fear of the consequences such a ‘rapist’ label will have on their future,” he said.Wilmott said his research showed jurors regularly believed defendants in this age category were guilty of rape as defined by the law, but were unwilling to convict and label a young man a rapist.Sarah Green, from the End Violence Against Women (EVAW) coalition, said the figures “showed there is near impunity in this country for young adult men who commit rape. Now we can see that this group of young men are much more likely than defendants who are older to be acquitted. What is going on?“We urgently need an independent examination of every stage of the police and courts process. And, as a society we need to take a good look at why we make excuses for young men’s behaviour, and why we leave young women and girls to live with the consequences of that.”A spokesperson for the CPS said the figures for rape convictions underlined “the clear difficulties in prosecuting these cases”, adding: “Rape and serious sexual offences can be some of the most complex cases prosecuted by the CPS. We have worked hard in recent years to improve how we deal with these cases.“Addressing the low conviction after contest rate in cases involving young defendants represents a challenge for the entire criminal justice system. We are working on a number of different fronts to improve performance in this area.“This includes early liaison with police prior to making charging decisions, and providing specialist training for prosecutors on consent, myths and stereotypes, and cases involving vulnerable witnesses and young people.”Figures from the CPS show that just over half reports of rape resulted in a charge in 2016-17. Of the cases that were prosecuted, 42% did not result in a conviction.According to figures published by the ONS in February, women counted for 88% of rape offences recorded by the police in the previous year. Topics Rape and sexual assault UK criminal justice Men Crime Women Crown Prosecution Service news

Critics said the garment might have been flagged if H&M’s team was more diverse.“It’s so easy to avoid this kind of controversy,” said Angel Sinclair, the founder of the advocacy group Models of Diversity. “If you care about being culturally sensitive, just be more culturally inclusive of talent and managers in the business.”H&M has more than 100,000 workers worldwide. But the fashion giant’s board is entirely white. And retail experts said that much of the creative process takes place in and around its European home office, far from many of its markets.Ms. Wu, who reports directly to H&M’s chief executive, Karl-Johan Persson, said she did not know the ethnic or racial backgrounds of the employees and contractors involved with the monkey hoodie. But an internal investigation of the incident — which she declined to discuss in detail — showed “how important awareness-raising is generally,” she said.“There are hundreds of steps of getting a product to market — it’s never one point in time where we can say, ‘It’s your fault,’ because there are teams at work on things, there are approval processes throughout,” she said. “It’s really hard to pinpoint when.”H&M and Zara used to stun the industry with their ability to move garments from design to store floor within weeks, when other retailers required more than half a year. But some brands can now perform the same feat much faster, while others, like Amazon and Adidas, are experimenting with on-demand manufacturing.

The Telegraph has been forced to correct a column by Boris Johnson after the Brexiter MP and potential Tory leadership candidate falsely claimed a no-deal Brexit was the most popular option among the British public.The claim was made in a column (£) published in January but has since been removed from the online version after a complaint by a member of the public to the press regulator Ipso.An online correction said: “In fact, no poll clearly showed that a no-deal Brexit was more popular than the other options. This correction is being published following a complaint upheld by the Independent Press Standards Organisation.”In its defence the Telegraph said Johnson was “entitled to make sweeping generalisations based on his opinions”.It also suggested that claims in Johnson’s column should not be taken seriously as the piece “was clearly comically polemical, and could not be reasonably read as a serious, empirical, in-depth analysis of hard factual matters”.Mitchell Stirling, a statistician from Reading, said he made the complaint because he felt “a potential prime minister shouldn’t be able to make things up in a weekly column”.“I complained because Johnson’s article went beyond him referring to anecdotal evidence around the popularity of no deal and saying it was becoming more popular (which it was) but to saying that polling was showing it was the most popular opinion by some clear margin. Both of which were not backed up by any polling done by a BPC [British Polling Council] member.“To exaggerate like that is clearly out of the Trump/Bannon playbook but because it was in print and the phrase used by Johnson was so strong contrary to the lack of evidence that I as an avid poll watcher knew didn’t exist, I knew I had a decent case.”Johnson receives £275,000 a year for his weekly Telegraph column, a sum he once referred to as chickenfeed. Topics Boris Johnson Daily Telegraph Brexit National newspapers Ipso Newspapers & magazines Newspapers news

