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New Zealand digs graves as mosque massacre toll rises to 50

Anguished relatives were anxiously waiting Sunday for authorities to release the remains of those who were killed in massacres at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch, while authorities announced the death toll from the racist attacks had risen to 50.

Islamic law calls for bodies to be cleansed and buried as soon as possible after death, usually within 24 hours. But two days after the worst terrorist attack in the country's modern history, relatives remained unsure when they would be able to bury their loved ones.

Police Commissioner Mike Bush said police were working with pathologists and coroners to release the bodies as soon as they could.

"We have to be absolutely clear on the cause of death and confirm their identity before that can happen," he said. "But we are so aware of the cultural and religious needs. So we are doing that as quickly and as sensitively as possible."

Police said they had released a preliminary list of the victims to families, which has helped give closure to some relatives who were waiting for any news.

The scale of the tragedy and the task still ahead became clear as supporters arrived from across the country to help with the burial rituals in Christchurch and authorities sent in backhoes to dig new graves in a Muslim burial area that was newly fenced off and blocked from view with white netting.

The suspect in the shootings, 28-year-old white supremacist Brenton Harrison Tarrant, appeared in court Saturday amid strict security, shackled and wearing all-white prison garb, and showed no emotion when the judge read him one murder charge and said more would likely follow.

Bush said at a news conference Sunday that they found another body at Al Noor mosque as they finished removing the victims, bringing the number of people killed there to 42. Another seven people were killed at Linwood mosque and one more person died later at Christchurch Hospital.

Another 34 victims remained at Christchurch Hospital, where officials said 12 were in critical condition. And a young child who was in a children's hospital in Auckland was also listed as critical.

Dozens of Muslim supporters gathered at a center set up for victims, families and friends across the road from the hospital, where many had flown in from around New Zealand to offer support. About two dozen men received instructions on their duties Sunday morning, which included Muslim burial customs.

Abdul Hakim, 56, of Auckland, was among many who had flown in to help.

"As soon as people die we must bury them as soon as possible," Hakim said. "We are all here to help them in washing the body, putting them in the grave."

Javed Dadabhai, who flew from Auckland after learning about the death of his 35-year-old cousin Junaid Mortara, said the Muslim community was being patient.

"The family understands that it's a crime scene. It's going to be a criminal charge against the guy who's done this, so they need to be pretty thorough," he said.

Still, it was hard, he said, because the grieving process wouldn't really begin until he could bury his cousin.

People across New Zealand were still trying to come to terms with the massacre that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described as "one of New Zealand's darkest days."

A steady stream of mourners arrived at a makeshift memorial outside the Al Noor mosque, where hundreds of flowers lay piled amid candles, balloons and notes of grief and love. As a light rain fell, people clutched each other and wept quietly.

Under a nearby tree, someone had left a potted plant adorned with cut out red paper hearts. "We wish we knew your name to write upon your heart. We wish we knew your favorite song, what makes you smile, what makes you cry. We made a heart for you. 50 hearts for 50 lives."

Tarrant, the suspect, had posted a jumbled 74-page anti-immigrant manifesto online before the attacks and apparently used a helmet-mounted camera to broadcast live video of the slaughter.

The gunman livestreamed 17 minutes of the rampage at the Al Noor mosque, where he sprayed worshippers with bullets. Facebook, Twitter and Google scrambled to take down the video, which was widely available on social media for hours after the bloodbath.

The second attack took place at the Linwood mosque about 5 kilometers (3 miles) away.

Ardern has said Tarrant was a licensed gun owner who bought the five guns used in the crimes legally.

Ardern reiterated her promise that there will be changes to the country's gun laws in a news conference Sunday, saying her Cabinet will discuss the policy details on Monday.

Arden used some of her strongest language yet about gun control, saying that laws need to change and "they will change."

Neighboring Australia has virtually banned semi-automatic rifles from private ownership since a lone gunman killed 35 people with assault rifles in 1996.

Before Friday's attack, New Zealand's deadliest shooting in modern history took place in 1990 in the small town of Aramoana, where a gunman killed 13 people following a dispute with a neighbor.

