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On heels of scandals, USC announces new president

The University of Southern California on Wednesday announced a new school president to usher "a new era" following a series of high-profile scandals that culminated last week with a massive college admissions bribery case.

Carol Folt, former chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will become USC's 12th president and the first permanent female president in school history — an announcement that came a week after news of the bribery scandal broke.

Folt said the scandal didn't give her pause about taking on the job.

"I want to be a part of fixing this," Folt said. "If you're trying to run an institution, you have to enjoy the fixing as well as the advancing."

Folt said she was horrified to learn of the scheme, which involved wealthy parents paying bribes to have a college counselor rig standardized tests or get their children admitted as recruits of sports they didn't play.

"Most of us (at universities) spend our lives caring about students and admissions and trying to do things fairly ... so when you see something like that, you're just aghast," she said. "But most of us immediately started thinking, 'OK, boy, we know how to get to the bottom of this, we're going to figure this out and that is not something I want to ever see happen again.' "

Rick Caruso, chairman of the USC board of trustees, said problems will occur, but the measure of great leadership is how one reacts to them.

"We have worked hard to try to turn a corner, to make a change," Caruso said. "Today firmly cements the fact that there is a dramatic cultural change in this university."

A lengthy search for a new president led a 23-member committee to unanimously recommend Folt, Caruso said.

"If nothing else, this last nine months has shown us that this university can handle whatever's thrown at us," he said. "We are ready to move forward."

Folt will take over USC from interim President Wanda Austin, who stepped in after former President C.L. Max Nikias resigned last summer amid two major controversies: reports that the school ignored complaints of widespread sexual misconduct by a longtime campus gynecologist and an investigation into a medical school dean accused of smoking methamphetamine with a woman who overdosed.

Combined with the bribery scandal, Folt will have her work cut out for her, said Roger Sloboda, a Dartmouth biology professor who worked with Folt at the New Hampshire school, where she started her academic career and spent three decades.

"Considering the recent stuff at USC, I feel sorry for Carol jumping into that mess. But I think she'll clean it up," he said. "She is a scientist and she'll look at the data, figure out what happened and how to fix it."

From a crisis standpoint at her previous job at UNC-Chapel Hill, Folt did just OK, said Jay Schalin, policy analysis director at the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal, a right-leaning think tank.

At UNC, Folt inherited a department that offered irregular courses with significant athlete enrollments dating back years before her arrival. The courses were misidentified as lecture classes that didn't meet, required a research paper or two for typically high grades with little to no faculty oversight.

Folt also was forced out early from the job in January amid a controversy over a Confederate statue known as "Silent Sam" that was torn down on campus.

Schalin said Folt angered conservatives in North Carolina with "mixed signals" on Silent Sam that they felt emboldened protesters.

As far the academic scandal involving UNC athletes, he said the USC scandal seems smaller in scope. "Folt should have little trouble managing it, unless the media goes after USC in a major way," he said.

The president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, where Folt served as chair of a committee on science and technology policy, said he has always "admired her insights and wisdom on ways universities can better serve students and the public at large."

"Carol Folt is a very accomplished and highly respected higher education leader," association President Peter McPherson said in a statement.

Four USC students showed up to Folt's introduction at USC holding protesting her actions during the Confederate statue controversy, saying she took credit for taking it down when it really was a student-led movement.

One of the students, Rebecca Hu, said she wanted to make her concerns known and felt students should have been more heavily involved in the selection of a new president.

"I think the student community is really hurt by everyone in USC administration, and we just want to make sure they actually hear us for once and take us seriously," said Hu, a senior majoring in philosophy.

Jason Chang, a 20-year-old accounting major, said he and his fellow students "just want transparency" about the unfolding scandal.

"It's sad to say that it's tainting the school's reputation," he said.

Graduate student Myla Bastien also called for transparency and honesty. "I think that if USC just owns it, and then comes up with a plan to prevent it from happening in the future, that would be helpful," she said.

Folt said she's committed to addressing student concerns and that the university is off to "an amazing start."

"I think people have been very honest and forthright about it," she said. "I'm certainly not being encouraged to be anything but direct and open and honest and to try to do this the right way. That's really critical."

___

Associated Press writers Christopher Weber and John Antczak in Los Angeles, Jonathan Drew in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Court rules against news site critical of Philippine leader

A Philippine appeals court has upheld a decision that an online news site critical of President Rodrigo Duterte violated a constitutional ban on foreign ownership of news media.

The Court of Appeals said in a decision made public Monday that Rappler Inc. effectively allowed U.S.-based investor Omidyar Network "to participate" in its corporate actions and decisions in violation of the constitution, which requires media companies to be fully owned and managed by Filipinos.

Rappler argued that it did not grant Omidyar the power to control or influence its news operations, but last year, the appeals court backed a Securities and Exchange Commission decision to revoke the site's license.

Media watchdogs have said the move was an act to muzzle the media.

While upholding its ruling against Rappler, the appeals court asked the SEC to reassess its revocation of the news website's operating license after Omidyar donated its holdings in Rappler to some of the site's managers and staff.

