Upcoming shows
Real News

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Real News with David Knight

9:00 am 12:00 pm



Maga First News

Upcoming Shows

Join The MAGA Network on Discord

0 0

George Papadopoulos: I knew Mueller probe was a 'hoax,' but was barred from speaking out

Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos clarified the “misinformation” about his guilty plea in the Russia probe, saying Tuesday that entire thing was “basically fabricated” by western intelligence.

The 31-year-old, who pleaded guilty in October 2017 to making false statements to FBI agents, said on “Fox & Friends” that he knew the probe by Robert Mueller was a “hoax” but could not speak out about it until after he was sentenced.

“There has been so much misinformation about what my real case was all about. It was about a professor I met in London who the FBI told the world was a Russian agent,” he said.

EX-CIA DIRECTOR JOHN BRENNAN ADMITS HE MAY HAVE HAD 'BAD INFORMATION' REGARDING PRESIDENT TRUMP AND RUSSIA

Papadopoulos was talking about Joseph Misfud, whom the FBI has said was a Russian agent with connections to high-ranking Russian officials. He has been declared missing by Italian officials in September 2018.

“I met this man through an intermediary who represents the FBI in the U.K. and I met him at a university in Rome. I never expected this guy to be a Russian agent,” Papadopoulos said. “Then one day, this person tells me that the Russians have Hillary Clinton’s emails, out of the blue. I don’t believe him. This was not a credible person.”

Papadopoulos said that meeting and a subsequent “bizarre” meeting with Alexander Downer, the top Australian diplomat to the United Kingdom, where he commented about the claim that Russia had Clinton’s emails, triggered the FBI’s investigation into Trump’s presidential campaign.

“I actually was the one who reported Downer to both the FBI and Bob Mueller because of his very bizarre, strange behavior during my meeting with him. He was pulling his phone out, he was recording me. It was very bizarre,” he said.

TRUMP JR.: RUSSIA COLLUSION 'THE GREATEST FARCE EVER PERPETRATED ON OUR DEMOCRACY'

Papadopoulos, who served 14 days at a federal prison in Wisconsin, said he was questioned more than 20 hours where they allegedly tried to force him to “admit” that he had told someone on the Trump presidential campaign about his meetings with Misfud.

“Because if I had told anyone in the campaign, it would have been a conspiracy, but it would have been based on western intelligence basically fabricating the entire thing,” he said. “As I am talking to Mueller’s people and they are trying to get me to say something that I know is not true, I just couldn’t. I had to stick to the facts, the truth.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Papadopoulos opened up about the whole ordeal in his new book, “Deep State Target: How I Got Caught in the Crosshairs of the Plot to Bring Down President Trump,” out now.

Source: Fox News Politics

0 0

As traders tussle over tankers, Turkmenistan slashes oil exports

FILE PHOTO: An oil platform operated by Lukoil is seen at the Korchagina oilfield in the Caspian Sea
FILE PHOTO: An oil platform operated by Lukoil is seen at the Korchagina oilfield in the Caspian Sea, Russia October 17, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/File Photo

February 19, 2019

(This Feb. 14 story corrects the figure in the second paragraph to 200,000 tonnes per month – not per year)

By Alexander Ershov, Olga Yagova and Dmitry Zhdannikov

MOSCOW/LONDON (Reuters) – A clash between trading house Vitol and Azerbaijan’s SOCAR over Caspian Sea oil shipments is forcing Turkmenistan to slash exports of crude due to a lack of tankers.

Turkmenistan typically exports about 200,000 tonnes of oil per month via the Caspian to world markets, mainly from fields operated by the UAE’s ENOC and Italy’s Eni, but flows have halved in recent weeks, six traders involved in operations said.

That happened after Turkmen producers decided to export oil via Russia with the help of Swiss trader Vitol and ditch the previous Azeri route, operated by state-owned SOCAR.

The reasons behind the change are not fully clear but trading sources attributed it to pricing disagreements. Three trading sources said SOCAR had raised tariffs, while one source said Vitol had offered lower tariffs.

