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Co-owner of business where 4 slain says she has no clue why

The co-owner of a North Dakota business where four people including her husband were slain says she and others don't know why the suspect would target anyone at the company.

Chad Isaak, 44, a chiropractor in Washburn, faces four felony counts of murder in the April 1 deaths of RJR Maintenance and Management co-owner Robert Fakler and three workers in Mandan, a town of 22,000 near the state capital of Bismarck. Isaak lived on property managed by the company, but police have said that while they have plenty of evidence — spent shell casings, a knife and gun parts — they still haven't identified a motive. That was still the case as of Monday, Deputy Chief Lori Flaten said.

Jackie Fakler said RJR officials had few interactions with Isaak, who lived in a mobile home park the company had begun managing just last June. Marketing executive Ben Pace called those few interactions "all very normal."

Fakler said rumors that RJR was raising Isaak's rent or had ordered him to get rid of his dog are false.

"I don't think anything could make sense out of it, no matter what," she said.

Robert Fakler, 52, and employees Adam Fuehrer, 42, and married co-workers Lois Cobb, 45, and William "Bill" Cobb, 50, were shot or stabbed to death before the business opened that Monday. Jackie Fakler said the four victims typically came to work early. It also wasn't uncommon to have an unlocked door while there were workers on the premises.

"This is like home to a lot of people, and it's like being at home and leaving your front door unlocked while you're home," Pace said.

The victims were in different areas of the building and were killed within 13 minutes, according to Fakler. The Cobbs were in the office area; Fakler and Fuehrer in the back shop area.

Police followed evidence from surveillance video at RJR and other businesses to arrest Isaak three days after the slayings. Court documents allege Isaak took one of the company's vehicles, drove about a block, then walked to his own truck parked in the area. Fakler said it wasn't unusual for Bill Cobb to leave a company truck running with the keys in it.

"(Police) got a lot of footage everywhere," she said. "I think they were able to track (Isaak) from here to him leaving town."

After Isaak got back to Washburn, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Mandan, he allegedly went back to work at his chiropractor office. A client of his, Dora Sorenson, has said Isaak "didn't appear any different."

Fakler said, "It doesn't make sense how anybody could walk away, go to work. None of it makes sense."

She and Pace credited police with making a quick arrest but said they are not privy to much more information than the public. Fakler said she's relieved with the arrest "but then now you're flooded with all the questions — why? What could have been so horrible that he had to take four people's lives?"

Isaak remains jailed on $1 million bond. He hasn't responded to interview requests and doesn't yet have an attorney listed to represent him. He could enter pleas at a May 14 hearing.

Isaak could face life without parole if convicted. North Dakota doesn't have the death penalty.

___

Follow Blake Nicholson on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/NicholsonBlake

Source: Fox News National

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‘He’s great to watch, but he’s not God’: Pope sets fans straight on Messi

FILE PHOTO: La Liga Santander - Real Betis v FC Barcelona
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - La Liga Santander - Real Betis v FC Barcelona - Estadio Benito Villamarin, Seville, Spain - March 17, 2019 Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring their fourth goal to complete his hat-trick REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo

April 1, 2019

BARCELONA (Reuters) – For Barcelona fans, Lionel Messi is ‘D10S’, a combination of the Spanish word for “God” – “dios” – with the No 10 on his shirt. But Pope Francis begs to differ.

Interviewed by Spanish TV channel La Sexta on Sunday, the pope praised his Argentine compatriot Messi, but said he must not be called God.

“In theory, it is sacrilege,” explained the leader of the Catholic Church. “You can’t do it.

“People could call him God, just as they might say ‘I adore you’, but only God can be worshipped.

“(Saying) ‘He’s a god with the ball on the pitch’ is a popular way to express yourself. He’s great to watch – but he’s not God.”

Pope Francis is known to be a football fan, and he is also a club member of Buenos Aires side San Lorenzo.

Two goals from Messi gave Barcelona victory in the Catalan derby over Espanyol on Sunday, taking the Liga leaders another step closer to the title.

(Reporting by Rik Sharma; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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War Room – 2019-Feb-11, Monday – Trump Makes His Way To El Paso In His First Rally Of 2019

In this star-studded edition of the War Room, Harrison Smith welcomes Roger Stone, Ali Alexander and An0maly to discuss the current state of the world. The Deep State has shown its hand with their treatment of Roger, and the Democrats have revealed the depths of their animosity in the hearing with Matt Whitaker. Ali gives us the inside view as Gavin McInnes gears up to take on the SPLC. An0maly breaks down how open-mindedness can be what is needed to break through the conditioning and free ... See More people from the Matrix.

