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Google’s Always Listening: Nest Security System Has A Secret Embedded Microphone

Surprise! Another smart home device has the ability to spy on people.

I doubt anyone who is reading this will be shocked by this news, but here we go.

Back in early February, tech giant Google announced that Nest Secure, its home security and alarm system, was now compatible with the company’s Home Assistant voice-control function.

Here is an excerpt from that announcement:

Nest Secure has supported Google Assistant integration for quite some time, but with this most recent update, the product is taking that to a new level by turning itself into a Google Assistant speaker. This is just like what the Nest Cam IQ did last year. With the flip of a switch in the Nest app, you can set the Secure as an always-listening Assistant speaker. (source)

The problem?

Nest users didn’t know a microphone existed on their security device, to begin with.

In order to be compatible with a voice control feature, the device would need to have a microphone.

But Google never mentioned there was a microphone embedded in the device.

That important detail was never disclosed in any of the product material for the device, which has been on the market since 2017.

“As recently as January, the product specs for the device made no mention of a microphone,” the Associated Press reports.

A Google spokesperson told Business Insider this was an “error.”

“The on-device microphone was never intended to be a secret and should have been listed in the tech specs. That was an error on our part. The microphone has never been on, and is only activated when users specifically enable the option.

Security systems often use microphones to provide features that rely on sound sensing. We included the mic on the device so that we can potentially offer additional features to our users in the future, such as the ability to detect broken glass.” (source)

This is the second time Nest made the news this month.

On February 6, owners of Nest security cameras received an email from Google, warning them to secure their login credentials with things like two-factor identification and stronger passwords.

The reason?

The routine security reminder comes after an uptick in Nest camera hacks and even the occasional hoax, many of which have been downright bizarre and creepy: An Illinois family recently had its device breached by a hacker who spewed abusive epithets through the camera’s microphone into their living room, while another criminal peered into a baby’s room in Houston, Texas, for example. (source)

Google claimed the email was sent as a reminder and said there hadn’t been a breach of the broader Nest user base. As of February 2018, Nest had at sold 11 million of the devices.

This excerpt from the email was published by Popular Mechanics:

For context, even though Nest was not breached, customers may be vulnerable because their email addresses and passwords are freely available on the internet. If a website is compromised, it’s possible for someone to gain access to user email addresses and passwords, and from there, gain access to any accounts that use the same login credentials. For example, if you use your Nest password for a shopping site account and the site is breached, your login information could end up in the wrong hands. From there, people with access to your credentials can cause the kind of issues we’ve seen recently. (source)

Google has faced criticism in the past for its location data-tracking practices, along with allowing third-party developers to read people’s emails on Gmail, reports CNET.

And, Business Insider reminds us that in 2010, Google acknowledged that its fleet of Street View cars “accidentally” collected personal data transmitted over consumers’ unsecured WiFi networks, including emails.

Google can apologize and make excuses all it wants, but more and more people aren’t buying it.

“Nest’s failure to disclose the onboard microphone included in its secure home security system is a massive oversight,” said Ray Walsh, a digital privacy expert at BestVPN.com. “Despite Google’s assurances, the fact is that the device has a microphone which could potentially have been hacked or accessed by Google to perform covert corporate surveillance.”

The Register asked Google if any Nest microphones had been activated prior to the company’s announcement of their existence and whether the company could confirm that no audio data was collected during that period. “Google claims that the mics were never used prior to disclosure, which would preclude the possibility of covert data collection,” the tech site reports.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to force Google to sell its Nest division and surrender any data that was collected from Nest customers.

In a brief statement on its website, the nonprofit privacy and civil liberties advocacy group said:

Following reports that Google installed secret listening devices in the homes security product Nest, EPIC asked the Federal Trade Commission to require Google to spin-off Nest and to disgorge the data obtained from Nest users. It is a federal crime to intercept private communications or to plant a listening device in a private residence. (source)

Google isn’t exactly known for being an ethical company.

