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Man dies after hijacking bus in Slovenia capital

Slovenian police say a man has died upon being arrested after he hijacked a public bus in the capital Ljubljana.

Senior police official Stojan Belsak said Friday that an autopsy will determine the cause of death of the 48-year-old man from the central city of Kranj.

The man on Thursday was carrying a screwdriver and threatened to kill the bus driver and seven passengers unless the bus was directed toward a highway. Belsak says police intercepted the bus before it reached the highway. Police say they used tear gas to stop the man from escaping and they then handcuffed him. No shots were apparently fired.

Belsak says the man is known to have had psychological problems.

Source: Fox News World

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Tammy Bruce: Entire admissions system needs to be evaluated

Independent Women’s Voice president Tammy Bruce told “Tucker Carlson Tonight” Tuesday that the “entire” admissions process system must be reevaluated on the heels of new charges in the college admissions scandal.

“We're focused on these actresses and they're behaving very differently from each other in this regard. The Department of Education is investigating the eight colleges involved but I think this tells us, Tucker, that this entire system has to be looked at,” Bruce said.

LORI LOUGHLIN APPEARED ‘ARROGANT’ IN COURT WHILE FELICITY HUFFMAN LOOKED ‘MORE GENUINE,’ SAYS SKETCH ARTIST

“It's not just the eight colleges that were caught being involved. I think it's an it's an infrastructure of entitlement because of the liberalism that guides that institution as a whole.”

Actress Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband, Mossimo Giannulli, were indicted on fraud and money laundering charges Tuesday in the multimillion-dollar college admissions cheating scam that has ensnared dozens of wealthy parents trying to get their kids into the nation's most prestigious colleges.

Bruce and Carlson discussed the issue of transparency with colleges in regards to admissions citing that the instituions receive government funds.

WILLIAM H. MACY'S 'BEST ADVICE' BEFORE FELICITY HUFFMAN'S ARREST IN ALLEGED COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCAM RESURFACES

“Since we fund these institutions through tax dollars and tuition. Why shouldn't we have some transparency in the admissions process? Why shouldn't we know how people get into college is the gateway to this to success in our society?” Carlson asked.

“We've got eight universities, six of them are private and two of them are public. However even with private institutions like Harvard, conservatives complain understandably a lot that we give research grants to these private institutions, right,” Bruce said.

Fox News' Sasha Savitsky and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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NHL notebook: Knights acquire Stone at deadline

NHL: Ottawa Senators at Winnipeg Jets
FILE PHOTO - Feb 16, 2019; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone (61) reacts after a goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the first period at Bell MTS Place. Mandatory Credit: Terrence Lee-USA TODAY Sports

February 26, 2019

The Vegas Golden Knights agreed to a contract extension with Mark Stone on Monday, shortly after they acquired the right winger from the Ottawa Senators.

The contract will be for eight years and worth an average of $9.5 million per season, Bob McKenzie of TSN reported. Stone confirmed with the network that he and the team have agreed to a deal but declined to confirm the terms.

The Senators received highly regarded defensive prospect Erik Brannstrom (the No. 15 overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft), forward Oscar Lindberg and a 2020 second-round draft pick that originally belonged to the Dallas Stars.

Stone, 26, has 28 goals and 34 assists (62 points) in 59 games this season. He was set to become an unrestricted free agent following the season.

–The Pittsburgh Penguins made two deals for defensemen, acquiring Erik Gudbranson from the Vancouver Canucks for forward Tanner Pearson, and netting Chris Wideman from the Florida Panthers for forward Jean-Sebastien Dea.

–The Winnipeg Jets acquired forward Kevin Hayes from the New York Rangers for forward Brendan Lemieux and a 2019 first-round draft pick.

The Jets then closed out trade-deadline day with five more moves, bringing back forward Matt Hendricks from the Minnesota Wild for a seventh-round pick in 2020, landing forward Par Lindholm from the Toronto Maple Leafs for forward Nic Petan, getting defenseman Nathan Beaulieu from the Buffalo Sabres for a sixth-round selection in 2019 and acquiring defenseman Bogdan Kiselevich from the Panthers for a seventh-round selection in 2019.

In the Jets’ final move of the day, they acquired forward Alex Broadhurst from the Columbus Blue Jackets for future considerations.

