Upcoming shows
Real News

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Story Time

1:00 am 6:00 am



Maga First News

Upcoming Shows

Join The MAGA Network on Discord

0 0

Turkish Airlines aims to spread its wings at Istanbul’s giant new airport

A Turkish Airlines (THY) Boeing 737-800 aircraft prepares to take off at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul
A Turkish Airlines (THY) Boeing 737-800 aircraft prepares to take off at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, April 3, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

April 4, 2019

By Ceyda Caglayan and Dominic Evans

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – After three false starts and a labor protest over harsh working conditions, Turkey will fully open a new airport in Istanbul this week that will give its fast-growing flagship airline a platform to challenge Gulf rivals for regional dominance.

Authorities plan to shift flights from the city’s Ataturk Airport, on the edge of the Sea of Marmara, to the new airport 30 km (20 miles) north on the Black Sea shores, in a mammoth 45-hour transfer operation starting on Friday.

The $8 billion airport is one of several infrastructure mega-projects championed by President Tayyip Erdogan and will initially be able to handle 90 million passengers a year, a number which Turkey hopes to more than double by 2027.

That would make it the biggest in the world, measured against current airport operations globally.

“Istanbul Airport will rise to second place in terms of passenger numbers it serves in around five years,” Transport Minister Cahit Turhan told reporters in the gleaming departure hall. “When all phases are complete, Istanbul Airport will sit in the leader’s chair.”

The airport is supposed to be fully operational on Sunday after authorities transport 10,000 pieces of equipment, from massive aircraft-towing vehicles to sensitive security sensors, across the city in a complex two-day operation, after which Ataturk Airport will close for passenger flights.

The move should support Turkey’s ambition to make Istanbul a global aviation hub and will offer Turkish Airlines a chance to grow beyond the restrictions of Ataturk airport’s limited size.

After 15 years of rapid growth, the airline flies to more countries than any competitor, helped by its Istanbul base which is close to European, African and Middle Eastern destinations.

That location means many cities are within a 4-5 hour flight radius which can be flown by fuel-efficient, narrow-bodied planes. The relatively low costs helped deliver profit last year of 4.05 billion lira ($716 million).

With more slots available, the airline plans to increase its total fleet from 338 aircraft to 476 over the next four years, and analysts say it will challenge the three big regional competitors: Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad.

“It puts them on a level playing field with the Gulf carriers,” aviation expert John Strickland said.

However there are potential risks ahead. The airport is opening just as years of strong economic growth are grinding to a halt in Turkey, and any weakness in the domestic market could prove a drag on Turkish Airlines’ business.

‘HUGE THREAT’

Istanbul’s opening comes a decade ahead of the expansion of Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport to handle 130 million passengers a year, which has been pushed back to 2030.

Dubai-based Emirates will one day shift to the airport, which ultimately aims to be able to handle 260 million passengers a year. For now, Dubai plans to focus on Emirates’ current hub Dubai International, which handled nearly 90 million passengers in 2018.

The Gulf airlines already face testing times. Qatar Airways said last month it would report a second consecutive annual loss this year, after losing access to 18 Middle East destinations over a dispute with Gulf neighbors.

Emirates warned in November of tough times after first-half profit fell to its lowest in a decade, and Abu Dhabi has abandoned its goal of becoming a major air travel hub akin to Dubai.

Turkey’s aviation sector has become a “huge threat” to Gulf airlines, a senior executive at one Middle Eastern airport said, and also to rivals in Asia and Europe.

That includes Frankfurt Airport, one analyst said. It is the hub of Lufthansa, one of Europe’s largest airlines, and handled 69.5 million passengers last year. It is a roughly three-hour flight from Istanbul, slightly closer than the Gulf.

Turkish Airlines is not the only emerging rival.

Ethiopia overtook Dubai last year as a conduit for long-haul passengers to Africa, highlighting the success of the state airline’s drive to win back market share on routes to and from Africa which had been dominated by Turkish Airlines and Emirates.

Turkish Airlines has targeted fast-growing Asian economies, signing a code share agreement with India’s largest domestic carrier Indigo on December, and setting up a joint venture with China’s ZTO to extend its cargo operations.

