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NFL notebook: Month after hiring, Schiano quits as Pats’ DC

Chicago Bears' Brandon Marshall says a prayer after catching a touchdown pass against the Arizona Cardinals in the first half during their NFL football game in Phoenix,
Chicago Bears' Brandon Marshall says a prayer after catching a touchdown pass against the Arizona Cardinals in the first half during their NFL football game in Phoenix, Arizona December 23, 2012. REUTERS/Darryl Webb

March 29, 2019

Greg Schiano, hired last month as the New England Patriots defensive coordinator, stepped down Thursday, the team announced.

“This is not the result of any one event, but rather a realization that I need to spend more time on my faith and family,” Schiano said in a statement. “I don’t want to look back years from now and wish I had done things differently. Therefore, I am taking time away from the game to recalibrate my priorities.”

Schiano, a longtime ally of Belichick, was hired Feb. 6 to replace Brian Flores, the Patriots’ defensive play-caller who left to become the head coach of the Miami Dolphins.

Schiano, 52, was most recently the defensive coordinator at Ohio State. He was 11-21 in two seasons as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ head coach in 2012 and 2013 before being fired. Schiano was 68-67 in 11 seasons as the head coach at Rutgers (2001-2011). Belichick’s son, Steve Belichick, was a long snapper at Rutgers.

–The Philadelphia Eagles acquired running back Jordan Howard from the Chicago Bears for a sixth-round draft pick in 2020.

The pick could be upgraded to a fifth-rounder next season, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who did not specify the parameters for the higher selection. The Eagles confirmed the deal on their website.

Howard, 24, rushed for 3,370 yards and 24 touchdowns in three seasons with Chicago. The former fifth-round pick out of Indiana also caught 72 passes for 568 yards and a score.

–The Oakland Raiders continued their offseason acquisitions, agreeing to deals with running back Isaiah Crowell and linebacker Brandon Marshall.

Crowell, who became the odd man out with the New York Jets when the team signed Le’Veon Bell, agreed to a one-year, $2.5 million deal with the Raiders, ESPN’s Adam Schefter said.

The Denver Broncos released Marshall earlier this month to cut $4.84 million from the salary cap. While the Raiders had not yet confirmed the signing, Marshall, 29, shared a photo of himself dressed in the silver and black on social media. His contract is for one year and worth as much as $4.1 million, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

–Houston defensive lineman Ed Oliver, considered a potential top-five selection in the draft, who skipped some on-field drills at the NFL Scouting Combine, likely helped solidify his high draft stock at the Cougars’ pro day.

His official numbers were 4.73 seconds for the 40-yard dash, 4.22 seconds for the short shuttle and 7.15 seconds for the 3-cone drill.

For context, Oliver’s short shuttle was 0.02 seconds faster than the time posted at the 2018 combine by running back Saquan Barkley, who went on to become the second pick in the draft and rush for 1,307 yards as a rookie for the New York Giants.

–Andy Dalton has started all but eight games at quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals in the past eight seasons, but the team is taking a wait-and-see approach about its future at the position.

Dalton did miss the final five games of last season because of torn thumb ligaments. Owner Mike Brown told the Cincinnati Enquirer that there will be no offseason talk of a contract extension with the 31-year-old Dalton, who is signed through 2020.

“I think it’s a good year for (Dalton) to show like he can, like we think he will. After he re-establishes himself, we would want to get together with him and see if we can extend it,” Brown said. Dalton is set to make $16 million this season in the second-to-last year of a six-year deal.

–The Dallas Cowboys finalized a long-rumored trade for defensive end Robert Quinn, sending a 2020 sixth-round draft pick to the Miami Dolphins, the Cowboys announced.

The Dolphins, seeking salary-cap relief, have been shopping Quinn for a trade, allowing him to visit other teams. He reportedly met with the Cowboys and New Orleans Saints.

–The Carolina Panthers and running back Cameron Artis-Payne agreed on a one-year deal to bring the 2015 draft pick back to Charlotte for the 2019 season.

Artis-Payne played just 48 offensive snaps last season, rushing for 69 yards and a score in nine games.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Neiman Marcus reaches agreement with creditors to restructure debt

Shoppers enter and exit the Neiman Marcus at the King of Prussia Mall, United States' largest retail shopping space, in King of Prussia
FILE PHOTO: Shoppers enter and exit the Neiman Marcus at the King of Prussia Mall, United States' largest retail shopping space, in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, U.S., December 8, 2018. REUTERS/Mark Makela

March 25, 2019

(Reuters) – Neiman Marcus Group Ltd said on Monday it had reached an agreement with a majority of its lenders to extend the maturities of its debt by three years to help the luxury retailer turn around its business.

The new agreement is with the holders of more than 55 percent of the company’s term loan and 60 percent of its unsecured notes, representing more than $2.5 billion of the company’s debt.

