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Danske Bank nominates Oslo Bors CEO as board candidate

FILE PHOTO: Danske Bank sign is seen at the bank's Estonian branch in Tallinn
FILE PHOTO: Danske Bank sign is seen at the bank's Estonian branch in Tallinn, Estonia August 3, 2018. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins

March 12, 2019

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – The board of scandal-hit Danske Bank’s has nominated Bente Avnung Landsnes, the CEO of Oslo Bors ASA, as candidate for the board to be elected at the annual general meeting on March 18.

“I have broad experience of both banks and the capital markets over several years, also in working together with the FSA,” she told Reuters in a telephone interview, referring to Denmark’s financial watchdog.

Danske is under investigation in the United States, Denmark, Estonia, France and Britain over some 200 billion euros ($226 billion) in payments from Russia, ex-Soviet states and elsewhere that were found to have flowed through its Estonian unit.

(Reporting by Teis Jensen, editing by Louise Heavens)

Source: OANN

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Rolling Stones delay North American tour, Jagger hopes to be back soon

FILE PHOTO: Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones poses for photographers as the band arrives for the opening of the new exhibit
FILE PHOTO: Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones poses for photographers as the band arrives for the opening of the new exhibit "Exhibitionism: The Rolling Stones" in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., November 15, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar/File Photo

March 30, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – The Rolling Stones have postponed a tour of the United States and Canada, singer Mick Jagger announced on Saturday, saying he would be “working very hard to be back on stage as soon as I can.”

Rolling Stone magazine, quoting the band’s publicist, said the tour was postponed due to Jagger’s need for medical treatment.

“The doctors have advised Mick that he is expected to make a complete recovery so that he can get back on stage as soon as possible,” the publicist was quoted as saying.

(Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: OANN

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Man allegedly hid in ex-girlfriend’s Pittsburgh attic for weeks; faces burglary charges

A man who had allegedly been hiding out in his ex-girlfriend’s Pittsburgh home is now facing burglary charges, officials said.

Cary Michael Cocuzzi’s ex-girlfriend, who had a protection from abuse order against Cocuzzi, discovered her ex in her bedroom Saturday, authorities said.

The woman, who was not identified, told WPXI she saw signs around her home someone else was inside with her, such as when she discovered a blanket on the floor even though she hadn't left it there.

PENNSYLVANIA WOMAN KILLED FOLLOWING 'HORRIBLE' MEAT GRINDER INCIDENT: OFFICIAL

"I feel like this is going to affect me for the rest of my life," she told WPXI. “I had an intuition about it but I ignored it, I brushed it aside. I didn’t want to seem paranoid. But I should have trusted my instincts because I was right.”

Cocuzzi, 31, allegedly grabbed the woman, put a hand over her mouth and told her "Get over here," according to the criminal complaint.

However, she pushed him away and was able to make it outside, where her terrified screams spurred several neighbors to call 911, officials said.

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When police arrived and searched the home, they reported Cocuzzi was still there. They said he told officers he was homeless and had been sneaking in and out of the house for about two weeks.

The woman told the media outlet she was thankful her daughters were not at the residence at the time of the incident.

Cocuzzi is being held in the Allegheny County Jail and a preliminary hearing is slated for May 2. It was not immediately clear if he had retained an attorney.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Trump scuttles deal that would avoid Senate rebuke


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On the roster: Trump scuttles deal that would avoid Senate rebuke - Warren, Biden poised for another showdown - Schultz outlines presidential prerogatives - Audible: Earmuffs! - Wo ist das Toilettenpapier?

