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Trump Is Winning Because of His Pro-Americanism

"America is the greatest fighting force for peace, justice and freedom in the history of the world," the president has said. "We are not going to apologize for America. We are going to stand up for America. No more apologies."

No more apologies. No more groveling. No more self-flagellating ourselves on the world stage, as a certain, previous administration had done.

Trump is different. He goes over to Europe and he says, "Hey, we value our alliance. We love you guys, but it's time for NATO members to stop free-riding on the American taxpayers." Imagine that. An American president in Europe standing up for you, looking out for your hard-earned money.

Of course, the foreign policy elites back home shuddered, and they fumed and sputtered upon hearing all of this, preferring, of course, Obama's approach. Seizing a better future is exactly what President Trump has begun to do for America, but not by marinating in guilt over past wrongs in public, but by growing the economy -- real hope.

The Obama crew said he couldn't do it. But with a crack team of dedicated pros, Trump renegotiated old trade deals to make them more pro-American worker, and he's holding trade cheaters like China accountable. It's about time. Now, can you ever imagine Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg speaking as triumphantly, as unapologetically, about American dominance in manufacturing, as Trump?

Trump is also unapologetic about the government's duty to enforce our borders, and also to tailor immigration to America's needs and values. But by contrast, the Democrats, they recoil from such terms as "American sovereignty," and they push instead for abolishing of ICE and even abolishing the classification of illegals as "illegal." They feel angry about America's past and present. And America acting in America's interest? Oh no, he can't do that.

Now the president was particularly incensed last week when footage circulated of freshman Congresswoman Ilhan Omar referring to 9/11 as an occasion where "some people did something." So he retweeted Omar's video, and then he included clips of the planes going into the World Trade Center towers.

Well, the left, of course, wasn't upset about Omar's original comments. They were mad at Trump, claiming he's the problem by endangering Omar's life.

In a local interview in Minnesota on Monday, Trump was characteristically unapologetic. When asked if he had second thoughts about criticizing Omar, he replied, "No, not at all. Look, she's been very disrespectful to this country. She's been very disrespectful, frankly, to Israel. She's someone that doesn't really understand, I think, life. Real life, what it's all about. It's unfortunate. She's got a way about her that's very, very bad, I think, for our country. I think she's extremely unpatriotic and extremely disrespectful to our country."

Disrespectful to our country -- well, I think a lot of Americans agree with him. Like Obama before her, Omar reflexively apologizes for even in tone, ridiculing America for being worried about Al Qaeda. Yes, because we actually recoil at evil. America and Britain, we don't believe in evil, congresswoman. So, we bristle at it.

Yes, we have to be clear here that Omar's not alone. The Democratic Party is becoming infected with this self-loathing quality. More of its members today feel guilty about America's past, and they want to turn that guilt into the ultimate expiation for our sins -- the sins of colonialism, racism, misogyny, et cetera, et cetera. And they feel justified in tearing down history, in attacking religious symbols with deep historical roots and even refusing to participate in patriotic displays.

2020 is shaping up to be a showdown between more traditional America and this new kind of twisted vision of America. And no matter who the Democratic nominee is, this is the ideological struggle before us. And it's hard right now at least to imagine that the American people would not again embrace the true audacity that unapologetic nature of Trump -- his unwillingness to bow down to the media and political correctness at the moment, and his determination to protect the honor and the people of this country. His habit of standing up to the political elite and refusing to back down.

Now, there are words for this approach. We used to call it American leadership. Maybe we still do.

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The Latest: Fiance describes night Justine Damond died

The Latest on the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer in the fatal 2017 shooting of an unarmed woman (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

The fiance of an unarmed woman shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2017 sobbed as he described hearing the news that she had died.

Don Damond was the first witness called by prosecutors in the trial of Mohamed Noor, who shot and killed Justine Ruszczyk Damond. She called 911 to report a possible assault behind her home and was shot minutes after she approached Noor's squad car.

Don Damond was in Las Vegas when he got a call from investigators saying Justine was dead. He says he learned from a second call that she had been shot by an officer.

Damond said calling Justine's family in Australia to tell them of her death was the "worst phone call" he's ever had to make. Members of her family also cried in the courtroom Tuesday as Damond testified.

