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Rallying-Via farm field and volcano, Munnings primed for WRC debut

A handout photo of British rally driver Catie Munnings posing for a photo during an interview in Saint-Etienne
A handout photo of British rally driver Catie Munnings posing for a photo during an interview in Saint-Etienne, France March 5, 2019. Handout picture taken March 5, 2019. Olaf Pignataro/Red Bull Media House/Handout via REUTERS

March 15, 2019

By Martyn Herman

LONDON (Reuters) – Self-confessed adrenaline junkie Catie Munnings likes to live out of her comfort zone, which is why next week the British rally driver will accelerate her Peugeot 208 at 160mph along the rim of an Azores volcano.

The 21-year-old livewire is set for her fourth season in the European Rally Championship (ERC), for the French-based Sainteloc team, and she cannot wait to put her foot down.

Munnings is not just making up the numbers in a male-dominated sport either.

In her rookie ERC season in 2016, the year she passed her driving test at the second attempt and three A levels, she won the Ladies Trophy, the first European rallying title for a British driver in 49 years.

Last year she scored points in six of the eight ERC3 rounds, finishing fourth overall, and this season is setting her sights on making her World Rally Championship (WRC) debut in Wales — following in the tracks of her idol Michele Mouton who blazed a trail for female drivers by finishing runner-up in the sport’s elite division in 1982.

The starting-point is next week’s Azores Rally and the daunting Sete Cidades stage, a precipitous car-width stretch of gravel flanked by a dizzying drop into a volcanic lake.

Next to her will be co-driver Veronica Engen who once worked for world champion Petter Solberg.

“There’s no guard rails and when you’re at the top of the volcano there’s nothing below you but the lake. It’s insane,” Munnings, Red Bull’s first female motorsport driver, told Reuters close to the family farm in Kent where, as a young girl, she would roar around muddy fields on quad bikes.

“It’s a rally of survival. The amount of people that go off is ridiculous. Fifty percent don’t finish. But I love the fact it’s out of your comfort zone. I love the thrill. It’s a bit like being on a rollercoaster.”

Two years ago there Munnings hit a tree and retired, the sort of crash that would make normal drivers nervous wrecks, but which she shrugs off. Her first “big one” was before her first-ever international rally in Ypres, Belgium in 2016.

“I got a wheel on the grass, nudged a bridge and rolled it,” she said. “The car was wrecked and had to be rebuilt overnight.”

Remarkably, she dashed home on the Eurostar, sat her biology A-level in the morning, then returned to qualify for the rally.

Not only did she qualify, she was the only female to finish and went on to seal the Ladies Trophy — a feat that enabled her to join forces with ex F1 driver Susie Wolff whose “Dare to be Different” scheme helps girls pursue their motorsport dreams.

Going fast on four wheels has always been appealing to Munnings, whose father Chris was a rally driver and now runs Wacky Sports, an events firm using off-road vehicles.

HANDBRAKE TURN

At 13, she could execute a perfect handbrake turn on the circuit her dad cut into a field. On one occasion she literally scorched the earth when the red-hot brakes of her old Peugeot 107 set the grass ablaze.

She insists it was initially for practical reasons.

“The lanes near us were never get gritted in winter so my dad always wanted my sister and I to have good car-handling skills,” she said.

“But once I started doing grass auto-testing at a local club when I was 14 or so, I was hooked.

“I just love the competitive part of rallying.”

Munnings had mapped a career as a vet and admits her schoolteachers thought she was having a “teen crisis” when she shunned university to pursue rallying. Now she gets invited back to give motivational talks.

The bubbly Munnings admits to hearing tired old jibes about “nail varnish and hair dryers” but can look after herself, in and out of the car, whether it is changing broken wheels in oven-like heat in Cyprus, pitching to company CEOs or bagging second-hand tyres from better-funded drivers.

After a day wrestling the 200BHP car around corners, sister Hannah, a yoga teacher, is often on hand to loosen the back while mum Tracey keeps her calm with the aid of Reiki.

“She’s known as Rally Mum in the service area, all the drivers go to her when they have a problem,” she said.

Life is full-tilt for Munnings who spends part of her winter testing tyres on frozen Arctic lakes, is an ambassador for road safety charity IAM RoadSmart and presents “Catie’s Amazing Machines” a TV show in which she takes control of fighter jets, monster trucks, piste bashers and even submarines.

But there is nothing quite like sliding around on gravel.

“It’s like dancing with a car,” she said.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)

Source: OANN

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Boeing’s safety analysis of 737 MAX flight control had crucial flaws: Seattle Times

The first Boeing 737 MAX 7 is unveiled in Renton
The first Boeing 737 MAX 7 is unveiled in Renton, Washington, U.S. February 5, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Redmond

March 17, 2019

(Reuters) – Boeing Co’s safety analysis of a new flight control system on 737 MAX jets had several crucial flaws, the Seattle Times reported on Sunday.

