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Yara, IBM to offer digital services to farmers

FILE PHOTO: A man stands near an IBM logo at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona
FILE PHOTO: A man stands near an IBM logo at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 25, 2019. REUTERS/Sergio Perez

April 26, 2019

OSLO (Reuters) – Fertilizer maker Yara International and IBM plan to launch digital farming services later this year to help boost crop yields, eventually targeting 100 million hectares, or close to 7 percent of arable land worldwide, they said.

Norway-based Yara is among the world’s largest fertilizer makers, reporting revenues of $12.9 billion last year from operations in more than 60 countries.

Weather data will be among the specific areas of cooperation between the two companies, combining analysis from several IBM units with Yara’s knowledge of crops.

“The joint platform will not only provide hyperlocal weather forecasts but will in addition give real-time actionable recommendations, tailored to the specific needs of individual fields/crops,” the companies added.

As the joint platform expands, the companies will seek to integrate it into IBM Food Trust, a blockchain-enabled network of food chain players.

“This will allow for greater traceability and supply chain efficiency as well as ways to tackle food fraud, food waste and sustainability,” the companies said.

(Reporting by Victoria Klesty, writing by Terje Solsvik, editing by Alexandra Hudson)

Source: OANN

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House Democrat, Treasury Chief Bicker over Trump Tax Returns

A top House Democrat on Saturday ratcheted up his demand for access to President Donald Trump's tax returns, telling the IRS that the law clearly gives Congress a right to them. The government's failure to respond by an April 23 deadline could send the dispute into federal court.

Trump's treasury chief, who oversees the IRS, cited "complicated legal issues" and bemoaned "an arbitrary deadline" set by Congress, while saying he would answer in that time frame.

A new letter by Rep. Richard Neal, the House Ways and Means Committee chairman, comes after the Trump administration asked for more time to consider his initial request last week. Neal had requested six years of Trump's personal and business tax returns. 

Neal, D-Mass., argues that a 1920-era law saying the IRS "shall furnish" any tax return requested by Congress "is unambiguous and raises no complicated legal issues" and that the Treasury Department's objections lack merit.

The letter to IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig is the latest exchange in a tug of war over Trump's returns, which would give lawmakers far greater insight into the president's business dealings and potential conflicts of interest as it exercises its oversight role.

Asked about the letter Saturday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said he would respond to within the new deadline set by Neal but he did not promise to produce Trump's tax returns by that time. Mnuchin is the Cabinet secretary that oversees the IRS.

Mnuchin took issue with Neal's characterization of the dispute as a straightforward issue in light of the law governing the matter.

"These are complicated legal issues and I think it is more important to the American taxpayers that we get this right than we hit an arbitrary deadline," Mnuchin told reporters. "I would just emphasize this is a decision that has enormous precedence in terms of potentially weaponizing the IRS."

Mnuchin said that Treasury Department lawyers have been working "diligently" to research the issues involved and have been in contact with Justice Department attorneys. But he said he has not personally discussed the issue with Attorney General William Barr.

Mnuchin said he thought Neal was just picking arbitrary deadline and he refused to speculate how the administration would proceed if the issue goes to court.

Trump declined to provide his tax information as a candidate in 2016 and as president, something party nominees have traditionally done in the name of the transparency. By withholding his tax returns, Trump has not followed the standard followed by presidents since Richard Nixon started the practice in 1969.

During the campaign, Trump said he wanted to release his returns but said because he was under a routine audit, "I can't." Being under audit is no legal bar to anyone releasing his or her returns. And after the November midterm elections, Trump claimed at a news conference that the filings were too complex for people to understand.

Asked repeatedly at a House hearing Tuesday whether any regulation prohibited a taxpayer from disclosing returns when under audit, Rettig responded "no."

The issue appears sure to end up in federal court. With an eye to a legal challenge, Neal told Rettig that he has two weeks to respond — by 5 p.m. on April 23. If Rettig fails to do so, Neal said he will interpret as denying the request, which could pave the way for a court battle. Neal also could seek the returns through a subpoena.

Mnuchin had told Neal this past week that he needs more time to consider the unprecedented demand for Trump's returns and needs to consult with the Justice Department about it.

At congressional hearings, Mnuchin accused lawmakers of seeking Trump's returns for political reasons. But he also acknowledged his "statutory responsibilities" and that he respects congressional oversight. Some Treasury-watchers observe that Mnuchin's decision to consult with the Justice Department could suggest that Treasury lawyers believe Neal has a legal right to Trump's returns.

Neal said Saturday that the administration has no right "to question or second guess" his motivations.

Trump's acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, has said Democrats will "never" see the returns, "nor should they," and "they know it." Mulvaney has tried to frame the issue of the president's taxes as old news, saying it was "already litigated during the election" and the American people "elected him anyway."