___

Associated Press writers Kristen Gelineau and Stephen Wright in Christchurch, and Rod McGuirk in Canberra, Australia, contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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NFL notebook: Giants wide receiver Shepard gets hefty extension

NFL: New York Giants at Atlanta Falcons
FILE PHOTO: Oct 22, 2018; Atlanta, GA, USA; New York Giants wide receiver Sterling Shepard (87) stiff arms Atlanta Falcons defensive back Sharrod Neasman (41) in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

April 11, 2019

The New York Giants are finalizing a four-year, $41 million contract extension with wide receiver Sterling Shepard, NFL Network reported Wednesday.

The deal includes $21.3 million in guaranteed money, according to ESPN.

Shepard, a second-round pick out of Oklahoma in 2016, set career highs last season with 66 catches for 872 yards. He has started 42 of his 43 games with the Giants, catching 190 passes for 2,286 yards and 14 touchdowns.

The Giants also re-signed wide receiver Russell Shepard (no relation), who confirmed the news on social media.

–Meanwhile, the Giants hosted former New York Jets cornerback Morris Claiborne and former Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Corey Liuget on free agent visits, ESPN reported.

A former first-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys, the 29-year-old Claiborne started 30 games over the last two seasons for the Jets, breaking up 22 passes and making three interceptions.

Liuget, 29, was released by the Chargers earlier this offseason. He has 24 career sacks since being drafted in the first round in 2011, though just three since 2015. He missed 10 games last season due to a suspension and a knee injury.

–Projected top-five NFL draft pick Nick Bosa admitted in an interview with ESPN that he has scrubbed his Twitter account clean of anything that could be considered political.

Bosa, a former Ohio State defensive end, frequently had tweeted his support for President Donald Trump, and he also criticized former San Francisco 49ers quarterback-turned-social activist Colin Kaepernick.

However, knowing he could wind up in a liberal city, such as San Francisco, where the 49ers hold the No. 2 pick, he chose to clean the slate.

–At least three more quarterbacks reportedly are visiting this week with the Washington Redskins, who hold the No. 15 pick in this month’s draft.

NFL Network said Duke’s Daniel Jones, Ohio State’s Dwayne Haskins and Northwestern’s Clayton Thorson all have meetings scheduled with the Redskins, who have already hosted Missouri’s Drew Lock and Auburn’s Jarrett Stidham.

Jones will visit Wednesday night and Thursday, Thorson meets with the team Wednesday, and Haskins is due sometime this week, according to NFL Network. West Virginia’s Will Grier is also expected at Redskins Park in the coming days, according to NBC Sports Washington.

–Free agent tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins signed a contract with the New England Patriots. Terms were not announced, but multiple outlets reported it’s a one-year deal for the veteran minimum.

The team also confirmed the re-signing of kicker Stephen Gostkowski.

Meanwhile, ESPN reported the Patriots brought in former Broncos and Texans wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and former Jaguars running back T.J. Yeldon for free agent visits.

–The Jets signed former Alliance of American Football quarterback Brandon Silvers, the team announced.

Silvers, 24, started three games for the Memphis Express and passed for 777 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. In four seasons at Troy from 2014-17, Silvers passed for 10,677 yards with 71 TDs and 29 picks.

The Jets also brought former Chiefs running back Spencer Ware in for a visit and will host former Packers and Ravens running back Ty Montgomery on a visit on Thursday, ESPN reported.

–The Buffalo Bills signed former Lions and 49ers defensive end Eli Harold to a one-year deal.

Harold, 25, had a career-high four sacks along with five quarterback hits in 13 games as a reserve last season for the Lions, who acquired him from the 49ers late in training camp.

A third-round pick in 2015, Harold has nine career sacks in 61 games (25 starts).

–The Dallas Cowboys released guard Parker Ehinger and defensive tackle Aziz Shittu.

Ehinger, 26, was acquired from the Chiefs in a trade during training camp last year, but he sustained a season-ending knee injury less than a week later and missed the whole season. He started four games in 2016 and one in 2017 with Kansas City.

Shittu, 24, was on and off the Cowboys’ practice squad last season. He has not appeared in a regular-season NFL game.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Volkswagen’s Audi to cut 10 percent of management positions: CEO in Handelsblatt

FILE PHOTO: The Audi booth displays the company logo at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit
FILE PHOTO: The Audi booth displays the company logo at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. January 16, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

February 20, 2019

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s premium auto brand Audi plans to eliminate one layer of management or about 10 percent of the division’s executive positions in a cost cutting drive, the unit’s chief executive told daily Handelsblatt.

“One thing is clear, our cost base is too high,” Audi CEO Bram Schot was quoted as saying.

