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Father of Sandy Hook school shooting victim found dead in apparent suicide, police say

The father of a student killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting was found dead Monday in an apparent suicide, police said.

The body of Jeremy Richman, who was the father of Avielle Richman, was found inside Edmond Town Hall in Newtown, Conn. About 7 a.m. Monday, police said. Avielle was one of the 20 first-grade students shot and killed on Dec. 14, 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Six staff members were also killed that day.

Newtown police said Richman appeared to have killed himself, but did not disclose further details about the death. They added the death did not appear suspicious.

An autopsy is scheduled Monday.

“This is a heartbreaking event for the Richman family and the Newtown Community as a whole, the police department’s prayers are with the Richman family right now, and we ask that the family be given privacy in this most difficult time,” Newtown Lt. Aaron Bahamonde said in a statement.

SANDY HOOK FAMILIES FILE SUIT AGAINST INFOWARS' ALEX JONES

Richman was the founder of Avielle Foundation, which had an office at Edmond Town Hall. The foundation focused on “brain science research, community engagement and education” to reduce and prevent violence.

“He was a broken-hearted person, as we all are,” Neil Helslin, whose son Jesse Lewis, 6, also died in the Sandy Hook massacre, told The Hartford Courant on Monday. “It’s sad. Just no words.”

“I’m not suicidal, but I can definitely see how some people would be that way with the traumatic loss,” Heslin added. “I know Jeremy struggled.”

SECOND STUDENT WHO SURVIVED FLORIDA SCHOOL SHOOTING DIES IN APPARENT SUICIDE, POLICE SAY

Richman’s death comes a day after a second Parkland school shooting survivor died in an apparent suicide. Police received a call about a deceased person at a home Saturday night and arrived at the scene to find the body of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student, a Coral Springs Police spokesman told Fox News on Sunday.

Sources told the Miami Herald, which first reported the story, that the juvenile was a male student who was a sophomore.

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Sydney Aiello — a close friend of Meadow Pollack, one of the 17 people killed in the Feb. 14, 2018 school shooting — killed herself on March 17. Her mother told CBS Miami on Thursday that the recent high school graduate was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and struggled with "survivor’s guilt" after the massacre.

If you are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.

Source: Fox News National

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Chicago sues actor Jussie Smollett for police costs

Actor Jussie Smollett leaves court after charges against him were dropped by state prosecutors in Chicago
FILE PHOTO: Actor Jussie Smollett leaves court after charges against him were dropped by state prosecutors in Chicago, Illinois, U.S. March 26, 2019. REUTERS/Kamil Krzaczynski

April 11, 2019

(Reuters) – The city of Chicago filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Jussie Smollett, saying the actor owes it over $130,000 for police costs incurred in the investigation of a hate crime that authorities allege was phony, according to legal documents.

The lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court over two weeks after prosecutors in the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office dismissed all criminal charges against the “Empire” actor.

Chicago officials previously said they would sue Smollett after he refused a demand by the city for $130,000 to cover police overtime costs.

The actor’s criminal defense attorney, Mark Geragos, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Smollett, 36, who is black and gay, ignited a firestorm on social media by telling police on Jan. 29 that two apparent supporters of President Donald Trump struck him, put a noose around his neck and poured bleach over him while yelling racist and homophobic slurs on a Chicago street.

After weeks of investigation, Chicago police determined that Smollett cooked up the scheme — in which they allege he hired two brothers to pose as his attackers — because he was dissatisfied with his salary on “Empire.”

Smollett, best known for his role on the Twentieth Century Fox Television hip-hop drama, has said he has always been truthful about the incident.

He was charged in February with staging the incident and filing a false police report.

