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Osaka powers into fourth round at Indian Wells

Tennis: BNP Paribas Open-Day 8
Mar 11, 2019; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Naomi Osaka (JPN) in her third round match as she defeated Danielle Collins (not pictured) in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

March 12, 2019

(Reuters) – World number one Naomi Osaka powered into the fourth round at Indian Wells on Monday after a 6-4 6-2 victory over Danielle Collins.

The 21-year-old Japanese had a shaky start when she was broken early in the first set but quickly found her groove and broke the American four times and struck 29 winners to advance.

The U.S. and Australian Open champion, who is also defending the title at Indian Wells, will next face Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic, who beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4 6-2.

The duo were joined in the fourth round by seven-times Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, who defeated qualifier Christina McHale 6-2 7-5.

The 38-year-old Williams, who showed her mettle in the second round where she upset world number three Petra Kvitova, will meet unseeded German Mona Barthel in the fourth round.

“I feel definitely more comfortable going into that match than, for example, today,” Williams told reporters.

“I had never played (McHale) before, so you feel like you don’t really know what’s going to happen.

Earlier, Latvian 11th seed Anastasija Sevastova became the latest player to be stuck down with a viral illness at the tournament.

Sevastova was down 5-0 in the first set of her third round match with Estonian 21st seed Anett Kontaveit when she retired.

Her departure came less than 24 hours after Serena Williams was unable to continue her match on Sunday, also citing a viral illness.

Men’s third seed Alexander Zverev also said on Monday after losing to fellow German Jan-Lennard Struff that he too had a virus.

Among those women still feeling healthy, three-times grand slam champion Angelique Kerber battled back to beat Russian qualifier Natalia Vikhlyantseva 3-6 6-1 6-3.

Kerber took a while to warm to her task on a cool morning in the California desert.

“She was playing really fast and flat, so that was something I was not really expecting,” the German said of her opponent.

“I was trying to adjust, especially with my movement at the end of the first set and beginning of the second, and I think that was the key to coming back.”

Fifth seed Karolina Pliskova was not at her very best but still prevailed 6-3 6-2 over Ysaline Bonaventure.

“I felt somehow strange and the match was strange,” said Pliskova.

(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina and Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; editing by Ken Ferris/Greg Stutchbury)

Source: OANN

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India’s Modi may face some civil service departures from his office if re-elected: sources

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election campaign rally in Junagadh
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses an election campaign rally in Junagadh, Gujarat, India, April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Amit Dave

April 10, 2019

By Rupam Jain and Manoj Kumar

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The Indian government may have to make a series of major changes at the top of the nation’s civil service if Prime Minister Narendra Modi is re-elected to a second term in May, according to multiple sources in the administration.

At least eight senior bureaucrats in the prime minister’s office have either sought a transfer to other departments or plan to take premature retirement, three government officials said. The officials, from the prime minister’s office, the home (interior) ministry and the foreign ministry, declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject.

Two of them said they too are keen to be transferred to state capitals or to other jobs. They said officials in several ministries were trying to move, but did not have a number.

There are about 25 senior civil servants working in the prime minister’s office, which under Modi has become the single most powerful department in government.

The three officials said the reasons for wanting out are almost all the same. Many top bureaucrats complained about two aspects of the Modi administration – their inability to influence government policy as it is largely controlled and set by the prime minister and a small group of ministers and advisers, and the demanding work schedule they face.

“The sense of partnership is missing, Modi and his ministers do not have an organic relationship with the bureaucrats,” said the civil servant in the home ministry.

Sanjay Mayukh, a spokesman for Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), declined to comment on the grounds that governance issues were managed directly by ministers.

A spokesman in the prime minister’s office did not return phone calls seeking comment.

To be sure, some other major governments around the world often face a series of departures and changes, especially when a first term morphs into a second term.

Also, just because an official talks about quitting doesn’t mean they will.

But in India, officials in the prime minister’s office are hand-picked for loyalty and tend to stay if the administration is re-elected. Modi’s BJP-led alliance is tipped to win a slim majority in the April-May general election, pollsters say.

