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Justin Bieber puts music on hold while struggling not to fall apart

FILE PHOTO - Justin Bieber performs a medley of songs at the 2016 Billboard Awards in Las Vegas
FILE PHOTO - Justin Bieber performs a medley of songs at the 2016 Billboard Awards in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., May 22, 2016. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

March 26, 2019

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Teen hearthrob Justin Bieber has told fans he is putting new music on hold while he struggles with “deep rooted issues” that he hopes will stop him from falling apart.

Bieber, 25, said in a lengthy Instagram post for his 106 million followers, that “music is very important to me but nothing comes before my family and my health.”

“I am now very focused on repairing some of the deep rooted issues that I have as most of us have, so that I don’t fall apart, so that I can sustain my marriage and be the father I want to be,” the Canadian singer wrote on Monday.

Bieber’s posting follows an admission on Instagram earlier this month that he had been “struggling a lot. Just feeling super disconnected and weird.”

The “Sorry” singer, who shot to fame as a baby-faced 15 year-old, married model Hailey Baldwin last September in a New York civil ceremony. They have no children.

In 2017 he abruptly pulled out of his “Purpose” world tour, citing the need for rest.

Bieber has not released an album since 2015’s “Purpose” although he came out with single “No Brainer” in July 2018 with DJ Khaled and other artists, and a remix of Spanish language global hit “Despacito” in 2017 with Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Susan Thomas)

Source: OANN

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New Costner movie features men who chased Bonnie & Clyde

Actor Costner waves during a photocall to promote his latest film
Actor Kevin Costner waves during a photocall to promote his latest film "The Highwaymen" in Madrid, Spain, March 25, 2019. Picture taken March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Sergio Perez

March 26, 2019

By Silvio Castellanos

MADRID (Reuters) – A new film starring Kevin Costner and Woody Harrelson takes a fresh angle on the bloody tale of outlaw duo Bonnie and Clyde, focusing instead on the two detectives who ended the lovers’ criminal rampage across the United States.

In “The Highwaymen”, directed by John Lee Hancock, Costner plays former Texas Ranger Frank Hamer, one of a posse of officers who shot the pair dead in a dawn ambush in Louisiana in 1934. Harrelson plays his partner Maney Gault.

“We’ve chosen this one story about Bonnie and Clyde, and rather than tell their story, we’ve told the story of the men who hunted them down and risked their lives to bring a murder spree in America to an end,” Costner told Reuters.

The 1967 move “Bonnie & Clyde” starred Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway as the gangster pair believed to have murdered 13 people, robbed banks, and staged kidnaps and car thefts.

But the new flick takes a very different path, Costner said in Madrid during a promotional tour.

“They were made heroic in the 1967 movie and that’s too bad. But that’s how it was made. The men that chased (them) were just average men doing their job,” the veteran U.S. actor said.

“The Highwaymen” will premiere on streaming service Netflix on March 29.

Asked whether movies that go straight to streaming services have the same cache as those released in cinemas, Costner noted that film and television producers were increasingly experimenting with releasing their work online.

With their high-quality long-form programs, Netflix and others are raising the bar for traditional TV production, he said. “Television didn’t (have) a very big hold over me until you started having extended stories,” he added.

(Reporting by Silvio Castellanos; Writing by Isla Binnie; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

Source: OANN

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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrives in Russian port city ahead of first meeting with Putin

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived by an armored train in Russia on Wednesday ahead of a highly-anticipated summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and amid deadlocked negotiations with the U.S. over the North's nuclear program.

In his first visit to Russia as North Korea's leader, Kim met with Russian officials at the country's Khasan train station Wednesday morning before traveling north to the Pacific port of Vladivostock, where he will be with President Putin on Thursday.

Speaking to Russia's state-owned Rossiya-24, Kim said on arrival that he is hoping for a "successful and useful" visit and would like to discuss with Putin "settlement of the situation in the Korean Peninsula" as well as bilateral ties with Russia.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center,t, is welcomed by girls clad in traditional Russian clothes upon arrival at Khasan train station in Primorye region, Russia, Wednesday, April 24, 2019. 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, center,t, is welcomed by girls clad in traditional Russian clothes upon arrival at Khasan train station in Primorye region, Russia, Wednesday, April 24, 2019.  (Primorsky Regional Administration Press Service via AP)

"I have heard a lot about your country and have long dreamt of visiting it," Kim was quoted as saying. "It's been seven years since I took the helm, and I've only just managed to visit."