He reaffirmed a target for a total of 15 billion euros ($17 billion) in cost savings through 2022.

Audi said in December it would invest 14 billion euros through 2023 in electric mobility, digitalization and autonomous driving.

The division is at risk of losing its position as VW’s leading development center as the parent explores potential technology alliances with Ford and other rivals.

Audi aims to reduce the number of engine types by one third and it is also in talks with shop stewards about stopping the night shift at its Ingolstadt factory, Schot was quoted as saying by Handelsblatt.

(Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

Source: OANN

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Democrats support expanding Medicare, with some caveats that could matter to voters

FILE PHOTO: Former Gov. John Hickenlooper speaks at the United States Conference of Mayors winter meeting in Washington
FILE PHOTO: Former Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) speaks at the United States Conference of Mayors winter meeting in Washington, U.S., January 24, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

March 13, 2019

By Amanda Becker and Ginger Gibson

WASHINGTON/ST. GEORGE, S.C. (Reuters) – After launching his 2020 presidential bid last week, John Hickenlooper took a different stance on establishing a “Medicare-for-all” government health insurance program than many of his Democratic competitors.

“I probably would oppose Medicare-for-all just because there are over 150 million people, Americans who have some form of private insurance through their business, and the vast majority of them are happy with that,” the former Colorado governor said on MSNBC. He added he supported reaching universal health insurance coverage by another route.

In contrast, five of the U.S. senators seeking the Democratic presidential nomination – Kamala Harris, Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand and Bernie Sanders – back a Medicare-for-all bill that would replace the current mix of private and government coverage with a plan provided solely by the government.

The candidates’ positions highlight a divide in the growing field on one of the defining issues in the Democratic Party’s primary battle. While Democrats have long pushed for some type of universal healthcare, the Medicare-for-all proposal has met resistance from more centrist party members concerned about the hefty price tag and disrupting voters’ current coverage.

Medicare also will likely remain an issue for the general election in November 2020, with Democrats already criticizing President Donald Trump’s proposal on Monday to slash $845 billion from the program’s budget over the next decade.

New Reuters/Ipsos polling suggests the details of any Medicare overhaul will matter to voters. While a majority of Democrats generally favor establishing a Medicare-for-all system, their support would drop if that system also raised their taxes or did not deliver the same quality of care, according to the survey, conducted from Feb. 27 to March 4.

(For a graphic on the poll: https://tmsnrt.rs/2Uxt1Eh)

Eighty-five percent of Democrats said they strongly or somewhat supported a Medicare-for-all health insurance program, but just 27 percent thought it should completely eliminate private insurance.

Thirty-nine percent of Democrats said they would be somewhat less likely or much less likely to support a Medicare-for-all program if their income taxes increased, and 42 percent said their support would decrease if the program raised the national budget deficit.

More than half of Democrats – 64 percent – said they would be less likely to support a Medicare-for-all program if it covered less than their current health insurance plan, and 52 percent said they would be less likely to support it if they had to wait longer to receive non-emergency care, according to the poll.

Thirty-nine percent of Republicans said they supported a Medicare-for-all program to some degree, along with 65 percent of independents.

CANDIDATES STAKE POSITIONS

Democratic candidates eager to show their progressive credentials have quickly lined up in support of Medicare expansion but are thus far short on specifics.

Harris declared herself a “big proponent of Medicare-for-all” as she campaigned in South Carolina, an early primary state, over the weekend.

“Access to affordable healthcare should not be a privilege for those who can pay it, it should be a right for everybody,” she said at a town hall in the rural town of Hemingway, offering a personal story about how her mother’s death from cancer was easier to navigate thanks to Medicare.

The California senator’s campaign has said, however, that she would also be open to more moderate, incremental proposals, after she suggested eliminating private health insurance altogether at a CNN town hall in January.

The Senate plan authored by Sanders and co-sponsored by Harris, Gillibrand, Booker and Warren would finance the Medicare expansion through a combination of taxes on employers, individuals, businesses and the wealthy.

The liberal Urban Institute estimated that an earlier, nearly identical Sanders plan would cost $32 trillion over a decade, with the additional taxes raising about $15 trillion.

Washington state Governor Jay Inslee, a business-friendly Democrat, said in an interview with Reuters that he supports attaining universal healthcare “as quickly as possible” but has not made up his mind about a Medicare-for-all proposal, or allowing people younger than 65 to buy into the program.