“The upside of the new airport … is its potential to tap Chinese, Indian and other emerging Asian markets,” said Erdem Kayli, senior analyst at TEB Investment/BNP Paribas.

POLITICAL RISKS

The project has been plagued by delays and a protest last year over conditions for workers, after the government said 27 workers had died since construction started in 2015.

Full operations at the new airport have already been held up three times. Formally opened by Erdogan in October, it has handled fewer than 20 daily flights as the full opening was pushed back first to January, then March and now April.

The opening comes at a time when Turkey’s ties with the United States and Europe have frequently been strained. This presents another potential risk for Turkish Airlines – as Qatar’s dispute with other Arab states has shown, politics can damage a country’s carrier.

“There is uncertainty about Turkey’s relationships with other parts of the world, not least the United States,” Strickland said. “That gives uncertainty.”

The airport is one of the showcase projects of a 16-year construction boom under Erdogan, who has overseen the building of bridges, ports and railways that have transformed the country.

Some of the biggest schemes, including a planned 40-km shipping canal parallel to the Bosphorus, have been criticized as ill-conceived and wasteful.

Some analysts question whether the airport’s ultimate target of 200 million passengers a year is feasible, given the presence of a second international airport, Sabiha Gokcen, on Istanbul’s Asian side.

“It seems unrealistic to expect to reach such passenger numbers, because of airspace constraints,” said an aviation analyst at an international brokerage company who asked not to be named. “The city has another airport, and there’s a question mark whether total passenger numbers of the two airports can exceed 150 million.”

(Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Dubai; Editing by Pravin Char)

Source: OANN

0 0

REALLY RICH: Trump Campaign Already Has $40 million War Chest

Super Male Vitality

Limited Advanced Release

69.95

31.47

The all new and advanced Super Male Vitality formula uses the newest extraction technology with even more powerful concentrations of various herbs and extracts designed to be even stronger.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/smv-200.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

Super Male Vitality

69.95

31.47

The all new and advanced Super Male Vitality formula uses the newest extraction technology with even more powerful concentrations of various herbs and extracts designed to be even stronger.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/smv-200.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

Brain Force Plus

39.95

15.98

Flip the switch and supercharge your state of mind with the all-new Brain Force PLUS: 20% more capsules and a critically enhanced formula featuring a brand new ingredient and increased potency* – all for the same low price.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/bf-300-1.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

Brain Force Plus

39.95

15.98

Flip the switch and supercharge your state of mind with the all-new Brain Force PLUS: 20% more capsules and a critically enhanced formula featuring a brand new ingredient and increased potency* – all for the same low price.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/bf-300-1.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

Brain Force Plus

39.95

15.98

Flip the switch and supercharge your state of mind with the all-new Brain Force PLUS: 20% more capsules and a critically enhanced formula featuring a brand new ingredient and increased potency* – all for the same low price.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/bf-300-1.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

Brain Force Plus

39.95

15.98

Flip the switch and supercharge your state of mind with the all-new Brain Force PLUS: 20% more capsules and a critically enhanced formula featuring a brand new ingredient and increased potency* – all for the same low price.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/bf-300-1.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

Source: InfoWars

0 0

Bernie Sanders announces top staffers in wake of shakeup

One month after Sen. Bernie Sanders launched his second straight bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, his campaign is announcing major staffing decisions.

The independent senator from Vermont on Tuesday formally announced a slate of national staffers. The move comes just four days after Sanders highlighted that his presidential campaign would be the first in history to unionize. And the announcements come three weeks after a major shakeup at the campaign, with several top advisers from Sanders’ 2016 White House bid heading for the exits.

SANDERS CAMPAIGN EXPERIENCES SHAKEUP ONE WEEK AFTER LAUNCH

Among the announcements on Tuesday was that Faiz Shakir is serving as campaign manager. Shakir – who’s been on the job managing the campaign for a couple of weeks – joined Sanders from the ACLU, where he served as national political director.

Shakir succeeds Jeff Weaver, who managed the senator’s 2016 White House bid. It was previously announced that Weaver would serve as senior adviser on the 2020 campaign.