Last year, Google came under fire for its participation in a controversial Pentagon program called Project Maven, which would use AI and machines to track and identify objects using drones for the Department of Defense.

Even Google employees objected to the company’s involvement in that program. In a letter signed by more than 3,100 Google employees, the workers stated: “We believe that Google should not be in the business of war… We cannot outsource the moral responsibility of our technologies to third parties.” It was reported that about a dozen employees resigned in protest over the project.

The Intercept reported that Google was forced to shut down the project after members of the company’s privacy team raised internal complaints that it had been kept secret from them.

In late 2018, more than 1,400 Google staff, many journalists, and human rights organizations called on Google to halt a controversial project called Dragonfly, a highly censored Chinese search engine:

Dragonfly is a search engine specially built for China. It would unleash more censorship on a mass scale by selectively blocking certain search terms, apparently at the behest of China’s government. Human rights groups are blasting the company for aiding and abetting China’s mass surveillance and rights violations which could result in potential imprisonment. (source)

Google used to have an iconic clause in its code of conduct that said, “Don’t be evil.” Last year, that clause was removed.


Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted a video on Instagram in which she said it’s logical for this generation to reconsider having children because of climate change affecting the globe. Alex exposes this eugenics talking point now going mainstream.

Source: InfoWars

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NFL notebook: QB Murray, 22 others to attend draft

NCAA Football: Oklahoma Pro Day
FILE PHOTO: Mar 13, 2019; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray participates in positional workouts during pro day at the Everest Indoor Training Center at the University of Oklahoma. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

April 10, 2019

Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray will be in Nashville on April 25 for the first round of the NFL draft. Where he goes from there remains to be seen.

Murray is one of 23 prospects who plan to attend the draft later this month, the NFL announced Tuesday. He stands a chance to be one of the top picks, if not the No. 1 overall selection, after passing for 4,361 yards, 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions in 2018.

Quarterbacks Daniel Jones of Duke and Drew Lock of Missouri also plan to be at the draft, while another top quarterback, Dwayne Haskins of Ohio State, will not be there. The other 20 players include six defensive linemen, four offensive linemen, three linebackers, two defensive backs, two wide receivers, two tight ends and a running back.

Murray reportedly headed to Phoenix on Tuesday for another meeting with the Arizona Cardinals, who hold the No. 1 overall draft pick.

–The NFL and NFL Players Association announced they will take part in regularly scheduled meetings to discuss a new collective bargaining agreement.

The NFL and NFLPA issued the following statement: “Today, the members of the NFL’s Management Council and the NFLPA’s Executive Committee met to discuss negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement. The League and the Union have committed to meet regularly in the coming months, which will involve staff, NFL leadership, members of the NFLPA Executive Committee and Player Representation.”

The league and its players most recently agreed upon a collective bargaining agreement in 2011. The deal, which was reached after a player lockout, runs through the end of the 2020 season. Both sides hope that starting negotiations early may help to avoid a work stoppage after the end of next season.

–The New England Patriots and kicker Stephen Gostkowski agreed to a two-year contract, ESPN reported.

Gostkowski, 35, has been the club’s kicker since 2006. He replaced Adam Vinatieri, who had departed to the Indianapolis Colts as a free agent.

Gostkowski, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, has made 367 of 420 field-goal attempts during 13 seasons with New England. He was 27 of 32 last season.

–The NFL released the 65-game 2019 preseason schedule, kicking off with the Hall of Fame game between the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons on Aug. 1 in Canton, Ohio.

Other highlights include the Dallas Cowboys facing the Los Angeles Rams in Honolulu on Aug. 17, the NFL’s first preseason contest at Aloha Stadium since 1976.

The Super Bowl LIII champion New England Patriots will square off against the New York Giants in the preseason finale for the 15th straight season.

–The Atlanta Falcons signed veteran defensive end Adrian Clayborn to a one-year deal, the team announced. Official terms were not disclosed, but multiple outlets reported that he could earn up to $4 million with incentives.

