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Sudan’s protesters hope cheerful staying-power will oust army

Sudanese protesters march outside the defence ministry compound in Khartoum
Sudanese protesters march outside the defence ministry compound in Khartoum, Sudan, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

April 24, 2019

By Michael Georgy and Khalid Abdelaziz

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – They come from all walks of life, of all ages and many political persuasions. But the thousands of protesters sitting outside the Sudanese Defense Ministry in Khartoum all share one thing: the cheerful conviction that, if they can just stay there long enough, democracy will come about.

Already, their sit-in has prompted the military to topple Omar Hassan al-Bashir, autocratic president of 30 years. Now they believe their good-natured rainbow of resistance can push those same generals to hand over power swiftly to civilians.

A woman in a black full-face Islamic veil discusses the merits of democracy as a man smoking a marijuana joint listens rather vaguely. A vendor sells corn at a discount, making a fortune. One couple mount a podium to take their marriage vows.

“We are lions!” intones a rapper, his audience swaying to the beat.

Unfocused and eclectic it may be, but it only took the crowd – whose numbers swell in the cool of the evening into the hundreds of thousands – five days to bring down Bashir, who was detained by the army on April 11 to the delight of millions.

Now those protesters, spread over about 2 sq km (0.8 square miles) of central Khartoum, want the generals’ Transitional Military Council to bring forward the elections that it promises to hold within two years.

Opposition groups and the military may have been trading threats over the transition, but that has not dampened the cheerful determination of the protesters.

Women outnumber men in the throng, which is a mix of teenagers and older people, conservatives and liberals, doctors, lawyers and artisans.

Designers apply their skills to making banners and placards.

“The motifs are to send a message to the people to support democracy,” said Khalid Ehab, 24, who specializes in banners of fierce-looking people carrying flags.

One young boy sits on a man’s shoulders and sings a song condemning Islamists, who were Bashir’s main support base. Teenagers bang stones against a bridge in solidarity with calls for democracy, and fling water down at passers-by.

STREET FOOD AND FREE SPEECH

Others are more earnest, holding posters of civilians and army officers who were allegedly tortured and killed in Bashir’s prisons.

Osay Awad, 22, used to sell a cob of corn from his battered wooden stall for 15 Sudanese pounds, but out of enthusiasm for the revolution slashed the price to 10.

Business is booming; he sells 500 a day, compared to 170 before the sit-in began, and he hasn’t left the spot since the day after Bashir was toppled.

Like many others, he sleeps on the dusty pavement. Asked what type of leader he would like to see run his country, he says: “I have no candidate. I’m just here to sell corn and support people.”

All the protesters want the old-guard generals out, but many are keen to get the support of young officers; a traditional army song competes with the sound of an opposition figure trying to fire up crowds with promises of a brighter future.

The protesters do want to assert some control. Teenagers frisk anyone entering the area to make sure weapons stay out.

The military leaders have offered some concessions, sacking some officials and announcing the arrest of others, including two of Bashir’s brothers.

But they insist that, while they are willing to accept a civilian transitional government, ultimate authority will remain in their hands until elections are held.

Wejd Mohammed, a medical student covered from head to toe in a niqab, says that “democracy will bring economic prosperity” – getting more attention from her two younger sisters with Sudanese flags painted on their faces than from a man nearby dragging on a joint.

In a scene that would have been unthinkable under Bashir, a member of a rebel group that fought his forces in the desert province of Darfur stands on a makeshift podium and speaks his mind.

“The previous regime took all of our money and made us poor,” he says. “Sudan needs to be one nation.”

(Reporting by Michael Georgy; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: OANN

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Qatar sues Luxembourg, UAE, Saudi banks in FX manipulation case

FILE PHOTO: A man counts Qatari riyal notes at a money changer in Doha
FILE PHOTO: A man counts Qatari riyal notes at a money changer in Doha May 28, 2013. REUTERS/ Fadi Al-Assaad/File Photo

April 8, 2019

By Eric Knecht and Dmitry Zhdannikov

DOHA/LONDON (Reuters) – Qatar said on Monday it had filed lawsuits against three banks, accusing them of using what it called overseas currency manipulation to sabotage its economy in the wake of an Arab boycott against the country in 2017.

