COLU @ CONCEPTS

Image copyright AFP/GETTY IMAGES Image caption Nawaz Sharif denies any wrongdoing Pakistan's court has adjourned the hearing of two cases of alleged corruption against former PM Nawaz Sharif until 7 November. He and some of his family members are facing charges relating to their ownership of properties in London. They deny any wrongdoing, saying the charges are politically motivated. Mr Sharif, 67, resigned as prime minister in July after the country's Supreme Court disqualified him over undeclared income. The court also ordered the National Accountability Bureau to investigate and conduct a trial into the Sharif family's wider finances. Nawaz Sharif's Panamagate explained How a font exposed 'fake' documents Profile: Nawaz Sharif Mr Sharif returned to Pakistan from London on Thursday after weeks of speculation. He had been staying in the UK capital while his wife underwent cancer treatment. On Friday morning, the former prime minister, his d...

Image copyright GETTY IMAGES Image caption Jerome Powell had been widely tipped as the top choice President Donald Trump has named Jerome Powell as his pick to lead the Federal Reserve. Mr Powell, a Republican and multi-millionaire, currently serves as a member of the bank's board, to which he was appointed in 2012. He had been widely tipped as the top choice for more than a week. Analysts regard him as a status quo candidate, likely to continue the Fed's current policies of gradually raising interest rates. Jerome Powell: Who is Trump's Fed chair nominee? President Trump said Mr Powell, known as Jay, commanded the respect of both parties and urged swift Senate confirmation. "I am confident that Jay has the wisdom and leadership to guide our economy through any challenges," he said during the announcement in Washington. President Trump interviewed five candidates for the role, including current chair Janet Yellen, whose term finishes in February....

Image copyright AFP Image caption Abdelkader Merah went on trial at the start of October The brother of the French jihadist who murdered seven people in Toulouse, including three Jewish children, has been jailed for 20 years. A court in Paris found Abdelkader Merah guilty of terrorist offences. But he was cleared of having a direct role in the 2012 attacks, in which his younger sibling, Mohamed Merah, shot three soldiers and then three children and a teacher at a Jewish school. The court also jailed a second suspect, Fettah Malki, 34, for 14 years. Mohamed Merah, 23, was shot dead by police after a 32-hour siege in March 2012. His spate of deadly shootings, carried out in the name of al-Qaeda, was the first such jihadist attack in France since 1995. My brother the jihadist Who was Mohamed Merah? The high-profile trial, which has been held amid tight security, began last month. Prosecutors had asked for life imprisonment for Abdelkader Merah and 20 years for Fettah Mal...

Image copyright GETTY IMAGES Image caption Rick Perry said electricity will "shine righteousness" on acts of sexual assault US Energy Secretary Rick Perry has said an increase in the use of fossil fuels in Africa may prevent sexual assault. Speaking in Washington, he said "from the standpoint of sexual assault" light would shine "righteousness...on those types of acts". Mr Perry also said electricity would stop people from reading by the light of fires, which have toxic fumes. His comments have been criticised, with one environmental group describing them as "blatantly untrue". Mr Perry, a known climate change sceptic, said on Thursday: "From the standpoint of sexual assault. When the lights are on, when you have light that shines, the righteousness, if you will, on those types of acts". "So from the standpoint of how you really affect people's lives, fossil fuels is [sic] going to play a role in that", he ...

Image copyright GETTY IMAGES Image caption Donna Brazile says the deal was "not a criminal act," but "compromised the party's integrity" The Democratic Party's ex-interim chief has accused Hillary Clinton of seizing control of the party in exchange for funding during the 2016 campaign. Donna Brazile alleges in her new book that the Democratic National Committee (DNC) signed a deal with Clinton's team to keep the party financially afloat. In exchange, the Clinton campaign would control the DNC's "finances, strategy and all the money raised", she said. She claimed the deal showed favouritism toward Mrs Clinton over Bernie Sanders. The DNC was meant to be neutral in the contest between Mrs Clinton and her Democratic primary season challenger, Mr Sanders. Supporters of Mr Sanders have long insisted that the DNC was biased against him. But Mr Sanders' 2016 campaign also signed its own joint fundraising agreement with the DNC....