“The only problem was that Vitol was lacking tankers,” one of the sources involved in operations said.

Vitol said it would not comment on commercial activity or trading. SOCAR, ENOC and the Turkmen Energy Ministry declined to comment. Russian pipeline monopoly Transneft did not respond to a request for comment.

Eni said it had not been forced to reduce exports or production and that “the situation was stable”.

Russian Energy Ministry data shows that no exports of Turkmen oil occurred via Russia in January. In February, only 80,000 tonnes will be loaded from the Black Sea port of Novorossiisk.

Eni declined to say why its production and exports were stable after such a drop in shipments or whether it was stockpiling oil in Turkmenistan.

SUNKEN SHIP

SOCAR controls the Caspian’s largest fleet of small and mid-sized tankers, which used to ship Turkmen oil to Baku. From there, it was loaded into the BTC pipeline to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan.

In Turkmenistan, ENOC’s Dragon Oil is developing the Cheleken oilfield, with annual output of some 2.4 million tonnes. Eni produces nearly 300,000 tonnes per year from the Okarem field.

In 2018, crude from Dragon Oil was exported via BTC through SOCAR. Eni also sold volumes to Vitol, which in turn resold it to SOCAR. Under new long-term deals for this year, Dragon and Eni chose Vitol to export oil to the Russian port of Makhachkala, where Transneft is taking it to Novorossiisk.

Upset by the development, SOCAR refused to let Vitol use its tankers, the six traders said.

“Everyone is free to defend their commercial interests,” said a source at SOCAR when asked about tankers.

Vitol has secured several tankers, but these will be able to transport only around 120,000 tonnes a month until the Russian river-canal system becomes ice-free and opens to navigation in April, trading sources said. Shipments can then increase.

The Caspian tanker shortage was such that Vitol had to charter old ships, including the Grigoriy Bugrov, a 44-year-old vessel that sank in 2011 and was later repaired.

“These vessels were chartered on an exceptional basis and only after physical inspection by an experienced professional. Vitol is extremely mindful of its responsibilities in respect of customers, stakeholders and the environment,” Vitol said when asked about the Bugrov tanker.

The slowness of crude exports has forced Turkmen producers to stockpile oil throughout January and February, the six trading sources said.

“Storage tanks are full so the Turkmens now face the risk of suspending some production,” a market source familiar with the matter said.

STAKES HIGH

Despite their modest volumes, Turkmen oil exports have always been a high-stakes, high-margins game.

Oil is bought in Turkmenistan at a discount of several dollars per barrel to the dated Brent benchmark.

Crude is then sold in the Mediterranean at a premium to dated Brent as Azeri BTC – in case of shipments via Azerbaijan – or as Siberian Light, which also normally trades at a premium to dated Brent if it flows via Russia’s Novorossiisk.

“Losing Turkmen crude means lower exports via BTC and lower crude quality,” a trader with a European refiner said.

For Russia, getting Turkmen volumes does the opposite – it helps improve the quality of oil in the pipeline system.

Azeri BTC crude oil loadings are scheduled to fall some 10 percent in March versus February.

The situation regarding quality was not critical, the SOCAR source said.

“Negotiations about getting oil from Turkmenistan are not over … We hope there is a chance that we will get some Turkmen oil volumes,” the SOCAR source added.

(Reporting by Olga Yagova, Alexander Ershov, Gleb Gorodyankin in Moscow, Nailia Bagirova in Baku, Dmitry Zhdannikov and Jonathan Saul in London, additional reporting by Olzhas Auyezov in Almaty; Editing by Dale Hudson)

Source: OANN

0 0

Golf: Rose ticks all the boxes for a Green Jacket at 83rd Masters

Justin Rose of England chips onto the 2nd hole during practice for the 2019 Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
Justin Rose of England chips onto the 2nd hole during practice for the 2019 Master golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia, U.S., April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

April 8, 2019

By Andrew Both

AUGUSTA, Ga. (Reuters) – World number one Justin Rose is the man to beat at this week’s Masters, where recent history suggests the sport’s heavyweights will populate the leaderboard by Sunday at a major championship that is more predictable than any other.

Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy is the second favorite from a formidable European contingent, while Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas are the best American bets, even if Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will loom larger in the public imagination.

There has been no long-shot winner at Augusta National since 69th ranked Angel Cabrera collected the Green Jacket in 2009, though even the Argentine’s victory was far from a huge shock given his pedigree as a U.S. Open champion two years earlier.

Nobody ranked outside the top 30 in the world has won since then, and even Patrick Reed, though not one of the favorites last year, was still ranked a healthy 24th and not a completely unexpected champion.

An Augusta winner must be able to draw his driver, fade his irons from hanging lies and have the artistry to hit great recovery shots. He must also be on form and mentally resilient.

Englishman Rose ticks all these boxes.

It is almost as if Augusta National was designed with him in mind.

He has finished top-15 each of the past five years, including a pair of runner-up finishes, most notably a playoff loss to Sergio Garcia in 2017.

Rose has been a machine from tee to green at Augusta, and if the putter co-operates it will take a mighty performance from someone else to beat him.

But to win, he will have to put out of his mind the thought that the clock is ticking.

Though playing as well as ever at age 38, Rose cannot realistically expect too many more chances.

MCILROY IN FORM OF HIS CAREER

Waiting to pounce could be McIlroy, though he too has plenty of pressure as he tries to complete the career grand slam at a tournament where he wilted in the final round last year after starting three strokes behind Reed.

McIlroy’s stock drive is a right-to-left draw, ideal for Augusta, and he has been working with his irons on hitting the soft, high fade that is required with many approach shots.

He has been the best player in the world in 2019 and top-10 finishes the past five years is all the proof needed to be confident he will be in contention again.

However, can he expunge the demons from last year’s collapse and take the final step to the pinnacle?

World number one Johnson is also in sizzling form. His game is not a perfect match for Augusta, but he is good enough to win anywhere, anytime.

The same goes for Thomas.

Others capable of victory include Europeans Francesco Molinari, Jon Rahm, Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood, and Americans Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson.

Australians Adam Scott, Jason Day and Marc Leishman, and South African Louis Oosthuizen are also capable.

It would be foolish to write off 43-year-old Woods and 48-year-old Mickelson given their respective records at Augusta, where the former has won four times and the latter three.

That said, time waits for no man and age is not on their side.

A victory would make Mickelson the oldest Masters champion, supplanting Jack Nicklaus, who was 46 when he won in 1986, while Woods would become the second-oldest champion.

A victory by either would be monumental, but a herd of lean and hungry young bucks stand in the way, none of them interested in letting a couple of middle-aged guys steal the show.

Even if those middle-aged guys have seven Green Jackets between them.

(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Christian Radnedge)

Source: OANN

0 0

Bidding picks up again in Germany’s 5G mobile spectrum auction

A journalist uses his mobile phone to take a picture of the 5G logo prior to the auction of spectrum for 5G services at the Bundesnetzagentur head quarters in Mainz
A journalist uses his mobile phone to take a picture of the 5G logo prior to the auction of spectrum for 5G services at the Bundesnetzagentur head quarters in Mainz, Germany, March 19, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach

April 4, 2019

By Douglas Busvine

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Bidding has accelerated again in Germany’s auction of frequencies for next-generation 5G mobile networks, reducing chances that the four companies taking part will bag spectrum at bargain prices.

Action had slowed to a trickle this week with new bids in each auction round dwindling to just a few million euros, fuelling speculation the auction could end up being Germany’s cheapest ever.

The auction is being held in an old army barracks, with teams sequestered in separate rooms submitting offers via a secure network. The process, which can run for weeks, ends only when there are no new bids.

Bidding picked up again on Wednesday afternoon with Deutsche Telekom ending the day in a dominant position. As of Thursday morning, the total amount pledged was 2.9 billion euros ($3.3 billion).

