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Kremlin: Putin-Kim summit details not clear yet

The Kremlin spokesman says it is not clear yet when and where the Russian president and the North Korea leader will meet for a rare summit.

Dmitry Peskov said Monday details are still being worked out on the rare talks between Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Peskov has confirmed reports that the preparations for the meeting are underway.

Kim's previous major negotiations, with U.S. President Donald Trump in February, collapsed after the two sides failed to bridge their differences over U.S. sanctions and the North Korean nuclear program.

Putin has publicly supported the talks between Trump and Kim but said that North Korea needs to be given solid security guarantees if it were to give up its nuclear arsenal.

Source: Fox News World

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Trump overrides advisers, backs funding for Special Olympics after uproar

U.S. President Trump departs on travel to Michigan from the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs on travel to Grand Rapids, Michigan from the White House in Washington, U.S., March 28, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos Barria?

March 28, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump overrode his budget team and backed funding for the Special Olympics on Thursday after his proposed cuts to the athletic program drew heavy fire from both Republicans and Democrats.

Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2020, which he released earlier this month, would have zeroed out funding for the Special Olympics, which has an allocation of $17.6 billion this fiscal year.

There was no sign that Congress was going to agree to defund the popular Special Olympics program in spite of Trump’s proposal. He had sought to cut funding last year as well and lawmakers added the funding back into the budget.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos had struggled to defend the proposal in testimony to Congress and both Trump’s Republicans and opposition Democrats had denounced the move.

The Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities or physical disabilities.

Talking to reporters on the White House South Lawn, Trump said he had just heard about the controversy on Thursday morning.

“I’ve been to the Special Olympics, I think it’s incredible and I just authorized a funding,” Trump said. “I heard about it this morning. I have overridden my people. We’re funding the Special Olympics.”

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Source: OANN

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Thousands march in Hong Kong over proposed extradition law changes

Demonstrators march during a protest to demand authorities scrap a proposed extradition bill with China, in Hong Kong
Demonstrators march during a protest to demand authorities scrap a proposed extradition bill with China, in Hong Kong, China March 31, 2019. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

March 31, 2019

By Jessie Pang and Noah Sin

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Thousands of people protested in Hong Kong on Sunday against a government plan to change extradition laws, fearing an erosion of personal freedom and the city’s status as an international business hub.

The Hong Kong government proposal, announced in February, would grant the city’s leader executive power to send fugitives to jurisdictions not covered by existing arrangements, including Mainland China and Taiwan.

Protest organizers said 12,000 people took the streets on Sunday, while police estimated the crowd at 5,200 at its peak.

“Hong Kong people all have to bear the negative consequence of this ordinance. This carries the risk of personal freedom being restricted,” Lam Wing-kee, a bookseller who said in 2016 he was detained by Chinese agents, told the crowd.

The government said last week it will present the amendments to legislators on Wednesday.

The planned changes have been strongly opposed by some lawmakers, legal and rights groups who fear that it could be exploited by Beijing’s Communist Party leaders and hurt Hong Kong’s judicial independence.

“We are gravely concerned that anyone extradited to China will be at risk of torture and other ill-treatment and other grave human rights violations,” Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor wrote in an open letter to Carrie Lam, the city’s leader, on Sunday.

Since Hong Kong reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997 with the guarantee that it would enjoy a high degree of autonomy and freedoms not allowed in mainland China, there has been no formal mechanism for the surrender of fugitives to mainland China.

Hong Kong’s Secretary for Security, John Lee, told reporters last week the government had no plans to scrap the bill.

“It is not an easy decision, but it is a cautious, careful, and serious decision,” he said, adding that the Hong Kong government “has the sole right to decide whether or not to process (extradition requests).”

Hong Kong’s business community has expressed concern over the inclusion of economic and financial crimes in the bill. The government later removed nine types of crime relevant to bankruptcies, financial trading and intellectual property.

But there is still a risk of rendition to jurisdictions that do not share Hong Kong’s level of “protections for the legitimate rights of defendants,” the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong said.

“We strongly believe that the proposed arrangements will reduce the appeal of Hong Kong to international companies considering Hong Kong as a base for regional operations,” the chamber said in a statement on Friday.

(Reporting by Jessie Pang and Noah Sin; Writing by James Pomfret and Noah Sin; editing by Darren Schuettler)

Source: OANN

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China’s economy still faces downward pressure: premier

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attends a meeting with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang attends a meeting with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde (not pictured) at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China April 24, 2019. Parker Song/Pool via REUTERS

April 24, 2019

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s economy still faces downward pressure and the government will counter such pressure by deepening reforms and cutting taxes, state television quoted Premier Li Keqiang as saying on Wednesday.

The government will keep economic growth within a reasonable range, Li said.

