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Airbus proposes Rene Obermann as next chairman from 2020

FILE PHOTO: Deutsche Telekom CEO Obermann attends news conference to present a joint initiative for encrypted email with United Internet in Berlin
FILE PHOTO: Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann attends a news conference to present a joint initiative for encrypted email with United Internet in Berlin August 9, 2013. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

April 10, 2019

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – European planemaker Airbus said it would propose former Deutsche Telekom chief Rene Obermann as its next chairman starting from 2020, completing the shift to what current chairman Denis Ranque called a “new generation of management”.

Obermann was chief executive of Deutsche Telekom from 2006 to 2013. He is currently a managing director of private equity investor Warburg Pincus and had been seen in Berlin as the favorite of the German government for the post.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)

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Mother gets one year in jail after infant daughter drowns in basement sewage

The mother of an 11-month-old girl who died last year after falling through a hole in the floor of her Detroit home and then drowning in basement flooded with sewage has been sentenced to a single year in jail.

Dasiah Jordan, 26, also received four years of probation Monday after pleading guilty to second-degree child abuse and involuntary manslaughter, according to WJBK. Her infant daughter, Ca’Mya Davis, died last July while being watched by 28-year-old Tonya Desirae Peterson.

“You will suffer for the rest of your life about this, but you shall hopefully learn from this and move on, and hopefully be the best mother [you] can be for the children,” the station quoted a judge as saying to Jordan, who has two other children, ages 10 and 7.

POLICE SAY 8-YEAR-OLD TWINS KILLED BY GRANDMOTHER

Ca’Mya, Fox News previously reported, found an opening in the floor where a vent would be located and fell into the basement filled with standing sewage and water. Jordan had left the child with the babysitter while she went to a hair appointment.

Jordan told WJBK at the time that she knew about the hole and how the basement occasionally would flood, but that she would typically cover the hole herself.

"I don't know why it was uncovered or why she was in the room at that moment," Jordan said.

Prosecutors, during court proceedings, said both women were aware of the room’s hazardous conditions. Jordan also said she would usually cover the hole with a Pack ‘n Play crib, WJBK reported.

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A medical examiner ultimately ruled that the death was an accidental drowning.

Peterson is expected to be sentenced Tuesday on the same convictions as Jordan, the station added.

Fox News' Michael Sinkewicz and Travis Fedschun contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News National

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Thailand’s rising political star under fire as election nears

Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of the Future Forward Party, takes a selfie with his supporter during his campaign rally in Bangkok
Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, leader of the Future Forward Party, takes a selfie with his supporter during his campaign rally in Bangkok, Thailand, February 22, 2019. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

February 26, 2019

By Patpicha Tanakasempipat

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Young people line up to take selfies with him. His hashtags are trending. And when billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit promises an end to Thailand’s military “dictatorship”, supporters of his Future Forward Party roar their approval.

The 40-year-old heir to an auto parts fortune is a political newcomer and social media star who has energized young voters ahead of March 24 elections, the first since a coup in 2014.

“I urge our ‘Futuristas’ to campaign against the future in which the junta leader comes back as a prime minister,” Thanathorn said at a rally on Saturday.

His message has drawn the attention of police, who want to prosecute him under the Computer Crime Act for criticizing the junta in a Facebook video in June. If found guilty of uploading false information, he could face up to five years in prison.

He denies wrongdoing, and will meet on Wednesday with prosecutors who will decide whether to take the case to court.

Thanathorn also faces a lobbyist’s petition asking the Election Commission to disqualify him as a candidate.

These moves, he said, are a sign that his left-wing party is worrying those who want to see the military retain broad power.

“It’s fear. Nobody thought we’d come this far. This is dictatorship’s last struggle for life,” he told Reuters.

Posts shared on social media have cast him as anti-royalist, a serious accusation in a country where criticism of the king is against the law. Thanathorn calls it a smear campaign.

“It’s clear we’ll be playing a significant role after the election. The only way to undermine us is to destroy our credibility by means of law, fake news and hate speech,” he said.

NEW POLITICS?

He promises a new kind of politics to heal the divisions of the past 15 years and reduce the role of the military. The challenge for Thanathorn – nicknamed “Daddy” on social media – will be to turn his online popularity into votes.