Clayborn, who played for the Falcons from 2015-17, appeared in 14 games for the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots last season and tallied 2.5 sacks.

Clayborn, 30, has registered 32.5 career sacks and 90 quarterback hits in 95 games (51 starts) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Falcons and Patriots.

–Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said in an interview with ESPN Milwaukee that he “lost vision” after sustaining a concussion in the final game of last season.

Rodgers also went into detail about the knee injury he sustained in Week 1 and then aggravated in Week 5. Rodgers left the Week 1 game against the Chicago Bears but returned to engineer the 20-point comeback victory.

“I had a tibial plateau fracture and obviously an MCL sprain,” Rodgers told ESPN, “so that was very painful. If you watch the hit back, just my two bones here that come together on the outside just kind of made an indent fracture. Very painful.”

–The Philadelphia Eagles announced the signing of three former Alliance of American Football players to one-year contracts.

Quarterback Luis Perez and wide receivers Charles Johnson and Greg Ward became available when the AAF ceased operations last week, just eight weeks into its inaugural season.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Hungary PM: No Compromise on Migration, Protecting Christian Culture

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reinforced his administration's commitment to defending its citizens and Christendom against all-out warfare being waged by globalists in Europe and beyond.

During a weekly interview on Hungarian public radio, PM Orbán asserted that the left-right European political divide is being replaced by one that pits pro-migration internationalists against those who believe in national sovereignty and border security.

"Europe is currently undergoing a transformation… Migration has changed our life," Orban said. "We won’t compromise on the issue of the protection of Christian culture and migration. Everything else is open for discussion."

"Christian culture is an asset," he continued. "We don’t want to become a mixed country. We want no migration. We want to preserve our security, and through our family policy, we will be able to ensure Hungary’s biological future without migrants."

Orbán says he is working with others to reform the European People's Party – which currently holds the majority in European Parliament – to accommodate "anti-migration forces."

However if that effort fails, Hungary is prepared to explore a new European initiative, and would begin discussions about that process with their close allies in Poland.

Katie Hopkins is currently filming a documentary about the state of Western Europe due to decades of globalist policies. Katy joins David Knight to discuss the future for Europeans who increasingly don't recognize their own "homelands.”

(PHOTO: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Source: InfoWars

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F1’s Williams target Wednesday new car track debut

Williams' driver Robert Kubica poses during a news conference with Poland's biggest oil refiner PKN Orlen on their cooperation in the Formula One in Warsaw
FILE PHOTO: Williams' driver Robert Kubica poses during a news conference with Poland's biggest oil refiner PKN Orlen on their cooperation in the Formula One in Warsaw, Poland, January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

February 19, 2019

By Alan Baldwin

BARCELONA (Reuters) – Williams could finally get their troubled new Formula One car on track on Wednesday, five days later than planned and well behind rivals already pounding out laps in testing.

The former champions, who finished last overall in 2018 and have shed a number of sponsors, had planned to debut the car last Saturday for a limited mileage filming session at Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.

That deadline slipped because the FW42 was not ready and Williams were then the only team unable to make the start of official pre-season testing on Monday.

A Williams spokeswoman said the car was now expected to arrive at the circuit between 0300-0400 GMT on Wednesday but was unlikely to run in the morning session that starts at 0800 GMT.

“Obviously there will still be a fair amount to do but we will be working as fast as we can,” she added.

The first pre-season test ends on Thursday with a further four days next week before the teams head out for the opening race in Australia on March 17.

The lack of testing time is a big setback for a team hoping to clamber back from one of their worst ever seasons and pinning their hopes on coming up with a much better car than the woeful one produced last year.

Williams, who took nine constructor’s titles and seven driver’s crowns during their glory years between 1980 and 1997, scored only seven points from 21 races last year.

The inability to produce the car on time has raised questions about the future of technical head Paddy Lowe, who joined in 2017 from champions Mercedes and is the man ultimately responsible for delivering it.