William Consovoy, whose firm was retained by Trump to represent him on the matter, has written the Treasury's general counsel and said the congressional request "would set a dangerous precedent" if granted and that the IRS cannot legally divulge the information.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Right-wing opposition sweeps to power in Canada’s oil region, sets up fight with Trudeau

Supporters react to polling results at the UCP election night headquarters in Calgary
Supporters react to polling results at the United Conservative Party (UCP) provincial election night headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, Canada April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

April 17, 2019

By Nia Williams

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – A right-of-center party that champions the energy industry swept to power in Canada’s main oil-producing province of Alberta on Tuesday, setting up a fight with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over climate change just months ahead of a federal election.

Television networks predicted the United Conservative Party of Jason Kenney had as expected easily defeated the left-leaning New Democratic Party government of Rachel Notley amid frustration over the economy and a beleaguered energy industry.

In an often belligerent campaign, Kenney promised to stand up for Albertans against Trudeau and other politicians he said were taking the province and its oil and gas for granted.

Notley’s government introduced a carbon tax to help cut emissions of greenhouse gases, a measure Kenney promised to scrap. Trudeau says he will impose a price on carbon on any province without a plan to fight climate change.

Kenney, a 50-year-old former federal Cabinet minister, vowed to take more decisive action on jobs and the economy. Both Kenney and Notley blame Trudeau for a lack of progress on new oil export pipelines.

The NDP ended decades of conservative rule in Alberta when it swept to power in the 2015 election, but inherited an economy hammered by a global crude price crash.

(Writing by Nia Williams and David Ljunggren; Editing by Steve Scherer and Peter Cooney)

Source: OANN

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At least 10 migrants die when boat sinks off Libyan coast: official

A boat used by migrants is seen near the western town of Sabratha
A boat used by migrants is seen near the western town of Sabratha, Libya March 19, 2019. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny

March 19, 2019

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – At least 10 migrants died when their boat sank off the Libyan coast near the western town of Sabratha on Tuesday, a Libyan security official said.

About 17 others were rescued, Aiman Dabbashi, Sabratha’s security operations spokesman, said.

Libya’s western coast is a main departure point for migrants fleeing poverty and wars to reach Europe, though numbers have dropped since Italy and the European Union stepped up efforts to support the Libyan coast guard.

“According to a survivor from Sudan, the boat was carrying about 27 illegal migrants who set off from (the western town of) Zuwarah but we are still finding out more,” Dabbashi told Reuters.

“We rescued about 17 illegal migrants including a woman who all were taken to the hospital. There are about ten bodies of the other migrants.”

The migrants came from various sub-Saharan countries.

The United Nations migration agency IOM said 15 survivors had been brought to a hospital but it did not know how many people had been on board.

(Reporting by Ahmed Elumami; Editing by Ulf Laessing and Angus MacSwan)

Source: OANN

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Stolen Valor? Original Filter Bassist Speaks Out Against Lead Singer And Radical Left

On March 7th, the rock band Filter was set to play a concert in El Paso, Texas.

Hours before the show, the band posted a video on Facebook with the caption; “This is sound check!! We’re Playing El Paso!!! Get Here!!! Later and it will be packed!! A lot of Trump bashing! Does anyone know Beto?? Bring Beto!”

After the video was shared, the venue told the band they were no longer welcome.

Vocalist Richard Patrick voiced his opinion about the cancellation.

“This country is totally jacked up!! This is my right to artistic expression. If they are going to tell me that I am un-American for saying that about the President, I’d ask them if they have been to Iraq or Afghanistan. I have been over there and love and respect the job that our troops are doing over there – fighting to ensure our rights to say what we like. As a matter of fact – I was asked recently what FILTER stands for and THIS IS IT – our freedom of expression!” he wrote.

Richard Patrick’s claim of being to Iraq and Afghanistan is a little problematic when you know the back story, in particular, the story of Filter’s original Bass player Frank Cavanagh.

After ten years of playing with Filter and touring the world, at the height of his success, Frank Cavanagh joined the US Army to serve his country.

When Richard Patrick visited Iraq and Afghanistan, it was part of “Operation MySpace,” a USO style musical tour, and Frank Cavanagh played a major role.

While serving in the Army, Sgt. Cavanagh kept his past as a rock star a secret but at the behest of Operation MySpace, the Department of Defense contacted Sgt. Cavanagh and flew him to Kuwait to perform with his old band, Filter.

Richard Patrick has a long history of parroting far-left talking points and in 2013 while calling for gun control and labeling patriot Americans as terrorists, he wrote, “Alex Jones? He’s an extremist, terrorist nut.”

Sgt. Frank Cavanagh responded in defense of Alex Jones and as a result, Richard Patrick systematically blacklisted him.

After being a founding member and working in the band for ten years, Frank Cavanagh’s name was erased from all band profiles, including their Wikipedia page.

It has all the optics of “Stolen Valor.”

