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Kentucky police officers seen shooting suspect who was running at them with gun

Two police officers in Kentucky are on administrative leave after they fatally shot a shooting suspect in the parking lot of an apartment complex Tuesday who could be seen on a bodycam running at them.

Louisville Metro Police said the shooting took place Tuesday around 3 p.m. at the Spring Manor Apartments in Louisville when officers arrived and confronted the man, identified as 33-year-old Terry Davis Jr.

"His behavior was described as erratic by the witnesses prior to our arrival, and I think we continued to see that once the officers were on scene," Lt. Aaron Crowell said at a news conference.

WOMAN SEEN TEARING DOWN 'THIN BLUE LINE' FLAG SOUGHT BY CALIFORNIA POLICE

Davis was initially found crouching behind a car near the victim, so close that authorities were not able to deliver aid, according to Crowell.

Video taken by a neighbor obtained by WDRB shows Davis moving around the parking lot, as officers and residents of the complex demand he put the gun down.

Two police officers can be seen moments before opening fire as a suspect in another shooting runs at them with a weapon on Tuesday.

Two police officers can be seen moments before opening fire as a suspect in another shooting runs at them with a weapon on Tuesday. (Louisville Metro Police Department)

"He had every opportunity to surrender, to drop the gun," Tim Bonner, who lives in the apartment complex, told WDRB. "They asked him several times. You could hear them yelling out the commands. And when he took off running with the gun forward, there's nothing they could do. Nothing they could do."

CALIFORNIA POLICE OFFICER SAVES BABY'S LIFE IN DRAMATIC BODYCAM VIDEO

Crowell told reporters Wednesday that Davis refused to comply with directions and non-lethal force and charged at Officers William Mattingly and Michael Purcell, who fired multiple times. Police released the video from three different body cameras that showed officers trying to tell Davis to drop the weapon.

"I think there was a great deal of restraint," he said. "I think they were on scene for about 12 minutes, I believe, while they were trying to de-escalate the individual."

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Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad said the gunman was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. The Jefferson County coroner's office said that Davis died of multiple gunshot wounds. The original shooting victim was also transported to an area hospital, where he was listed in critical condition.

Both officers are now on administrative leave, pending the investigation by the LMPD Public Integrity Unit. This was the second time that Mattingly shot a suspect in the last 5 months, according to WDRB.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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National Review: ‘Replacing Obamacare Still Republican Duty’

The National Review has come out in favor of President Donald Trump’s plan to have the Affordable Care Act struck down by the courts and replaced with a GOP healthcare plan.

The conservative magazine published an op-ed from the editors on Monday, writing that “the Senate will wait for the White House and the Democrats to reach a deal before it tackles health care,” and that “Republican strategists say the senators are right: Why put forward a plan and open Republicans to attack over it, when the party can concentrate instead on making the case against Democratic proposals to kick Americans off their health insurance and move toward a government monopoly?”

They add later, “The Republican administration is urging its abolition in court. Democrats already have enough warrant to accuse Republicans of seeking to eliminate a health law on which many millions of Americans rely. Republicans can choose whether to respond to that attack by pointing to their own plan, or by letting Democrats devise a caricatured conservative plan to tie to them.” 

The editors conclude that Republicans “should propose that the federal government both remove many of Obamacare’s regulations and redirect the money now flowing to Obamacare’s exchanges and its Medicaid expansions to state governments, which would then determine how to spend it to meet their residents’ health-care needs.”

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Lakers part ways with head coach Luke Walton

NBA: Los Angeles Lakers at New Orleans Pelicans
FILE PHOTO: Mar 31, 2019; New Orleans, LA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers head coach Luke Walton reacts during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

April 12, 2019

By Rory Carroll

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The Los Angeles Lakers and head coach Luke Walton have agreed to part ways after the team posted a disappointing 37-45 record and failed to end a playoff drought stretching back to 2013.

Walton spent two seasons at the helm of a team that struggled to find the right pieces to complement 15-time All-Star LeBron James in his first season in Los Angeles.

“We would like to thank Luke for his dedicated service over the last three years,” Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka said in a press release issued on Friday.

“We wish Luke and his family the best of luck moving forward.”

Walton said he was grateful to team owner Jeanie Buss for the chance to coach the team, where he won two championships as a player.

“I want to thank Jeanie Buss and the Buss family for giving me the opportunity to coach the Lakers,” he said.

“This franchise and the city will always be special to me and my family.”

Former Cleveland Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue is seen as an early frontrunner for the job, according to ESPN.

Lue, who won two championships with the Lakers as a player, coached James to a championship with the Cavaliers in 2016.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Ken Ferris)

Source: OANN

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Gillibrand defends Green New Deal, calls climate change 'greatest threat to humanity we have'

Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand compared the Green New Deal to NASA's race for the Moon in the 1960s, telling Fox News' "Special Report" Monday night that "global climate change ... is the greatest threat to humanity we have."