(Reporting by China monitoring desk and Kevin Yao; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source: OANN

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Australian teen who cracked raw egg over lawmaker's head donating GoFundMe money to mosque massacre victims

An Australian teenager who gained notoriety for cracking an egg on the head of a senator from his homeland who disparaged Muslims after the massacre at two New Zealand mosques Friday said he is donating most of the more than $50,000 in his GoFundMe page to victims of the tragedy, according to published reports.

Will Connolly, who is 17, made global headlines after he broke the raw egg on the head of Australian Senator Fraser Anning, who blamed the mass killing by Australian suspect Brenton Harrison Tarrant on New Zealand's immigration policies.

After the massacre, Anning, known for his controversial comments about immigration, immediately began tweeting and releasing statements disparaging Muslims.

He tweeted: "Does anyone still dispute the link between Muslim immigration and violence?”

And in a statement, Anning said: “The real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place.”

Anning was in Melbourne speaking to reporters on Saturday when Connolly walked up behind him and cracked the egg on the politician’s head.

Anning punched Connolly and the politician’s supporters grabbed the teenager, holding him down on the floor until the police arrived.

The video of the incident went viral on social media, with many people hailing the “Egg Boy” a hero, and some saying that violence at the massacre was not to be addressed with more violence. An artist painted a mural of the incident to honor the teen, and musicians have offered Connolly free concert tickets. T-shirts bearing the image of Connolly’s face are for sale.

Others say that to praise Connolly is to support violence.

Actor Dean Cain, who played Superman in the TV show “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” denounced Connolly on Twitter.

“I would have knocked that kid cold,” he wrote.

Police released Connolly without charge. But a GoFundMe page with a goal of $50,000 had been set up to cover any legal fees Connolly might have faced.

By Monday morning, more than $51,000 had been raised.

After his release, Connolly tweeted: “Don't egg politicians. You get tackled by 30 bogans at the same time. I learnt the hard way.”

And he noted: “This was the moment I felt so proud to exist as a human being. Let me inform all you guys, Muslims are not terrorists and terrorism has no religion. All those who consider Muslims a terrorist community have empty heads like Anning.”

On Sunday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said that Anning's comments were "a disgrace.”

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And Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Anning should feel “the full force of the law” for assaulting Connolly after being egged.

On Sunday, Anning remained defiant, saying he would not apologize for his comments or actions.

"I don't regret anything I do," he said regarding striking Connolly, according to the New Zealand Herald. "I defended myself, that's what Australians do, usually, they defend themselves."

Anning added: "He got a slap across the face which is what his mother should have given him a long time ago because he's been misbehaving badly."

The police released a statement saying the entire matter, including the actions by Connolly and Anning, is under investigation.

“The incident is being actively investigated by Victoria Police in its entirety,” the statement said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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Hiring rebounds as US employers add a solid 196,000 jobs

Hiring rebounded in March as U.S. employers added a solid 196,000 jobs, up sharply from February's scant gain and evidence that many businesses still want to hire despite signs that the economy is slowing.

The unemployment rate remained at 3.8%, near the lowest level in almost 50 years, the Labor Department reported Friday. Wage growth slowed a bit in March, with average hourly pay increasing 3.2% from a year earlier. That was down from February's year-over-year gain of 3.4%, which was the best in a decade.

The figures reported Friday suggest that February's anemic job growth — revised to 33,000, from an initial 20,000 — was merely a temporary blip and that businesses are confident the economy remains on a firm footing. Even with the current expansion nearly 10 years old, the U.S. economy is showing resilience.

At the same time, the economy is facing several challenges, from cautious consumers to slower growth in business investment to a U.S.-China trade war that is contributing to a weakening global economy.

So far this year, job gains have averaged 180,000 a month, easily enough to lower the unemployment rate over time, though down from a 223,000 average last year.

In March, job growth was strongest in the service sector. Health care added 61,000 jobs, restaurants and bars 27,000 and professional and business services, which includes high-paying fields such as engineering and accounting, added 37,000.

Manufacturers cut 6,000 jobs, while construction added 16,000.

The overall economy is sending mixed signals. Most indicators suggest slower growth this year compared with 2018. That would mean that hiring might also weaken from last year's strong pace.

In February, employers added a surprisingly low 20,000 jobs, the fewest in nearly a year and a half, though that pullback likely reflected extreme weather and other temporary factors. Another weak jobs report Friday, though, would fuel concerns about a downshift in growth.

Consumers have shown caution so far this year. Retail sales fell in February, and a broader measure of consumer spending slipped in January, potentially reflecting a waning effect of the Trump administration's tax cuts. Businesses have also reined in their spending on industrial machinery and other equipment and on factories and other buildings.

And in Europe and Asia, weaker economies have reduced demand for U.S. exports. Europe is on the brink of recession, with its factories shrinking in March at the fastest pace in six years, according to a private survey.

The U.S. trade war with China has weighed on the Chinese economy, which has hurt Southeast Asian nations that ship electronic components and other goods that are assembled into consumer products in China's factories.