Senator Amy Klobuchar supports universal healthcare and expanding Medicare, but has not signed onto Sanders’ proposal or committed to any plans that would eliminate private insurance.

Voters at Harris’ events in South Carolina offered mixed views on the best approach.

Xavaier and Jennette Wescott of Charleston said they like their private insurance but might be willing to switch coverage in order to transition to a universal health insurance system.

“For those who need it, it should be instilled,” said Xavaier Wescott, 57, a retired firefighter. “Nowadays it’s hard to get insurance for those who can’t afford, and it’s hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle if you don’t.”

Jennette Wescott suggested a Medicare phase-in for young people.

About 64 percent of Democrats and 48 percent of Republicans in the Reuters/Ipsos poll said they would enroll in Medicare if the eligibility age were lowered and they were given the opportunity.

Brittany Dickson, 28, of Summerville, South Carolina, said her current high-deductible private plan would justify paying additional taxes to finance a Medicare-for-all system. She has a $5,000 deductible before her private insurance kicks in.

“Still have to pay all this money before insurance covers anything,” Dickson said. “I pay taxes for a lot of different stuff anyway. I think it’s for a good cause.”

The Reuters/Ipsos online poll of 2,936 people was conducted Feb. 27 to March 4. It has a credibility interval, a measure of the poll’s precision, of 2 percentage points.

(Reporting by Amanda Becker in Washington and Ginger Gibson in South Carolina; additional reporting by Chris Kahn in New York and Sharon Bernstein in Seattle; editing by Colleen Jenkins and Dan Grebler)

Source: OANN

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5 bloody mob-related killings in America

The killing of Francesco “Franky Boy” Cali in New York City this week has shed light on past mob-related in hits in America.

Here are summaries of his death and four other gruesome organized-crime killings that have made headlines over the years:

Frank Cali

New York police are hunting the hitman who gunned down Francesco “Franky Boy” Cali on Wednesday -- witnesses and officials say the killer then made sure the 53-year-old Gambino mob boss was dead by running over him with a blue pickup truck.

Cali was shot outside his house in the Todt Hill section of Staten Island around 9:20 p.m.

Cali became the notorious crime family’s acting boss in 2015, replacing Domenico Cefalu, then 68, according to the New York Daily News.

Paul Castellano

Castellano was the leader of the Gambino crime family when he was shot to death outside Sparks Steakhouse in Midtown Manhattan in 1985.

Detectives stand over body of reputed mob boss Paul Castellano, after execution on 46th St. Body of Castellano's chauffeur, Thomas Bilotti, lies partially covered in the street, far left. (Photo By: Tom Monaster/NY Daily News via Getty Images)

Detectives stand over body of reputed mob boss Paul Castellano, after execution on 46th St. Body of Castellano's chauffeur, Thomas Bilotti, lies partially covered in the street, far left. (Photo By: Tom Monaster/NY Daily News via Getty Images)

The 70-year-old owned a sprawling mansion in the same neighborhood as Cali, dubbed “The White House”, according to SI Live.

After exiting a limousine outside the restaurant, Castellano and his underboss, Thomas Bilotti, were approached by three men in trench coats who shot them each about six times, The New York Times reported at the time.

Subsequent media accounts linked the whacking to Gambino capo and future don John Gotti.

Frank DeCicco

DeCicco was the No. 2 figure in the Gambino family in 1986 when he died in a car bombing in Brooklyn.

Police sources told The New York Times that year it was likely he died in retaliation for Castellano’s killing or was the victim of a power struggle within the Gambino family.

Frank DeCicco was killed in a car bombing in Brooklyn in 1986.

Frank DeCicco was killed in a car bombing in Brooklyn in 1986.

Police say DeCicco “took the brunt of the blast” when he opened the passenger side door of a 1985 Buick Electra. The deadly device was hidden under the car’s front end and its explosion was strong enough to shatter windows of shops and buildings nearby.

Vincent Zito

The 77-year-old, who'd in the past been arrested in connection with loan sharking, was found dead in his Brooklyn home in October 2018.

Zito’s grandson, who lived at the property, came home from school one day to find his grandfather’s lifeless body in the living room with a handgun lying next to him and two gunshot wounds in the back of his head, according to the New York Post.

Vincent Zito was found dead in his Brooklyn home in October 2018.