While speaking out against our Second Amendment, Richard Patrick claims the honor of our proud men and women who have served their country and attacks Frank Cavanagh, who left a successful music career to serve his country.

Here is the full, 2013, email from Frank Cavanagh to Richard Patrick:

A Letter in defense of Alex Jones.

First of all, to Jonny Radtke, Phil Buckman, Rob Patterson, Mitchel Marlow, John Spiker, Mika, Geno lenardo, Brian Leisgang, Steven Gillism Allan Bailey, Matt Walker and Robbie Stevens; I want you to know that this in no way is directed toward you or the music that you as well as myself have enabled Richard Patrick to make in his career. For with out us he would be nothing, and I regret if I have made you feel that your music or political beliefs are irrelevant. Even as I know some of you totally disagree with me, I also know that some of you are 100% behind me and I thank you for the FLOOD of support over the last couple of days, Happy Easter (Ishtar)!!

This isn’t about you, and I regret involving you.

this is about Richard Patrick, the Authoritarian Statist Thief.

I just want to start out Rich by saying I am very disappointed in what you have become, you have become a parrot, parroting whatever your sycophantic yes men put into your mind controlled brain. It is not surprising coming from someone that rarely has an original thought of his own.

I also want you to know that I made a post on Facebook denouncing your hatefully prejudicial, bigoted statements and then I spent an awesome Easter weekend with my daughters, planting new strawberry bushes and teaching them some of the finer points of Gun safety. Just got a new Gun, you see.

I was VERY surprised to find a flood of texts, calls, and emails asking why you were saying such hateful, bigoted, slanderous things about me. I haven’t read a one, you can own your hate, I will no longer allow you into my world, many of these texts and emails coming form your own family, supporting me.

“The Tea Party and the extreme right are literally turning into the new terrorists.”

Specifically, how? Are they inciting violence? Or, are you labeling a whole sub section of our society as “Terrorists”?

That, Richard Patrick, makes you a Prejudicial Bigot.

I hate bigots.

Maybe, God forbid, someone had road rage.

When I was 19 years old I was a victim of a racially motivated hate crime on the corner of Hampshire and Coventry road in Cleveland Heights, I was targeted for being white. My jaw was shattered and broken in three places. I responded by helping to organize a protest. A multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-lifestyle protest AGAINST racism and bigotry, in all its forms.

You sir are a bigot.

I hate bigots.

You Said, “Alex Jones? He’s an extremist, terrorist nut.”

Alex Jones isn’t an extremist terrorist, but let’s look at who is.

Attorney General Eric Holder, who is guilty of running Operation Fast and Furious, allowing over 5000 AR and AK derivative “Assault Weapons” into the hands of Mexican Drug cartels. In our country we have separation of powers, in this case congress acted to demand information about the who, why, and when of Operation Fast and Furious. They called the nation’s Top Cop to testify, Mr. Eric Holder. He REFUSED a lawful demand by his bosses, the United States congress, and through them, We the People. He denied us, he denied YOU.

AG Holder stonewalled and then was held in Civil Contempt of Congress. When he persisted on covering up the illegal activities perpetuated during Operation Fast and Furious, he was found and is currently being held, in CRIMINAL CONTEMPT of Congress. Stop and let that sink in; THE TOP COP has been found to be in Criminal Violation by the TOP LAW MAKING body. That is TEXT BOOK TYRANNY, and you want to talk about taking my guns? Gimme a break. You SUPPORT that craziness, I won’t.

I have my guns because your buddy Eric there GAVE “Assault Weapons” to Criminals. I need to protect my family from the Narco Terrorists that your AG Armed. They are in the City I live in now. You want a Terrorist to Rail against? Well there he is. And by YOU supporting them, YOU Mr. Richard Patrick, and every one of the Authoritarian Statists like yourself, are a Terrorist and a traitor to the United States of America and the Constitution that makes it so.

You claim that Sandy Hook was your 9/11 which is an apt comparison but not for the reasons you have put forth. They are alike because both events have been manipulated by your Government to take rights from law abiding citizens all in the name of “safety”, when In reality it is people like you, people detached and ignorant of the real world, who live in a fantastical Utopian dream land that created the “Gun Free Kill Zones” that everyone of these mass shootings have occurred at. It is authoritarian elitist “progressives” such as yourself that set up this perfect scenario for slaughter; Victim Disarmament Zones. The Blood of Sandy Hook is on the hands of people like you.

I own multiple weapons, I have owned multiple pick up trucks, I’m down with ALL the Gods (the good ones), I swore an Oath to defend the Constitution, I spent a year in Iraq.

How DARE YOU imply that I am a Terrorist.

I have marched with the Tea Party and I have also marched with the Occupy movement and consider both of them to be good in the beginning until they were usurped by the establishment that you represent. I swore an Oath and sacrificed a Year doing the Real Deal to defend your First Amendment Right for you to be a Sophomoric, Banal, Idiot, BRAVO, job well done!! You’re not welcome.

