Upcoming shows
Real News

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Story Time

1:00 am 6:00 am



Maga First News

Upcoming Shows

Join The MAGA Network on Discord

0 0

Daniel Craig to star as James Bond for fifth time: producers

Daniel Craig poses for photographers as he attends the world premiere of the new James Bond 007 film
FILE PHOTO: Daniel Craig poses for photographers as he attends the world premiere of the new James Bond 007 film "Spectre" at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Britain, October 26, 2015. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor

April 25, 2019

Source: OANN

0 0

Off the Seychelles, a dive into a never-seen landscape

The submersible dropped from the ocean's surface faster than I had expected. With a loud "psssssss" the air escaped from the ballast tanks and the small craft suddenly tilted forward.

Within seconds, aquanaut Robert Carmichael and I were enveloped by a vibrant shade of blue, watching streaks of sunlight pierce the water's surface. Soon a large manta ray appeared from the darkness below, gently gliding toward our small craft before vanishing into the distance.

The dive took place off a coral atoll called St. Joseph in the outer islands of Seychelles on a mission to explore the Indian Ocean. This body of water is poorly studied and few scientists have ever ventured deeper than the maximum scuba depth of 100 feet.

For more than a month researchers from Nekton, a British-led scientific research charity, have been using submersibles to dive deep below the waves to document the ocean's health.

We arrived at St. Joseph Island in the early hours of the morning, and this was the first submersible dive at the new site. The sea bed suddenly appeared beneath our craft, a landscape no one had ever seen before.

I quickly scribbled down in the mission report the depth and time at which we sighted the bottom: "165 feet, 1144 UTC." Carmichael, a veteran of the sea, relayed the information to the surface via an underwater telephone. Its loud static noise would be a constant of our dive.

We moved across a seabed of rock and sand and scattered soft coral until a great darkness opened ahead. Carmichael lowered us over the side of an underwater cliff. Our target depth was 400 feet.

Oceans cover over two-thirds of the Earth's surface but remain, for the most part, unexplored.

Their role in regulating our climate and the threats they face are underestimated by many people, so scientific missions are crucial to take stock of the health of underwater ecosystems.

Able to operate down to 1,000 feet, these manned submersibles give scientists a unique understanding of changes in habitats as sunlight diminishes through the different layers of ocean. We glided with the current as six cameras mounted around the craft recorded its journey. In the months to come, researchers at Oxford will comb through the footage frame by frame, noting each species encountered.

Suddenly a drop of cold water landed on my arm, triggering alarm. Water is best kept on the outside of a submersible. Carmichael quickly put me at ease: The difference in temperature between the water around us and our submersible had created a layer of condensation on the hatch. We quickly soaked it up with towels.

It was curiosity that drew Carmichael to the ocean. "I just wanted to know what was down here," he said. "It's stunning in so many ways."

This curiosity has attracted mankind for centuries. "The human mind is naturally drawn to grandiose notions of supernatural beings, and the sea is the ideal medium for them," wrote Jules Verne, author of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea," possibly the greatest submarine novel of all time, which opens with fears over a mysterious sea monster sinking ships and harvesting the lives of sailors.

Thirty years after reading the novel as a child, I'm sitting in a tiny glass bubble observing the underwater world like Captain Nemo on board the novel's submarine, Nautilus. We are foreigners to this realm, objects of fascination for the reef shark that approaches us, as curious of us as we are of it.

Even in the 19th century, Verne feared the extinction of numerous species of marine life. The fears have been proven true. A WWF report found that marine vertebrate populations have declined by almost half since the 1970s.

Fishing is no longer the sole cause. Man-made pollution, global warming and the acidification of the oceans are new challenges.

As the oceans slowly soak up heat from the atmosphere, marine species will be affected in different ways. Some will adapt. Some will migrate to cooler waters. Others will disappear, leaving a gap in ecosystems that have existed for millennia.

"I came into the Indian Ocean hoping I'd see a giant Napoleon wrasse," Carmichael said of one of the world's largest reef fish. "Here we are, 35 days into the mission and I still haven't seen one."

Maybe we're just not diving in the right places. Maybe the reality is bleaker.

As the surveys ended and the currents became too strong to fight, the surface vessel ordered our submersible to return to the surface.

With the lights off, we floated a few minutes in the semi-darkness before the sound of ballast tanks emptying marked our slow ascent. The dark blue water around us lightened.

"The oceans are all connected and important to the quality of life for all humans," Carmichael said. "It's worth protecting because the air we breathe and the food we eat and the oceans we swim in really do have a meaningful impact on everyone's life."

