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Trailing in opinion polls with the 3 November election just 12 days away, US President Donald Trump was under pressure during his final debate against Democratic rival Joe Biden. Photo: AFP Trump trails former vice president Biden in national polls, but the contest is much tighter in some battleground states where the election will likely be decided. A record 47 million Americans already have cast ballots, eclipsing total early voting from the 2016 election. A more civilized evening After the first Trump-Biden debate in September devolved into a chaotic shouting match, moderators said they would mute each candidate's microphone to allow the other to speak without interruption for two minutes at the outset of each 15-minute debate segment. The mute button did not much come into play, and even during the remaining free debate segments, the candidates maintained a more civil demeanor than at their last meeting. Trump seemed to be on his best behavior early in the evening - even to moderator Kristen Welker, a member of the White House press corps he frequently denigrates. "So far, I respect very much the way you're handling this," he said. As the debate wore on, Trump was reverting to form - talking over Welker and mocking Biden while he spoke. Better than Abraham Lincoln? Trump's refusal to condemn white supremacist groups in the first debate amounted to perhaps his biggest unforced error. He avoided that pitfall this time during an exchange over race relations, during which he touted his criminal-justice reform law, which effectively rolled back some aspects of the tough-on-crime legislation sponsored by Biden in the 1990s that resulted in long prison sentences for millions of Black people. But Trump's remarks also featured his signature hyperbole. "With the exception of Abraham Lincoln, possible exception ... nobody's done what I've done" for Black Americans, he said. He also said he decided to run for president because he did not like the performance of the country's first Black president. "I ran because of Barack Obama. He did a poor job. If I thought he did a good job, I never would have run." Biden responded with mockery: "'Abraham Lincoln' here is one of the most racist presidents we've had in modern history. He pours fuel on every single racist fire." Talking to the camera Biden tried several times to break away from the melee and address voters directly. After a long exchange about the two candidates' personal finances, Biden turned to the camera and said: "It's not about his family and my family. It's about your family. And your family's hurting badly," he said. During a discussion on healthcare, he said: "How many of you are home rolling around in bed at night wondering what in God's name are you going to do if you get sick?" Election hacking, the IRS and tax returns Trump sought to portray Biden as being corruptly involved with his son Hunter's business dealings in Ukraine and China, but he struggled to shape accusations that have circulated in conservative media into a coherent case. No evidence has emerged to link Biden to any improper behavior, and the only result has been Trump's impeachment last year by the House of Representatives for pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Biden. Biden flatly denied any impropriety on his part, and contrasted his willingness to release his tax returns with Trump's refusal to do so. "What are you hiding?" he asked. "Release your tax returns, or stop talking about corruption." Trump was left to air old grievances about the Internal Revenue Service, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller and others who he thought were treating him unfairly. "I get treated very badly by the IRS, very unfairly," he said. What time is it? Biden briefly glanced at his wristwatch late in the debate, after Welker referenced the small amount of time remaining. In the real world that might not be seen as an unusual act, but it evoked comparisons among political junkies with Republican President George H.W. Bush glancing at his watch during a 1992 debate with Bill Clinton and H. Ross Perot. That was seen as a major faux pas at the time. The pandemic Shortly after the last debate, Trump contracted Covid-19 and spent three days in a hospital. The virus has spiked in several states, particularly in the midwest, with deaths nationally reaching their highest since August today. The pandemic, which has killed more than 222,000 people in the United States, remains the top issue for voters and Biden has repeatedly accused Trump of mismanaging the crisis. "I caught it, I learned a lot. Great doctors, great hospitals," Trump said. Trump appeared to make news by promising that a vaccine for the virus would be ready "within weeks" before backpedaling. "It's not a guarantee," he clarified. He promised that the country was "rounding the corner," even as several US states reported record one-day increases. Biden waved his black face mask as a prop, an implicit rebuke of a president who has famously been reluctant to wear one. "If we just wore masks, we could save 100,000 lives," he said. Members of the Trump family did not wear masks at the last debate. For this one, they did. Economic reactions S&P 500 index futures were down 0.05 percent, little changed from levels before