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Nigerian vote tough to call as week-long delay may hurt turnout

FILE PHOTO: A cyclist drives pasts a campaign poster for President Muhammadu Buhari in a street after the postponement of the presidential election in Kano
FILE PHOTO: A cyclist drives pasts a campaign poster for President Muhammadu Buhari in a street after the postponement of the presidential election in Kano, Nigeria February 17, 2019. REUTERS/Luc Gnago/File Photo

February 22, 2019

By Abraham Achirga and Paul Carsten

YOLA, Nigeria/ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigerian teacher Benjamin Shagu flew 500 km (310 miles) from the east of the country to the capital, Abuja, to vote in the presidential election – only for the vote to be delayed for a week, just five hours before polls had been due to open.

“I have left my students for a week. I can’t leave them for another week,” said the English teacher – who traveled from the eastern city of Yola – weighing up the expense and disruption in returning to the city in which he registered to vote.

Many of the country’s 72.8 million eligible voters, having spent considerable sums of money on travel, face the same dilemma.

The delay to the election, now scheduled for Saturday, could depress turnout, according to politicians and civil society groups. That in turn would reduce the mandate of the eventual winner to rule Africa’s most populous country and its biggest economy.

The two main candidates – President Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar – are also both over 70 years old and have failed to generate significant excitement from a relatively youthful population.

“It disadvantages us because we need the turnout. Our base is the youth population, and they’re the ones who can just easily get turned off from the whole process,” Bukola Saraki, director general of Atiku’s campaign, told Reuters in an interview.

“The momentum was on our side,” he said.

Idayat Hassan, director of the Abuja-based think tank Centre for Democracy and Development, also said the delay would likely benefit Buhari.

His supporters had been galvanized in the last two elections with a high turnout in his core base in the northwest, she said, the region with the highest number of registered voters.

The main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) typically attracts more support in the southeast, a region where turnout has historically been low, she said.

Yusuf Tuggar, a campaign team member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, said his party would be hit harder because many of its northern supporters live in the south and could not afford to travel home.

“It hurts us more because we have more supporters,” he said.

VOTER TURNOUT DECLINE

Turnout in presidential elections has declined steadily since 2003 from nearly 70 percent to just 44 percent in 2015.

That is largely because of growing disenchantment with a political class seen as corrupt and out of touch with a population that includes a high proportion of people living in extreme poverty.

Hassan said that, irrespective of the outcome, lower voter numbers would be dangerous for the winner.

“Sooner or later many people will question the legitimacy of elected representatives, especially when they have not participated in the process,” said Hassan.

Such concerns have led to the announcement of measures aimed at boosting turnout.

The interior ministry said Friday would be a public holiday, to give people time to travel to the polls, while fuel suppliers cut the price of petrol and a trade union that operates bus routes nationwide agreed to provide discounts for trips to voting points.

The hope was that people would overcome the difficulties involved in making a second trek to the polls.

“I need to travel to perform my citizenship of Nigeria,” said student Francisca Esidoy as she boarded a bus in the northern city of Kano, where she lives, to make the 970 kilometer (600 miles) journey to her southeastern home state of Abia.

But others could not be enticed.

Brauna Afraimu, 41, a civil servant based in Yola, said he was too disillusioned to make the 440 kilometer journey to nearby Bauchi state. “All these things will not motivate me to go and vote. I’ve already spent a lot of my resources and time last week,” he said.

(Additional reporting by Aaron Ross and Alexis Akwagyiram in Abuja, Percy Dabang in Yola, Kazeem Sanni in Kano; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by James Macharia and Hugh Lawson)

Source: OANN

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NBA roundup: Bucks obliterate short-handed Pistons

NBA: Playoffs-Detroit Pistons at Milwaukee Bucks
Apr 14, 2019; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (34) looks for a call from an official in the third quarter of game one of the first round of the 2019 NBA Playoffs against the Detroit Pistons at Fiserv Forum. The Bucks won 121-86. Mandatory Credit: Michael McLoone-USA TODAY Sports

April 15, 2019

Giannis Antetokounmpo racked up 24 points, 17 rebounds and four assists in only 23 minutes as the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks overwhelmed the visiting Detroit Pistons 121-86 in their Eastern Conference playoff opener on Sunday.

