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Q&A: A look at the latest fighting in Libya

Libya has been plunged into chaos again, with forces loyal to a polarizing military commander marching on the capital and trading fire with militias aligned with a weak U.N.-backed government.

The battle for Tripoli could ignite civil war on the scale of the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. That conflict left behind a patchwork of local, tribal and Islamist militias governing various fiefdoms, often through extortion and brute force. It also transformed Libya into a haven for extremists and a major conduit for migrants making perilous journeys to Europe.

Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, who has spent the last few years battling Islamic militants in eastern Libya, presents himself as a strong hand that can unify the country and rid it of extremists. But his opponents view him as another would-be strongman in the mold of Gadhafi.

HOW DID LIBYA GET HERE?

Inspired by the Arab Spring uprisings sweeping the region, Libyans rose up in February 2011 against Gadhafi, who responded with a fierce military crackdown. As the uprising quickly escalated into a civil war, Gadhafi massed tanks outside the eastern city of Benghazi and threatened to massacre the protesters street by street.

NATO responded with a bombing campaign against Gadhafi's forces, and eventually provided close air support to a loose alliance of rebel militias, helping them to drive him from power. The rebels captured Gadhafi in his home city of Sirte in October 2011 and killed him, later releasing video footage of him being beaten and humiliated.

Libya held free elections the following year, but the government was powerless to control the vast array of militias, and the democratic transition stalled. Fighting erupted in Tripoli in the summer of 2014, leaving the international airport largely destroyed and resulting in separate governments in the capital and in eastern Libya, each backed by various armed groups.

In 2015, the U.N. backed the formation of a transitional government in Tripoli, in the west, under the leadership of technocrat Fayez Sarraj. A separate government, based in the east and allied with Hifter, has rejected its authority.

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WHO IS HIFTER?

Hifter helped Gadhafi seize power in a 1969 coup against the monarchy and rose through the ranks of the military, eventually commanding Libyan forces in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. But his reputation was left in tatters by Libya's disastrous defeat in the war with Chad in the 1980s, in which he was among thousands captured.

As the war wound down, he defected and joined the armed opposition to Gadhafi, orchestrating a number of failed coup attempts. He eventually relocated to the Washington, D.C. area, where he lived in exile for 20 years, leading to widespread speculation that he worked with the CIA.

He returned to Libya in 2011 and commanded forces during the uprising against Gadhafi. But he soured on the revolution during the chaos following the dictator's death, and soon organized a campaign against the various Islamic militant groups that took root in eastern Libya.

In recent years he has fought a series of battles there, leaving a swath of destruction but eventually retaking most of eastern Libya and its vital oil facilities. Over the last few months he has quietly expanded his influence across the south, winning over local tribes and factions.

He has cast his opponents as Islamic extremists and modeled himself on President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in neighboring Egypt, who led the military overthrow of an elected but divisive Islamist president in 2013 and has since presided over an unprecedented crackdown on dissent.

Hifter is supported by Egypt, as well as the United Arab Emirates, Russia and France. His supporters see him as the best hope of stabilizing the troubled country and combatting extremists.

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WHO IS HE FIGHTING?

Hifter is expected to face stiff resistance from powerful militias from the western cities of Misrata and Zawiya, two areas that saw heavy fighting during the 2011 uprising. The Zawiya militias captured 100 of Hifter's forces on Friday, the day after he launched his offensive. The battle-hardened Misratans led the fight against an Islamic State group affiliate in 2016, eventually driving it from its last stronghold in Sirte with U.S. air support.

The Tripoli factions present themselves as heirs to the 2011 revolution, but they are widely blamed for derailing the political transition through kidnappings — including of a transitional prime minister — extortion and violence.

They have received support from Turkey and Qatar as part of the regional rivalry between those two countries and Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. European countries have provided aid to local armed groups to stem the flow of migrants, battle extremists and protect oil supplies.

The U.N.-backed government has sought support from the militias as it has struggled to gain a foothold in the capital, while the militias have clashed with each other, most recently in September.

The U.N. Security Council has meanwhile called on Hifter to halt his advance and for all sides to de-escalate the situation. U.N. envoy Ghassan Salame says he still hopes to convene a national conference later this month to plan for elections.