Senior bureaucrats said Modi’s top-down approach, and his orders to work on public holidays, to demand they submit details of their assets, and to clean their own workplaces at the start of a five-year cleanliness campaign in 2014, has widened the gap between the civil servants and the nation’s leader.

Amit Shah, a close aide of Modi and the head of the BJP, in a closed door meeting attended by two ministers in February said bureaucrats continued to suffer from “communist romanticism”, a reference to the alleged influence of the left-leaning Congress opposition party on the bureaucrats. The ministers, who spoke to Reuters, declined to be identified.

DISCONNECT WITH RULING PARTY

For some of the 5,000 or so mandarins who run the Indian government, its state-owned entities, as well as administration at state government level, Modi’s style of leadership has been a jolt. 

Many of these top officials have received a Western-style education at India’s elite universities or schools overseas and are uncomfortable with the ruling party’s right-wing Hindu nationalism and Modi’s rough-hewn approach to governance.

While getting into the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), is incredibly hard – only 1 out of about 4,500 who took the civil service exam got selected in 2018 – traditionally once someone got in they had a job for life with few risks of ever getting fired.

An IAS job – one of the most sought after in India – bestows huge power as well as cheap housing, a car with a driver and other perks, leave for government-paid foreign study, and often the chance for plum positions in business or government consultative work after retirement. There is also a handsome pension.

But such conditions can also breed complacency and a lack of ‘can do’ behavior, according to Indian politicians and civil servants.

They say there are plenty of Sir Humphreys in New Delhi, referring to a character in the British TV comedy series “Yes Minister” about how top officials in Whitehall stall government policies they don’t agree with.

In particular, there is deep resentment in the top echelons of the Indian civil service over the interference in government by the Rashtriya Swayemsevak Sangh (RSS), the Hindu right-wing umbrella group of which the BJP is a part, these officials said.

RSS functionaries have had a major role in successfully lobbying for big changes at the Reserve Bank of India, for example, leading to last December’s resignation of its governor and his replacement with an official who is considered more loyal to Modi, officials said.

TECHNOCRATS, NOT GENERALISTS

RSS figures also criticize Modi for not having enough professionally trained experts in place to implement some of his more controversial policies.

“The country needs a professional administration for economic development and can’t depend on generalists,” said Ashwani Mahajan, co-convenor of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM), the economic wing of the RSS that has campaigned against some bureaucrats.

Last year, Modi proposed bringing in at least ten professionals from the private sector into the civil service at the joint secretary level, but the plan has still to be implemented, and is facing strong resistance from civil servants. Joint Secretaries are two rungs below full Secretaries, the top civil servant in a ministry.

A senior finance ministry official said major policy decisions including demonetization, Modi’s decision to wipe out high-denomination bank notes without warning in 2016 and to hastily launch a goods and services tax that hit millions of small businesses and jobs, were examples of political decisions that didn’t get enough airing among officials before being implemented. Both are thought to have hurt jobs growth, economists say.

There is a wider concern in the civil service about India being ruled by a Hindu nationalist party that some see destroying the country’s previous tolerant and secular nature.

But the hours are as much of a concern to some.

“I am looking out for other opportunities and have even requested for a transfer because it is almost impossible to work for 12-13 hours every day, even during weekends,” said a senior official working with Modi since 2014.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar, Rupam Jain.; Editing by Martin Howell and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

Source: OANN

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Bill Bennett jokes maybe Sanders’ tax returns reveal ‘he’s got $32T in there’ to cover the Medicare for All plan

As 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was about to unveil a new version of his “Medicare for All” plan Wednesday, Bill Bennett, former Education Secretary under President Ronald Regan, weighed in on the potential cost.

“As Ronald Reagan would say about Bernie Sanders view ‘there you go again,’ more movement to the left among the leaders of this Democrat party, runners for the presidential nomination,” said Bennett, a Fox News contributor, on “America’s Newsroom” Wednesday.

“Look, it’s a $32 trillion dollar bill at least. I don’t know if you made the connection but Bernie Sanders has not released his tax returns, maybe he’s got $32 trillion in there that can cover this but I kind of doubt it,” joked Bennett.