George Hill had 16 points off the bench for the Bucks, who led by 27 at halftime. Eric Bledsoe scored 15 points, Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton had 14 apiece, and Sterling Brown added 11 along with a team-high seven assists.

Pistons center Andre Drummond was ejected with 4:07 remaining in the third quarter for shoving Antetokounmpo to the floor. The two-handed push occurred after Antetokounmpo grabbed an offensive rebound. Drummond finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Luke Kennard’s 21 points off the bench topped Detroit, which played without All-Star forward Blake Griffin. He was sidelined by a sore left knee, which also kept him out of four of the last seven regular-season games. The Bucks were without guards Malcolm Brogdon (foot) and Tony Snell (ankle).

Trail Blazers 104, Thunder 99

Damian Lillard scored 30 points as Portland held off visiting Oklahoma City to win the opener of their first-round playoff series.

CJ McCollum added 24 points, and Enes Kanter contributed 20 points and 18 rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who led by as many as 19 points in the first half. The lead shrunk to as few as three points in the fourth quarter, but Oklahoma City never had possession with a chance to tie.

Paul George collected 26 points and 10 rebounds, and Russell Westbrook compiled 24 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Thunder, who made only 5 of 33 3-point attempts in the game.

Celtics 84, Pacers 74

Boston held visiting Indiana without a field goal for the first 8 1/2 minutes of the second half, rallying from a halftime deficit for a victory in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

After failing to make even one-third of their shots in the first half while falling behind 45-38, the fourth-seeded Celtics became a defensive force in the third quarter. The Pacers, seeded fifth in the East, missed their first seven shots of the second half and mixed in three turnovers as their seven-point lead turned into a 47-45 deficit.

Kyrie Irving and Marcus Morris scored 20 points apiece for Boston, which won handily despite shooting just 36.4 percent. Cory Joseph led Indiana with 14 points, and Bojan Bogdanovic had 12, as the Pacers shot 33.3 percent for the game overall.

–Field Level Media

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Trump says vote on healthcare can wait until after 2020 election


U.S. President Donald Trump at the "2019 Prison Reform Summit" in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., April 1, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

April 2, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he was willing to wait until after the 2020 presidential election to get Congress to vote on a new healthcare plan, giving Republicans time to develop a proposal to replace Obamacare.

Congressional Republicans have been unable thus far to draft a proposal to replace Democratic President Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act despite frequent vows to do so in recent years.

Trump’s vow last week that the Republican Party will be “the party of healthcare” caught his fellow Republicans off guard after the Justice Department backed a lawsuit intended to wipe out Obamacare, which has helped millions of Americans get health insurance.

In a series of tweets on Monday night, Trump said Republicans are developing “a really great HealthCare Plan with far lower premiums (cost) & deductibles than Obamacare.”

“In other words it will be far less expensive & much more usable than ObamaCare. Vote will be taken right after the Election when Republicans hold the Senate & win back the House,” he said.

Trump’s move suggests he is willing to debate the future of the U.S. healthcare system during the 2020 presidential election campaign than try to reach agreement on a plan sooner.

(Reporting By Steve Holland; editing by Darren Schuettler)

Source: OANN

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The Latest: Hearing about missing boy’s brother continued

The Latest on the missing suburban Chicago 5-year-old boy (all times local):

7:20 p.m.

A custody hearing involving the brother of a missing suburban Chicago boy and their parents has been continued.

JoAnn Cunningham and Andrew Freund Sr., the parents of missing 5-year-old Andrew "AJ" Freund, appeared Tuesday in McHenry County Circuit Court. They are seeking custody of their 4-year-old son, Parker. He was taken into custody by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services on Thursday after Andrew was reported missing by his parents.

