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A speechwriter has become the second White House aide this week to resign amid allegations of domestic abuse. David Sorensen denies his former wife's allegations he was violent and emotionally abusive. His departure comes just days after another Trump official, Rob Porter, quit over allegations of abuse from two ex-wives, something he denies. Questions have been raised over how long it took the White House to act on the accusations facing Mr Porter. She said that on separate occasions her former husband ran a car over her foot, threw her against a wall and extinguished a cigarette on her hand. In response, Mr Sorensen released a statement in which he said he had "never committed violence of any kind against any woman in my entire life" and that instead it was he who had been physically abused. He said he was considering legal action, but said he quit because he "didn't want the White House to have to deal with this distraction". No longer all the president's men White House officials said they learned of the accusations by Mr Sorensen's wife late on Thursday. "We immediately confronted the staffer, he denied the allegations and he resigned today," deputy press secretary Raj Shah said. What happened with Mr Porter? Allegations of domestic abuse against Mr Porter involving two ex-wives surfaced on Tuesday. It is alleged that the former White House staff secretary gave one ex-wife a black eye while another filed a restraining order. He denies the allegations. On Friday, Mr Trump paid tribute to Mr Porter, who quit his White House position on Speaking in the Oval Office Mr Trump said: "We found out about it recently and I was surprised by it, but we certainly wish him well and it's a tough time for him." But Mr Trump did not refer to Mr Porter's accusers. His comments sparked criticism from Democrats, with former Vice-President Joe Biden saying Mr Trump had downplayed the allegations against Mr Porter. "That's like saying: 'That axe murderer out there, he's a great painter'", Mr Biden said. What's the fallout been? The case has put pressure on Mr Trump's Chief-of-Staff John Kelly, who has denied reports he offered to resign over his handling of the accusations. After initially praising Mr Porter as a man of "integrity", Mr Kelly later released a statement saying he was shocked by the claims and stressed domestic violence was unacceptable. US media report that Mr Kelly and other White House officials were aware for several months of the domestic abuse accusations because they were holding up Mr Porter's security clearance application. Mr Shah said that Mr Trump was not aware of any security issues before Tuesday and was "disheartened" and "saddened" by the accusations. Image copyrightREUTERS Image captionWhite House communications director Hope Hicks' (C) handling of the controversy has reportedly displeased Mr Trump White House communications director Hope Hicks' handling of the controversy has also reportedly displeased Mr Trump. The 29-year-old aide has recently been in a relationship with Mr Porter, a Harvard graduate and former Oxford Rhodes Scholar. Mr Trump was reportedly not consulted when Ms Hicks helped draft an initial statement defending Mr Porter. Who knew what and when? According to CBS News, Mr Porter approached White House Counsel Don McGahn in January 2017 to inform him his ex-wives might say unflattering things about him to background check investigators. In June 2017, Mr Porter's preliminary file was sent from the FBI to the White House security office, containing the abuse allegations. In November, Mr McGahn received a call from an ex-girlfriend of Mr Porter alleging physical violence by the aide. Mr McGahn told the White House chief of staff there was an issue with Mr Porter's security clearance, although he was vague, reports CBS. Mr Porter told Mr Kelly his ex-wives were saying false things about him. A White House spokesman said on Thursday that Mr Kelly did not realise the extent of the claims until a photo of one of Mr Porter's former wives, Colbie Holderness, suffering a black eye, emerged on Wednesday.

