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Man convicted of killing couple at their car dealership

A man who represented himself in his trial on charges that he killed a couple at their used car dealership in Cleveland has been convicted and could be sentenced to the death penalty.

The Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) County prosecutor's office says in a news release that a jury found 31-year-old Joseph McAlpin guilty Tuesday night of aggravated murder and other charges in the April 14, 2017, slayings of Trina Tomola and Michael Kuznik.

Authorities say McAlpin shot and killed the couple and their dog and stole a car.

McAlpin pleaded not guilty. He told jurors that there were inconsistencies in the testimony against him and that he's "not a monster."

A message seeking comment was left Wednesday for an attorney who acted as standby counsel for McAlpin.

Source: Fox News National

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MLB roundup: Angels stay hot even without Trout

MLB: Milwaukee Brewers at Los Angeles Angels
Apr 10, 2019; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Cam Bedrosian (32) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers in the eighth inning at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

April 11, 2019

Mike Trout got the day off to recover from a strained right groin, and the Los Angeles Angels made the most of their five hits in a 4-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday night at Anaheim, Calif., completing a three-game sweep.

It also was the Angels’ sixth win in a row, putting Los Angeles (7-6) above .500 for the first time this season.

Three of the Angels’ hits came in the third inning, when they scored all four of their runs. The big blow was Justin Bour’s two-run single that snapped a 1-1 tie. Brian Goodwin started in center field in place of Trout, who is day-to-day, and made a Trout-like catch, robbing Yasmani Grandal of a potential home run in the second inning.

Angels starter Felix Pena gave up only an unearned run on three hits and two walks, but he lasted only four innings and didn’t qualify for the win after throwing 72 pitches. The victory went to Jaime Barria, called up from Triple-A Salt Lake earlier in the day. Barria (1-0) gave up one run over 2 2/3 innings, and Hansel Robles pitched the ninth for his first save.

Mariners 6, Royals 5

Mitch Haniger’s two-out, solo home run in the top of the ninth inning gave Seattle the victory over host Kansas City as the Mariners extended baseball’s best record to 12-2 with their fifth straight win.

The Royals (2-9) have lost nine straight, but Whit Merrifield extended his hitting streak to 31 games with an RBI bunt single in the seventh.

Anthony Swarzak (1-0) picked up the win in relief. The Mariners became the second team since 1908 (2002 Cleveland Indians) to homer in each of their first 14 games.

Astros 8, Yankees 6

Jose Altuve recorded his fourth career multi-homer game while Collin McHugh produced another effective start as Houston capped a perfect homestand and a three-game sweep of New York.

One night after recording his 100th career home run, Altuve socked solo dingers in the first and fifth innings. He was one of five Astros to record a multi-hit game and led the charge against Yankees left-hander James Paxton (1-2).

Paxton tormented Houston pitching for Seattle in 2018, winning all four of his starts with a 2.05 ERA. He’d allowed just one home run over seven career starts at Minute Maid Park before Altuve took him deep twice. Paxton surrendered three additional extra-base hits, including an RBI triple to Yuli Gurriel in the first inning and an RBI double to Carlos Correa in the third.

Cardinals 7, Dodgers 2

Jack Flaherty allowed one run and three hits in six innings, and St. Louis extended its winning streak to four with a victory against visiting Los Angeles.

Flaherty (1-0) struck out eight and did not walk a batter. Yadier Molina and Marcell Ozuna hit two-run homers. Ozuna also singled and doubled, and Paul DeJong also had three hits, three runs and an RBI for St. Louis.

Kenta Maeda (2-1) allowed five runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings for the Dodgers, who have lost three in a row following a five-game winning streak. Joc Pederson and Max Muncy hit solo home runs for Los Angeles.

Pirates 5, Cubs 2

Francisco Cervelli and Starling Marte each belted home runs, Jordan Lyles notched 10 strikeouts in a quality start, and Pittsburgh pulled away for the victory at Chicago.

