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Hillary: Impeachment Not Only Solution to ’16 Election Attack

America has to fix the attack by Russia on the 2016 election, but it is a "false choice" to conclude impeachment is the only solution, according to Hillary Clinton.

In a commentary posted by The Washington Post, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee said "this is bigger than politics."

"A crime was committed against all Americans, and all Americans should demand action and accountability," she wrote.

"Our founders envisioned the danger we face today and designed a system to meet it. Now it's up to us to prove the wisdom of our Constitution, the resilience of our democracy and the strength of our nation."

According to Clinton, Congress has to "get it right."

Mueller's report "is a road map," she wrote, but asserted the debate about how to respond and "how to hold President [Donald] Trump accountable for obstructing the investigation and possibly breaking the law . . . has been reduced to a false choice: immediate impeachment or nothing."

"What our country needs now is clear-eyed patriotism, not reflexive partisanship," she wrote.

"It's up to members of both parties to see where that road map leads — to the eventual filing of articles of impeachment, or not," she wrote. "Either way, the nation's interests will be best served by putting party and political considerations aside and being deliberate, fair, and fearless."

Secondly, she said Congress has to hold "substantive hearings that build on the Mueller report and fill in its gaps" before heading right for impeachment — and asserted "Watergate offers a better precedent" with its televised hearings.

"Similar hearings with Mueller, former White House counsel Donald McGahn and other key witnesses could do the same today."

Also, she said, the nation needs a commission like the one formed after 9/11 to be established by Congress "to recommend steps that would help guard against future attacks."

Clinton also warned Democrats they will have to "stay focused on the sensible agenda that voters demanded in the midterms, from protecting healthcare to investing in infrastructure."

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Barr to be grilled on Mueller report’s release; Trump ally sues, accuses news group of conspiracy

Welcome to Fox News First. Not signed up yet? Click here.
 
Developing now, Tuesday, April 9, 2019

BARR EXAM: Attorney General William Barr is expected to be grilled by Democratic lawmakers about his plan to release a redacted version of the Mueller report instead of the full report, to the public and will likely have to defend his handling of the special counsel's Russia investigation when he appears on Capitol Hill in the first of two days of testimony on Tuesday ... Barr will first testify before the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, whose panel consists of seven Democrats and four Republicans and is chaired by Rep. José Serrano, D-N.Y.

On Wednesday, Barr will be on the hot seat before a subpanel of the Senate Appropriations Committee, chaired by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Lawmakers may also question Barr about the Justice Department's legal challenge to ObamaCare.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Monday that Democrats pushing for the release of Mueller's full report should also insist on making public all information related to the Justice Department's investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state and other controversies dating back to the Obama administration

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP.

THE ROOT OF THE IMMIGRATION CRISIS: Now that Kirstjen Nielsen is out as Homeland Security Secretary and President Trump has replaced her with a "tough cop" in U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan as acting secretary, there is debate over whether the shakeup will make any difference is combating the illegal immigration crisis at the border ... On "Special Report" Monday, the Federalist's senior editor Mollie Hemingway noted that while Nielsen stepped down, the problem wasn’t her performance of her job but the performance of Congress and its inability to address policies that “incentivize” human trafficking. (Click on the video above to watch the full segment.)

NUNES TARGETS NEWS AGENCY: House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes filed a $150 million lawsuit against the McClatchy Company and others on Monday, alleging that one of the news agency's reporters conspired with a political operative to derail Nunes' oversight work into the Hillary Clinton campaign and Russian election interference ... The filing, obtained by Fox News, came a day after Nunes, R-Calif., revealed he would send eight criminal referrals to the Justice Department this week concerning purported surveillance abuses by federal authorities during the Russia probe, false statements to Congress and other matters. In March, Nunes filed a similar $250 million lawsuit alleging defamation against Twitter and one of its users, Republican consultant Liz Mair.

RUSSIA COLLUSION TRUE BELIEVER JOINS CROWDED 2020 DEM FIELD: Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., an outspoken critic of President Trump, officially entered the 2020 White House race during his Monday appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert"... The 38-year-old four-term congressman is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, which for years has made headlines over its investigations of Russian influence in U.S. elections and federal surveillance.