the debate started. In New York, Inverness Counsel chief investment strategist Tim Ghriskey said the markets appeared comfortable with both candidates, including the prospect of a Biden presidency. "Remember that our government is much more than just our president. Our best presidents have been leaders, negotiators, and united our country. "The markets are more focused on a vaccine and the economic recovery. Both are an inevitability regardless of who sits in the White House." He said the primary concern violence in the streets or the risk of a blue wave or a red wave causing financial market volatility. "The markets prefer a degree of gridlock since change happens more thoughtfully and at a measured pace." Bank of Singapore financial analyst Moh Siong Sim said the reason markets had not moved was the debate covered old ground. "I don't think there's anything new in it ... the focus is still on the timing of the fiscal stimulus and how big it is. "The market has been in a range-trading mode, either waiting and worrying or waiting and hoping. It's just toggling in a very cautious manner and I suspect that will be the case unless we get stimulus before elections." Longbow Asset Management chief executive Jake Dollarhide said recent volatility in stocks the past week could be a sign the markets were not so indifferent to a Democrat sweep. "[The market] may be taking a step back to its old playbook on thinking it favors a Republican White House," he said. "The markets could open significantly higher tomorrow now that two adults finally showed up on the debate stage this time." In Hong Kong, Natixis Asia Pacific economist Gary Ng said Asian markets had slightly tilted towards a more conservative sentiment. "While the debate has yet to offer any new perspective from both candidates, global investors are likely to ... brace for any upcoming risks. "The short term impact on Asia should be limited as investors have already priced in the uncertainty of the US election. What will change such a view could be any wild card stemming from an October surprise or an unclear election result leading to further clarification, especially if the situation is dragged into quagmire for a long time." - Reuters

Sparks flew and tempers frayed at the second and final US presidential debate between the incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden, though measures to control interruptions made for a more constructive discussion. The final US presidential debate before the 3 November election. At Belmont University, Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: AFP The debate, held at Belmont University in Nashville today was planned to revolve around six topics; fighting Covid-19, climate change, American families, national security, leadership and race in the US. It was one of the last big events the candidates have to convince Americans they are the best person to be President for the next four years, before the election on 3 November. See how the debate unfolded with RNZ's live blog Mute buttons were introduced for this debate following the chaos that ensued during the last one - and each candidate was given two minutes at the start of each topic - to speak without being interrupted. The opening topic was fighting the coronavirus in the US. Trump said the country had rounded a corner and Covid-19 is going away. "More and more people are getting better, we have a problem that's a world-wide problem... but I've been congratulated by the heads of many countries on what we've been able to do. If you take at look at what we've done in terms of goggles and masks and gowns and everything else." Biden said anyone who doesn't take responsibility for 220,000 deaths from the pandemic shouldn't be President. "Anyone who's responsible for not taking control - in fact not saying 'I take no responsibility' initially. Anyone who's responsible for that many deaths should not remain as president of the United States of America. "We're in a situation where there are a thousand deaths a day now - a thousand deaths a day, and there are over 70,000 new cases per day." Photo: AFP Questions about issues threatening national security became a discussion about tax returns. Last month the New York Times revealed Trump paid just $750 in tax the year he took office. Biden again called on the President, to release his returns. "I have released all of my tax returns - 22 years of my tax returns, go and look at them. You have not released a single solitary year of your tax returns, what are you hiding? "Why are you unwilling? The foreign countries are paying you a lot, Russia's paying you a lot, China's paying you a lot, and your hotels and all your businesses all round the country, all around the world." Trump responded by saying he wants to release them and will do as soon as he can. Photo: AFP He also said his accountants told him he had prepaid his taxes. "They said 'sir you prepaid tens of millions of dollars... over the last number of years'. "Tens of millions of dollars I prepaid, because at some point they think - it's an estimate, they think I may have to pay tax. So I already prepaid it. Nobody told me that. "And it wasn't written: they keep talking about $750, which I think is a filing fee." There are 12 days until the election, and more than 40 million early ballots have already been cast.