Vincent Zito was found dead in his Brooklyn home in October 2018. (Google Maps)

The newspaper cited a past report saying Zito’s still-living older brother, Anthony, has ties to the Lucchese crime family and was jailed in the 1970s for extortion.

Whitey Bulger

At one time, the notorious Boston mob boss James “Whitey” Bulger was one of the most wanted criminals in America. But at the age of 89 — roughly five years after he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for his role in 11 murders, Bulger was found dead in 2018 a West Virginia prison.

This file booking photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows James "Whitey" Bulger.

This file booking photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows James "Whitey" Bulger.

Bulger, who evaded federal authorities for years prior to his 2011 arrest in Santa Monica, Calif., was killed the same day he was moved to the facility.

Fox News’ Stephen Sorace and Madeline Farber contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Supreme Court Case Could Help Pick 2024 Election Winners

Joshua A. Douglas writes that if the Supreme Court agrees to the Trump administration's request to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, it would result in an undercount in states -- directly impacting the Electoral College and congressional representation.

Read Full Article »

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A large, flightless bird kills its Florida owner

A large, flightless bird native to Australia and New Guinea killed its Florida owner when it attacked him after he fell.

The Alachua County Fire Rescue Department told the Gainesville Sun that a cassowary killed the man Friday on his property near Gainesville, likely using its long claws. The victim's name was not released.

Cassowaries are similar to emus and stand up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall and weigh up to 130 pounds (59 kilograms). The San Diego Zoo's website calls them the world's most dangerous bird with a four-inch (10-centimeter), dagger-like claw on each foot that can cut open people or predators.

They have black body feathers and bright blue heads and necks.

They are not raised for food, but are sought after by collectors.

Source: Fox News National

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One of Joe Biden’s newly-hired senior advisers has seemingly had a very recent change of heart.

Symone Sanders, a prominent Democratic strategist and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., staffer in 2016, was announced as one of the big-name members of Team Biden on Thursday.

But Sanders, who has also served as a CNN contributor, is seen in resurfaced footage from November 2016 expressing her opposition to a white person leading her party after Donald Trump’s election.

“In my opinion, we don’t need white people leading the Democratic party right now,” Sanders told host Brianna Keilar during a discussion on Howard Dean potentially becoming DNC chairman.

BIDEN HIRES FORMER BERNIE SANDERS’ SPOKESPERSON AS SENIOR ADVISER

“The Democratic party is diverse, and it should be reflected as so in leadership and throughout the staff, at the highest levels. From the vice chairs to the secretaries all the way down to the people working in the offices at the DNC,” she said.

Sanders wrapped up her remarks by saying: “I want to hear more from everybody. I want to hear from the millennials and the brown folks.”

Footage of the interview was resurfaced by RealClearPolitics.

After news of her hiring broke on Thursday, Sanders backed her new boss on Twitter.

TRUMP ASSESSES 2020 DEMS; TAKES SWIPES AT BIDEN, SANDERS; DISMISSES HARRIS, O’ROURKE; SAYS HE’S ROOTING FOR BUTTIGIEG

“@JoeBiden & @DrBiden are a class act. Over the course of this campaign, Vice President Biden is going to make his case to the American ppl. He won’t always be perfect, but I believe he will get it right,” she wrote.

The hiring of Sanders has been viewed as another indication of the expected tough fight that Biden and Sanders are in for as the two frontrunners battle a deep Democratic field.

While Sanders himself didn’t torch Biden as he jumped into the race, it’s clear that many of his progressive supporters view the former vice president as a threat.

Biden’s entry into the race – at least in the early going – sets up a battle between himself and Sanders, who thanks to his fierce fight with eventual nominee Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination, enjoys name ID on the level of the former vice president.

BIDEN VOWS THAT ‘AMERICA IS COMING BACK,’ SPARKING ‘MAGA’ COMPARISONS

Justice Democrats — who also called Biden “out-of-touch” – is an increasingly influential group among the left of the party. They’ve championed progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York as well as Sanders. The group was founded by members of Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.

Biden has pushed back against the perception that he’s a moderate in a party that’s increasingly moving to the left. Earlier this month he described himself as an “Obama-Biden Democrat.”

And Biden said he’d stack his record against “anybody who has run or who is running now or who will run.”

Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile – a Fox News contributor – highlighted that “Joe Biden can occupy his own lane in large part because he’s earned it. He’s earned the right to call himself whatever.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But she emphasized that “elections are not about the past, they’re about the future…I do believe he has the right ingredients. The question is can he find enough people to help him stir the pot.”

Fox News Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad
FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad, California, U.S., April 22, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Amit Dave and Mayank Bhardwaj

AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – PepsiCo Inc has sued four Indian farmers for cultivating a potato variety that the snack food and drinks maker claims infringes its patent, the company and the growers said on Friday.

Pepsi has sued the farmers for cultivating the FC5 potato variety, exclusively grown for its popular Lay’s potato chips. The FC5 variety has a lower moisture content required to make snacks such as potato chips.

PepsiCo is seeking more than 10 million rupees ($142,840.82) each for alleged patent infringement.

The farmers grow potatoes in the western state of Gujarat, a leading producer of India’s most consumed vegetable.

“We have been growing potatoes for a long time and we didn’t face this problem ever, as we’ve mostly been using the seeds saved from one harvest to plant the next year’s crop,” said Bipin Patel, one of the four farmers sued by Pepsi.

Patel did not say how he came by the PepsiCo variety.

A court in Ahmedabad, the business hub of Gujarat, on Friday agreed to hear the case on June 12, said Anand Yagnik, the lawyer for the farmers.

“In this instance, we took judicial recourse against people who were illegally dealing in our registered variety,” A PepsiCo India spokesman said. “This was done to protect our rights and safeguard the larger interest of farmers that are engaged with us and who are using and benefiting from seeds of our registered variety.”

PepsiCo, which set up its first potato chips plant in India in 1989, supplies the FC5 potato variety to a group of farmers who in turn sell their produce to the company at a fixed price.

The All India Kisan Sabha, or All India Farmers’ Forum, has asked the Indian government to protect the farmers.

The farmers’ forum has also called for a boycott of PepsiCo’s Lay’s chips and the company’s other products.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

PepsiCo is the second major U.S. company in India to face issues over patent infringement.

Stung by a long-standing intellectual property dispute, seed maker Monsanto, which is now owned by German drugmaker Bayer AG, withdrew from some businesses in India over a cotton-seed dispute with farmers, Reuters reported in 2017. (reut.rs/2ncBknn)

(Reporting by Amit Dave in AHMEDABAD and Mayank Bhardwaj in NEW DELHI; Editing by Martin Howell and Louise Heavens)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the NYSE in New York
FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By P.J. Huffstutter and Shradha Singh

CHICAGO/BENGALURU (Reuters) – Archer Daniels Midland Co said on Friday it was considering spinning off its ethanol business after slim biofuel margins and Midwestern floods slammed the U.S. grains merchant’s profit, which tumbled 41 percent in the first quarter.

ADM said it was creating an ethanol subsidiary, which will include dry mills in Columbus, Nebraska; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Peoria, Illinois.

The ethanol subsidiary will report as an independent segment, the company said, allowing options “which may include, but are not limited to, a potential spin-off of the business to existing ADM shareholders.”

Results were hit by the “bomb cyclone” blizzards that devastated the Midwest and Great Plains this year, causing massive flooding across Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, washing out rail lines and wreaking havoc in the moving and processing of corn, soybeans and wheat. One-sixth of U.S. ethanol production was halted.

In March, ADM warned Wall Street that flooding and severe winter weather in the U.S. Midwest would reduce its first-quarter operating profit by $50 million to $60 million.

“The first quarter proved more challenging than initially expected,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Juan Luciano, with earnings down in its starches, sweeteners and bioproducts unit. Luciano said impacts of the severe weather ultimately “were on the high side of our initial estimates”.

Ongoing problems in the ethanol industry added to the problems and “limited margins and opportunities” for ADM, Luciano said.

The ethanol industry has been in the midst of a historic downswing due to the U.S.-China trade war, excess domestic supply and weak margins.

ADM, which had been an ethanol pioneer, signaled to Wall Street in 2016 that it was hunting for options and considering sales of its U.S. dry ethanol mills. Luciano told Reuters this year that offers ADM had received for the mills were too low.

In addition, ADM said it planned to repurpose its corn wet mill in Marshall, Minnesota, to produce higher volumes of food and industrial-grade starches.

Other major traders are alsy trying to distance themselves from struggling ethanol businesses. Louis Dreyfus Company BV spun off its Brazilian sugar and ethanol business Biosev in 2013. Rival Bunge sold its sugar book and has sought a buyer for its Brazilian mills since 2013.