The Formula One website reported fears that the new car, based on data simulations, could also be almost two seconds slower than its closest rival when it does hit the track.

Williams have not given details of why deadlines were missed, fuelling speculation that there could be a serious problem with the design that has needed fixing.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

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Trump team turns tables after Mueller report, calls for investigation into probe's origin

President Trump and his legal team declared total victory Sunday following the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s key findings -- including no evidence of collusion with Russia during the 2016 campaign -- but sought to turn the tables by renewing calls to investigate the investigators.

Trump himself slammed the probe as an “illegal takedown,” as he called Mueller’s report a “complete exoneration” and said it was a “shame” his presidency had to deal with the investigation for two years.

“Hopefully somebody is going to look at the other side,” Trump said. “This was an illegal takedown that failed and hopefully somebody is going to be looking at the other side.”

READ THE FULL LETTER

In case it wasn't clear what he meant, Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani told Fox News an investigation should be launched into how the investigation began.

“He was being investigated for a crime that never happened,” Giuliani said. “There was never any collusion.”

Giuliani added: "There has to be a full and complete investigation, with at least as much enthusiasm as this one, to figure out where did this charge emanate, who started it, who paid for it.”

The former New York mayor specifically called out one of Trump’s most vocal critics, Rep. Adam Schiff, asking the California lawmaker where the evidence of collusion is that Schiff has said he has.

“Where is Schiff’s evidence?” Giuliani asked. “Where is it? In his head?”

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Earlier in the day, Schiff – the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee – said that despite Mueller handing in the report on Friday without any recommendations for new indictments, that doesn't mean "there isn't compelling and incriminating evidence that should be shared with the American people."

Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Schiff said his committee wants the full report and the underlying materials made public and will head to court to compel Barr to release them. He says the intelligence committee has an obligation to determine whether the president is compromised in any way, whether criminal or not.

Trump has maintained since the announcement of the special counsel’s investigation that he never colluded with Russia during the 2016 campaign. He has long decried the probe as a "witch hunt" while attacking the FBI figures who launched the original Russia probe that was eventually taken over by Mueller in 2017. He and his allies have also questioned what role the unverified and salacious anti-Trump "dossier" played in the probe's beginnings.

While Barr’s letter on the special counsel’s report says that Mueller found no evidence of coordination with Russia, it did not make a determination on whether Trump committed obstruction of justice in the Russia probe. Attorney General William Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein determined that evidence gathered by Mueller was insufficient on that front.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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U.S. transport chief defends FAA decision to not immediately ground Boeing 737 MAX

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary Elaine Chao speaks to the news media outside of the West Wing of the White House
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao speaks to the news media outside of the West Wing of the White House in Washington, U.S., March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

April 10, 2019

(Reuters) – U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao defended the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to not immediately ground the Boeing 737 MAX fleet after a second deadly crash in March of an airplane in Ethiopia.

Chao also said the FAA will “thoroughly review” Boeing’s final software upgrade package and training revisions once the airplane manufacturer submits it. “The department’s goal is to ensure public trust in aviation safety and preserve the preeminence of the United States as the gold standard in aviation safety,” Chao told a U.S. House panel.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Iran warns of firm response if Israel acts against its oil shipments

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Iran's national flags are seen on a square in Tehran
FILE PHOTO: Iran's national flags are seen on a square in Tehran February 10, 2012, a day before the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubaz/File Photo

March 13, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Iran will respond firmly to any Israeli naval action against its oil shipments, Iran’s defense minister said on Wednesday, in comments that came a week after Israel’s prime minister said its navy could act against Iranian oil “smuggling” to evade U.S. sanctions.

U.S. President Donald Trump last year quit a nuclear deal with Iran and reimposed some sanctions, aiming to cut Tehran’s oil exports to zero. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told naval officers last week that Iran was still resorting to clandestine measures to ship fuel.

Iran’s Minister of Defense Amir Hatami was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA that Tehran had the military capabilities to confront any Israeli intervention, and said the international community would also not accept such action.

