News | 18 May 2017

Former FBI boss to investigate Russia links +++ Brazil’s president denies supporting bribe +++

Former FBI boss to investigate Russia links / Brazil’s president denies supporting bribe / Police officer cleared over controversial shooting / EU fines Facebook for false information / Albania’s political parties reach election deal / Austrian Greens leader stands down / The weather

News | 18 May 2017

Former FBI boss to investigate Russia links

US President Donald Trump says he is confident that the appointment of a special prosecutor to oversee an inquiry into alleged links between his campaign team and Russia will absolve him of any wrongdoing. Former FBI head Robert Mueller will take over the investigation, following the sacking of the most recent FBI director James Comey last week. The US justice ministry says Mueller will have a degree of independence and wide ranging powers. Senior figures from both major parties have welcomed the appointment, including Democrat Congressman Jim Himes. “I was very, very pleased, first that he was appointed and secondly that it was Bob Mueller, who is a terrific guy with unimpeachable integrity. So I was very pleased to see that.”

Brazil’s president denies supporting bribe

Brazil's president Michel Temer has denied media reports that he approved payments to a senior political figure, to stop him giving evidence to a major corruption inquiry. The O Globo newspaper says it has obtained secret recordings of Temer talking about the payments to the chairman of the meat packing giant JBS. The payments were allegedly made to Eduardo Cunha, who was jailed in March for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion.

Police officer cleared over controversial shooting

A court in the US state of Oklahoma has found a white police officer not guilty of manslaughter, in connection with the shooting of an unarmed black man in the city of Tulsa last year. Officer Betty Shelby says she shot Terence Crutcher because she believed he was reaching for a gun. Video of the incident shows Crutcher with his hands in the air. The shooting prompted a national debate about racial bias among US police. The victim's sister Tiffany says she will continue to fight for reform. “I’m going to make sure that I don’t rest until we get reform for this police department in Tulsa, Oklahoma and we change the culture of this corrupt police department.”

EU fines Facebook for false information

The EU Commission has fined Facebook 110 million euros for giving misleading information when it took over the messaging service WhatsApp in 2014. The Commission says Facebook gave assurances that it could not share data between WhatsApp and Facebook accounts but then went on to do so last year.

Albania’s political parties reach election deal

Albania's political parties have reportedly reached a deal to end a bitter dispute over upcoming elections. The opposition had threatened to boycott the June 18 poll, amid concerns that Prime Minister Edi Rama might try to rig the result. The main opposition Democratic Party says the elections will now most likely be postponed, under an agreement mediated by the United States.

Austrian Greens leader stands down

Austrian Greens leader Eva Glawischnig has announced that she is quitting politics, after 9 years at the helm of the party. The 48 year old told a news conference that health concerns had prompted her decision. There has been no official announcement about her successor.

The weather

Partly sunny conditions have been forecast for most of Austria with cloud increasing in the west, bringing some isolated rain and thunderstorms. Top temperatures will range from 20 to 30 degrees.

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