GUEST // (OTP/Skype) // TOPICS:
Ali Alexander//In Studio
An0maly//Skype</span>

Source: The War Room

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Late goal lifts FC Dallas past Rapids

MLS: Colorado Rapids at FC Dallas
Mar 23, 2019; Frisco, TX, USA; Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard (1) makes a save with FC Dallas midfielder Ryan Hollingshead (12) challenging during the second half at Toyota Park. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Dieb-USA TODAY Sports

March 24, 2019

Ryan Hollingshead scored the tiebreaking goal off a rebound in the 82nd minute, and FC Dallas held on to beat the visiting Colorado Rapids 2-1 on Saturday at Frisco, Texas.

What began with a pass into the box from 17-year-old Thomas Roberts ended when Hollingshead drove home a rebound of a Tim Howard save. The late goal improved FC Dallas to 2-1-1 on the young season.

It also came after Colorado (0-2-2) equalized in the 69th minute. Off a set piece, the Rapids’ Kei Kamara put a header off the crossbar. A sliding Tommy Smith got the rebound off his leg, and just over the goal line and into the body of Dallas keeper Jesse Gonzalez.

However, the initial call on the pitch was no goal, but after video review, the Rapids were awarded the goal. It looked like they would earn at least a point on the day, until Dallas responded.

Both sides were minus key players due to internationals duties. Colorado was without key forward Diego Rubio, while FC Dallas did not have starting midfielders Carlos Gruezo and Bryan Acosta. That forced Dallas to start five home-grown players.

Gonzalez, though, surprisingly featured in between responsibilities with the U.S. men’s national squad.

However, youth did not seem to hinder Dallas, which came out of the gate firing. The hosts had the first quality chance of the game when Dominique Badji hit the right post off a set-piece in the third minute. Two minutes later, Paxton Pomykal had his 6-yard attempt blocked.

It would be Michael Barrios, though, who broke through for his second goal of the season in the 35th minute for Dallas. After some nifty passing across the box, Barrios cross-footed a ground strike to the near post and past a diving Howard for the 1-0 lead.

Dallas held a 6-4 advantage in shots on target.

–Field Level Media

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As crucial Brexit votes loom, Theresa May backed by ministers amid coup reports

As a series of Brexit votes loom following a weekend that saw hundreds of thousands take to the streets of London demanding a second referendum, British Prime Minister Theresa May received the backing of several ministers who dismissed reports of a "coup" against the embattled leader.

Chancellor Philip Hammond called any talk of a leadership change "self-indulgent" and Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said the PM "is in charge," according to BBC News, while David Lidington, who has been touted as a replacement for May, said, "I am 100 percent behind the prime minister."

Still, British newspapers are reporting that behind the scenes, several cabinet members are plotting a coup against May and making plans to replace her with a caretaker leader until a proper election can take place later this year. BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg tweeted that there was "serious maneuvering" going on.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS PROTEST IN LONDON TO DEMAND A SECOND BREXIT VOTE

Britain had been set to leave the European Union on March 29 without a deal after May's negotiated agreement was voted down by lawmakers. That vote last week was May's second Brexit defeat in parliament. However, May received a lifeline last week when EU leaders agreed to a short-term Brexit extension.

Throngs of protesters filled the streets of London on Saturday demanding a second referendum. The original Brexit vote, which critics have since said was influenced by Russia-backed disinformation and outright lies about what leaving the EU would mean, passed by 1.3 million votes.

A puppet character depicting British Prime Minister Theresa May is brandished among Anti-Brexit campaigners, during the People's Vote March in London, Saturday March 23, 2019. Protesters are gathering in central London before what is widely predicted to be a massive march in favour of a second Brexit referendum. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

A puppet character depicting British Prime Minister Theresa May is brandished among Anti-Brexit campaigners, during the People's Vote March in London, Saturday March 23, 2019. Protesters are gathering in central London before what is widely predicted to be a massive march in favour of a second Brexit referendum. (Yui Mok/PA via AP)

In the coming days, a range of different scenarios could play out, depending on how British lawmakers vote. They include, according to BBC News: Revoking Article 50 and canceling Brexit altogether, setting up a second referendum, May's deal plus a customs union, May's deal plus a customs union and single-market access, a Canada-style free trade deal, or leaving the EU without a deal.