SANDERS SAYS HE'S A MILLIONAIRE, VOWS TAX DAY RELEASE OF HIS RETURNS

Sen. Sanders, I-Vt., who is expected to release his tax returns on Monday, is one of the most outspoken lawmakers in support of the policy and used “Medicare for All” as part of his platform in his 2016 presidential campaign. He is expected to use the updated version of the proposal for his 2020 run, shaking up the election by reopening the debate over his call to eliminate private health insurance.

BERNIE SANDERS UNVEILS MEDICARE FOR ALL PROPOSAL, SAYS ROLE OF HEALTH CARE INSURERS WOULD BE REDUCED TO 'NOSE JOBS'

The plan’s astronomical price tag is under fire from President Donald Trump and Republicans including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who slammed it as a far-left social experiment. On Tuesday McConnell, R-Ky., wrote on Twitter, “Democrats’ “Medicare for None” would slap a $32 trillion tab on Americans, and that’s just a rough estimate for the first decade. And competing private insurance policies -- like the ones that 180 million Americans currently use -- would be banned outright.”

Four of Sanders' fellow senators and rivals for the Democratic nomination, including Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif., are set to sign on to the updated single-payer health care proposal.

“They’ll all follow him. He’s the Pied Piper and they will follow him and many of them have endorsed this idea,” said Bennett.

MCCONNELL BLASTS 'MEDICARE FOR ALL' AS 'FAR-LEFT SOCIAL EXPERIMENT'

Some candidates who back the plan tout it as one of several ways to achieve more affordable coverage and lower the number of uninsured.

“This idea has initial approval from the public, about 50% when they first hear about it. When they hear that they will lose their individual insurance plan it goes down in the 30s, when they hear what it will cost it goes down in the 20s,” said Bennett. “This is a nonstarter, this is something Donald Trump can use to great advantage in a campaign.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Those candidates who don't support “Medicare for All” are instead focusing on safeguarding popular provisions of the Affordable Care Act, such as the one that protects coverage for those with pre-existing conditions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Space “Speed Bumps” Slowing Down Satellites

Researchers at the University of New Hampshire Space Science Center find that “speed bumps” in space, which can slow down satellites orbiting closer to Earth, are more complex than originally thought.

“We knew these satellites were hitting “speed bumps,” or “upswellings,” which cause them to slow down and drop in altitude,” said Marc Lessard, a physicist at UNH. “But on this mission we were able to unlock some of the mystery around why this happens by discovering that the bumps are much more complicated and structured.”

In the study, published in AGU’s journal Geophysical Research Letters, scientists outline their observations during the Rocket Experiment for Neutral Upwelling 2 (RENU2) mission finding that a type of high-altitude auroras, or northern lights, are responsible, at least in part, for moving pockets of air high into the atmosphere where they can cause drag on passing satellites, similar to driving a car into a strong headwind.

These auroras, viewed from the Kjell Henrickson Observatory in Norway, were not the typical bright ribbons of light seen in the night skies in Earth’s high latitudes. Known as Poleward Moving Auroral Forms (PMAF), these auroras were less energetic, dim and distant.


Special break down of the cutting-edge programs our leaders are secretly engaged in.

Scientists had long suspected that the aurora may be instigating the upwelling events affecting the lower altitude satellites because when they were flying through the aurora they would encounter “space speed bumps” caused by the heating up of the very high-altitude thermosphere. But since they occur at such high altitudes, these lower-energy auroras transfer more of their energy to the thin atmosphere at 250-400 kilometers (150-250 miles) above the ground, and produce more interesting effects than more familiar aurora, which sparkle at closer to 100 kilometers (60 miles) up.

“You can think of the satellites traveling through air pockets or bubbles similar to those in a lava lamp as opposed to a smooth wave,” said Lessard.

When early space programs first put satellites into orbit, they noticed the degradation of the satellites’ orbits when the sun was active. The problem is when the extra drag slows down the satellites they move closer to Earth. Without extra fuel to boost them back up, they will eventually fall back to Earth.