A former Congolese rebel leader has been found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.Fighters loyal to Bosco Ntaganda carried out gruesome massacres of civilians, said judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC).Ntaganda, nicknamed "Terminator", was convicted on 18 counts including murder, rape, sexual slavery and using child soldiers. He becomes the first person convicted of sexual slavery by the ICC.Warning: This story contains details some readers might find disturbingNtaganda, who will be sentenced at a later hearing, is the fourth person convicted by the ICC since its creation in 2002. He has 30 days to appeal against the convictions.The Rwandan-born 46-year-old former rebel has been involved in numerous armed conflicts in both Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Africa Live: Reaction to the verdict Full profile: Bosco Ntaganda Ntaganda surrendered at the US embassy in Rwanda in 2013.Analysts said it was an act of self-preservation, motivated by the danger he was in after losing a power-struggle within his M23 rebel group. Born in 1973 in Rwanda, where he grew up Fled to DR Congo as a teenager after attacks on fellow ethnic Tutsis At 17, he began his fighting days - alternating between being a rebel and a soldier, in both Rwanda and DR Congo 2002-3: Militia leader in Congolese region of Ituri 2006: Indicted by the ICC for allegedly recruiting child soldiers in Ituri In charge of troops who carried out 2008 Kiwanji massacre of 150 people 2009: Integrated into Congolese national army and made a general 2012: Defects from the army, sparking a new rebellion which forces 800,000 from their homes 2013: Surrenders to US embassy in Kigali, Rwanda, after splits in his rebel group A three-judge bench found Ntaganda guilty on all 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the mineral-rich north-eastern region of Ituri between 2002 and 2003.Ntaganda was a "key leader" who gave orders to "target and kill civilians" judge Robert Fremr said in the ruling.Prosecutors had said Ntaganda was key in planning and running operations for the Union of Congolese Patriots (UCP) rebels and its military wing, the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC).The armed group conducted attacks against people perceived not to belong to the Hema ethnic group, the ICC found. In one attack, fighters killed 49 captured people in a banana field behind a village using "sticks and batons as well as knives and machetes". "Men, women and children and babies were found in the field. Some bodies were found naked, some had hands tied up, some had their heads crushed. Several bodies were disembowelled or otherwise mutilated," Judge Fremr said.Violence in the region has killed more than 60,000 people in the region since 1999, as militias battle each other for control of scarce mineral resources, rights groups say.The judges ruled that Ntaganda had personally killed a Catholic priest, while the fighters he commanded ran rampage in the region. The crimes took place when Ntaganda served as the deputy chief of general staff of Thomas Lubanga - who was the leader of the UCP. He was the first person to be convicted by the ICC in 2012 and sentenced to 14 years.All of those convicted so far by the ICC are from Africa. A fifth person, Jean-Pierre Bemba, the former vice-president of DR Congo, was initially found guilty of war crimes before being cleared on appeal last year.The International Federation for Human Rights (known by its French acronym FIDH) called Monday's judgment a day of victory for Ntaganda's victims and a day of hope for others.But it added in a statement: "While Ntaganda's conviction is a milestone... and a victory for all those who pursued justice for crimes committed in Ituri, several suspected criminals still enjoy impunity."By Anna Holligan, BBC News, The HagueForty-nine mutilated bodies strewn in a banana field. A pregnant woman killed while trying to shield herself from rape. Children under the age of 15 conscripted to fight - women and girls kept as sex slaves.In court, judges highlighted the horror brought by Bosco Ntaganda's rebel forces before finding the 46-year-old guilty of all 18 charges.More than 2,000 survivors were cleared to take part in this trial. Human rights groups said this judgment provided an important measure of justice. If the guilty verdict is upheld, the next question for the judges will be how long Ntaganda should spend behind bars, and what compensation, if any, should be awarded to the survivors, many of whom risked their lives to provide evidence in this trial, and now hope the court will offer tangible reparations to help them rebuild their lives. Ntaganda fought under the command of Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF) leader, now Rwandan president, Paul Kagame to end the 1994 genocide against his ethnic group - the Tutsi. After Rwanda's unrest spilled over into neighbouring DR Congo, he started to flip between fighting rebellions and serving in national armies - both Rwandan and Congolese.In 2012, he became the founding member of the M23 rebel group after he defected with hundreds of soldiers from the Congolese national army. His fighters later took over DR Congo's eastern city of Goma before agreeing to withdraw. At least 800,000 people reportedly fled their homes.The M23 rebel group was eventually defeated by Congolese government forces in 2013.