Germany is auctioning 41 blocks of spectrum in the 2 gigahertz and 3.6 GHz bands. Analyst Usman Ghazi at Berenberg Bank had forecast that, in a benign scenario for operators, proceeds could total around 3 billion euros.

His base-case scenario sees 4-5 billion euros in proceeds, while a worst-case outcome would be upward of 8 billion euros – roughly in line with a costly 5G auction in Italy last year that has put operators’ finances under pressure.

New entrant 1&1 Drillisch had been bidding up the cost of spectrum in the 2 GHz band – which is more suited to running 4G services – to levels that Ghazi called irrational.

Drillisch, run by billionaire Ralph Dommermuth, had been on the ropes earlier in the process, with dibs on just one spectrum block, but came back in Round 97 with a massive bid to signal the seriousness of its intent.

(GRAPHIC: Germany’s 5G Auction – Incremental Bids – https://tmsnrt.rs/2VnFafE)

Analysts note that Telefonica Deutschland, the market No.3 by revenues, has been passive in the 2 GHz band and speculate that it may have a reserve of existing adjacent spectrum to draw on for its network.

Bids are lower for spectrum in the 3.6 GHz band, which has higher data-carrying capacity and is suited to 5G applications such as running networked “smart” factories.

As of Round 126, Deutsche Telekom was leading in 12 blocks, Vodafone in 11, Drillisch in 10, and Telefonica Deutschland in just two. Bids had been withdrawn on the other six blocks.

(GRAPHIC: Germany’s 5G Auction – Total Raised – https://tmsnrt.rs/2HWVDEu)

Germany’s 4G spectrum auction in 2015 ended after raising 5.1 billion euros. A previous auction in 2010 went on for six weeks and ended after 224 rounds of bidding.

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Dale Hudson)

Source: OANN

0 0

Season-preview capsules: AL West

MLB: Spring Training-New York Mets at Houston Astros
Mar 22, 2019; West Palm Beach, FL, USA; Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve (27) throws to first base and retires New York Mets catcher Wilson Ramos (not pictured) in the second inning of a spring training game at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports

March 26, 2019

AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST (in projected order of finish)

HOUSTON ASTROS

To review: 103-59 in 2018, first in AL West, lost in ALCS

What’s new: Additions include OF Michael Brantley, C Robinson Chirinos and LHP Wade Miley. Gone are C Brian McCann, UT Marwin Gonzalez, DH Evan Gattis, LHP Dallas Keuchel and RHP Charlie Morton.

Cause for concern: Versatile RHP Lance McCullers Jr. is out for the 2019 season after needing Tommy John surgery, and former top right-handed pitching prospect Francis Martes is suspended 80 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. Ace RHPs Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole are each on track to become free agents after the season.

Projecting 2019: The Astros are once again among the favorites in the AL, returning a star-studded roster that will benefit from the addition of three-time All-Star Brantley. With Verlander leading the staff, pitching remains a strength, and top right-handed pitching prospect Forrest Whitley isn’t far from adding himself to the mix. Outfield prospect Kyle Tucker could stick in the majors after making his debut last season, adding to a core that received a long-term boost in the form of 3B Alex Bregman’s six-year, $100 million extension.

LOS ANGELES ANGELS

To review: 80-82 in 2018, fourth in AL West

What’s new: Additions include C Jonathan Lucroy, 1B Justin Bour, RHPs Matt Harvey, Cody Allen and Trevor Cahill and new manager Brad Ausmus. Gone are RHP Garrett Richards and former skipper Mike Scioscia.

Cause for concern: DH Shohei Ohtani (Tommy John surgery) won’t be ready for Opening Day in addition to not being able to pitch all season. LHPs Tyler Skaggs (forearm) and Andrew Heaney (elbow) remain injury-prone this spring.

Projecting 2019: The Scioscia era has come to an end in Los Angeles, but the Angels made sure the Mike Trout era will last the bulk of the star outfielder’s career with a record-shattering, 12-year deal worth more than $430 million signed this spring. Trout remains a perennial MVP candidate capable of keeping the Angels in striking distance in the AL nearly himself. He’ll soon get help in the form of top outfield prospect Jo Adell, who reached Double-A last season.