NORTH KOREA DEMANDS US TO SIDELINE POMPEO FROM NUCLEAR TALKS: REPORT

Kim arrived in Vladivostok early evening where he was greeted by a military orchestra before he got into his personal limousine that traveled with him, and drove away. After his summit with Putin on Thursday, Kim may tour neighboring facilities or landmarks before departing for home on Friday, according to South Korean media.

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Kim's meeting with President Trump in Hanoi earlier this year reached a stalemate because of disputes over U.S.-led sanctions. There have since been no publicly known high-level contacts between the U.S. and North Korea, though both sides say they are still open to a third summit.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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In Florida Panhandle, school closures likely following post-Hurricane Michael enrollment drop

SPRINGFIELD, Fla.— Rutherford High School Senior D’Vante Sims is getting used to a new normal.

After a month off school due to damage from Hurricane Michael, he returned November 13 to a restructured high school—portables consumed the fields behind the school, not only accommodating ninth through 12th grade, but also holding classes for sixth through eighth after a local middle school was wiped away during the storm.

School days were split to be able to accommodate all the students throughout the day. Most elementary school times have been adjusted to begin at 8 a.m. to avoid transportation conflicts, while the older kids’ classes begin later in the day.

Most schools had between 10 and 14 minutes added to their schedule each day to make up for lost instructional time in the aftermath of the storm, particularly important for 11th and 12th graders in the process of applying to college.

Many of their friends moved away with their families after the storm, leaving hallways filled with mostly unfamiliar faces.

"Some have been trying to come back but they just don't know when or how because their house was destroyed," Sims said. "A hurricane happened and although it happened months ago, we're still traumatized to this day…Hurricane Michael came in took half of our senior year away."

HURRICANE MICHAEL DEVASTATION IN PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA SEEN IN DRONE VIDEO, PHOTOS

When Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle four months ago, it left damage across an 80-mile swath, leveling homes and schools. The school board now has tough decisions to make for the hundreds of students who stayed.

For Rutherford High School Principal Coy Pilson, school might be back in session after the third-most powerful hurricane to strike the U.S., but life is far from normal.

“We've lost about 200 students. We've lost close to 20 percent of our population,” Pilson said. “Our challenge is trying to have school when you're doing construction.”

English teacher Pamela Darrow can attest to that.

“The roof of the library was gone, the roof of our building was gone…I finally got to see my classroom…there were tubs and hoses drawing things out,” she said.

The Category 4 storm with 155 mph sustained winds, just 1 mph below the threshold for a Category 5 designation, left an estimated $25 billion in damage and 75 dead.

The school district was also hit hard.

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Bay District school enrollment dropped nearly 15 percent, with elementary schools hit the hardest, down 25 percent. Over 180 employees left the area and the federal government now classifies 4,500 students as homeless because their houses were uninhabitable after the storm.

“It's catastrophic on a scale none of us ever saw coming,” said Bay District Schools Superintendent Bill Husfelt.

An estimated $350 million worth of damage led the superintendent to recommend several school closures, mergers, rezoning and mothballing—a term used when a school is closed but still maintained so it can be reopened whenever practical.

“Having a school at 60 percent capacity is not really wise…we need to utilize the facilities we have at maximum capacity," he said, "it's very selfish, we’re as selfish as we’ve ever been right now, we want to rebuild.”

With school closures come the concern of employee layoffs.

Husfelt said he is putting his trust in the state legislature to avoid job loss, but if it doesn’t approve funding, the district will have no choice but to consider layoffs. The legislative session begins on March 5.

“My goal is not to fire anybody or lay anybody off, but if we don't tighten our own belts it'll be done for us. So we probably won't hire any teachers or administrators coming up,” he said.

“We probably have 30 schools that are going to have  to  have the  roofs  totally replaced, we've  got  many  buildings that were just  totally  destroyed...we had  two  gymnasiums  that  basically just blew  the  roof  off  of  them  and  collapsed," detailed Superintendent Bill Husfelt of the damage to Bay District Schools from Hurricane Michael.