The cases, filed in London and New York, name Luxembourg-based Banque Havilland, the United Arab Emirates’ First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and Saudi Arabia’s Samba Bank, a statement from Qatar’s government communications office said.

None of the banks had any immediate comment on the Qatari accusations.

Qatar said Banque Havilland tried to weaken the country’s riyal currency by submitting what the statement called fraudulent quotes to foreign-exchange platforms in New York, to disrupt indices and markets where significant Qatari assets and investors are located.

The statement did not go into detail about the accusations against FAB and Samba Bank, nor did it state the extent of the alleged damage or compensation being sought.

The lawsuits are the latest fallout in a protracted Gulf row that began in 2017 when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt imposed an economic boycott on Qatar in 2017, accusing it of supporting Islamist militants and Iran.

Qatar, a small Gulf state but major gas exporter, denies the charges and says the boycott is an attempt to impinge on its sovereignty.

Its central bank began a probe into alleged foreign-exchange manipulation in late 2017 after it said unnamed banks were looking to attack the riyal by trading it between themselves offshore at artificially weak levels – to create an illusion Qatar’s economy was crumbling.

The riyal has been pegged to the U.S. dollar at a rate of 3.64 for more than a decade, but in the initial months of the boycott it traded as low as 3.8950 offshore before returning to normal levels.

With more than $300 billion in central bank reserves and sovereign wealth fund assets, bankers say Qatar has sufficient financial firepower to block attacks on its currency.

(Reporting by Eric Knecht and Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Dale Hudson)

Source: OANN

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Police find fentanyl lab in northern Mexico state capital

Police in northern Mexico have raided a lab producing the synthetic opioid fentanyl, the second such lab detected in Mexico in the last four months.

Police in the northern state of Sinaloa said Thursday that the lab was discovered in a house in a middle-class neighborhood of the state capital, Culiacan.

The state's assistant public safety secretary says police were patrolling in an armored truck when they came under fire. Carlos Hernandez Leyva says officers chased the assailants into the house, but they escaped through a back door.

In December, Mexican federal agents arrested four people in a raid on a fentanyl lab in Mexico City.

Much U.S. fentanyl originates in China, but is often smuggled through Mexico. Mexican cartels also produce the drug from precursor chemicals imported from China.

Source: Fox News World

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Scarlett Johansson Taken to LA Police Station After Paparazzi Incident

Scarlett Johansson was brought to a Los Angeles police station on Monday after she was “overpowered by paparazzi” following an appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” Fox News reports.

The actress was jostled by paparazzi after leaving the El Capitan Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. She was not injured, but her security team decided to take her to the Hollywood Station after the paparazzi left the scene.

The Los Angeles Police Department told CBS Los Angeles that Johansson was “spooked” by the experience, but was otherwise “in good spirits” before being taken home. She did not file a police report.

Source: NewsMax America

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Kirstjen Nielsen ‘oversaw one of the largest-scale human rights violations in history’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., slammed outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Tuesday, saying she “oversaw one of the largest-scale human rights violations in recent history.”

Ocasio-Cortez responded to a tweet regarding a New York Times’ op-ed titled “Cancel Kirstjen Nielsen.”

The opinion piece addressed a report from the paper that said Nielsen stayed in her position because “she was aware how awful life would/will be for her on the outside given her role in defending Donald Trump’s policies.”

NIELSEN RESIGNS AS DHS SECRETARY AFTER WHITE HOUSE MEETING WITH TRUMP

“Her role in terrorizing children should make her a permanent pariah,” the piece stated.