Boeing’s safety analysis of the flight control system called MCAS (Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System) understated the power of this system, the Seattle Times said, citing current and former engineers at the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The FAA also did not delve into any detailed inquiries and followed a standard certification process on the MAX, the Seattle Times reported citing an FAA spokesman.

The report also said both Boeing and the FAA were informed of the specifics of this story and were asked for responses 11 days ago, before the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 MAX last Sunday, killing all 157 people on board. The same model flown by Lion Air crashed off the coast of Indonesia in October, killing all 189 on board

Boeing was not immediately available for comment.

The FAA did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Gaurika Juneja; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

Source: OANN

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The Latest: Prime minister announces election will be May 18

The Latest on Australia's upcoming elections in May (all times local):

8:20 a.m.

Australia's prime minister on Thursday said the nation will go to the polls to elect a new government on May 18.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison's announcement came after he advised Governor-General Peter Cosgrove as representative of Australia's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, to set the election date.

Morrison's conservative coalition is seeking a third three-year term. But Morrison is the third prime minister to lead a divided government in that time and only took the helm in late August.

Opinion polls suggest his reign will become one of the shortest in the 118-year history of Australian prime ministers on election day. The polls suggest center-left opposition leader Bill Shorten will become the eighth prime minister since the country plunged into an extraordinary period of political instability in 2007.

The election pits Shorten, a former labor union leader who has presented himself as the alternative prime minister for the past six years, and Morrison, a leader who the Australian public is still getting to know.

___

7:53 a.m.

Australia's prime minister on Thursday called for a May election that will be fought on issues including climate change, asylum seekers and economic management

Prime Minister Scott Morrison advised Governor-General Peter Cosgrove as representative of Australia's head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, to set the election date.

Morrison is expected to announce later Thursday that Australia will go to the polls on May 18.

Morrison's conservative coalition is seeking a third three-year term. But Morrison is the third prime minister to lead a divided government in that time and only took the helm in late August.

Opinion polls suggest his reign will become one of the shortest in the 118-year history of Australian prime ministers on election day. The polls suggest center-left opposition leader Bill Shorten will become the eighth prime minister since the country plunged into an extraordinary period of political instability in 2007.

The election pits Shorten, a former labor union leader who has presented himself as the alternative prime minister for the past six years, and Morrison, a leader who the Australian public is still getting to know.

Source: Fox News World

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Bencic, Ostapenko ease into second round in Charleston

FILE PHOTO: Tennis: BNP Paribas Open-Day 12
FILE PHOTO: Mar 15, 2019; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Belinda Bencic (SUI) during her semifinal match against Angelique Kerber (not pictured) in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

April 1, 2019

(Reuters) – Swiss ninth seed Belinda Bencic made a strong start to her claycourt season with a 6-3 6-0 win over qualifier Destanee Aiava to reach the second round of the Charleston Open in South Carolina on Monday.

Bencic broke Aiava at love to open the match, one of the six break points she converted, and was never really tested as the 18-year-old Australian made 24 unforced errors.

Aiava did well to fight off one match point but then double-faulted the next time the match was on the line to hand Bencic victory in 56 minutes.

Up next for the world number 21 at the green-clay event will be American Allie Kiick, who beat Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier 6-3 6-0.

Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, a runner-up here in 2017, dropped the opening game of her match but quickly righted the ship and dominated the rest of the way in a 6-1 6-4 win over Swede Johanna Larsson.

Latvian Ostapenko had seven double faults in the match but rounded into form as the match wore on before clinching the win by firing down an ace.

She will next face American Shelby Rogers, a 6-4 6-2 winner over Russia’s Evgeniya Rodina.

Top seed Sloane Stephens will be in action later on Tuesday when she faces Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo in second round action, while defending champion Kiki Bertens, the second seed, plays Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Nick Mulvenney)

Source: OANN

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Dem Sen. Udall Announces Retirement From Congress

Sen. Tom Udall announced Monday that he will not seek re-election in 2020, ending a long career of representing the state of New Mexico in the U.S. Congress.

"The worst thing anyone in public office can do is believe the office belongs to them, rather than to the people they represent. That’s why I’m announcing today that I won’t be seeking re-election next year,” Udall, 70, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Udall, a member of the Senate's Foreign Relations and Appropriations committees, has served in the chamber since 2009 and before that was in the House of Representatives for a decade. His uncle, Morris Udall, was a prominent member of the House of Representatives who ran unsuccessfully for president in 1976.

Democrats are hoping to capture majority control of the Senate in the November 2020 elections. Republicans hold 53 seats, Democrats have 45 and two independents align themselves with the Democrats.