"It is incumbent upon the SEC to evaluate the terms and conditions of said alleged supervening donation ... whether the same has the effect of mitigating, if not curing, the violation it found," the court said.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the government would not interfere in the case and "will let the law take its course." He said Rappler's case was not a press freedom issue.

Last month, Rappler's chief executive officer and executive editor, Maria Ressa, was arrested but freed on bail over an online libel case.

The move against Ressa, who was one of Time magazine's Persons of the Year last year, was denounced by Rappler and media watchdogs as a threat to press freedom. Duterte's government said the arrest was a normal step in response to a criminal complaint.

Source: Fox News World

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U.S. ending aid to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras over migrants

U.S. President Trump speaks to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., March 29, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

March 30, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is cutting off aid to the Central American countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, known collectively as the “Northern Triangle”, the State Department said on Saturday, the day after President Donald Trump blasted the countries for sending migrants to the United States.

“We are carrying out the President’s direction and ending FY (fiscal year) 2017 and FY 2018 foreign assistance programs for the Northern Triangle,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. The State Department declined to provide further details or clarify the time periods involved.

The State Department said that it would “engage Congress in the process,” an apparent acknowledgement that it will need lawmakers’ approval to end the funding.

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, called Trump’s order a “reckless announcement” and urged Democrats and Republicans alike to reject it.

“U.S. foreign assistance is not charity; it advances our strategic interests and funds initiatives that protect American citizens,” Menendez said in a statement.

Trump claimed on Friday during a trip to Florida that the countries had “set up” caravans of migrants in order to export them into the United States. A surge of asylum seekers from the three countries have sought to enter the United States across its southern border in recent days.

“We were giving them $500 million. We were paying them tremendous amounts of money, and we’re not paying them anymore because they haven’t done a thing for us,” Trump said.

Trump also threatened on Friday to close the U.S. border with Mexico next week if Mexico does not stop immigrants from reaching the United States, a move that could disrupt millions of legal border crossings and billions of dollars in trade.

(Reporting by Julia Harte and Richard Cowan; Editing by Mary Milliken and James Dalgleish)

Source: OANN

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U.S. esports advertising revenue to top $200 million by 2020: report

Members of the Los Angeles Valiant team play during the final day of Stage 3 title matches of the Overwatch League at the Blizzard Arena in Burbank
FILE PHOTO: Members of the Los Angeles Valiant team play during the final day of Stage 3 title matches of the Overwatch League at the Blizzard Arena in Burbank, California, U.S., May 6, 2018. REUTERS/Andrew Cullen

March 14, 2019

By Hilary Russ

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Competitive video game advertising revenues in the United States are expected to surpass $200 million by 2020, according to a report released on Thursday.

Such esports ad revenue will grow 25 percent to $178 million this year and to more than $214 million in 2020, marketing research firm eMarketer said in its first ever U.S. esports and gaming forecast.

From beer brewers and computer companies to mortgage lenders and sports apparel makers, brands across the spectrum are trying to figure out how best to market to esports fans, who tend to be young, tech savvy and affluent, as the professional video gaming industry is expected to balloon in coming years.

A February study by gaming analytics firm Newzoo projected that global esports revenue would hit $1.1 billion this year, up 27 percent from last year, as money comes pouring in for advertising, sponsorship and media rights.

Marketers are hoping to reach the throngs of fans who like to tune in live as professional gamers battle each other in their favorite game, be it League of Legends, Overwatch or others.

In 2019, 30.3 million people in the United States will watch an esports event at least once a month, a more than 18 percent increase over last year, eMarketer said.

Viewership, which now mostly occurs on YouTube and Twitch, is likely to grow by more than 50 percent to 46.2 million through 2023, the firm said.

Once an under-the-radar activity, esports is now a “multimillion-dollar business in the U.S., with implications for game developers, players, leagues, teams, live venues, streaming platforms, TV networks, audiences and marketers,” eMarketer principal analyst Paul Verna said in a statement.

(Reporting by Hilary Russ; Additional reporting by Sheila Dang; editing by Bill Berkrot)

Source: OANN

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No-deal Brexit would take a chip off UK home values: Reuters poll

New residential homes are seen at a housing estate in Aylesbury
New residential homes are seen at a housing estate in Aylesbury, Britain, February 7, 2017. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh/File Photo

February 22, 2019

By Jonathan Cable

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s overvalued housing market will undergo a modest correction if the country leaves the European Union at the end of next month without a deal, a Reuters poll found, with London being affected to a greater degree.

Negotiators are still scrambling to reach agreement, and if they fail then home prices in the capital, which has long been a magnet for foreign investors, will fall 3 percent in the six months after the March 29 split.

Nationally, prices will drop 1 percent, the Feb. 13-20 poll found.

“There will be a palpable shock to the UK economy in terms of GDP, inflation, job creation etc,” said Tony Williams at property consultancy Building Value.

He says prices in the capital would fall 10 percent if there were no deal, the most pessimistic forecast.