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc’s growth has slowed as a series of scandals has allowed the ride-hailing company’s chief U.S. competitor, Lyft Inc, to grab more market share, digital research firm eMarketer said in a report on Monday. The Uber logo is displayed on a screen during the Women In The World Summit in New York City, U.S., April 12, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid The research firm has lowered its forecasts for Uber’s growth for the next several years. It projects 48 million U.S. adults will use Uber at least once this year, up 18 percent from last year but well off eMarketer’s earlier forecast of more than 51 million. EMarketer based its analysis on data from Uber and Lyft, such as trip numbers and app downloads, as well as customer surveys from researchers at JP Morgan and other firms. The report quantifies the effect of a series of scandals at Uber last year, which included an internal probe of sexual harassment and workplace behavior; a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into whether Uber managers violated U.S. laws against bribery of foreign officials; a lawsuit by Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) alleging trade secrets theft that Uber settled for $245 million; and the departure of Uber’s chief executive officer, who was pushed out by investors concerned about the growing list of problems. Uber did not respond to a request for comment. Meanwhile, Lyft has grown quickly, adding more than 160 cities last year, benefiting from Uber’s tarnished image and as a later entry into markets where people are already familiar with ride-hailing services, eMarketer said. On Monday, Lyft said it has 35 percent of the national ride-hailing market, and in 16 U.S. markets its share exceeds 40 percent. “Uber’s brand image took an even bigger hit than expected as it grappled with a series of scandals and PR disasters in 2017,” said Shelleen Shum, eMarketer’s forecasting director. “Lyft, which had been rapidly expanding its coverage, seized on the opportunity to brand itself as a more socially conscious alternative.” The research firm said it has lowered its forecast for Uber’s growth every year through 2021, reflecting the company’s competitive disadvantage after last year’s problems. EMarketer’s previous projections pegged the number of Uber users in 2017 at about 44 million, but the actual number ended up being fewer than 41 million. Even so, Uber remains the dominant U.S. ride-hailing company. At the end of this year it will have about 77 percent of the market, down from 90 percent in 2016, while Lyft will have 48 percent, up from nearly 29 percent, according to eMarketer. EMarketer’s projections for 2022 show Uber with nearly 74 percent of customers and Lyft with 59 percent of ride-hailing customers. Some people use both services. Lyft operates in roughly the same number of U.S. cities as Uber, as well as in Toronto. Uber operates across the globe, although it has retreated from Southeast Asia, Russia and China after losing billions of dollars competing with local rivals. Reporting by Heather Somerville; Editing by Leslie AdlerOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Downing Street aides directly asked hard-Brexit Conservatives at Chequers on Sunday whether Theresa May’s resignation as prime minister would be enough to get them to endorse finally the exit deal struck with the European Union, it has emerged.The afternoon summit at the prime minister’s country retreat was carefully choreographed so that Boris Johnson, Iain Duncan Smith, Jacob Rees-Mogg and other Tory rebels present ended up in one-to-one chats with key No 10 staffers when the main meeting periodically broke up.A source said that in those private conversations several aides to the prime minister present asked whether it would help them vote for the controversial Brexit deal if May were to quit. “It didn’t look like a coincidence; aides like this are not meant to think for themselves,” they added.The prime minister made no mention of resigning in the three-hour rolling meeting at the country retreat described as “like a royal levee”, although the idea was at one point put to her by Rees-Mogg and, according to some accounts, Duncan Smith. May did not respond.Downing Street had hoped to pick off some of the rebels attending, but did not appear at first to have made much progress, and the meeting broke up inconclusively without any breakthrough.Others present were Dominic Raab and David Davis, both former Brexit secretaries, Steve Baker, the vicechair of the backbench European Research Group, and the May ally and former cabinet minister Damian Green.Cabinet ministers present included David Lidington, who is in effect May’s deputy, Michael Gove, the environment secretary, and the chief whip, Julian Smith. The team of aides was led by May’s chief of staff, Gavin Barwell.Intense speculation is circling