Several US states, many of them in the Midwest, have reported record single-day increases in Covid-19 infections, further evidence that the pandemic is accelerating anew as cooler weather takes hold in many parts of the country. A person walks past a Covid-19 Testing Center in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn. Photo: AFP Indiana, North Dakota, Illinois, Montana, Oklahoma, Utah and Ohio posted daily records today, according to a Reuters analysis, while Florida reported more than 5500 new cases, its highest single-day increase since 15 August. Twenty-eight states have reported their daily record high of Covid-19 cases in the month of October alone. Today, the number of coronavirus deaths reported across the country reached its highest in two months. Increases in deaths tend to trail spikes new infections by several weeks. The US Food and Drug Administration has formally approved Gilead Sciences Inc's antiviral drug remdesivir, which has been in wide use under an emergency authorization, for treating patients hospitalized with Covid-19. It is the first drug officially approved for the disease in the United States. Since the pandemic reached the United States earlier this year, the nation has lost more than 222,000 lives, the world's highest total as well as one of the highest per capita death rates, especially among developed nations. The autumn resurgence and dire predictions that the spread would further accelerate in the cold winter months have once again cast a harsh spotlight on President Donald Trump's handling of the pandemic. The Republican incumbent will debate Democratic challenger Joe Biden today for the last time before the 3 November election. But with less than two weeks before the election, Trump's seemingly dismissive approach to the coronavirus has clouded his re-election prospects, with polls showing Americans losing confidence in his ability to handle the pandemic. A report released on Wednesday by Columbia University estimated that between 130,000 and 210,000 Covid-19 deaths could have been avoided in the United States, calling the federal government's response to the pandemic an "enormous failure". "The weight of this enormous failure ultimately falls to the leadership at the White House - and among a number of state governments - which consistently undercut the efforts of top officials at the CDC and HHS," the report said, referring to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services. White House spokesman Judd Deere blamed the pandemic's toll on China, where the virus originated, and the World Health Organization - two favourite Trump targets - and said Trump's actions saved American lives. Last month on the Fox & Friends show, Trump said he would give himself an "A+" for his coronavirus response. Hospitals strained Along with spikes in cases and deaths, the number of Covid-19 patients in US hospitals climbed to a two-month high. There are now over 40,000 hospitalized coronavirus patients across the country, up 33 percent from 1 October, according to a Reuters analysis. In Wisconsin, a Covid-19 hotspot and a pivotal battleground state that could help decide the presidential election, hospitals were feeling the strain from the surge in cases. "We have a tremendous volume of patients in our hospitals right now," Dr Jeff Pothof, an emergency medicine physician at University of Wisconsin Health in Madison, told Reuters. "I think a lot of the hospital systems in Wisconsin are feeling really stretched." Pothof said some medical facilities were beginning to turn additional space into areas where coronavirus patients could be treated. "The good news is we had lots of plans in place," he said. "It's that tightrope of meeting the need of Covid patients but not potentially harming patients who don't have Covid because we need to think about postponing their care." On top of the health toll, the pandemic has weighed heavily on the finances of millions of Americans, who say they are barely getting by as Washington wrangles over another round of financial aid. In Illinois, some residents planned to protest a fresh round of Covid-19 restrictions announced this week by Governor J.B. Pritzker. A petition to the governor posted on change.org by a restaurant owner in St. Charles, Illinois, urged businesses to stay open tomorrow, when Pritzker's restrictions in some counties, including a ban on indoor dining, are set to go into effect. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot today announced a 10pm curfew for bars, restaurants and non-essential businesses in the city for at least the next two weeks starting tomorrow, to help stem the spread of the virus. Lightfoot, in a news conference, said the city is on a path for tougher restrictions in the holiday season, including another stay-at-home order, if the virus spread is not better controlled. - Reuters