POPE FRANCIS PRAYS FOR PEACEFUL END TO NICARAGUA CRISIS

Hammond told BBC News that he would remove revoking Article 50 and a no-deal Brexit from the list, saying "both of those would have very serious and negative consequences for our country."

In terms of a second referendum, Hammond said: "It is a coherent proposition and deserves to be considered, along with the other proposals."

Although this coming Friday is the day that Britain was set to leave the EU, the earliest that could now happen is April 12.

Source: Fox News World

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Australian man says boss’s flatulence is form of bullying in $1.2 million lawsuit

An Australian court is being tasked with determining whether flatulence is a forming of bullying in a lawsuit filed a by man against his boss, who regularly “thrusted his bum” at him, according to reports.

David Hingst, 56, a former employee of Construction Engineering, brought a case against supervisor Greg Short, whom he called “Mr. Stinky,” to Australia’s Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria. He is seeking $1.28 million.

KRISTEN BELL RECORDS SONG DAUGHTER WROTE ABOUT FLATULENCE, TITLED 'OOPSIES'

“I would be sitting with my face to the wall and he would come into the room, which was small and had no windows,” Hingst said, according to News.com.au. “He would fart behind me and walk away. He would do this five or six times a day."

The stench would prompt Hingst, an engineer, to spray deodorant at his boss, the news site reported.

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He filed his suit in 2017, claiming the recurrent gas-passing was part of an effort to end his employment. During an 18-day trial, Short claimed he “may have done it once or twice, maybe,” but that he had no intention of harassing Hingst, the Washington Post reported.

The case was dismissed in April, with a judge ruling that even if the flatulence had occurred, it wouldn't necessarily amount to bullying. Hingst appealed and the case was heard Monday by a judicial panel at the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria in Melbourne.

A ruling is expected Friday.

Source: Fox News World

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Shares in Australia’s Crown tumble after Wynn walks from takeover talks

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Australian casino giant Crown Resorts Ltd adorns the hotel and casino complex in Melbourne
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Australian casino giant Crown Resorts Ltd adorns the hotel and casino complex in Melbourne, Australia, June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed

April 10, 2019

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Shares in Australian casino operator Crown Resorts Ltd tumbled on Wednesday after U.S. casino giant Wynn Resorts Ltd abruptly ended takeover talks overnight.

Wynn, the world’s second-largest casino operator, had proposed a buyout valuing Crown at A$10 billion ($7.1 billion), Crown disclosed on Tuesday, but it walked away from the deal after details of the offer became public.

Crown shares fell 10 percent to A$12.50 at the open of trade while the broader market opened 0.1 percent lower.

(Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Paulina Duran; Editing by Michael Perry)

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Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London
Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London, Britain, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Gerhard Mey

April 26, 2019

By Hanna Rantala

LONDON (Reuters) – Irish rockers The Cranberries are saying goodbye with their final album released on Friday, a poignant tribute to lead singer Dolores O’Riordan who died last year.

“In the End” is the eighth studio album from the band that rose to fame in the early 1990s with hits likes “Zombie” and “Linger”, and includes the final recordings by O’Riordan, who drowned in a London hotel bath in January 2018 due to alcohol intoxication.

Work on the album began during a 2017 tour and by that winter, O’Riordan and guitarist Neil Hogan had penned and demoed 11 tracks.

With O’Riordan’s vocals recorded, Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler completed the album in tribute to her.

“When we realized how strong the songs were, that was the deciding factor really… There was no point… trying to ruin the legacy of the band,” Noel Hogan said in an interview.

“It was obvious that Dolores wanted this album done because when you hear the album, you hear the songs and how strong they are, and she was very, very excited to get in and record this.”

The Cranberries formed in Limerick in 1989 with another singer. O’Riordan replaced him a year later and the group went on to become Ireland’s best-selling rock band after U2, selling more than 40 million records.

O’Riordan, known for her strong distinctive voice singing about relationships or political violence, was 46 when she died.

“She was actually in quite a good place mentally. She was feeling quite content and strong and looking forward to a new phase of her life,” Lawler said.