NETANYAHU AWAITS HIS WAIT IN ISRAELI ELECTION: Voting has begun in the Israeli elections as the country decides whether longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains in power ... Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. local time Tuesday, with exit polls expected at the end of the voting day at 10 p.m. Clouded by a series of looming corruption indictments, Netanyahu is seeking a fifth term in office, which would make him Israel's longest-ever serving leader. He faces a stiff challenge from retired military chief Benny Gantz, whose Blue and White party has inched ahead of Netanyahu's Likud in polls. - The Associated Press

HUFFMAN PLEADS GUILTY IN COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCANDAL -- BUT WHAT ABOUT 'AUNT BECKY'? - Former "Desperate Housewives" star Felicity Huffman agreed Monday to plead guilty in the college admissions cheating scandal that has entangled wealthy parents throughout the country ... However, one name that was noticeably absent from the list of 14 defendants who agreed to enter guilty pleas was fellow actress Lori Loughlin – a risk that may hurt the “Fuller House” star's chances of cutting a favorable deal down the line, according to a former prosecutor. Click here to find out why.

VIRGINIA, NCAA CHAMPIONS: Now that, Virginia, is the way to close out a season. Led by De'Andre Hunter and his NBA-ready game, the Cavaliers turned themselves into national champions Monday night, holding off tenacious, ferocious Texas Tech for an 85-77 overtime win ... It was a scintillating victory that came 388 days after Virginia became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16th seed team.

THE SOUNDBITE

NUNES' MISSION - "I’m coming to clean up all the mess. So if you’re out there and you lied and you defamed, we’re going to come after you."– U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, House Intelligence Committee ranking member, in an interview on "Hannity," explaining his lawsuit against the McClatchy Company. (Click the image above to watch the full video.)

TODAY'S MUST-READS
Rep. Ilhan Omar calls Stephen Miller a ‘white nationalist.’
White House cancels Major League Baseball's Cuba deal.
Schiff rejects Michael Cohen's plea for help delaying upcoming prison term.
Cory Booker introduces Senate bill on slavery reparations.

MINDING YOUR BUSINESS
10 cities in danger of a housing crash this year.
Howard Schultz: Capitalism crybabies haven’t made payroll, hired workers.
CVS, Aetna deal reversal would be 'catastrophic' to the industry: Judge Napolitano.

STAY TUNED

On Fox News:

Fox & Friends, 6 a.m. ET: Special guests include: Conservative blogger Matt Walsh reacts to Baylor students trying to shut down his speech. Film producer John Smith and Pastor Jason Noble talk about "Breakthrough."

Special Report with Bret Baier, 6 p.m. ET: An interview with Patrick Shanahan, acting U.S. Secretary of Defense.

On Fox Business:

Mornings with Maria, 6 a.m. ET: Special guests include: U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

Varney & Co., 9 a.m. ET: Ron Paul, former U.S. congressman and presidential candidate.

On Fox News Radio:

The Fox News Rundown podcast: "White House Shakeup at the Border" - Jon Decker, Fox News Radio White House correspondent and former Acting ICE Director Thomas Homan weigh in Kirstjen Nielsen's resignation as Homeland Security Secretary. Former New York Mets great Ron Darling discusses his controversial new book, “108 Stitches: Loose Threads, Ripping Yarns, and the Darndest Characters from My Time in the Game” and the state of Major League Baseball. Plus, commentary by Van Hipp, chairman of American Defense International and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Army.

Want the Fox News Rundown sent straight to your mobile device? Subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher.

The Brian Kilmeade Show, 9 a.m. ET: Adm. James Stavridis, operating executive with the Carlyle Group, on Trump designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard a "foreign terrorist organization." Chris Stirewalt, Fox News digital politics editor, and former U.S. Rep. Allen West, R-Fla., on the latest developments in the 2020 presidential race. Correspondent Maria Menounos previews "The Beverly Hills Dog Show" airing on Easter Sunday. Dr. Drew  Pinsky on the latest in the Jussie Smollett case. And Anna Palmer and Karen and Charlotte Pence tells the stories behind their new books.

The Todd Starnes Show, Noon ET: Second Lady Karen Pence and daughter Charlotte talk about their new book "Marlon Bundo’s A Day in the Nation’s Capital" and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, discusses whether Yale Law School discriminates against Christian groups.

The Tom Shillue Show, 3 p.m. ET: Christopher J. Scalia, the editor of "On Faith: Lessons from an American Believer," discusses the legacy of his father, late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Benson & Harf, 6 p.m. ET: Donna Brazile, Fox News contributor and former DNC chair, will discuss 2020 presidential election and the top news headlines of the day. Chris Scalia, son of late Supreme Court Justice Antonon Scalia, to talk about his new book, “On Faith: Lessons From an American Believer.”