Josh Bell also drove in a run for Pittsburgh, which evened the three-game series at one game apiece. Marte, Cervelli, Bell and Erik Gonzalez had two hits each on a cold, blustery night along Lake Michigan with temperatures dropping into the 30s.

Jason Heyward went 3-for-4 with a home run to lead the Cubs. Chicago has lost eight of 11 games this season.

Nationals 15, Phillies 1

Anthony Rendon continued his torrid hitting with two hits and three RBIs, and Matt Adams had two hits and four RBIs as visiting Washington scored three runs in the first and kept going, routing Philadelphia.

The Nationals took two of three in the series with the Phillies after winning two of three in New York against the Mets.

Jeremy Hellickson (1-0) pitched six scoreless innings against his former team and allowed just three hits. Rendon has now hit in 10 games in a row and has an extra-base hit in eight straight, the longest active mark in the majors.

Mets 9, Twins 6

Noah Syndergaard tossed seven-plus strong innings, Michael Conforto drove in three runs, and host New York benefited from unconventional offense to post the victory over Minnesota.

Conforto and Wilson Ramos each had a two-run single and Jeff McNeil added an RBI single for the Mets, who plated their first four runs via a hit batsman and three walks with the bases loaded.

Syndergaard (1-1) allowed just one run through the first seven innings, but he wound up charged with four runs on five hits. He struck out seven without issuing a walk.

A’s 10, Orioles 3

Khris Davis homered twice, including the 200th of his career, leading a five-homer attack for Oakland in a victory at Baltimore.

Davis finished the night 3-for-5 with four RBIs. He homered in the fifth and seventh innings, his 23rd multi-homer game. The second homer was No. 200 and his seventh in Oakland’s first 16 games this season.

Matt Chapman, Jurickson Profar and Chad Pinder also each went deep for the A’s. Chapman and Davis hit back-to-back homers in the seventh, the first time Oakland has done that this season.

Reds 2, Marlins 1

Jose Iglesias and Jesse Winker hit solo homers in the eighth inning as Cincinnati rallied to defeat visiting Miami.

Both homers were hit off Drew Steckenrider (0-2), who was taken deep both times on fastballs to the opposite field. Iglesias’ shot, his first of the season, went 391 feet to right-center. Winker’s blow, his second, traveled 358 feet to left.

The Marlins, who were shut out by the Reds 14-0 on Tuesday, managed a Neil Walker home run. Walker’s long ball, his second of the year, gave Miami the lead in the third inning, and it held up until Cincinnati’s late power surge.

Padres 3, Giants 1

Manny Machado cleared the right field wall for a tiebreaking home run, and San Diego’s bullpen preserved the lead, delivering the victory over host San Francisco to win the three-game series.

Rookie Nick Margevicius (1-1) recorded his first major league win with six innings of one-run ball and aided his own cause with a sacrifice bunt that helped produce a run. The Padres beat the Giants for the fifth time in seven meetings this season.

The teams traded runs before Machado’s high fly to right field with one out in the sixth made it over the top of Oracle Park’s 20-foot brick wall near the right field foul pole, giving the Padres a lead they never relinquished.

Rays 9, White Sox 1

Tommy Pham homered twice to back a combined six-hitter from Tyler Glasnow and Jalen Beeks and lift Tampa Bay to the victory against host Chicago, capping a sweep of the three-game series.

The surging Rays have won four successive series to open a season for the first time in franchise history and boast victories in 10 of 13 games overall.

Austin Meadows had three hits and three RBIs, and Avisail Garcia added three hits and two RBIs for the Rays in his return to Chicago. Garcia, a member of the White Sox from 2013-18, went 8-for-15 with a home run and four RBIs in the series.

Tigers 4, Indians 1

Niko Goodrum blasted a two-run homer in the first, Matthew Boyd tossed six strong innings, and host Detroit cooled off Cleveland.

John Hicks also homered for Detroit, which has won six of its past seven games. Goodrum, Hicks, Miguel Cabrera and Dustin Peterson had two hits apiece.