TRUMP SCUTTLES DEAL THAT WOULD AVOID SENATE REBUKE 
WaPo:President Trump said Wednesday he opposes Republican legislation to rein in presidential emergency powers — crippling an attempt at compromise on the eve of a crucial Senate vote. Trump made his views known in a phone call with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) as Lee lunched with fellow Republican senators at the Capitol, according to a person familiar with the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe it. Lee then relayed the information to his colleagues. The development came a day before the Senate votes on a disapproval resolution that would nullify the national emergency Trump has declared at the U.S.-Mexico border as a way to circumvent Congress and get billions for his wall. Lee’s effort to craft legislation limiting the scope of presidential emergency powers going forward was seen as a way to limit GOP defections on the separate disapproval resolution vote.”

Undercuts Pence (again) - NYT: “But that near certainty appeared to shift on Tuesday as Vice President Mike Pence pressed Senate Republicans at a closed-door meeting before their weekly policy lunch. A measure sponsored by Senator Mike Lee, Republican of Utah, and supported by more than a dozen Republican senators, would curtail the president’s powers under the National Emergencies Act of 1976, requiring a congressional vote of approval for any new emergency declaration after 30 days.”

Buuuutttt… Pelosi had nixed it already - Fox News: “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Wednesday that she would not allow the House to take up legislation that would potentially spare President Trump from an embarrassing rebuff from Congress over his decision to declare a national emergency on the border. ‘In an effort to avoid voting in favor of the House's resolution to terminate Trump’s #FakeEmergency, GOP senators are proposing legislation to allow Trump to violate the Constitution *just this once.* The House will not take up this legislation to give President Trump a pass,’ Pelosi tweeted.”

Senate GOP feeling froggy about challenging Trump on foreign policy - Bloomberg: “With Democrats controlling the House and GOP senators joining with Democrats to rebuke Trump, the odds are higher that Congress in coming months could send the president legislation that contradicts his will and forces a veto. ‘Congress is definitely stepping up and expressing its views,’ said Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican and Trump ally. … GOP willingness to buck the president began growing last summer with a vote reaffirming U.S. support for NATO. The measure drew support from nearly every Republican in the Senate and followed Trump’s statements questioning the alliance’s relevance and warnings that the U.S. was spending too much money to protect European nations and getting too little in return.”

THE RULEBOOK: EVEN WHEN MEASURED IN THE MILLIONS 
“The number of individuals employed under the Constitution of the United States will be much smaller than the number employed under the particular States.” – James MadisonFederalist No. 45

TIME OUT: BAD, BAD BIRDS 
FiveThirtyEight: “The 2018 Baltimore Orioles were so bad that we questioned whether they belonged in the major leagues at all. … There have been a few teams who went into a season with less apparent talent than Baltimore — but not many. Using Baseball-Reference.com, we gathered data for each American League team’s opening day lineup since 1973 (to include every team who used the designated hitter full-time) and calculated those players’ established WAR track records going into the season. The track records for these Orioles — to the extent they have track records at all — place the team at or near the low-water mark at each position relative to all other AL opening day starting lineups since 1973… Only three teams in our sample — the 1977 and 1982 Toronto Blue Jays and the 1980 Oakland Athletics — had lower established WAR levels for their starting lineups on Opening Day than the Orioles will have this season.”

Flag on the play? - Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM with your tips, comments or questions.

SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance 
Average approval:
 42.4 percent
Average disapproval: 53.2 percent
Net Score: -10.8 points
Change from one week ago: no change  
[Average includes: Monmouth University: 44% approve - 52% disapprove; Quinnipiac University: 38% approve - 55% disapprove; Gallup: 43% approve - 54% unapproved; IBD: 41% approve - 53% disapprove; NBC/WSJ: 46% approve - 52% disapprove.]

WARREN, BIDEN POISED FOR ANOTHER SHOWDOWN 
Politico: “On a February morning in 2005 in a hearing room in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Joe Biden confronted Elizabeth Warren over a subject they’d been feuding over for years: the country’s bankruptcy laws. … Fourteen years later, Warren and Biden are expected to find themselves facing off again, this time on a much larger stage. And while a bill that passed in 2005 is unlikely to dominate the 2020 Democratic primaries, the fight over the bankruptcy legislation helped shape Warren politically and could be a surprising liability for Biden in the race to become his party’s choice to replace President Donald Trump. … Delaware was home to one of the nation’s biggest credit card issuers at the time, and advocates on both sides of the debate saw Biden as trying to represent his state’s interests in Congress. But with emotions still raw about the banking bailouts of the Great Recession, some Democrats see Biden’s vote for the bill as part of a broader record that’s not as progressive as he’d like it to appear.”