#TheFlashback
2003: Iraqis celebrate the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, beheading a toppled statue of their longtime ruler in downtown Baghdad and embracing American troops as liberators.
1913: The first game is played at Ebbets Field, the newly built home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who lose to the Philadelphia Phillies, 1-0.
1865: Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders his army to Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.

Fox News First is compiled by Fox News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for joining us! Have a good day! We'll see you in your inbox first thing Wednesday morning.

Source: Fox News National

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Yuma, Ariz., at breaking point over asylum seekers, officials say

The southern border city of Yuma, Ariz., is pleading for help in connection with the ongoing torrent of migrants.

Mayor Doug Nicholls issued an emergency proclamation saying the influx of migrants being released directly into the community has become an “imminent threat” to the town.

The Border Patrol in Yuma had processed more than 1,000 migrants, mostly families and minors, in the last three days, according to azcentral.com

Federal officials from the state are now responding. These include Republican Sen. Martha McSally, who visited Yuma on Wednesday and spoke to Fox News.

Sen. Martha McSally visited the Yuma, Ariz., area on Wednesday.<br data-recalc-dims=  (AP Photo/Matt York)">

Sen. Martha McSally visited the Yuma, Ariz., area on Wednesday.<br>  (AP Photo/Matt York)

“We shouldn't allow this to continue to happen," she said. "It is a pull factor. The crisis continues to get worse. The cartels continue to profit off it. The humanitarian crisis is severe. We now are hearing reports of children being recycled back to Central America to then be brought back up again. Because the message is being sent if you show up with a kid you're going to be let go.”

The mayor’s emergency plea was intended to send more federal and state assistance in the form of housing, food, and medical supplies.

Nicholls said shelter organizers were saying that they had reached capacity after Border Patrol officials announced they were planning to release an additional 120 more migrants from detention.

McSally wants her Democratic colleagues to join her in Yuma so they can see for themselves the stress local communities are enduring.

“Stop playing around with it and stop playing to your extreme elements your base," the senator said. "This is a simple solution. ... We've got the legislation, we're working on it. We've got to get them to vote on it in the Senate."

A dramatic surge in migrants crossing the southern border to seek asylum is taking place. March was a record for crossings, with numbers not seen in over a decade. More than 115,000 immigrants were stopped at the border. Border officials said this fiscal year, they have seen more than a 300 percent increase in the number of family units apprehended compared to the same time period in fiscal year 2018.

McSally said the burdens on the local communities are multifold, “whether it's uncompensated care it at hospitals or in the education system in other ways. It's never really been measured but it is very real. So we've got to fix the issues here because it's impacting so many people."

Source: Fox News National

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Bullish bets on Indian rupee rise, yuan longs recede: Reuters poll

A cashier checks Indian rupee notes inside a room at a fuel station in Ahmedabad
A cashier checks Indian rupee notes inside a room at a fuel station in Ahmedabad, India, September 20, 2018. REUTERS/Amit Dave

March 28, 2019

By Rushil Dutta

(Reuters) – Bullish positions in the Indian rupee firmed over the past two weeks, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday, ahead of general election, while long positions in the yuan unwound on concerns over slowing domestic demand and uncertainty around Sino-U.S. trade talks.

Investors piled on long rupee bets in a return to bullishness earlier this month after a year, the poll of 12 respondents showed.

The confidence rode on brightening re-election prospects of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ruling Bharatiya Janta Party, translating into inflows of $5.99 billion so far this year into equities.

India will hold general elections in seven stages starting April 11.

Meanwhile, bullish bets on the Chinese yuan receded after a raft of weak economic data showed faltering momentum of external trade and domestic demand, and lack of clarity on trade negotiations between China and the U.S.

“A moderate stimulus package and insistence on deleveraging indicate Beijing’s increased tolerance for slower growth,” DBS Bank said in a note.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said mid-March the government had additional monetary policy measures as its disposal to support economic growth, and that he hoped trade talks with the U.S. would achieve results.

Reuters on Thursday reported that China and the U.S. had made progress in all areas in trade talks but sticking points still remained and there was no definite timetable for a deal.

Meanwhile, investors upped their bearish bets on the Indonesian rupiah to levels last seen in mid-December.

A global economic slowdown and a sudden end to the U.S. Federal Reserve policy tightening have raised expectations of rate cuts in Asia.

Besides Philippines and India, Indonesia has room to reverse some of last year’s multiple interest rate hikes aimed at protecting the local unit from emerging market turmoil, economists said.

Long positions on the Philippine peso reversed course, the poll showed.

Last week, the Philippine central bank kept its benchmark interest rate steady for a third straight meeting. However, it warned that there were risks to economic growth in 2019 if a budget impasse in Congress was not resolved soon.

