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Hungary PM: No Compromise on Migration, Protecting Christian Culture

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán reinforced his administration's commitment to defending its citizens and Christendom against all-out warfare being waged by globalists in Europe and beyond.

During a weekly interview on Hungarian public radio, PM Orbán asserted that the left-right European political divide is being replaced by one that pits pro-migration internationalists against those who believe in national sovereignty and border security.

"Europe is currently undergoing a transformation… Migration has changed our life," Orban said. "We won’t compromise on the issue of the protection of Christian culture and migration. Everything else is open for discussion."

"Christian culture is an asset," he continued. "We don’t want to become a mixed country. We want no migration. We want to preserve our security, and through our family policy, we will be able to ensure Hungary’s biological future without migrants."

Orbán says he is working with others to reform the European People's Party – which currently holds the majority in European Parliament – to accommodate "anti-migration forces."

However if that effort fails, Hungary is prepared to explore a new European initiative, and would begin discussions about that process with their close allies in Poland.

Katie Hopkins is currently filming a documentary about the state of Western Europe due to decades of globalist policies. Katy joins David Knight to discuss the future for Europeans who increasingly don't recognize their own "homelands.”

(PHOTO: Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Source: InfoWars

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Vegas GM says league apologized for Game Seven officiating blunder

NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-Vegas Golden Knights at San Jose Sharks
Apr 23, 2019; San Jose, CA, USA; Hockey pucks lined up before the game between the San Jose Sharks and the Vegas Golden Knights in game seven of the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

April 25, 2019

(Reuters) – Vegas Golden Knights General Manager George McPhee said on Thursday the NHL has apologized for a controversial penalty that ultimately led to his team’s elimination from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Vegas were leading San Jose 3-0 with less than 11 minutes left in regulation of the decisive seventh game to their first-round series on Tuesday when Cody Eakins was handed a five-minute penalty for cross-checking Sharks captain Joe Pavelski.

San Jose responded with four goals on the ensuing power play and ultimately prevailed 5-4 in overtime.

“The league did reach out and apologize,” McPhee told reporters. “They made a mistake and I’m sure (the officials) feel bad about it. They want to get things right like we all do when we’re doing our jobs.”

The incident happened right off a faceoff when Eakins cross-checked Pavelski in the chest, knocking him off balance before a bump from another Vegas player sent him down head first into the ice, where he laid motionless and bleeding for several moments.

In terms of hockey plays the cross-check was fairly routine and neither official signaled for a penalty and the play carried on but they eventually decided Eakins deserved a five-minute penalty and game misconduct.

The series supervisor later said the major penalty was given because the cross-check caused a significant injury but the Golden Knights felt the call was excessive and that perhaps a two-minute penalty might have been more fair.

“Seriously. What is that? It’s so disappointing,” Vegas winger Jonathan Marchessault said after Tuesday’s game.

“The game is not even close, it’s 3-0. Call the two, OK, but a five? With something you don’t even see? You just called the outcome. It’s a joke, that’s what it is. It’s embarrassing.”

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)

Source: OANN

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Mexican president says no sign of recession despite slow growth

Mexico's President Obrador gives a speech marking the first 100 days of his presidency at the National Palace in Mexico City
Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador gives a speech marking the first 100 days of his presidency at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido

March 11, 2019

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said on Monday that there are no signs of an impending recession despite slow economic growth, adding that his flagship infrastructure projects are on track.

In recent weeks, the government has come under pressure as credit ratings agencies Standard & Poor’s and Fitch issued a series of warnings about Mexican sovereign debt, oil firm Pemex and dozens of corporations.

During a speech marking the first 100 days of his administration, Lopez Obrador conceded that economic expansion remains slow but reiterated his goal of reaching 4 percent growth.

“The economy is coming along, fortunately, though growth has been modest,” he said. “But there is no hint of a recession.”

Mexican economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter of 2018 as manufacturing, mining and construction shrank, and growth for the full year clocked in at 2 percent, according to data published by the national statistics agency in January.

Lopez Obrador, who took office in December, said the administration is making progress on its infrastructure projects. In April, the government will publish a call for tenders for the Maya Train project in southern Mexico, he said.

He stressed that all of the projects the government is launching, which include airport renovations and a new refinery, will be completed by the end of his term.

Lopez Obrador roiled markets last year with his decision to cancel a new airport for the capital, one of the signature projects of his predecessor, former president Enrique Pena Nieto. Lopez Obrador stressed canceling the airport project was the “best decision,” despite the costs.

(Reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez; writing by Julia Love; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Source: OANN

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Mexico pushes mobile payments to help unbanked consumers ditch cash

FILE PHOTO: A worker moves boxes with green tomatoes through the corridors of the wholesale market
FILE PHOTO: A worker moves boxes with green tomatoes through the corridors of the wholesale market "Central de Abastos" in Mexico City, Mexico January 11, 2019. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/File Photo

February 19, 2019

By Stefanie Eschenbacher and Anna Irrera

MEXICO CITY/NEW YORK (Reuters) – Mexico’s new leftist government is betting on financial technology to help lift people out of poverty.

The administration of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador recently announced measures aimed at making financial services more affordable in a nation where more than half the population is unbanked.

It is planning a digital payments system run and built by the central bank that will allow Mexicans to make and receive payments through their smartphones free of charge. A pilot roll-out for the platform, known as CoDi, is expected by March.

“In the future, it will no longer be necessary to have a bank in the sense of a traditional, established bank,” said Arturo Herrera, Mexico’s deputy finance minister. “Mobile phones will become banks.”

Phone-based banking has proven a hit among the poor in other emerging markets such as China, India and Kenya. Those efforts have been driven by private sector companies that offer user-friendly, affordable apps.

Whether Mexico’s state system will prove as nimble and easy to use remains to be seen. And it will initially require help from the very same banks that for decades have shut out low-income Mexicans with pricey fees.

Other hurdles include Mexico’s spotty telecoms. While cell phone and internet coverage have improved in recent years, basic infrastructure is still missing in many remote areas.

“Mexico has a lot of the key ingredients to succeed, but it’s not plug and play,” said Monica Brand Engel, a partner at Quona Capital, a global venture capital firm that invests in fintechs focused on the unbanked in emerging markets.

CATCH-22

An estimated 42 million Mexicans lack bank accounts. Steep fees and past scandals have put many off the country’s mainstream banks. Many shun accounts to stay off the radar of tax collectors.

That hobbles Mexico’s growth. Coffee farmer Martin Romero is a prime example of why.

His small town in the state of Oaxaca, one of Mexico’s poorest, has no bank branch. Romero is paid in cash. He travels hours to pay bills and is unable to save or borrow for larger expenses.

“Of course I would like a bank account,” Romero said. “That way we could save at least a little of what we earn.”

(For a graphic on financial inclusion in Mexico, see https://tmsnrt.rs/2IhXe8R)

While many Mexicans applaud Lopez Obrador’s push, some fintech executives are grumbling about getting shut out of the loop.

To use CoDi, consumers must have an account with an institution participating in Mexico’s existing interbank payments system, which will power the new platform.

Jaime Cortina, director of operations and payments at the central bank, said the goal was to develop a payment method that Mexicans could use to make payments between each other, in shops and online.

Current members of the system include established institutions such as BBVA’s Bancomer, Banco Santander and Citigroup Inc’s Citibanamex. Fintechs that want to join need an electronic payment institution license, a process that new players fear could take up to a year.

That presents unbanked Mexicans with a bizarre Catch-22: To access the government’s free mobile payments system, at least initially, they would have to open accounts with banks that many do not want to join or cannot afford in the first place.

Adolfo Babatz, CEO of payments startup Clip, said Mexico’s government should be looking to fintech entrepreneurs to bring true innovation to the financial system, not banks that have benefited from high barriers to entry. His Mexico City-based company has created a low-cost mobile credit card reader that fits on smartphones.

Mexico should “look at the examples from the rest of the world,” Babatz said.

In Kenya, for example, mobile payment system M-Pesa was launched in 2007 by a private company, mobile network operator Safaricom. M-Pesa is now a surrogate bank account for millions of users. In China, hundreds of millions of previously unbanked consumers have flocked to Alipay, the payment app owned by Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial.

GRAY ECONOMY

Low-cost banking alone may do little to lure Mexicans out of the shadows. Nearly 57 percent work off the books, according to government data. An estimated 90 percent of transactions are done in cash.

“People who work and live in the informal economy do not want to be taxed,” said Carlos Lopez, director for retail strategy and new digital business at Mexico’s largest bank, BBVA Bancomer.

Herrera, the deputy finance minister, told Reuters the government is making efforts to reduce cash in circulation to cut down on money laundering and corruption, and to draw more people into the formal economy.

He said the administration plans to transition to direct deposit or digital wallets to dispense welfare benefits over the next 18 months. At present, many Mexicans rely on government-issued cards that can be used at ATMs to withdraw their benefits in cash.

He also expressed optimism that fintechs would bring needed competition to the money transfer business, reducing the cost of remittances sent home by Mexicans abroad.

But even in cosmopolitan Mexico City, a future of cashless payments seems far off for people such as Paula Martinez. She sells traditional sweets, chewing gum and single cigarettes from a wooden basket in the fashionable Roma neighborhood.

The mother of three does not have a bank account, and says she and her husband have never considered it.

“We don’t earn enough,” Martinez said.

(Reporting by Stefanie Eschenbacher and Anna Irrera. Editing by Neal Templin and Marla Dickerson.)