Republicans will be defending 21 of their seats next year, while Democrats will have 12 up for grabs.

So far, two Republicans, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Pat Roberts of Kansas, have announced their retirements.

Democrats are thought to have a strong chance of holding Udall's seat in New Mexico.

In his announcement, Udall said "there will be more chapters in my public service," but he did say whether he plans to run for another elective office.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Germany gets Netherlands on board for global tax revamp

Finance Minister Olaf Scholz addresses a news conference to present the budget plans for 2019 and the upcoming years in Berlin
FILE PHOTO: Finance Minister Olaf Scholz addresses a news conference to present the budget plans for 2019 and the upcoming years in Berlin, Germany March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

March 27, 2019

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany and the Netherlands agreed on Wednesday to back global efforts to revamp international tax rules for the digital era, as part of efforts by the Dutch government to clean up its reputation as a major enabler of corporate tax avoidance.

The emergence of internet giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon has pushed international tax rules to the limit as they often book profits in low-tax countries rather than where their customers are located.

Global reform of the rules had been debated for years with little progress until January when nearly 130 countries and territories agreed to tackle some of the most vexing issues, such as when a country has the right to tax international transactions.

In a joint statement issued after talks in Berlin, German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and Dutch Deputy Finance Minister Menno Snel said that steps had been taken to combat tax avoidance by agreeing and implementing the OECD- and EU- standards against base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

But both stressed that more needed to be done to tackle the problem of entities that are subject to no or low taxation.

“We recognize that further measures are important to ensure a sufficient level of taxation globally. In this regard, the Netherlands will introduce a conditional withholding tax on payments to low tax jurisdictions,” the joint statement said.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is working on proposals that aim to tackle how to determine when a country should get the right to tax companies and also on a minimum level of corporate taxation.

“We are committed to further work out this minimum tax standard, while taking into account undesired risks of double taxation and over-excessive administrative burdens,” Scholz and Snel said.

Features of the Dutch tax system criticized by experts are advance rulings granted to corporations, a large network of tax treaties, and low taxation of payments that pass though the Netherlands.

The agreement with Snel marks progress for Scholz who has advocated a broad, international approach to tackle the problem instead of national governments pursuing solo efforts.

In the absence of reform in the last few years, a growing number of countries, including Britain and France, have pushed ahead with their own plans for national taxes targeting mostly U.S.-based digital companies.

European Union governments earlier this month scrapped a plan to introduce an EU-wide digital tax as some states opposed it. The EU could reopen its debate if the OECD’s planned reforms should be delayed.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam)

Source: OANN

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Gabbard: Assange Arrest Troublesome for US, Journalists

The arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is troublesome for journalists and Americans, 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard said Thursday on CNN.

Assange was dragged out of the Ecuadorian embassy in London early Thursday after Ecuador revoked his diplomatic asylum.

"I think what's happening here is, unfortunately, it is some form of retaliation coming from the government saying, 'Hey, this is what happens when you release information that we don't want you to release,'" Rep. Gabbard, D-Hawaii told "The Lead."

"And I think that's why this is such a dangerous and slippery slope, not only for journalists, not only for those in the media, but also for every American that our government can and has the power to kind of lay down the hammer to say, 'Be careful, be quiet, and fall in line, otherwise we have the means to come after you.'"

Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., also expressed concern about Assange's arrest.

"To my knowledge, the specific charges that were raised for his extradition were even ones that the Obama administration entertained but turned down because it was kind of beyond the pale in terms of an attack on journalism and journalists," Rep. Ocasio-Cortez said, according to Fox News. "So, I'm concerned by that specific aspect, very much so in this situation."

Source: NewsMax America

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FILE PHOTO: The Credit Suisse logo is pictured on a bank in Geneva
FILE PHOTO: The Credit Suisse logo is pictured on a bank in Geneva, Switzerland, October 17, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

April 26, 2019

ZURICH (Reuters) – Shareholders approved Credit Suisse’s 2018 compensation report with an 82 percent majority on Friday, overriding frustrations expressed at its annual general meeting over jumps in executive pay during a year its share price plummeted.

Three shareholder advisers had recommended investors vote against Switzerland’s second-biggest bank’s remuneration report, while a fourth backed the report but expressed reservations about whether management pay matched performance.

The approval marked a slight increase over the 80.8 percent support garnered for the bank’s 2017 compensation report.

(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Michael Shields)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the trading floor of Barclays Bank at Canary Wharf in London
FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the trading floor of Barclays Bank at Canary Wharf in London, Britain December 7, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Simon Jessop and Sinead Cruise

LONDON (Reuters) – Activist investor Edward Bramson is likely to fail in his attempt to get a board seat at Barclays’ annual meeting next week, even though shareholders are dissatisfied with performance of the group’s investment bank.