Source: Fox News World

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British Prime Minister May under siege as Britain takes step closer to Brexit delay

British Prime Minister Theresa May was under renewed pressure to either resign or call a general election on Wednesday, as Parliament looked set to reject a “no-deal” Brexit and take Britain a step closer to seeking a delay in its departure from the European Union.

The House of Commons was scheduled to vote late Wednesday on a motion that would express disapproval of leaving the E.U. without a withdrawal agreement with the bloc. It comes a day after May’s withdrawal agreement was overwhelmingly voted down for a second time, just weeks before the U.K. is due to leave on March 29.

BRITISH PM THERESA MAY SUFFERS ANOTHER MAJOR DEFEAT ON REVISED BREXIT DEAL, AS CLOCK TICKS DOWN

The defeat is yet another blow for May, who has seen defeat after defeat for her approach to Brexit, plunging Britain into an even deeper political crisis -- with no immediate end in sight.

In the absence of a withdrawal agreement that can pass Parliament, Britain is scheduled to leave the bloc without a deal and revert to World Trade Organization (WTO) terms. Business groups and pro-E.U. politicians, including some in May's government, have said that a "no deal" Brexit would be catastrophic, leading to chaos at ports and shortages across the country. Some pro-Brexit lawmakers have called that such fears are overblown and part of what they have dubbed "Project Fear."

But on Wednesday, May's opponents declared her to be responsible for Britain's political uncertainty and said that she had lost the ability to lead the country through the choppy waters ahead.

“The prime minister’s deal has failed, she no longer has the ability to lead, this is a rudderless government in the face of a huge national crisis,” Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn declared in Parliament on Wednesday.

BREXIT VOTES: WHAT TO KNOW

Earlier, he called on her to abandon her red lines for a deal “and face the reality of the situation she has got herself, this party, this parliament and this country into.”

May, her voice hoarse and weak as she apparently battles illness, was defiant, and accused Corbyn of voting “in a way that brings no-deal closer.”

“I may not have my own voice but I do understand the voice of the country,” she said. “People want to leave the E.U., they want to end free movement, they want to have our own trade policy, they want to make sure laws are made in this country and judged in our courts. That's what the deal delivers, that's what I will continue to work to deliver.”

Corbyn, a day earlier, said it was time for a general election, after declaring “the clock has been run out” on May.

May was also under intense pressure from her own ranks, particularly members of the fiercely pro-Brexit wing of her party who helped vote the deal down over concerns about the backstop -- a safety net that would keep Britain in a customs union until a trade deal was agreed to so as to prevent a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

MACRON SAYS EU MAY BLOCK UK'S BREXIT PLAN: 'THE TIME HAS COME FOR THE BRITISH TO MAKE CHOICES'

Brexiteers have expressed concern that the lack of a unilateral exit mechanism could lead to Britain never actually leaving the E.U. or being forced to accept bad terms. May sought changes to the deal to assure jumpy MPs but it wasn’t enough to assuage Parliament on Tuesday, where her agreement was defeated 391-242.

May fought off a vote of no confidence in her leadership of the party in December, and in the government in January. But the latest rejection of her deal has seemingly refueled calls for her to stand down or call a general election.

“I think there is an issue that the Prime Minister is not capable of changing course, and that is catastrophic for the country and I think she should stand down,” Labour Party MP Liz Kendall said on BBC.

When asked about Kendall’s comments, Tory Party MP Steve Baker -- who previously called for her to stand down -- appeared to agree with Kendall’s assessment of May’s attitude but said that “given past events, I’d be well advised to say no more about it”

Pro-Remain Tory MP Nicky Morgan, meanwhile told Sky News that: “If votes today go against her I do think it makes her position very, very difficult”

Ahead of the vote on Wednesday, the Times of London reported that May, in an effort to face off another rebellion from her backbenches, was to allow a free vote on an alternative Brexit plan known as the Malthouse compromise --- named after housing minister Kit Malthouse who had forged the agreement between Brexiteers and Remainer MPs.

That compromise plan would extend Britain’s departure until May, and then place Britain and the E.U.’s relationship in a “transitional standstill” until 2021 to allow for a “no deal” Brexit if a trade deal was not achieved.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Should “no deal” and the Malthouse Compromise be rejected by Parliament, on Thursday there will be a vote to request that the E.U. agree to extend the date of Britain’s departure until June. However, if that extension is passed, it is unclear what would change in three months to resolve the impasse.