OAKLAND ATHLETICS

To review: 97-65, second in AL West, lost AL wild-card game

What’s new: Additions include UT Jurickson Profar, OF Robbie Grossman and RHP Marco Estrada. Gone are C Jonathan Lucroy, 2B Jed Lowrie and RHPs Trevor Cahill and Jeurys Familia.

Cause for concern: LHP Sean Manaea’s 2019 season is in question as he continues to recover from arthroscopic shoulder surgery. Meanwhile, 1B Matt Olson (29 HRs in 2018) will miss the early portion of the season after undergoing surgery to address a hand fracture.

Projecting 2019: It’s tough to gauge expectations for the A’s, who shocked baseball with a playoff run last season after three straight last-place finishes in the AL West. The roster remains one of the cheapest in baseball and short on star power, but 3B Matt Chapman is poised for superstardom after proving he’s more than a glove at the hot corner last season. Left-handed pitching prospect A.J. Puk’s expected return from Tommy John surgery could offer a bright look into Oakland’s future, though the Athletics’ stock took a hit when 2018 first-rounder Kyler Murray announced he intends to play in the NFL over MLB.

SEATTLE MARINERS

To review: 89-73, third in AL West

What’s new: Additions include C Omar Narvaez, 1B/DH Edwin Encarnacion, 1B/OF Jay Bruce, SS Tim Beckham, OFs Domingo Santana and Mallex Smith, LHP Yusei Kikuchi and RHP Hunter Strickland. Gone are 2B Robinson Cano, DH Nelson Cruz, SS Jean Segura, RHP Edwin Diaz, C Mike Zunino and LHP James Paxton.

Cause for concern: RHP Felix Hernandez couldn’t hold a rotation spot last season; he’ll make $27 million in the final year of his contract in 2019. The loss of Cano, Cruz and Segura isn’t offset by the additions of Encarnacion and Bruce, and Diaz saved 64 percent of the team’s wins last season.

Projecting 2019: After years of appearing poised to end their lengthy playoff drought, the Mariners blew it up this offseason and appear headed toward a rebuild. Seattle could bounce back quickly, though, as key pieces obtained in trades — such as LHP Justus Sheffield and RHP Justin Dunn — aren’t far from the majors. Adding former top shortstop prospect J.P. Crawford from the Phillies gives Seattle a wild card as it looks to establish a new core.

TEXAS RANGERS

To review: 67-95, fifth in AL West

What’s new: Additions include C Jeff Mathis, 3B Asdrubal Cabrera, OF Hunter Pence, RHPs Lance Lynn and Shelby Miller, LHP Drew Smyly and first-time manager Chris Woodward. Gone are 3B Adrian Beltre, C Robinson Chirinos, UT Jurickson Profar and RHP Bartolo Colon.

Cause for concern: Texas committed more errors than any other AL team last season, and overcoming that flaw doesn’t figure to get any easier with Beltre’s retirement. Behind LHP Mike Minor, the Rangers’ rotation is a bunch of question marks.

Projecting 2019: The Rangers are making things interesting with gambles on arms such as Smyly and Miller, but it’s likely the team will once again struggle this season. Further development from RF Nomar Mazara and cutting down LF Joey Gallo’s lofty strikeout totals will be key areas of focus as Texas continues its rebuild, which isn’t expected to leap forward as none of the team’s top prospects have played beyond Double-A.

–By Kyle Brasseur, Field Level Media

Source: OANN

0 0

United Methodist Church on edge of breakup over LGBT stand

The United Methodist Church is teetering on the brink of breakup after more than half the delegates at a national conference voted to maintain bans on same-sex weddings and ordination of gay clergy.

The preliminary vote was held Monday. If the plan is formally approved on Tuesday, it could drive supporters of LGBT inclusion to leave America's second-largest Protestant denomination.