“A lot of the lyrics in this album are about things ending… people might read into it differently but it was a phase of her personal life that she was talking about.”

The group previously announced their intention to split after the release of “In The End”.

“We are absolutely gutted we can’t play (the songs) live because that’s something that’s been a massive part of this band from day one,” Noel Hogan said.

“A few people have said to us about maybe even doing a one off where you have different vocalists… as kind of guests of ours. A year ago that’s definitely something we weren’t going to entertain but I don’t know, I think it’s something we need to go away and take time off for the summer and have a think about.”

Critics have generally given positive reviews of the album; NME described it as “(seeing) the band’s career go full-circle” while the Irish Times called it “an unexpected late career high and a remarkable swan song for O’Riordan”.

Their early songs still play on the radio. This week, “Dreams” was performed at the funeral of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead in Londonderry last week as she watched Irish nationalist youths attack police following a raid.

“We wrote them as kids, as a hobby and 30 years later they are on radio and on TV, like all the time… That’s far more than any of us ever thought we would have,” Noel Hogan said.

“That would make Dolores really happy because she was very precious about those songs. Her babies, she called them and to have that hopefully long after we’re gone… that’s all any band can wish for.”

(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; additoinal reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Susan Fenton)

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2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

April 26, 2019

By Joshua Schneyer and M.B. Pell

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Senator Elizabeth Warren will introduce a bill Friday that offers new protections for U.S. military families facing unsafe housing, following a series of Reuters reports revealing squalid conditions in privately managed base homes.

The Reuters reports and later Congressional hearings detailed widespread hazards including lead paint exposure, vermin infestations, collapsing ceilings, mold and maintenance lapses in privatized base housing communities that serve some 700,000 U.S. military family members.

(View Warren’s military housing bill here. https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dy5aht)

(Read Reuters’ Ambushed at Home series on military housing here. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-military)

The Massachusetts Democrat’s bill would mandate both regular and unannounced spot inspections of base homes by certified, independent inspectors, holding landlords accountable for quickly fixing hazards. The military’s privatization program for years allowed real estate firms to operate base housing with scant oversight, Reuters found, leaving some tenants in unsafe homes with little recourse against landlords.

The bill would also require the Department of Defense and its private housing operators to publish reports annually detailing housing conditions, tenant complaints, maintenance response times and the financial incentives companies receive at each base. The provisions aim to enhance transparency of housing deals whose finances and operations the military had allowed to remain largely confidential under a privatization program since the late 1990s.

The measure would also require private landlords to cover moving costs for at-risk families, and healthcare costs for people with medical conditions resulting from unsafe base housing, ensuring they receive continuing coverage even after they leave the homes or the military.

“This bill will eliminate the kind of corner-cutting and neglect the Defense Department should never have let these private housing partners get away with in the first place,” Warren said in a statement Friday.

The proposed legislation comes after February Senate hearings where Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, slammed private real estate firms for endangering service families, and sought answers about why military branches weren’t providing more oversight.

Her legislation would direct the Defense Department to allow local housing code enforcers onto federal bases, following concerns they were sometimes denied access. Warren’s office said a companion bill in the House of Representatives would be introduced by Rep. Deb Haaland, Democrat of New Mexico.

In response to the housing crisis, military branches are developing a tenant bill of rights and hiring hundreds of new housing staff. The branches recently dispatched commanders to survey base housing worldwide for safety hazards, resulting in thousands of work orders and hundreds of tenants being moved. The Defense Department has pledged to renegotiate its 50-year contracts with private real estate firms.

Congress has been quick to take its own measures. Earlier legislation proposed by senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California, along with Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, would compel base commanders to withhold rent payments and incentive fees from the private ventures if they allow home hazards to persist.

(Editing by Ronnie Greene)

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FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London
FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar

(Reuters) – Deloitte quit as Ferrexpo’s auditor on Friday, knocking its shares by more than 20 percent, days after saying it was unable to conclude whether the iron ore miner’s CEO controlled a charity being investigated over its use of company donations.

Blooming Land, which coordinates Ferrexpo’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, came under scrutiny after auditors found holes in the charity’s statements.

Ferrexpo on Tuesday said findings of an ongoing independent investigation launched in February indicated some Blooming Land funds could have been “misappropriated”. It did not provide any details or publish its findings.

Shares in Ferrexpo, the third largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry, were 23.4 percent lower at 206.1 pence at 1022 GMT following news of Deloitte’s resignation.