Source: OANN

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Washington Post opinion writer: 'Nancy Pelosi just blew it on impeachment'

An opinion writer for the Washington Post on Tuesday joined prominent Democrats in resisting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's newly announced opposition to impeachment proceedings against President Trump, although the columnist wistfully suggested that Pelosi could still "get it right" by effectively reversing course instead of continuing to voice her opinion on the matter.

In comments published by The Washington Post Magazine on Monday, Pelosi announced, “I’m not for impeachment. ... Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country." She added: “And he’s just not worth it.”

Greg Sargent, who writes about national politics, charged that Pelosi had significantly "muddled the issue" by speaking up and "declaring a personal preference on the outcome" before the numerous investigations into Trump and his orbit are concluded. Moreover, Sargent explained, Pelosi was focusing on the "wrong question."

"It isn’t: Do you favor impeachment right now, yes or no?" Sargent wrote. "Rather, it’s: Are you ruling out impeachment hearings, or are you leaving that option open, depending on what emerges?"

WHAT DID THE FOUNDERS THINK ABOUT THE PROPER USE OF THE IMPEACHMENT POWER?

Even so, Sargent saw some room for nuance in Pelosi's comments, writing with a hint of optimism, "In fairness to Pelosi, her comments don’t entirely preclude impeachment later."

There was also the slim chance Pelosi was not entirely wrong to voice her opinion that impeachment proceedings should only begin with bipartisan support, Sargent conceded. In fact, Sargent said, Pelosi's comments presented another important potential avenue of debate, full of possibilities and opportunities to argue with one another.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., left, joins Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as Democrats rally outside the Capitol ahead of passage of H.R. 1, "The For the People Act," a bill which aims to expand voting rights and strengthen ethics rules, in Washington, Friday, March 8, 2019. The House passed a resolution to condemn anti-Semitism and other bigotry on Thursday following debate over Omar's recent comments suggesting House supporters of Israel have dual allegiances. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., left, joins Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as Democrats rally outside the Capitol ahead of passage of H.R. 1, "The For the People Act," a bill which aims to expand voting rights and strengthen ethics rules, in Washington, Friday, March 8, 2019. The House passed a resolution to condemn anti-Semitism and other bigotry on Thursday following debate over Omar's recent comments suggesting House supporters of Israel have dual allegiances. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

"It’s possible that Pelosi genuinely believes the downsides to the country of hearings absent bipartisan backing militate against them no matter what the facts demand. If so, let’s litigate that, too," Sargent wrote.

But if Pelosi were more familiar with history, Sargent noted, she would know that impeachment proceedings -- ordinarily considered divisive, unnecessary, and expensive -- would be a positive and productive fact-finding exercise for all Americans to witness.

"It’s also odd to hear the argument that no inquiry should happen simply because the Senate probably would never convict," Sargent said. "Impeachment hearings would be carried out to benefit the public and the country, and thus can’t turn on projections of the ultimate outcome. ... Just as during the Nixon years, the first step is congressional investigations (which we’re seeing now), which then might lead to the opening of impeachment hearings. Those would weigh whether newly gathered facts merit impeachment or not, to inform the public of the momentous stakes and complexities involved in this decision."

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Constitution technically prescribes impeachment only for treason, bribery, and "high crimes and misdemeanors," a broad term of art that virtually all legal scholars agree encompasses more than just criminal offenses. The framers knowingly appropriated the phrase from their English root: In the 17th and 18th centuries, it served as the basis for a variety of impeachments for behaviors by officeholders that, while objectionable, were not criminal.

That wiggle room, Sergent implied, made it impossible for Pelosi to rule out impeachment proceedings, even though she appeared to rule out impeachment proceedings.

"Even if special counsel Robert S. Mueller III brings no further charges, we may still learn a great deal more about Trumpian wrongdoing and misconduct (such as obstructing the Russia probe) from his findings, which Congress will likely access," Sergent concluded. "Former lawyer Michael Cohen’s claims of financial fraud have led to investigations by other entities. Of course impeachment hearings can’t be ruled out now."

Other Democrats seemingly agreed with Sargent's position this week. Outspoken Democratic Texas Rep. Al Green, for example, told Fox News he would bring articles of impeachment for a floor vote.

“Each member of the House has the prerogative to bring impeachment to a vote," Green said. "I intend to bring impeachment to a vote, and I will do so because the president has been acknowledged by leaders and others that he is not fit to hold the office. He’s causing harm to society and as such, he should be impeached.”

Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Iran demands U.S. leave Syria, Damascus threatens its ally

FILE PHOTO: Flares are seen in the sky during fighting in the Islamic State's final enclave, in the village of Baghouz
FILE PHOTO: Flares are seen in the sky during fighting in the Islamic State's final enclave, in the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, Syria March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Rodi Said/File Photo

March 18, 2019

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Iran and Syria on Monday demanded the United States withdraw its troops from Syria, and the Damascus government threatened to defeat Washington’s Kurdish allies by force if they did not submit to the return of state authority.