“We probably have 30 schools that are going to have  to  have the  roofs  totally replaced, we've  got  many  buildings that were just  totally  destroyed...we had  two  gymnasiums  that  basically just blew  the  roof  off  of  them  and  collapsed," detailed Superintendent Bill Husfelt of the damage to Bay District Schools from Hurricane Michael.

Another concern is the mental health of students and staff that are living in the traumatic aftermath of the storm. Bay District Schools officials sent a letter to Commissioner Richard Corcoran with the Florida Department of Education requesting that the graduation requirement of some be waived and that the state set aside $2 million for a long-term mental health plan.

It also asks the department to take the storm’s impact into consideration when it comes to students’ standardized testing this year.

“The kids are still reeling from what they've been through, so it's been kind of hard to get them back into the swing of things,” Darrow said.

Cleanup and recovery from Hurricane Michael has been slow, costly and ongoing. As donations to the area stall and media coverage fades, some residents of the “Forgotten Coast” fear the area is living up to its name.

“We're not making the news anymore,” said Darrow. “There are people now who almost have panic attacks every time the wind starts blowing…people are scared to death because it happened. You never think it will.”

The school board will advertise the recommended closings before taking a final vote in a March 12 meeting. If approved, the closures will take effect next school year and remain until the community is rebuilt and students return to the area.

In the meantime, the district plans on continuing its work with FEMA to repair and remodel schools that currently are out of commission.

Source: Fox News National

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Brexit deadline extension only makes sense if it raises chances of deal: Barnier

EU chief Brexit negotiator Barnier holds a news conference after a General Affairs Council on Article 50 in Brussels
European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier holds a news conference after a General Affairs Council on Article 50 in Brussels, Belgium March 19, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman

March 19, 2019

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – An extension of Brexit talks beyond the March 29th deadline would only make sense if it increased the chances of the already agreed deal being ratified by Britain, the European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Tuesday.

Barnier said that after two years of talks with Britain on its withdrawal from the bloc, the key moment has now come for London to make up its mind and end the genuine uncertainty that its lack of decision on the way forward has created.

“Does an extension increase the chances of ratification of Withdrawal Agreement? What would be the purpose and outcome? How can we ensure that, at the end of a possible extension, we are not back in the same situation as today?” Barnier told a news conference.

“If Theresa May requests an extension before the European Council on Thursday, it will be for the 27 leaders to assess the reason and usefulness […] EU leaders will need a concrete plan from the UK in order to be able to make an informed decision,” he said.

(Reporting By Gabriela Baczynska, writing by Jan Strupczewski)

Source: OANN

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Ex-officer arrested on rape charges related to witnesses

A former Philadelphia police officer has been arrested on allegations that he sexually assaulted male witnesses and suspects over more than a decade.

A spokesman for the Philadelphia District Attorney confirmed that 52-year-old Philip Nordo was arrested Tuesday morning and was scheduled to be arraigned in the multi-count grand jury presentment Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities allege that Nordo used his position to intimidate and groom male suspects and witnesses into sexual encounters. The heavily redacted presentment contains roughly 35 charges related to three victims including rape, stalking and sexual assault.

Nordo was fired in 2017 after an allegation was received that he improperly paid a witness and had fraternized with people connected to criminal conduct.

A phone call to an attorney previously listed for Nordo was not immediately returned Tuesday.

Source: Fox News National

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Chinese smartphone firms jazz up products, seize turf in home market from Apple

FILE PHOTO: Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun attends a launch ceremony of the new flagship phone Xiaomi Mi 9 in Beijing
FILE PHOTO: Xiaomi founder and CEO Lei Jun attends a launch ceremony of the new flagship phone Xiaomi Mi 9 in Beijing, China February 20, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo

March 22, 2019

By Josh Horwitz

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Smartphone retailers in China say it’s a tough sell of late with consumers reluctant to upgrade, put off by chill economic winds.

Even so domestic brands led by Huawei have made big strides, wooing consumers with top-notch hardware and innovative features as they move upmarket in the $500-$800 price range. The result: a loss of share in a key segment for Apple Inc and fresh price cuts for iPhones by Chinese retailers.

