Long a critic of Democratic investigations and special counsel Robert Mueller, Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., does not care about the impending report, "just burn it up," he said.
"I don't really care what the Mueller report says, because the Mueller special counsel should have never been appointed," Nunes told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" on Sunday. "And I say that and we can take any part of this investigation and we can show you how fraudulent it is."
Nunes, the former chairman of the House Intelligencer Committee when Republicans were in leadership, rejected the search for 2016 election meddling collusion between Russia and President Donald Trump's campaign as "all a lie and a myth."
"You know, we can just burn it up," he said. "I mean, it is a partisan document, so there is going to be a lot of calls for that."
Nunes also ripped Democrats for obstruction in the House investigations into the political witch hunt of the Republican president on the basis of Democratic partisanship in Obama Justice Department.
"What we really need to see is what was the FBI's involvement with Fusion GPS," Nunes said. "I don't want to gloss over this for the viewers but Fusion GPS was essentially the Hillary Clinton campaign. They were hired by the Clinton campaign, so we need to see all of that and need the FISA fully disclosed.
"We need everyone that Mueller talked to, including his interactions with Jerome Corsi who you just had on the show."
Nunes' point with Corsi was investigators were leveraging a member of the media who was supportive of the president, and had no actual campaign ties. Regardless of whether he had spoken with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, it was not a crime.
Stifling the opposing political party supporters is not rooting out collusion, but violating free speech, Nunes said.
FILE PHOTO: Public Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda attends the trial of Congolese warlord Bosco Ntaganda at the ICC (International Criminal Court) in the Hague, the Netherlands August 28, 2018. Bas Czerwinski/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
April 4, 2019
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – The United States has revoked the entry visa of the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, her office said on Thursday, a response to her inquiry into possible war crimes by U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last month the U.S. would withdraw or deny visas to ICC staff investigating such allegations against U.S. forces or their allies .
United Nations human rights experts called the reaction “improper interference” in the work of the world’s permanent war crimes court. It also drew criticism from within the European Union.
“We can confirm that the U.S. authorities have revoked the prosecutor’s visa for entry into the U.S.,” Bensouda’s office told Reuters in an e-mail.
It said it understood the move should not impact Bensouda’s travel to the U.S. to meet her United Nations obligations.
The ICC is not a U.N. court, but Bensouda travels regularly to brief the U.N. Security Council on cases referred to The Hague by the UN body.
A State Department spokesman said members of international organizations planning official travel to the U.N. could apply for diplomatic visas. “We recommend that applicants apply as early as possible to maximize the chances of being found eligible,” the spokesman said.
The U.S. in not a member of the ICC, along with other major powers Russia and China.
The office of the prosecutor said on Thursday that Bensouda would exercise her duties “without fear or favor”.
She has been investigating alleged war crimes by all parties in the conflict in Afghanistan since November 2017, including the possible role of U.S. personnel in relation to the detention of suspects.
ICC judges are still reviewing materials and have not yet handed down a decision on opening a formal investigation in Afghanistan.
The ICC is a court of last resort with 122 member states. It acts only when countries within its jurisdiction are found to be unable or unwilling to seriously investigate war crimes, genocide or other serious atrocities.
(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg, Leslie Wroughton; editing by John Stonestreet)
President Trump stepped up his attacks against special counsel Robert Mueller early Saturday morning, claiming Mueller’s recently released report “was written as nastily as possible” by “true Trump Haters.”
In a string of early morning tweets, Trump lashed out at Mueller calling him “highly conflicted” and once again declaring the special counsel’s investigation “the greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. political history.”
“Despite the fact that the Mueller Report should not have been authorized in the first place & was written as nastily as possible by 13 (18) Angry Democrats who were true Trump Haters, including highly conflicted Bob Mueller himself, the end result is No Collusion, No Obstruction!” Trump tweeted.
Despite the fact that the Mueller Report should not have been authorized in the first place & was written as nastily as possible by 13 (18) Angry Democrats who were true Trump Haters, including highly conflicted Bob Mueller himself, the end result is No Collusion, No Obstruction!
Trump had lashed out at Mueller early Friday one day after declaring the report cleared him of collusion and obstruction, claiming some statements about him in the document “are total bullshit” and deriding the more than 400-page document as the “Crazy Mueller Report.”
Alex Jones and a caller discuss how President Trump must now go on the offense, after the democrats’ Mueller report led impeachment fail, to stop the deep state criminals before they organize another coup to remove him from office.
FILE PHOTO: The Huawei logo is displayed ahead of the Mobile World Congress (MWC 19) in Barcelona, Spain, February 24, 2019. REUTERS/Sergio Perez/File Photo
February 26, 2019
By Douglas Busvine
BARCELONA (Reuters) – The telecoms industry is acutely aware of the need to ensure that ever-more complex mobile networks are safe, the head of its main lobby group told Reuters, as debate swirls over whether to bar some equipment vendors on national security grounds.
