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Erdogan says those who buy FX expecting lira to fall will pay ‘heavy price’

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses supporters during a rally for the upcoming local elections, in Istanbul
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he addresses AK Party and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) supporters during a rally for the upcoming local elections, in Istanbul, Turkey March 24, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

March 24, 2019

ISTANBUL (Reuters) – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday those in the finance sector who buy foreign currencies on the expectation that the lira will fall will pay “a very heavy price”, adding the Finance Ministry is carrying out work on this.

Speaking at an election rally in Istanbul, he said “some people” had begun provoking Turkey and that they are attempting to make the lira decline against foreign currencies with their cooperators in Turkey.

The Turkish lira tumbled more than 4 percent against the U.S. dollar on Friday, its biggest one-day fall since a currency crisis took hold in August, raising concerns that Turks are buying more foreign cash as ties with Washington deteriorate.

(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen)

Source: OANN

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Mexico-U.S. meeting on Friday to address border traffic: Mexican president

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador looks on during a meeting with industry bosses and members of his cabinet to discuss the new administration's policy on the minimum wage at National Palace in Mexico City
FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador looks on during a meeting with industry bosses and members of his cabinet to discuss the new administration's policy on the minimum wage at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico December 17, 2018. REUTERS/Edgard Garrido/File Photo/File Photo

April 12, 2019

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – High-level talks between U.S. and Mexican officials in the eastern Mexican city of Merida on Friday will touch on the U.S.-Mexico border and improving the flow of traffic there, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said.

Lopez Obrador was speaking at his regular morning news conference prior to traveling to Merida, where officials are meeting over two days as part of a recurring cross-border forum of business leaders known as the U.S.-Mexico CEO Dialogue.

(Reporting by Dave Graham; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Air Force squadrons showcase 'overwhelming combat airpower' during elephant walk

A squadron of USAF aircraft "elephant walked" down an Alaskan military base on Tuesday as part of a routine to demonstrate their combat airpower and response abilities.

The “elephant walk,” which refers to the close formation of military aircraft before takeoff, comprised of 24 F-22 Raptor stealth fighters, a C-17 Globemaster III transport and an E-3 Sentry. The demonstration took place at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, according to Stars and Stripes.

The routine was part of Polar Force, a two-week exercise that allows squadrons to showcase "their abilities to forward deploy and deliver overwhelming combat airpower," officials said.

24 F-22 Raptors, a C-17 Globemaster III and an E-3 Sentry gathered on the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson flight line.

24 F-22 Raptors, a C-17 Globemaster III and an E-3 Sentry gathered on the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson flight line. (Facebook/3rd Wing @JBER3WG)

Air Force officials posted photos of the close-formation taxi on Facebook. Video from the exercise shows the aircraft taking off one by one before returning to the airstrip.

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The F-22 Raptors are from the 3rd Wing and 477th Fighter Group, which are both associated with Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

Source: Fox News National

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NBA roundup: Turner’s triple-double leads Blazers

NBA: Portland Trail Blazers at Minnesota Timberwolves
Apr 1, 2019; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard Rodney Hood (5) shoots the ball over Minnesota Timberwolves forward Andrew Wiggins (22) during the third quarter at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Harrison Barden-USA TODAY Sports

April 2, 2019

Rodney Hood scored 21 points, and Evan Turner came off the bench for a triple-double as the Portland Trail Blazers pulled away for a 132-122 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night in Minneapolis.

Turner went 5-for-5 from the field while collecting 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in only 24 minutes for the Trail Blazers, who have won 10 of their past 12 contests.

Enes Kanter contributed 20 points, 11 rebounds and five blocked shots, and Seth Curry scored 19 points for Portland, which shot 54.9 percent from the field and made 15 of 30 3-point attempts.

Andrew Wiggins had 21 points, and Karl-Anthony Towns scored 17 points with 12 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who have lost eight of their past 10. Tyus Jones had 14 points and 10 assists.

Bucks 131, Nets 121

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points, 14 of them in the fourth quarter, to lead Milwaukee to a win over Brooklyn in New York.

With the win, the Bucks’ magic number for clinching home-court advantage throughout the playoffs is one. The Toronto Raptors kept pace with the Bucks in the race for the best record in the league by beating the Orlando Magic.

The Nets remained a half-game ahead of the Pistons in seventh place in the Eastern Conference as Detroit lost to Indiana. All five Bucks starters scored in double figures, led by Eric Bledsoe with 29 points. D’Angelo Russell paced the Nets with 28 points.