ADM, which makes money trading, processing and transporting crops, such as corn, soybeans and wheat, has been looking to strengthen its core business. Last month it said it would seek voluntary early retirements of some North American employees and cut jobs as part of a restructuring effort.

The company expects to lower 2019 capital spending by 10 percent to between $800 million and $900 million.

Net earnings attributable to the company fell to $233 million, or 41 cents per share, in the three months ended March 31, from $393 million, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell to $15.30 billion from $15.53 billion. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 46 cents per share, while analysts on average had estimated 60 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)

Source: OANN

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The Slack app logo is seen on a smartphone in this illustration
FILE PHOTO: The Slack app logo is seen on a smartphone in this picture illustration taken September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Slack Technologies Inc, operator of the popular workplace instant-messaging app, reported a loss of $140.7 million in the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2019, the company said on Friday in a regulatory filing ahead of its planned public market debut.

The company said its daily active users exceeded 10 million in the three months ended Jan. 31, 2019.

Slack expects to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SK”, it said.

The San Francisco-based company is seeking to go public via a direct listing, making it the second big technology company after Spotify Technology SA to bypass the traditional route of listing shares through an initial public offering.

A direct listing is a cheaper way of becoming a public company as the process requires fewer investment banks and therefore lower fees.

In a direct listing, however, a company does not sell any new shares to raise money. Instead, it gives existing shareholders the opportunity to cash out.

Slack is the latest in a string of high-profile technology companies looking to go public this year. Lyft Inc, Pinterest and Zoom Video Communications have completed IPOs so far in 2019.

The company is hoping for a valuation of more than $10 billion in the listing, Reuters had previously reported. Some early investors and employees have been selling the stock at around $28, valuing the company close to $17 billion, Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge, a brokerage company, told CNBC on Thursday.

Slack set a placeholder amount of $100 million to indicate the size of the IPO. The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its first IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different.

Its competitors include Microsoft Teams, a free chat add-on for Microsoft’s Office365 users.

(Reporting By Aparajita Saxena and Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler and Anil D’Silva)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Candidate Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of an exit poll in Ukraine's presidential election in Kiev
FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy reacts following the announcement of the first exit poll in a presidential election at his campaign headquarters in Kiev, Ukraine April 21, 2019. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Matthias Williams

KIEV (Reuters) – Russia’s decision to make it easier for residents of rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine to obtain a Russian passport is meant to test Ukraine’s new leader and the West should not recognize the documents, Lithuania’s foreign minister said on Friday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the order on facilitating passports on Wednesday, three days after comedian Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a political novice, won a landslide victory in Ukraine’s presidential election.

Linas Linkevicius, whose own country also has strained relations with Moscow, told Reuters in an interview that the West should consider imposing new sanctions on Russia.

“This is a blatant violation of international law. And basically also a kind of test to the new (Ukrainian) leadership, which is also a usual game,” Linkevicius said.

“The least we can do (is) we shouldn’t recognize these passports. How to do that technically, it’s another issue to discuss. Also (we need) to look at additional sanctions,” said Linkevicius, whose small Baltic nation is a member of NATO and the European Union.

Western nations imposed sanctions on Russia over its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and its support for armed separatists battling Kiev’s forces in eastern Ukraine. Some 13,000 people have been killed in that conflict despite a notional ceasefire signed in Minsk in 2015.

Linkevicius, who in Kiev on Friday became the first minister of an EU country since Ukraine’s election to meet President-elect Zelenskiy, said they had discussed the passport issue.

Zelenskiy also raised the possibility of resetting the Minsk ceasefire agreement without giving any concessions to Russia, Linkevicius said.

“DANGEROUS CANCER” OF GRAFT

The minister urged Zelenskiy to deliver on his electoral promise of tackling corruption, which he described as the “most dangerous cancer” facing Ukraine, which hopes one day to join the EU.

Last month, Lithuania’s own relations with Russia came under renewed strain after a Vilnius court found former Soviet defense minister Dmitry Yazov, in absentia, guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in a 1991 crackdown against Lithuania’s pro-independence movement.

Russia branded the verdict “extremely unfriendly and essentially provocative” and opened a probe into the judges involved.

Linkevicius accused Russia of seeking to politicize the judicial process by trying to take revenge on the judges, adding: “This is lamentable.”

(Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: OANN

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