Rene Spellman will serve as deputy campaign manager. Spellman – who joined Sanders from Creative Artists Agency (CAA) – is a veteran of Sanders 2016 run, where she worked as national director of traveling press and media logistics

Ari Rabin-Havt will serve as the campaign’s chief of staff, moving over from Sanders’ Senate office. He’s also a one-time senior adviser to former Vice President Al Gore and then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

STITCHES FOR SANDERS AFTER CUTTING HEAD ON SHOWER DOOR

Veteran labor and grassroots organizer Analilia Mejia will serve as national political director, with Progressive Change Campaign Committee veteran Sarah Badawi serving as deputy political director.

Also being formally announced are six 2016 campaign veterans: Claire Sandberg as national organizing director, Heather Gautney as senior policy adviser, Arianna Jones as communications director, Sarah Ford as deputy communications director, Tim Tagaris as senior adviser, and Robin Curran as digital fundraising director.

Josh Orton – a senior adviser in Sanders’ Senate office – was named policy director. Briahna Gray – a former attorney, columnist and senior politics editor at The Intercept – will serve as national press secretary. David Sirota – an investigative journalist – will serve as communications adviser and speechwriter. And Georgia Parke – who also worked in Sanders’ Senate office – will serve as social media strategist.

Late last month, just days after Sanders launched his campaign,  three of the top advisers who helped propel the senator's 2016 White House bid -- Tad Devine, Julian Mulvey and Mark Longabaugh – parted ways with the 2020 campaign.

Regardless of the shakeup, Sanders came out of the gate in strong position. He drew large crowds to his first two rallies in New York City and Chicago and along with former Vice President Joe Biden, who’s likely to announce his bid next month, is near the top of the public opinion polls.

The self-described democratic socialist also raised a whopping $5.9 million in his first 24 hours as a candidate. That was the largest fundraising haul by a 2020 Democratic presidential nomination candidate, until it was topped by former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas, who last week hauled in $6.1 million on his first day as a White House contender.

Source: Fox News Politics

0 0

U.N. head wants democratic transition in Algeria

FILE PHOTO: Police officers attempt to disperse demonstrators trying to force their way to the presidential palace during a protest calling on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to quit, in Algiers
FILE PHOTO: Police officers attempt to disperse demonstrators trying to force their way to the presidential palace during a protest calling on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to quit, in Algiers, Algeria March 22, 2019. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

March 31, 2019

ALGIERS (Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday that he welcomed efforts towards a peaceful and democratic transition in Algeria, where weeks of protests have pushed for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to end his 20-year rule.

Addressing an Arab League summit in Tunis, Guterres said any steps should be made in a way “that addresses the concerns of the Algerian people in a timely way”.

On Saturday, the army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah, renewed a call for the Constitutional Council to rule whether the ailing 82-year-old Bouteflika is fit to rule, a move provided for under article 102 of the charter.

But his attempt to break the political impasse has failed to placate demonstrators, who reject military intervention in civilian matters and want to dismantle the entire ruling elite, which includes veterans of the war of independence against France, army officers, the ruling party and business tycoons.

Several close allies, including some members of the ruling FLN and union leaders, have abandoned Bouteflika, who has rarely appeared in public since suffering a stroke in 2013.

Leading Algerian businessman Ali Haddad, who was part of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s inner circle, has been arrested at the Tunisian border, a close associate said on Sunday.

“Yes, Haddad has been arrested,” his associate told Reuters on condition of anonymity, without elaborating. Several Algerian television stations broadcast news on the detention of Haddad, a media magnate who helped to fund Bouteflika’s election campaigns over the years.

Bouteflika’s announcement that he would not seek a fifth term but that he would not quit immediately has fuelled anger in the North African country, an oil and gas producer.

(Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)

Source: OANN

0 0

Chicago poised to elect African-American woman as mayor for first time, as 2 candidates head to runoff

Two African-American women clinched the top two spots in Chicago’s mayoral election Tuesday, meaning they will face each other in a runoff to become the Windy City’s first black female mayor.