–The Philadelphia Flyers traded veteran forward Wayne Simmonds to the Nashville Predators for forward Ryan Hartman and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2020. Simmonds, 30, had 16 goals and 11 assists in 62 games for Philadelphia this season.

–The Predators also traded forward Kevin Fiala to the Wild for veteran winger Mikael Granlund in a swap of former first-round draft picks.

–The Blue Jackets acquired veteran defenseman Adam McQuaid from the Rangers for AHL defenseman Julius Bergman and two 2019 draft picks. New York received fourth- and seventh-round selections.

Columbus also acquired goaltender Keith Kinkaid from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a fifth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft.

–The St. Louis Blues added defenseman Michael Del Zotto from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a sixth-round draft pick.

–Prior to Colorado’s Monday night contest against Florida, the Avalanche acquired forward Derick Brassard and a reported conditional 2020 sixth-round draft pick from the visiting Panthers in exchange for a third-round pick in 2020.

–The Montreal Canadiens acquired center Jordan Weal from the Arizona Coyotes on for center Michael Chaput. Both players turn 27 in April, and both were selected in the third round of the 2010 NHL Draft.

–The Carolina Hurricanes acquired forward Tomas Jurco from Florida and dealt forward Cliff Pu to the Panthers in separate trades Monday. In both transactions, the teams are receiving future considerations in return.

–The Boston Bruins acquired forward Marcus Johansson from the Devils in exchange for a second-round pick in 2019 and a fourth-rounder in 2020.

–The Calgary Flames acquired defenseman Oscar Fantenberg from the Los Angeles Kings for a conditional 2020 fourth-round draft pick.

–The Canucks acquired 19-year-old forward Linus Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for 21-year-old forward Jonathan Dahlen.

–The Wild and center Eric Staal agreed to a two-year, $6.5 million deal shortly after the trade deadline. Staal, 34, had been slated to become an unrestricted free agent after the season.

–The Rangers signed forwards Boo Nieves and Steven Fogarty to one-year extensions. Terms were not released, but TSN reported the value of Nieves’ deal at $700,000. Nieves was set to become an unrestricted free agent in July.

–Buffalo right winger Kyle Okposo cleared concussion protocol and played in the Sabres’ Monday road game against the Maple Leafs. Okposo had been sidelined since being punched in the chin by Rangers defenseman Tony DeAngelo on Feb. 15. It was his third diagnosed concussion in three years.

–Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford, who has recovered from a concussion, was activated by the team. Crawford, 34, was sidelined more than two months after his second concussion in less than a year. Chicago removed Crawford from injured reserve and assigned goaltender Collin Delia to Rockford of the AHL.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Rep. Nunes: Dems Likely Won’t Get Unredacted Mueller Report

Democrats won't likely get an unredacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller's report if it contains grand jury testimony, Rep. Devin Nunes, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Monday.

However, the California Republican told Fox News' "Outnumbered Overtime" he's more interested in learning how the report was created, because "we know we had a lot of partisan actors in there."

"I want to see the underlying information," Nunes said. "I want to see the interviews they did, who they subpoenaed, or if they had any wiretaps. Because we know that of this cast of characters, two were kicked off early. We have already caught them taking exculpatory evidence against Americans and leaving it on the cutting board floor. We want to see not just the report but the underlying information."

He said he does believe Attorney General William Barr wants to do everything that can be done, but "full transparency is in order."

Nunes said he wants to make sure everyone understands what that means.

"The Democrats on the left here just want to get their hands on the report...so they can leak it" to the media, "so they can continue on going down rabbit holes of pretending that there is some kind of Russian collusion," said Nunes.

Meanwhile, Republicans would love to move on from the issue, said Nunes.

"I wish we never had to go through with these three years of using our counterintelligence capabilities against a political campaign," said Nunes. "The House Republicans, we've been doing an investigation for over two years."

Source: NewsMax Politics

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The Latest: Man pleads guilty in kidnapping of Jayme Closs

The Latest on Wednesday's arraignment of the man suspected of kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs, slaying her parents and holding her captive for 88 days (all times local):

1:05 p.m.

A Wisconsin man has pleaded guilty to kidnapping 13-year-old Jayme Closs and killing her parents.

Twenty-one-year-old Jake Patterson pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of intentional homicide and one count of kidnapping. A count of armed burglary was dropped. The intentional homicide counts carry a sentence of life in prison.