“Ferrexpo’s shares are deeply discounted vs peers … following the resignation of Deloitte, we expect downside risks to dominate Ferrexpo’s shares near term.” JP Morgan analyst Dominic O’Kane said in a note on Friday.

Swiss-headquartered Ferrexpo did not provide a reason for the resignation of Deloitte, which declined to comment, while Blooming Land did not respond to a request for comment.

Funding for Blooming Land’s CSR activities is provided by one of Ferrexpo’s units in Ukraine and Khimreaktiv LLC, an entity ultimately controlled by Ferrexpo’s CEO and majority owner Kostyantin Zhevago, Ferrexpo said on Tuesday.

Ferrexpo’s board has found that Zhevago did not have significant influence or control over the charity, but Deloitte said it was unable reach a conclusion on this.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact Zhevago.

In a qualified opinion, a statement addressing an incomplete audit, Deloitte said it had been unable to conclude whether $33.5 million of CSR donations to Blooming Land between 2017 and 2018 was used for “legitimate business payments for charitable purposes”.

Deloitte said on Tuesday that total CSR payments made to Blooming Land by Ferrexpo since 2013 total about $110 million.

Ferrexpo, whose major mines are in Ukraine, has said that the investigation was ongoing and new evidence pointed to potential discrepancies.

Zhevago, 45, who ranked 1,511 on Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires for 2019 with a net worth of $1.4 billion, owns the FC Vorskla soccer club and has been a member of Ukraine’s parliament since 1998.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru and additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kiev; editing by Gopakumar Warrier, Bernard Orr)

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Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba
Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, Mozambique April 26, 2019 in this still image obtained from social media. SolidarMed via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

April 26, 2019

By Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer

JOHANNESBURG/LUANDA (Reuters) – Cyclone Kenneth killed at least one person and left a trail of destruction in northern Mozambique, destroying houses, ripping up trees and knocking out power, authorities said on Friday.

The cyclone brought storm surges and wind gusts of up to 280 km per hour (174 mph) when it made landfall on Thursday evening, after killing three people in the island nation of Comoros.

It was the most powerful storm on record to hit Mozambique’s northern coast and came just six weeks after Cyclone Idai battered the impoverished nation, causing devastating floods and killing more than 1,000 people across a swathe of southern Africa.

The World Food Programme warned that Kenneth could dump as much as 600 millimeters of rain on the region over the next 10 days – twice that brought by Cyclone Idai.

One woman in the port town of Pemba died after being hit by a falling tree, the Emergency Operations Committee for Cabo Delgado (COE) said in a statement, while another person was injured.

In rural areas outside Pemba, many homes are made of mud. In the main town on the island of Ibo, 90 percent of the houses were destroyed, officials said. Around 15,000 people were out in the open or in “overcrowded” shelters and there was a need for tents, food and water, they said.

There were also reports of a large number of homes and some infrastructure destroyed in Macomia district, a mainland district adjacent to Ibo.

A local group, the Friends of Pemba Association, had earlier reported that they could not reach people in Muidumbe, a district further inland.

Mark Lowcock, United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, warned the storm could require another major humanitarian operation in Mozambique.

“Cyclone Kenneth marks the first time two cyclones have made landfall in Mozambique during the same season, further stressing the government’s limited resources,” he said in a statement.

FLOOD WARNINGS

Shaquila Alberto, owner of the beach-front Messano Flower Lodge in Macomia, said there were many fallen trees there, and in rural areas people’s homes had been damaged. Some areas of nearby Pemba had no power.

“Even my workers, they said the roof and all the things fell down,” she said by phone.

Further south, in Pemba, Elton Ernesto, a receptionist at Raphael’s Hotel, said there were fallen trees but not too much damage. The hotel had power and water, he said, while phones rang in the background. “The rain has stopped,” he added.

However Michael Charles, an official for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said heavy rains over the next few days were likely to bring a “second wave of destruction” in the form of flooding.

“The houses are not all solid, and the topography is very sandy,” Charles said.

In the days after Cyclone Idai, heavy inland rains prompted rivers to burst their banks, submerging entire villages, cutting areas off from aid and ruining crops. There were concerns the same could happen again in northern Mozambique.