Lori Lightfoot and Toni Preckwinkle beat 12 other candidates -- including William Daley, son of former Mayor Richard Daley -- but neither grabbed more than 50 percent of the vote, meaning there will be a runoff in April to succeed outgoing Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

RAHM EMANUEL WARNS DEMS NOT TO 'MIMIC' TRUMP'S POLITICS

According to The Chicago Tribune, unofficial results showed Lightfoot with 17.5 percent, Preckwinkle with 16 percent and Daley with 14.7 percent. Chicago has had a female mayor before, and an African-American mayor, but never an African-American woman as a mayor.

"What do you think of us now?" Lightfoot told supporters Tuesday night. "This is what change looks like."

She later congratulated Preckwinkle for reaching the runoff: "No matter which one of us wins, Chicago will make history on April 2nd by electing the first Black woman mayor. It's long overdue," she tweeted.

Lightfoot, a political outsider and the first openly gay woman to run for Chicago mayor, was the subject of an early apparent shot from Preckwinkle, a former City Council member and public school teacher, over her lack of political experience.

"It's not enough to stand at a podium and talk about what you want to see happen," Preckwinkle said. "You have to come to this job with the capacity and the capability to make your vision a reality."

According to the Tribune, Lightfoot had positioned herself as the progressive voice against an entrenched Chicago political machine, while Preckwinkle pitched herself as someone with a track record of taking on powerful interests.

“We may not yet be at the finish line, but we should acknowledge that history is being made,” Preckwinkle said in Hyde Part, according to the Tribune. “It’s clear we’re at a defining moment in our city’s history, but the challenges that our city faces are not simply ideological. It’s not enough to say Chicago stands at a crossroads. We need to fight to change its course.”

Turnout was low, with The Associated Press reporting that by late afternoon turnout was around 27 percent of registered voters. The prior low was 33.8 percent in 2007.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Lightfoot and Preckwinkle had both been critical of the city’s response to the 2014 police shooting of black teenager Laquan McDonald. Emanuel’s popularity dropped after the release of video of McDonald’s shooting, and he eventually decided not to seek re-election.

The runoff will take place on April 2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

0 0

Greek minister urges migrants to leave Greece’s northern border, return to camps

Migrants and refugees stand next to a camp in the town of Diavata in northern Greece
Migrants and refugees stand next to a camp in the town of Diavata in northern Greece, April 4, 2019.REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis

April 5, 2019

ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece on Friday urged hundreds of migrants and refugees who have gathered in a field close to the country’s northern border to return to their housing settlements, otherwise they could face sanctions.

Small groups of people including children arrived at a field next to the migrant camp of Diavata near the border with North Macedonia on Thursday.

By Friday morning there were more than 100 tents pitched in the field, prompted by reports on social media of plans for an organized movement to cross Greece’s northwest land border with Albania in early April.

“I am appealing to those people right now…to return to the accommodation centers,” Greek Migration Minister Dimitris Vitsas told Greek state television ERT.

“It’s a lie that the borders will open,” he said. “In international treaties, there are obligations but there are also sanctions”.

Police parked buses across a road in the area to block an access route.

Tens of thousands of refugees and migrants, mainly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, are stuck in Greece from when Balkan countries shut their borders in 2016. That route was the main passage way to northern Europe.

Vitsas said he hoped those in the field would leave by night.

(Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou, Additional reporting by Alexandros Avramidis)

Source: OANN

0 0

China video-streaming firm iQIYI targets raising $1.1 billion in convertible bonds

iQiyi Inc., logo is displayed on screen during company's IPO at Nasdaq Market Site in New York
The logo for Chinese streaming platform iQiyi Inc., is displayed on a screen during the company's initial public offering (IPO) at the Nasdaq Market Site in New York City, U.S., March 29, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

March 26, 2019

By Julia Fioretti

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese video-streaming service iQIYI Inc is looking to raise $1.05 billion in convertible bonds, the latest example of the growing popularity of the instrument among newly listed Chinese tech companies.

iQIYI announced the sale of its six-year convertible bonds on Tuesday, without disclosing the terms.