The United Methodist Church has 12.6 million members worldwide, including nearly 7 million in the U.S.

Source: Fox News National

0 0

China struggles to ease concerns over Silk Road project as summit looms

FILE PHOTO: Workers inspect railway tracks, which serve as a part of the Belt and Road freight rail route linking Chongqing to Duisburg, at the Dazhou railway station
FILE PHOTO: Workers inspect railway tracks, which serve as a part of the Belt and Road freight rail route linking Chongqing to Duisburg, at the Dazhou railway station in Sichuan province, China March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

April 4, 2019

By Ben Blanchard and Robin Emmott

BEIJING/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – China is struggling to ease worries about President Xi Jinping’s signature plan to build a new Silk Road as it readies for a major summit in late April, especially among Western nations wary about debt, transparency and Chinese influence.

While China gained a major victory by convincing Italy to become the first G7 nation to formally sign on to the plan last month during Xi’s visit to Rome, others in the West have been less keen to jump onboard, though many have kept an open mind.

The Belt and Road Initiative, as it is formally called, is aimed at building a vast network of infrastructure connecting China to Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe and beyond, much like the ancient Silk Road.

Following the first Belt and Road summit two years ago, in a luxuriously appointed convention center in hills north of Beijing, the second one is scheduled for the same location in late April. China is billing it as the country’s most important diplomatic event of the year.

The country’s top diplomat, Yang Jiechi, said on Saturday that almost 40 foreign leaders would come, and also took a swipe at “prejudiced” critics of the program who seek to besmirch it with concerns like “debt traps”.

“The Belt and Road is open, inclusive and transparent. It does not play little geopolitical games,” Yang, who runs the ruling Communist Party’s foreign affairs committee, told the official People’s Daily.

The United States, locked in a bitter trade war with China, has been a particular critic of the Belt and Road, calling it an “infrastructure vanity project” when Italy signed on.

Jonathan Cohen, acting permanent representative of the United States at the United Nations, last month slammed China’s attempt to get Belt and Road language into a resolution on Afghanistan, saying it had “known problems with corruption, debt distress, environmental damage, and lack of transparency”.

Wu Haitao, chargé d’affaires of China’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, said the rebuke was “contrary to the facts and fraught with prejudice”.

In 2017, the United States sent White House National Security Council senior director for Asian affairs Matt Pottinger to the summit. This time, Washington said it will not dispatch high-level officials due to its concerns about the project.

Lower-level staffers, possibly from the U.S. embassy in Beijing, might go to the summit to observe and take notes, sources familiar with the matter said, though a final decision has yet to be made.

China says it always welcomes “like-minded countries” to take part in the project.

It has not disclosed a full list of the leaders planning to attend the event. But some of Beijing’s closest friends have confirmed they will go, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

EU WARINESS

The European Union, China’s largest trading partner, has also been in a bind about how to respond.

Last week, Europe’s top leaders told Xi they wanted a fairer trading relationship with China, signaling an openness to engage with the project if it meant more access to the Chinese market.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, speaking at the EU summit in March, grumbled about Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte’s decision to join the project, although she said Germany will play in active role in the Belt and Road and called for reciprocity.

Conte is due to attend the summit. Rome says signing onto the Belt and Road will bring much-needed investment and boost trade and has pointed to the fact that a dozen EU countries have already signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with China, including Hungary, Poland, Greece and Portugal.

SAFEGUARDING INTERESTS

The EU last year proposed its own infrastructure scheme, but it has denied it is trying to counter China’s ambitions.

“For China it is a question of power projection. China is corrupting what should be a level playing field by offering loans that send country debts soaring and create a culture of economic dependency on Beijing,” one EU official said.

German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, a Merkel confidant, is attending the summit, along with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, with Altmaier saying they wanted to “safeguard European interests in co-operation with China there”.

Several EU officials said the European Commission was still looking at who to send as a replacement for Vice President Jyrki Katainen, who attended 2017’s Belt and Road summit and has cited a calendar clash with the EU-Japan summit for not being able to go this time.