Why aren’t you upset by the fact that 22 Veterans commit suicide everyday?

Why aren’t you upset about the fact that Mayor “Murder” Emanuel’s Chicago, our old home town, is on course to have 2 Sandy Hooks a month in gun murders?
Because you are a Parrot, and you only spew the latest trendiest propaganda from the left; brainwashed is basically what you are.

I will no longer sit idly by while you actively endeavor to subvert the Constitution that I swore an Oath to defend.

You have made some incredibly bad business decisions in your career, and the history of your band is the text book example of what NOT to do to be a success. Stealing from, degrading, demonizing and vilifying every person that you have ever worked with is a horrible business model. And it makes you a thief. But that’s just the good side.

I’m glad I don’t have to live like that, it must suck.

Why don’t you sacrifice a year for your country and then come back and talk to me about taking my guns, until then, stop being a bitch when someone with a pair and the courage enough to do it puts you in your place.

Watch Kavanagh’s interview with Infowars’ Owen Shroyer below:

Richard Patrick has a long history of parroting far-left talking points and in 2013 while calling for gun control and labeling patriot Americans as terrorists, he wrote, “Alex Jones? He’s an extremist, terrorist nut.”

Sgt. Frank Cavanagh responded in defense of Alex Jones and as a result, Richard Patrick systematically blacklisted him.

After being a founding member and working in the band for ten years, Frank Cavanagh’s name was erased from all band profiles, including their Wikipedia page.

It has all the optics of “Stolen Valor.”

While speaking out against our Second Amendment, Richard Patrick claims the honor of our proud men and women who have served their country and attacks Frank Cavanagh, who left a successful music career to serve his country.

Here is the full, 2013, email from Frank Cavanagh to Richard Patrick:

A Letter in defense of Alex Jones.

First of all, to Jonny Radtke, Phil Buckman, Rob Patterson, Mitchel Marlow, John Spiker, Mika, Geno lenardo, Brian Leisgang, Steven Gillism Allan Bailey, Matt Walker and Robbie Stevens; I want you to know that this in no way is directed toward you or the music that you as well as myself have enabled Richard Patrick to make in his career. For with out us he would be nothing, and I regret if I have made you feel that your music or political beliefs are irrelevant. Even as I know some of you totally disagree with me, I also know that some of you are 100% behind me and I thank you for the FLOOD of support over the last couple of days, Happy Easter (Ishtar)!!

This isn’t about you, and I regret involving you.

this is about Richard Patrick, the Authoritarian Statist Thief.

I just want to start out Rich by saying I am very disappointed in what you have become, you have become a parrot, parroting whatever your sycophantic yes men put into your mind controlled brain. It is not surprising coming from someone that rarely has an original thought of his own.

I also want you to know that I made a post on Facebook denouncing your hatefully prejudicial, bigoted statements and then I spent an awesome Easter weekend with my daughters, planting new strawberry bushes and teaching them some of the finer points of Gun safety. Just got a new Gun, you see.

I was VERY surprised to find a flood of texts, calls, and emails asking why you were saying such hateful, bigoted, slanderous things about me. I haven’t read a one, you can own your hate, I will no longer allow you into my world, many of these texts and emails coming form your own family, supporting me.

“The Tea Party and the extreme right are literally turning into the new terrorists.”

Specifically, how? Are they inciting violence? Or, are you labeling a whole sub section of our society as “Terrorists”?

That, Richard Patrick, makes you a Prejudicial Bigot.

I hate bigots.

Maybe, God forbid, someone had road rage.

When I was 19 years old I was a victim of a racially motivated hate crime on the corner of Hampshire and Coventry road in Cleveland Heights, I was targeted for being white. My jaw was shattered and broken in three places. I responded by helping to organize a protest. A multi-racial, multi-cultural, multi-lifestyle protest AGAINST racism and bigotry, in all its forms.

You sir are a bigot.

I hate bigots.

You Said, “Alex Jones? He’s an extremist, terrorist nut.”

Alex Jones isn’t an extremist terrorist, but let’s look at who is.

Attorney General Eric Holder, who is guilty of running Operation Fast and Furious, allowing over 5000 AR and AK derivative “Assault Weapons” into the hands of Mexican Drug cartels. In our country we have separation of powers, in this case congress acted to demand information about the who, why, and when of Operation Fast and Furious. They called the nation’s Top Cop to testify, Mr. Eric Holder. He REFUSED a lawful demand by his bosses, the United States congress, and through them, We the People. He denied us, he denied YOU.