Hatami said such confrontation would be considered as “piracy” and warned that “if it happens, we will firmly respond.”

“The Iranian armed forces have certainly the capabilities to protect the country’s shipping lines in the best way against any possible threat,” Hatami said.

According to maritime experts, Iran has used a variety of measures to evade sanctions, including changing the names of ships or flag registries, switching off location transponders on ships and conducting ship-to-ship transfers offshore and away from large trade hubs.

Iran’s navy has extended its reach in recent years, dispatching vessels to the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden. They intervened on Friday to repel pirates who attacked an Iranian oil tanker in the Gulf of Aden.

The Israeli navy, whose largest vessels are missile corvettes and a small submarine fleet, is mostly active in the Mediterranean and Red seas.

Iran has one of the world’s biggest tanker fleets in the world.

In November, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook called Iranian vessels a “floating liability”, saying the U.S. sanctions would bar them from international insurance markets, making them a risk for ports and canals which allow them access.

Iranian officials have threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route in the Gulf, if the United States attempts to stop the Islamic Republic’s oil exports.

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Michael Perry and Simon Cameron-Moore)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain's far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain’s far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By John Stonestreet and Belén Carreño

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Vox party, aligned to a broader far-right movement emerging across Europe, has become the focus of speculation about last minute shifts in voting intentions since official polling for Sunday’s national election ended four days ago.

No single party is anywhere near securing a majority, and chances of a deadlocked parliament and a second election are high.

Leaders of the five parties vying for a role in government get final chances to pitch for power at rallies on Friday evening, before a campaign characterized by appeals to voters’ hearts rather than wallets ends at midnight.

By tradition, the final day before a Spanish election is politics-free.

Two main prizes are still up for grabs in the home straight. One concerns which of the two rival left and right multi-party blocs gets more votes.

The other is whether Vox could challenge the mainstream conservative PP for leadership of the latter bloc, which media outlets with access to unofficial soundings taken since Monday suggest could be starting to happen.

The right’s loose three-party alliance is led by the PP, the traditional conservative party that has alternated in office with outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists since Spain’s return to democracy in the 1970s.

The PP stands at around 20 percent, with center-right Ciudadanos near 14 percent and Vox around 11 percent, according to a final poll of polls in daily El Pais published on Monday.

Since then, however, interest in Vox – which will become the first far-right party to sit in parliament since 1982 – has snowballed.

It was founded in 2013, part of a broader anti-establishment, far-right movement that has also spread across – among others – Italy, France and Germany.

While it is careful to distance itself from the ideology of late dictator Francisco Franco, Vox’s signature policies include repealing laws banning Franco-era symbols and on gender-based violence, and shifting power away from Spain’s regional governments.

TRENDING

According to a Google trends graphic, Vox has generated more than three times more search inquiries than any other Spanish political party in the past week.

Reasons could include a groundswell of vocal activist support at Vox rallies in Madrid and Valencia, and its exclusion from two televised debates between the main party leaders, on the grounds of it having no deputies yet in parliament.

Conservative daily La Vanguardia called its enforced absence from Monday’s and Tuesday’s debates “a gift from heaven”, while left-wing Eldiario.es suggested the PP was haemorrhaging votes to Vox in rural areas.

Ignacio Jurado, politics lecturer at the University of York, agreed the main source of additional Vox votes would be disaffected PP supporters, and called the debate ban – whose impact he said was unclear – wrong.

“This is a party polling over 10 percent and there are people interested in what it says. So we lose more than we win in not having them (in the debates),” he said

For Jose Fernandez-Albertos, political scientist at Spanish National Research Council CSIC, Vox is enjoying the novelty effect that propelled then new, left-wing arrival Podemos to 20 percent of the vote in 2015.

“While it’s unclear how to interpret the (Google) data, what we do know is that it’s better to be popular and to be a newcomer, and that Vox will benefit in some form,” he said.

For now, the chances of Vox taking a major role in government remain slim, however.