at Westminster as to whether May will name a departure date in a final attempt to get her Brexit deal approved, amid chatter in Tory circles that government whips are beginning to ask MPs if that would persuade some of the 70 holdouts to change sides.The prime minister is due to appear at a meeting of the backbench 1922 Committee early on Wednesday evening, where she is likely to face questions about her future after a dismal period for the government in which MPs voted to take control of the Brexit process on Monday night by 329 to 302.Of particular concern at the Chequers meeting was that Raab remained relatively silent throughout, leaving his position unclear. Johnson and Raab are locked in a contest to be the hard Brexiter standard bearer in any future leadership contest, and each is thought reluctant to switch to supporting May’s deal if the other does not.Rees-Mogg and Duncan Smith were considered ready to back May’s deal if they could find an appropriate justification, cabinet sources said. Two days after the summit, Rees-Mogg went public, saying he could back May’s deal rather than risk Britain’s departure from the EU being delayed or abandoned.However, it is not thought he speaks for many colleagues in the hard-Brexit ERG, who have so far consistently opposed May’s deal. A majority of its members spoke up for maintaining a hardline position at a meeting on Monday night in Westminster.Of the other senior Tory backbenchers attending, Davis has already voted for May’s deal once this month when it was defeated by 149 votes, while Green is a longstanding supporter. Baker remains a holdout.Downing St insiders said it was not the case that the idea of May’s departure was canvassed as part of a pre-arranged exercise. “There was no such operation that took place in any sense,” a source said. Topics Theresa May Conservatives Brexit news

Six youths have gone on trial in Spain accused of sexually abusing a girl of 14, in a case that has reignited a debate over the definition of rape.They are charged with abusing the girl at a disused factory in Manresa, a town in the north-eastern region of Catalonia, in October 2016. Depending on the testimony heard in court, prosecutors may bring the graver charge of rape instead. The six defendants, whose ages were not given, deny having sex with the girl. The case has become known as the "Manada de Manresa", or Manresa wolf pack, because of similarities with another 2016 gang attack on a teenage woman, which prompted nationwide protests and an ongoing review of Spain's rape laws.Spain's top court rules sex gang were rapists On Wednesday, an angry uncle of the girl had to be restrained by police when he lunged towards the defendants, who are on provisional release during the trial, as they left the court.He was carrying a placard saying "It's not abuse, it's rape".Warning: Some readers may find details of this story disturbingOther relatives and friends of the victim chanted the same words, as well as "We want justice". Some of the defendants, who attempted to cover their faces, could be seen running away. Prosecutors say the six took turns to have sex with the girl, who was "obviously" under the influence of alcohol and drugs. One of the accused, named only as Bryan Andrés M, is said to have told each of them: "It's your turn. Fifteen minutes each and no delay."A seventh defendant is accused of masturbating while watching the abuse, and failing to stop the others.All the defendants deny the allegations, although the DNA of one of them was allegedly found on the girl's underwear. Daniel David R has spent the past two years on remand.The court was due to hear statements from the girl and witnesses on Wednesday and these were postponed until next Monday, Efe news agency reports. What the girl has to say will be crucial in helping public prosecutors decide whether to keep the accusation as sexual abuse or change it to the more serious offence of sexual assault, which is the equivalent of rape under existing Spanish law.A charge of sexual assault involves intimidation or violence, and prosecutors have determined that this is a case of sexual abuse, where no such force is used and where the victim is incapacitated by drugs or alcohol.If convicted of abuse, the defendants face 10 to 12 years in prison. If they are convicted of assault they could be sentenced to between 15 and 20 years, El Mundo newspaper reports.The girl's family is pursuing a private prosecution, arguing that the circumstances constitute sexual assault.A court in Navarra jailed five men for sexual abuse, for a gang attack in Pamplona on an 18-year-old woman, who was dragged into the hallway of a residential building. As she appeared "passive or neutral", according to a police report, the court decided no intimidation or violence had taken place.Last month, the Spanish Supreme Court overturned that ruling, deciding it was sexual assault, and that the men were rapists.The five men saw their sentences of nine years increased to 15.Spain's prime minister last year appointed a panel to review the rape laws.