Raptors 121, Magic 109

Danny Green scored a season-best 29 points and added five rebounds to help Toronto defeat visiting Orlando, which had won seven of its eight previous games.

The Raptors gained a split in the four-game season series with the Magic, who are still trying to get into the playoffs. Orlando remains a half-game back of the Miami Heat, who also lost Monday, for the final spot in the East.

Kawhi Leonard added 15 points and seven rebounds for the Raptors. Serge Ibaka scored 15 points. Evan Fournier scored 21 points for the Magic, and Nikola Vucevic had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Celtics 110, Heat 105

Al Horford’s second career triple-double led host Boston over Miami in the opener of a home-and-home as the Heat narrowly held onto the eighth and final playoff spot in the East.

Horford had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double since 2015. Kyrie Irving added 25 points and eight rebounds, Jayson Tatum scored 19, and Marcus Smart had 16 points as the Celtics maintained a share of fourth place in the Eastern Conference, along with Indiana.

Goran Dragic scored 30 to lead the Heat, while Bam Adebayo had 19 points and 14 rebounds and Dwyane Wade chipped in 17 points in his last regular-season game in Boston.

Jazz 111, Hornets 102

Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points to lead a balanced attack that propelled Utah over Charlotte Hornets in Salt Lake City despite a 47-point night from the Hornets’ Kemba Walker.

Rudy Gobert added 18 points and 18 rebounds for the Jazz while Ricky Rubio chipped in 20 points and 13 assists. Five players scored in double figures to help the Jazz win for the 10th time in 11 games.

Jeremy Lamb added 23 for Charlotte, which dropped their third straight game on their current four-game road trip.

Mavericks 122, 76ers 102

Justin Jackson scored 24 points to carry host Dallas past Philadelphia. Trey Burke added 16 points for Dallas while Salah Mejri contributed 16 points to go along with a season-best 14 rebounds.

Dwight Powell scored 14 points and rookie Jalen Brunson had 13 for the Mavericks, who won handily despite the fact that Luka Doncic wasn’t available because of a thigh injury.

JJ Redick led the Sixers with 26 points while Tobias Harris added 25. Ben Simmons scored 17. The Sixers, who played without center Joel Embiid (load management) and guard Jimmy Butler (back), had their brief two-game winning streak snapped. Philadelphia is 7-8 without Embiid this season.

Pacers 111, Pistons 102

Thaddeus Young and Bojan Bogdanovic led a balanced attack with 19 points apiece and host Indiana topped Detroit in Indianapolis.

Young also had nine rebounds and five assists, while Bogdanovic racked up seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Domantas Sabonis delivered 18 points and 12 rebounds off the bench before fouling out.

Wayne Ellington led the Pistons with a season-best 26 points. Reggie Jackson supplied 22 points, six rebounds and four assists while Andre Drummond contributed 18 points, 17 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Thon Maker added 14 points, six rebounds and four blocks.

Knicks 113, Bulls 105

Luke Kornet scored a career-high 24 points on 8-for-11 shooting, and New York pulled away for a win over visiting Chicago. Kornet hit 5 of 7 shots from beyond the 3-point arc, pulled down six rebounds and blocked three shots as part of one of the best performances of his two-year career.

His previous high was 23 points, which he reached once as a rookie and twice this season. New York snapped a six-game losing streak and won for only the second time in its past 16 games. The Knicks’ most recent victory had been March 17 against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Robin Lopez scored a game-high 29 points for Chicago, which lost its fifth game in a row. JaKarr Sampson added 22 points off the bench in his Bulls debut after appearing in 169 games with three teams over parts of the past four seasons.

Suns 122, Cavaliers 113

Devin Booker, who scored 25 points and handed out 13 assists, was one of four Phoenix players with double-doubles as the Suns ended a six-game losing streak by beating visiting Cleveland.

Josh Jackson came off the Phoenix bench for 19 points, 10 rebounds, a career-high five blocks and four assists. Richaun Holmes had 13 points and 10 rebounds, Dragan Bender contributed 12 points and 10 boards.

Collin Sexton led the Cavaliers with 21 points, one more than Jordan Clarkson. Tristan Thompson and Ante Zizic each scored 15, and Brandon Knight had 10 as Cleveland lost its sixth game in a row.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Al Shabaab attacks Somali government building in Mogadishu, at least nine dead

A rickshaw is seen near the scene of a suicide explosion after al-Shabaab militia stormed a government building in Mogadishu
A rickshaw is seen near the scene of a suicide explosion after al-Shabaab militia stormed a government building in Mogadishu, Somalia March 23, 2019. REUTERS/Feisal Omar

March 23, 2019

By Abdi Sheikh

MOGADISHU (Reuters) – Somalia’s al Shabaab stormed a government building on Saturday, detonating a suicide car bomb in the heart of the capital Mogadishu with at least nine people, including an assistant minister, killed during an ensuing gun battle.

