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2020 Dem contenders Harris, Sanders, Gillibrand face #MeToo backlash

Several Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls -- including Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and now Kirsten Gillibrand -- are defending their self-professed commitment to the ideals of the #MeToo movement against a series of accusations they recently mismanaged sexual-misconduct claims against their subordinates.

As the three prominent senators each have sought to draw a sharp contrast with President Trump, who has faced his own misconduct allegations, the claims highlighted vulnerabilities that could become major liabilities not only in a heated Democrat Party primary, but also in the general election.

Back in 2017, Gillibrand and others ramped up the pressure for then-Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., to resign amid sexual misconduct allegations. He ultimately stepped down.

Gillibrand, who has been described by GQ Magazine as "the face of the MeToo movement," said at the time that Franken's alleged conduct had "shocked and disappointed her" and that he should "step aside" because "enough is enough." But, it emerged on Monday that last summer, an aide in her mid-20’s who was working in Gillibrand’s Senate office also apparently decided that enough was enough, as she resigned in protest over the office’s handling of her sexual-harassment complaint against a senior male adviser to Gillibrand.

“I have offered my resignation because of how poorly the investigation and post-investigation was handled,” the woman, who resigned less than three weeks after reporting the purported harassment, wrote to Gillibrand in a letter obtained by Politico. Gillibrand, responding to the allegations on Monday, said an appropriate investigation was launched -- and her office later said the male staffer had been fired after other unreported, "deeply disturbing" comments surfaced.

The woman was granted anonymity because of fears of retaliation.

Gillibrand faced immediate friendly fire after calling for Franken's resignation -- in 2018, liberal billionaire megadonor George Soros argued that Gillibrand turned on Franken to "improve her chances" in the 2020 presidential race -- and some of those hard feelings among her fellow progressives have not subsided.

For Sanders, the Vermont Independent who caucuses with Democrats, looming resentment from establishment progressives also has posed a major challenge. A January report in The New York Times outlining what one former Sanders delegate called an "entire wave of rotten sexual harassment that seemingly was never dealt with" during his 2016 presidential run seemed only to bolster on-the-record claims from Democrats that Sanders was too impersonal and arrogant to lead the party.

Asked by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper earlier this year whether he was unaware of the sexual harassment allegations, Sanders replied: "Uh, yes. I was a little bit busy running around the country, trying to make the case." He then appeared to smile.

EX-SPOKESMAN FOR SANDERS CALLS CLINTON TEAM 'BIGGEST A--HOLES IN AMERICAN POLITICS,' SAYS NEITHER HILLARY NOR HER SUBORDINATES ARE 'NICE' PEOPLE

The next week, after reports surfaced that a top aide was accused of sexually assaulting a female subordinate during Sanders' campaign, he issued a strong apology and a vow to change.

Bernie Sanders kicking off his 2020 presidential campaign earlier this month in Brooklyn, N.Y. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)

Bernie Sanders kicking off his 2020 presidential campaign earlier this month in Brooklyn, N.Y. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)

"To the women in that campaign who were harassed or mistreated I apologize," Sanders said in a statement. "Our standards and safeguards were inadequate."

Allegations of sexism also briefly surfaced contemporaneously during Sanders’ 2016 bid, as some of his young, white male supporters -- known as "Bernie Bros" -- attacked Hillary Clinton and her followers online, contributing to a hostile atmosphere between the campaigns. In her book, the election retrospective "What Happened," Clinton slammed Sanders for using “innuendo and impugning my character” such that she suffered “lasting damage" into the general election, although Clinton did not accuse Sanders of orchestrating the gender-based attacks.

The back-and-forth has continued into 2019. Late last month, after former members of Clinton's team leaked details concerning Sanders' expensive travel on behalf of the Clinton campaign after she secured the Democratic nomination, Sanders 2016 campaign spokesman Michael Briggs returned fire. "You can see why she’s one of the most disliked politicians in America," Briggs said, referring to Clinton. "She’s not nice. Her people are not nice." Briggs went on to call Clinton and her team among the "biggest a--holes in American politics."

ROSEANNE BARR CALLS #METOO FOUNDERS 'HOS,' SAYS 'HARRIS SLEPT HER WAY TO THE BOTTOM'

But, although Gillibrand and Sanders have made public overtures to the alleged victims who worked for them, California Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris acknowledged earlier this month that she still had not spoken to a woman who sued her former top adviser for sexual harassment, leading to a $400,000 settlement.