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Major world stock markets climbed on Tuesday on hopes of more stimulus for China’s economy, while sterling rebounded from the day’s lows after British lawmakers defeated Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal on withdrawing from the European Union. Sterling rallied more than a cent to stand above $1.28 after the vote. It GBP= was last trading at $1.2875, up 0.09 percent on the day. May’s crushing loss, the first British parliamentary defeat of a treaty since 1864, marks the collapse of her two-year strategy of forging an amicable divorce maintaining close ties to the EU after the March 29 exit. “After the big defeat, which was even larger than what the market had expected, we might getting closer to a no-Brexit scenario. The pound has retraced some of its losses after that vote, which was not unexpected. It may also simply be short-covering,” said Eric Stein, co-director of global income group at Eaton Vance in Boston. “There is still a massive amount of uncertainty for U.K. assets,” he said. U.S. Treasury yields edged higher in choppy trading on expectations for some kind of resolution on Brexit despite the parliament’s rejection of May’s deal. Helping sentiment on Wall Street, U.S. President Trump talked up chances of a China trade deal and Chinese officials hinted at more stimulus for their slowing economy. Data on Monday showed China’s exports unexpectedly fell the most in two years in December, while imports also contracted sharply. “Any move to stabilize the global economy by the Chinese should be viewed positively by the U.S. as well,” said Chris Zaccarelli, Chief Investment Officer, Independent Advisor Alliance in Charlotte, North Carolina. A 6.5 percent gain in shares of Netflix (NFLX.O) after it said it was raising rates for its U.S. subscribers also lifted stocks. JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N)’s shares ended up slightly despite reporting a lower-than-expected rise in quarterly profit and revenue, hurt by weakness in bond trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 155.75 points, or 0.65 percent, to 24,065.59, the S&P 500 .SPX gained 27.69 points, or 1.07 percent, to 2,610.3 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC added 117.92 points, or 1.71 percent, to 7,023.83. The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.35 percent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe .MIWD00000PUS gained 0.82 percent. Germany reported its weakest growth in five years, causing the euro to decline against the dollar. FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., January 10, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidThe euro EUR= was last down 0.57 percent, at $1.1409, while Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 added 0.47 percent, to 1,373.38. In commodities, oil prices rose about 3 percent supported by China’s plan to introduce policies to stabilize a slowing economy. Brent crude LCOc1 rose $1.65, or 2.8 percent, to settle at $60.64 a barrel. U.S. crude futures CLc1 ended $1.60, or 3.2 percent, higher at $52.11 a barrel. In the Treasury market, benchmark 10-year notes US10YT=RR last fell 1/32 in price to yield 2.713 percent, from 2.71 percent late on Monday. Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak, Richard Leong and Sinead Carew in New York, Marc Jones in London and Medha Singh; Editing by James Dalgleish and Sonya HepinstallOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The study found that opioid-related spending on doctors was most highly concentrated in counties in the Northeast; the Midwest had the lowest concentration.Areas with large numbers of payments and high overdose rates included four cities in Virginia — Salem, Fredericksburg, Winchester and Norton — as well as Cabell County, W.Va., which has one of the highest overdose death rates in the nation. Lackawanna County, Penn., which includes Scranton, also ranked high in both measures, as did Erie County, Ohio.The authors said they were particularly struck by the fact that the number of marketing interactions with doctors — such as frequent free meals — was more strongly associated with overdose deaths than the amount spent.“Each meal seems to be associated with more and more prescriptions,” Dr. Hadland said. He added that while pharmaceutical company payments to doctors seem to have started dropping, the practice of companies buying meals for doctors “remains alive and well.”The study noted that while some states have sought to limit the total amount drug companies spend promoting their products to doctors — New Jersey, for example, recently adopted a new regulation limiting such spending to $10,000 per doctor, per year — what may matter more is for states or health systems to limit the number of interactions.“I think what seems to be less important is the amount of money spent,” Dr. Hadland said, “compared with the number of interactions.” [Like the Science Times page on Facebook. | Sign up for the Science Times newsletter.]The study linked information from 2013 to 2016 across three national databases: the Open Payments database, which includes all payments made by pharmaceutical companies to physicians, which companies are required to report under a section of the Affordable Care Act; drug overdose data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and C.D.C. data on opioid prescriptions dispensed at pharmacies.