AG Holder stonewalled and then was held in Civil Contempt of Congress. When he persisted on covering up the illegal activities perpetuated during Operation Fast and Furious, he was found and is currently being held, in CRIMINAL CONTEMPT of Congress. Stop and let that sink in; THE TOP COP has been found to be in Criminal Violation by the TOP LAW MAKING body. That is TEXT BOOK TYRANNY, and you want to talk about taking my guns? Gimme a break. You SUPPORT that craziness, I won’t.

I have my guns because your buddy Eric there GAVE “Assault Weapons” to Criminals. I need to protect my family from the Narco Terrorists that your AG Armed. They are in the City I live in now. You want a Terrorist to Rail against? Well there he is. And by YOU supporting them, YOU Mr. Richard Patrick, and every one of the Authoritarian Statists like yourself, are a Terrorist and a traitor to the United States of America and the Constitution that makes it so.

You claim that Sandy Hook was your 9/11 which is an apt comparison but not for the reasons you have put forth. They are alike because both events have been manipulated by your Government to take rights from law abiding citizens all in the name of “safety”, when In reality it is people like you, people detached and ignorant of the real world, who live in a fantastical Utopian dream land that created the “Gun Free Kill Zones” that everyone of these mass shootings have occurred at. It is authoritarian elitist “progressives” such as yourself that set up this perfect scenario for slaughter; Victim Disarmament Zones. The Blood of Sandy Hook is on the hands of people like you.

I own multiple weapons, I have owned multiple pick up trucks, I’m down with ALL the Gods (the good ones), I swore an Oath to defend the Constitution, I spent a year in Iraq.

How DARE YOU imply that I am a Terrorist.

I have marched with the Tea Party and I have also marched with the Occupy movement and consider both of them to be good in the beginning until they were usurped by the establishment that you represent. I swore an Oath and sacrificed a Year doing the Real Deal to defend your First Amendment Right for you to be a Sophomoric, Banal, Idiot, BRAVO, job well done!! You’re not welcome.

Why aren’t you upset by the fact that 22 Veterans commit suicide everyday?

Why aren’t you upset about the fact that Mayor “Murder” Emanuel’s Chicago, our old home town, is on course to have 2 Sandy Hooks a month in gun murders?
Because you are a Parrot, and you only spew the latest trendiest propaganda from the left; brainwashed is basically what you are.

I will no longer sit idly by while you actively endeavor to subvert the Constitution that I swore an Oath to defend.

You have made some incredibly bad business decisions in your career, and the history of your band is the text book example of what NOT to do to be a success. Stealing from, degrading, demonizing and vilifying every person that you have ever worked with is a horrible business model. And it makes you a thief. But that’s just the good side.

I’m glad I don’t have to live like that, it must suck.

Why don’t you sacrifice a year for your country and then come back and talk to me about taking my guns, until then, stop being a bitch when someone with a pair and the courage enough to do it puts you in your place.

Watch Kavanagh’s interview with Infowars’ Owen Shroyer below:

Infowars video with live comments:

Source: InfoWars

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Alpine skiing: Downhill results changed three days later over timing problems

FILE PHOTO: Alpine Skiing - FIS Alpine World Ski Championships - Women's Super G
FILE PHOTO: Alpine Skiing - FIS Alpine World Ski Championships - Women's Super G - Are, Sweden - February 5, 2019 Silver medalist Italy's Sofia Goggia celebrates on the podium REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

February 26, 2019

ZURICH (Reuters) – A problem with the electronic timing system has forced the result of the women’s downhill World Cup race at Crans Montana to be changed three days later, the International Skiing Federation (FIS) said on Tuesday.

Olympic champion Sofia Goggia remained as the winner of Saturday’s race at the Swiss resort but second-placed Joana Haehlen of Switzerland was deprived of her first-ever World Cup podium when she dropped from second to fourth.

“FIS and Swiss Timing would like to apologize to all competitors, teams, media and Alpine Skiing followers for this unfortunate incident,” the FIS said in a statement.

Swiss Timing, a Swatch Group company, is in charge of timing operations on site for World Cup races.

The FIS added that it was satisfied that the official results were now “accurate and reflect the correct times of all competitors.”

It said that the times of four skiers were not recorded electronically due to “the set-up of the photo cells at the finish, which were mounted too high.” The manual times were then incorrectly calculated, it added.

Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami dropped from third to sixth following the review while Nicole Schmidhofer moved up to second and Corinne Suter to third.

(Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Christian Radnedge)

Source: OANN

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Turkey’s Erdogan stands by Russian air defense purchase

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reaffirmed his country's purchase of a Russian-made missile defense system.

In spite of repeated warnings from the United States, Erdogan said Friday that deliveries of the S-400 system will begin in July.

On Wednesday, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Turkey was risking its NATO membership and its participation in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.

The Turkish president said they had offered to also buy the U.S.-made Patriot system but that the U.S. offer was not as favorable as Russia's.

The U.S. and other NATO allies have said the S-400s cannot be operable alongside other allied systems and that their use in Turkey could jeapordize F-35s security.