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The US has carried out rare air strikes on Syrian pro-government forces after what it called an "unprovoked attack" on allied Kurdish and Arab fighters. An estimated 100 pro-government fighters were killed in the overnight incident in Deir al-Zour province. They had allegedly tried to take ground east of the River Euphrates, captured from the Islamic State group by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). State media said the US "aggression" left dozens of people dead or wounded. The Middle Euphrates Valley serves as an informal demarcation line in eastern Syria, with the government controlling the western side and the SDF the east. The two sides have clashed there in the past year while seeking to drive IS militants from their last major stronghold in the country. Elsewhere in Syria on Thursday, government warplanes bombed towns in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region near the capital Damascus for a fourth day. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said at least 36 civilians were killed, bringing the death toll to 185 since Monday. What happened in Deir al-Zour? The US-led coalition against IS accused pro-government forces of initiating "an unprovoked attack against well-established SDF headquarters" late on Wednesday. "Coalition service members in an advise, assist, and accompany capacity were co-located with SDF partners during the attack 8km east of the agreed-upon Euphrates river de-confliction line," a statement said. "In defence of coalition and partner forces, the coalition conducted strikes against attacking forces to repel the act of aggression," it added, asserting its "non-negotiable right to act in self-defence". Unnamed US military officials subsequently told reporters that about 500 pro-government fighters, backed by artillery, tanks, multiple-launch rocket systems and mortars, were involved in the assault. One SDF fighter was reportedly wounded in the incident. There were no American casualties. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed there had been an attack on SDF positions near the town of Khusham, 10km (6 miles) south-east of Deir al-Zour city, and put the death toll at about 20. "We suspect Syrian pro-regime forces were attempting to seize terrain SDF had liberated from [IS] in September 2017," one US official told Reuters news agency. The forces were "likely seeking to seize oilfields in Khusham that had been a major source of revenue for [IS] from 2014 to 2017, the official added. Before the war, the Omar oil field was producing 30,000 barrels of oil per day, while the Conoco gas field was producing 13m cubic metres of gas per day. The US-led coalition had observed a slow build-up of pro-government forces in the area over the past week and had alerted Russia, which backs the Syrian government, to the presence of SDF forces in the area, according to the official.There was no immediate response from officials in Damascus. But Syrian state media reported that the US-led coalition had bombed "po[CENSORED]r forces" fighting IS and SDF forces east of the River Euphrates, denouncing what they called a "new aggression" and "an attempt to support terrorism". An Al-Ikhbariyah TV correspondent said the bombing left "dozens of dead and wounded" and identified the pro-government fighters as "local people". The Syrian Observatory said they were local tribesmen loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and Afghan Shia militiamen. The Russian defence ministry said the US strike wounded 25 pro-government volunteers, according to the Associated Press. It noted that they had failed to co-ordinate their action with the Russian military, but said the incident "again showed that the US is maintaining its illegal presence in Syria not to fight the Islamic State group, but to seize and hold Syrian economic assets".

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Construction giant Carillion has gone into liquidation, threatening thousands of jobs. The move came after talks between the firm, its lenders and the government failed to reach a deal to save the UK's second biggest construction company. Carillion ran into trouble after losing money on big contracts and running up huge debts of around £1.5bn. Its failure means the government will have to provide funding to maintain the public services run by Carillion"All employees should keep coming to work, you will continue to get paid. Staff that are engaged on public sector contracts still have important work to do," said government minister David Lidington. Carillion is involved in major projects such as the HS2 high-speed rail line, as well as managing schools and prisons. It is the second biggest supplier of maintenance services to Network Rail, and it maintains 50,000 homes for the Ministry of Defence. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson told MPs there would be a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee on Monday to discuss the situation. Carillion chairman Philip Green said it was a "very sad day" for the company's workers, suppliers and customers. The company has 43,000 staff worldwide - 20,000 in the UK. There are also thousands of small firms that carry out work on Carillion's behalf - many of those have contacted the BBC with concerns about whether they will be paid. One company, which provided services for Carillion's prisons contract, told the BBC that it might fail if it is not paid the £80,000 owed to it. A worker on the Midland Metropolitan Hospital, who wanted to only be identified as Philip, told the BBC: "Everyone on the site got told: 'That's it, go home.' My company said, 'You've been laid off.' "They've literally locked the gate. They've told us we can get our personal tools off the site if they're small, but that's it." Analysis: Simon Jack, BBC business editor Damned if they did, damned if they didn't? The government refused to insure Carillion's debts, so the banks pulled the plug. If it had offered guarantees to big banks on behalf of a private company it might have been accused of nationalising losses while privatising profits. The whole point of having private companies do public work is that they shoulder some of the risk. The truth is the government has been helping out Carillion for a while. Awarding it contracts when