Sanders’ secret weapon: Sincerity - Vanity Fair:Tom Townsend, the president of the AFL-CIO in Dubuque, called it an uncomplicated political formula that national Democrats seemed to have lost sight of before 2016. And yet, he told me, several of the Democrats currently running for president aren’t presenting a coherent rationale for their campaigns. ‘There are a couple I have talked to, and I don’t have a clue why they are running,’ he said. ‘Other than they want to run.’ One candidate who does make sense for many of his fellow workers, he said, is Sanders. ‘He talks to average people in a language they understand. It’s been a long time since people came to Dubuque and talked about real Midwestern issues, not what donors wanted to talk about or what national people want to talk about it. What people liked about Bernie is he was genuine. No one thinks he was making crap up to get corporate donations.’”

Beto does Iowa - AP: “Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke is planning a series of stops in Iowa beginning Thursday as he nears an announcement on a 2020 White House bid. O’Rourke, a former congressman, is set to make stops in Burlington, along the Mississippi River in southeast Iowa, and Dubuque, to the north, during his three days in Iowa, according to two people familiar with the plans. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to disclose details of the plans. A spokesman said Monday that O’Rourke planned to visit the University of Northern Iowa on Saturday to campaign for Eric Giddens, the Democratic candidate running in a state Senate special election this month. O’Rourke released a video Monday night from Texas, announcing his support for Giddens and wearing a University of Northern Iowa cap.

Wasserman: Dems’ messy process may spare Trump - NYT: “Donald Trump’s low approval ratings have attracted a crush of Democrats vying to make him a one-term president. But he might have an unlikely ally in his re-election bid: Democrats’ mess of a primary system…. By contrast, the Democratic Party’s egalitarian-minded rules allocate all pledged delegates to its convention on a proportional basis: A presidential candidate who receives at least 15 percent of the vote in any state or congressional district receives a corresponding share of delegates, making it difficult for a leading candidate to become a runaway train. In fact, had the 2016 Republican primary played out under Democrats’ rules, it would have almost assuredly resulted in an ugly, contested convention. … But for 2020, Democrats' jam-packed field is already on track to surpass the Republican 17-way rumble of 2016 and lacks an obvious front-runner.”

Big tech’s growing 2020 woes - Rolling Stone: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) rolled out the most ambitious policy plan of her presidential campaign — and arguably of any 2020 candidate — when she called for breaking up of the nation’s three tech giants: Facebook, Amazon and Google. … Rolling Stone can report that Warren, [Sen. AmyKlobuchar, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) and ex-Congressman John Delaney will appear on Saturday, March 30th, at the Heartland Forum in Storm Lake, Iowa, to discuss America’s monopoly problem and other rural issues and offer solutions. (Every declared and likely Democratic candidate was invited, a spokesman for the event says.) … The driving force behind the event — and perhaps the larger resurgence in public understanding and desire for action around antitrust and monopolies — is Barry Lynn, the 57-year-old founder and director of the Open Markets Institute.”

SCHULTZ OUTLINES PRESIDENTIAL PREROGATIVES
AP: “Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz on Wednesday offered his vision for what an independent presidency could look like, even though he still hasn't decided whether to enter the White House race himself. In a speech at Miami Dade College, Schultz laid out his plans for protecting democracy and free enterprise and sought to show how a president elected outside the two-party system could repair the current dysfunction in Washington. Schultz also vowed to sign only legislation that has bipartisan support and to not put forward any Supreme Court nominee who cannot be confirmed by two-thirds of the Senate. … Schultz also said that he would assemble a Cabinet that includes members from across the political spectrum and consists of a larger share of women than that of any previous president.”