Erdogan also said deliveries of F-35s were continuing and Turkish pilots were being trained.

Source: Fox News World

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Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London
Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London, Britain, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Gerhard Mey

April 26, 2019

By Hanna Rantala

LONDON (Reuters) – Irish rockers The Cranberries are saying goodbye with their final album released on Friday, a poignant tribute to lead singer Dolores O’Riordan who died last year.

“In the End” is the eighth studio album from the band that rose to fame in the early 1990s with hits likes “Zombie” and “Linger”, and includes the final recordings by O’Riordan, who drowned in a London hotel bath in January 2018 due to alcohol intoxication.

Work on the album began during a 2017 tour and by that winter, O’Riordan and guitarist Neil Hogan had penned and demoed 11 tracks.

With O’Riordan’s vocals recorded, Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler completed the album in tribute to her.

“When we realized how strong the songs were, that was the deciding factor really… There was no point… trying to ruin the legacy of the band,” Noel Hogan said in an interview.

“It was obvious that Dolores wanted this album done because when you hear the album, you hear the songs and how strong they are, and she was very, very excited to get in and record this.”

The Cranberries formed in Limerick in 1989 with another singer. O’Riordan replaced him a year later and the group went on to become Ireland’s best-selling rock band after U2, selling more than 40 million records.

O’Riordan, known for her strong distinctive voice singing about relationships or political violence, was 46 when she died.

“She was actually in quite a good place mentally. She was feeling quite content and strong and looking forward to a new phase of her life,” Lawler said.

“A lot of the lyrics in this album are about things ending… people might read into it differently but it was a phase of her personal life that she was talking about.”

The group previously announced their intention to split after the release of “In The End”.

“We are absolutely gutted we can’t play (the songs) live because that’s something that’s been a massive part of this band from day one,” Noel Hogan said.

“A few people have said to us about maybe even doing a one off where you have different vocalists… as kind of guests of ours. A year ago that’s definitely something we weren’t going to entertain but I don’t know, I think it’s something we need to go away and take time off for the summer and have a think about.”

Critics have generally given positive reviews of the album; NME described it as “(seeing) the band’s career go full-circle” while the Irish Times called it “an unexpected late career high and a remarkable swan song for O’Riordan”.

Their early songs still play on the radio. This week, “Dreams” was performed at the funeral of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead in Londonderry last week as she watched Irish nationalist youths attack police following a raid.

“We wrote them as kids, as a hobby and 30 years later they are on radio and on TV, like all the time… That’s far more than any of us ever thought we would have,” Noel Hogan said.

“That would make Dolores really happy because she was very precious about those songs. Her babies, she called them and to have that hopefully long after we’re gone… that’s all any band can wish for.”

(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; additoinal reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: OANN

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2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

April 26, 2019

By Joshua Schneyer and M.B. Pell

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Senator Elizabeth Warren will introduce a bill Friday that offers new protections for U.S. military families facing unsafe housing, following a series of Reuters reports revealing squalid conditions in privately managed base homes.

The Reuters reports and later Congressional hearings detailed widespread hazards including lead paint exposure, vermin infestations, collapsing ceilings, mold and maintenance lapses in privatized base housing communities that serve some 700,000 U.S. military family members.

(View Warren’s military housing bill here. https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dy5aht)

(Read Reuters’ Ambushed at Home series on military housing here. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-military)

The Massachusetts Democrat’s bill would mandate both regular and unannounced spot inspections of base homes by certified, independent inspectors, holding landlords accountable for quickly fixing hazards. The military’s privatization program for years allowed real estate firms to operate base housing with scant oversight, Reuters found, leaving some tenants in unsafe homes with little recourse against landlords.

The bill would also require the Department of Defense and its private housing operators to publish reports annually detailing housing conditions, tenant complaints, maintenance response times and the financial incentives companies receive at each base. The provisions aim to enhance transparency of housing deals whose finances and operations the military had allowed to remain largely confidential under a privatization program since the late 1990s.

The measure would also require private landlords to cover moving costs for at-risk families, and healthcare costs for people with medical conditions resulting from unsafe base housing, ensuring they receive continuing coverage even after they leave the homes or the military.

“This bill will eliminate the kind of corner-cutting and neglect the Defense Department should never have let these private housing partners get away with in the first place,” Warren said in a statement Friday.

The proposed legislation comes after February Senate hearings where Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, slammed private real estate firms for endangering service families, and sought answers about why military branches weren’t providing more oversight.

Her legislation would direct the Defense Department to allow local housing code enforcers onto federal bases, following concerns they were sometimes denied access. Warren’s office said a companion bill in the House of Representatives would be introduced by Rep. Deb Haaland, Democrat of New Mexico.