“This will spill over dramatically to the residential market, with London bearing the brunt given the international catchment of prospective buyers.”

(Graphic: Reuters Poll – Post-Brexit UK house prices outlook – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Elx9kZ)

Since the June 2016 referendum decision to leave the EU, Reuters polls have consistently said a no-deal scenario would knock the economy, equities, housing market and sterling. [ECILT/GB]

However, a dip in the currency – a recent Reuters poll said sterling would fall 5-10 percent if there was no agreement – would make property cheaper for foreign investors, likely offsetting some of the uncertainty. [GBP/POLL]

If an agreement is reached, and most economists think it will be, house prices will rise 1.5 percent nationally and 0.5 in London in the six months after.

The wider poll of 25 market watchers said national home prices would rise 1.5 percent this year and 1.8 percent in 2020, both weaker than forecast three months ago. In 2021 they are expected to increase 2.3 percent.

In London prices are predicted to fall 2.0 percent this year, much sharper than in the last poll, and then rise 0.5 percent and 2.5 percent in the following two years.

“Prices have clearly come off the boil of late but on the assumption that the UK does not leave the EU without a deal, there is scope for the resumption of a modest upward trend,” said Peter Dixon at Commerzbank.

Reflecting the uncertainty, the range of forecasts for 2019 was wide, between a 3 percent fall and a 0.5 percent rise. Nationally, it was even wider – ranging from a 3 percent rise to a 3 percent fall.

OVERVALUED

With uncertainty still surrounding the Brexit outcome, nine of 16 respondents said they think turnover in London homes will fall this year while only two expected a rise. Nationally, 10 said turnover would stay the same, six said fall and two said rise.

“Sales levels will likely stay the same in 2019 as 2018 across the UK although this will vary across the regions,” said Leslie Schroeder at property consultancy Carter Jonas.

“We expect that London and the South East will see a slight fall in overall levels compared with 2018, again as affordability weighs heavily on the ability for average UK earners to move and buy houses.”

When asked to describe the level of London house prices on a scale of 1 to 10 from extremely cheap to extremely expensive, the median response was 8. Nationally they were rated 7, where it has been for a few years.

Those high ratings are unsurprising as the annual average British salary is around 30,000 pounds ($39,000) but the average asking price for a home in Britain was 300,715 pounds this month and more than double that in London, property website Rightmove said.

So although borrowing costs are currently very low and not expected to rise much in the coming years, prospective buyers trying to get on the property ladder will struggle as prices continue to rise, despite them increasing more slowly this year and next than wages and general inflation are predicted to.

“The fundamentals of the UK housing market remain as they are: lack of supply; a growing population; cheap money – a Brexit of any flavor will not dent those fundamentals,” said Russell Quirk at online estate agent eMoov.

(Polling by Indradip Ghosh; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Source: OANN

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Hungarian PM Orban apologizes for insulting EU allies

Hungary's prime minister has apologized for calling some of his allies in the European Parliament "useful idiots," but continues to face demands that he and his right-wing Fidesz party be expelled from the political group.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban sent apologetic letters to the leaders of 13 parties belonging to the European People's Party who have called for his ouster from the group, which has 49 parties altogether. Those wanting him ousted say Orban's fierce anti-migrant stance does not fit with the EPP's general centrist political bent.

In the letter sent to Wouter Beke, leader of Belgium's Dutch-speaking Christian Democrats, Orban attributed the "useful idiots" insult to Lenin, saying he meant "to criticize a certain policy and not certain politicians."

"I would herby like to express my apologies, if you found my quote personally offensive," Orban wrote, while also noting that his Fidesz party and Beke's have "serious disagreements ... on the issue of migration, the protection of Christian culture and the future of Europe."

Beke, however, said Thursday that while he accepted the apology, Orban's views on European values and migration still had no place in the Christian Democratic family and his party has not changed its mind on expelling Fidesz from the EPP.

A decision on the expulsion is expected Wednesday at an EPP political assembly.

EPP leader Manfred Weber met Tuesday with Orban in Budapest, but said the talks had not resolved the issues that could lead to the expulsion of Fidesz.

Weber has also urged Orban to end an ad campaign targeting European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and the EU — which Fidesz said it would do — and guarantee the continued operations in Budapest of Central European University, which was founded by Hungarian-American financier George Soros.

CEU is one of Hungary's top universities, but announced last year that it would move its programs issuing U.S.-accredited diplomas to Vienna from the coming academic year after Orban refused to guarantee its full operations in Budapest, where it has been since 1993.

Weber met with CEU rector and president Michael Ignatieff during his Tuesday visit to Budapest and revealed a plan involving the Technical University of Munich and German automaker BMW that could allow CEU to comply with amendments to Hungary's law on higher education.

Ignatieff hailed Weber's initiative — "and the possibility it opens of reversing CEU's ouster from Budapest" — with reservations. He called on Orban to make "an authoritative political commitment" and provide long-term legal assurances that would allow CEU to stay in Budapest.

___

Gorondi reported from Budapest.

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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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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