The El Pais survey put the Socialists on around 30 percent, making them the frontrunners and likely to form a leftist bloc with Podemos, back down at around 14 percent.

The unofficial soundings suggest little change in the two parties’ combined vote, or the total vote of the rightist bloc.

That makes it unlikely that either bloc will win a majority on Sunday, triggering horse-trading with smaller parties favoring Catalan independence – the single most polarizing issues during campaigning – that could easily collapse into fresh elections.

(Election graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2ENugtw)

(Reporting by John Stonestreet and Belen Carreno, Editing by William Maclean)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo of the OPEC is seen at OPEC's headquarters in Vienna
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries at OPEC’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo

April 26, 2019

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he called the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and told the cartel to lower oil prices.

“Gasoline prices are coming down. I called up OPEC, I said you’ve got to bring them down. You’ve got to bring them down,” Trump told reporters.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Sonia Bompastor, director of the Olympique Lyonnais womenÕs Youth Academy, leads a training at the OL Academy near Lyon
Sonia Bompastor, director of the Olympique Lyonnais womenÕs Youth Academy, leads a training at the OL Academy in Meyzieu near Lyon, France, April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot

April 26, 2019

By Julien Pretot

MEYZIEU, France (Reuters) – Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas was wringing out his women’s team shirts in the locker room on a rainy London day eight years ago when he decided it was time to take gender equality more seriously.

It was halftime in their Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal at Meadow Park with 507 fans watching and Aulas realized that his players did not have a another kit for the second half.

“Next time, there will be a second set just like for the men, that’s how it’s going to work from now on,” he said.

Lyon have since won five Champions League titles to become the most successful women’s team in Europe and recently claimed a 13th consecutive domestic crown.

They visit Chelsea on Sunday in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, with a fourth straight title in their sights.

At the heart of their achievements is a pervasive ethos that promotes gender equality throughout the club, starting in the youth academy.

In 2013, Aulas appointed former Lyon and France player Sonia Bompastor as head of the Women’s Academy — the female equivalent of one of France’s top youth set-ups that has produced players such as Karim Benzema, Alexandre Lacazette and Hatem Ben Arfa.

At the Youth Academy, girls and boys share the same facilities.

“Pitches, physiotherapy rooms are the same for all,” the 38-year-old Bompastor told Reuters.

As the girls train under the watch of former Lyon and France international Camille Abily, the screams of the boys practicing can be heard nearby.

The boys and girls also benefit from the same psychological support that includes hypnosis sessions and yoga.

“We have a ‘mental ability’ cell and the hypnotist acts on the girls’ subconscious, on their deeply held beliefs after observing them on and off the pitch,” Bompastor added.

SAME TREATMENT

One message the Academy staff are trying to convey is that girls are as good as boys.

“Women’s nature is such that we have low self-esteem. So self-esteem is a big topic for our girls,” said Bompastor.

This is not the case with the boys, she added.

“Some 14, 15-year-old boys still think they would beat our professional players, we tell them this would not be happening. We still need to work on those beliefs,” she said.

Female players also have to face questions that their male counterparts do not, Bompastor explained.

“In France there is a problem with the way women are considered, there are high aesthetic expectations. So we get heavy questions on femininity, intimate questions that men don’t get,” she said.

OL’s Academy has been held up as a shining example for others to follow, even in the U.S., where women’s soccer has a wider audience than in Europe.

“About one third of the (senior women’s) squad comes from the Academy, we have a good balance,” said Bompastor.

“I’m getting tons of requests from American universities and foreign clubs, who want to come and visit our facilities.”

‘ONE CLUB’

The salaries of the senior players is one area where there remains a large discrepancy between Lyon’s men’s and women’s teams.

While the three best-paid women players in the world are at Lyon with Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg earning 400,000 euros ($445,520) a year, this figure is dwarfed by the around 4 million euros earned annually by men’s player Memphis Depay.

There is, however, a level of interaction between the men’s and women’s players that is not present at many other clubs.

