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U.S. looks to test ground-launched cruise missile in August

The Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) element of the U.S. ballistic missile defense system launches during a flight test from Vandenberg Air Force Base
The Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) element of the U.S. ballistic missile defense system launches during a flight test from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, U.S., May 30, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

March 13, 2019

By Idrees Ali

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is aiming to test a ground-launched cruise missile with a range of about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) in August, a Pentagon official said on Wednesday, after Washington announced that it plans to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty.

Last month, the United States announced it would withdraw from the INF Treaty in six months unless Moscow ends what Washington says are violations of the 1987 pact.

Russia announced it was suspending the treaty. Moscow denies flouting the accord and has accused Washington of breaking the accord itself, allegations rejected by the United States.

“We’re going to test a ground launched cruise missile in August,” a senior defense official, who declined to be named, said.

If the testing is successful, the missile could be deployed in about 18 months and would have a range of about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles).

The official said the United States was also looking to test an intermediate-range ballistic missile in November, adding that both would be conventional and not nuclear.

The INF treaty, negotiated by then-President Ronald Reagan and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and ratified by the U.S. Senate, eliminated the medium-range missile arsenals of the world’s two biggest nuclear powers and reduced their ability to launch a nuclear strike at short notice.

The INF treaty required the parties to destroy ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 km (310 to 3,420 miles).

The United Nations has urged the United States and Russia to preserve the treaty, saying its loss would make the world more insecure and unstable.

Last month Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is militarily ready for a Cuban Missile-style crisis if the United States wanted one and threatened to place hypersonic nuclear missiles on ships or submarines near U.S. territorial waters.

The Cuban Missile Crisis erupted in 1962 when Moscow responded to a U.S. missile deployment in Turkey by sending ballistic missiles to Cuba, sparking a standoff that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war.

More than five decades on, tensions are rising again over Russian fears that the United States might deploy intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Europe, as a landmark Cold War-era arms-control treaty unravels.

“We haven’t engaged any of our allies about forward deployment,” the U.S. defense official said. “Honestly, we haven’t been thinking about this because we have been scrupulously abiding by the treaty.”

(Reporting by Idrees Ali)

Source: OANN

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Dershowitz gives media an ‘F,’ says CNN chose Avenatti over him

Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz said Sunday that CNN kept him off the network due to his analysis of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation, and claimed that the channel once booted him from appearing on air in favor of troubled lawyer Michael Avenatti.

Dershowitz made the claims during an interview with Howard Kurtz on Fox News’ “Media Buzz,” saying that he knew “for a fact” that CNN President Jeff Zucker nixed his appearances because of Dershowitz’s views on the Russia investigation.

“CNN, which used to have me on all the time, on Anderson Cooper, on Cuomo, on Lemon, as an analyst, as a centrist analyst, they decided no, no, it is okay to have extreme Trump supporters, because people just use them as a stick figure exhibits,” Dershowitz said. “What they didn't want was a centrist liberal that went against their narrative.”

ALAN DERSHOWITZ: A PROSECUTOR'S JOB IS TO MAKE DECISIONS, MUELLER DIDN'T FINISH THE JOB

"Walter Cronkite could not get a job in the media today."

— Alan Dershowitz

CNN did not immediately respond to Fox News' requests for comment.

Dershowitz added that if he were to grade the media on their coverage of the Mueller probe, he'd give them an “F.”

“Even with grade inflation, I just think the media comes off awful, terrible, for the most part. I think we are seeing an elimination of the distinction between the editorial page and the news pages in some of the leading media in the country, and that’s a shame. Walter Cronkite could not get a job in the media today,” he added.

In regards to Zucker’s alleged order, Dershowitz said: “I asked [Zucker] how come I am not on anymore, and he said, oh, no, no, no, you will be on, but since the summer I’ve never been on a single time. I have been on all of the other networks repeatedly. But clearly, they made a decision. They did not want my kind of analysis.”

What appeared to really rile up the Harvard Law professor was that CNN chose frequently to use Avenatti – over Dershowitz – for its analysis of the Mueller investigation.

“They had a choice of a Harvard law professor for 50 years who has been getting it right, a centrist liberal and who has credibility, or Michael Avenatti,” Dershowitz said. “And they picked Michael Avenatti.”

He added: “He became their go-to guy. Every one of his predictions turned out to be false.”

Avenatti, who previously represented adult-film star Stormy Daniels in her feud with President Trump, recently has become embroiled in a series of legal quagmires of his own.