In response to the housing crisis, military branches are developing a tenant bill of rights and hiring hundreds of new housing staff. The branches recently dispatched commanders to survey base housing worldwide for safety hazards, resulting in thousands of work orders and hundreds of tenants being moved. The Defense Department has pledged to renegotiate its 50-year contracts with private real estate firms.

Congress has been quick to take its own measures. Earlier legislation proposed by senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California, along with Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, would compel base commanders to withhold rent payments and incentive fees from the private ventures if they allow home hazards to persist.

(Editing by Ronnie Greene)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London
FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar

(Reuters) – Deloitte quit as Ferrexpo’s auditor on Friday, knocking its shares by more than 20 percent, days after saying it was unable to conclude whether the iron ore miner’s CEO controlled a charity being investigated over its use of company donations.

Blooming Land, which coordinates Ferrexpo’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, came under scrutiny after auditors found holes in the charity’s statements.

Ferrexpo on Tuesday said findings of an ongoing independent investigation launched in February indicated some Blooming Land funds could have been “misappropriated”. It did not provide any details or publish its findings.

Shares in Ferrexpo, the third largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry, were 23.4 percent lower at 206.1 pence at 1022 GMT following news of Deloitte’s resignation.

“Ferrexpo’s shares are deeply discounted vs peers … following the resignation of Deloitte, we expect downside risks to dominate Ferrexpo’s shares near term.” JP Morgan analyst Dominic O’Kane said in a note on Friday.

Swiss-headquartered Ferrexpo did not provide a reason for the resignation of Deloitte, which declined to comment, while Blooming Land did not respond to a request for comment.

Funding for Blooming Land’s CSR activities is provided by one of Ferrexpo’s units in Ukraine and Khimreaktiv LLC, an entity ultimately controlled by Ferrexpo’s CEO and majority owner Kostyantin Zhevago, Ferrexpo said on Tuesday.

Ferrexpo’s board has found that Zhevago did not have significant influence or control over the charity, but Deloitte said it was unable reach a conclusion on this.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact Zhevago.

In a qualified opinion, a statement addressing an incomplete audit, Deloitte said it had been unable to conclude whether $33.5 million of CSR donations to Blooming Land between 2017 and 2018 was used for “legitimate business payments for charitable purposes”.

Deloitte said on Tuesday that total CSR payments made to Blooming Land by Ferrexpo since 2013 total about $110 million.

Ferrexpo, whose major mines are in Ukraine, has said that the investigation was ongoing and new evidence pointed to potential discrepancies.

Zhevago, 45, who ranked 1,511 on Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires for 2019 with a net worth of $1.4 billion, owns the FC Vorskla soccer club and has been a member of Ukraine’s parliament since 1998.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru and additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kiev; editing by Gopakumar Warrier, Bernard Orr)

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Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba
Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, Mozambique April 26, 2019 in this still image obtained from social media. SolidarMed via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

April 26, 2019

By Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer

JOHANNESBURG/LUANDA (Reuters) – Cyclone Kenneth killed at least one person and left a trail of destruction in northern Mozambique, destroying houses, ripping up trees and knocking out power, authorities said on Friday.

The cyclone brought storm surges and wind gusts of up to 280 km per hour (174 mph) when it made landfall on Thursday evening, after killing three people in the island nation of Comoros.

It was the most powerful storm on record to hit Mozambique’s northern coast and came just six weeks after Cyclone Idai battered the impoverished nation, causing devastating floods and killing more than 1,000 people across a swathe of southern Africa.

The World Food Programme warned that Kenneth could dump as much as 600 millimeters of rain on the region over the next 10 days – twice that brought by Cyclone Idai.

One woman in the port town of Pemba died after being hit by a falling tree, the Emergency Operations Committee for Cabo Delgado (COE) said in a statement, while another person was injured.

In rural areas outside Pemba, many homes are made of mud. In the main town on the island of Ibo, 90 percent of the houses were destroyed, officials said. Around 15,000 people were out in the open or in “overcrowded” shelters and there was a need for tents, food and water, they said.

There were also reports of a large number of homes and some infrastructure destroyed in Macomia district, a mainland district adjacent to Ibo.

A local group, the Friends of Pemba Association, had earlier reported that they could not reach people in Muidumbe, a district further inland.

Mark Lowcock, United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, warned the storm could require another major humanitarian operation in Mozambique.

“Cyclone Kenneth marks the first time two cyclones have made landfall in Mozambique during the same season, further stressing the government’s limited resources,” he said in a statement.

FLOOD WARNINGS

Shaquila Alberto, owner of the beach-front Messano Flower Lodge in Macomia, said there were many fallen trees there, and in rural areas people’s homes had been damaged. Some areas of nearby Pemba had no power.

“Even my workers, they said the roof and all the things fell down,” she said by phone.

Further south, in Pemba, Elton Ernesto, a receptionist at Raphael’s Hotel, said there were fallen trees but not too much damage. The hotel had power and water, he said, while phones rang in the background. “The rain has stopped,” he added.