China has been on a push to show that the Belt and Road remains popular, despite cooling enthusiasm from governments including in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and the Maldives, where new administrations are wary of deals struck with China by their predecessors.

The Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councillor Wang Yi, who ranks below Yang, last month touted the success of the $57-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a major Belt and Road scheme.

Wang said after meeting Pakistan’s foreign minister that less than 20 percent of funding for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor came from Chinese loans, with the rest made up of direct Chinese investment and free grants.

The corridor focuses on the interests of ordinary people, Wang said, citing as an example women truck drivers trained to work at a coal mine connected to the project, which he described as a “touching story”.

Wang told reporters at March’s annual meeting of parliament that the Belt and Road was about high quality, sustainable, green development.

“As President Xi has said, the Belt and Road initiative comes from China, but the achievements belong to the world,” Wang said.

(Additional reporting by Michael Martina in Beijing, Andreas Rinke and Michael Nienaber in Berlin, Richard Lough in Paris, David Brunnstrom in Washington and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; editing by Neil Fullick)

Source: OANN

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Real News with David Knight

9:00 am 12:00 pm



“Outdated laws” need fixing to deal with the surge in illegal immigrant families crossing the U.S. border with Mexico, a top Border Patrol official said Friday.

Migrant families face no consequences if apprehended trying to cross the border illegally under present law, Border Patrol chief of Operations Brian Hastings claimed during an appearance on “Fox & Friends.”

“We need a change in the current outdated laws that we’re dealing with for this current demographic and this crisis that we have,” he said.

Hastings said as of Thursday there have been 440,000 apprehensions along the southwest border. There were 396,000 apprehensions all of last year.

SOUTHERN BORDER AT ‘BREAKING POINT’ AFTER MORE THAN 76,000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TRIED CROSSING IN FEBRUARY, OFFICIALS SAY

And those numbers continue to rise, he said.

Historically 70 to 90 percent of apprehensions at the border were quickly returned to Mexico, Hastings said.

Now, 83 percent of those apprehended have come from the Central American northern triangle which includes Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, and of those 63 percent are “family units” and children who cannot be returned, he said.

“There are no consequences that we can apply to this group currently,” Hastings said. “We’re overwhelmed. If you look at agents there doing a tremendous job trying to deal with the flow.”

The law dictates children have to be released after 20 days of detention.

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

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says that has forced immigration officials to release entire families because “you don’t want to separate families.”

Recently, he said he is drafting legislation that would allow children to be detained for more than 20 days.

Hastings said agents are frustrated with the situation but are doing the best they can with the resources they have.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Up to 40 percent of our agents are processing at any given time,” he said. “That should say that in and of itself is pulling from those border security resources.”

Source: Fox News National

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

President Trump on Friday blasted liberal billionaire activist Tom Steyer for his continued push to impeach Trump — with Trump claiming Steyer is “trying to remain relevant” and doesn’t have the “guts” to run for the White House himself.

“Weirdo Tom Steyer, who didn’t have the ‘guts’ or money to run for President, is still trying to remain relevant by putting himself on ads begging for impeachment,” the president tweeted. “He doesn’t mention the fact that mine is perhaps the most successful first 2 year presidency in history & NO C OR O! [Collusion or Obstruction]”

TRUMP IMPEACHMENT BACKERS NOT GIVING UP AFTER MUELLER REPORT

Trump and his allies have pointed to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia report’s conclusions that there was no evidence of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign and its decision not to make a conclusion on obstruction of justice as a vindication for the president.

But some Democrats and left-wing activists have pointed to the instances of possible obstruction of justice that the investigation looked into as proof of the need for more investigations or even impeachment proceedings.

ELIZABETH WARREN DOUBLES DOWN ON TRUMP IMPEACHMENT PUSH, SAYS IT’S ‘BIGGER THAN POLITICS’

Steyer has been one of the leaders backing a push to impeach Trump and founded “Need to Impeach” and has kept up that push since the report’s release. He announced on Thursday that he was calling on Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to support impeachment proceedings.