Before Kenneth hit, the government and aid workers moved around 30,000 people to safer buildings such as schools, however authorities said that around 680,000 people were in the path of the storm.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer; Writing by Emma Rumney; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Alexandra Zavis)

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A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai
FILE PHOTO: A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai, India, May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

April 26, 2019

By Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Surging global oil prices will pose a first big challenge to India’s new government, whoever wins an election now under way, especially as domestic prices have been allowed to lag, meaning consumers are in for a painful surge as they catch up.

For oil-import dependent India, higher global prices could lead to a weaker rupee, higher inflation, the ruling out of interest rate cuts and could further weigh on twin current account and budget deficits, economists warned.

But compounding the future pain, state-run fuel suppliers and retailers have held off passing on to consumers the higher prices during a staggered general election, which began on April 11 and ends on May 23, according to sources familiar with the situation.

That delay is expected to be unwound once the election is over. And there could be additional price increases to make up for losses or profits missed during the period of delayed increases, the sources said.

In some major Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, pump prices are adjusted periodically so they move largely in tandem with international crude prices.

That was what was supposed to happen in India but the election means there have been many days when pump prices have been unchanged.

In New Delhi, for example, while crude oil prices have gone up by nearly $9 a barrel, or about 12 percent, in the past six weeks, gasoline prices have only risen by 0.47 rupees a liter, or 0.6 percent.

State-controlled fuel suppliers and retailers declined to say why they had delayed price increases, or discuss whether there has been any pressure from the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A government spokesman declined to comment.

The opposition Congress party said Modi’s government was violating its own policy of daily price revision by advising the state oil companies to hold prices steady.

“The government should cut fuel taxes otherwise consumers will have to pay much higher oil prices once the elections are over,” said Akhilesh Pratap Singh, a senior leader of the Congress party.

(GRAPHIC: India Polls: Fuel price hike lags crude surge – https://tmsnrt.rs/2XLlxik)

Nitin Goyal, treasurer at the All India Petroleum Dealers Association, representing fuel stations in 25 states, said prices were similarly held down for 19 days in the southern state of Karnataka last year, when it held state assembly elections.

Only for them to surge after the vote.

“Consumers should be ready for a rude shock of a massive jump in retail prices, similar to the level we have seen in the Karnataka state election,” Goyal said.

‘CREDIT NEGATIVE’

Sri Paravaikkarasu, director for Asia oil at Singapore-based consultancy FGE, said retail prices of gasoline and gasoil prices would have been up to 6 percent, or about 4 rupee, higher if they had been allowed to rise in line with global prices.

“Indian pump prices have failed to keep up with the recent uptrend in crude prices,” Paravaikkarasu said.

“With the country’s general elections underway, the incumbent government has been keeping pump prices relatively unchanged.”

India had switched to a daily price revision in June 2017 from a revision every two weeks, as the government allowed retailers to set prices.

But the government faced protests last October when retailers raised prices by up to 10 rupees a liter after the crude oil price went above $80 a barrel, forcing it to cut fuel taxes.

Global prices rose to their highest level in 2019 on Thursday, days after the United States announced all Iran sanction waivers would end by May, pressuring importers including India to stop buying Tehran’s oil. [O/R]

Higher oil prices will mean Asia’s third largest economy is likely to see growth of less than 7 percent rate this fiscal year, economists said. Growth slowed to 6.6 percent in the October-December quarter, the slowest in five quarters.

Rating agency CARE has warned that a 10 percent rise in global oil prices could increase demand for dollars, putting pressure on the rupee and widening the current account deficit.

India’s oil import bill rose by nearly one-third in the fiscal year ending March 31 to $140.5 billion, against $108 billion the previous year.

“The increase in international oil prices is a credit negative for the Indian economy,” ICRA, the Indian arm of the Fitch rating agency, said in a note.

“Every $10/ bbl increase in crude oil prices increases the fiscal deficit by about 0.1 percent of GDP.”

Any big price rise would also build a case for the central bank to keep rates steady, or even raise them.

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee, which cut the benchmark policy repo rate by 25 basis points this month, warned that rising oil and food prices could push up inflation.

Policymakers are worried that a sustained increase in the oil price in the range of $70-75/barrel or higher can move the rupee down by 3-4 percent on an annual basis.

The rupee has depreciated by 1.24 percent against the dollar since a year high in mid-March.

($1 = 70.1800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Martin Howell and Rob Birsel)

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