Boyd (1-1) gave up one run on four hits, striking out six and walking two. Shane Greene recorded his eighth save in as many opportunities by getting the last three outs, snapping Cleveland’s five-game winning streak.

Rangers 5, Diamondbacks 2

The Texas offense recovered after five no-hit innings from Arizona’s Robbie Ray, and the bullpen held on to support a strong outing from Lance Lynn in a victory at Phoenix.

Lynn (1-1) allowed one run and four hits in six innings, striking out nine and walking two. The right-hander improved to 6-0 in 10 career starts against the Diamondbacks.

Texas closer Jose Leclerc, who coughed up a 4-2 lead in the ninth Tuesday in a 5-4 loss, got into more trouble when he walked in a run in the ninth. Kyle Bird came on to close out the victory for his first save.

Braves at Rockies, ppd.

The scheduled game between Atlanta and Colorado was postponed due to a blizzard warning in Denver. The contest was rescheduled for Aug. 26.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Texas woman accused of driving drunk, crashing into police vehicle

An Irving, Texas, police officer was injured after a suspected drunk driver crashed into a police vehicle early Sunday morning.

The crash happened at 1:30 a.m.

Officers were working a hit-and-run wreck and were blocking the left lane while a tow truck was loading one of the vehicles involved.

The crash unfolded early Sunday morning.

The crash unfolded early Sunday morning. (Irving Police Department)

One of the officers was sitting in a squad car when a suspected drunk driver crashed into the police vehicle.

The officer inside the police vehicle suffered minor injuries.

The officer inside the police vehicle suffered minor injuries. (Irving Police Department)

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The officer only received minor injuries.

The suspect's injuries were not serious.

The suspect's injuries were not serious. (Irving Police Department)

Brianna Noel James was arrested for DWI following the crash. She was taken to a hospital as a precaution, but her injuries were not serious.

This story originally appeared on Fox 4.

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UK’s Prince William completes three-week attachment with security services

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prince William attends the St Patrick's Day Parade at Cavalry Barracks in Hounslow
FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prince William attends the St Patrick's Day Parade at Cavalry Barracks in Hounslow, Britain March 17, 2019. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File Photo

April 6, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince William has concluded a three-week attachment with the country’s security and intelligence agencies MI5, MI6 and GCHQ, his office said on Sunday.

William started his assignment at the Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6, followed by a week at security service MI5, ending at GCHQ, which gathers communications from around the world to identify and disrupt threats to Britain.

“Spending time inside our security and intelligence agencies, understanding more about the vital contribution they make to our national security, was a truly humbling experience,” said William, the Duke of Cambridge.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; Editing by David Holmes)

Source: OANN

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Wipro Chairman Premji pledges 34 percent of company shares for philanthropy

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji attends the Saudi-India Forum in New Delhi
FILE PHOTO: Wipro Chairman Azim Premji attends the Saudi-India Forum in New Delhi, India, February 20, 2018. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis

March 13, 2019

(Reuters) – Wipro Ltd Chairman Azim Premji has pledged about 34 percent of the company’s shares controlled by him toward philanthropy, the Azim Premji Foundation said on Wednesday.

The commitment, worth 527.50 billion rupees ($7.5 billion), would take the total value of the endowment corpus contributed by Premji to 1.45 trillion rupees ($21 billion), it said.

Premji and entities controlled by him hold about 74 percent stake in Wipro, according to exchange data.

Premji, India’s second richest man, was instrumental in turning Wipro from a vegetable oil manufacturer to a software services company nearly four decades ago.

Azim Premji Foundation is a not-for profit organization that works in the field of education and runs a university in Bengaluru.

Shares of the Bengaluru-headquartered software services exporter closed at 257.90 rupees on Wednesday.

(Reporting By Arnab Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreejay Sinha)

Source: OANN

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More SPLC Employees Step Forward, Claim “Systemic Culture Of Racism And Sexism”

One week after the head of the Southern Poverty Law Center and the organization’s legal director resigned, more employees are coming forward to tell CNN that the nonprofit group suffers from a “systemic culture of sexism within its workplace.” 