Justine Damond had taken her fiance's last name professionally before their marriage. She died a month before their scheduled wedding.

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1:10 p.m.

The defense attorney for a former Minneapolis police officer on trial in the fatal shooting of an unarmed woman in 2017 says his client drew his gun to protect his partner and himself.

During opening statements Tuesday, Mohamed Noor's attorney, Peter Wold, told jurors the fatal shooting of Justine Ryszcyk Damond was a "perfect storm with tragic consequences."

Wold said that as Noor and his partner were responding to Damond's report of possible rape behind her home, they saw a bicyclist and heard a "bang." He says that in Noor's mind it was a classic setup for what could have been an ambush.

Noor, who is Somali American, is charged with murder and manslaughter in the death of Damond, a 40-year-old dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia.

Prosecutors charged Noor with second-degree intentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter, saying there was no evidence he faced a threat that justified deadly force.

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11:30 a.m.

A prosecutor says just 1 minute and 19 seconds passed from the time an unarmed woman hung up from a cellphone conversation with her fiance to the time she lay on the ground dying from a gunshot fired by a Minneapolis police officer.

That officer, Mohamed Noor, is on trial in Hennepin County accused of murder and manslaughter in the 2017 death of Justine Ruszczyk Damond, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Australia. The 40-year-old was shot after calling police to report a possible rape in the alley behind her home. Damond told her fiance in a phone call that police had arrived to take her report.

Noor and his partner were in a squad car in the alley. During opening statements Tuesday, prosecutor Patrick Lofton told jurors that Noor fired his gun across his partner through the driver's side open window without saying a word. Lofton says there's no forensic evidence that Damond touched the police vehicle before being shot.

The defense is expected to argue that Noor acted in self-defense.

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11 a.m.

The judge hearing the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer in the fatal shooting of an unarmed woman has reversed a ban on what video evidence may be viewed by the media and public.

Judge Kathryn Quaintance ruled Tuesday that body camera video introduced as evidence in the murder trial of Mohamed Noor will be shown to the entire courtroom.

Quaintance had earlier said such video would be shown only to the jury, citing a desire to protect the privacy of the victim, Justine Ruszczyk Damond.

Quaintance said she has to follow the law even if she disagrees with it.

Noor shot Damond when she approached his squad care minutes after calling 911 to report a possible assault in the alley behind her home. The video doesn't capture the shooting but shows efforts to save Damond.

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Midnight

With a jury in place, opening statements are set to begin Tuesday in the trial of a former Minneapolis police officer who shot and killed an unarmed woman.

Thirty-three-year-old Mohamed Noor, who is Somali American, is charged with murder and manslaughter in Justine Ruszczyk Damond's death. Damond, a 40-year-old dual Australian-American citizen who was white, was killed in July 2017 after calling 911 to report a possible rape near her home.

It took a week to select a jury. After 75 prospective jurors answered questions about their views on Somalis and police officers, as well as their experiences with firearms and other issues, 12 men and four women were selected Monday to hear the case. In the end, only 12 will deliberate.

Six of the jurors are people of color.

Source: Fox News National

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RNC chair: 'Alarming' that no 2020 Democrat candidates came to AIPAC

The chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, said Thursday the absence of Democratic presidential candidates at The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s (AIPAC’s) annual policy conference earlier this week shows the party is “anti-Israel.”

“One of the things that is so crazy is Nancy Pelosi is now the moderate in the Democrat party. The San Francisco liberal is now the most reasonable member in her caucus,” McDaniel said on Fox & Friends.

At AIPAC, Speaker of the House Pelosi, D-Calif, said Israel has bipartisan support, looking to distance the Democratic Party from any suggestion it was anti-Semitic after freshman lawmaker Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., publicly criticized Israel and its leadership.

PELOSI, IN VEILED SWIPE AT OMAR, SAYS ANTI-SEMITISM IS 'UN-AMERICAN'

“Support for Israel remains ironclad and bipartisan,” Pelosi said when addressing the pro-Israel lobbying group’s annual policy conference in Washington. “Assistance to Israel is vital because if you care about America’s security, you must care about Israel’s security.”