A spokeswoman for Harris insisted last December the team was “unaware” of the harassment allegations while Harris was California’s attorney general, but the agency that she oversaw, California's Department of Justice, reportedly was informed about the complaint three months before she exited in early 2017.

The lawsuit, filed by Danielle Hartley, accused Larry Wallace of demeaning her based on her gender while she worked for him as his assistant. Hartley said Wallace placed his computer printer under his desk and often asked her to crawl under and refill it with paper as he sat and watched, sometimes with other men in the room.

"In this specific case, I have not talked to the victim," Harris told Univision. "That case is being handled by the Attorney General's Office and I've left it up to that office to handle the case as they've seen fit, which included a settlement."

KLOBUCHAR, WHO REPORTEDLY ATE SALAD WITH COMB, DOESN'T DENY TOSSING BINDER IN ANGER AS HORRIFIED STAFF LOOKED ON

In an uncomfortable twist, Harris' autobiography, “The Truths We Hold: An American Journey,” which was released in January, praised Wallace's "leadership" in orchestrating a bias training program. Wallace, the former director of the Division of Law Enforcement in California, resigned last December.

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Republicans, meanwhile, have previewed a possible line of attack against Harris on the episode as primary season approaches.

“No one is buying Kamala Harris’s claim she didn’t know her top aide of 14 yrs was accused of sexual harassment, resulting in a $400K settlement,” GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tweeted.

Fox News' Paul Steinhauser, Louis Casiano and Lukas Mikelionis contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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North Macedonia jails 7 IS fighters captured in Syria

A court in North Macedonia has jailed seven citizens, accusing them of fighting with the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq.

Six men were given six-year sentences for joining IS, while a seventh man was jailed for nine years after also being found guilty on charges of organizing a terrorist group.

The suspects were arrested last August in Syria by international coalition forces and later handed over to Macedonian authorities.

It was the second group from North Macedonia sentenced for joining and recruiting IS fighters. In March 2016, six people, including a Muslim preacher were sentenced from five to seven years in prison.

According to police, about 150 of the country's citizens have joined Islamic State extremists.

Source: Fox News World

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Media Can’t Admit Spying Because They Are Complicit

LAURA INGRAHAM: The media reaction to barr was what you would expect. Three outlets, particularly burned by the shifting Mueller narrative, were quick to paint the AG's comments as purely political. CNN's Manu Raju tweeting: "Barr's comments here bound to please Trump." "The Washington Post" Aaron Blake tweeting: "The use of 'spying' is obviously a loaded term and one Trump favors." An MSNBC legal analyst Cynthia Oxney offered this: "I think that is crazy. Obviously, Barr feels the need to curry favor with Trump, and I don't understand why a man of his standing and reputation would feel the need to count on to the president in such a way."

Was Cynthia upset when old Eric Holder said he was Obama's wingman? Here to react, Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at The Federalist. I've never seen anything like this, I call them the smear squads. It's not just the cable talkers. You are seeing people like Leon Panetta and Chris Coons, reasonable people.

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY: It is interesting if you watch Attorney General Barr, he is so calm, so sober, so evenhanded. He is not saying anything extreme, just stating the facts as they are known, and contrary to what we just heard, there is no dispute about whether there was spying or not. That is a common way to describe what happened. They use multiple human informants. There were wiretaps and other electronic surveillance, there were national security letters. If it were about anything other than the Trump campaign, we would all acknowledge that is spying. That is a good word to use to sum up what was going on there.

The media can't use that word because they were complicit in this operation in two ways. One, the perpetuated the Russia collusion hoax. They accepted these leaks. They were not critical about them at all. They claimed they had all these bombshells. On one side, they gave into the hoax. On the other hand, they never covered what was troubling about the actions by these federal agents, not just the FBI, but other agencies, to go against domestic political opponents.

LAURA INGRAHAM: They are supposed to be civil libertarians that care about American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU should have been leading the charge for Americans' privacy.

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY: There are a lot of people that should care about this but are unable to because they are obsessed with hating Trump.

LAURA INGRAHAM: Your friend, [former CIA director John] Brennan, until 5 minutes before the report came out, was still basically saying that Putin was spooning with Trump. He said this today.

JOHN BRENNAN: Over the past several weeks, I have been very disappointed in Attorney General Barr. I had higher expectations for him. He shaped the narrative after the Mueller report. He, in fact, also had a testimony today that I think was very carefully nuanced as a way to try to support Donald Trump's positions. He acted more like a personal lawyer for Donald Trump today, rather than the Attorney General.

LAURA INGRAHAM: You wrote today in "The Federalist," he actually briefed -- Brennan briefed Harry Reid on this ongoing operation. A lot of people don't know that, tell us.