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has renewed his attacks on President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic in today's final debate. Biden is seeking to bolster his lead in opinion polls with 12 days to go to the election. The televised encounter in Nashville, Tennessee, represents one of the Trump's last remaining opportunities to reshape a campaign dominated by a pandemic that has killed more than 221,000 people in the United States and devastated the economy. "Anyone who's responsible for that many deaths should not remain president of the United States of America," Biden said. Trump, who was far more restrained than at the first debate in September when he aggressively talked over Biden, defended his approach to the outbreak and claimed the worst of the pandemic was in the past. "We're rounding the corner," said Trump, who has played down the virus for months. "It's going away." See how it all unfolded with RNZ's live blog:

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has renewed his attacks on President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic in today's final debate. Biden is seeking to bolster his lead in opinion polls with 12 days to go to the election. The televised encounter in Nashville, Tennessee, represents one of the Trump's last remaining opportunities to reshape a campaign dominated by a pandemic that has killed more than 221,000 people in the United States and devastated the economy. "Anyone who's responsible for that many deaths should not remain president of the United States of America," Biden said. Trump, who was far more restrained than at the first debate in September when he aggressively talked over Biden, defended his approach to the outbreak and claimed the worst of the pandemic was in the past. "We're rounding the corner," said Trump, who has played down the virus for months. "It's going away." Follow all the latest developments with RNZ's live blog:

France extended curfews to around two thirds of its population today and Belgium's foreign minister was taken into intensive care with Covid-19, as the second wave of the pandemic surged across Europe. French Health Minister Olivier Veran (right) and French Prime Minister Jean Castex at a media conference in Paris, announcing the changeover of several departments to "maximum alert" and new curfew measures in order to curb the spread of Covid-19. Photo: AFP French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced a curfew imposed last week on Paris and eight other cities would be extended to 38 more departments, confining 46 million out of the country's 67m population to their homes from 9pm to 6am. "A second wave of the coronavirus epidemic is now under way in France and Europe. The situation is very serious," Castex said at a news conference. Shortly after the measures were announced, French health authorities reported a record 41,622 new confirmed cases, bringing the cumulative total to 999,043. According to a Reuters tally, Thursday saw the highest total of infections reported in a single day across the world, at 422,835. Slovakia will impose a partial lockdown to halt the spread of coronavirus infections, Prime Mister Igor Matovic said today. The lockdown will be imposed from 24 October until 2 November. In Spain, which this week became the first European country to pass 1 million cases, Health Minister Salvador Illa said the epidemic was now "out of control" in many areas. Regional authorities debated a curfew but stopped short of taking a decision. After Europe appeared to have gained a measure of control over the epidemic following the dramatic lockdowns of March and April, a surge in cases over recent weeks has put the continent back at the heart of the crisis. While hospitalisations and deaths have not so far overwhelmed health systems as they did during the initial wave early this year, authorities in many countries worry the situation is rapidly reaching a tipping point. Germany, which reported more than 10,000 daily cases for the first time, extended travel warnings for Switzerland, Ireland, Poland, most of Austria and Italian regions including Rome. "We still have a chance to slow a further spread of the virus," Lothar Wieler, of the Robert Koch Institute, Germany's infectious diseases agency, said in Berlin. More than 5.3m people across Europe have contracted the disease and over 204,000 have died, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. That compares with 8.3m cases in the United States and 7.7m in India. Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes went into intensive care today, just a day after German Health Minister Jens Spahn tested positive. The resurgence over recent weeks stands in contrast to several countries in Asia, from China to South Korea or New Zealand, where draconian lockdowns and rigourous contact tracing have helped contain the disease. 