Authorities in the French city of Orléans are investigating racist tweets about a teenager set to play Joan of Arc.The city chose Mathilde Edey Gamassou, 17, on Monday to act as the folk heroine at annual celebrations in May.But a number of tweets and far-right websites have condemned the pick because of the teenager's mixed-race heritage.Joan of Arc is celebrated throughout France, but is also a far-right symbol.On Friday morning, the public prosecutor in Orléans announced there would be an investigation into two racist tweets.The first compared the teenager to a baboon, while the second posted images of bananas in response.The account that posted the baboon comparison has since been deleted.The city of Orléans picks a teenager to play Joan of Arc every year.Joan of Arc liberated the city from England in 1429, and the chosen teen acts as the historical figure in a parade on 8 May.The selected girl must have lived in Orléans for at least 10 years, be a practising Catholic, be educated in an Orléans high school and must dedicate her free time to others.On Monday, the Orléans Joan of Arc Association chose Mathilde, who has a Polish mother and a father from Benin.The city's mayor, Olivier Carré, supported the choice on Twitter, saying it was an honour to present her to the city in a special ceremony. Far-right supporters quickly voiced their anger online.One Twitter user complained that the choice was designed to enforce a multicultural ideology.A comment piece on the far-right website Résistance Républicaine meanwhile complained that next year Joan of Arc would wear a burqa.The French gender equalities minister, Marlène Schiappa, tweeted her condemnation of the online abuse, saying racial hatred had no place in France and fully backing Mathilde.On Friday, the public prosecutor announced a preliminary investigation into the racist tweets, on the grounds of incitement to racial hatred.Authorities will have to trace the true identity of the tweeters through their accounts, and will contact Twitter for help.The charges carry a maximum prison sentence of five years.Joan of Arc, known as the Maid of Orléans, was born in 1412.She claimed to have visions telling her to help France take back lands from England during the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453).In 1429, she was sent to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief mission. She was celebrated for her role when the city was liberated nine days later. The lifting of the siege was seen as a turning point in the war, which led to a series of victories and culminated in July with the coronation of the French King Charles VII, whom Joan had supported.However, the next year she was captured and handed over to the English. In 1431, she was burned at the stake for alleged heresy, dying at the age of 19.Since then, she has been venerated throughout France as a hero of national resistance and liberation. In particular, however, she is feted by the far-right, including the Front National.

Details of former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort's alleged lies to investigators have been revealed in improperly redacted new court filings.Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team accused him of lying about interactions with Konstantin Kilimnik, an alleged Russian operative, the papers say.Manafort's lawyers argue in the filings he did not break his plea deal because he never meant to mislead anyone.Mr Mueller is investigating alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.In August, Manafort, 69, was convicted of financial fraud relating to his work as a political consultant in Ukraine, which pre-dated his role with Donald Trump's presidential campaign.He accepted a plea deal on his other charges in exchange for co-operating with Mr Mueller's inquiry. The Mueller team accused him in November of breaking that deal by lying to investigators. Russian 'Trump Tower' lawyer charged in US Trump ex-aide Manafort 'lied to FBI' What did we learn from Manafort trial? The redaction errors in Manafort's rebuttal show prosecutors believed he had lied about sharing 2016 polling data with Mr Kilimnik, as well as meeting him in Madrid and discussing Ukrainian politics while Manafort was managing the Trump campaign.Manafort's lawyers have argued he provided truthful information to the best of his ability at the time.The details about Manafort's alleged falsehoods come just as Russian lawyer Natalya Veselnitskaya, who famously attended a meeting with top Trump aides in 2016, was charged in a separate obstruction of justice case.Additionally, the US Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against a mystery foreign company for defying a grand jury subpoena related to the special counsel's inquiry.The redaction mishap by Manafort's team allowed anyone to view the text beneath blacked out sections of the online documents when they became public on Tuesday.In those sections, Manafort's lawyers say he "conceded" having possibly discussed a Ukraine peace plan with Mr Kilimnik on more than one occasion.Manafort also "acknowledged" having met Mr Kilimnik "after being told" that the two were both in Madrid on the same day.The lawyers said Ukraine-related matters "simply were not at the forefront of Mr Manafort's mind during the period at issue"."It is not surprising at all that Mr Manafort was unable to recall specific details prior to having his recollection refreshed," Manafort's team wrote."The same is true with regard to the Government's allegation that Mr Manafort lied about sharing polling data with Mr Kilimnik related to the 2016 presidential campaign."The documents also reveal that prosecutors accused Manafort of lying about his contact with administration officials after Mr Trump took office.Manafort had previously said "he did not believe that he had any direct or indirect communications" with any officials while they served in the administration.Mr Mueller's team said Manafort had had a conversation with an unnamed individual who wanted "to use Mr Manafort's name as an introduction" if they ever met President Trump, according to the filings.Prosecutors also accused Manafort of telling a witness he "had contact" with another administration official.Manafort's lawyers responded that any such conversation did "not constitute outreach by Mr Manafort to the President" and said the prosecution's second example was "hearsay".Mr Kilimnik was considered Manafort's right-hand man in Ukraine and has been accused by the special counsel of conspiring to obstruct justice.The Russian citizen was a long-time employee of Manafort's political consulting firm and had done extensive lobbying work for him in Ukraine on behalf of the country's then pro-Russian President, Viktor Yanukovych.Mr Kilimnik has denied allegations that he has ties to Russian intelligence.Manafort will not ask for a hearing regarding the prosecution's accusations, according to the filings.His lawyers reminded the court that Manafort had been co-operative and had no motive to lie, having voluntarily offered his electronic devices and communications to the government.The ex-Trump aide had been hoping for leniency at his 5 March sentencing under the plea deal. Winners and losers from the Manafort plea dealIf he is found to have intentionally lied to the FBI, the government could seek a tougher sentence - including a maximum of life in prison.