The election is broadly seen as a race between the military-backed royalist prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, and supporters of exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown in a 2006 coup.

Parties loyal to Thaksin have won every election since 2001, but after he was ousted, successive governments have been removed by courts or coups, most recently in the 2014 military takeover.

Thai opinion polls can be unreliable, but a Feb. 20-23 survey showed Future Forward topping a list of favored parties with 37.8 percent support, compared to 7.5 percent a month ago.

The February poll conducted by Bansomdej University surveyed 1,152 people in Bangkok, with a three percent margin of error.

Other polls had Future Forward’s support at below 10 percent and lagging the pro-Thaksin Pheu Thai party or the Palang Pracharat party, with junta leader Prayuth as its candidate.

#FAHLOVESDADDY

A former student activist, Thanathorn took over his late father’s Thai Summit Group at age 23. Before entering politics, he was known for running ultra-marathons in the Arctic and Sahara, and trekking in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains.

He has been embraced by social-media savvy youth, many of them politicized in a way rarely seen since state forces crushed student pro-democracy movements in the 1970s..

About 14 percent of the electorate, or 7 million people, are eligible to vote for the first time next month.

They have lived through Thailand’s “color wars”, with anti-Thaksin Yellow Shirt protesters and the ex-premier’s loyalist Red Shirts alternatively paralyzing Bangkok for weeks at a time.

Last week, “#SaveThanathorn” topped Thai-language Twitter after police said they would prosecute him for cyber crimes.

Another hashtag, “#FahLovesDaddy”, had fans jokingly comparing the candidate to a soap opera character “Daddy,” a charismatic businessman pursued by a female protagonist, Fah.

He tweeted back “#DaddyAsksFah” to urge supporters to vote.

“He’s speaking the same language as the new generation, in terms of mindset, world view, perception,” said political scientist Titipol Phakdeewanich of Ubon Ratchathani University.

“GAME OVER FOR DEMOCRACY”

Thanathorn said he was confident his party could send at least 70 members to the 500-member House of Representatives.

That could be enough to influence a coalition against military rule, analysts said, even if his candidacy is in doubt.

On Monday, a lobbyist petitioned election officials to disqualify Thanathorn, alleging he had misled voters in a party biography that described him as chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries, when he in fact had led a provincial chapter.

Thanathorn said the “technical error” was corrected.

Another pro-Thaksin party, Thai Raksa Chart, faces possible dissolution after it nominated the king’s sister, Princess Ubolratana, as its candidate for prime minister.

“With one month left, who knows what magic tricks the junta still has up their sleeves?” Thanathorn said. “If the junta manages to destroy both Thai Raksa Chart and Future Forward, it’s game over for democracy”.

(Reporting by Patpicha Tanakasempipat; Editing by Kay Johnson and Darren Schuettler)

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DOD Wants $304M for Space-Based Weaponry Research

The Department of Defense wants $304 million to fund research on space-based weaponry, including laser beams and neutral particle beams, following reports China and Russia are developing capabilities to threaten the U.S.'s preeminent position, Defense One reports.

The neutral particle beams would be used to disrupt missiles with streams of subatomic particles traveling close to light speed. Lasers, whose photons travel at light speed, would be utilized in the same capacity.

Officials, though, say the explorative studies do not mean much just yet.

"I can't say that it is going to be at a space and weight requirement that's going to actually be feasible, but we're pushing forward with the prototyping and demo," an official told Defense One.

The exploration "means we need to understand as a department, the costs and what it would take to go do that. There's a lot of folklore . . . that says it's either crazy expensive or that it's free. It needs to be a definitive study."

A Pentagon report published in February said China and Russia were developing lasers that could target and destroy U.S. satellites.

"China and Russia, in particular, are developing a variety of means to exploit perceived U.S. reliance on space-based systems and challenge the U.S. position in space," the Defense Intelligence Agency report said.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Hubert Joly to step down as Best Buy CEO

Hubert Joly, the CEO of Best Buy, poses for a photograph before an interview with Reuters in New York
FILE PHOTO: Hubert Joly, the CEO of Best Buy, poses for a photograph before an interview with Reuters in New York, U.S. March 9, 2018. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith

April 15, 2019

(Reuters) – Best Buy Co Inc said on Monday Chief Executive Officer Hubert Joly would step down from his role in June and take over as the executive chairman.