'We are swamped' Grappling with the enormous costs of the coronavirus, Europe's leaders are desperate to avoid a repeat of the blanket lockdowns that shut down their economies in the spring. As cases have surged and health services have come under increasing pressure, they have been forced to impose and expand local restrictions aimed at reducing public gatherings to ever wider areas. Italy's three most populous regions - Lombardy around Milan, Lazio, around Rome and Campania around Naples - have already imposed overnight curfews. Britain today also tightened restrictions on three more areas. Amid the growing public alarm, Germany's statistics office noted that sales of toilet paper rose almost 90 percent last week from pre-crisis levels with almost equally sharp jumps in sales of disinfectants and soap. Only Sweden, a European outlier which has relied largely on voluntary measures to promote social distancing, was an exception, declaring senior citizens no longer need to isolate themselves given lower Covid infection rates than in spring. As the crisis has intensified, much of the public goodwill seen in the first phase of lockdowns has evaporated and central governments have engaged in angry spats with local authorities from Manchester to Madrid over issues ranging from health and welfare to transport and schools. With winter coming, health services are looking ahead with apprehension as the wave of Covid patients coincides with the usual seasonal respiratory illnesses. "We are already swamped," said Bruno Megarbane, head of intensive care at the Lariboisiere hospital in Paris. "So, indeed, there is the fear that we will face a very difficult situation." - Reuters

Poland's Constitutional Tribunal has ruled that abortion due to foetal defects is unconstitutional, banning the most common of the few legal grounds for pregnancy termination in the predominantly Catholic country. Woman's rights activist and co-founder of All-Poland's Women Strike, Marta Lempart (left) argues with a pro-life supporter as a protest and counter-protest took place prior to the Polish Constitutional Tribunal issuing its decision on abortion. Photo: AFP / NurPhoto After the ruling goes into effect, abortion will be only be permissible in Poland in the case of rape, incest or a threat to the mother's health and life, which make up only around 2 percent of legal terminations conducted in recent years. "(A provision which) legalises eugenic practices in the field of the right to life of an unborn child and makes the right to life of an unborn child dependent on his or her health, ... is inconsistent ... with the constitution," said Julia Przylebska, head of the Constitutional Tribunal. Conservative values have played a growing role in public life in Poland since the nationalist Law and Justice (PiS) came into power five years ago on a promise to defend what it sees as the nation's traditional, Catholic character. Curbing access to abortion has been a long-standing ambition of the party, but it has stepped back from previous legislative proposals amid widespread public backlash. A group of right-wing lawmakers asked the Tribunal to rule on the legality of aborting foetuses with abnormalities in December 2019. "Today Poland is an example for Europe, it's an example for the world," said Kaja Godek, a member of the "Stop Abortion" public initiative, a separate group. Women's rights and opposition groups reacted with dismay. "The worst-case scenario that could have come true has come true. It is a devastating sentence that will destroy the lives of many women and many families," said lawyer Kamila Ferenc who works with an NGO helping women denied abortion. "It will especially force the poor to give birth to children against their will. Either they have no chance of surviving, or they have no chance of an independent existence, or they will die shortly after giving birth." The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, called it a "sad day for women's rights". "Removing the basis for almost all legal abortions in Poland amounts to a ban and violates human rights. Today's ruling of the Constitutional Court means underground/abroad abortions for those who can afford and even greater ordeal for all others." Politicized courts? Critics say the Constitutional Tribunal may have acted on the party's behalf. While the Tribunal is nominally independent, most of its judges have been appointed by PiS, leading it to be dubbed a "pseudo-tribunal" by some. "To throw in the subject of abortion and produce a ruling by a pseudo-tribunal in the middle of a raging pandemic is more than cynicism. It is political wickedness," said Donald Tusk, the president of the European People's Party and a former prime minister of Poland. Poland's opposition said the tribunal was carrying out the political will of the ruling party leader, specifically. PiS denies trying to influence the court or taking advantage of the pandemic to push through the changes. Abortion rights activists say access to the procedure was often declined in recent years in Poland even in cases when it would be legal. Many doctors in Poland, which already had some of the strictest abortion rules in Europe, exercise their legal right to refuse to terminate pregnancies on religious grounds. Some say they are pressured into doing so by their superiors. Maria Kurowska, an MP with United Poland, a party in the ruling coalition with Law and Justice said: "We are glad with what the Constitutional Tribunal ruled because one can not kill a child for being sick. This is not a foetus, it is a child." - Reuters