Investors notched up their long positions on the Thai baht and the Singapore dollar, while cutting bearish bets on the South Korean won and Taiwan dollar.

The Asian currency positioning poll is focused on what analysts and fund managers believe are the current market positions in nine Asian emerging market currencies: the Chinese yuan, South Korean won, Singapore dollar, Indonesian rupiah, Taiwan dollar, Indian rupee, Philippine peso, Malaysian ringgit and the Thai baht.

The poll uses estimates of net long or short positions on a scale of minus 3 to plus 3. A score of plus 3 indicates the market is significantly long U.S. dollars.

The figures include positions held through non-deliverable forwards (NDFs).

(Reporting by Rushil Dutta; polling by Nikhil Nainan in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreejay Sinha)

Source: OANN

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Trump decision to cut Central American aid won’t be reversed soon: top official

U.S. President Trump participates in briefing at U.S. Border Patrol Calexico Station in Calexico, California
U.S. President Donald Trump participates in a roundtable discussion on immigration and border security at the U.S. Border Patrol Calexico Station before visiting the U.S.-Mexico border in Calexico, California, U.S., April 5, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

April 9, 2019

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top U.S. international aid official indicated on Tuesday the Trump administration has no immediate plan to roll back a decision to cut aid to Central American nations after thousands of their citizens sought asylum at the U.S. southern border, despite strong Congressional opposition.

Mark Green, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development, told a congressional hearing he was “very hopeful” the issue would be revisited when President Donald Trump is satisfied that the countries are doing enough to address migration.

“I’m very hopeful that when the president is satisfied that our partner countries are doing all (they) can that we will have an opportunity … to address both the issues of economic opportunity and freedom in the hemisphere,” Green told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The U.S. State Department said last month it would cut aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras after Trump blasted the nations because thousands of their citizens have sought asylum at the border.

“The president is the president. He’s expressing frustration. We share the frustration,” Green said.

Several members of Congress, including some of Trump’s fellow Republicans, have rejected the idea, saying it was cruel to cut off aid to countries grappling with hunger and crime, and was more likely to increase the number of migrants.

Questioning Green, Democratic Representative Adriano Espaillat, a Democrat from New York, said if the United States does not have a presence in El Salvador, for example, China would step in. Competing with China for global influence has been a focus of administration policy.

Green responded that the administration is considering “new approaches” to aid.

“We look forward to the review and look forward to the day that our host country partners are making the necessary commitments (so) that we can take on some of these issues again,” he said.

Trump has taken a hard line on immigration, a central theme of his presidency, particularly regarding undocumented newcomers from Latin America via the border with Mexico.

Trump asked his Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, to resign on Sunday after U.S. border officials estimated that 100,000 migrants were apprehended at the southern frontier in March, the highest level in a decade.

Nielsen’s departure was part of a sweeping overhaul of the department.

The Foreign Affairs Committee is having a separate hearing on Wednesday on aid to Central America.

(Additional reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Source: OANN

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UN adopts weak resolution on sexual violence in conflict

The U.N. Security Council has approved a watered-down resolution on combatting sexual violence in conflicts after eliminating language on providing "sexual and reproductive health care" to survivors of rape and abuse to get U.S. support.

Tuesday's vote on the German-drafted resolution was 13-0, with Russia and China, which had submitted a rival draft, abstaining.

The resolution expresses the council's deep concern at "the slow progress" in addressing and eliminating sexual violence in conflicts around the world. It says such acts often occur with impunity "and in some situations have become systematic and widespread, reaching appalling levels of brutality."

It urges strengthened access to justice for victims, but eliminated a positive reference to the International Criminal Court's work in prosecuting alleged perpetrators.

Source: Fox News World

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Treasures from Tutankhamun's tomb on display in Paris

Original artifacts from Tutankhamun's tomb are on display in Paris in an exhibit celebrating the centenary of the discovery of the most famous pharaoh's treasures.

Some items are returning to Paris more than 50 years after a similar exhibit attracted 1.24 million visitors, a record that still stands for the French capital.

Organizers say more than a third of the artifacts are leaving Egypt for the first and last time before going to a new museum being built near the Giza Pyramids in Egypt.

Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in 1922 by British archaeologist Howard Carter, about 3,400 years after his death.

The exhibit "Tutankhamun, treasures of the golden pharaoh" is on view at Paris' Grande Halle de la Villette from March 23 to Sept. 15, the second stop on a 10-city international tour.

Source: Fox News World

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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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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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