New York-based Bramson’s Sherborne Investors and the board of the British bank have been sparring for months over Barclays’ strategy.

Bramson wants to scale back Barclays’ investment bank to reduce risk and boost shareholder returns. Barclays Chief Executive Jes Staley remains staunchly committed to growing the business out of trouble.

After failing to persuade Staley to change course since he began building a 5.5 percent stake in the bank in March last year, Bramson hopes a board seat will rachet up the pressure.

Both sides have written to shareholders pitching their case and Bramson has courted investors in one-on-one meetings, although none have publicly backed him yet.

Interviews by Reuters with five institutional investors in Barclays suggest Bramson has failed to persuade them.

Sherborne declined to comment.

Mirza Baig, head of investment stewardship at top-40 shareholder Aviva Investors, said Bramson was welcome on the bank’s register but the boardroom was a step too far.

“He has created a lot of value at other businesses, but, generally, when he has come in as executive chair and taken full control. This would be a different case where he would just be one lone voice on the board,” he said.

A second Barclays shareholder said he backed Bramson’s goal of improving returns but via an “evolutionary” approach.

“If you look at banks that have tried to restructure their operations in investment banking – you look at Natwest Markets, Deutsche Bank – I struggle to think of an example where a roughshod restructuring has been accretive to shareholder value.”

A third, top-30 investor said he had been impressed by incoming Chairman Nigel Higgins’ grasp of the challenge in hand, and felt investors would give him time.

“Management know they have to execute and deliver improved returns… [Higgins] will continue to re-shape the board but obviously he didn’t feel that having someone with a diametrically opposed view on it would be helpful.”

A fourth, top-30 investor agreed: “We voted for the chairman to come in and it would be crazy to allow an activist to join the board (at this time).”

Jupiter Fund Management, the 24th largest investor, said it also planned to vote against Bramson.

Barclays has nearly 500 institutional shareholders, Refinitiv data showed.

Since Staley joined Barclays in 2015, the investment bank returns relative to capital invested have increased but are still underperforming the overall business.

Barclays’ first-quarter figures showed the investment bank posted a 6 percent drop in income from its markets business and a 17 percent fall in banking advisory fees.

Returns in the investment bank fell to 9.5 percent from 13.2 percent a year ago.

Famed for successful campaigns against smaller British companies in sectors from chemicals to advertising, Bramson’s board seat pitch has been rebuffed by shareholder advisory firms.

Institutional Shareholder Services, the world’s biggest, said Bramson’s proposal “falls short of what can reasonably be expected from a shareholder trying to address issues at a 28 billion pounds, systemically important bank”.

Glass Lewis also flagged concern about Bramson’s lack of banking experience and “questionable” shareholding structure, referring to Sherborne’s use of derivative contracts to hedge losses should its strategy fail.

Critics said the arrangement meant his interests are not truly aligned with those of other long-term shareholders.

British advisory firm Pirc, however, said it recommended that investors abstain in the vote on Bramson’s proposal as a challenge to the board to do better in the year ahead – or face a similar contest in 2020.

(Editing by Jane Merriman)

Source: OANN

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https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2019/04/918/516/02_2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1

After an over 15-month pregnancy, “Akuti,” a 7-year-old Greater One Horned Indian Rhinoceros, gave birth as a result of induced ovulation and artificial insemination at Zoo Miami, April 23, 2019.

Ron Magill/Zoo Miami

https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2019/04/918/516/02_2.jpg?ve=1&tl=1

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: File photo of a Chevron gas station sign in Del Mar, California
FILE PHOTO: A Chevron gas station sign is seen in Del Mar, California, in this April 25, 2013 file photo. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – U.S. oil and natural gas producer Chevron Corp reported a 27 percent fall in quarterly earnings on Friday, hit by lower crude prices and weaker margins in its refining and chemicals businesses.

Net income attributable to the company fell to $2.65 billion, or $1.39 per share, for the first quarter ended March 31, from $3.64 billion, or $1.90 per share, a year earlier.

Earlier in the day, larger rival Exxon Mobil Corp reported earnings well below analysts’ estimates, as margins in its refining business were hurt by higher Canadian prices and heavy scheduled maintenance.

(Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Ford logo is seen at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan
FILE PHOTO: The Ford logo is seen at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., January 15, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Ford Motor Co said on Friday the U.S. Department of Justice had opened a criminal investigation into the automaker’s emissions certification process in the United States.

The potential concern does not involve the use of defeat devices, the company said in a regulatory filing. (https://bit.ly/2VqjHpl)

Ford had voluntarily disclosed the matter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board in February.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by James Emmanuel)

Source: OANN

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