“When you talk about OL you talk about women and men, you talk about one club and you feel it when you are here or outside in the city,” Germany defender Carolin Simon told Reuters.

“We see it when we play in the big stadium. It’s not ‘normal’ for women’s football,” the 26-year-old, who joined the club last year, added.

Lyon’s female players also enjoy respect from their male counterparts, Simon said.

“It’s very cool, it’s a big honor to feel that it doesn’t matter if you are a professional man or woman. We talk with the men, there are handshakes, it’s a good atmosphere and it’s also why we are successful,” said Simon.

“The men respect us and it’s not just for the cameras.”

Her team mate, England’s Lucy Bronze, sees the men’s respect as key to improving women’s football.

“We might not be paid the same but they are just normal with us, they see us as footballers the same as they are,” Bronze told Reuters.

“Being at Lyon has really opened my eyes. To improve women’s football, it starts with having the respect of your male counterparts. It’s the biggest thing because they can influence so many people.”

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian migrants, stranded in war-torn Yemen, sit on the ground of a detention site pending repatriation to their home country, in Aden, Yemen
FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian migrants, stranded in war-torn Yemen, sit on the ground of a detention site pending repatriation to their home country, in Aden, Yemen April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo

April 26, 2019

GENEVA (Reuters) – Yemeni authorities have rounded up about 3,000 irregular migrants, predominantly Ethiopians, in the south of the country, “creating an acute humanitarian situation,” the U.N. migration agency said on Friday.

“IOM is deeply concerned about the conditions in which the migrants are being held and is engaging with the authorities to ensure access to the detained migrants,” the International Organization for Migration said.

The migrants are held in open-air football stadiums and in a military camp, it said in a statement.

The detentions began on Sunday in the city of Aden and the neighboring province of Lahj, which are under the control of the internationally recognized government backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iran-aligned Houthi rebels control Sanaa, the capital, and other major urban centers.

Both sides are under international diplomatic pressure to implement a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire deal agreed last year in Sweden and to prepare for a wider political dialogue that would end the four-year-old war.

Thousands of migrants arrive in Yemen every year, mostly from the Horn of Africa, driven by drought and unemployment at home and lured by the wages available in the Gulf.

(Writing by Maher Chmaytelli, Editing by William Maclean)

Source: OANN

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U.S. dollar notes are seen in this picture illustration
U.S. dollar notes are seen in this November 7, 2016 picture illustration. Picture taken November 7. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them.

1/DOLLAR JUGGERNAUT

The dollar has zipped to near two-year highs, leaving many scratching their heads. To many, it’s down to signs the U.S. economy is chugging ahead while the rest of the world loses steam. After all, Wall Street is busily scaling new peaks day after day.

Never mind the cause, the effect is stark. The euro has tumbled to 22-month lows against the dollar and investors are preparing for more, buying options to shield against further downside. Emerging-market currencies are also in pain, with Turkish lira and Argentine peso both sharply weaker.

Now U.S. data need to keep surprising on the upside or even just meet expectations. The International Monetary Fund sees U.S. growth at 2.3 percent this year. For Germany, the forecast is 0.8 percent. The U.S. economy’s rude health has given rise to speculation the Fed might resume raising interest rates. Unlikely. But as other countries — Canada, Sweden and Australia are the latest — hint at more policy easing, there seems to be one way the dollar can go. Up.

(GRAPHIC: Dollar outperforms G10 FX – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dz17S5)

2/FED: UP OR DOWN?

Wall Street is near record highs and recession worries are receding, so as we mentioned above, investors might wonder if the Federal Reserve will start raising rates again.

Such a pivot is unlikely after the Fed killed off rate-rise expectations at its March meeting. And the latest Reuters poll all but puts to bed any risk of rates will go up this economic cycle, given inflation remains below the Fed’s alarm threshold and unemployment is the lowest in generations.

Before the March rate-pause announcement, a preponderance of economists penciled in one or more increases this year. But that has flipped. A majority of those surveyed April 22-24 see no further tightening through December and more are leaning toward a cut by the end of next year.