SPLC Co-founder Morris Dees, former president Richard Cohen, former legal director Rhonda Brownstein

This comes after two dozen employees signed a letter of concern over “allegations of mistreatment, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, and racism following the ouster of co-founder Morris Dees over sexual misconduct claims.

CNN spoke with three current employees of the organization who talked on condition of anonymity because of fears over possible retribution.

It was one of those employees who cited the systemic problems with racism and sexism, and a second employee agreed with that assessment.

But one of the employees who spoke to CNN alleged the organization suffers from a “pervasive racist culture” and an environment in which a woman is not seen or heard. She also said qualified African-American employees were regularly passed over for promotions — including one African-American colleague she describes as brilliant. She added, “My boss only hires white people.” –CNN

Earlier this month, the SPLC board of directors appointed Michelle Obama’s former chief of staff, Tina Tchen to head up the inquiry into the sexual misconduct claims. In an unrelated matter, Tchen was apparently was able to pull strings and have the Jussie Smollett case dropped.

***


Alex Jones presents Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s most recent statement regarding the Jussie Smollett hoaxed hate crime where he attempts to blame President Trump for the actor’s phony attack.

Inside the SPLC “Scam”

Conservative pundit Gavin McInnes has said that the SPLC wants everyone to believe that America is “frothing with bigots.” McInnes is suing the nonprofit for labeling his fraternal organization, the Proud Boys, a hate group.

And as the Washington Examiner‘s Beckett Adams wrote last week, the Southern Poverty Law Center is a “scam,” which has taken “no care whatsoever for the reputational and personal harm it causes by lumping Christians and anti-extremist activists with actual neo-Nazis.”

As it turns out, the SPLC is a cynical money-making scheme, according to a former staffer’s blistering tell-all, published this week in the New Yorker. The center’s chief goal is to bilk naive and wealthy donors who believe it’s an earnest effort to combat bigotry.

The only thing worse than a snarling partisan activist is a slimy conman who merely pretends to be one. –Washington Examiner

““Outside of work,” recalls Bob Moser of his days working for the organization, “we spent a lot of time drinking and dishing in Montgomery bars and restaurants about … the hyperbolic fund-raising appeals, and the fact that, though the center claimed to be effective in fighting extremism, ‘hate’ always continued to be on the rise, more dangerous than ever, with each year’s report on hate groups. ‘The S.P.L.C.—making hate pay,’ we’d say.”

Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly claimed that McInnes said the SPLC was “frothing with bigots.” 

Source: InfoWars

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What happens if Mueller finds Trump fingerprints in Russia conspiracy?

FILE PHOTO: FBI Director Mueller testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill
FILE PHOTO: Robert Mueller, as FBI director, testifies before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Sept. 16, 2009. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

February 25, 2019

By Nathan Layne

(Reuters) – Special Counsel Robert Mueller is preparing to submit to U.S. Attorney General William Barr a report detailing his findings in the investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election and any links to the Trump campaign.

Mueller has been looking since May 2017 into whether U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign conspired with Russia and whether Trump unlawfully sought to obstruct the probe. Mueller already has indicted or secured guilty pleas from 34 people, including six associates of Trump, as well as three Russian entities.

Here is a look at possible scenarios following the completion of Mueller’s report.

REPORT FINDS TRUMP INVOLVED IN RUSSIA CONSPIRACY

Among those who already have pleaded guilty or have been convicted are: former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort; former Trump personal lawyer Michael Cohen; former national security advisor Michael Flynn; and former Trump campaign aides Richard Gates and George Papadopoulos. Others indicted include Trump adviser Roger Stone and Russian intelligence officers.

But the central question is whether Mueller will find that Trump himself played a role in a conspiracy with Moscow to boost his chances of winning the election or committed obstruction of justice to try to impede the Russia probe. Trump has denied collusion and obstruction.

If Mueller’s report reveals a willingness by Trump to collude with Russia or contains evidence of direct coordination involving the Republican president, such findings could be the starting gun for the Democratic-led House of Representatives to launch the impeachment process set out in the U.S. Constitution to remove a president from office.