A term sheet seen by Reuters showed the bonds were being marketed with an indicative coupon range of between 2 percent and 2.5 percent. The company is hoping to lower its borrowing costs compared to its last convertible bond which had a shorter tenor and higher coupon.

The deal also has an over-allotment, or greenshoe, option of up to $150 million, meaning the total size could reach $1.2 billion.

Convertible bonds are a cheaper funding avenue due to their lower coupons in exchange for giving the bondholder the option of converting the debt into company shares at a set price in future. The bonds give investors fixed returns and the equity link provides the prospect of profiting from a rise in the issuer’s share price.

Sales of convertible bonds hit their highest level in Asia since the financial crisis last year, with $35.5 billion raised, according to Refinitiv data, driven by market volatility and rising borrowing costs.

iQIYI was offering a conversion premium of between 27.5 percent and 32.5 percent, according to the term sheet.

Its shares closed at $24.02 on Monday, almost half of their record high of $46.23 hit in June.

It is the second time the Netflix-like streaming service is selling a convertible bond, both within a year of its $2.4 billion Nasdaq initial public offering (IPO) in March 2018. In November it sold a $750 million five-year convertible bond with a coupon of 3.75 percent.

Technology companies in search of growth capital have increasingly turned to convertible bonds as a way of raising cheaper debt, given the companies are often unrated and have more volatile stock prices.

Electric vehicle maker NIO raised $650 million in a five-year convertible bond earlier this year, only four months after it went public in New York.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are joint bookrunners for iQIYI’s deal.

The deal will price after New York markets close on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Julia Fioretti; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

Source: OANN

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Story Time

1:00 am 6:00 am



Cambodian authorities have ordered a one-hour reduction in the length of school days because of concerns that students and teachers may fall ill from a prolonged heat wave.

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said in an announcement seen Friday that the shortened hours will remain in effect until the rainy season starts, which usually occurs in May. The current heat wave, in which temperatures are regularly reaching as high as 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit), is one of the longest in memory.

Most schools in Cambodia lack air conditioning, prompting concern that temperatures inside classrooms could rise to unhealthy levels.

School authorities were instructed to watch for symptoms of heat stroke and urge pupils to drink more water.

The new hours cut 30 minutes off the beginning of the school day and 30 minutes off the end.

School authorities instituted a similar measure in 2016.

Source: Fox News World

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

Explosions have rocked Britain’s largest steel plant, injuring two people and shaking nearby homes.

South Wales Police say the incident at the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot was reported at about 3:35 a.m. Friday (22:35 EDT Thursday). The explosions touched off small fires, which are under control. Two workers suffered minor injuries and all staff members have been accounted for.

Police say early indications are that the explosions were caused by a train used to carry molten metal into the plant. Tata Steel says its personnel are working with emergency services at the scene.

Local lawmaker Stephen Kinnock says the incident raises concerns about safety.

He tweeted: “It could have been a lot worse … @TataSteelEurope must conduct a full review, to improve safety.”

Source: Fox News World

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
The Wider Image: China's start-ups go small in age of 'shoebox' satellites
LinkSpace’s reusable rocket RLV-T5, also known as NewLine Baby, is carried to a vacant plot of land for a test launch in Longkou, Shandong province, China, April 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

April 26, 2019

By Ryan Woo

LONGKOU, China (Reuters) – During initial tests of their 8.1-metre (27-foot) tall reusable rocket, Chinese engineers from LinkSpace, a start-up led by China’s youngest space entrepreneur, used a Kevlar tether to ensure its safe return. Just in case.

But when the Beijing-based company’s prototype, called NewLine Baby, successfully took off and landed last week for the second time in two months, no tether was needed.

The 1.5-tonne rocket hovered 40 meters above the ground before descending back to its concrete launch pad after 30 seconds, to the relief of 26-year-old chief executive Hu Zhenyu and his engineers – one of whom cartwheeled his way to the launch pad in delight.

LinkSpace, one of China’s 15-plus private rocket manufacturers, sees these short hops as the first steps towards a new business model: sending tiny, inexpensive satellites into orbit at affordable prices.

Demand for these so-called nanosatellites – which weigh less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and are in some cases as small as a shoebox – is expected to explode in the next few years. And China’s rocket entrepreneurs reckon there is no better place to develop inexpensive launch vehicles than their home country.