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY: He separately briefed Harry Reid from the rest of the gang of eight. Harry Reid said he understood he was getting a separate briefing so he could publicize the Russia investigation during the 2016 campaign. People who care about election meddling should care about that story. We haven't really even begun to investigate how Brennan, Clapper, other intel chiefs were involved in this narrative, not just during the election but also the first two years of the administration.

There is truth in what he says there, he's troubled by Barr going against the narrative that they set. They put a lot of work into a narrative that is being blown up just by people saying obvious facts, such as, that what was spying and we should make sure we don't do this against domestic political opponents. I get the feeling Barr is the adult who came in and said, okay, you've had your games, we are going to try to restore the credibility of the FBI and Department of Justice now.

LAURA INGRAHAM: Conservatives really believe this was an effort to take down Trump, before and after the election, but now it hasn't worked so now they have to take down Barr. They have to clear the decks of anyone, almost deprive Trump of a staff.

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY: Of having an Attorney General? Which is a threat to the constitutional republic because we believe that we have political accountability for agencies.

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Bank of Japan will scrutinize risks including financial imbalances: deputy governor Amamiya

FILE PHOTO: Masayoshi Amamiya, a nominee for Bank of Japan deputy governor, attends a confirmation hearing in the lower house of parliament in Tokyo
FILE PHOTO: Masayoshi Amamiya, a nominee for Bank of Japan deputy governor, attends a confirmation hearing in the lower house of parliament in Tokyo Japan March 5, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo

April 17, 2019

TOKYO (Reuters) – Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Masayoshi Amamiya said on Wednesday the central bank will scrutinize potential risks to the economy, including signs of financial imbalances, in guiding monetary policy.

“One of the factors that led to Japan’s asset-inflated bubble was the fact we kept monetary policy easy even as the economy continued to expand,” Amamiya told parliament, adding that the BOJ will learn a lesson from the experience.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Source: OANN

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Ethiopian Airlines grounds all its Boeing 737 Max 8 planes

A spokesman says Ethiopian Airlines has grounded all its Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft as a safety precaution, following the crash of one of its planes in which 157 people were killed.

Asrat Begashaw said Monday that although it is not yet known what caused the crash on Sunday, the airline decided to ground its remaining four 737 Max 8 planes until further notice as "an extra safety precaution." Ethiopian Airlines was using five new 737 Max 8 planes and was awaiting delivery of 25 more.

Begashaw said searching and digging to uncover body parts and aircraft debris will continue. He said forensic experts from Israel have arrived in Ethiopia to help with the investigation.

Source: Fox News World

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Tax service turns away gay couple, citing Indiana’s ‘religious freedom’ law

A decision by a tax preparation business not to serve a lesbian couple has created the newest battleground in establishing the line between freedom to practice one’s beliefs and freedom to live without facing illegal discrimination.

Bailey and Samantha Brazzel sought to have their tax work done at Carter Tax Service in Russiaville, Ind., but the proprietor turned them away, based on the business owner’s religious beliefs.

CHRISTIAN GROUP WINS RELIGIOUS FREEDOM CASE AGAINST UNIVERSITY OF IOWA: 'RULING IS A WIN FOR BASIC FAIRNESS'

Nancy Fivecoate, 66, the business owner, claims her views are protected under the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which former Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed into law in March 2015. An amendment intended to protect LGBT people from discrimination was added the following month.

The law prohibits the government from interfering with a person’s practice of religious beliefs unless it has a compelling reason to do so. A federal version of the law, introduced by then U.S. Rep. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993.

The issue of religious freedom versus discrimination was central to the case of Colorado baker Jack Phillips, who won a U.S. Supreme Court case in June after refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

In Indiana, Fivecoate says she merely turned down the couple’s business and did not seek to draw broader attention to her decision. She claims she was within her legal rights to do so.

"I've never repeated her name to anyone,” Fivecoate told the Indianapolis Star about Bailey Brazzel, who visited her office. “I haven't answered social media. I've done absolutely nothing except (follow) my religious beliefs. I cannot put my name on that return."

MIKE PENCE IS NOT ANTI-GAY -- I'M A GAY MAN WHO KNOWS HE'S BEEN FALSELY ACCUSED

"The LGBT want respect for their beliefs, which I give them,” Fivecoate wrote later, in a statement to WTHR-TV of Indianapolis. “I did not say anything about their lifestyle. That is their choice. It is not my choice. Where is their respect for my beliefs?”

