Friday Morning Briefing: Stone sentenced to 3-1/3 years, Trump signals no immediate pardon for adviser

Top Stories

A federal judge sentenced President Donald Trump’s long-time adviser Roger Stone to three years and four months in prison and said his lies to lawmakers investigating Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election posed a threat to American democracy. After U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson sentenced the veteran Republican operative in Washington, Trump indicated he has no immediate plans to pardon Stone

U.S. intelligence officials told lawmakers last week that Russia is interfering in the 2020 election campaign by aiming to cast doubt on the integrity of the vote and boost President Donald Trump’s re-election, a person familiar with the briefing said. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the matter’s sensitivity, said Trump’s Republican allies on the Democratic-led House Intelligence Committee questioned the assessment presented by officials of the Office of National Intelligence

China reported an uptick in new cases of coronavirus, boosted by more than 200 people testing positive for the disease in two prisons outside of Hubei province, the epicenter of the outbreak. As international authorities tried to stop the outbreak in China from becoming a global pandemic, finance leaders from the Group of 20 major economies meeting in Saudi Arabia over the weekend were set to discuss risks to the global economy.

Almost a decade after his WikiLeaks website enraged Washington by leaking secret U.S. documents, a London court will begin hearings on Monday to decide whether Julian Assange should be extradited to the United States. A hero to admirers who say he has exposed abuses of power, Assange is cast by critics as a dangerous enemy of the state who has undermined Western security. He says the extradition is politically motivated by those embarrassed by his revelations.

Germany’s government faced calls to toughen gun ownership laws and step up efforts to track far-right sympathizers, after the suspect in one of its worst mass shootings since World War Two was found to have published a racist manifesto. The 43-year-old presumed killer of nine people in two shisha bars in the southwestern town of Hanau had posted the document, espousing conspiracy theories and deeply racist views, online.

Iranians were voting in a parliamentary election likely to help hardline loyalists of the supreme leader tighten their grip on power as the country faces mounting U.S. pressure over its nuclear program and growing discontent at home. With thousands of potential candidates disqualified in favor of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s allies, the vote is not expected to ease the country’s nuclear standoff with the United States or lead to a softer foreign policy.

World

U.S. President Donald Trump will be accorded the biggest public reception given to any foreign leader in years during his visit to India beginning on Monday, officials say, one that could help paper over the two countries’ growing friction over trade. Close political and security partners, India and the United States have hit each other with retaliatory tariffs.

Lesotho Prime Minister Thomas Thabane failed to appear in court on Friday in connection with the killing of his first wife, and his son said he had traveled to South Africa to see a doctor - but had not "fled the country". Thabane was due in court at 9 a.m. over the death of Lipolelo Thabane, who was shot dead in June 2017 near her home in the capital Maseru two days before he took office. But the 80-year-old leader did not appear.

George Washington, the first president of the United States, praised the honesty of British farmers and sought to entice some to his estates because local tenants were so “slovenly”, according to a handwritten letter he wrote in 1796. In a three-page letter to the Earl of Buchan, Washington asks the Scottish nobleman if he knew of any “honest and orderly” farmers who would like to emigrate to the United States to work on his land.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan asked the French and German leaders to provide “concrete” support in ending a humanitarian crisis in northwest Syria’s Idlib region, the Turkish presidency said, amid escalating tensions in the region. In a phone call, Erdogan said that attacks in Idlib, where a Russian-led Syrian government offensive has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and brought Ankara, Moscow and Damascus to the brink of confrontation, must be stopped.

The leaders of Ireland’s Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, two of the three largest parties to emerge from a Feb. 8 election, will meet early next week for what they described as exploratory talks as negotiations to form a government step up. Fianna Fail’s Micheal Martin has begun seeking to form a coalition government but has ruled out governing with Sinn Fein, the left wing pro-Irish unity party which surged at the poll and has an equal number of seats in the fractured parliament.

Business

T-Mobile, Sprint amend merger terms, SoftBank takes a hit

T-Mobile and Sprint Corp said on Thursday that they had agreed on new merger terms that would reduce the stake of major Sprint shareholder SoftBank, while leaving the offer to other shareholders unchanged.

3min read

China firms in $10 billion share sale rush as funding rules eased amid virus worries

Listed Chinese companies are queuing up to issue shares and have already announced plans to raise more than $10 billion in the past week after fundraising rules were relaxed to help ease cash strains caused by the coronavirus.

4 min read

Daimler warns of "significant adverse effects" of virus outbreak

German luxury carmaker Daimler warned of risks for the economy and its own business from the outbreak of coronavirus. "Risks for the Daimler Group may not only affect the development of unit sales, but may also lead to significant adverse effects on production, the procurement market and the supply chain," the Stuttgart-based company said in its annual report.

2 min read

Top Stories on Reuters TV

Japan’s kendo master readies for Olympic torch relay

World   1:59

'Baby Yoda' doll makes its big debut

CULTURE   1:18
 

Minibox 3 Column Blogger Template by James William at 2600 Degrees