The GSMA, which groups 300 operators worldwide, has pushed back against U.S. calls on its European allies to bar Huawei Technologies over concerns the firm is too close to the Chinese state and its equipment may be open to cyber spies.
It has instead proposed a stronger Europe-wide testing regime to ensure that, as operators build next-generation 5G networks, smartphones and the billions of connected devices that will be hooked up to the ‘Internet of Things’ are protected from hackers.
“We are now moving into intelligent connectivity, which means that more stuff will be connected,” said Mats Granryd, director general of the GSMA that is hosting the Mobile World Congress, a major annual industry gathering in Barcelona.
“If we have doubts today, the risk is that those doubts would be magnified going forward.”
The GSMA finds itself caught up in a broader political struggle as trade tensions between the United States and China buffet the telecoms industry.
U.S. officials have lobbied their European allies to ban Huawei, the global networks market leader. That is opposed by operators, with some saying the rollout of 5G services could be delayed by years if they have to rip out and replace Chinese kit in their networks.
Huawei denies that it has ever spied for Beijing, and says no credible evidence has ever been presented that its gear allows illicit access to the country’s intelligences services.
FACT-BASED ASSESSMENT
European industry leaders have called for the United States to substantiate its arguments. Vodafone CEO Nick Read said in Barcelona that this was needed to enable a “fact-based, risk-assessed review”.
The European Commission is weighing whether to impose what would amount to a de-facto ban on Huawei, sources in Brussels have told Reuters.
In a keynote address to the Mobile World Congress, Digital Single Market Commissioner Mariya Gabriel said she took the industry’s concerns seriously and also called for a “fact-based assessment”.
It’s not yet clear whether that this similar rhetoric means Brussels will heed the industry’s arguments and refrain from imposing a blanket ban on Chinese suppliers.
For European operators, though, the preference is clear that competition between, and choice of, network vendors is vital to ensure that they can innovate and seek new ways to grow.
“We have always worked with security and we will always continue to work security and network integrity,” said Granryd, a 57-year-old former CEO of Sweden’s Tele2.
“We live from scale, from having a community that can help us propel through innovation, through cost-effective solutions, through quick rollout.
“That is our aim, to make sure that we have a healthy supplier base, that [is] competing with each other.”
(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Keith Weir)
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FILE PHOTO: Saudi Arabia's King Salman attends a summit between Arab league and European Union member states, in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, February 24, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany/File Photo
April 3, 2019
RIYADH (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s King Salman is giving Iraq $1 billion to build a sports city, state television said on Wednesday, citing the kingdom’s commerce minister.
Riyadh has been wooing Baghdad as part of an effort to stem the growing regional influence of Iran, while Iraq is seeking economic benefits from closer ties with its southern neighbor.
(Reporing by Stephen Kalin, Editing by William Maclean)
KIEV, Ukraine – Polls have opened in Ukraine's presidential election that pits the incumbent against a popular comedian and a former prime minister.
Ukrainians on Sunday will choose from among 39 candidates they hope can guide their country of more than 42 million out of troubles including endemic corruption, a seemingly intractable conflict with Russia-backed separatists in the country's east and a struggling economy.
Opinion polls have shown comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who plays the country's president in a popular TV series, leading the field with President Petro Poroshenko and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko trailing behind by a broad margin.
If none of the candidates gets an absolute majority of the vote, a runoff between the top two will be held on April 21.
Joe Biden’s brain surgeon said his former patient is “totally in the clear” as speculation over the candidate’s health — with Biden possibly becoming the oldest president in U.S. history — is likely to become a campaign issue.
The former vice president, who had been perceived by many as the strongest potential contender for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, formally announced his candidacy Thursday.
But Biden’s age – 76 – is expected to become a source of attacks from a younger generation of Democrats not because of obvious generational differences, but possibly for actual health concerns if Biden gets into office.
Biden himself agreed last year that “it’s totally legitimate” for people to ask questions about his health if he decides to run for president, given his medical history — which has included brain surgery in 1988.
“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality,” Biden told “CBS This Morning.” “Can I still run up the steps of Air Force Two? Am I still in good shape? Am I – do I have all my faculties? Am I energetic? I think it’s totally legitimate people ask those questions.”
“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality. … I think it’s totally legitimate [that] people ask those questions.”
— Joe Biden
But Dr. Neal Kassell, the neurosurgeon who operated on Biden for an aneurysm three decades ago, told the Washington Examiner that Biden appears to be “totally in the clear” — and even joked that the operation made Biden “better than how he was.”