Pelosi stressed that no one should be allowed to make Israel “a wedge issue,” adding “to be anti-Semitic is to be anti-American.”

Pelosi’s remarks undercut Omar, a Somali-American and one of two Muslim women in Congress, who has encountered a wave of backlash over repeated anti-Semitic comments.

TOP 2020 DEMOCRATS SNUB AIPAC CONFERENCE WITH LITTLE OR NO EXPLANATION, MARKING FAR-LEFT SHIFT ON ISRAEL

Democratic presidential candidates Sens. Bernie Sanders, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, former Rep. Beto O’Rourke and others did not attend AIPAC’s annual policy conference, a move that coincided with a moneyed progressive advocacy group’s call to boycott the event.

MoveOn.org, a group that spent around $3.5 million in the 2018 midterm elections, called on the 2020 Democratic candidates to skip the conference, even though in the past all presidential candidates viewed the AIPAC gathering as a crucial campaign stop.

“It is very alarming to see that the 2020 Democrats, none of those presidential candidates showed up to AIPAC,” McDaniel said Thursday. “AIPAC is bipartisan, it’s nonpartisan, it doesn’t prefer one party or the other. They won’t even show up. The Democrat party is now anti-Israel.”

“It is very alarming to see that the 2020 Democrats, none of those presidential candidates showed up to AIPAC. AIPAC is bipartisan, it’s nonpartisan, it doesn’t prefer one party or the other. They won’t even show up. The Democrat party is now anti-Israel.”

— Ronna McDaniel, Chair of the Republican National Committee

“The president has shown that he is a president that stands with Israel every step of the way,” McDaniel continued. She brought up several examples including the signing of the order this week recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and moving the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

“Here’s the concern. If you allow this anti-Israel, anti-Semitism to seep into your party, (if) you don’t pounce it out the second that it comes in, this is dangerous for our country,” said McDaniel. “The Democrat Party is now saying 'this can coexist peacefully in our party.'”

Josh Orton, an aide to Sanders, told media outlets that the leading candidate among the Democrats did not attend because “he’s concerned about the platform AIPAC is providing for leaders who have expressed bigotry and oppose a two-state solution” in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Other candidates provided no explanation for their decisions not to attend the conference. Gillibrand and Harris, however, did meet with constituents representing AIPAC on Capitol Hill. Harris even posted on Twitter a picture of herself standing with AIPAC leaders.

The tweet said she met with California AIPAC leaders to “to discuss the need for a strong U.S.-Israel alliance, the right of Israel to defend itself, and my commitment to combat anti-Semitism in our country and around the world.”

The tweet resulted in some negative comments on the social media platform.

McDaniel also spoke out about President Trump pivoting to health care on Fox & Friends Thursday.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION BACKS TOTAL OVERTURN OF OBAMACARE, WILL SUPPORT STATES CHALLENGING THE LAW

The Trump administration on Monday told a federal appeals court that the whole Affordable Care Act must be abolished, reviving the battle to repeal and replace it with something else and setting a path for a clash between President Trump and 2020 Democratic candidates embracing a “Medicare for All” system.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Capitol Hill Wednesday, “The president wants to go back to repeal and replace again. Make our day. The Republicans here in the Senate tried over and over and over again to deal with repeal and replace, they couldn’t because they have no replacement.”

“I think the president’s watching Democrats say to the American people ‘Medicare for all, Medicare for all’ what it really is, is a government takeover of your health care,” McDaniel said on Fox & Friends in response. “The president is saying there are things we do need to do to lower health care costs. We know ObamaCare is broken, the Democrat solution is a government takeover. The president is saying ‘let’s reduce the price of prescription drugs, let’s make sure we restore the doctor-patient relationship.’ These are the things that the American people want, that’s going to lower the cost of health care and he’s focused on that.”

Justice Department attorneys filed a letter with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans asking it to effectively strike down the ACA in its entirety, agreeing with the landmark ruling made by a federal judge in Texas last year.

The latest effort to completely invalidate the law may prove Congressional Democrats right, after they warned during the midterm election last year that Republicans are trying to repeal the law, including protections for people with pre-existing conditions, while Republicans denied such plans.