The consumer electronics retailer named Chief Financial Officer Corie Barry as its new CEO.

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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Climate change protesters announce shift to political negotiations after week-long demonstrations in London

The protesters who glued themselves to trains and stopped traffic for days in London are having a change of heart and have announced that they plan to shift towards political activism moving forward.

The group, who call themselves Extinction Rebellion, have said they plan to "pause" their demonstrations of civil disobedience, which have campaigned against what they say is a widespread failure to appropriately address climate change. Protesters said that they wanted to illustrate that they are "not a rabble, (but) rebels with a cause" and are "disciplined and cannot only start disruptive actions but also end these when needed."

Next week, they say, will be "focused on negotiations," organizer Farhana Yamin said, according to BBC.

"Today marks a transition from week one, which focused on actions that were vision-holding but also caused mass disruption across many dimensions," she said.

"Week two marks a new phase of rebellion focused on negotiations where the focus will shift to our actual political demands."

CLIMATE CHANGE PROTESTERS BRING LONDON TO HALT, DEMONSTRATOR GLUES HIMSELF TO SUBWAY TRAIN

Police arrest a protestor couple who are glued together by their hands, at Oxford Circus in London, Friday, April 19, 2019. The group Extinction Rebellion is calling for a week of civil disobedience against what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change

Police arrest a protestor couple who are glued together by their hands, at Oxford Circus in London, Friday, April 19, 2019. The group Extinction Rebellion is calling for a week of civil disobedience against what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

AOC NARRATES VIDEO FROM FUTURE IN WHICH HER 'GREEN NEW DEAL' SAVES US FROM ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE

As of Sunday, more than 800 people were arrested as protesters blocked off major areas of London, including Waterloo Bridge and Oxford Circus, for seven straight days. At one point, campaigners glued themselves to each other, to a subway train, and to the roof of a truck atop Waterloo Bridge.

Now, the group hopes to meet with major political figures, including the Mayor of London, to negotiate their demands about addressing climate change.

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It is not yet known if Mayor Sadiq Khan will be open to negotiations, given that he previously condemned the groups' behavior and called it an "extremely challenging" burden on police.

"I'm extremely concerned about the impact the protests are having on our ability to tackle issues like violent crime if they continue any longer," he said.

"It simply isn't right to put Londoners' safety at risk like this."

Source: Fox News World

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Beto O'Rourke says he never took LSD, promises to stop using profanities

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke had some moments of reckoning on the campaign trail Sunday in Wisconsin, denying he'd ever taken the drug LSD and vowing to stop using profanities, especially in front of kids.

He also said there was “nothing” he hasn’t already revealed about his past that could hurt his candidacy. O’Rourke previously admitted to a 1998 arrest for drunken driving.

O’Rourke was asked about his past drug use after signing a person’s skateboard.

During a stop in Madison, he also pledged to stop using the F-word while campaigning, a profanity he deployed frequently while running for the U.S. Senate in Texas and while exploring his presidential bid.

O’Rourke told a voter who asked about his language: “Great point, and I don’t intend to use the F-word going forward. Point taken, and very strongly made. ... We’re going to keep it clean.”

BETO BOASTS OF HAVING REPUBLICAN MOM, DESPITE HER FREQUENT VOTES FOR DEMOCRATS

O'Rourke had declared, “I’m so f--king proud of you guys” on national television during his concession speech in November after he lost his Senate race to incumbent Republican Ted Cruz.

About 400 people came to the coffee shop to hear O’Rourke. Half made it inside and half listened from the sidewalk through the opened door.

“This state is fundamental to any prospect we have of electing a Democrat to the presidency in 2020,” O’Rourke said, adding that he was “really glad” Milwaukee was chosen to host the 2020 Democratic national convention. The city, which O’Rourke was visiting later Sunday, beat out Miami and Houston.

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O’Rourke noted 20 years ago he toured the state with his punk rock band. He said he’s modeling his campaign off the “punk rock adventure,” which for him meant showing up in many places and meeting people.

O’Rourke said as a punk rocker, he traveled through Wisconsin in a Plymouth Satellite station wagon. He’s been campaigning for president in a minivan.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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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)

Source: OANN

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