The alternatives are a general election, for May to step down voluntarily (she cannot be challenged by her own party until December) and be replaced by another prime minister who would offer a different approach, a no-deal Brexit or a second referendum -- something that the Labour Party and other pro-E.U. parties have called for.

However, the E.U. may not even accept the call for an extension, with E.U. officials and European leaders indicated there would need to be a good reason for that extension. If that extension was rejected, it would still mean -- despite Parliament's vote -- that Britain is legally scheduled to leave the E.U. on March 29 with no deal.

Source: Fox News World

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Comey: I Hope Trump Is Not Impeached

Former FBI Director James Comey said Friday that he hopes that President Donald Trump won’t be “impeached and removed from office before the end of his term.”

Comey, who was fired by Trump in May 2017, wrote in The New York Times: “I hope that Mr. Trump is not impeached and removed from office before the end of his term.”
He added, “I don’t mean that Congress shouldn’t move ahead with the process of impeachment governed by our constitution, if Congress thinks the provable facts are there. I just hope it doesn’t. Because if Mr. Trump were removed from office by Congress, a significant portion of this country would see this as a coup.”

Comey’s firing led to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller, whose report on Russian interference in the 2016 election is expected to be completed soon.

 “I have no idea whether the special counsel will conclude that Mr. Trump knowingly conspired with the Russians in connection with the 2016 election or that he obstructed justice with the required corrupt intent,” Comey wrote. “I also don’t care. I care only that the work be done, well and completely. If it is, justice will have prevailed and core American values will have been protected at a time when so much of our national leadership has abandoned its commitment to truth and the rule of law.”

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Whatever it takes, Part 2?: Five questions for the ECB

FILE PHOTO: ECB President Draghi delivers a speech during a ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Euro, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg
FILE PHOTO: European Central Bank (ECB) President Mario Draghi delivers a speech during a ceremony to mark the 20th anniversary of the launch of the Euro, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, January 15, 2019. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler/File Photo

April 8, 2019

By Dhara Ranasinghe, Ritvik Carvalho and Abhinav Ramnarayan

LONDON (Reuters) – Just a month after the European Central Bank halted plans to normalize policy and delayed a rate increase into 2020, further signs of weakness in the economy and a whiff of panic among investors is putting the central bank back in the spotlight.

No policy changes are expected at Wednesday’s ECB meeting, especially since some board members are traveling to Washington for the International Monetary Fund’s spring meetings.

But talk of tiered rates to ease pressure on banks, global recession fears and a sense of alarm that pushed 10-year German bond yields below zero percent for the first time since 2016 suggest the ECB news conference may prove lively.

We look at five key questions on the radar for markets:

1. How close is the ECB to action to offset the impact of negative interest rates on banks?

A debate on whether to “tier” the negative interest rates that banks pay on the idle cash they park at the ECB is now underway, judging by recent ECB comments and the minutes from the March meeting.

“It’s not an obvious next step, but one that the ECB will have to face at some point,” said James Rossiter, senior global strategist at TD Securities. “We don’t expect anything official in the ECB’s statement, but it will be difficult for (ECB chief Mario) Draghi to avoid questions on this.”

Dutch central bank Governor Klaas Knot has said he would need to see clear evidence that negative rates were hurting lending to the real economy. ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos said last week that while the bank is studying ways to cut its charge on banks’ deposits, euro zone lenders should look closer to home for the causes of their meager profits.

The debate is important because if the ECB introduces tiered rates, that might suggest it is preparing to keep interest rates low, below zero percent, for longer than anticipated. No surprise then, that money markets have scaled back expectations of a rate rise and even started to factor in the risk of a rate cut this year.

(Graphic: When will the ECB raise interest rates? – https://tmsnrt.rs/2WMPcao)

2. What about TLTRO III, can we expect more details?

In March, the ECB offered some details of what TLTRO III will look like: the loans will have a two-year maturity and be offered on a quarterly basis from September until March 2021.

The ECB’s March meeting minutes showed the bank is still ironing out details.

Key questions for investors now are what interest the banks will have to pay on the loans and where the funds can be deployed. Barclays analysts, for example, expect banks will be given an incentive to take up the loans through better borrowing rates than the main refinancing operations (MRO), which provide the bulk of liquidity to the euro zone banking system.