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Earlier this month, he was hit with a 36-count indictment that accused him stealing millions of dollars from clients, cheating on his taxes, lying to investigators and trying to hide money from debtors in bankruptcy proceedings.

Avenatti denied the charges on Twitter, saying he had made powerful enemies and would plead not guilty and fight the case. "I look forward to the entire truth being known as opposed to a one-sided version meant to sideline me," he tweeted.

The new charges did not include a New York extortion case alleging Avenatti demanded millions to stay quiet about claims he planned to reveal about Nike paying high school players.

Avenatti, 48, was arrested March 25 in New York on the Nike charge. Federal prosecutors at the time announced he also faced single counts of wire and bank fraud in Southern California, where he lives and practices law.

Fox News' Howard Kurtz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Mercedes’ Bottas out for Baku revenge

FILE PHOTO: Chinese Grand Prix
FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Chinese Grand Prix - Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China - April 13, 2019 Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas REUTERS/Aly Song

April 24, 2019

By Abhishek Takle

BAKU (Reuters) – Valtteri Bottas has a score to settle as he heads into Sunday’s Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix determined to make up for a lost win and regain the championship lead from Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton.

The Finn was leading around the streets of Baku last year when a puncture three laps from the end handed victory to Hamilton instead.

The Briton went on to win 10 more races on his way to a fifth title while Bottas ended the season demoralized and with zero wins.

The 29-year-old has come back from the winter stronger and looking more of a match for his team mate, even if Hamilton has returned to the top of the standings after chalking up his second win of the season in China on April 14.

“For sure I would prefer to still be leading but that’s the situation now and if I keep performing well I can turn it around,” said Bottas, who trails Hamilton by six points with 18 races remaining.

“So that’s going to be the goal for Baku,” added the Finn, who was on pole in China but dropped behind Hamilton at the start.

Mercedes head into Sunday’s race, the fourth since Azerbaijan joined the calendar in 2016, as favorites after three one-two finishes — the strongest start to a campaign since Williams in 1992.

They have also won two of the three races in Azerbaijan, even if it has not been a particularly happy hunting ground for Hamilton. Last year’s victory was his first podium appearance there.

MEAGER HAUL

Nothing can be taken for granted at a circuit that has served up some thrillers in the past, mixing ultra-long straights and tight corners with no margin for error.

Like Bottas, Ferrari will also be hoping to make a statement.

Already 57 points behind Mercedes in the overall standings, the pre-season favorites have a meager haul of two third-place finishes from the first three races and cannot afford to lose any more ground.

New recruit Charles Leclerc, smarting from being ordered to move over for four times champion Sebastian Vettel in China and denied a maiden Formula One win by engine trouble in Bahrain, will be especially fired up.

The circuit holds a special emotional significance for the Monegasque, who won a 2017 Formula Two race from pole position in Baku only days after the death of his father.

“Baku is a demanding track, but I can’t wait,” said the 21-year-old, who also scored his first Formula One points there last year with sixth place for Sauber. “I simply love it and I’ve always performed very well there.”

The unpredictability of the race means there’s always a chance for an unexpected podium finisher.

Since the 2016 race, Baku is the only grand prix on the calendar that has seen a driver outside of the top-three teams finish on the podium.

Mexican Sergio Perez, with two third places for Force India — now Racing Point — is the only driver to have stood on the podium more than once in Baku.

“It’s a big show,” said Max Verstappen who will pounce on any opportunity to snatch a win for Honda-powered Red Bull. “And hopefully this year’s race will make for a good story.”

(Editing by Alan Baldwin/Amlan Chakraborty)

Source: OANN

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Prize money in women’s golf nothing to complain about: Davies

FILE PHOTO: Women's British Open
FILE PHOTO: Golf - Women's British Open - Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club, Lytham Saint Annes, Britain - August 3, 2018 England's Laura Davies in action during the second round Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff

April 3, 2019

By Andrew Both

(Reuters) – Prize money in women’s golf pales in comparison to the riches on offer for men, but Laura Davies thinks the $70 million up for grabs on the LPGA Tour this year represents success by any reasonable measure.

Never mind that the PGA Tour will distribute about $500 million to its players in 2019. Women’s professional golf is doing just fine, according to Davies.

At 55, the Englishwoman, who has more than 30 years on the tour, remembers the days when only a couple of dozen elite LPGA players made a decent living, while the vast majority scraped by with barely enough to cover their expenses.

It is a different story now.