On Friday he responded to Trump’s tweet, calling him “angry and scared.”

“I know you want it all to go away. But for the sake of the country you must face your transgressions. Rage away, but that anger doesn’t matter,” he said in a tweet. The truth and the people will prevail.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Impeachment hearings have been backed by a number of House Democrats, as well as 2020 presidential hopefuls Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Kamala Harris, D-Calif. However, Pelosi has long been skeptical of impeachment proceedings against Trump.

“I’m not for impeachment,” Pelosi told The Washington Post in an interview last month. “Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country. And he’s just not worth it.”

Source: Fox News Politics

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

A Florida measure that would ban sanctuary cities is set for a vote Friday in the state’s Senate after clearing its first hurdle earlier this week.

The bill would effectively make it against the law for Florida’s police departments to refuse to cooperate with federal immigration officials.

“The Governor may initiate judicial proceedings in the name of the state against such officers to enforce compliance,” a draft version of the Senate bill reads.

A House version of the bill, which passed by a 69-47 vote Wednesday, adds that non-complying officials could be suspended or removed from office and face fines of up to $5,000 per day. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign off on the measure, although it’s not clear which version.

FLORIDA MAY SEND A BIG MESSAGE TO SANCTUARY CITIES

Florida Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando), during a press conference at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee, speaks out against bills in the House and Senate that would ban sanctuary cities in the state.

Florida Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando), during a press conference at the Florida Capitol in Tallahassee, speaks out against bills in the House and Senate that would ban sanctuary cities in the state. (AP)

LAWRENCE JONES: NEEDLES, DRUG USE AND HUMAN WASTE ARE THE NEW NORMAL IN SAN FRANCISCO

Florida is home to 775,000 illegal immigrants out of 10.7 million present in the United States, ranking the state third among all states.

Nine states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, North Carolina, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas — already have enacted state laws requiring law enforcement to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Florida doesn’t have sanctuary cities like the ones in California and other states. But Republican lawmakers say a handful of their municipalities — including Orlando and West Palm Beach – are acting as “pseudo-sanctuary” cities, because they prevent law enforcement officials from asking about immigration status when they make arrests.

“There are still people here in the state of Florida, police chiefs that are just refusing to contact ICE, refusing to detain somebody that they know is here illegally,” Florida Republican Rep. Blaise Ingoglia said earlier this month. “So while the actual county municipality doesn’t have an actual adopted policy, they still have people in power within their sheriff’s department or police department that refuse to do it anyway.”

Florida’s Democratic Party has blasted the anti-Sanctuary measures, while the Miami-Dade Police Department says it should be up to federal authorities to handle immigration-related matters.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“House Republicans today sold out their communities to Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis by passing this xenophobic and discriminatory bill,” the state’s Democratic Party said Wednesday after the House passed their version of the bill. “It’s abhorrent that Republican members who represent immigrant communities are now turning their backs on their constituents and jeopardizing their safety.

“Florida has long stood as a beacon for immigrant communities — and today Republicans did the best they could to destroy that reputation,” they added.

Fox News’ Elina Shirazi contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain's far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain’s far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By John Stonestreet and Belén Carreño

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TRENDING

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

The Amish population in Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County is continuing to grow each year, despite the encroachment of urban sprawl on their communities.

The U.S. Census Bureau says the county added about 2,500 people in 2018. LNP reports that about 1,000 of them were Amish.

Elizabethtown College researchers say Lancaster County’s Amish population reached 33,143 in 2018, up 3.2% from the previous year.

The Amish accounted for about 41% of the county’s overall population growth last year.

Some experts are concerned that a planned 75-acre (30-hectare) housing and commercial project will make it more difficult for the county to accommodate the Amish.

Donald Kraybill, an authority on Amish culture, told Manheim Township commissioners this week that some in the community are worried about the development and the increased traffic it would bring.

___

Information from: LNP, http://lancasteronline.com

Source: Fox News National

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Current track

Title

Artist