The Iranian and Syrian military chiefs were speaking after a meeting in Damascus that also included their Iraqi counterpart, who gave a political boost to President Bashar al-Assad and Tehran by announcing the Syrian border would soon be reopened.

Their remarks point to the risks of a new escalation in Syria after the defeat of Islamic State, with Assad seeking to retake the two major territories outside his control, and the United States working to curb Iranian influence.

Washington has vowed to contain what it calls Tehran’s “destabilising” role in the region, but the entrenched nature of Iran’s ties with both Damascus and Baghdad were on vivid display on Monday.

Standing alongside his Iraqi and Syrian counterparts on live television, Iran’s armed forces chief of staff Major General Mohammad Baqeri said the three countries were “united against terrorism” and coordinating at a high level.

The United States said last month it would keep some forces in Syria, reversing course from an earlier decision to pull them all out once Islamic State is militarily defeated.

It has deployed air power and some ground troops in support of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militia that is close to seizing the jihadists’ last enclave in eastern Syria. It also has a military base at Tanf, near the Damascus-Baghdad highway and the Iraq and Syrian frontier.

After Washington in December announced its intention to pull out troops, the Kurdish-led authorities controlling northeast Syria unsuccessfully sought a deal with Damascus to protect their area from a potential Turkish assault.

“The only card remaining in the hands of the Americans and their allies is the SDF, and it will be dealt with through the two methods used by the Syrian state: national reconciliation or the liberation of the areas that they control through force,” Syrian Defence Minister General Ali Abdullah Ayoub said.

Large areas of Syria have been brought back under government control through “reconciliation agreements” that have typically been concluded after the military defeat of rebel forces.

‘READINESS FOR SACRIFICE’

Ayoub noted there was no doubt that U.S. military capabilities were “big and advanced” but said that the Syrian army’s sources of strength included a “readiness for sacrifices” and it was “capable of taking action and having an effect”.

Baqeri said the Damascus meeting had “studied the means that should be taken to recover” territories still outside government hands, including the areas of U.S. deployment, adding the decision in this regard was up to the Syrian state.

Syria’s border crossing with Iraq has been closed for years. The area was overrun by Islamic State in 2014, which swore to eradicate modern nation states and meld them into its self-declared caliphate.

“God willing the coming days will witness the opening of the border crossing and the continuation of visits and trade between the two countries,” Iraqi Lieutenant General Othman al-Ghanimi said at a news conference broadcast by Syrian state television.

Baqeri said opening the border was important to Iran because of trade and for Iranian tourists traveling to Iraq and then Syria. Critics of Iran have voiced concerns over a “land bridge” for Iranian influence to the Mediterranean and the Israeli border.

For Assad, reopening the Iraqi border will accelerate Syria’s physical reintegration with neighboring economies after the opening of the frontier crossing with Jordan last year.

(Reporting by Angus McDowall and Tom Perry, Additional reporting by Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva, Editing by David Holmes, William Maclean)

Source: OANN

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The Latest: Kazakh capital renamed after outgoing president

The Latest on the change of president in Kazakhstan (all times local):

2:10 p.m.

The parliament of the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan has voted to rename the country's capital Nursultan, after the outgoing longtime leader.

President Nursultan Nazarbayev in a surprise announcement on Tuesday said he is stepping down after nearly 30 years in office. That has included the whole of Kazakhstan's time as an independent nation.

The Kazakh parliament voted on Wednesday to change the name of the capital, Astan, to Nursultan. The idea was first floated several hours earlier when parliament speaker Kassym-Jomart Tokayev was sworn in as the acting president. Nazarbayev will remain chairman of the country's security council and is expected to continue to wield considerable influence.

The wind-swept Kazakh capital is better known these days for hosting peace talks between Syria's government and the opposition.

___

10 a.m.

Kazakhstan has sworn in Kassym-Jomart Tokayev as interim president a day after longtime leader Nursultan Nazarbayev resigned.

Tokayev, a career diplomat who had been senate speaker, can serve the remainder of Nazarbayev's term ahead of scheduled elections next year.

Nazarbayev surprised many by announcing in a televised address Tuesday that he would step down after nearly 30 years, making Tokyaev only the second president in the country's independent history.

Nazarbayev attended Tokayaev's inauguration Wednesday, entering to lengthy applause from assembled dignitaries before taking a seat on a podium above and behind the lectern where Tokyaev gave an address.

Nazarbayev, who Tokayev praised as "an outstanding reformer," will remain influential as chairman of the security council and head of the ruling party.

Source: Fox News World

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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)

Source: OANN

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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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