The maturity of the term loan now extends to 2023, while the maturity for the unsecured notes was pushed out until 2024.

The company said the deal “provides substantial value” to its lenders and “creates ample runway to execute on and complete” Neiman Marcus’ transformation plan into a luxury customer platform.

Neiman Marcus has been struggling with a nearly $5 billion debt load, due mainly to its 2013 leveraged buyout by Ares and Canadian public pension fund CPPIB from other private equity firms.

The heavily indebted company also said on Monday it would pay down $550 million of its debt to term loan lenders. Term loan lenders participating in the deal will also receive a higher interest rate. The retailer will also complete an exchange offer for notes.

“The commitments we have obtained for this transaction are a validation of our business and transformation strategy and our leadership team,” Chief Executive Officer Geoffroy Raemdonck said.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

Source: OANN

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Watch: Bernie Compares Felons Voting to Women and Black Voting Rights

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Source: InfoWars

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Florida men imprisoned for murder for 42 years ordered free

An uncle and nephew who had been imprisoned for 42 years for a Florida murder were vindicated Thursday when prosecutors asked a judge to vacate their convictions, saying they no longer believed in the men's guilt.

Clifford Williams, 76, and Hubert Myers, 61, wiped away tears after the judge said she was vacating their convictions. They are the first men cleared since the state attorney's office in Jacksonville started an initiative last year reviewing claims of wrongful conviction, the first effort of its kind in Florida.

"Today, after review and reinvestigation of the case, evidence, and trial, the State of Florida no longer has confidence in the integrity of the convictions or guilt of the accused," the state attorney's office wrote in a report outlining the reasons for vacating the convictions.

The men were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the 1976 fatal shooting of Jeanette Williams and the attempted murder of her girlfriend, Nina Marshall. The women, who knew the defendants socially, were asleep in bed at the time of the shooting.

Williams died instantly but Marshall was able to flag down a car that drove her to a hospital. She identified Williams and Myers as the shooters.

The men claimed they had been at a birthday party a block from the shooting and other party-goers backed up their alibis.

Their first trial ended in mistrial; the men were convicted at a second trial during which prosecutors contended a drug debt was the motive. Defense attorneys presented no witnesses and entered no evidence but instead attacked Marshall's credibility as a witness.

No physical evidence linked the shootings to the men and the case relied solely on the testimony of Marshall, who said the men had fired their shots from the foot of her bed.

"In fact, the physical and scientific evidence actually contradicts her testimony about what happened," the state attorney's office report said.

Broken glass along with bullet holes in a curtain and an aluminum screen showed the shots came from outside a bedroom window, the report said. Forensics evidence also showed only one gun was fired.

Marshall died in 2001 and investigators re-examining the case were unable to question her.

The report said another man who died in 1994 had claimed responsibility for the slaying and Myers answered questions truthfully during a polygraph test taken as part of the review of innocence.

"The culmination of all the evidence, most of which the jury never heard or saw, leaves no abiding confidence in the convictions or the guilt of the defendants," the report said.

Source: Fox News National

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The Latest: Dragging death ringleader stoic before execution

The Latest on the execution of ringleader of dragging death of James Byrd Jr. nearly 21 years ago. (all times local):

5:15 p.m.

Prison officials say condemned killer John William King is stoic as he awaits execution for the death of a black East Texas man who was chained to the back of a truck and fatally dragged along a road nearly 21 years ago.

The 44-year-old King, a white avowed racist, arrived midafternoon Wednesday at the prison in Huntsville, Texas, where he's scheduled for lethal injection for James Byrd Jr.'s June 1998 slaying.

Prison agency spokesman Jeremy Desel says King said little following his transfer to Huntsville from death row, at a prison 45 miles (72 kilometers) away. King has declined any counseling from a chaplain and has selected no one to witness his punishment.

Two of Byrd's sisters and a niece are to witness the execution.

____

12 a.m.

A man who orchestrated one of the most gruesome hate crimes in U.S. history faces execution in Texas.

John William King is scheduled for lethal injection Wednesday evening in the June 1998 dragging death of James Byrd Jr., a black man from East Texas.

The 44-year-old King, who is white and an avowed racist, was put on death row for chaining Byrd to the back of a truck and dragging his body along a secluded road outside Jasper, Texas. Prosecutors said Byrd was targeted because he was black.

The hate crime put a national spotlight on Jasper, which was branded with a racist stigma it has tried to shake off ever since.

King would be the second man executed in the case. A third man received a life sentence.

Source: Fox News National

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European shares fall as tech, auto stocks weigh

The German share price index DAX graph at the stock exchange in Frankfurt
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, April 5, 2019. REUTERS/Staff

April 8, 2019

(Reuters) – European stocks opened broadly lower on Monday following a week of strong gains, as dismal German trade data hurt auto makers and software company SAP dragged the tech sector lower after it announced another departure in its top management.

The pan-region STOXX 600 index was down 0.13 percent at 0723 GMT, having touched eight-month highs last week.