Economists now forecast that the U.S. economy will expand roughly 2% to 2.5% this year, down from 2.9% last year. Still, most economists have forecast a bounce-back in hiring in March to about 170,000 added jobs, according to data provider FactSet. The unemployment rate is expected to remain near a half-century low of 3.8%.

Some positive signs for the economy have emerged in recent weeks: Sales of both new and existing homes rose in February after declining last year. More Americans are applying for mortgages now that rates have fallen.

And some of the weakness in spending earlier this year likely reflected delays in issuing tax refunds because of the government shutdown. Refunds largely caught up with their pace in previous years in March, economists at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said, suggesting that spending may as well.

The low unemployment rate and steady hiring have also raised Americans' paychecks. Average wages grew 3.4% in February compared with a year ago, the fastest such pace since the recession.

If wage growth continues to accelerate, it should fuel more spending and lift the economy in the coming months.

Source: Fox News National

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Mixed martial arts-Bellator set to go toe-to-toe with UFC in Europe

Head of Bellator Europe David Green poses for a photograph at a Bellator mixed martial arts (MMA) fight week media event in Dublin
Head of Bellator Europe David Green poses for a photograph at a Bellator mixed martial arts (MMA) fight week media event in Dublin, Ireland February 21, 2019. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

February 22, 2019

By Philip O’Connor

DUBLIN (Reuters) – A new TV deal in Britain and a focus on the European market from American mixed martial arts promotion Bellator will open more opportunities for fighters outside of the dominance of the UFC, Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh has told Reuters.

The Irish MMA pioneer says that Saturday’s event in his hometown of Dublin, which will be broadcast on Sky Sports in the UK and Ireland, will mark the start of a new era in the sport.

“Saturday night is a changing point for what it is to be an MMA fighter in Ireland and the UK. Until now if you’re a pro on the local scene, you’re fighting for a couple of hundred euros.

“Now with Bellator and the Sky Sports deal, there’s opportunities for guys to make a living, and not just the top guys,” explained Kavanagh, who shepherded former two-weight champion McGregor and many others to success in the UFC.

Aspiring pro fighters like McGregor who trained at Kavanagh’s Straight Blast Gym previously aimed to get to the UFC. But Kavanagh says that Bellator’s rise has opened up more opportunities, and that the vast majority of his current fighters have signed deals with them.

“The UFC is going to do what the UFC is going to do, think they are more invested in the American and maybe the Chinese market now as of late, and Bellator are more in the European market,” he said.

“My relationship is very strong with Bellator and I’m committed to helping them corner the European market.”

Fighters and officials spoke to the media on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s Bellator 216 card at Dublin’s O2 Arena where brash 22-year-old James Gallagher, thought of as the heir to McGregor, tops the bill in a bantamweight bout against Steven Graham.

Asked what made him choose Bellator over the UFC or another rival promotion, Gallagher laughs.

“A load of money! I’ve always wanted to display my skills on the biggest stage, and the offer they made me changed my life. It enables me to train day in, day out. I’ve got no worries, only to show up, train and win,” the submission specialist from Strabane in Northern Ireland told Reuters.

European fighters trying to make their mark in the sport often struggle to make ends meet financially, and former amateur world champion Leah McCourt says Bellator’s investment and the Sky TV deal will make it easier for them.

“It’s life-changing for all of us, to be able to make a living rather than being in debt after every fight and paying our expenses,” she said.

“I think we work harder than any athletes in the world to be able to step in that cage and fight, so it’s so exciting to have such a massive audience now.”

STRUGGLE TO COMPETE

Started in California in 2008, Bellator has previously struggled to compete on an equal footing with the UFC, which celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2018 and boasts big names like McGregor, Jon Jones and the retired Ronda Rousey.

The UFC introduced the concept of staging fights with very limited rules in an octagonal cage back in 1993 and generates much of its revenue from pay-per-view events staged mostly in the U.S.

It was sold in 2017 for around four billion dollars to Talent agency WME-IMG and no other promotion has ever really threatened its dominance.

More recently, Bellator has tried to take them on by signing popular ex-UFC fighters and staging high-profile fights of their own. But the sudden pivot to Europe and the announcement of deals in Britain with Sky Sports and Channel 5 is a huge boost to the promotion’s credibility and visibility.

“We are coming here and it’s not just a toe in the water – it’s coming in fully-fledged with a really big proposal, to come into Europe and put on some really big shows, showcase the talent and give them a roadmap to fighting all over the world,” David Green, Bellator’s Head of Europe, told Reuters.

Though the TV deal with Sky Sports is only for one year initially, Green says that the promotion is taking a long-term view.

“We don’t need a quick win. We’re trying to build this in the right way, building public awareness, brand awareness, the size of the gates… certainly, there is an opportunity to be the biggest in Europe, without a doubt.”

Can they be the biggest in the world?

“Well, you know, you’ve got to aim high,” Green said with a wry smile.

(Editing by Christian Radnedge)

Source: OANN

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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)

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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)

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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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