“In stealing 1000s of children, deporting their parents, & refusing to provide info for reunification, Sec. Nielsen oversaw one of the largest-scale human rights violations in recent history,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. “Awarding her a lucrative deal or prestigious post is to legitimize+celebrate that abuse.”

The freshman congresswoman was addressing the Trump administration’s practice of separating migrant children from their families at the southern border which was carried out by Nielsen.

Last summer, the administration separated more than 2,500 children from their families before international outrage forced Trump to halt the practice and a judge ordered them reunited. The government recently said in court filings that it would take up to two years to reunify all the children already separated from their families.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ CLAIMS CLIMATE CHANGE IS DRIVING MIGRANT CRISIS

On Sunday, President Trump announced that Nielsen “will be leaving her position” after 16 months on the job. He announced that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan will replace Nielsen as acting secretary, tweeting: "I have confidence that Kevin will do a great job!"

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Whoopi Goldberg Defends Biden: ‘I Don’t Want Joe to Stop’ Kissing and Smelling Women’s Hair

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D.C. United takes on Montreal without Rooney

FILE PHOTO: MLS: Rowdies Suncoast Invitational-DC United at Philadelphia Union
FILE PHOTO: Feb 20, 2019; Clearwater, FL, USA; D.C. United forward Wayne Rooney (9) looks on prior to a game between DC United and Philadelphia Union at Joe D. Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo

April 8, 2019

D.C. United will try to rebound quickly from their worst performance this season when they host the Montreal Impact Tuesday night at Audi Field.

They won’t have star forward Wayne Rooney to help them, however.

Rooney received a red card for his studs-up challenge on LAFC’s Diego Rossi during D.C.’s 4-0 loss on Saturday afternoon, also at home, meaning he’ll serve a suspension on Tuesday.

United (3-1-1, 10 points) already trailed 3-0 before Rooney’s dismissal, and Rossi completed a hat trick later in the second half.

“In possession, not good enough,” D.C. coach Ben Olsen said of the performance. “Out of possession, not hard working enough. Our pulse was wrong from the get go in the biggest game of the year. So that part is concerning, and I’ll look to myself first.”

Olsen also might look to Quincy Amarikwa to make his first start for D.C. in Rooney’s place, against one of his former clubs.

Amarikwa made 10 appearances with Montreal over the second half of last season following a trade from San Jose, then signed with D.C. just before this campaign began as a free agent. He played the final 17 minutes Saturday in his D.C. debut.

Meanwhile, Montreal (2-2-1, 7 points) will be without two influential Argentine attackers.

Midfielder Ignacio Piatti missed Saturday’s 0-0 draw at New York City FC with a knee ailment and is expected to sit for a third consecutive game in Washington. Forward Maxi Urruti will join Rooney in serving a red card suspension following his dismissal for a stomp on NYCFC’s Maxime Chanot.

Anthony Jackson-Hamel could make his first start of the season at striker in the wake of those absences.

Down a man for the final 20 minutes, Saturday’s draw marked a decided improvement for Montreal coach Remi Garde following an embarrassing 7-1 loss at Sporting Kansas City the week prior.

“It’s good point for us,” Garde said. “You know, coming from last week where we were, what kind of game we had, I think today it’s much better team performance. Defensively and tactically we were much more organized and disciplined.”

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza talks to the media during a news conference in Caracas
Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza talks to the media during a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero

April 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s foreign minister and a Venezuelan judge, according to a statement on the department’s website.

Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza and a judge, Carol Padilla, were targeted over the ongoing crisis in Venezuela, the Treasury Department said, the latest in a list of officials blacklisted by U.S. authorities for their role in President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey, Makini Brice and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Avengers fans gather at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to attend the opening screening of
Avengers fans gather at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to attend the opening screening of “Avengers: Endgame” in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake

April 26, 2019

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Marvel Studios superhero spectacle “Avengers: Endgame” hauled in a record $60 million at U.S. and Canadian box offices during its Thursday night debut, distributor Walt Disney Co said.