Current Justice Department policy opposes bringing criminal charges against a sitting president.

Stone’s indictment points to instances in which people connected to the campaign communicated with him about Wikileaks, the website that released emails that U.S. officials have said Russians stole from Democrats to harm Trump’s Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. For example, after a July 2016 release of emails stolen from the Democratic National Committee a “senior Trump campaign official was directed to contact STONE about any additional releases” by Wikileaks, the indictment stated. The sentence’s wording left open the possibility that Trump himself directed the campaign official.

Sam Nunberg, a former Trump aide and Republican political consultant, said any evidence that Trump was willing to work with Moscow, even without proof that he actually did that, might be enough for Democrats to draw up articles of impeachment.

“That’s impeachable for the Democrats,” Nunberg said.

The U.S. Constitution sets specific grounds for impeachment: treason, bribery or “other high crimes and misdemeanors.” If the House approves any articles of impeachment, the Senate then would hold a trial to determine whether to remove the president from office. The Senate is controlled by Trump’s fellow Republicans. Only two presidents have been impeached in American history, and neither was removed.

There is also the issue of obstruction. Legal experts have pointed to Trump’s firing of former FBI director James Comey while he was leading the Russia probe, Comey’s allegation that Trump asked him to end the investigation of Flynn, and the president’s dangling a possible pardon to Manafort among other acts that may amount to obstruction of justice.

Barr, months before Trump named him as attorney general, last year wrote an unsolicited memo to the Justice Department arguing Mueller should not be permitted to investigate obstruction by the president.

NOBODY IN TRUMP CAMPAIGN IMPLICATED IN RUSSIA CONSPIRACY

Mueller’s cases against Manafort and Stone have come the closest to showing coordination between Trump’s campaign and Russia. Manafort shared election polling data with his Russian associate Konstantin Kilimnik, who prosecutors have said is tied to Russian intelligence. Manafort attended a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower in New York with other campaign officials with a Russian lawyer who promised “dirt” on Clinton. Mueller also found that Stone communicated with Wikileaks and the Russian hacker dubbed Guccifer 2.0.

But Mueller’s evidence made public to date falls short of demonstrating Trump and his campaign colluded with Russia. Collusion is a non-legal term often used to describe acts that in a criminal context in this investigation likely would translate to a charge of conspiracy against the United States.

If Mueller’s report goes no further, it could set back any Democratic effort to impeach Trump. But House Democrats could proceed with their own investigations that could cause Trump ongoing political damage heading into his 2020 re-election bid.

“If nothing more comes out than what is public then I think Trump could claim victory,” said Nelson Cunningham, a former federal prosecutor in New York and White House lawyer under Democratic President Bill Clinton.

REPORT IMPLICATES OTHERS IN CONSPIRACY BUT NOT TRUMP

Transcripts of closed court hearings this month indicated Mueller considers Manafort’s alleged lies about his interactions with Kilimnik to be “at the heart” of the probe into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia.

But that disclosure suggested Mueller was still trying to determine whether collusion occurred. In addition to sharing polling data, court filings show, Manafort and Kilimnik discussed a “Ukrainian peace plan,” a reference to Kremlin-friendly proposals to resolve the Ukraine conflict and end U.S. sanctions on Russia.

It is possible Mueller’s report will show that Manafort or others in Trump’s orbit conspired with Russians but there was no credible evidence Trump himself was involved or aware. While politically damaging to Trump, such a finding may not be enough to trigger an impeachment effort, though it could fuel House committee investigations.

“It’s not enough to show the Russians used their people,” said Robert Ray, who served as the second independent counsel in the 1990s Whitewater probe involving the Clintons’ business dealings, adding there would need to be proof that Trump’s people actively colluded to the point that it violated the law.

“I don’t think it occurred,” Ray said.

(Reporting by Nathan Layne in New York; Additional reporting by David Morgan in Washington; Editing by Will Dunham)

Source: OANN

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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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