But Brazzel, 25, claims that Fivecoate’s rejection of her business constitutes illegal discrimination.

"I went in there to have my taxes done, not push my beliefs on her,” Brazzel told the Star. "It's not professional to me to turn someone away because they do something differently than you would like.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“My taxes don't have anything to do with our marriage," Brazzel continued. "If you are going to run a business, you should be professional enough to do business with people from all types of backgrounds.”

Brazzel said she and her wife ultimately took their business to another company, but decided to go public with their story.

Whether the couple intends to pursue legal action was not clear.

Source: Fox News National

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Kellyanne Conway: There’s ‘Trouble in Pelosi Paradise’

White House counsel Kellyanne Conway on Sunday taunted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., asserting there’s rancor among the Democrat rank-and-file that’s causing “trouble in Pelosi paradise.”

In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press,” Conway declared new Democrat House members are “upset with the leadership.”

“There is a great frustration against rank and file members who represent districts that President [Donald] Trump won in 2016,” she said. “They have been to the White House, talked to people like me quietly, saying they wish that the radical… freshmen who get the magazine covers and all the ink and air time, I guess they are upset with the leadership today.”

Conway went on, saying Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., “tweeted they are tired of being used because the party is diverse, can't get a seat at the table, something… re-tweeted by [Rep.] Ilhan Omar [D-Minn.].”

“I think there is trouble in Pelosi paradise,” Conway said.

Conway also declared the immigration problems in the country could be fixed “easily” but that Democrats are too anti-Trump to get the job done.

“Congress can fix this easily,” she said. “All the time that they spend reacting to every single Donald Trump tweet or the president's statements, they can sit down and do three things.”

According to Conway, the three fixes would be to address trafficking victims, fix a judicial decision on filing asylum claims and to “fix the asylum law so those who actually have a credible claim of asylum can have that process faster. “

Related Stories:

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Joe Biden’s brain surgeon said his former patient is “totally in the clear” as speculation over the candidate’s health — with Biden possibly becoming the oldest president in U.S. history — is likely to become a campaign issue.

The former vice president, who had been perceived by many as the strongest potential contender for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, formally announced his candidacy Thursday.

But Biden’s age – 76 – is expected to become a source of attacks from a younger generation of Democrats not because of obvious generational differences, but possibly for actual health concerns if Biden gets into office.

WHY THE MEDIA ARE CONVINCED JOE BIDEN WILL IMPLODE

Biden himself agreed last year that “it’s totally legitimate” for people to ask questions about his health if he decides to run for president, given his medical history — which has included brain surgery in 1988.

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality,” Biden told “CBS This Morning.” “Can I still run up the steps of Air Force Two? Am I still in good shape? Am I – do I have all my faculties? Am I energetic? I think it’s totally legitimate people ask those questions.”

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality. …  I think it’s totally legitimate [that] people ask those questions.”

— Joe Biden

But Dr. Neal Kassell, the neurosurgeon who operated on Biden for an aneurysm three decades ago, told the Washington Examiner that Biden appears to be “totally in the clear” — and even joked that the operation made Biden “better than how he was.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it,” Kassell said. “That’s more than I can say about all the other candidates or the incumbents.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it.”

— Dr. Neal Kassell

BIDEN’S CLAIM HE DIDN’T WANT OBAMA TO ENDORSE TRIGGERS MOCKERY

At the same time, however, Biden hasn’t been forthcoming about his health at least since 2008 when he released his medical records as a vice presidential candidate. The disclosure that time revealed some fairly minor issues such as an irregular heartbeat in addition to detailing previous operations, including removing a benign polyp during a colonoscopy in 1996, the outlet reported.

It remains unclear if Biden had more aneurysms. Some medical experts say that people who have had an aneurysm can have another one.

An aneurysm, or a weakening of an artery wall, can lead to a rupture and internal bleeding, potentially placing a patient’s life in jeopardy.

Biden won’t be the only Democrat grappling with old age. Sen. Bernie Sanders, another 2020 frontrunner, is currently 77 years old and agreed with Biden last year that their ages will be an issue in the race.

“It’s part of a discussion, but it has to be part of an overall view of what somebody is and what somebody has accomplished,” Sanders told Politico.

“Look, you’ve got people who are 50 years of age who are not well, right? You’ve got people who are 90 years of age who are going to work every day, doing excellent work. And obviously, age is a factor. But it depends on the overall health and wellbeing of the individual.”

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Sanders released his medical records in 2016, with a Senate physician saying in a letter that the senator was “in overall very good health.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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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

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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

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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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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

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