“Of those people who are upgrading, there are many switching from Apple to Chinese brands but very few switching from Chinese brands to Apple,” said Jiang Ning, who manages a Xiaomi store in the northern province of Shandong.

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, Xiaomi Corp, Oppo and Vivo once sought to grab share in the world’s biggest smartphone market with value-for-money devices, but consumer demand for better phones has prompted strategic rethinks.

“People are more attached to their phone than ever and have higher expectations for the function and experience it offers. The response has been constant upgrading of hardware specs,” Alen Wu, global vice president at Oppo, told Reuters.

He Fan, CEO of Huishoubao which buys and resells used phones, said he has seen a consumer shift to Huawei from Apple, driven by the Chinese love of selfies and emphasis on camera quality. Huawei has had a tie-up with German camera maker Leica since 2016.

“Huawei’s cameras have become noticeably better than Apple’s in that they suit the tastes of Chinese consumers more,” he said.

Compared to dual-cameras common in most smartphones, Huawei’s P20 Pro device boasts three rear-facing cameras, with the additional one improving zoom capabilities.

It is one of several new devices in its P20 and Mate 20 lines, which helped Huawei’s share of the $500-$800 segment in China surge to 26.6 percent last year from 8.8 percent, data from research firm Counterpoint shows.

Apple, by contrast, saw its share of the segment tumble to 54.6 percent from 81.2 percent, also hurt by its decision to move even further upmarket with the iPhone X series.

“Most Chinese smartphone buyers are not ready to shell out beyond $1,000 for a phone,” said Neil Shah, research director at Counterpoint. “This left a gap in the below-$800 segment, which Chinese vendors grabbed with both hands.”

(For a graphic on ‘Chinese smartphones increase share of home market’ click https://tmsnrt.rs/2HvsyQi)

Shipments of phones priced above $600 in China grew 10 percent in 2018, data from research firm Canalys shows. By contrast, the overall market shrunk 14 percent, marking a second year of contraction.

OVERSEAS GAINS

The weaker cachet for Apple in China was underscored this month when several major retailers simultaneously cut iPhone prices for a second time this year.

A 64GB iPhone 8 sold at Suning.com Co Ltd now costs 3,899 yuan ($580), roughly 25 percent less than it did in December. That’s also lower than its $599 price tag in the United States, where iPhones typically cost less to buy than in China. Most iPhone models through to the iPhone 8 series have seen prices in China cut, albeit not equally.

In earnings too, it seems to be a tale of divergent fortunes. Apple’s October-December revenue from the Greater China region fell by about a quarter from a year earlier. Greater China currently accounts for 15.6 percent of its overall revenue.

Huawei, the world’s No. 2 smartphone maker, has estimated revenue for 2018 rose 21 percent, which analysts attribute in large part to robust smartphone sales.

More broadly, fewer sales for Apple means fewer customers for its App Store and media streaming services. The shift to higher-end phones by Chinese brands has also meant greater inroads in overseas markets.

Huawei’s shipments in Europe jumped 55 percent in the latest quarter and it now has 23.6 percent market share, according to Canalys. That’s not far behind Samsung Electronics and Apple which saw small declines in shipments.

OPPO, VIVO

If Huawei is taking the lion’s share of turf that Apple once had in China, Oppo and Vivo – brands owned by electronics hardware conglomerate BBK – are the newest threats.

In June, Vivo launched the Nex which starts from 3,898 yuan ($610) and in July, Oppo launched the Find X, priced at 4,999 yuan ($755).

The models mark the first time the brands have priced a phone above $600, a sharp departure from their roots selling $300-$500 models to young consumers in second-tier cities.

The devices came with features unavailable in the iPhone, including under-the-glass fingerprint sensors and “notchless” displays, both of which increase the size of usable screen.

Xiaomi too is going upmarket, announcing in January it would split off its low-budget Redmi range of phones into a sub-brand. In doing so, it is taking a leaf out of Huawei’s book which has for years sold cheaper devices under the Honor brand, helping differentiate its products.

Redmi will target international markets and e-commerce sales, while the flagship Xiaomi brand will target China and offline retail markets, company founder Lei Jun told reporters.

Last month, Xiaomi unveiled the Mi 9, its latest flagship device with a price tag of 2,999 yuan ($450). But the company also said it might be the last time a Xiaomi flagship phone would be priced under 3,000 yuan.