“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it,” Kassell said. “That’s more than I can say about all the other candidates or the incumbents.”
“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it.”
At the same time, however, Biden hasn’t been forthcoming about his health at least since 2008 when he released his medical records as a vice presidential candidate. The disclosure that time revealed some fairly minor issues such as an irregular heartbeat in addition to detailing previous operations, including removing a benign polyp during a colonoscopy in 1996, the outlet reported.
It remains unclear if Biden had more aneurysms. Some medical experts say that people who have had an aneurysm can have another one.
An aneurysm, or a weakening of an artery wall, can lead to a rupture and internal bleeding, potentially placing a patient’s life in jeopardy.
Biden won’t be the only Democrat grappling with old age. Sen. Bernie Sanders, another 2020 frontrunner, is currently 77 years old and agreed with Biden last year that their ages will be an issue in the race.
“It’s part of a discussion, but it has to be part of an overall view of what somebody is and what somebody has accomplished,” Sanders told Politico.
“Look, you’ve got people who are 50 years of age who are not well, right? You’ve got people who are 90 years of age who are going to work every day, doing excellent work. And obviously, age is a factor. But it depends on the overall health and wellbeing of the individual.”
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Cambodian authorities have ordered a one-hour reduction in the length of school days because of concerns that students and teachers may fall ill from a prolonged heat wave.
Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said in an announcement seen Friday that the shortened hours will remain in effect until the rainy season starts, which usually occurs in May. The current heat wave, in which temperatures are regularly reaching as high as 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit), is one of the longest in memory.
Most schools in Cambodia lack air conditioning, prompting concern that temperatures inside classrooms could rise to unhealthy levels.
School authorities were instructed to watch for symptoms of heat stroke and urge pupils to drink more water.
The new hours cut 30 minutes off the beginning of the school day and 30 minutes off the end.
School authorities instituted a similar measure in 2016.
LONDON – Explosions have rocked Britain’s largest steel plant, injuring two people and shaking nearby homes.
South Wales Police say the incident at the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot was reported at about 3:35 a.m. Friday (22:35 EDT Thursday). The explosions touched off small fires, which are under control. Two workers suffered minor injuries and all staff members have been accounted for.
Police say early indications are that the explosions were caused by a train used to carry molten metal into the plant. Tata Steel says its personnel are working with emergency services at the scene.
Local lawmaker Stephen Kinnock says the incident raises concerns about safety.
He tweeted: “It could have been a lot worse … @TataSteelEurope must conduct a full review, to improve safety.”
LinkSpace’s reusable rocket RLV-T5, also known as NewLine Baby, is carried to a vacant plot of land for a test launch in Longkou, Shandong province, China, April 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee
April 26, 2019
By Ryan Woo
LONGKOU, China (Reuters) – During initial tests of their 8.1-metre (27-foot) tall reusable rocket, Chinese engineers from LinkSpace, a start-up led by China’s youngest space entrepreneur, used a Kevlar tether to ensure its safe return. Just in case.
But when the Beijing-based company’s prototype, called NewLine Baby, successfully took off and landed last week for the second time in two months, no tether was needed.
The 1.5-tonne rocket hovered 40 meters above the ground before descending back to its concrete launch pad after 30 seconds, to the relief of 26-year-old chief executive Hu Zhenyu and his engineers – one of whom cartwheeled his way to the launch pad in delight.
LinkSpace, one of China’s 15-plus private rocket manufacturers, sees these short hops as the first steps towards a new business model: sending tiny, inexpensive satellites into orbit at affordable prices.
Demand for these so-called nanosatellites – which weigh less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and are in some cases as small as a shoebox – is expected to explode in the next few years. And China’s rocket entrepreneurs reckon there is no better place to develop inexpensive launch vehicles than their home country.
“For suborbital clients, their focus will be on scientific research and some commercial uses. After entering orbit, the near-term focus (of clients) will certainly be on satellites,” Hu said.
In the near term, China envisions massive constellations of commercial satellites that can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for aircraft to tracking coal shipments. Universities conducting experiments and companies looking to offer remote-sensing and communication services are among the potential domestic customers for nanosatellites.
A handful of U.S. small-rocket companies are also developing launchers ahead of the expected boom. One of the biggest, Rocket Lab, has already put 25 satellites in orbit.
No private company in China has done that yet. Since October, two – LandSpace and OneSpace – have tried but failed, illustrating the difficulties facing space start-ups everywhere.
The Chinese companies are approaching inexpensive launches in different ways. Some, like OneSpace, are designing cheap, disposable boosters. LinkSpace’s Hu aspires to build reusable rockets that return to Earth after delivering their payload, much like the Falcon 9 rockets of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
“If you’re a small company and you can only build a very, very small rocket because that’s all you have money for, then your profit margins are going to be narrower,” said Macro Caceres, analyst at U.S. aerospace consultancy Teal Group.