Patterson admitted to kidnapping Jayme after killing her parents, James and Denise Closs, at the family's home on Oct. 15. Patterson held her at a remote cabin for 88 days before she escaped in January. A criminal complaint says Patterson told authorities he decided to "take" Jayme after he saw her getting on a school bus near her home.

___

11 a.m.

Residents in a small Wisconsin town say they're hoping to see a guilty plea from the man accused in the kidnapping of 13-year-old Jayme Closs and slaying of her parents.

Jake Patterson faces arraignment Wednesday afternoon on charges of homicide and kidnapping. He wrote to a Minneapolis TV station that he intended to plead guilty, but his defense attorneys have not confirmed that.

John Terpstra is a church pastor in Barron. He says he hopes Patterson keeps his word so the Closs family doesn't have to go through a court case.

Retiree Kathy Wirth says she's sorry for what Jayme went through and still has to go through.

Jayme was held for 88 days in a cabin about an hour north of her family's home before she escaped in January.

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12:01 a.m.

A man charged with kidnapping a 13-year-old Wisconsin girl and killing her parents is expected to enter a formal plea when he appears in court for an arraignment.

Twenty-one-year-old Jake Patterson wrote a letter to Minneapolis television station KARE saying he intends to plead guilty. His attorneys and prosecutors have not commented ahead of Wednesday's arraignment.

He's accused of killing James and Denise Closs and kidnapping their daughter, Jayme, on Oct. 15. Jayme was held for 88 days before escaping in January.

Patterson is charged with two counts of intentional homicide and one count each of kidnapping and armed burglary. He faces life in prison if convicted on the homicide counts.

Source: Fox News National

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Trump Sanctuary City Idea Could Help Some Immigrants

An idea floated by President Donald Trump to send immigrants from the border to "sanctuary cities" to exact revenge on Democratic foes could end up doing the migrants a favor by placing them in locations that make it easier to put down roots and stay in the country.

The plan would put thousands of immigrants in cities that are not only welcoming to them, but also more likely to rebuff federal officials carrying out deportation orders. Many of these locations have more resources to help immigrants make their legal cases to stay in the United States than smaller cities, with some of the nation's biggest immigration advocacy groups based in places like San Francisco, New York City and Chicago. The downside for the immigrants would be a high cost of living in the cities.

The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University announced this week that an analysis found the likelihood of an immigrant in sanctuary cities such as New York and Los Angeles are 20% less likely to be arrested out in the community than in places without such policies.

"With immigrants being less likely to commit crimes than the U.S. born population, and with sanctuary jurisdictions being safer and more productive than non-sanctuary jurisdictions, the data damns this proposal as a politically motivated stunt that seeks to play politics with peoples' lives," said George Gascon, district attorney for San Francisco.

Trump has grown increasingly frustrated over the situation at the border, where tens of thousands of immigrant families are crossing each month, many to claim asylum. His administration has attempted several efforts to stop the flow and he recently shook up the top ranks of the Department of Homeland Security.

The idea to ship immigrants to Democratic strongholds was considered twice in recent months, but the White House and Department of Homeland Security said the plan had been rejected. But Trump said Friday he was still considering the idea.

"Due to the fact that Democrats are unwilling to change our very dangerous immigration laws, we are indeed, as reported, giving strong considerations to placing Illegal Immigrants in Sanctuary Cities only," Trump tweeted. He added that, "The Radical Left always seems to have an Open Borders, Open Arms policy - so this should make them very happy!"

Wilson Romero is an immigrant from Honduras who chose to settle in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Romero, 27, was separated from his daughter, now 7, by federal authorities at the U.S. border at El Paso, Texas, last year and jailed for three months before being released and making his way to live with his mother in San Jose, California. There he was reunited with his daughter, who attends public kindergarten.

Romero says he goes about daily errands in public without worry of discrimination. His daughter has made friends and has playdates with the children of Mexican American families. It's a far cry from his hometown in the violence-plagued outskirts of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, that he fled after his brother-in-law was killed.

To him, the biggest problem with being in the Bay Area is the high cost of living. The former textile factory worker relies on his mother's income from waitressing for food and clothing, and he's started thinking about asking legal permission to move to North Carolina, where an uncle resides and says it's cheaper to live and work.