McDaniel called the president a “bold leader” and said he recognizes that the American people are currently concerned about health care. “Deductibles are still high, insurance prices are still high,” she said.

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“The president absolutely will make sure that we have pre-existing condition coverage,” McDaniel continued. “Democrats know it’s broken, too, that’s why they are saying ‘Medicare for all.’ That is not the solution.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Nigeria's female candidates seek victory despite harassment

Nervous ahead of Nigeria's delayed election, a group of young women picked up their cellphones and wished each other well.

"Honestly I'm so tensed and scared," one typed.

"I feel like crying. This is so touching," another wrote.

"What we are about to do is the beginning of an era," texted a third.

They are among dozens of first-time female candidates in a country where the percentage of women in parliament is one of the lowest in the world, under 7 percent, and the idea of a woman as president brings a belly laugh from many men.

While Ethiopia and Rwanda in recent months drew global praise for announcing two of the world's few "gender-balanced" Cabinets, Africa's most populous nation and largest democracy has been largely stuck in a political culture heavy on cash and brawn.

"You know how women are," explained Abdulaziz Maidubji, a 41-year-old businessman in the conservative northern city of Kano, in an interview with The Associated Press as others gathered and agreed. "They are very weak. They cannot endure these challenges."

The nearly 50 female candidates for state and local seats who ping each other with emoji-speckled messages of support in a WhatsApp group are eager to prove a country of 190 million people wrong. When the election was delayed at the last minute until Feb. 23, they urged each other to stay focused.

"God please let it come and pass because I'm so exhausted," one typed, echoing many Nigerians.

The group including activists, entrepreneurs, a fashion designer and a lab technician was created as part of a youth electoral movement to break the grip of Nigeria's two main political parties, which traditionally have been less about issues and more about seizing power at all costs.

Their chats on how to parse electoral data and polish talking points also created a safe space for venting frustrations about discrimination familiar to many Nigerian women, candidate or no, while a wide-ranging gender and equal opportunities bill has languished in the National Assembly for years.

One candidate from Zamfara state in the north was told her photo couldn't be on the same campaign poster as the governor because she is not his wife, though they share a political party. Another candidate was asked by a journalist, "Who is your husband?"

"Look, no one asks men this!" said Chioma Agwuegbo, a 32-year-old communications specialist who allowed the AP to join the group for the final push to election day.

She believes Nigeria can become more progressive once its legislative body sees new faces: "It's not a retirement home."

Some female candidates have been asked, or ordered, to step aside for a man. Some have been booed out of events. Some have seen embarrassed family members distance themselves, though many have received warm support and even been told, "What took you so long?" Many struggle with the high costs of running.

Still, the number of female candidates in certain cases is growing. Among this year's 73 presidential contenders, six are women, though former minister Oby Ezekwesili surprised many by dropping out in the final month after becoming the highest-profile female candidate in Nigeria's history.

Of the more than 1,800 senatorial candidates, however, only 12 percent are women — down from 17 percent four years ago.

Stay strong, one candidate in the WhatsApp group urged in a rousing post that ended with the exhortation, "Joy comes in the morning."

Among those checking in with good wishes was 26-year-old Zainab Sulaiman Umar, who is among Nigeria's youngest candidates. Her goal is especially groundbreaking: If she wins a seat in Kano state's house of assembly she would become its first woman.

At one campaign rally, she was attacked by thugs and her brother was almost stabbed. "It's something we just have to get used to as women to run for office," she told the AP, adding that it gave her more confidence to push on.

She left Nigeria's ruling party for a smaller one when it became clear that without a "godfather" she would have no chance.

"People talk negatively, but I answer them with positive answers," she said, although she hears "Are you married?" far too often.

As she goes door-to-door in her largely Muslim community, profiting from her access to female voters in their homes, she explains that she seeks to represent others, which religious leaders say is allowed for women, and not lead, which some see as taboo.

To her surprise, some local Muslim leaders have preached that women should be given a chance in office. She's ready to seize it.

"Of course I'm going to win," she said with a smile. She plans to provide primary health care centers while combating domestic violence and "empowering my people."

The spirit seemed to be catching. Across town at the electoral commission offices, a young woman boxed up polling materials for the vote.