Euro zone bank stocks and government bonds are sensitive to any TLTRO news. Yields on short-dated Southern European bonds have dropped, suggesting investors expect Italian banks in particular to take up the loans.

(Graphic: Euro zone bank stocks cheer signs of multi year loans – https://tmsnrt.rs/2WKE3H0)

3. Does the ECB see any green shoots for the economy?

The ECB is not expected to change its assessment that risks to the economy are tilted to the downside but officials are worried about the downside risks to the growth and inflation forecasts.

Unexpectedly weak manufacturing activity data from Germany rattled markets last month, and a brief inversion of the U.S. bond yield curve fueled concerns about global recession risks.

Germany’s leading economic institutes last week slashed their 2019 forecast for growth in Europe’s biggest economy and warned growth might be even lower if there is a no-deal Brexit.

Not all the data have been bad, and economists point out a pick-up in data from China — the world’s number two economy — and signs of strength from the euro zone services sector.

(Graphic: Euro zone economic data – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Vq73DG)

4. How concerned is the ECB that ultra-loose policy has failed to lift inflation expectations?

Even after last month’s unexpectedly dovish tone from the central bank, inflation and inflation expectations remain low.

Draghi has long predicted a rise in underlying inflation, only for the data to disappoint him and force the ECB to ask for even more time to lift prices.

A closely watched underlying inflation figure that excludes volatile food and energy prices slowed to 1.0 percent in March, its weakest reading since April 2018.

Economists note the timing of Easter distorts the inflation numbers and that the April data should prove more encouraging.

“It might not feel or look like it, but inflation has been delayed rather than derailed,” said Jefferies senior European economist Marchel Alexandrovich.

The ECB will be hoping that’s the case, especially since inflation expectations have tumbled. A key market gauge of long-term inflation expectations tracked by the ECB is near its lowest level since 2016. It is down 20 basis points this year — more than it fell the whole of 2018.

(Graphic: Below target inflation – https://tmsnrt.rs/2WLvvQ1)

5. Is the ECB ready for a no-deal Brexit?

Draghi told European Union leaders recently that the ECB, the Bank of England and the European Commission have made all the necessary preparations for a no-deal Brexit, according to a recent report.

But Draghi and other officials have also stressed that markets are not fully pricing in the risk of Britain’s exit from the EU without a deal — a warning the ECB chief may repeat this week.

A no-deal Brexit might also affect market liquidity, the EU commissioner in charge of financial services said last week.

Any clarity on Brexit is likely to be met with relief by investors and boost sentiment. The ECB is no doubt paying close attention.

For an interactive version of the below chart, click here https://tmsnrt.rs/2Ua88yG.

(Graphic: No deal Brexit probabilities – https://tmsnrt.rs/2CPfG3j)

(Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; additional reporting by Abhinav Ramnarayan; graphics by Ritvik Carvalho; editing by Larry King)

Source: OANN

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Slovak assembly picks six top judge candidates, easing blockage of top court

FILE PHOTO: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico after a meeting with senior officials at Bratislava castle
FILE PHOTO: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico after a meeting with senior officials at Bratislava castle, Slovakia, March 9, 2018. REUTERS/Radovan Stoklasa/File Photo

April 3, 2019

BRATISLAVA (Reuters) – Slovak lawmakers on Wednesday picked six candidates for vacant seats on the constitutional court in a step toward unblocking the country’s top judicial body six weeks after most of its judges stepped down.

The impasse set in after Robert Fico, head of the ruling leftist SMER party who was forced to quit as prime minister last year over protests triggered by the murder of an investigative reporter, said he wanted to become the new chief justice.

Slovakia has become the third formerly communist, central European country where high-level judicial appointments have been caught up in power politics, after governments in Poland and Hungary sparked European Union alarm over efforts to place loyalists in top court posts.

The Slovak Constitutional Court, which rules on whether legislation and legal rulings are in line with the constitution, has 13 judges, nine of whom stepped down on Feb. 16.

The court needs at least seven judges in place to rule in cases of legal challenges to election results.

One of the unsuccessful candidates of this month’s presidential election, won by liberal anti-graft lawyer Zuzana Caputova, has gone to court alleging vote fraud. The national election committee said the accusation had no basis.