"Scientists have just reached the conclusion that [climate change is] happening far quicker than we know," the fired-up senator from New York told Chris Wallace. "And, what New Yorkers know and what people all across this country know is, when severe weather hits, people die. It destroys communities."

The Green New Deal, championed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and endorsed by several of Gillibrand's would-be competitors in the Democratic field, is an ambitious jobs and infrastructure program that calls for every building in the United States to be replaced or retrofitted to become more energy efficient and for the replacement of air travel with high-speed rail, among other conditions. Republicans have mocked the proposal, saying it would cost trillions of dollars and cripple the U.S. economy.

WHAT IS THE GREEN NEW DEAL? A LOOK AT THE ECONOMIC AND CLIMATE CONCEPT PUSHED BY PROGRESSIVES

"When John F. Kennedy was president, he said, let’s put a man on the Moon in the next 10 years, not because it’s easy but because it’s hard," Gillibrand said. "It will be a measure of our innovation, our entrepreneurialism, our excellence. Why not say to the American people, ‘Global climate change is not only real, but the urgency of this moment requires a call to action to all of America’s engineers, all of our entrepreneurs, all of our innovators to ... solve the problems together?'"

Gillibrand and Wallace then had a lively exchange over Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren's vow to not hold any "big-money fundraisers" during her campaign. Wallace asked Gillibrand if she saw any contradiction between Warren's promise and Gillibrand's plans to hold a March fundraiser at the home of Pfizer executive Sally Susman.

"I think you do need to get money out of politics," Gillibrand said. "... Today, the wealthiest, most powerful lobbyists and special interest groups get to write bills in the dead of night."

"Okay, but answer my one question directly," Wallace interrupted.

"I will, but –" Gillibrand began.

"$2,700," said Wallace, referring to the reported top ticket price for the fundraiser.

ELIZABETH WARREN SWEARS OFF 'BIG MONEY FUNDRAISERS' WITH WEALTHY DONORS

"Let me finish, let me finish," Gillibrand said. "I got you, I got you, I got your point, I’m going to get to it." The senator went on to describe Susman as "who’s a dear friend who I’ve known for years and years, who believes in my gay-rights platform and believes in women’s rights."

"Okay, but what about $2,700 tickets?" Wallace asked again.

"Let me finish," Gillibrand said again. "So, what’s wrong with Washington is, there’s so much corruption. So much corruption, so much greed. We can’t actually pass common sense gun reform in this country not because the American people aren’t behind it – because they are – but because the (National Rifle Association) is more worried about gun sales than they are about the well-being of our kids. So what’s really wrong with Washington is corruption and greed."

"Can you answer my question," Wallace repeated.

"Yes, just let me finish," said Gillibrand, who went on to claim she would not take money from federal lobbyists, super-PACs or corporate PACs and would not have an individual super-PAC for her campaign.

"Could you just answer, though," Wallace responded. "$2,700 tickets, are you going to go ahead and have the fundraiser or not?"

"Of course, I’m going to ask Americans all across this country to support my campaign," Gillibrand said.

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"And, you don't see a contradiction?" asked Wallace.

"I don't," Gillibrand said, "because at the end of the day, people are going to support our campaign because they believe in us."

Source: Fox News Politics

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Curry on Morant: Ja ready to rule NBA

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament-First Round- Marquette vs Murray State
Mar 21, 2019; Hartford, CT, USA; Murray State Racers guard Ja Morant (12) drives to the basket against the Marquette Golden Eagles during the second half of a game in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament at XL Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

March 22, 2019

Ja Morant stole the show in Hartford on Thursday, but the Murray State flash opened eyes nationwide with his triple-double performance that led his 12th-seeded Racers into the second round in a blowout of Marquette.

Among the observers wowed by the sophomore point guard was another former NCAA Tournament darling, former Davidson dynamo Steph Curry.

“What he did on Thursday, it shows you he’s ready for whatever,” Curry told Yahoo Sports. “That transition to the NBA isn’t going to be difficult at all for him.”

Morant posted 17 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds, becoming just the eighth player to post a triple-double in an NCAA Tournament game and the first since Draymond Green at Michigan State. Green was paying attention, too, telling Yahoo: “That was my first time watching him play and he’s for real.”

Curry was a sophomore in 2008 when he carried Davidson to the Elite Eight, scoring 30 or more in all four tourney games. He sees stardom in Morant.

“From what I’ve seen, he’s a beast,” Curry told Yahoo Sports. “He’s athletic, knows how to play, he’s fearless and he shows up for big games even though everybody knows he’s coming. That speaks volumes about his game.”