Global ticket sales for the film about Iron Man, Hulk and other popular characters reached $305 million for the first two days, Disney said.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Funeral of journalist Lyra McKee in Belfast
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn attends the funeral service for murdered journalist Lyra McKee at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast, Northern Ireland April 24, 2019. Brian Lawless/Pool via REUTERS

April 26, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – The leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, said on Friday he had turned down an invitation to a state dinner which will be part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Britain in June.

“Theresa May should not be rolling out the red carpet for a state visit to honor a president who rips up vital international treaties, backs climate change denial and uses racist and misogynist rhetoric,” Corbyn said in a statement.

He said maintaining the relationship with the United States did not require “the pomp and ceremony of a state visit” and he said he would welcome a meeting with Trump “to discuss all matters of interest.”

(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Writing by William Schomberg)

Source: OANN

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A bedridden 67-year-old woman and more than a dozen animals were rescued Thursday after a welfare check found that they were living in a home filled with trash, urine, and feces, Florida police said.

Pinellas County sheriff’s deputies said when they arrived at the home in Dunedin around 7:20 p.m. Thursday, they could smell the odor of rotting trash and animal feces as they walked up to the driveway.

“Inside the residence, the odor of feces and urine was so overwhelming that deputies had to don masks,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement.

FLORIDA SHERIFF ON BORDER CRISIS AFTER MAJOR DRUG BUST: ‘IT MAKES ME ABSOLUTELY CRAZY’

Walking throughout the residence, the deputies found 10 emaciated dogs and puppies living in bins filled with their own feces, five large Macaw birds flying freely, rats, bugs and overall squalor.

Puppies discovered living in their own feces inside a Florida home that was filled with trash, urine, and feces.

Puppies discovered living in their own feces inside a Florida home that was filled with trash, urine, and feces. (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)

Deputies said due to the large amounts of trash in the home, they had to clear a path to reach the victim’s bedroom.

“None of the home’s toilets were working and all were found to be overflowing with feces,” deputies said. “The only working sink was located on the opposite end of the house from the victim’s bedroom.”

They said there was no food or water for the victim or the animals.

FLORIDA MAN IN EASTER BUNNY COSTUME CAUGHT IN VIRAL BRAWL IS WANTED IN NEW JERSEY, HAS HISTORY OF ARRESTS

The victim was transported to a local hospital for injuries that were non-life threatening, while the animals were transported to shelters.

The woman’s caretaker, Richard Lawrence Goodwin, 65, was arrested and charged with abuse and neglect of an elderly person, disabled person, and cruelty to animals.

Richard Goodwin, 69, was arrested for abuse and neglect of an elderly and disabled person after deputies found she was living in deplorable conditions.

Richard Goodwin, 69, was arrested for abuse and neglect of an elderly and disabled person after deputies found she was living in deplorable conditions. (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)

The sheriff’s department said this was Goodwin’s second arrest for abuse and neglect of the same victim. He was previously arrested in May 2018.

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Neighbor Victoria Muenzerbeer told FOX 13 that Goodwin and the victim were hoarders and the conditions inside the home were horrible years ago when she visited once.

“I went in and it was absolutely, a human being couldn’t live there,” she said. “The kitchen wasn’t usable and part of the wall was falling in.”

Source: Fox News National

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Libyan Minister of Economy Ali Abdulaziz Issawi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tripoli
Libyan Minister of Economy Ali Abdulaziz Issawi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tripoli, Libya April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Hani Amara

April 26, 2019

By Ulf Laessing

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s U.N.-recognized government has budgeted up to 2 billion dinars ($1.43 billion) to cover costs of a three-week-old war for control of the capital, such as treatment for the wounded, to be funded without new borrowing, the economy minister said.