Last year 14 players had more than $1 million in official LPGA earnings, while 101 players cracked six figures. That does not take into account off-course earnings from sponsors and commercial endorsements.

“I think we’re doing great,” Davies told Reuters ahead of next month’s U.S. Senior Open at Pine Needles in North Carolina.

“At the U.S. Women’s Open this year, we play for $900,000 to the winner. Alright, the guys are getting two million, but who cares?

“If you’d told me back in my day when I was a genuine chance that if you win you’re going to get $900,000, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

KEEP PLAYING

While Davies has 20 LPGA victories, including four majors, she has not won since 2001, but finished in a tie for second at the Founders Cup lat year and believes that she could win again, which is why she plans to keep playing for as long as she can.

Davies still hits the ball further than many peers half her age, flying it some 260-270 yards with her driver and sometimes not even using a tee when she wants to hit a fade, but acknowledges her short game often lets her down.

“If my short game was better I’d be really competitive,” she said. “But my chipping is not as good.

“And I don’t hole as many putts as I used to, and these young girls are phenomenal now so I’ve got my work cut out, but I’m still trying.”

It is what keeps her on the LPGA Tour, when she could be well excused for choosing instead to tend to her vegetable garden at home in Surrey and enjoying her career earnings of more than $9 million.

“If I start shooting 77-plus every round then obviously I’ll be gone,” she said. “But while I can still shoot under par and feel like I’ve got a chance, if I wake up on Thursday morning and feel like I can win the event, I’ll keep going.”

It has been tough going so far this year with four missed cuts in four starts, but at the 50-and-over senior level she is in a class of her own.

Last year she won the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open by 10 shots over Juli Inkster at Chicago Golf Club and will defend her crown at Pine Needles from May 16-19.

And, no matter what, will be back again next year.

“I want to play 20 more (Senior Opens),” she said. “I have no plans to retire.”

(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

Source: OANN

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How Trump Can Help the Nation (and His 2020 Prospects)

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The chances of President Trump listening to or acting upon any re-election advice that I offer is slim to none. However, a course of action I’m about to suggest is actually more about presidential leadership and less about 2020 politics. But, since everything is about 2020 politics, let’s first dive into a Politico piece from Tuesday that chronicled Trump’s reaction to the Mueller report during a private Capitol Hill luncheon with Senate Republicans. The piece was headlined, “‘He's doing a victory lap’: Rejuvenated Trump pushes aggressive agenda post-Mueller.”

The “victory lap” quote was from Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia, but here is what I consider most significant:

“I look at this as sort of a new election. A fresh start,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally. He said Trump put it this way: “I’ve got this behind me now. It’s a fresh start. So let’s see what we can do — starting with health care.”

Whether the president has been offered a “fresh start” on his road to re-election is still legally and politically debatable, given that the entire Mueller report has yet to be released and other investigations continue. But, if Trump thinks and acts like he has been granted a fresh start, then, by golly, it is a fresh start.

Proof of his new attitude was seen Wednesday in the Drudge Report headline “Unshackled Trump May Attend White House Correspondents Dinner.” If true, that is tantamount to the action of a conquering king.

And, one can only imagine the exuberant sound bites that will emanate from his mouth during the first post-Mueller report rally in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Thursday night.

Hence, Trump’s perception of triumphing over his enemies is the foundational basis for the advice that I now offer him and his re-election campaign:

Give an Oval Office prime-time speech expressing his willingness to help heal a divided nation. Trump should ask all Americans to move beyond the Mueller report, leave the 2016 election in the rear-view mirror, and have a new attitude of working together to solve our nation’s most pressing problems.   

This is a golden opportunity to show presidential leadership. Just imagine the benefits of a speech that was at once contrite, humble and authentic in tone. The president has everything to gain by asking the American people for a new opportunity to be president of all Americans, not just his base. 

The speech should be billed as “State of the Union 2.0” with a message that Trump is willing to mend fences with the media, the intelligence community, Democrats, and his enemies at large, for the good of the nation.

Furthermore, he could offer to “smoke the peace pipe” with his “enemies” in the press by proposing a White House meeting with media leaders to reset their relationship, again, for the good of the nation. I would bet that media outlets whose credibility was damaged by Mueller’s findings would be receptive to the offer.

Imagine if a new “unshackled” Trump gave such a speech, showing that he was capable of more even-tempered traditional presidential leadership? The ratings would be record-breaking and Trump would love that.

Perhaps it would even increase his job approval rating. It currently stands at a static sub-44 percent with 51.9 disapproving, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average — even after Trump tweeted on Sunday, “No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION. KEEP AMERICA GREAT!”