Source: Fox News World

0 0

Dingell: Dems Spending ‘Lot of Energy’ on Unlikely Impeachment

Some Democrats are spending a "lot of energy" on impeachment when it is "very unlikely" to happen when they should instead focus on reforming healthcare, Rep. Debbie Dingell said Thursday.

"I think an impeachment would divide this country if we were not done it a bipartisan basis," the Michigan Democrat told Fox News' "Outnumbered Overtime." "I think everybody loves to speculate about this, but the fact of the matter is that I am focused on working an agenda for the people and that Republicans and Democrats need to worry about delivering for the American people on prescription drugs and infrastructure."

She further refused to speculate on special counsel Robert Mueller's report, before it has been released.

"I will not engage in parsing words on a report I have not seen," Dingell said. "None of us have seen it. We don't know what's in it. We've had a lot of people make assumptions on both sides."

Dingell said she's also focused on trade, as "we need a level playing field for our workers."

Meanwhile, Dingell said she's co-chairing the Medicare for All caucus because she thinks all Americans have the right to affordable, quality healthcare "so that if they are sick they don't worry about going to the doctor."

Trump also needs to concentrate on healthcare reform before the 2020 election, not after, said Dingell.

"Isn't it about time that every person that lives in this country, if they are sick, doesn't have to worry about if they have cancer, whether it's worth having a mammogram because they can't get the treatment?" she said.

Source: NewsMax Politics

0 0

Detention of Nissan’s ex-chair Ghosn extended to April 22

The detention of Nissan's former Chairman Carlos Ghosn on suspicion of financial misconduct has been approved through April 22.

Ghosn was arrested in November, released on bail last month but re-arrested last week on fresh allegations. The Tokyo District Court on Friday approved prosecutors' request to continue to hold Ghosn at Tokyo Detention Center.

He has been charged with falsifying financial documents in under-reporting his compensation and with breach of trust in using Nissan Motor Co. money for dubious payments.

Ghosn led the Japanese automaker for two decades and says he is innocent of the accusations that led to his downfall.

Source: Fox News World

0 0

Dems outraged over Mueller report before its expected release today; Trump facing more battles ahead

Welcome to Fox News First. Not signed up yet? Click here.
 
Developing now, Thursday, April 18, 2019

OUTRAGE BREWS OVER MUELLER REPORT BREWS BEFORE ITS RELEASE: Amid high anticipation, the Justice Department on Thursday is expected to release a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, and Democrats have already cried foul ... Attorney General William Barr is set to hold a 9:30 a.m. ET news conference, accompanied by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversaw the Mueller investigation after the special counsel's appointment in May 2017. Neither Mueller nor other members of his team will attend, according to special counsel spokesman Peter Carr.

Congressional Democrats have criticized the timing of the news conference, accusing Barr of trying to spin the report and conducting a media campaign on behalf of Trump before Congress and the public see it. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said the panel was expected to receive a copy of the report between 11 a.m. and noon. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tweeted that Barr "has thrown out his credibility & the DOJ’s independence with his single-minded effort to protect @realDonaldTrump above all else. The American people deserve the truth, not a sanitized version of the Mueller Report approved by the Trump Admin."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP.

TRUMP SEEKS VINDICATION, BUT FIGHT OVER MUELLER REPORT ONLY BEGINNING: Although Attorney General Barr has already revealed that Mueller's report absolved the Trump team of illegally colluding with Russia, Democrats have signaled that the release will be just the beginning of a no-holds-barred showdown with the Trump administration over the extent of report redactions, as well as whether the president obstructed justice during the Russia investigation ... Trump’s legal team is preparing to issue a comprehensive rebuttal report on Thursday, to challenge any allegations of obstruction against the president, Fox News has learned. The lawyers originally laid out their rebuttal in response to written questions asked by Mueller’s team of the president last year, according to a source close to Trump's legal team.

60 PEOPLE CHARGED IN OPIOID STING: Federal authorities said Wednesday they have charged 60 people, including a doctor accused of trading drugs for sex and another of prescribing to his Facebook friends, for their roles in illegally prescribing and distributing millions of pills containing opioids and other drugs ... U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman of Cincinnati described the action, with 31 doctors facing charges, as the biggest known takedown yet of drug prescribers. Robert Duncan, U.S. attorney for eastern Kentucky, called the doctors involved "white-coated drug dealers."