President Andrej Kiska, who will be replaced in office by Caputova in mid-June, is to pick three new court appointees from among six candidates presented to him by parliament on Wednesday, this time with coalition lawmakers voting.

It was not known when the assembly would choose candidates to fill the remaining three vacancies.

All six candidates were professional judges or attorneys, not known to be aligned with any party, though they were backed only by coalition not opposition lawmakers.

Fico announced he would leave politics if he was appointed chief justice, but withdrew his candidacy after Kiska and a junior coalition partner made clear they would not back him.

That resulted in governing coalition lawmakers abstaining from a vote on replacing the outgoing judges, invalidating the ballot and leaving the Constitutional Court unable to function.

President-elect Caputova said she would not support Fico for the post either.

(Reporting by Tatiana Jancarikova; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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British troops criticized for Corbyn “target practice” video

Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks in Parliament, following the vote on extending Brexit negotiating period in London
Britain's opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn speaks in Parliament, following the vote on extending Brexit negotiating period in London, Britain, March 14, 2019, in this screen grab taken from video. Reuters TV via REUTERS

April 3, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s defense ministry said on Wednesday it had launched an investigation into a video circulating on social media apparently showing soldiers using a picture of opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn for target practice.

The video, posted on Snapchat, shows four paratroopers firing shots at the picture with the caption “happy with that”.

“We are aware of a video circulating on social media,” an Army spokesperson said. “This behavior is totally unacceptable and falls well below the high standards the Army expects. A full investigation has been launched.”

A Labour spokesman called the behavior alarming and unacceptable but said the party was confident the Army would investigate and act on the incident.

The soldiers have been widely criticized by lawmakers.

“I’m shocked obviously that this sort of thing has happened,” Corbyn said. “I hope the Ministry of Defense will conduct an inquiry into it and find out what was going on and who did that.”

(Reporting by Rachel Cordery; editing by Stephen Addison/Guy Faulconbridge)

Source: OANN

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Israel's Supreme Court bans Jewish extremist from election

Israel's Supreme Court has banned the leader of a Jewish ultranationalist party from running in the country's April elections.

Reversing the decisions of Israel's elections committee earlier this month, the court ruled Sunday to bar Jewish Power party leader Michael Ben Ari in an 8-1 vote, citing his anti-Arab ideology, and approve an Arab party and leftist candidate.

The court upheld the candidacy of Itamar Ben-Gvir, a far-right lawyer and fellow leader of Jewish Power.

Jewish Power's leaders are successors of the late rabbi Meir Kahane, who advocated expelling Arabs from Israel and creating a Jewish theocracy.

In a widely-criticized bid to unite Israel's nationalist bloc, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu struck a bargain last month that could pave the way for the extremist party to join Israel's next governing coalition.

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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German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer holds annual general meeting
Werner Baumann, CEO of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer AG, attends the annual general shareholders meeting in Bonn, Germany, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

April 26, 2019

By Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger

BONN (Reuters) – Bayer shareholders vented their anger over its stock price slump on Friday as litigation risks mount from the German drugmaker’s $63 billion takeover of seed maker Monsanto.

Several large investors said they will not support aspirin investor Bayer’s management in a key vote scheduled for the end of its annual general meeting.

Bayer’s management, led by chief executive Werner Baumann, could see an embarrassing plunge in approval ratings, down from 97 percent at last year’s AGM, which was held shortly before the Monsanto takeover closed in June.

A vote to ratify the board’s actions features prominently at every German AGM. Although it has no bearing on management’s liability, it is seen as a key gauge of shareholder sentiment.

“Due to the continued negative development at Bayer, high legal risks and a massive share price slump, we refuse to ratify the management board and supervisory board’s actions during the business year,” Janne Werning, representing Germany’s Union Investment, a top-20 shareholder, said in prepared remarks.

About 30 billion euros ($34 billion) have been wiped off Bayer’s market value since August, when a U.S. jury found the pesticide and drugs group liable because Monsanto had not warned of alleged cancer risks linked to its weedkiller Roundup.

Bayer suffered a similar defeat last month and more than 13,000 plaintiffs are claiming damages.

Bayer is appealing or plans to appeal the verdicts.

Deutsche Bank’s asset managing arm DWS said shareholders should have been consulted before the takeover, which was agreed in 2016 and closed in June last year.