Germany’s trade sensitive DAX index fell 0.3 percent, breaking a seven day winning streak – its longest since October 2017.

Earlier on Monday data showed that German exports and imports fell more than expected in February, the latest sign that Europe’s biggest economy will likely post meager growth in the first quarter.

Auto stocks underperformed after a near 7 percent surge last week.

BMW, Daimler declined, with both facing possibly hefty fines after EU antitrust regulators charged them with colluding to block the rollout of clean emissions technology.

Continental AG fell 1.7 percent as Kepler Cheuvreux downgraded the auto parts maker to “hold” from “buy”.

By contrast Italian-U.S. carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA) rose after it agreed to pay electric carmaker Tesla Inc hundreds of millions of euros to allow Tesla vehicles to be counted in its fleet to avoid fines for violating new EU emission rules.

Software company SAP weighed the most on the STOXX 600 index, down 1.5 percent as Europe’s most valuable technology company said the head of its cloud business group had quit, the latest in a string of top departures.

Irish stocks, a barometer of Brexit sentiment, ended a six-day winning run.

Britain’s government held out the possibility of compromise with the opposition Labour Party on Sunday to try to win support in parliament for leaving the European Union with a deal. UK Prime Minister Theresa May heads to Brussels this week to ask for a further delay until June 30.

Banco BPM dropped 1.3 percent as Italy’s third biggest lender said it could be interested in tie-ups with banks close to its home turf in the north of the country, comments that appeared to play down a possible deal with Monte dei Paschi di Siena.

Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank dropped 0.4 percent and 1.5 percent respectively. European bank supervisors demanded a detailed roadmap outlining the pace and scale of staff cuts in the two lenders as they explore a merger, according to German daily Handelsblatt’s report.

The two German lenders favor a straightforward merger over more complex ways to structure a deal, Reuters reported on Friday.

(Reporting by Susan Mathew and Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

Source: OANN

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The Latest: Video sought of cop's lawyer's office shooting

The Latest on the homicide trial of a white Pennsylvania police officer in the shooting of an unarmed black 17-year-old (all times local):

12:20 p.m.

Police say someone fired about five to eight shots at the office of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld's attorney after Rosfeld was acquitted of homicide for shooting an unarmed teenager.

Authorities say they're canvassing security cameras for footage.

Monroeville Police Chief Doug Cole said Saturday no one was inside the building that houses the office of attorney Patrick Thomassey when shots were fired the night before.

Rosfeld, who is white, was acquitted of all charges Friday in the June shooting of Antwon Rose II, a black 17-year-old high school student.

Cole said officers had been keeping an eye on the office after the verdict, but the shooting occurred while they were called away on another matter.

The chief says a vehicle was involved but they don't have a description yet.

___

10 a.m.

Gunshots were fired into the law office of former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld's attorney, hours after Rosfeld was acquitted of shooting an unarmed black teenager last year.

Lawyer Patrick Thomassey tells WTAE-TV on Saturday he was called after midnight about shots fired into the Monroeville building.

Thomassey tells the station he wasn't hurt and found three to four bullet holes.

A jury cleared Rosfeld of criminal homicide charges Friday after Rosfeld testified about shooting to death 17-year-old Antwon Rose II.

Rose ran from a vehicle Rosfeld had pulled over while investigating a drive-by shooting.

Protesters marched through parts of Pittsburgh after the verdict, but the mayor's office says they have no reports of arrests or property damage. No protests were seen yet Saturday morning.

___

1:15 a.m.

The family of an unarmed black teenager fatally shot by a white police officer is expressing anger and sadness over a jury's decision to acquit.

Pittsburgh is bracing for protests a day after the verdict.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld was charged with homicide for shooting 17-year-old Antwon Rose II last June. Rosfeld walked out of the courtroom a free man Friday after jurors rejected a prosecutor's argument that he acted as Rose's "judge, jury and executioner."

The verdict leaves Rose's family to pursue the federal civil rights lawsuit they filed last August against Rosfeld and East Pittsburgh. That's a small municipality about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from downtown Pittsburgh.

Rosfeld says he thought Rose or another suspect had a gun pointed at him.

___

Associated Press writer Michael Rubinkam in northeastern Pennsylvania contributed to this story.

Source: Fox News National

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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.

WHY THE MEDIA ARE CONVINCED JOE BIDEN WILL IMPLODE

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.”

— Dr. Neal Kassell

BIDEN’S CLAIM HE DIDN’T WANT OBAMA TO ENDORSE TRIGGERS MOCKERY

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.”

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Sanders released his medical records in 2016, with a Senate physician saying in a letter that the senator was “in overall very good health.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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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.

Source: Fox News World

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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.”

Source: Fox News World

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The Wider Image: China's start-ups go small in age of 'shoebox' satellites
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)

Source: OANN

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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.

Source: Fox News World

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