(Reporting by Andrew Hay in New Mexico; Additional reporting by Karen Pierog in Chicago; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Source: OANN

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Wirecard shares soar after law firm clears head office of wrongdoing

The headquarters of Wirecard AG, an independent provider of outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payment transactions is seen in Aschheim
The headquarters of Wirecard AG, an independent provider of outsourcing and white label solutions for electronic payment transactions is seen in Aschheim near Munich, Germany September 6, 2018. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

March 26, 2019

By Douglas Busvine

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Local staff at the Singapore office of Wirecard may have committed crimes but these were not material to the German payment company’s financial position, an investigation by an outside law firm has found.

Shares in Wirecard, under pressure since the Financial Times ran the first of a series of investigative reports in January alleging fraud and false accounting at the firm’s Asia-Pacific office, rallied by up to 30 percent on the news.

Wirecard had at first rejected the FT’s reporting as “false, inaccurate, misleading and defamatory”. Yet in its final conclusions, Singapore law firm Rajah & Tann did find evidence that crimes could have been committed.

“The review … did not reveal findings of criminality in respect of the headquarters of Wirecard,” the company said in a summary of the law firm’s conclusions.

“Criminal liability may, however, be attributable to individual local employees in Singapore according to local law.”

ROUND-TRIPPING?

The negative press coverage knocked billions off the value of Munich-based Wirecard, the top German company in the booming fintech sector, months after it ousted Commerzbank from the blue-chip DAX index.

The FT based its reporting on a preliminary report by Rajah & Tann last May that examined a whistleblower’s allegations that accounting staff in the Singapore office carried out sham transactions, or so-called ’round-tripping’, to pad revenues.

These were not confirmed in the law firm’s final report: “The independent review had no findings of round-tripping or corruption,” Wirecard said.

Singapore police subsequently opened an investigation and raided Wirecard’s premises in the city-state.

The police probe piled the pressure on Wirecard and CEO Markus Braun – long the target of so-called short sellers who publish negative research to profit from any falls in a company’s share price.

German prosecutors have, however, reacted by expanding ongoing investigations into suspected market manipulation. Germany’s markets regulator has imposed a temporary ban on short sales in Wirecard stock to steady the market.

“This underpins our view that the whole negative stance from FT was exaggerated and once more created a strong buying opportunity for fundamental investors,” said Hauck & Aufhaeuser analyst Robin Brass.

Detailing Rajah & Tann’s findings, Wirecard said the suspect transactions had not had a material on the company’s financial reports.

Revenue of 2.5 million euros ($2.8 million) was wrongly stated in the 2017 annual report when it should have been booked for 2018. Further, an asset of 3 million euros was wrongly recorded for one week in 2018 and would not be recorded in the 2018 annual accounts.

Wirecard said it would postpone the release of its 2018 annual report by three weeks to April 25 to allow time to take the law firm’s findings into account.

The company confirmed guidance that its 2019 profits, measured as earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) would be between 740 million euros and 800 million euros.

($1 = 0.8859 euros)

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; editing by Thomas Seythal/Keith Weir)

Source: OANN

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Skull found in Michigan was from 2014 beheading victim, authorities say

A skull found in Michigan last week was that of a man decapitated in 2014 while he and his pregnant girlfriend, who was also killed, were with a man whom they met via Craigslist, authorities said.

Authorities used dental records to identify Charles Oppenneer, who was 25 when he was killed in the Grand Rapids suburb of Wyoming by Brady Oestrike in July 2014. Brooke Slocum, 18, also was killed by Oestrike, FOX 17 of Grand Rapids reported.

MEXICAN BUSINESSWOMAN DECAPITATED AFTER 'FAMILY' WOULDN'T PAY' RANSOM, REPORTS SAY

"It was just a long, unanswered question and more than anything, we're just happy to report to the family this piece of information so that we can have some closure for them," Wyoming Police Capt. James Maguffee said.

Oppenneer and Slocum -- who was eight months pregnant -- met up with Oestrike at a park in a sex-for-cash deal, authorities said. During the meetup, Oestrike beheaded Oppenneer and kidnapped Slocum and held her captive for several days.

Oestrike, 31, killed himself while fleeing from police. Slocum was found dead from strangulation in the trunk of a vehicle, the station reported.