Ali Abdulaziz Issawi suggested the government hoped for business to continue more or less as usual despite the assault on Tripoli, in the country’s northwest, by forces tied to a parallel administration based in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Once Africa’s third largest producer of oil, Libya has been riven by factional conflict since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with the country now broadly split between eastern-based forces under Khalifa Haftar and the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, in the west, under Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

Still, with Haftar’s Libyan National Army forces unable so far to pierce defenses in Tripoli’s southern suburbs, normal life and business activities continue in much of the capital and western coastal towns.

Issawi, in an interview with Reuters in his Tripoli office, also said Libya’s commercial ports and wheat imports were still functioning normally, although some roads have been blocked.

He said the Serraj government estimates it will spend up to 2 billion dinars extra on medical treatment for wounded, aid for displaced people and other “emergency” war costs.

He said this was not military spending but analysts believe that the sum will also cover expenditures such as pay for allied armed groups or food for fighters.

“We could actually spend less,” he added, in comments that gave the first insight into the economic impact of the fighting.

Issawi said the Tripoli government, which controls little territory beyond the greater capital region, would not incur new debt to fund the war costs, sticking to a plan to post a 2019 budget without a deficit.

Tripoli derives revenue largely from oil and natural gas production, interest-free loans from local banks to the central bank, and a 183 percent surcharge on foreign exchange transactions conducted at official rates.

But with centralized tax collection greatly diminished, public debt has piled up – to 68 billion dinars in the west, including unpaid state obligations such as social insurance.

Some analysts expect Serraj’s government will be forced to raise new debt if the war for control of Tripoli drags on.

With much of Libya dominated by armed factions that also act as security forces, the public wage bill for both the western and eastern administrations has soared as fighters have been made public employees in efforts to buy their loyalty.

The east has sold bonds worth 35 billion dinars outside the official financial system as the Tripoli central bank does not fund the parallel government apart from some wages.

Despite its limited reach, the Tripoli government still runs an annual budget of around 46.8 billion dinars, mainly for public salaries and fuel subsidies.

“This year we cannot finance via debt…we will not borrow (by agreement with the central bank),” Issawi said.

According to International Monetary Fund data, Libya’s central government debt-to-GDP ratio is 143 percent, making it one of the most heavily indebted in the world on that measure.

Issawi declined to say what parts of the budget would be trimmed to support the extra outlay for war costs.

However, with some 70 percent of the budget allocated to public wages, fuel subsidies and other welfare benefits, a portion devoted to infrastructure is most likely to be axed.

Widespread lawlessness has meant there have been no major infrastructural projects since 2011, when a NATO-backed uprising overthrew dictator Muammar Gaddafi, leaving schools, hospitals and roads in acute need of restoration.

FOREX SURCHARGE

Issawi said the government planned to raise as much as 30 billion dinars by the end of 2019 from hard currency deals after imposing in September a 183 percent surcharge on commercial and private transactions done on the official rate of 1.4 to the U.S. dollar. That fee has effectively devalued the official rate to 3.9, much closer to the black market equivalent.

Some 17 billion dinars have been raised since then, with hard currency allocated for import credit letters now issued without delays, Issawi said. The forex fee has helped the government forecast a budget in the black for 2019.

Despite the narrowing spread between the two rates, the black market continues to thrive. Dozens of traders remained at their favorite spot behind the central bank headquarters in Tripoli when Reuters reporters visited it last week.

But traders said it could take time for the Serraj government to register the extra forex receipts as official banking channels were taking up to six months to approve import financing, keeping the black market in play for dealers.

Issawi said authorities planned to lower the forex fee from 183 percent, without saying when. The black market rate has dropped from 6 to around 4.1 since September but it has hardly moved of late as demand for black market cash remains high.

The Tripoli government has stopped subsidizing food and bread, which used to be cheaper than drinking water in Libya. Wheat imports are now being arranged by private traders and there are surplus stocks of flour at the moment, Issawi said.

(Reporting by Ulf Laessing in Tripoli with additional reporting by Karin Strohecker in London; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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