“You are pointing out that the lawsuits have not been lost yet. We and our customers, however, have already lost something – money and trust,” Nicolas Huber, head of corporate governance at DWS, said in prepared remarks for the AGM.

He said DWS would abstain from the shareholder vote of confidence in the executive and non-executive boards.

Two people familiar with the situation told Reuters this week that Bayer’s largest shareholder, BlackRock, plans to either abstain from or vote against ratifying the management board’s actions.

Asset management firm Deka, among Bayer’s largest German investors, has also said it would cast a no vote.

Baumann said Bayer’s true value was not reflected in the current share price.

“There’s no way to make this look good. The lawsuits and the first verdicts weigh heavily on our company and it’s a concern for many people,” he said, adding it was the right decision to buy Monsanto and that Bayer was vigorously defending itself.

This month, shareholder advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis recommended investors not to give the executive board their seal of approval.

(Reporting by Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

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Sudan’s military, which ousted President Omar al-Bashir after months of protests against his 30-year rule, says it intends to keep the upper hand during the country’s transitional period to civilian rule.

The announcement is expected to raise tensions with the protesters, who demand immediate handover of power.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which is spearheading the protests, said Friday the crowds will stay in the streets until all their demands are met.

Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi, the spokesman for the military council, said late Thursday that the military will “maintain sovereign powers” while the Cabinet would be in the hands of civilians.

The protesters insist the country should be led by a “civilian sovereign” council with “limited military representation” during the transitional period.

The army toppled and arrested al-Bashir on April 11.

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture
FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

April 26, 2019

By Charlotte Greenfield

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies said Britain’s decision to allow the firm a restricted role in building parts of its next-generation telecoms network was the kind of solution it was hoping for in New Zealand, where it has been blocked from 5G plans.

Britain will ban Huawei from all core parts of 5G network but give it some access to non-core parts, sources have told Reuters, as it seeks a middle way in a bitter U.S.-China dispute stemming from American allegations that Huawei’s equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage.

Washington has also urged its allies to ban Huawei from building 5G networks, even as the Chinese company, the world’s top producer of telecoms equipment, has repeatedly said the spying concerns are unfounded.

In New Zealand, a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network that includes the United States, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) in November turned down an initial request from local telecommunication firm Spark to include Huawei equipment in its 5G network, but later gave the operator options to mitigate national security concerns.

“The proposed solution in the UK to restrict Huawei from bidding for the core is exactly the type of solution we have been looking at in New Zealand,” Andrew Bowater, deputy CEO of Huawei’s New Zealand arm, said in an emailed statement.

Spark said it has noted the developments in Britain and would raise it with the GCSB.

The reports “suggest the UK is following other European jurisdictions in taking a considered and balanced approach to managing supplier-related security risks in 5G”, Andrew Pirie, Spark’s corporate relations lead, said in an email.

“Our discussions with the GCSB are ongoing and we expect that the UK developments will be a further item of discussion between us,” Pirie added.

New Zealand’s minister for intelligence services, Andrew Little, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday that he would report to parliament the conclusions of a government review of the 5G supply chain once they had been taken.

He added that the disclosure of confidential discussions on the role of Huawei was “unacceptable” and that he could not rule out a criminal investigation into the leak.

The decisions by Britain and Germany to use Huawei gear in non-core parts of 5G network makes it harder to prove Huawei should be kept out of New Zealand telecommunication networks, said Syed Faraz Hasan, an expert in communication engineering and networks at New Zealand’s Massey University

He pointed out Huawei gear was already part of the non-core 4G networks that 5G infrastructure would be built on.

“Unless there is a convincing argument against the Huawei devices … it is difficult to keep them away,” Hasan said.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo commodities trader Glencore is pictured in Baar
FILE PHOTO: The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company’s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Glencore shares plunged the most in nearly four months on Friday after news overnight that U.S. regulators were investigating whether the miner broke some rules through “corrupt practices”.

Shares of the FTSE 100 company fell as much as 4.2 percent in early deals, and were down 3.5 percent at 310.25 pence by 0728 GMT.

On Thursday, Glencore said the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating whether the company and its units have violated some provisions of the Commodity ExchangeAct and/or CFTC Regulations.

(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

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