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Former Trump campaign boss, Manafort, 69, to serve nearly seven years for his crimes - Fox News

Paralysis in London as Parliament rejects another Brexit planBBC

Impeachment fight still simmering among DemsRoll Call

Newsom grants reprieves for all 737 on California death rowSan Francisco Chronicle 

Q Poll: DeSantis most popular Florida governor in a decade Orlando Sentinel

After Florida gubernatorial defeat, Putnam to lead conservation group Ducks Unlimited - Memphis Commercial Appeal

Neomi Rao confirmed to replace Kavanaugh on D.C. Circuit Fox News

Office space: Pelosi boots Pence from House digs - NPR

AUDIBLE: EARMUFFS!
“Motherf***ers! … Sorry, kids.” – Beto O’Rourke while “darting” through an intersection while driving his kids home from school, as quoted by Vanity Fair in their latest piece on the potential presidential candidate. 

FROM THE BLEACHERS
“G'day Chris, Just a brief point from someone here ‘at the end of the world’ (New Zealand - we have spoken before!) Why is that the new freshmen, who have achieved nothing in actual governing, are allowed to act as though they have achieved something in government? Why does nobody remind them (and the people) that they are - almost by definition - amateurs, as yet? Truly an example of the disaster of ‘arrogance’ plus ‘ignorance’ perhaps?” – Mike O'Neill, New Zealand

[Ed. note: Be careful, Mr. O’Neill, or the populists will hear you. One of the core tenets of populism, no matter what political ideology, is that expertise and experience are overrated. Voters in the United States and much of the world these days have a strong feeling that the hard-won wisdom that comes through in a career in public service is outweighed by the tendency of such individuals to be elitists. When Donald Trump was running for president his inexperience was touted as an advantage by supporters. Those who are excited about the congresswomen to whom you allude would certainly say the same thing. Always good to hear from you!

“Wasn’t it Bob Dole who was mocked for referring to the ‘Brooklyn’ Dodgers? So now the President is referring to Tim Cook as Tim Apple, and it's a joke? Let's check that neuro workup.” – Norman F. Smith, Jr., Newtown, Pa.

[Ed. note: Poor Bob Dole. You are referencing the then-Republican nominee’s Sept. 18, 1996 mishap in which he likened himself to Hideo Nomo, the Dodgers’ ace who pitched a no-hitter that week. Dole was trailing President Bill Clinton substantially and Dole sought to rally supporters at a Los Angeles area speech saying that he would do as Nomo did and “wipe them out between now and Nov. 5.” But in making his joke, Dole slipped and referenced the pre-1958 home of the Dodgers, Brooklyn, N.Y. Now, Dole obviously knew that the Dodgers were in Los Angeles, otherwise he wouldn’t have referenced the team and its star player while visiting the city. But he slipped and referenced the team’s home for the first 35 years of his life. Reporters looking for something that would both highlight Dole’s reputation as an out-of-touch oldster and a hapless campaigner pounced. Plus, 1996 was one of the most boring elections of recent memory, and reporters will always find a way to make a living out on the dusty campaign trail. “Dole delivers a no-no to the glory days of Brooklyn” announced the NYT’s headline. I don’t know whether “Tim Apple” is better or worse than Dole’s gaffe, but the times have certainly changed. Not only does Trump commit so many transgressions against syntax, fact and reason in his remarks that reporters can’t keep up, but thanks to social media, the half-life of these moments for any politician is astonishingly short. When Adam Nagourney filed his dispatch for the Times 23 years ago from Los Angeles, the story of Dole’s senior moment in California would still be unknown to almost all. Cable news was in its infancy and social media was still far off in the future. Much like the bogus story of George H.W. Bush being astounded by the existence of supermarket scanners four years prior, the Dole/Dodgers story could be shaped and mature into a meme before it was released to the general public. By the time reporters could get around to making fun of Trump for his synaptic slip, Twitter had already used up every gag, pun and jab. Pity us poor headline writers in the days of social media. All the good ones are all already taken.]