However Michael Charles, an official for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said heavy rains over the next few days were likely to bring a “second wave of destruction” in the form of flooding.

“The houses are not all solid, and the topography is very sandy,” Charles said.

In the days after Cyclone Idai, heavy inland rains prompted rivers to burst their banks, submerging entire villages, cutting areas off from aid and ruining crops. There were concerns the same could happen again in northern Mozambique.

Before Kenneth hit, the government and aid workers moved around 30,000 people to safer buildings such as schools, however authorities said that around 680,000 people were in the path of the storm.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer; Writing by Emma Rumney; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Alexandra Zavis)

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A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai
FILE PHOTO: A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai, India, May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

April 26, 2019

By Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Surging global oil prices will pose a first big challenge to India’s new government, whoever wins an election now under way, especially as domestic prices have been allowed to lag, meaning consumers are in for a painful surge as they catch up.

For oil-import dependent India, higher global prices could lead to a weaker rupee, higher inflation, the ruling out of interest rate cuts and could further weigh on twin current account and budget deficits, economists warned.

But compounding the future pain, state-run fuel suppliers and retailers have held off passing on to consumers the higher prices during a staggered general election, which began on April 11 and ends on May 23, according to sources familiar with the situation.

That delay is expected to be unwound once the election is over. And there could be additional price increases to make up for losses or profits missed during the period of delayed increases, the sources said.

In some major Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, pump prices are adjusted periodically so they move largely in tandem with international crude prices.

That was what was supposed to happen in India but the election means there have been many days when pump prices have been unchanged.

In New Delhi, for example, while crude oil prices have gone up by nearly $9 a barrel, or about 12 percent, in the past six weeks, gasoline prices have only risen by 0.47 rupees a liter, or 0.6 percent.

State-controlled fuel suppliers and retailers declined to say why they had delayed price increases, or discuss whether there has been any pressure from the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A government spokesman declined to comment.

The opposition Congress party said Modi’s government was violating its own policy of daily price revision by advising the state oil companies to hold prices steady.

“The government should cut fuel taxes otherwise consumers will have to pay much higher oil prices once the elections are over,” said Akhilesh Pratap Singh, a senior leader of the Congress party.

(GRAPHIC: India Polls: Fuel price hike lags crude surge – https://tmsnrt.rs/2XLlxik)

Nitin Goyal, treasurer at the All India Petroleum Dealers Association, representing fuel stations in 25 states, said prices were similarly held down for 19 days in the southern state of Karnataka last year, when it held state assembly elections.

Only for them to surge after the vote.

“Consumers should be ready for a rude shock of a massive jump in retail prices, similar to the level we have seen in the Karnataka state election,” Goyal said.

‘CREDIT NEGATIVE’

Sri Paravaikkarasu, director for Asia oil at Singapore-based consultancy FGE, said retail prices of gasoline and gasoil prices would have been up to 6 percent, or about 4 rupee, higher if they had been allowed to rise in line with global prices.

“Indian pump prices have failed to keep up with the recent uptrend in crude prices,” Paravaikkarasu said.

“With the country’s general elections underway, the incumbent government has been keeping pump prices relatively unchanged.”

India had switched to a daily price revision in June 2017 from a revision every two weeks, as the government allowed retailers to set prices.

But the government faced protests last October when retailers raised prices by up to 10 rupees a liter after the crude oil price went above $80 a barrel, forcing it to cut fuel taxes.

Global prices rose to their highest level in 2019 on Thursday, days after the United States announced all Iran sanction waivers would end by May, pressuring importers including India to stop buying Tehran’s oil. [O/R]

Higher oil prices will mean Asia’s third largest economy is likely to see growth of less than 7 percent rate this fiscal year, economists said. Growth slowed to 6.6 percent in the October-December quarter, the slowest in five quarters.

Rating agency CARE has warned that a 10 percent rise in global oil prices could increase demand for dollars, putting pressure on the rupee and widening the current account deficit.

India’s oil import bill rose by nearly one-third in the fiscal year ending March 31 to $140.5 billion, against $108 billion the previous year.

“The increase in international oil prices is a credit negative for the Indian economy,” ICRA, the Indian arm of the Fitch rating agency, said in a note.

“Every $10/ bbl increase in crude oil prices increases the fiscal deficit by about 0.1 percent of GDP.”

Any big price rise would also build a case for the central bank to keep rates steady, or even raise them.

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee, which cut the benchmark policy repo rate by 25 basis points this month, warned that rising oil and food prices could push up inflation.

Policymakers are worried that a sustained increase in the oil price in the range of $70-75/barrel or higher can move the rupee down by 3-4 percent on an annual basis.

The rupee has depreciated by 1.24 percent against the dollar since a year high in mid-March.

($1 = 70.1800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Martin Howell and Rob Birsel)

Source: OANN

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