Unfortunately, less than 24 hours later, that elation translated into troubling overreach when Tim Murtaugh -- the communications director for Trump’s 2020 campaign -- sent a memo asking networks to ban well-known guests from the airwaves. Among the names listed were House Intelligence Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.).

With memos like that, the president risks turning his new-found victory into defeat. After all, haven’t the American people had enough White House drama?

Therefore, a “fresh start” backed with a “healing” speech — while standing on a strong economy and his record of accomplishment — offers the president the opportunity to begin a new phase in his relationship with the American people, Congress, and the media.

Hey, Tim Murtaugh -- please consider my suggestion (a “wild” rally speech does not begin to qualify). But most important, and under no circumstances, should you use Trump’s “victory lap” as a justification for revenge. Such behavior is beneath the office of the president.

Myra Adams is a media producer and writer who served on the McCain Ad Council during the GOP nominee’s 2008 campaign and on the 2004 Bush campaign creative team.

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Costa Rican accused of sexual abuse expelled from priesthood

Roman Catholic officials in Costa Rica's capital say that a cleric accused of sexually abusing minors has been expelled from the priesthood.

Church spokesman Jason Granados says that the Vatican expelled Mauricio Viquez two weeks ago, but has been unable to locate him to notify him of the decision.

A Costa Rican court has issued an international detention request for Viquez, who is accused of abusing two teenagers in 2003. He took a leave of absence from teaching at a local university last month and immigration records indicate he left the country on Jan. 7.

The Vatican is also investigating San Jose Archbishop Jose Rafael Quiros, who is accused by Viquez's reported victims of covering up the abuse.

Source: Fox News World

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US Wants to Build More Tents at Border to Detain Migrants

The Trump administration wants to open two new tent facilities to temporarily detain up to 1,000 parents and children near the southern border, as advocates sharply criticize the conditions inside the tents already used to hold migrants.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a notice to potential contractors that it wants to house 500 people in each camp in El Paso, Texas, and in the South Texas city of Donna, which has a border crossing with Mexico.

Each facility would consist of one large tent that could be divided into sections by gender and between families and children traveling alone, according to the notice. Detainees would sleep on mats. There would also be laundry facilities, showers, and an "additional fenced-in area" for "outside exercise/recreation."

The notice says the facilities could open in the next two weeks and operate through year end, with a cost that could reach $37 million.

But the agency has said its resources are strained by the sharp rise in the numbers of parents and children crossing the border and requesting asylum. It made 53,000 apprehensions in March of parents and children traveling together, most of whom say they are fleeing violence and poverty in Central America. Many ultimately request asylum under U.S. and international law.

In a statement Tuesday, CBP said it urgently needed additional space for detention and processing.

"CBP is committed to finding solutions that address the current border security and humanitarian crisis at the southwest border in a way that safeguards those in our custody in a humane and dignified manner," the statement said.

The Border Patrol has started directly releasing parents and children instead of referring them to immigration authorities for potential long-term detention, but families still sometimes wait several days to be processed by the agency and released.

The Border Patrol processing center in McAllen is routinely over capacity . Kevin McAleenan, the new acting homeland security secretary, was scheduled to visit McAllen Tuesday and Wednesday.

In El Paso, hundreds of people are detained in tents set up at the center of a parking lot next to a patrol station. People detained there have complained of prolonged exposure to cold. The Border Patrol limits them to one warm layer of clothing, confiscates coats, and issues a Mylar blanket to each detainee, citing health and safety concerns.

U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragan, a California Democrat, visited the tents earlier this month. She said she had seen a mother with her 4-month-old child who had been there for five or more days, in conditions she said were "unhealthy."

Border Patrol officials have declined to allow the media inside the tents in El Paso.

Land near the bridge in Donna was used last year as a camp by active-duty soldiers when they were ordered to South Texas' Rio Grande Valley.

The Border Patrol also established a tent facility at Donna to hold migrants in December 2016, in the last weeks of the administration of former President Barack Obama, in response to a previous surge of migrants from Central America.

Sister Norma Pimentel, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley, said she had been allowed to visit the tent facility in 2016. She said that facility had been "open and clean," but noted she visited before it began detaining people.

"Detention is never a good idea for any family," Pimentel said. "I believe families are victims of a lot of abuse, and we just add to that abuse by the way we respond to handle and process them."

Source: NewsMax America

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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)

Source: OANN

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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)

Source: OANN

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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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