Share your color commentary: Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM and please make sure to include your name and hometown.

WO IST DAS TOILETTENPAPIER?
Fox News: “A Bavarian town that accidentally ordered a 12-year supply of toilet paper is officially wiped out. The mayor of Fuchstal, a small German town of around 4,000 people near Munich, says ‘the last roll has now been used up.’ The toilet roll tale started in 2006 when a council employee mistakenly ordered two massive truckloads of the paper product. When the first vehicle rolled into the town, authorities realized their mistake and were able to successfully cancel the second truck. However, they were still stuck with roll upon roll on the first truck. … Part of the reason why it took the town more than a decade to use up the toilet paper was because of the condition of the paper itself. Residents complained the gray-colored 1-ply was too flimsy, turned brittle and yellow under exposure to sunlight. Some workers refused outright to use it and opted to bring their own toiled paper from home. The silver-gray lining in the fiasco is that the botched order saved the city money because the price of wood rose the following year.”

AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“[Politics] is the only American industry whose participants devote prodigious sums to destroying whatever shred of allegiance any of them might once have won with their customers.” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing in the Washington Post on Oct. 28, 1994.

Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.

Source: Fox News Politics

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U.N. experts rebuke U.S. ‘threats’, visa ban on ICC investigators

The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague
FILE PHOTO: The International Criminal Court building is seen in The Hague, Netherlands, January 16, 2019. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

March 22, 2019

GENEVA (Reuters) – United Nations human rights experts called on the United States on Friday to stop its “threats” and visa bans against the International Criminal Court (ICC), which they rejected as “improper interference”.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said a week ago that the United States will withdraw or deny visas to any ICC personnel investigating possible war crimes by U.S. forces or allies in Afghanistan. The visa restrictions may also be used to deter ICC efforts to pursue allied personnel, including Israelis, he said.

The Hague-based court has responded that it was an independent and impartial institution and would continue to do its work “undeterred” by Washington’s actions.

In a joint statement, U.N. experts rejected the warnings of measures by Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton last September.

“These threats constitute improper interference with the independence of the ICC and could hinder the ability of ICC judges, prosecutors, and staff to carry out their professional duties,” the statement said.

“We are particularly concerned in light of recent reports of senior ICC staff resigning from their positions as a consequence of these threats,” it said.

The U.S. mission in Geneva had no immediate comment on the statement.

The United States did not ratify the Rome treaty that established the ICC in 2002. U.S. President Barack Obama took some steps to cooperate with it.

The U.N. experts, Diego Garcia-Sayan, special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, and Michael Forst, special rapporteur on human rights defenders, said that were in touch with U.S. authorities on the issues.

Activist groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), welcomed the experts’ “condemnation”.

“The purpose of the visa restrictions is to block and deter legitimate criminal investigation into serious crimes under international law,” they said.

“Not only might they have a chilling effect on ICC personnel and others advocating for accountability, but they will set a dangerous precedent with serious implications on the overall fight for impunity,” said the ACLU, International Commission of Jurists and International Service for Human Rights.

(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Source: OANN

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Ex-Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos formally asks for presidential pardon, would 'be honored to accept'

Former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos told Fox News Tuesday that his legal team has formally asked for a pardon from President Trump.

“My lawyers have formally asked for a pardon. If it’s granted, I would be honored to accept it,” Papadopoulos told Fox News on Tuesday.

The request from Papadopoulos’ legal team comes just days after Special Counsel Robert Mueller announced the completion of his probe into Russian meddling and potential collusion with Trump campaign associates during the 2016 presidential election.