No matter what Boris Johnson or his new Vote Leave cabinet threaten – and the expectation in Brussels is that no-deal planning will be ramped up in an attempt to intimidate other EU countries – be in no doubt: there isn’t time to limit the damage of a sudden severance from the world’s largest trading bloc this Halloween.Unless a further extension is requested, or article 50 is revoked by 31 October, when the current extension of UK membership expires, a dramatic shock awaits the global economy, and we all stand to lose. The few who may prosper are the wealthy bankers and hedge fund managers who have already bet on chaos.It is fiction to talk of rewards for citizens or mini-deals to mitigate the damage. Faced with a British government intent on ratcheting up talk of no deal, other European governments have no choice but to prepare for the worst, too – but this is far from a desirable path. In the face of such irresponsible posturing, far from feeling threatened, I fully expect EU governments to remain calm and keep their unity. Attempts to put pressure on Ireland will only be met by waves of solidarity from the rest of the EU.The European parliament’s Brexit steering group met last week to discuss the new political order in London. We made it clear that Brexit is a British decision and that article 50 can be revoked at any time, as the European court of justice has determined. If an extension is needed, for example for an election, the commission president designate, Ursula von der Leyen, has been clear that this would be considered.But if Brexit does mean Brexit, we are determined that the negotiated withdrawal agreement, including the backstop, which safeguards the Good Friday agreement, cannot be discarded as Johnson has requested. However, changes are still possible to make the declaration on the future relationship more ambitious, to ensure that the deployment of the Irish backstop is not necessary.Johnson will find the European parliament an open and constructive partner. I look forward in particular to allaying his concerns regarding the imminent accession of Turkey to the EU, following the claims of the leave campaign he championed, while explaining the EU has no rules on the packaging of kippers in the UK. The EU made a decision to stay out of the UK referendum, but we won’t be afraid to challenge populism and call out disinformation from across the Channel for what it is.UK-EU relations are at a crossroads. We are re-entering another period of Brexit fever, with the most Eurosceptic cabinet ever formed. Paradoxically, the UK is at the same time calling for a European naval force to protect shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf, as the realities of an America-first foreign policy hit home. No amount of bluster, wishful thinking or fake news can hide the inherent contradictions of the Brexit project.Despite the irresponsible language of the self-styled disrupters now at the heart of the British government, it is clear that Britain’s prosperity and European security are intertwined. Britain’s rightful place lies at the heart of the European project, fighting for a rules-based liberal world order. Brexit is more than a tragedy – it is a waste of all of our time, in an era when China and the US are fighting for global hegemony and the climate crisis threatens our very existence.A united Europe could be a bastion of the free world. Together we could become a global leader in tackling the climate emergency and set the terms of global trade. As an anglophile, I still believe the quiet majority of reasonable British people want to see their country engaged as Europeans. The bonds of our collective heritage are too strong for Johnson or Nigel Farage to break. No one should fall into the trap of thinking that a no-deal Brexit is the only way out of the quagmire the Conservative party has led them into.Johnson repeatedly declares that Britain must leave the EU “do or die” by 31 October, but he misquotes the Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson:“Theirs not to make reply / Theirs not to reason why / Theirs but to do and die. / Into the valley of death / Rode the six hundred.”It is telling that these three words, do or die, misrepresent a poem about a famous British military catastrophe. We must not allow an injurious Brexit strategy, wrongly wrapped up in an English flag, to harm us all.• Guy Verhofstadt is Brexit coordinator for the European parliament and a former Belgian prime minister Topics Brexit Opinion Article 50 European Union Foreign policy Boris Johnson Economic policy comment