"To tell the truth, it's a little tight now, financially speaking," said Romero, a former textile factory worker, who He doesn't know of any charities that may be willing to help.

The plan discussed by Trump would also have financial, logistical and legal issues.

The transportation of immigrants who are arrested at the border to large and faraway cities would be burdensome and costly at a time when Immigration and Customs Enforcement is already stretched thin, having released over 125,000 immigrants into the country pending their immigration court since Dec. 21. They are currently being released mainly in border states.

Flights chartered by ICE cost about $7,785 per flight hour, according to the agency, and require multiple staffers, including an in-flight medical professional. The agency also uses commercial flights. Doing longer transports would increase liability for the agency, especially considering that many of the immigrants in its care are families with young children.

And despite the consideration given to releasing the immigrants on the streets to sanctuary cities, the Trump administration actually has plenty of jail space to detain families. As of April 11, the nation's three facilities to detain immigrant families were nowhere near capacity, including a Pennsylvania facility housing only nine immigrants.

It's also unclear how long the immigrants would stay in these cities because they are required to provide an address to federal authorities - typically of a family member - as a condition of their release.

"It's illogical," said Angela Chan, policy director and senior attorney with the San Francisco-based Asian Law Caucus. "It's just alarming that they are spending so much effort and so much time to engage in political theater."

The Trump administration has long pushed back against cities with sanctuary policies, which generally prohibit local authorities to cooperate with federal immigration police, often by refusing to hold people arrested on local charges past their release date at the request of immigration officers. Over 100 local governments around the country have adopted a variety of these polices

"New York City will always be the ultimate city of immigrants - the President's empty threats won't change that," New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio said in a statement.

But Trump seemed ready to step up his fight with the cities, vowing to "give them an unlimited supply" of immigrants from the border.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Brazil bridge collapse could affect grain shipments in north

A bridge over the Moju River is seen after collapsing in Acara
A bridge over the Moju River is seen after collapsing and potentially affecting shipments of grains, such as soybeans and corn through northern ports at Alca Viaria complex in the Highway PA-483 in Acara, Para state, Brazil April 6, 2019. Fernando Araujo/Agencia Brasil/Handout via REUTERS

April 6, 2019

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Part of a bridge over the Moju River in Brazil’s Para state collapsed early on Saturday, potentially affecting shipment of grains such as soybeans and corn through northern ports, local authorities and an agribusiness consultant said.

The bridge fell after it was hit by a boat, Governor Helder Barbalho said on Twitter, where he also posted videos of a large section of the bridge in the water. He said this was not the first time such an accident had occurred.

According to the official Agência Brasil news agency, two vehicles were crossing the bridge at the time of the collision.

“At the moment, our priority is searching for victims and giving complete support to their families,” Barbalho was quoted as saying in a statement from Para’s state news agency.

According to rescue workers, no crew or documents from the boat that collided against the bridge were found on the scene. The number of casualties was unclear.

Kory Melby, an agribusiness consultant based in the city of Goiania, said the bridge was on the main route connecting Brazil’s farm country to its northern ports.

“It will probably take years for that bridge to be rebuilt,” he said by telephone.

The consultant noted the bridge was located some 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Belém, capital of Pará state, where three major grain loaders operate, including Archer Daniels Midland Co, Bunge Ltd and Hidrovias do Brasil SA.

The companies did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

Melby said barge traffic would not be affected on the Tocantins and Amazon rivers, which use river ports including Vila do Conde and Barcarena. Some 10 to 20 percent of the soy grown in Brazil’s center west is delivered by road at those ports, he said.

Willians Ribeiro, a supervisor at Vila do Conde, told Reuters road traffic to that port would be affected but there were alternative routes.

Shipping statistics show some 5.7 million tonnes of soybeans and 3 million tonnes of corn were unloaded in 2018 in the region, a volume likely to increase due to port expansions, according to the consultant.

(Reporting by Alberto Alerigi; Additional reporting and writing by Ana Mano; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Rosalba O’Brien)

Source: OANN

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Joe Biden’s brain surgeon said his former patient is “totally in the clear” as speculation over the candidate’s health — with Biden possibly becoming the oldest president in U.S. history — is likely to become a campaign issue.

The former vice president, who had been perceived by many as the strongest potential contender for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, formally announced his candidacy Thursday.