“For suborbital clients, their focus will be on scientific research and some commercial uses. After entering orbit, the near-term focus (of clients) will certainly be on satellites,” Hu said.

In the near term, China envisions massive constellations of commercial satellites that can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for aircraft to tracking coal shipments. Universities conducting experiments and companies looking to offer remote-sensing and communication services are among the potential domestic customers for nanosatellites.

A handful of U.S. small-rocket companies are also developing launchers ahead of the expected boom. One of the biggest, Rocket Lab, has already put 25 satellites in orbit.

No private company in China has done that yet. Since October, two – LandSpace and OneSpace – have tried but failed, illustrating the difficulties facing space start-ups everywhere.

The Chinese companies are approaching inexpensive launches in different ways. Some, like OneSpace, are designing cheap, disposable boosters. LinkSpace’s Hu aspires to build reusable rockets that return to Earth after delivering their payload, much like the Falcon 9 rockets of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“If you’re a small company and you can only build a very, very small rocket because that’s all you have money for, then your profit margins are going to be narrower,” said Macro Caceres, analyst at U.S. aerospace consultancy Teal Group.

“But if you can take that small rocket and make it reusable, and you can launch it once a week, four times a month, 50 times a year, then with more volume, your profit increases,” Caceres added.

Eventually LinkSpace hopes to charge no more than 30 million yuan ($4.48 million) per launch, Hu told Reuters.

That is a fraction of the $25 million to $30 million needed for a launch on a Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Pegasus, a commonly used small rocket. The Pegasus is launched from a high-flying aircraft and is not reusable.

(Click https://reut.rs/2UVBjKs to see a picture package of China’s rocket start-ups. Click https://tmsnrt.rs/2GIy9Bc for an interactive look at the nascent industry.)

NEED FOR CASH

LinkSpace plans to conduct suborbital launch tests using a bigger recoverable rocket in the first half of 2020, reaching altitudes of at least 100 kilometers, then an orbital launch in 2021, Hu told Reuters.

The company is in its third round of fundraising and wants to raise up to 100 million yuan, Hu said. It had secured tens of millions of yuan in previous rounds.

After a surge in fresh funding in 2018, firms like LinkSpace are pushing out prototypes, planning more tests and even proposing operational launches this year.

Last year, equity investment in China’s space start-ups reached 3.57 billion yuan ($533 million), a report by Beijing-based investor FutureAerospace shows, with a burst of financing in late 2018.

That accounted for about 18 percent of global space start-up investments in 2018, a historic high, according to Reuters calculations based on a global estimate by Space Angels. The New York-based venture capital firm said global space start-up investments totaled $2.97 billion last year.

“Costs for rocket companies are relatively high, but as to how much funding they need, be it in the hundreds of millions, or tens of millions, or even just a few million yuan, depends on the company’s stage of development,” said Niu Min, founder of FutureAerospace.

FutureAerospace has invested tens of millions of yuan in LandSpace, based in Beijing.

Like space-launch startups elsewhere in the world, the immediate challenge for Chinese entrepreneurs is developing a safe and reliable rocket.

Proven talent to develop such hardware can be found in China’s state research institutes or the military; the government directly supports private firms by allowing them to launch from military-controlled facilities.

But it’s still a high-risk business, and one unsuccessful launch might kill a company.

“The biggest problem facing all commercial space companies, especially early-stage entrepreneurs, is failure” of an attempted flight, Liang Jianjun, chief executive of rocket company Space Trek, told Reuters. That can affect financing, research, manufacturing and the team’s morale, he added.

Space Trek is planning its first suborbital launch by the end of June and an orbital launch next year, said Liang, who founded the company in late 2017 with three other former military technical officers.

Despite LandSpace’s failed Zhuque-1 orbital launch in October, the Beijing-based firm secured 300 million yuan in additional funding for the development of its Zhuque-2 rocket a month later.

In December, the company started operating China’s first private rocket production facility in Zhejiang province, in anticipation of large-scale manufacturing of its Zhuque-2, which it expects to unveil next year.