The large explosion shook the center of Mogadishu and a large plume of smoke rose above the scene of the blast, a building that houses Somalia’s ministries of labor and works.

It was the latest bombing claimed by Al Shabaab, an Islamist group which is fighting to establish its own rule in Somalia, based on a strict interpretation of sharia law.

“So far seven people died including an assistant minister who is also an MP,” Major Mohamed Hussein, a police officer told Reuters, identifying the minister as Saqar Ibrahim Abdala, assistant labor minister.

Hussein said two of the al Shabaab fighters who entered the building after an initial suicide car bomb had been killed in a firefight and that much of the building had been secured.

“We believe there are other militants hiding themselves,” he said, adding that 20 people had been injured in the assault.

Dr. Abdikadir Abdirahman, director of Amin Ambulance Service told Reuters some people were still trapped inside the building and that it was not possible to rescue them because of an ongoing gun battle.

Al Shabaab said one of its fighters had rammed the ministry building with a suicide car bomb, allowing others to enter.

“We are inside the building and (the) fighting goes on. We shall give details later,” Abdiasis Abu Musab, Al Shabaab’s military operation spokesman told Reuters.

Al Shabaab, which is trying to topple Somalia’s western backed central government, was ejected from Mogadishu in 2011 and has since been driven from most of its other strongholds.

But it remains a threat, with its fighters frequently carrying out bombings in Somalia and neighbouring Kenya, whose troops form part of the African Union mandated peacekeeping force AMISOM that helps defend Somalia’s central government.

(Additional reporting Feisal Omar; writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Louise Heavens and Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

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Confusion clouds Biden’s 2020 campaign launch

When, where and how Joe Biden announces his long-awaited 2020 presidential bid appears to be up in the air – still.

While initial indications pointed to a Wednesday launch, the timing remains in flux, as does the location. At this stage, the only key element that seems to have crystallized is the theme for the campaign rollout.

SANDERS TOPS BIDEN IN NEW NH 2020 POLL, BUTTIGIEG SURGES TO THIRD

“The theme for the announcement is going to be ‘the battle for the soul of America,’” said a source close to Biden’s inner circle, who asked for anonymity to speak more freely.

The former vice president is expected to open his third bid for the Democratic presidential nomination with a message that describes the current climate in the nation and takes on Republican President Trump. In a likely video announcing his candidacy, Biden’s expected to stress the stakes for the country and what kind of leadership is demanded for this moment in the nation’s history.

But other details surrounding the launch remain fluid, including where the former vice president goes in the hours and initial days after the declaration of candidacy.

A source told Fox News last week that Wednesday was the likely day of the launch. But that same source said on Monday evening that plans were in flux and that Thursday appeared to be more likely for Biden’s announcement.

Also up in the air is whether Biden’s rollout would include an event or multiple events on the day of the launch. There are reports he’ll declare his candidacy in Pittsburgh -- with some reports now even suggesting he'll announce there on Monday -- before heading to Philadelphia for a later event.

Pennsylvania has an obvious appeal, as the site of a crucial presidential battleground and his birthplace. While Biden has spent most of his life in Delaware, representing the state in the Senate for nearly four decades, he was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Multiple sources told Fox News in recent days that the rollout could include a retail event with Biden and his wife Jill either later on the day of the announcement or the following day. That would be followed by a policy speech within a week that lays out the broader themes of the campaign. The rollout would then continue with visits to the early voting primary and caucus states over the course of a month.

Sources confirmed that the Philadelphia Museum of Art – known nationally for the scene of the fictional Rocky Balboa’s training on the museum’s steps in the movie "Rocky" – is under consideration as a site for a speech by Biden during the campaign rollout.

But a trip to Charlottesville, Virginia, as reported in recent days by numerous news organizations, is out. The city was the site of clashes in 2017 surrounding a white nationalist rally.

The confusion over the Biden launch could be a sign of disagreements among his top political aides, or it could be a deliberate strategy by Biden’s inner circle to keep reporters guessing.

As Biden prepares for his expected launch, sources told Fox News that campaign staff is being lined up and Biden political advisers are in the process of hiring political operatives in the early voting primary and caucus states.

WATCH BIDEN ACCUSER LUCY FLORES ON FOX NEWS

Even before the launch of his campaign, Biden faced a controversy over the past month that arose when numerous women alleged the former vice president had made them feel uncomfortable with what was described as inappropriate touching. As more and more women came forward, Biden eventually addressed the controversy, vowing to be "more mindful about respecting personal space."