Morant averaged 24.6 points, 10 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game this season at Murray State.

He’s in the discussion to be a top-five draft pick, and Thursday’s big show did nothing to raise doubts about his readiness despite the relatively humble college surroundings in the Ohio Valley Conference.

“I don’t know if they played some heavy hitters, but it doesn’t even matter. If you can play, you can play,” Curry said. “Damian Lillard at Weber State was like that as well.

“I’m sure the tournament is the first time most people get to see Ja. There’s no preparation for it because in the tournament, everybody wants to play in it, but it hits you in the face with the attention and the adrenaline rush. It’s a small window where everybody’s eyeballs are all on you and you can surprise a lot of people. But the biggest thing for me is I had the confidence going in and it sets you up to be ready for that moment.”

As Marquette, the fifth seed in Hartford, bowed out of the tournament on Thursday, former Duke guard and current Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski had some high praise for Morant.

“Ja Morant makes a lot of plans look bad. I mean, I’ve been in this for a while. He’s as good as any guard that I’ve coached against, or played against, and I’ve coached against and played against some outstanding ones,” he said. .”.. The best thing about that kid is his decision-making. I mean, you’re talking about an elite, elite decision-maker, who’s got elite athleticism. And, you know, when you’re talking about a point guard, you should always start with decision-making. And he made great, great decisions, and he makes everyone around him better.”

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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On President’s Day let’s reflect on the role faith played in our founders' vision for America

Each year, on the third Monday of February, we celebrate Presidents Day to honor U.S. presidents, past and present. Instead of kings who wield absolute power for entire lifetimes, America was established as a nation ruled by the people. The government’s ability to wrest power from the people was reined in by an ingenious system of checks and balances. But what is often missed by pundits today was the expectation of our Founding Fathers, all of whom held great reverence for God and Scripture, that leaders possess a moral compass, and that virtue, justice and righteousness were essential for government not to trample on the God-given rights of the people.

George Washington warned America in his first inaugural address never to depart from its founding principles, which he clearly believed flowed from God. He declared, “the propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained.”

VIRGINIA CHURCH RAISES $100G TO PAY OFF COLLEGE DEBT FOR 34 STUDENTS

Christians share the same spiritual obligation our Founding Fathers felt to express our faith in the political and public sphere. Here are three reasons why:

1.         Political involvement demonstrates love for our neighbors.

Jesus told us in Matthew 22 that the greatest commandment is to love God with all that we are and he went on to say that the second greatest commandment is to “love your neighbor as yourself.”

As Americans, we are allowed the unique opportunity to influence our laws.

Using our voice and our vote as Christians to influence the political landscape of our country is one way we can show love to our neighbor. Good laws and a well-run government are essential to produce a flourishing society. Obeying these two commandments includes seeking legislation that protects the sanctity of life, religious freedom, marriage and family, and that compassionately cares for those in need. Engaging in politics allows us to effect change and is essential for believers who love their neighbor.

2.         Political involvement demonstrates reverence for God.

Paul writes in Romans 13 that Christians should respect and be subject to their governing authorities because “there is no authority except that which God has established.”

The Bible explicitly expresses an obligation to our government that is derived from God’s authority. As Americans, we are allowed the unique opportunity to influence our laws. For Christians, this means we must bring our biblical worldview to the public square. If we begin to remove ourselves from politics, this opens the door for moral decay and culture shift, inevitably changing the direction of a government that honors God.

3.         Political involvement shows respect for the Bible.

2 Timothy tells us that, “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

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“Every good work” definitely includes leveraging our faith to influence politics in a way that seeks to build God’s kingdom on Earth. Believers must understand a biblical worldview speaks into every aspect of our lives, including some of today’s most controversial issues.

So, hopefully, this Presidents Day gives you an extra moment of rest but also time to reflect on — and be grateful for — how our nation’s leaders have exercised their faith while serving in government. Let their example encourage everyday citizens like you and me to let our faith impact our nation, too.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM JASON YATES 

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Bernie Sanders Collects $10M in Donations in First Week

The presidential campaign for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., took in $10 million in less than week from several hundred thousand donors.

According to The New York Times, Sanders' campaign — which officially began last Tuesday — earned $10 million in donations as of Monday.

The Times cited people who were at Sanders' campaign headquarters when the campaign kicked off as saying that within minutes of the 7 a.m. ET announcement, donations from all across the country were pouring in. By Monday, 359,914 people had given money to his White House effort.

Sanders raised roughly $230 million for his 2016 presidential campaign, which fell short of winning the Democratic primary to Hillary Clinton.

Source: NewsMax America

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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)

Source: OANN

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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)

Source: OANN

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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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