STATE COMPETITION

China’s state defense contractors are also trying to get into the low-cost market.

In December, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) successfully launched a low-orbit communication satellite, the first of 156 that CASIC aims to deploy by 2022 to provide more stable broadband connectivity to rural China and eventually developing countries.

The satellite, Hongyun-1, was launched on a rocket supplied by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the nation’s main space contractor.

In early April, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT), a subsidiary of CASC, completed engine tests for its Dragon, China’s first rocket meant solely for commercial use, clearing the path for a maiden flight before July.

The Dragon, much bigger than the rockets being developed by private firms, is designed to carry multiple commercial satellites.

At least 35 private Chinese companies are working to produce more satellites.

Spacety, a satellite maker based in southern Hunan province, plans to put 20 satellites in orbit this year, including its first for a foreign client, chief executive Yang Feng told Reuters.

The company has only launched 12 on state-produced rockets since the company started operating in early 2016.

“When it comes to rocket launches, what we care about would be cost, reliability and time,” Yang said.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

At least one person is reported dead and homes have been destroyed by a powerful cyclone that struck northern Mozambique and continues to dump rain on the region, with the United Nations warning of “massive flooding.”

Cyclone Kenneth arrived just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore into central Mozambique, killing more than 600 people and displacing scores of thousands. The U.N. says this is the first time in known history that the southern African nation has been hit by two cyclones in one season.

Forecasters say the new cyclone made landfall Thursday night in a part of Mozambique that has not seen such a storm in at least 60 years.

Mozambique’s local emergency operations center says a woman in the city of Pemba was killed by a falling tree.

Source: Fox News World

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer holds annual general meeting
Werner Baumann, CEO of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer AG, attends the annual general shareholders meeting in Bonn, Germany, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

April 26, 2019

By Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger

BONN (Reuters) – Bayer shareholders vented their anger over its stock price slump on Friday as litigation risks mount from the German drugmaker’s $63 billion takeover of seed maker Monsanto.

Several large investors said they will not support aspirin investor Bayer’s management in a key vote scheduled for the end of its annual general meeting.

Bayer’s management, led by chief executive Werner Baumann, could see an embarrassing plunge in approval ratings, down from 97 percent at last year’s AGM, which was held shortly before the Monsanto takeover closed in June.

A vote to ratify the board’s actions features prominently at every German AGM. Although it has no bearing on management’s liability, it is seen as a key gauge of shareholder sentiment.

“Due to the continued negative development at Bayer, high legal risks and a massive share price slump, we refuse to ratify the management board and supervisory board’s actions during the business year,” Janne Werning, representing Germany’s Union Investment, a top-20 shareholder, said in prepared remarks.

About 30 billion euros ($34 billion) have been wiped off Bayer’s market value since August, when a U.S. jury found the pesticide and drugs group liable because Monsanto had not warned of alleged cancer risks linked to its weedkiller Roundup.

Bayer suffered a similar defeat last month and more than 13,000 plaintiffs are claiming damages.

Bayer is appealing or plans to appeal the verdicts.

Deutsche Bank’s asset managing arm DWS said shareholders should have been consulted before the takeover, which was agreed in 2016 and closed in June last year.

“You are pointing out that the lawsuits have not been lost yet. We and our customers, however, have already lost something – money and trust,” Nicolas Huber, head of corporate governance at DWS, said in prepared remarks for the AGM.

He said DWS would abstain from the shareholder vote of confidence in the executive and non-executive boards.

Two people familiar with the situation told Reuters this week that Bayer’s largest shareholder, BlackRock, plans to either abstain from or vote against ratifying the management board’s actions.

Asset management firm Deka, among Bayer’s largest German investors, has also said it would cast a no vote.

Baumann said Bayer’s true value was not reflected in the current share price.

“There’s no way to make this look good. The lawsuits and the first verdicts weigh heavily on our company and it’s a concern for many people,” he said, adding it was the right decision to buy Monsanto and that Bayer was vigorously defending itself.

This month, shareholder advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis recommended investors not to give the executive board their seal of approval.

(Reporting by Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Current track

Title

Artist