Hacker who exposed Hillary Clinton's email server pleads guilty

WASHINGTON, May 25 (Reuters) - A Romanian computer hacker who revealed the existence of a private email server used by Hillary Clinton when she was secretary of state pleaded guilty to hacking-related offenses on Wednesday, the U.S. Justice Department said. Marcel Lazar, who used the alias "Guccifer," entered his guilty plea before Judge James Cacheris in U.S. District Court, Alexandria, Virginia, the department said in a statement. Sentencing was set for Sept. 1. In recent media interviews, Lazar claimed he had easily hacked into Clinton's controversial private email server. But the Justice Department statement did not confirm this claim, and a law enforcement official said investigators did not find evidence to support the claim.

Giant Chile telescope moves ahead with signing of construction contract

SANTIAGO, May 25 (Reuters): An Italian consortium that includes Astaldi Spa, Cimolai and subcontractor EIE secured a 400 million euro ($450 million) contract to design, manufacture and assemble the telescope and its protective dome, said the ESO, which is funding the project. The instrument, dubbed the European Extremely Large Telescope, will cost 1.1 billion euros to get up and running, Roberto Tamai told reporters on a conference call. With a main mirror 39 meters (128 ft) in diameter, it will be the largest optical/near-infrared telescope in the world, providing images around 15 times sharper than those of the Hubble space telescope, the ESO said. Ground and road preparation is already complete for the E-ELT, which will be situated on a remote mountain top in Chile's Atacama Desert, the site of numerous telescopes, many attracted by the Atacama's clear skies. Part of an expected next generation of massive telescopes, it should, when complete, be sensitive enough to detect Earth-sized planets orbiting distant systems and even their atmospheres - which could reveal whether they contain essential life biomarkers such as oxygen. It will also help astronomers answer questions such as when the first galaxies formed and how fast the universe is expanding. Although the main construction and operations are now fully funded, some of the later performance enhancements to the telescope will require further funding that has yet to be secured because of delays over the expected membership of Brazil.

Russian banker accused by U.S. of spy role gets 2-1/2 years prison

NEW YORK, May 25 (Reuters) - A Russian banker whom U.S. prosecutors say was involved with a Cold War-era spy ring operating in New York City that sought to collect economic and other intelligence was sentenced to 2-1/2 years in prison on Wednesday. Evgeny Buryakov, 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan after pleading guilty in March to having conspired to act improperly as an agent for the Russian government. Buryakov had worked at Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank. He was arrested in January 2015 as U.S. authorities unveiled charges against him and two other Russians, Igor Sporyshev and Victor Podobnyy.

Two board members of Vatican bank quit after management dispute

VATICAN CITY, May 25 (Reuters) - Two board members of the Vatican bank have quit following a disagreement over how the institute should be run, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said on Wednesday. The resignation of the two highly experienced bankers, Italian Carlo Salvatori and German Clemens Boersig, raises questions about efforts to modernise the scandal-plagued bank, which is called the Institute for the Works of Religion (IOR). Reforming the IOR has been one of the most sensitive issues tackled by Pope Francis as he has sought to overhaul the complex, opaque Vatican administration, and the Church played down the abrupt departure of the two board members. "This reflects a divergence of opinion over the management of the institute, but that is normal. It is an unusual place," said Lombardi, without giving further details. Salvatori and Boersig were not immediately available for comment. However, a source with knowledge of the workings of IOR, who declined to be named, said there was frustration at the slow pace of change within the organisation over the past two years. The two bankers were part of a six-strong lay board that was appointed in 2014, the year after Pope Francis was elected with a mandate to make the Vatican administration transparent. The board members had a five-year mandate and were tasked with defining a new strategy for the bank, which had been accused of helping its clients to launder money and evade taxes. "The two board members made a competent and qualified contribution in this important phase for the stability and integrity of the Institute," a brief Vatican statement said. Earlier this month, IOR Chairman Jean-Baptiste de Franssu said a drive to tighten financial governance had made it "impossible to launder money" at the bank. Before joining the IOR board, Salvatori had held numerous high-rank positions in the Italian banking industry, including as CEO of Banca Intesa and chairman of Unicredit. Boersig was a former chairman of Deutsche Bank.

Former Canadian PM Harper to leave politics, reports say

OTTAWA, May 25 (Reuters) - Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper will leave politics later this year, possibly to join U.S. private equity firm KKR, according to domestic media reports. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp reported that Harper, who was Canada's prime minister for nearly 10 years, has had offers of work from several U.S. companies, including KKR. Harper stepped down as leader of the Conservatives last October after the party was defeated by the Liberals, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Harper was re-elected as a member of parliament for a riding in Calgary, but will resign his seat before parliament comes back from its summer break in the fall, according to media reports. KKR declined to comment. Harper did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Globe and Mail newspaper, which first reported that Harper would step down, said he was also looking at establishing a foreign policy institute.

AFD leader Frauke Petry under investigation for perjury

BERLIN, May 25 (Reuters) - Frauke Petry, leader of the anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD), is under investigation over accusations of perjury, the public prosecutor's office in Dresden said. Petry, her party buoyed by the arrival of more than one million mostly Muslim migrants in Germany last year, is accused of lying under oath to the state electoral committee in Saxony at the end of 2015 over party financing. Petry and fellow AfD member Carsten Huetter reportedly gave differing accounts of Petry's knowledge of donations which the AfD demanded of its candidates in advance of state elections in 2014, according to André Schollbach, a Left Party politician who has filed a report against the AfD leader. Petry denies the accusations, but has welcomed the investigation, which she hopes will show the weakness of the claims and "end media speculation", her spokesman Markus Frohnmaier said. The party has no lawmakers in the federal parliament in Berlin but has members in half of Germany's 16 regional state assemblies and threatens to erode support for Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling conservatives. AfD party deputy Alexander Gauland said the investigation should have no impact on Petry as long as no charges are brought against her.