But Biden’s age – 76 – is expected to become a source of attacks from a younger generation of Democrats not because of obvious generational differences, but possibly for actual health concerns if Biden gets into office.

WHY THE MEDIA ARE CONVINCED JOE BIDEN WILL IMPLODE

Biden himself agreed last year that “it’s totally legitimate” for people to ask questions about his health if he decides to run for president, given his medical history — which has included brain surgery in 1988.

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality,” Biden told “CBS This Morning.” “Can I still run up the steps of Air Force Two? Am I still in good shape? Am I – do I have all my faculties? Am I energetic? I think it’s totally legitimate people ask those questions.”

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality. …  I think it’s totally legitimate [that] people ask those questions.”

— Joe Biden

But Dr. Neal Kassell, the neurosurgeon who operated on Biden for an aneurysm three decades ago, told the Washington Examiner that Biden appears to be “totally in the clear” — and even joked that the operation made Biden “better than how he was.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it,” Kassell said. “That’s more than I can say about all the other candidates or the incumbents.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it.”

— Dr. Neal Kassell

BIDEN’S CLAIM HE DIDN’T WANT OBAMA TO ENDORSE TRIGGERS MOCKERY

At the same time, however, Biden hasn’t been forthcoming about his health at least since 2008 when he released his medical records as a vice presidential candidate. The disclosure that time revealed some fairly minor issues such as an irregular heartbeat in addition to detailing previous operations, including removing a benign polyp during a colonoscopy in 1996, the outlet reported.

It remains unclear if Biden had more aneurysms. Some medical experts say that people who have had an aneurysm can have another one.

An aneurysm, or a weakening of an artery wall, can lead to a rupture and internal bleeding, potentially placing a patient’s life in jeopardy.

Biden won’t be the only Democrat grappling with old age. Sen. Bernie Sanders, another 2020 frontrunner, is currently 77 years old and agreed with Biden last year that their ages will be an issue in the race.

“It’s part of a discussion, but it has to be part of an overall view of what somebody is and what somebody has accomplished,” Sanders told Politico.

“Look, you’ve got people who are 50 years of age who are not well, right? You’ve got people who are 90 years of age who are going to work every day, doing excellent work. And obviously, age is a factor. But it depends on the overall health and wellbeing of the individual.”

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Sanders released his medical records in 2016, with a Senate physician saying in a letter that the senator was “in overall very good health.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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Cambodian authorities have ordered a one-hour reduction in the length of school days because of concerns that students and teachers may fall ill from a prolonged heat wave.

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said in an announcement seen Friday that the shortened hours will remain in effect until the rainy season starts, which usually occurs in May. The current heat wave, in which temperatures are regularly reaching as high as 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit), is one of the longest in memory.

Most schools in Cambodia lack air conditioning, prompting concern that temperatures inside classrooms could rise to unhealthy levels.

School authorities were instructed to watch for symptoms of heat stroke and urge pupils to drink more water.

The new hours cut 30 minutes off the beginning of the school day and 30 minutes off the end.

School authorities instituted a similar measure in 2016.

Source: Fox News World

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Explosions have rocked Britain’s largest steel plant, injuring two people and shaking nearby homes.

South Wales Police say the incident at the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot was reported at about 3:35 a.m. Friday (22:35 EDT Thursday). The explosions touched off small fires, which are under control. Two workers suffered minor injuries and all staff members have been accounted for.

Police say early indications are that the explosions were caused by a train used to carry molten metal into the plant. Tata Steel says its personnel are working with emergency services at the scene.

Local lawmaker Stephen Kinnock says the incident raises concerns about safety.

He tweeted: “It could have been a lot worse … @TataSteelEurope must conduct a full review, to improve safety.”

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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At least one person is reported dead and homes have been destroyed by a powerful cyclone that struck northern Mozambique and continues to dump rain on the region, with the United Nations warning of “massive flooding.”

Cyclone Kenneth arrived just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore into central Mozambique, killing more than 600 people and displacing scores of thousands. The U.N. says this is the first time in known history that the southern African nation has been hit by two cyclones in one season.

Forecasters say the new cyclone made landfall Thursday night in a part of Mozambique that has not seen such a storm in at least 60 years.

Mozambique’s local emergency operations center says a woman in the city of Pemba was killed by a falling tree.

Source: Fox News World

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