Zainab Aliyu, 24, called this her first election and was excited, volunteering to help with preparations. She spoke glowingly of female candidate Hauwa Ibrahim al-Yacoub, a senatorial hopeful whose campaign poster had been spotted at a street roundabout, pink headscarf blazing amid a thicket of male candidates. "I trust her," Aliyu said.

And where many Nigerians, even women, hesitate to predict a female president any time soon, she responded immediately.

"2023," she said. "Inshallah!" If God wills.

___

Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

Source: Fox News World

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Georgia mother pleads guilty to killing husband, 4 children

A suburban Atlanta woman has pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing her husband and four children and seriously injuring another daughter.

WSB-TV reports that 35-year-old Isabel Martinez pleaded guilty but mentally ill Tuesday to five counts of murder and other charges. She was sentenced to five life sentences with the possibility of parole plus 21 years.

The Gwinnett County District Attorney's Office had declined to seek the death penalty because of Martinez's mental state.

The July 2017 attack injured then-9-year-old Diana Romero and killed 33-year-old Martin Romero, 2-year-old Axel Romero, 4-year-old Dillan Romero, 7-year-old Dacota Romero and 10-year-old Isabela Martinez.

Friends told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Martinez had been depressed before the killings and had outbursts of anger and sadness.

Source: Fox News National

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The Latest: US cardinals say ex-colleague's downfall sad

The Latest on Pope Francis' sex abuse summit at the Vatican (all times local):

4:10 p.m.

Two U.S. cardinals attending the Vatican's sex abuse prevention summit say the downfall of their onetime colleague Theodore McCarrick is sad but they hope a new spirit of accountability in the Catholic hierarchy will prevent future cover-ups of bishop misconduct.

Cardinals Sean O'Malley of Boston and Blase Cupich of Chicago addressed the McCarrick scandal at a news conference on the summit's second day, which was dedicated to accountability.

Pope Francis defrocked McCarrick last week after the Vatican found him guilty of sexually abusing minors and adults, including during confession. It was apparently an open secret in some Catholic circles in the U.S. and at the Vatican that he slept with seminarians.

O'Malley said Friday he expected the Vatican and U.S. dioceses investigating McCarrick's rise through the church would soon release the findings from their investigations

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11 a.m.

Cardinals attending Pope Francis' summit on preventing clergy sex abuse are calling for a new culture of accountability in the Catholic Church to punish bishops and religious superiors when they fail to protect their flocks from predator priests.

On the second day of Francis' extraordinary gathering of Catholic leaders, the debate shifted to how church leaders must acknowledge that decades of their own cover-ups, secrecy and fear of scandal had only worsened the sex abuse crisis.

Mumbai Cardinal Oswald Gracias says "we need to seek pardon ... because along the way we have failed,"

Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich told the conference that new legal procedures were needed to both report and investigate Catholic superiors when they are accused of misconduct themselves or of negligence in handling abuse cases. He said lay experts must be involved at every step of the process.

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More AP coverage of clergy sex abuse at https://www.apnews.com/Sexualabusebyclergy

Source: Fox News World

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Trump: 'Hostile, Corrupt' Media Ignores Our Progress

President Donald Trump continued two of his most common mantra's of his presidency via Twitter on Sunday: The media is "hostile and corrupt" because it is failing to recognize the accomplishments of his administration.

"Despite the most hostile and corrupt media in the history of American politics, the Trump Administration has accomplished more in its first two years than any other Administration. Judges, biggest Tax & Regulation Cuts, V.A. Choice, Best Economy, Lowest Unemployment & much more!"

And, because he could not fit all of his boasting of accomplishment in Twitter's 280 characters – which expanded from 140 during his presidency, perhaps to accommodate his trademark tweetstorms – President Trump added an ensuing tweet for historical strong jobs numbers.

"More people are working today in the United States, 158,000,000, than at any time in our Country's history. That is a Big Deal!"

His Sunday morning tweets came one day after WhiteHouse.gov issued clips of positive administrative news, including a 56 percent approval rating on the economy and "public optimism in their personal economy has hit a 16-year high under President Trump," according to the latest Gallup Poll.

Source: NewsMax 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)

Source: OANN

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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)

Source: OANN

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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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