Oppenneer's skull was located March 26 on private property in northern Kent County, MLive.com reported.

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"This case was especially dark and, frankly, disturbing and saddened all of us that this sort of thing can happen, outside of a fictional setting, for sure. and impacted our police officers very deeply," Maguffee said. "There was a lot of hurt and soul and effort and pain involved in this investigation, and it just really touched us. It did then and it continues to today.”

Source: Fox News National

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Meet Victoria’s Secret’s First Red-Haired Angel, Alexina Graham

Katie Jerkovich | Entertainment Reporter

Meet the first-ever red-haired Victoria’s Secret Angel, Alexina Graham.

Judging by the photos and clips on her social media account, the honor is well deserved. (RELATED: Celebrate Alessandra Ambrosio’s Birthday With Her Most Scandalous Pics [SLIDESHOW])

“I found out I was going to officially become a Victoria’s Secret Angel when I was at dinner with my best friend. . . . It’s very exciting! It still feels so surreal, to be honest, I have been working so hard to get to this moment — it’s a real mixture of feeling emotional, nervous and excited,” the 29-year-old Victoria’s Secret model shared with Glamour UK Thursday.

Alexina Graham attends the Victoria's Secret Viewing Party ar Spring Studios on December 2, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Victoria's Secret)

Alexina Graham attends the Victoria’s Secret Viewing Party ar Spring Studios on December 2, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Victoria’s Secret)

“I found out when I was having dinner with one of my best friends, just in a restaurant in Soho, New York,” she added. “My agent sent me a screenshot of an email saying, ‘You are joining the [Victoria’s Secret] family in 2019!’ So, I called her thinking she was joking, and she said, ‘No, it’s true!'”(RELATED: Take A Look Back At Adriana Lima’s Career With Victoria’s Secret)

Graham continued, “So, me and my friend just got champagne — it was such a great way to find out! We kept it chic though, darling!”

The beauty from Nottingham, U.K., announced Thursday on Instagram that she had officially got her wings — following in the footsteps of such huge supermodels as Gisele Bundchen, Adriana Lima and Jasmine Tookes, just to name a few.

She first walked the annual lingerie show catwalk in 2017 and then once again in 2018. Lots of models walk the show, but getting wings is a special honor.

“It means so much to me to be the red-haired [Victoria’s Secret] Angel. . . . Being a Victoria’s Secret’s Angel comes with a lot of empowerment,” the lingerie model explained. “I think for me being a red-head [Victoria’s Secret] Angel means I get to put redheads out there more.”

“Being an angel is part of having that media outreach so that I can say to young red-head kids, ‘you can do anything you want! Nothing is impossible!'” she added. “This is a ‘two fingers up at my bullies’ moment…”

Graham continued, “Like most redheads, I did get bullied at school because we just stand out. I was this skinny little, geeky thing with no boobs but now I have embraced it as a woman. Having red hair is now a powerful part of my identity. It took me a long time to get here, I have gone through so much in the last ten years both in terms of my career and my life.”

At one point, she said she almost gave up her dream of modeling about “[five-to-six] years ago,” but her mom encouraged her to “keep going.”

And clearly it was a great decision. We can hardly wait to see what the future will bring for her. Congratulations!

Source: The Daily Caller

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Timeline of the deadly Ethiopian Airlines crash

The news shattered more than two years of relative calm in Africa's skies. As millions on the continent headed to church on Sunday morning, an Ethiopian Airlines plane took off on a routine flight from Addis Ababa for Nairobi and quickly lost control. Six minutes later, all contact was lost. All 157 people aboard were killed, representing a staggering 35 countries. Here is a timeline of how the day unfolded. All times local.

___

8:38 a.m.: Flight ET302 takes off from Bole International Airport in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. Records shared by Flightradar24 show that the plane's vertical speed quickly becomes erratic.

Shortly afterward: The pilot issues a distress call and is told to return.