(Photo by NASA)

These specific satellites, that orbit in this area closer to Earth, are important because they do everything from take pictures of Earth to help provide up-to-date information for climate monitoring, crop yields, urban planning, disaster response and even military intelligence.

Funding for this research was provided by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).


Alex Jones describes how our ancestors’ tribal call to war is sounding out yet again, this time for the information war, and we must fight all tyrannical, oppressive ideas to truly defeat globalism worldwide.

Source: InfoWars

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Meeting with North Korean leader gives Putin more leverage

For Russian President Vladimir Putin, a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offers a chance to raise Moscow's clout in the region and gain more leverage with Washington.

While Russia's ability to influence Kim's position is limited compared to that of China, a dialogue with Kim could allow Putin to emerge as an essential player in the North Korean nuclear standoff.

With Russia-U.S. ties at their post-Cold War low over the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria and Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the crisis over North Korea is a rare subject where Moscow and Washington could find some common ground and engage in political dialogue.

"There are areas where Washington and Moscow can and do cooperate, and North Korea is one of those areas," said Dmitri Trenin, the director of the Carnegie Moscow Center.

He noted that Putin wants to send a message to Washington — as well as Beijing and Seoul — that "Russia should be factored in when Korean issues are discussed."

Moscow's involvement comes at a tense moment when talks between Washington and Pyongyang are on hold following the failure of U.S. President Donald Trump's summit with Kim in Hanoi. For Kim, the meeting with Putin would be a win even if he just gets a cautious statement of solidarity with the North, or a rebuttal of Washington's policies.

"Right now, after the failure of the Hanoi Summit, Russia can play a role," said Georgy Toloraya, a former Russian diplomat who has extensive experience in the North Korean affairs. "That would be very useful. If Putin ever meets Trump, it will be one of the issues on the agenda."

Russia has a border with North Korea and, like the U.S., strongly opposes Pyongyang's nuclear bid.

"Russia is worried that Korea could become potentially a battleground for a new conflict ... potentially with nuclear overtones," Trenin said. "It is also worried that the North Korean nuclear and missile programs could lead to accidents that could endanger Russian security."

Moscow has argued that the crisis should be settled through U.S. providing security guarantees to the North and easing sanctions against Pyongyang.

Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov hailed the importance of U.S.-North Korean talks and promised Tuesday that the Kremlin will seek to "strengthen the positive trends and work to create preconditions and positive atmosphere for reaching solid agreements."

Putin has welcomed Trump's meetings with Kim, but urged the U.S. to do more to assuage Pyongyang's security concerns.

Trenin predicted that Putin "will try to steer the North Korean leader toward a productive, constructive dialogue with the U.S," but added that "Russia will not go out of its way to help the U.S. to try to push Pyongyang closer to accepting Washington's view."

"We don't need to punish North Korean people or even elite, we need to find a new way for them to be incorporated into the modern world," Toloraya said. "The U.S. knows that we don't have our own egoistic interests in North Korea, unlike China."

A supportive statement from Putin would be a big gift for Kim, who is also hoping to woo Russian investment to help build up its infrastructure.

Russia's past efforts to engage the North haven't always been successful.

Moscow maintained strong ties with Pyongyang during the Soviet era, building dozens of factories, sending supplies and providing weapons. Those ties fell apart after the 1991 Soviet collapse, with Russia withdrawing its support for former Soviet allies amid an economic meltdown.

Putin visited Pyongyang months after he was first elected in 2000. Seeking to steal the global limelight, Putin boasted about securing then-leader Kim Jong Il's promise to abandon Pyongyang's missile program in exchange for foreign help in launching satellites, but he suffered a setback when Kim quickly disavowed his statement.

Despite the flop, Putin continued courting Kim, who crossed Russia by train to visit Moscow in 2001. The North Korean leader again visited regions in Russia's far east the following year, and made another trip across the border in 2011.

When Kim Jong Un came to power, the Kremlin hoped that he would visit Moscow to attend a 2015 Red Square parade marking the 70th anniversary of its WWII victory. Kim didn't show up.

Russia also was involved in the Chinese-led six-nation talks, aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear programs in exchange for aid and security guarantees. The North withdrew from those talks in 2009.