“Xiaomi’s flagship series phones were once always set at 1,999 yuan,” said Lei. “This was a contributing factor to our rise, but it also became an obstacle to our growth,” he said.

(For a graphic on ‘Chinese smartphones increase share of home market’ click https://tmsnrt.rs/2Hx2KD4)

(Reporting by Josh Horwitz; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco, Paul Sandle in Barcelona and the Shanghai newsroom; Editing by Jonathan Weber and Edwina Gibbs)

Source: OANN

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The Wider Image: China's start-ups go small in age of 'shoebox' satellites
LinkSpace’s reusable rocket RLV-T5, also known as NewLine Baby, is carried to a vacant plot of land for a test launch in Longkou, Shandong province, China, April 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

April 26, 2019

By Ryan Woo

LONGKOU, China (Reuters) – During initial tests of their 8.1-metre (27-foot) tall reusable rocket, Chinese engineers from LinkSpace, a start-up led by China’s youngest space entrepreneur, used a Kevlar tether to ensure its safe return. Just in case.

But when the Beijing-based company’s prototype, called NewLine Baby, successfully took off and landed last week for the second time in two months, no tether was needed.

The 1.5-tonne rocket hovered 40 meters above the ground before descending back to its concrete launch pad after 30 seconds, to the relief of 26-year-old chief executive Hu Zhenyu and his engineers – one of whom cartwheeled his way to the launch pad in delight.

LinkSpace, one of China’s 15-plus private rocket manufacturers, sees these short hops as the first steps towards a new business model: sending tiny, inexpensive satellites into orbit at affordable prices.

Demand for these so-called nanosatellites – which weigh less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and are in some cases as small as a shoebox – is expected to explode in the next few years. And China’s rocket entrepreneurs reckon there is no better place to develop inexpensive launch vehicles than their home country.

“For suborbital clients, their focus will be on scientific research and some commercial uses. After entering orbit, the near-term focus (of clients) will certainly be on satellites,” Hu said.

In the near term, China envisions massive constellations of commercial satellites that can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for aircraft to tracking coal shipments. Universities conducting experiments and companies looking to offer remote-sensing and communication services are among the potential domestic customers for nanosatellites.

A handful of U.S. small-rocket companies are also developing launchers ahead of the expected boom. One of the biggest, Rocket Lab, has already put 25 satellites in orbit.

No private company in China has done that yet. Since October, two – LandSpace and OneSpace – have tried but failed, illustrating the difficulties facing space start-ups everywhere.

The Chinese companies are approaching inexpensive launches in different ways. Some, like OneSpace, are designing cheap, disposable boosters. LinkSpace’s Hu aspires to build reusable rockets that return to Earth after delivering their payload, much like the Falcon 9 rockets of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“If you’re a small company and you can only build a very, very small rocket because that’s all you have money for, then your profit margins are going to be narrower,” said Macro Caceres, analyst at U.S. aerospace consultancy Teal Group.

“But if you can take that small rocket and make it reusable, and you can launch it once a week, four times a month, 50 times a year, then with more volume, your profit increases,” Caceres added.

Eventually LinkSpace hopes to charge no more than 30 million yuan ($4.48 million) per launch, Hu told Reuters.

That is a fraction of the $25 million to $30 million needed for a launch on a Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Pegasus, a commonly used small rocket. The Pegasus is launched from a high-flying aircraft and is not reusable.

(Click https://reut.rs/2UVBjKs to see a picture package of China’s rocket start-ups. Click https://tmsnrt.rs/2GIy9Bc for an interactive look at the nascent industry.)

NEED FOR CASH

LinkSpace plans to conduct suborbital launch tests using a bigger recoverable rocket in the first half of 2020, reaching altitudes of at least 100 kilometers, then an orbital launch in 2021, Hu told Reuters.

The company is in its third round of fundraising and wants to raise up to 100 million yuan, Hu said. It had secured tens of millions of yuan in previous rounds.

After a surge in fresh funding in 2018, firms like LinkSpace are pushing out prototypes, planning more tests and even proposing operational launches this year.

Last year, equity investment in China’s space start-ups reached 3.57 billion yuan ($533 million), a report by Beijing-based investor FutureAerospace shows, with a burst of financing in late 2018.