it knew it was in trouble raised eyebrows last year. The government constructed the HS2 contracts so that Carillion's joint venture partners would take on the work if the company went bust - meanwhile it hoped the new contracts would be enough to make Carillion's lenders feel reassured. Industry sources tell me that if the company hadn't been awarded new government work it would have been curtains for Carillion months ago. What happens next depends on the actions of a court-appointed official receiver. With the help of a team of experts from accountants PwC, the receiver will review Carillion's business - a process which could take months. The government has already said it is supporting public services and other firms are likely to take on some of Carillion's other contracts and staff. Pension impact Thousands of current and former staff have money in Carillion pension funds, which have a total deficit of almost £600m. Those funds will now be managed by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). The PPF said it was aware news of the liquidation would "raise serious concerns for all people involved". "We want to reassure members of Carillion's defined benefit pension schemes that their benefits are protected by the PPF." Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said Labour wanted a full investigation into the government's dealings with Carillion: "This company issued three profit warnings in the last six months, yet despite those profit warnings the government continued to grant contracts to this company." Carillion might not be a household name, but over the years it has absorbed better-known businesses, including Mowlem and Alfred McAlpine. It also has a big international business, including a huge construction project in Qatar related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In addition it is a big supplier of construction services to the Canadian government. Its biggest problems were cost overruns on three UK public sector construction projects: The £350m Midland Metropolitan Hospital in Sandwell: opening delayed to 2019 due to construction problems The £335m Royal Liverpool Hospital: completion date repeatedly pushed back amid reports of cracks in the building The £745m Aberdeen bypass: delayed because of slow progress in completing initial earthworks 'Public service' Bernard Jenkin, the Conservative chairman of the House of Commons Public Administration Committee, said Carillion's collapse "really shakes public confidence in the ability of the private sector to deliver public services and infrastructure". He said there needed to be a change of "mindset" at companies that do a lot of work for the taxpayer. "You've got to treat yourself much more as a branch of the public service, not as a private company just there to enrich the shareholders and the directors," he said. "Ironically, Whitehall tends to do contracts with companies that it always does contracts with, because that's the safe thing to do - that's the perception. A great many small and medium-sized companies feel excluded." Image copyrightHS2/GRIMSHAW Image captionCarillion is part of a consortium working on the HS2 rail line Mick Cash, the general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, said: "This is disastrous news for the workforce and disastrous news for transport and public services in Britain. Rehana Azam, national officer of the GMB union, said: "What's happening with Carillion yet again shows the perils of allowing privatisation to run rampant in our schools, our hospitals and our prisons." Are you employed by Carillion? What are your concerns? You can share your experience by emailing Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:

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US President Donald Trump has sparked outrage by reportedly using crude language to describe foreign countries in an Oval Office meeting. Mr Trump insists he did not insult Haitians and appeared to deny calling any nations "shitholes", as was reported, prompting a global outcry. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said Mr Trump called African countries "shitholes" and used "racist" language. But two Republicans present said they could not remember those comments. Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue, of Arkansas and Georgia, said they heard the president "call out" what they described as "the imbalance in our current immigration system". Amid widespread coverage of his remarks at the private meeting with lawmakers to discuss immigration legislation on Thursday, Mr Trump on Friday tweeted that his language at the meeting had been "tough". But he added that the words attributed to him were "not the language used". Image captionUS Senator: "Trump said these hate-filled things, and he said them repeatedly" Many US media outlets reported the comments on Thursday, quoting witnesses or people briefed on the meeting. The White House did not deny them. "I cannot believe that in the history of the White House, in that Oval Office, any president has ever spoken the words that I personally heard our president speak yesterday," Mr Durbin told reporters on Friday. House Speaker Paul Ryan, a top Republican, said the reported comments were "unfortunate" and "unhelpful. Mr Trump ignored press questions about the issue as he signed a proclamation declaring a holiday in honour of civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr - as presidents do every year. He said Americans were celebrating that "self-evident truth" that "no matter what the colour of our skin or the place of our birth, we are all created equal by God". What was the context for the comments? Mr Trump's reported remarks came as lawmakers visited him on Thursday to discuss a bipartisan proposal that would impose new restrictions on immigration but protect the so-called "Dreamers" - hundreds of thousands immigrants brought to the US illegally as children - from deportation. Mr Trump was said to have told them that instead of granting temporary residency to citizens of countries hit by natural disasters, war or epidemics, the US should instead be taking in migrants from countries like Norway. "Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?" the Washington Post quoted him as saying, in remarks first reported to be about Haiti, El Salvador and African nations.

