News Headlines - 02 October 2018

▽Trump Engaged in Suspect Tax Schemes as He Reaped Riches From His Father - The New York Times

Mr. Trump won the presidency proclaiming himself a self-made billionaire, and he has long insisted that his father, the legendary New York City builder Fred C. Trump, provided almost no financial help.
But The Times’s investigation, based on a vast trove of confidential tax returns and financial records, reveals that Mr. Trump received the equivalent today of at least $413 million from his father’s real estate empire, starting when he was a toddler and continuing to this day.
Much of this money came to Mr. Trump because he helped his parents dodge taxes. He and his siblings set up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their parents, records and interviews show.

▽EU council allows removal of VAT from e-books | The Bookseller

The EU's Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) today (2nd October) agreed on a proposal which will allow all member states to give e-books and audiobooks the same VAT-free status as printed books. The UK Publishers Association has immediately called for the UK government to use the new powers.
The new rules don't force EU member states to align the rates, but allow them to.

▽Cern scientist Alessandro Strumia suspended after comments - BBC News

A senior scientist who said physics "was invented and built by men" has been suspended with immediate effect from working with the European nuclear research centre Cern.
Prof Alessandro Strumia, of Pisa University, made the comments during a presentation organised by the group... Cern said on Monday it was suspending Prof Strumia pending an investigation.

▽Russian woman squirts liquid on manspreaders on public transportation | The Independent

In a video, created by Anna Dovgalyuk from Russia, and viewed more than 1.5 million times, a woman brazenly walks up to seated passengers on the St Petersburg subway system and douses them with a clear liquid from a bottle.
Dovgalyuk claimed the substance was a strong bleach solution, used because it “eats colours in the fabric in a matter of minutes”, leaving “indelible stains” on the clothes of manspreaders.
However many internet viewers expressed doubt, suggesting that it was more likely to have been water.

▽Outcry over 'sexualised' photos of young girls in Ukrainian lingerie | Daily Mail Online

Police in Ukraine have vowed to charge the parents of six young girls who took part in a 'lingerie for children' fashion shoot.
The girls, aged eight to 14, were photographed wearing lacy underwear and shawls as part of a promotional campaign for fashion label Alla Frenkel's new line.
Frenkel's, which is based in Odessa, published the images on its website where they were branded 'sickening' for sexualising children.