Indeed, interest rate futures imply Fed Funds will be below the current 2.25-2.50 percent target range by this December.

Recent positive consumer spending and exports data have eased market concerns of a sharp economic slowdown. But inflation probably needs to run hot for a long period to panic policymakers off their wait-and-see course.     

(GRAPHIC: Federal funds and the economy – https://tmsnrt.rs/2DzjTZz)

3/HEISEI TO REIWA

Next week ends three decades of Japan’s Heisei era. Heisei, or Achieving Peace, began in 1989 near the peak of a massive stock market bubble and closes with the country trapped in low growth, no inflation, and negative interest rates.

The new era that dawns on May 1 is called Reiwa, meaning Beautiful Harmony. It begins when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne. But do investors really want harmony? What they want to see is a bit of economic growth and inflation to shake up the status quo.

The Bank of Japan’s stimulus toolkit to revive a long-suffering economy is anything but harmonious and yet it’s set to stay. The central bank confirmed recently rates will stay near zero for a long time. But the coming days may not be harmonious or peaceful for currency markets. A 10-day Golden Week holiday kicks off on April 29 and investors are fretting over the risk of a “flash crash” – a violent currency spasm that can occur in times of thin trading turnover.

The year has already seen two yen spikes and many, including Japan’s housewife-trader brigade – so-called Mrs Watanabes – appear to have bought yen as the holiday approaches. Their short dollar/long yen positions recently reached record highs, stock exchange data showed.

(GRAPHIC: Japan stocks: from Hensei to Reiwa – https://tmsnrt.rs/2W6a7Fe)

4/EARNING TURNING

Quarterly earnings were supposed to be the worst in Europe in almost three years, but with a third of results in, things are looking a little rosier.

Two-thirds of companies’ results have beat expectations, and they point to earnings growth of 4.5 percent year-on-year. Financials have delivered the biggest surprises, according to analysis by Barclays.

That might just show how low expectations were. In fact, analysts are still taking a red pen to their estimates.

The latest I/B/E/S data from Refinitiv shows analysts on average expect first-quarter earnings-per-share for STOXX 600-listed companies to fall 4.2 percent. That would be their worst quarter since 2016 and down sharply from an estimated 3.4 percent just a week earlier.

Those estimates may end up being a little too bearish as earnings season goes on, quelling worries that Europe is heading toward a corporate recession.

GSK and Reckitt Benckiser will give the market a glimpse of the health of the consumer products market and spending on everything from toothpaste, washing powder and paracetamol.

(GRAPHIC: Earnings forecasts – https://tmsnrt.rs/2DuO2ZF)

5/WAITING FOR THE OLD LADY

Sterling has gone into the doldrums amid the Brexit delay and unproductive talks between the UK government and the opposition Labour party on a EU withdrawal deal. The resurgent dollar, meanwhile, has taken 2 percent off the pound in April. It is unlikely the Bank of England will be able to rouse it at its May 2 meeting.

Despite robust retail and jobs data of late, the economic picture is gloomy – 2019 growth is likely to be around 1.2 percent, the weakest since 2009, investment is down and Governor Mark Carney says business uncertainty is “through the roof”.

Indeed, expectations for an interest rate increase have been whittled down; Reuters polls forecast rates will not move until early 2020, a calendar quarter later than was forecast a month ago. The hunt for a new governor to replace Carney in October adds more uncertainty to the mix.

The recent run of UK data has fueled hopes of economic rebound. That’s put net hedge fund positions in the pound into positive territory for the first time in nearly a year. The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street might temper some of that optimism.

(GRAPHIC: Sterling positions – https://tmsnrt.rs/2XJwUXX)

(Reporting by Alden Bentley in New York, Vidya Ranganathan in Singapore; Karin Strohecker, Josephine Mason and Saikat Chatterjee in London; compiled by Sujata Rao; edited by Larry King)

Source: OANN

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