US President Donald Trump has taken the "unprecedented decision" to release footage of his interview with CBS's 60 Minutes programme - decrying the "bias, hatred and rudeness" shown towards him. Donald Trump. Photo: AFP / 2020 Getty Images It comes as Trump and Democratic rival Joe Biden meet for their final presidential debate this afternoon. The president has complained for days about his treatment during the interview. The footage released shows a staff member off-camera saying there are five minutes left in the interview, before Trump says "I think we have enough of an interview here, that's enough". The interviewer had pressed the president on the economy, the pandemic, and his plans for healthcare. CBS, which was due to broadcast the interview this weekend, said in a statement that the White House's "unprecedented decision to disregard their agreement ... will not deter 60 Minutes from providing its full, fair and contextual reporting which presidents have participated in for decades". Joe Biden and Donald Trump. Photo: AFP Also ahead of the debate, US Senate judiciary committee has approved a confirmation vote next Tuesday for Amy Coney Barrett - Trump's nominee for the Supreme Court left vacant by the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The process was boycotted by the 10 Democrats on the committee, who say the protest has been rushed, and that the seat should stay empty until the presidential election. All 12 Republican committee members, including chair Lindsay Graham, voted in favour. The appointment of Barrett would mark a major swing in the ideological balance of the court - potentially for decades. In an address outside the senate, Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said the vote was a sham. The US Presidential debate in Nashville begins at 2pm. Follow the final showdown between the candidates on RNZ's live blog this afternoon.

US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell said she never witnessed "inappropriate underage activities" by him, according to transcripts of a 2016 deposition. Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein. Photo: AFP The testimony was made in a now-settled civil defamation lawsuit brought by one of the late financier's accusers, Virginia Giuffre. Maxwell had long fought to keep the testimony secret. She has pleaded not guilty and will go on trial in a criminal case next year. Maxwell is accused of helping Epstein traffic and sexually abuse underage girls and of perjury for denying involvement in such a scheme when she gave her deposition under oath. The 58-year-old has been in custody since her arrest in July. If convicted, she could be sentenced to up to 35 years in prison. What does the deposition say? Giuffre (née Roberts) sued Maxwell in 2015 after the British socialite said she was a liar. Transcripts of the 2016 deposition from the now-settled case were released on Thursday under the orders of US District Judge Loretta Preska. Maxwell's lawyers had argued that releasing the documents would violate her constitutional right against self-incrimination and could impede her right to a fair trial next year. They said she had believed the deposition would remain confidential. But appeals judges ruled on Monday that Judge Preska had rightly determined that the public had a right to access the documents, and said arguments by Maxwell's lawyers were "meritless". In the 465-page document, Maxwell repeatedly denies and dismisses numerous allegations, and insists she never saw the financier have sex with anybody. "I never saw any inappropriate underage activities with Jeffrey ever," she said. Asked if she was aware of any non-consensual sexual acts between Epstein and masseuses, she replied: "All the time that I have been in the house I have never seen, heard, nor witnessed, nor have [had] reported to me that any activities took place, that people were in distress, either reported to me by the staff or anyone else." She also said she never hired anyone under the age of 18 to work in Epstein's homes and never participated in any sexual activities with them. Asked whether she believed that Epstein had sexually abused minors, she said: "I can only testify to what I know. I know that Virginia is a liar". Maxwell also called Giuffre an "awful fantasist". Giuffre alleges that Maxwell recruited her as a masseuse to the financier while she was a minor. She says Epstein kept her as a "sex slave" with Maxwell's assistance. Who is Ghislaine Maxwell? Maxwell is the daughter of the late disgraced UK newspaper tycoon Robert Maxwell, his ninth and youngest child. Born on Christmas Day in 1961 outside Paris, Maxwell is Oxford-educated and is said to speak several languages, A well-connected socialite, she is said to have introduced Epstein to many of her wealthy and powerful friends, including Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew. Friends said that although Maxwell and Epstein's romantic relationship lasted only a few years, she continued to work with him long afterward, the Washington Post reports. "She had an upbringing and taste and knew how to run a house and a boat