8:44 a.m.: Contact with the plane is lost.

10:48 a.m.: The office of Ethiopia's prime minister in a Twitter post gives first word of the crash, offering "deepest condolences to the families of those that have lost their loved ones on Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 on regular scheduled flight to Nairobi, Kenya this morning."

11:15 a.m.: Ethiopian Airlines says it believes 149 passengers and eight crew members were on board the plane that crashed near Bishoftu, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) outside the capital.

1:35 p.m.: Ethiopia's state broadcaster reports that all passengers are dead.

2:45 p.m.: Ethiopian Airlines publishes a photo of its CEO standing in a crater amid the wreckage. Little of the plane can be seen in the freshly churned earth.

3:30 p.m.: The Ethiopian Airlines CEO and Kenya's transport minister say Canadians, Chinese, Americans and others are among the more than 30 nationalities of victims.

4:50 p.m.: The office of Ethiopia's prime minister says he has visited the crash site, expressed his "profound sadness" and ordered a full investigation.

5:35 p.m.: Ethiopian Airlines issues a new list of crash victims that includes 35 nationalities.

6:20 p.m.: As sunset approaches at the site, searchers and a bulldozer continue to pick through the scattered remains of the plane. The bulldozer digs for deeply embedded debris.

6:40 p.m.: Ethiopian Airlines says Ethiopian authorities, plane manufacturer Boeing and other international stakeholders will collaborate on an investigation into the cause of the crash.

8:25 p.m.: Ethiopia's House of People's Representatives declares Monday a national day of mourning for all victims.

Source: Fox News World

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Pelosi says Trump using 9/11 images for ‘political attack’

President Donald Trump has weighed in on the most recent controversy involving Rep. Ilhan Omar, retweeting video edited to suggest that the Minnesota Democrat was dismissive of the significance of the Sept. 11 attacks.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the president "shouldn't use the painful images of 9/11 for a political attack."

The video pulls a snippet of Omar's speech last month to the Council on American-Islamic Relations in which she described the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center as "some people did something," as well as news footage of the hijacked planes hitting the towers. Trump on Friday tweeted, "WE WILL NEVER FORGET!"

Omar's remark has drawn criticism largely from political opponents and conservatives. They say Omar, one of the first Muslim women to serve in Congress, offered a flippant description of the assailants and the attacks on American soil that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Neither Trump's tweet nor the video includes her full quote or the context of her comments.

Omar told CAIR in Los Angeles that many Muslims saw their civil liberties eroded after the attacks, and she advocated for activism.

"For far too long we have lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, I'm tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it," she said in the March 23 speech, according to video posted online. "CAIR was founded after 9/11 because they recognized that some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties."

CAIR was founded in 1994, according to its website, but its membership increased dramatically after the attacks.

Many Republicans and conservative outlets expressed outrage at Omar's remarks.

"First Member of Congress to ever describe terrorists who killed thousands of Americans on 9/11 as 'some people who did something,'" tweeted Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas. The retired Navy SEAL lost his right eye in 2012 in an explosion in Afghanistan.

"Here's your something," the New York Post blared on its cover beneath a photograph of the flaming towers.

Pelosi said in a statement released Saturday while she was in Germany visiting American troops that "the memory of 9/11 is sacred ground, and any discussion of it must be done with reverence." She said "it is wrong for the president, as commander-in-chief, to fan the flames to make anyone less safe."

Omar doesn't seem to be backing down.

She tweeted a quote from former President George W. Bush shortly after the attacks, when he said: "'The people — and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!"

"Was Bush downplaying the terrorist attack?" Omar tweeted. "What if he was a Muslim."

Several of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates condemned Trump's tweet.

"Someone has already been charged with a serious threat on Congresswoman Omar's life. The video the president chose to send out today will only incite more hate," said Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar. "You can disagree with her words — as I have done before — but this video is wrong. Enough.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont said Omar "won't back down to Trump's racism and hate, and neither will we."

And Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts accused Trump "of inciting violence against a sitting congresswoman — and an entire group of Americans based on their religion."

Omar has repeatedly pushed fellow Democrats into uncomfortable territory over Israel and the power of the Jewish state's influence in Washington. She apologized for suggesting that lawmakers support Israel for pay and said she isn't criticizing Jews. But she refused to take back a tweet in which she suggested that American supporters of Israel "pledge allegiance" to a foreign country.

Her comments sparked an ugly episode among House Democrats when they responded with a resolution condemning anti-Semitism became a broader declaration against all forms of bigotry.

Source: Fox News National

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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

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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

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Sudan’s military, which ousted President Omar al-Bashir after months of protests against his 30-year rule, says it intends to keep the upper hand during the country’s transitional period to civilian rule.

The announcement is expected to raise tensions with the protesters, who demand immediate handover of power.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which is spearheading the protests, said Friday the crowds will stay in the streets until all their demands are met.

Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi, the spokesman for the military council, said late Thursday that the military will “maintain sovereign powers” while the Cabinet would be in the hands of civilians.

The protesters insist the country should be led by a “civilian sovereign” council with “limited military representation” during the transitional period.

The army toppled and arrested al-Bashir on April 11.

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture
FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

April 26, 2019

By Charlotte Greenfield

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies said Britain’s decision to allow the firm a restricted role in building parts of its next-generation telecoms network was the kind of solution it was hoping for in New Zealand, where it has been blocked from 5G plans.

Britain will ban Huawei from all core parts of 5G network but give it some access to non-core parts, sources have told Reuters, as it seeks a middle way in a bitter U.S.-China dispute stemming from American allegations that Huawei’s equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage.

Washington has also urged its allies to ban Huawei from building 5G networks, even as the Chinese company, the world’s top producer of telecoms equipment, has repeatedly said the spying concerns are unfounded.

In New Zealand, a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network that includes the United States, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) in November turned down an initial request from local telecommunication firm Spark to include Huawei equipment in its 5G network, but later gave the operator options to mitigate national security concerns.

“The proposed solution in the UK to restrict Huawei from bidding for the core is exactly the type of solution we have been looking at in New Zealand,” Andrew Bowater, deputy CEO of Huawei’s New Zealand arm, said in an emailed statement.

Spark said it has noted the developments in Britain and would raise it with the GCSB.

The reports “suggest the UK is following other European jurisdictions in taking a considered and balanced approach to managing supplier-related security risks in 5G”, Andrew Pirie, Spark’s corporate relations lead, said in an email.

“Our discussions with the GCSB are ongoing and we expect that the UK developments will be a further item of discussion between us,” Pirie added.

New Zealand’s minister for intelligence services, Andrew Little, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday that he would report to parliament the conclusions of a government review of the 5G supply chain once they had been taken.

He added that the disclosure of confidential discussions on the role of Huawei was “unacceptable” and that he could not rule out a criminal investigation into the leak.

The decisions by Britain and Germany to use Huawei gear in non-core parts of 5G network makes it harder to prove Huawei should be kept out of New Zealand telecommunication networks, said Syed Faraz Hasan, an expert in communication engineering and networks at New Zealand’s Massey University

He pointed out Huawei gear was already part of the non-core 4G networks that 5G infrastructure would be built on.

“Unless there is a convincing argument against the Huawei devices … it is difficult to keep them away,” Hasan said.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo commodities trader Glencore is pictured in Baar
FILE PHOTO: The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company’s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Glencore shares plunged the most in nearly four months on Friday after news overnight that U.S. regulators were investigating whether the miner broke some rules through “corrupt practices”.

Shares of the FTSE 100 company fell as much as 4.2 percent in early deals, and were down 3.5 percent at 310.25 pence by 0728 GMT.

On Thursday, Glencore said the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating whether the company and its units have violated some provisions of the Commodity ExchangeAct and/or CFTC Regulations.

(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

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