Authorities said the 60 includes 53 medical professionals tied to some 350,000 prescriptions and 32 million pills. The operation was conducted by the federal Appalachian Regional Prescription Opioid Strike Force, launched last year by the Trump administration. - The Associated Press

NORTH KOREA TEST-FIRES TACTICAL WEAPON: North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un on Wednesday watched as his country test-fired a new tactical guided weapon, state-run media reported ... The Academy of Defense Science launched the weapon, The Associated Press reported, citing the Korean Central News Agency. The rogue regime’s leader reportedly spoke about the implication of the test-fire, saying that “the development of the weapon system serves as an event of very weighty significance in increasing the combat power of the People's Army."

DEMS AVOIDING REP. OMAR? - It appears some Democrats may already perceive controversial freshman lawmaker Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., as potentially toxic to their careers ... At least two Democrats have reimbursed the campaign contributions made by Omar, who has been at the center of numerous controversies since she was sworn in last January. North Carolina’s 9th congressional district candidate Dan McCready refunded $2,000 to Omar in March after she donated to his campaign last November ahead of the 2018 midterms, WSOC reported Wednesday. A spokesman for McCready told the news station he'd refunded Omar’s contribution because “he believes there is no place for divisiveness in politics, and McCready did not feel it is appropriate to accept the donation.” A winner still has not been declared in the 9th congressional district race, which became ensnared in accusations of absentee ballot fraud after Election Day. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., also rejected Omar’s $2,000 donation that was made March 27.

THE SOUNDBITE

A QUESTION OF FAIRNESS AND BALANCE - "The concern, that I think, is a fair concern is, is the report going to be written in a fair and balanced way? It's a concern. Now why the concern? Because of Bob Mueller, who I hold in very high regard, his choice of staff. So many questions have been raised about that staff and their leanings and so forth. And they've had the opportunity, without any kind of cross-examination, any kind of check, any kind of balance, to write whatever they want to write. And that, I think, legitimately raises concern of fairness and balance."– Ken Starr, former independent counsel, on "America's Newsroom," giving his take on the upcoming release of the Mueller report. (Click the image above to watch the full video.)

TODAY'S MUST-READS
Man caught with two gas cans entering St. Patrick's Cathedral in NYC, police say.
New York Post: Illegal immigrant arrested after abducting, raping New Jersey teen, cops say.
Ann Coulter says she’d consider vote for Bernie Sanders.
'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek gives update on cancer battle.

MINDING YOUR BUSINESS
Pinterest, Zoom IPOs: What to know.
Amazon isn't the only company that paid $0 in federal taxes last year.
Was your college degree worth all that debt? Nearly half of Americans say no.

STAY TUNED

Stay with Fox News on all platforms for coverage of the release of the Mueller report!

On Fox News:

Fox & Friends, 6 a.m. ET: Special coverage of the Mueller report's release with guests that include: Byron York, Washington Examiner chief political correspondent; Andrew McCarthy, Fox News contributor and contributing editor at the National Review; Dan Bongino, Fox News contributor and former Secret Service agent; Dana Loesch, host of "The Dana Show," Corey Lewandowski, former Trump campaign manager, and David Bossie, former deputy Trump campaign manager.

Your World with Neil Cavuto, 4 p.m. ET: Special guests include: Herman Cain, President Trump’s prospective nominee for the Federal Reserve Board.

Hannity, 9 p.m. ET: fallout from the Mueller report's release with the following guests: Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Jay Sekulow; U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee; Mark Levin, host of "Life, Liberty & Levin"; Sarah Sanders, White House press secretary

On Fox Business:

Mornings with Maria, 6 a.m. ET: An exclusive interview with Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase; Karl Rove, former White House deputy chief of staff under President George W. Bush; Andrew McCarthy, Fox News contributor and contributing editor at the National Review.

Varney & Co., 9 a.m. ET: Ken Starr, former independent counsel; attorney Victoria Toensing; "Special Report" host Bret Baier.

Making Money with Charles Payne, 2 p.m. ET: Bruce Linton, CEO and chairman at Canopy Rivers Inc.

On Fox News Radio:

The Fox News Rundown podcast: "Bill Weld, Republican Opponent to Trump" - Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld explains why  he is running against President Trump as a Republican primary challenger in 2020. Plus, as lawmakers try to address the nationwide opioid crisis, some of their answers are having unintended impact on patients and doctors. Fox News' Elizabeth Llorente breaks down the crisis and what one senator is doing to address it. Plus, commentary by Deroy Murdock, contributing editor with the National Review and Fox News contributor.

Want the Fox News Rundown sent straight to your mobile device? Subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher.

The Brian Kilmeade Show, 9 a.m. ET: Coverage of the Mueller report's release with the following guests: Tom Dupree, former deputy assistant attorney general under President George W. Bush; Chris Stirewalt, Fox News digital politics editor; Shannon Bream, "Fox News @ Night" host; former U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

The Todd Starnes Show, Noon, ET: Todd dives into the Mueller report with former Navy SEAL Jonathan Gilliam.