and how to entertain," an acquaintance was quoted by the UK's Daily Telegraph as saying. "You can't buy that. You can't buy access, either." In a Vanity Fair profile published in 2003, Epstein said Maxwell was not a paid employee, but rather his "best friend". In court documents, former employees at the Epstein mansion in Palm Beach describe her as the house manager, who oversaw the staff, handled finances and served as social coordinator, the Post reports. What are the charges she faces? Prosecutors allege that between 1994 and 1997, Maxwell helped Epstein groom girls as young as 14. They have said that they expect "one or more victims" to testify. Four of the charges Maxwell faces relate to the years 1994-97 when she was, according to the indictment, among Epstein's closest associates and also in an "intimate relationship" with him. The other two charges are allegations of perjury in 2016. The indictment says Maxwell "assisted, facilitated, and contributed to Epstein's abuse of minor girls by, among other things, helping Epstein to recruit, groom and ultimately abuse victims known to Maxwell and Epstein to be under the age of 18". What about Epstein? Epstein, 66, was a New York financier known for socialising with celebrities and politicians. In 2002, Donald Trump - then a property tycoon - called Epstein a "terrific guy". Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, and Ghislaine Maxwell at the back. Photo: Screengrab / BBC In 2005, following a complaint from the parents of a 14-year-old girl in Florida, Epstein was convicted for soliciting prostitution from a minor, for which he was registered as a sex offender. He avoided federal charges - which could have carried a life sentence - and instead received an 18-month prison sentence, during which he was able to go to work. He was released on probation after 13 months. But following allegations from former victims, he was arrested again in 2019 and accused of sex trafficking of underage girls. He was found dead in a New York prison cell on 10 August as he awaited trail. The death was ruled a suicide by hanging. Who is Virginia Giuffre? Giuffre has been one of Epstein's most prominent accusers. She alleges that she was forced into sex with the financier and his friends. She says she was trafficked to London by Epstein when she was aged 17 to have sex with Prince Andrew. "I knew I had to keep him [Prince Andrew] happy, because it's what Jeffrey and Ghislaine would expect from me," she told the BBC. The prince has "categorically" denied any sexual contact with Giuffre. In an interview with BBC Newsnight's Emily Maitlis last year, he said he didn't recall meeting her. Prince Andrew stepped back from royal duties last November, saying the Epstein scandal had become a "major disruption" to the Royal Family. - BBC

At least 12 civilians have been killed in an air strike on a religious school in the northern Afghan province of Takhar, local officials say. A BBC reporter confirmed he says children at the hospital. Photo: BBC They said the strike on the madrassa in the village of Hazara Qurluq killed 11 children and their prayer leader. The Afghan government disputed the account, saying it had killed 12 Taliban fighters in the village. The strike came after more than 30 security force members were killed in a major Taliban ambush in the province. Local officials said 14 others were wounded in the strike late last night. The imam of the mosque attached to the seminary, Abdul Awal, who was among the wounded and was admitted to hospital, told the BBC that only he and children were in the mosque at the time of the strike. Takhar province Doctors at a hospital close to the site of the air strike in the provincial capital Taloqan said the majority of victims brought in were children, and Mohammad Jawad Hejri, a spokesman for the provincial governor, also said the strike had killed children. But Afghan government officials denied the reports that children had been killed, saying only Taliban fighters died. The Ministry of Defence did not deny that the strike hit a school. A spokesperson said an investigation team had been appointed to "assess allegations about civilian casualties resulting from this attack". The fighting the previous day, which reportedly began with a Taliban attack in Baharak district some 15km (nine miles) from Taloqan, came despite assurances from Taliban officials to the US that violence would be scaled back to facilitate historic peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban. Violence between government forces and the Taliban has worsened in recent weeks in Afghanistan and threatens to imperil the talks, which have stalled on preliminary issues. It is estimated that about 40,000 civilians have fled their homes in recent weeks in the southern Helmand province as fighting has intensified. The battle over Helmand's provincial capital Lashkar Gah marks the first big Taliban offensive since the peace talks began last month. More than 220,000 Afghans have been displaced by the conflict so far this year, according to the UNHCR, taking the total since 2012 to about 4.1 million. -BBC