For many years, Moscow has pushed for building a trans-Korean railway, natural gas pipeline and power lines — massive projects that would allow Russia to significantly increase its regional clout. No visible progress has been made.

While Russia's leverage with North Korea was dwarfed by that of China, Pyongyang's main sponsor and ally, the North has been wary of its overdependence on Beijing and willing to accept Moscow's engagement.

"China and the U.S. are two superpowers, and North Korea has a reason to stand up to both in different ways," Trenin said. "Russia is a country whose attractiveness to North Korea lies precisely in it not having major leverage. Russia has this potential of being seen as a relatively benign actor by the North Koreans."

Russian-North Korean military cooperation and most of the trade was stopped by United Nations sanctions, but Moscow supplied grain and provided humanitarian aid to the North, and tens of thousands of North Korean migrant laborers have worked in Russia's underpopulated Far East.

Toloraya warned against underestimating a role Russia could play in the standoff, saying that Moscow has taken a cautious line but could emerge as a top player if need be.

"We have the tools, we don't use them. If we would like to supply a dozen or so of S-400 (air defense missile systems) to North Korea, it will change the whole balance of power in Korea, it's just one example."

___

AP Pyongyang bureau chief Eric Talmadge contributed to this report from Tokyo. Francesca Ebel in Moscow contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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Leaders hint Poland will not fully apply EU copyright law

Poland's right-wing leaders have hinted they will not implement fully the European Union's copyright reform, saying it stifles freedom of speech.

Ruling party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Saturday that a copyright directive adopted by EU lawmakers this week, to be implemented by the 28 member nations, threatens freedom.

Proponents say it ensures that authors and artists are paid; the Polish government says the rules will ban the linking of information and memes.

Without specifying, Kaczynski said the Law and Justice party will implement it "in a way that will preserve freedom."

His words at the euroskeptic party's campaign convention ahead of the European Parliament elections in May were apparently aimed at attracting young voters, and countering claims that the party's policies are curbing free speech and ideas.

Source: Fox News World

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Bond yield curveball stalls global stocks rally

The German share price index DAX graph at the stock exchange in Frankfurt
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Staff/File Photo

March 31, 2019

By Josephine Mason

LONDON (Reuters) – This year’s roaring rally in world equities ran into sand by the end of the quarter, with warning signs from bond markets, U-turns from central banks and persistent trade worries scattering consensus about what happens over the rest of 2019.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index has climbed 12.2 percent in the first three months of the year, its best quarter in four years, while the S&P 500 is on track for its biggest quarterly gain in nearly a decade.

A bounceback was expected after the historic rout in late 2018, but few investors predicted the size of the rebound or the scale of the about-turn by European and U.S. central banks on interest rates that helped fuel it.

The majority of the gains were logged in January – between 6 and 8 percent – as dovish comments from the Federal Reserve, economic stimulus in China and easing trade tensions between Beijing and Washington soothed worries about slowing economic growth.

In March, however, the pace slowed to 1 percent as euphoria over slower rate hikes turned to worries about what the uber-dovish Fed and ECB stance said about the world economy amid tepid U.S. and euro-zone growth.

Now few are taking a strong view.

“People are wondering if they’ve missed the rally and then they think it doesn’t make sense to invest when the curve is inverted and the economy is slowing,” said Willem Sels, chief market strategist at HSBC Private Banking.

He reckons global stocks have the potential to rise another 5 to 7 percent, with the inversion of the bond yield curve overdone.

“The next few weeks will be more volatile, people are going to be concerned until they see the data improve and Q1 earnings might not be very good so we’re in a zone of higher volatility,” he said.

A poll of investors across the globe in February revealed the wide dispersion of views about how equities will fare over the next 12 months, illustrating the lack of consensus across the market.

Take the estimates for the S&P 500: The highest called for the index to rise 25 percent, while the most bearish pegged the market falling by around 10 percent by mid-2020.

Europe displayed a similar disparity, with estimates ranging between a 15 percent rise and a plus-20 percent increase for the STOXX 600.

