Ex-Trump advisor Manafort convicted, ex-Trump lawyer Cohen pleads guilty
Paul Manafort, Donald Trump’s former campaign manager, was convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud, reported the AFP, Financial Times, and Reuters. He was charged as part of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election, which Trump has called a “witch hunt”. Following the verdict, Trump said Manafort was a “good man”. Manafort faces up to 30 years in prison. Separately, Michael Cohen, formerly Trump’s personal lawyer, pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws by paying hush money on behalf of Trump to the porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, reported the Financial Times, France 24 and Reuters. Trump has denied having affairs with the women. Trump’s current lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said the money was paid to spare the Trump family embarrassment and called Cohen a “devious little rat”.
Nazi guard deported from US
The US has deported Jakiw Palij, a 95 year suspected Holocaust camp guard, to Germany and revoked his American citizenship, reported Reuters. Palij moved to the US in 1949, but hid his Nazi SS service.
Stock market: S&P 500 hits high
The US stock market rallied on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 index hitting a record high 2,873.23, reported CNBC, the Financial Times and MarketWatch. The market has rallied (meaning share prices have not dropped more than 20%) for 113 months since the financial crisis in 2009.
Slack worth more than $7bn
The technology firm Slack has raised an additional $427m in venture capital funding, valuing the company at $7.1bn, reported Barron’s, Business Insider and TechCrunch. That’s an increase of 39% since its last valuation in September 2017. Slack makes workplace communication tools, competing with the likes of Microsoft.
Melbourne teen hacks Apple
An Australian teen has been charged with breaking into Apple’s computer networking and downloading 90GB of secure files, according to The Age. He told police that he “dreamed of” working for the tech giant.
German pension funds critique draft ESG rules
Germany’s pensions industry association, Aba, has criticised a European Commission proposal on incorporating environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) criteria in the investment decisions taken by pension fund managers, according to Investment & Pensions Europe. Aba said the commission was misinterpreting EU law and current ESG requirements.
Birthplace affects American women’s earnings
The gender pay gap in the US “adds up to more than $2 billion a year”, reported The Atlantic. Geography plays a big part: the US state where a woman was born influences the differential in salary throughout her entire career, even if she moves to another state.
Closed encounters
Unlike the US, the German government apparently does not have an action plan in case of first contact with extraterrestrials, according to DW. Berlin considers such an eventuality “extremely unlikely”.