“But if you can take that small rocket and make it reusable, and you can launch it once a week, four times a month, 50 times a year, then with more volume, your profit increases,” Caceres added.
Eventually LinkSpace hopes to charge no more than 30 million yuan ($4.48 million) per launch, Hu told Reuters.
That is a fraction of the $25 million to $30 million needed for a launch on a Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Pegasus, a commonly used small rocket. The Pegasus is launched from a high-flying aircraft and is not reusable.
(Click https://reut.rs/2UVBjKs to see a picture package of China’s rocket start-ups. Click https://tmsnrt.rs/2GIy9Bc for an interactive look at the nascent industry.)
NEED FOR CASH
LinkSpace plans to conduct suborbital launch tests using a bigger recoverable rocket in the first half of 2020, reaching altitudes of at least 100 kilometers, then an orbital launch in 2021, Hu told Reuters.
The company is in its third round of fundraising and wants to raise up to 100 million yuan, Hu said. It had secured tens of millions of yuan in previous rounds.
After a surge in fresh funding in 2018, firms like LinkSpace are pushing out prototypes, planning more tests and even proposing operational launches this year.
Last year, equity investment in China’s space start-ups reached 3.57 billion yuan ($533 million), a report by Beijing-based investor FutureAerospace shows, with a burst of financing in late 2018.
That accounted for about 18 percent of global space start-up investments in 2018, a historic high, according to Reuters calculations based on a global estimate by Space Angels. The New York-based venture capital firm said global space start-up investments totaled $2.97 billion last year.
“Costs for rocket companies are relatively high, but as to how much funding they need, be it in the hundreds of millions, or tens of millions, or even just a few million yuan, depends on the company’s stage of development,” said Niu Min, founder of FutureAerospace.
FutureAerospace has invested tens of millions of yuan in LandSpace, based in Beijing.
Like space-launch startups elsewhere in the world, the immediate challenge for Chinese entrepreneurs is developing a safe and reliable rocket.
Proven talent to develop such hardware can be found in China’s state research institutes or the military; the government directly supports private firms by allowing them to launch from military-controlled facilities.
But it’s still a high-risk business, and one unsuccessful launch might kill a company.
“The biggest problem facing all commercial space companies, especially early-stage entrepreneurs, is failure” of an attempted flight, Liang Jianjun, chief executive of rocket company Space Trek, told Reuters. That can affect financing, research, manufacturing and the team’s morale, he added.
Space Trek is planning its first suborbital launch by the end of June and an orbital launch next year, said Liang, who founded the company in late 2017 with three other former military technical officers.
Despite LandSpace’s failed Zhuque-1 orbital launch in October, the Beijing-based firm secured 300 million yuan in additional funding for the development of its Zhuque-2 rocket a month later.
In December, the company started operating China’s first private rocket production facility in Zhejiang province, in anticipation of large-scale manufacturing of its Zhuque-2, which it expects to unveil next year.
STATE COMPETITION
China’s state defense contractors are also trying to get into the low-cost market.
In December, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) successfully launched a low-orbit communication satellite, the first of 156 that CASIC aims to deploy by 2022 to provide more stable broadband connectivity to rural China and eventually developing countries.
The satellite, Hongyun-1, was launched on a rocket supplied by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the nation’s main space contractor.
In early April, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT), a subsidiary of CASC, completed engine tests for its Dragon, China’s first rocket meant solely for commercial use, clearing the path for a maiden flight before July.
The Dragon, much bigger than the rockets being developed by private firms, is designed to carry multiple commercial satellites.
At least 35 private Chinese companies are working to produce more satellites.
Spacety, a satellite maker based in southern Hunan province, plans to put 20 satellites in orbit this year, including its first for a foreign client, chief executive Yang Feng told Reuters.
The company has only launched 12 on state-produced rockets since the company started operating in early 2016.
“When it comes to rocket launches, what we care about would be cost, reliability and time,” Yang said.
(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Gerry Doyle)
JOHANNESBURG – At least one person is reported dead and homes have been destroyed by a powerful cyclone that struck northern Mozambique and continues to dump rain on the region, with the United Nations warning of “massive flooding.”
Cyclone Kenneth arrived just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore into central Mozambique, killing more than 600 people and displacing scores of thousands. The U.N. says this is the first time in known history that the southern African nation has been hit by two cyclones in one season.
Forecasters say the new cyclone made landfall Thursday night in a part of Mozambique that has not seen such a storm in at least 60 years.
Mozambique’s local emergency operations center says a woman in the city of Pemba was killed by a falling tree.
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