That accounted for about 18 percent of global space start-up investments in 2018, a historic high, according to Reuters calculations based on a global estimate by Space Angels. The New York-based venture capital firm said global space start-up investments totaled $2.97 billion last year.

“Costs for rocket companies are relatively high, but as to how much funding they need, be it in the hundreds of millions, or tens of millions, or even just a few million yuan, depends on the company’s stage of development,” said Niu Min, founder of FutureAerospace.

FutureAerospace has invested tens of millions of yuan in LandSpace, based in Beijing.

Like space-launch startups elsewhere in the world, the immediate challenge for Chinese entrepreneurs is developing a safe and reliable rocket.

Proven talent to develop such hardware can be found in China’s state research institutes or the military; the government directly supports private firms by allowing them to launch from military-controlled facilities.

But it’s still a high-risk business, and one unsuccessful launch might kill a company.

“The biggest problem facing all commercial space companies, especially early-stage entrepreneurs, is failure” of an attempted flight, Liang Jianjun, chief executive of rocket company Space Trek, told Reuters. That can affect financing, research, manufacturing and the team’s morale, he added.

Space Trek is planning its first suborbital launch by the end of June and an orbital launch next year, said Liang, who founded the company in late 2017 with three other former military technical officers.

Despite LandSpace’s failed Zhuque-1 orbital launch in October, the Beijing-based firm secured 300 million yuan in additional funding for the development of its Zhuque-2 rocket a month later.

In December, the company started operating China’s first private rocket production facility in Zhejiang province, in anticipation of large-scale manufacturing of its Zhuque-2, which it expects to unveil next year.

STATE COMPETITION

China’s state defense contractors are also trying to get into the low-cost market.

In December, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) successfully launched a low-orbit communication satellite, the first of 156 that CASIC aims to deploy by 2022 to provide more stable broadband connectivity to rural China and eventually developing countries.

The satellite, Hongyun-1, was launched on a rocket supplied by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the nation’s main space contractor.

In early April, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT), a subsidiary of CASC, completed engine tests for its Dragon, China’s first rocket meant solely for commercial use, clearing the path for a maiden flight before July.

The Dragon, much bigger than the rockets being developed by private firms, is designed to carry multiple commercial satellites.

At least 35 private Chinese companies are working to produce more satellites.

Spacety, a satellite maker based in southern Hunan province, plans to put 20 satellites in orbit this year, including its first for a foreign client, chief executive Yang Feng told Reuters.

The company has only launched 12 on state-produced rockets since the company started operating in early 2016.

“When it comes to rocket launches, what we care about would be cost, reliability and time,” Yang said.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

Source: OANN

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German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer holds annual general meeting
Werner Baumann, CEO of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer AG, attends the annual general shareholders meeting in Bonn, Germany, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

April 26, 2019

By Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger

BONN (Reuters) – Bayer shareholders vented their anger over its stock price slump on Friday as litigation risks mount from the German drugmaker’s $63 billion takeover of seed maker Monsanto.

Several large investors said they will not support aspirin investor Bayer’s management in a key vote scheduled for the end of its annual general meeting.

Bayer’s management, led by chief executive Werner Baumann, could see an embarrassing plunge in approval ratings, down from 97 percent at last year’s AGM, which was held shortly before the Monsanto takeover closed in June.

A vote to ratify the board’s actions features prominently at every German AGM. Although it has no bearing on management’s liability, it is seen as a key gauge of shareholder sentiment.

“Due to the continued negative development at Bayer, high legal risks and a massive share price slump, we refuse to ratify the management board and supervisory board’s actions during the business year,” Janne Werning, representing Germany’s Union Investment, a top-20 shareholder, said in prepared remarks.

About 30 billion euros ($34 billion) have been wiped off Bayer’s market value since August, when a U.S. jury found the pesticide and drugs group liable because Monsanto had not warned of alleged cancer risks linked to its weedkiller Roundup.

Bayer suffered a similar defeat last month and more than 13,000 plaintiffs are claiming damages.

Bayer is appealing or plans to appeal the verdicts.

Deutsche Bank’s asset managing arm DWS said shareholders should have been consulted before the takeover, which was agreed in 2016 and closed in June last year.