Benson & Harf, 6 p.m. ET: Dana Perino, host of "The Daily Briefing," and Andrew McCarthy, Fox News contributor and contributing editor at the National Review, will discuss the Mueller report.

#TheFlashback
1938: Superman, AKA "The Man of Steel," makes his debut as the first issue of Action Comics (bearing a cover date of June) goes on sale for 10 cents a copy.
1934: The first laundromat (called a "washateria") opens in Fort Worth, Texas..
1775: Paul Revere begins his famous ride from Charlestown to Lexington, Massachusetts, warning colonists that British Regular troops are approaching.

Fox News First is compiled by Fox News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for joining us! Have a good day! We'll see you in your inbox first thing Friday morning.

Source: Fox News National

0 0

AT&T explores sale of HBO Europe to reduce debt: FT

An AT&T logo is pictured in Pasadena
An AT&T logo is pictured in Pasadena, California, U.S., January 24, 2018. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

April 10, 2019

(Reuters) – AT&T has internally discussed about selling its HBO Europe business as the telecom group aims to reduce a debt pile of $170 billion, the Financial times reported, citing current and former senior executives.

Comcast-owned Sky would be an “obvious buyer” given its relationship with HBO, the paper said, citing people at AT&T and HBO. Sky distributes HBO content in the UK, Germany and Italy.

HBO became part of AT&T after the telecom group closed its $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc last year.

HBO Europe is one of several assets AT&T has considered selling but has not held formal talks with any potential buyers, the paper added.

In November, AT&T said it had committed to cutting its heavy debt load in 2019 through a variety of measures, including a review of all of its non-core assets such as its stake in streaming video company Hulu for possible sale.

AT&T and Comcast did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.

(Reporting by Philip George and Ishita Palli in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

Source: OANN

0 0

Asia’s mega-cities need clean energy drive to cope with environmental threats

People walk on a bridge in front of the financial district of Pudong during a polluted day in Shanghai
People walk on a bridge in front of the financial district of Pudong, which is covered in smog, during a polluted day in Shanghai, China November 28, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song

March 28, 2019

By Henning Gloystein

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Avoiding threats from climate change and pollution will require Asia’s booming cities to become much more efficient in their use of energy resources, delegates at a city development conference said on Thursday.

Asia is home to 15 out of the world’s 20 biggest cities, and the United Nations estimates another 2.5 billion people will live in cities by 2050, by far the most in Asia.

This growth caused serious pollution problems and will challenge transport networks, food supply chains, and energy supplies, the delegates said.

“Cities occupy 2 to 3 percent of our planet’s surface, yet they consume 70 percent of all energy,” said Soren Kvorning, President for Asia Pacific at Danfoss, a Danish engineering firm with a strong focus on Asia.

“The longer we wait, the higher the cost will be,” he said, adding there were three key improvement areas: building efficiency, cold chains for food supplies and a transition away from fossil fuels in transport.

Transportation is the biggest contributor to air pollution, which as per the World Health Organization estimates kills 4.2 million people every year.

“We can no longer stand by and watch. Electric cars and buses are an attractive option, and cities can also go fully electric in ports,” Kvorning said.

In most cities, buildings are the biggest energy consumers, making investment into better energy efficiency important.

“Efficiency measures all come back with a return on investment within 2 to 4 years, at current technologies,” he said.

To improve efficiency, Ang Kian Seng, Director for Environmental Sustainability at Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority, said the government had last year launched a “super low energy program” to cut emissions as far as possible.

“We will set the highest efficiency standards for these top echelon buildings, and then move the mass population towards that standard,” he said.

In food supply, Kvorning said a third of all food produced was lost because of lacking cold chains. He estimated current cooling technologies could save 40 percent of the lost food.

One of the biggest problems is the scope of the problems, the delegates said, with Asian cities – several of which have populations of over 20 million – struggling to provide enough housing, electricity, food and infrastructure.

“When you’re trying to put out fire, you don’t tend to think about integrated solutions. That’s a problem,” said Lauren Sorkin, Asia Pacific Director at 100 Resilient Cities, an consultancy.

Still, change is happening, delegates said, with most major Asian cities now having sustainability plans, with credit readily available.

“There is more capital available for sustainable solutions than there are projects. We will see quite a lot of change soon,” said Nicolas Parrot, Asia Pacific Head of Transportation Investment at French bank BNP Paribas.

(Reporting by Henning Gloystein; additional reporting by Gavin Maguire; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)

Source: OANN

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Story Time

1:00 am 6:00 am



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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Current track

Title

Artist