French actress Catherine Deneuve has said that men should be "free to hit on" women. She is one of 100 French women who wrote an open letter, warning about a new "puritanism" sparked by recent sexual harassment scandals. It deplores a wave of "denunciations", following rape allegations made against US movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. A group of French feminists condemned the letter, accusing the signatories of trivialising sexual violence. Mr Weinstein denies all allegations of non-consensual sex, but has admitted that his behaviour has "caused a lot of pain". What does the open letter say? The letter by French women writers, performers and academics was published in France's Le Monde newspaper on Tuesday. "Men have been punished summarily, forced out of their jobs when all they did was touch someone's knee or try to steal a kiss," it said. "Rape is a crime, but trying to seduce someone, even persistently or clumsily, is not - and nor is men being gentlemanly a chauvinist attack." The authors argued that there was a new "puritanism" afoot in the world. They said that while it was legitimate and necessary to speak out against the abuse of power by some men, the constant denunciations have spiralled out of control. According to the writers, this is creating a public mood in which women are seen as powerless, as perpetual victims. "As women we do not recognise ourselves in this feminism, which beyond denouncing the abuse of power, takes on a hatred of men and of sexuality." Who are the signatories? Deneuve is by far the most prominent of them. The other 99 women who signed the document include some well-known figures, such as actress Christine Boisson; conservative journalist Élisabeth Lévy; Brigitte Lahaie, a 1970s porn star who is now a talk-show host; Catherine Millet, a writer and magazine editor. There are also lesser-known names from the worlds of entertainment, the arts, the media, and academia. Most of the signatories, however, are professionals who are not known to the French public. What has the response been? The letter has stirred debate in France. On Wednesday a group of about 30 feminists issued a statement accusing Deneuve and her co-signatories of seeking to "close the lid" on the scandals uncovered by the Weinstein case, and of "pouring scorn" on victims of sexual violence. On social media, many expressed either anger or sadness at the open letter.One Twitter user (in French) regretted the inability of women to speak with one voice, saying they had "failed to agree". The backlash against the letter, however, has not been front-page news and is not trending on Twitter in France. The reason may be that controversy over exposing sex pests has been rumbling on for several months now in France. The debate has mostly pitted those belonging to the older generation, who view #Metoo and similar campaigns as a threat to the sexual liberation achieved in the 1960s, against younger, activist types who feel that the battle against harassment is the latest stage in the fight for women's rights. Is Deneuve prone to weighing in on such issues? She is not known as an activist star. However, last year the 74-year-old spoke out against social media campaigns shaming men accused of harassing women. Women and men from all over the globe who have been sexually harassed have been sharing their stories across social media using the hashtag #MeToo. In France, Twitter users are using #Balancetonporc ("rat on your dirty old man") to encourage women to name and shame their attackers.

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