In the end, the median forecast for the pan-European STOXX 600 and FTSE 100 were level with the current markets, suggesting that gains across stocks have run their course.

(Graphic: Stocks poll forecasts – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Wp4txY)

(Graphic: Stocks poll forecasts 2 – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Wpouoa)

For an interactive version of these charts, click here:

https://tmsnrt.rs/2Wgtc7w

https://tmsnrt.rs/2WmcQu3

Implied volatility in European and U.S. stock markets, often viewed as a gauge of fear, also plunged in the first quarter. The Wall Street fear gauge has more than halved to 13 points from the December peaks, while the same measure in Europe dropped to a third of its late-2018 highs.

(Graphic: The VIX volatility gauge falls by half in Q1 2019 – https://tmsnrt.rs/2V4QE7o)

(Graphic: Global market asset performance 2019 – https://tmsnrt.rs/2HMUijc)

For an interactive version of these charts, click here:

https://tmsnrt.rs/2V2WLsT

https://tmsnrt.rs/2HN0aJE

YIELD CURVEBALL

Capping off a wild quarter were big gyrations in U.S. bond yields last week, which plunged investors deeper into confusion.

With 10-year U.S. bond yields below 3-month T-bill rates for the first time in more than a decade, recession fears were swirling.

But the 2- to 10-year yield curve steepened, offering conflicting signals that there was no cause for alarm.

After all, the world economy is actually chugging along at a decent clip, company earnings are still growing, albeit more slowly, and leading central banks are increasingly dovish.

While it might take months before the markets settle – and it’s dependent on decent macroeconomic data – Wouter Sturkenboom, chief investment strategist for EMEA and APAC at Northern Trust, reckons the bond moves have been overplayed.

“We believe government bonds are overdoing it right now. That’s a vote of no confidence in the Fed and its communication strategy. That’s why we are not de-

(Graphic: U.S. yield curve inverts for first time since 2007 – https://tmsnrt.rs/2UNVc1P)

To break stocks out of their lethargy, investors need some decent macroeconomic data and first-quarter earnings to restore battered confidence.

“We’ve gone a long way now toward pricing in the central banks, and for risk assets to push on into Q2 we are going to need growth to pick up the baton,” said Paul O’Connor, head of Janus Henderson’s UK-based multi-asset team.

“The way risk assets have begun to react to the yield curve is further confirmation that risk assets have probably extracted as much positivity as they can from lower yields.”

But analysts have slashed their 2019 earnings forecasts to their lowest in three years, and most expect the coming earnings season to be weak.

Companies listed on the S&P 500 index are expected to report a 1.9 percent contraction in earnings in the first quarter, down from almost 17 percent growth in the fourth quarter and the worst performance in years, according to I/B/E/S Refinitiv.

European STOXX 600-listed companies are expected to deliver 2.1-percent year-on-year earnings growth, the slowest since the third quarter of 2017.

After such a breathtaking run-up, Justin Onuekwusi, fund manager at Legal & General Investment Management, said he’s not overly concerned that stocks are now taking a breather.

“We have had such a strong bounceback, but markets don’t go in a straight line. It is inevitable you will get some kind of respite,” he said.

(Graphic: Earnings growth global March 29 – https://tmsnrt.rs/2CKYuMj)

(Reporting by Josephine Mason; Additional reporting by Helen Reid and Sujata Rao; Graphics by Ritvik Carvalho; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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)

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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)

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U.S. President Trump departs for travel to Indianapolis from the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs for travel to Indianapolis, Indiana from the White House in Washington, U.S., April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

April 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said trade talks with China are going very well, as the world’s two largest economies seek to end talks with a trade agreement to defuse tensions.

Trump said on Thursday he would soon host China’s President Xi Jinping at the White House.

Earlier this week, the White House said that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would travel to Beijing for more talks on a trade dispute marked by tit-for-tat tariffs between the two countries.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up to his audience as he hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

April 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday praised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments on North Korea this week following the Russian leader’s summit with Pyongyang’s Kim Jong Un.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump also said China was helping with efforts aimed at the denuclearization of North Korea.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Makini Brice; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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