EX-TRUMP CAMPAIGN AIDE GEORGE PAPADOPOULOS SAYS FBI ASKED HIM TO WEAR A WIRE

According to the summary of Mueller’s report, released over the weekend by Attorney General Bill Barr, the special counsel found no evidence of collusion between members of the Trump campaign and Russia, despite numerous offers.

Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to making false statements as part of Mueller’s investigation. The ex-foreign policy adviser served a 14-day prison sentence last year.

Papadopoulos is reportedly considering withdrawing his guilty plea.

There has been speculation over whether the president will choose to pardon any of the Trump campaign associates charged during Mueller's investigation.

BULK OF MUELLER CASES AGAINST TRUMP ASSOCIATES BASED ON FALSE STATEMENTS

Of the six Trump campaign associates indicted in Mueller’s sprawling investigation, five were charged with violating U.S.C. 1001—or making false statements.

They include: former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Papadopoulos; former White House national security adviser Michael Flynn; former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates; former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen; and former Trump adviser Roger Stone.

Former campaign manager Paul Manafort was the only Trump associate not charged with making false statements -- but rather charged with foreign lobbying, witness tampering and bank and tax fraud. Manafort is set to serve 81 months in prison.

The White House had no comment on the possibility of pardons, but in the past, has said that there has been no discussion of pardons for any of the players in the Mueller investigation.

Fox News' John Roberts contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News Politics

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Oil dips from four-month highs, but OPEC cuts, sanctions support

FILE PHOTO: Drilling rigs in the Cromarty Firth near Invergordon, Scotland
FILE PHOTO: Drilling rigs are parked up in the Cromarty Firth near Invergordon, Scotland, Britain January 27, 2015. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

March 21, 2019

By Henning Gloystein

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil eased away from 2019 highs reached earlier in the session on Thursday, but markets remain relatively tight amid supply cuts led by producer club OPEC and U.S. government sanctions against Iran and Venezuela.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $60.12 per barrel at 0712 GMT on Thursday, down 11 cents, or 0.2 percent from their last settlement. WTI reached its highest level since Nov. 12 earlier in the day, at $60.33 per barrel.

International Brent crude oil futures were at $68.52 a barrel, close to their last settlement after hitting $68.69 a barrel earlier in the session, the highest since Nov. 13.

Crude prices have been pushed up by almost a third since the start of 2019 by supply cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), as well as by sanctions enacted against Iran and Venezuela by the United States.

OPEC’s crude oil output has slumped from a mid-2018 peak of 32.8 million barrels per day (bpd) to 30.7 million bpd in February.

(For a graphic on ‘OPEC oil production’ click https://tmsnrt.rs/2FiS2y3)

The U.S. sanctions are also disrupting supply.

“Venezuelan exports to the U.S. have finally dried up, after the sanctions were placed on them by the U.S. administration earlier this year,” ANZ bank said on Thursday.

Iranian oil exports have also slumped. The United States aims to cut Iran’s crude exports by about 20 percent to below 1 million bpd from May by requiring importing countries to reduce purchases to avoid U.S. sanctions.

The OPEC cuts and sanctions have also tightened supply within the United States.

U.S. crude oil stockpiles last week fell by nearly 10 million barrels, the most since July, boosted by strong export and refining demand, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.[EIA/S]

Stockpiles fell 9.6 million barrels, to 439.5 million barrels, their lowest since January.

Part of the drawdown is due to surging U.S. exports, which stood at a four-week average of 3 million bpd, double the amount this time a year ago, according to the EIA.

The rising exports come amid steep growth in U.S. crude oil production, which returned to its record of 12.1 million bpd last week, making America the world’s biggest producer ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia.

(For a graphic on ‘U.S. crude oil production & exports’ click https://tmsnrt.rs/2ULQiTd)

(Reporting by Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE and Colin Packham in SYDNEY; Editing by Tom Hogue and Richard Pullin)

Source: OANN

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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)

Source: OANN

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