“You are pointing out that the lawsuits have not been lost yet. We and our customers, however, have already lost something – money and trust,” Nicolas Huber, head of corporate governance at DWS, said in prepared remarks for the AGM.

He said DWS would abstain from the shareholder vote of confidence in the executive and non-executive boards.

Two people familiar with the situation told Reuters this week that Bayer’s largest shareholder, BlackRock, plans to either abstain from or vote against ratifying the management board’s actions.

Asset management firm Deka, among Bayer’s largest German investors, has also said it would cast a no vote.

Baumann said Bayer’s true value was not reflected in the current share price.

“There’s no way to make this look good. The lawsuits and the first verdicts weigh heavily on our company and it’s a concern for many people,” he said, adding it was the right decision to buy Monsanto and that Bayer was vigorously defending itself.

This month, shareholder advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis recommended investors not to give the executive board their seal of approval.

(Reporting by Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Alexander Smith)

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Sudan’s military, which ousted President Omar al-Bashir after months of protests against his 30-year rule, says it intends to keep the upper hand during the country’s transitional period to civilian rule.

The announcement is expected to raise tensions with the protesters, who demand immediate handover of power.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which is spearheading the protests, said Friday the crowds will stay in the streets until all their demands are met.

Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi, the spokesman for the military council, said late Thursday that the military will “maintain sovereign powers” while the Cabinet would be in the hands of civilians.

The protesters insist the country should be led by a “civilian sovereign” council with “limited military representation” during the transitional period.

The army toppled and arrested al-Bashir on April 11.

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture
FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

April 26, 2019

By Charlotte Greenfield

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies said Britain’s decision to allow the firm a restricted role in building parts of its next-generation telecoms network was the kind of solution it was hoping for in New Zealand, where it has been blocked from 5G plans.

Britain will ban Huawei from all core parts of 5G network but give it some access to non-core parts, sources have told Reuters, as it seeks a middle way in a bitter U.S.-China dispute stemming from American allegations that Huawei’s equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage.

Washington has also urged its allies to ban Huawei from building 5G networks, even as the Chinese company, the world’s top producer of telecoms equipment, has repeatedly said the spying concerns are unfounded.

In New Zealand, a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network that includes the United States, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) in November turned down an initial request from local telecommunication firm Spark to include Huawei equipment in its 5G network, but later gave the operator options to mitigate national security concerns.

“The proposed solution in the UK to restrict Huawei from bidding for the core is exactly the type of solution we have been looking at in New Zealand,” Andrew Bowater, deputy CEO of Huawei’s New Zealand arm, said in an emailed statement.

Spark said it has noted the developments in Britain and would raise it with the GCSB.

The reports “suggest the UK is following other European jurisdictions in taking a considered and balanced approach to managing supplier-related security risks in 5G”, Andrew Pirie, Spark’s corporate relations lead, said in an email.

“Our discussions with the GCSB are ongoing and we expect that the UK developments will be a further item of discussion between us,” Pirie added.

New Zealand’s minister for intelligence services, Andrew Little, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday that he would report to parliament the conclusions of a government review of the 5G supply chain once they had been taken.

He added that the disclosure of confidential discussions on the role of Huawei was “unacceptable” and that he could not rule out a criminal investigation into the leak.

The decisions by Britain and Germany to use Huawei gear in non-core parts of 5G network makes it harder to prove Huawei should be kept out of New Zealand telecommunication networks, said Syed Faraz Hasan, an expert in communication engineering and networks at New Zealand’s Massey University

He pointed out Huawei gear was already part of the non-core 4G networks that 5G infrastructure would be built on.

“Unless there is a convincing argument against the Huawei devices … it is difficult to keep them away,” Hasan said.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo commodities trader Glencore is pictured in Baar
FILE PHOTO: The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company’s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Glencore shares plunged the most in nearly four months on Friday after news overnight that U.S. regulators were investigating whether the miner broke some rules through “corrupt practices”.

Shares of the FTSE 100 company fell as much as 4.2 percent in early deals, and were down 3.5 percent at 310.25 pence by 0728 GMT.

On Thursday, Glencore said the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating whether the company and its units have violated some provisions of the Commodity ExchangeAct and/or CFTC Regulations.

(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

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