Former Nevada State Assemblywoman Lucy Flores – the first woman to speak out against Biden – said on Monday in a Fox News interview that it was 'incredibly disrespectful' for Biden to make light of accusations during comments at a union event earlier this month.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Ex-Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling released from federal custody

Former Enron Corp. CEO Jeffrey Skilling has been released from federal custody.

Skilling was discharged Thursday after serving 12 years in prison and six months in a halfway house after being convicted for his actions that led to one of the worst corporate meltdowns in history.

The 65-year-old was initially sentenced in 2006 to 24 years in prison and fined $45 million for multiple counts of securities fraud, conspiracy and other crimes. In 2013, the sentence was reduced to 14 years.

Houston-based Enron collapsed into bankruptcy in 2001 after years of illicit business deals and accounting tricks that put more than 5,000 people out of work, eliminated over $2 billion in employee pensions and rendered worthless $60 billion in Enron stock.

Source: Fox News National

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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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A Cook County judge recently called out embattled State Attorney Kim Foxx for upholding a double standard by prosecuting a woman for filing a false police report — but dropping similar charges against embattled “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett.

Foxx has faced intense criticism over her office’s decision to drop a 16-count indictment against Smollett, just weeks after bringing the charges against the high-profile TV star. Foxx’s deal with Smollett, which did not require him to admit guilt, drew ire from the public, the city’s top cop and the former mayor who called it a “whitewash of justice.”

JUSSIE SMOLLETT CHICAGO PROSECUTOR KIM FOXX CHIDED BY NATIONAL ATTORNEYS GROUPS AFTER JUSSIE SMOLLETT CHARGES DROPPED 

Cook County Judge Marc Martin, who was presiding over an unrelated case, chastised Foxx and her office for creating a situation where anyone charged with filing a false report would expect the same leniency her office afforded Smollett.

Candace Clark, 21, is facing one felony count of making a false report. Prosecutors accused her of giving a friend access to her bank account and then telling authorities the money had been stolen. She denies the charges and claims she’s the victim of Foxx’s double standard — something the judge weighed in on.

“Well, Ms. Clark is not a movie star, she doesn’t have a high-price lawyer, although, her lawyer’s very good. And this smells, big time,” Martin said to prosecutors during a recent hearing, Fox 32 reported. “I didn’t create this mess, your office created this mess. And your explanation is unsatisfactory to this court. She’s being treated differently.”

The judge continued, “There’s no publicity on this case. She doesn’t have Mark Geragos as her lawyer or Ron Safer or Judge Brown. It’s not right. And (if) I proceed in this matter, you’re just digging yourselves further in a hole. (If the) press gets a hold of this, it’ll be in a newspaper. Why is Ms. Clark being treated differently than Mr. Smollett?”

Foxx recused herself from the Smollett case in February but continued to oversee the investigation through text messages with her assistant Joseph Magats.

The text messages revealed Foxx called Smollett a “washed up celeb who lied to cops.” They also show she cautioned Magats about throwing the book at Smollett.

“Sooo……I’m recused, but when people accuse us of overcharging cases…16 counts on a class 4 becomes exhibit A,” Foxx wrote to Magats on March 8.

“Pedophile with 4 victims 10 counts. Washed up celeb who lied to cops, 16. On a case eligible for deferred prosecution I think it’s indicative of something we should be looking at generally. Just because we can charge something doesn’t mean we should,” she added, referring to the case of R&B singer R. Kelly, who was indicted on 10 counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in connection with four women, three of whom were underage.

KIM FOXX’S CHIEF ETHICS OFFICER RESIGNS FOLLOWING SMOLLETT CONTROVERSY

President Trump said last month he asked for a federal review of Foxx’s decision to drop the charges against Smollett. He also called the actor “an absolute embarrassment to our country.”

The Smollett case garnered national attention and threatened to tear Chicago apart. It pit the police department and mayor against prosecutors and underscored the idea that wealthy people are somehow above the law.

Smollett told police he was attacked on Jan. 29 around 2 a.m. as he was returning home from a sandwich shop in Chicago. He said two masked men shouted racial and anti-gay slurs, poured bleach on him, beat him and tied a rope around his neck. He claimed they shouted, “This is MAGA country” — a reference to President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.

CLICK HERE FOF THE FOX NEWS APP

After an intense investigation, police said Smollett staged the entire incident to drum up publicity for his career.

Smollett has strongly denied the accusations.

Source: Fox News National

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