A new attorney is expected to be appointed to the 4-year-old on Wednesday after a conflict of interest was found with the boy's current lawyer Tuesday.

The judge may determine who should have custody of the child on Monday.

Cunningham's attorney, George Kililis, said Tuesday that the state made numerous allegations in its petition that "requires a lot of work for us." He wouldn't comment further.

___

3:15 p.m.

Police reports indicate the 5-year-old boy who went missing from a suburban Chicago home had been living in squalor as recently as December when an officer dispatched to the scene said the "smell of feces" in a bedroom where children slept was overwhelming and that there was "dog feces and urine" throughout the home.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Crystal Lake Police Department released more than 60 pages of reports regarding several police visits to the home from which Andrew "AJ" Freund was reported missing last Thursday. The reports that were released in response to a Freedom of Information request are heavily redacted but the officers write that the house is "cluttered, dirty and in disrepair."

In one case, police called for state child welfare workers after an officer notices a large bruise on the body of one of the children but the children were not removed from the home after the case worker is unable to determine what caused the bruise.

Police on Tuesday continue the search for the boy. They have said the boy's mother has not cooperated with investigators.

___

12:15 p.m.

Police have released a recording of the 911 call a suburban Chicago man made when he discovered his 5-year-old son was missing.

In the call made last Thursday, Andrew Freund Sr. tells a dispatcher that he arrived home from a doctor's appointment to discover his son, Andrew "AJ" Freund, is gone. He says he searched the Crystal Lake house, garage, a park, and other locations but can't find him. Police released the recording Tuesday.

Crystal Lake police meanwhile announced they are still searching a nearby park and using sonar equipment to search ponds in the area. Police have asked neighbors for surveillance video in the hunt for clues about the boy's disappearance.

Police say they boy's mother, JoAnn Cunningham, is refusing to cooperate with detectives.

Source: Fox News National

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Death toll from Sri Lanka bombing attacks rises to 359: police

FILE PHOTO: People react during a mass burial of victims, two days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo
FILE PHOTO: People react during a mass burial of victims, two days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 23, 2019. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

April 24, 2019

COLOMBO (Reuters) – The death toll from the Easter Sunday suicide bombing attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka rose to 359, police said on Wednesday without providing any further details.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera released the toll but did not give a breakdown of casualties from the three churches and four hotels hit by suicide bombers. The toll had been put at 321 on Tuesday, with about 500 people also wounded.

The attacks were claimed on Tuesday by the Islamic State militant group, which said they were carried out by seven attackers but gave no evidence to support the claim. If the Islamic State claim is true, that would make it one of the worst attacks carried out by the group outside Iraq and Syria.

(Reporting by Sanjeev Miglani; Editing by Paul Tait)

Source: OANN

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Colombia: 1,000 Venezuelan forces crossed border since Feb.

Colombian authorities say about 1,000 members of the Venezuelan security forces have fled to Colombia since last month, giving up weapons and uniforms as they abandon the government of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

Colombia's foreign ministry on Monday released the updated number of Venezuelan police and military personnel who crossed the border, many around the time of a Feb. 23 attempt by opposition leader Juan Guaido to deliver U.S.-provided humanitarian aid to Venezuela. The attempt failed because Venezuelan forces blocked trucks trying to cross from Colombia into Venezuela.

Despite the desertions, Maduro has retained the support of Venezuela's key military leaders, who are considered pivotal in determining the outcome of the country's power struggle. Guaido says Maduro is an illegitimate leader, while Maduro says the U.S. is plotting a coup.

Source: Fox News World

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Exclusive: HSBC probe helped lead to U.S. charges against Huawei CFO

FILE PHOTO: Huawei's Executive Board Director Meng Wanzhou attends the VTB Capital Investment Forum
FILE PHOTO: Meng Wanzhou, Executive Board Director of the Chinese technology giant Huawei, attends a session of the VTB Capital Investment Forum "Russia Calling!" in Moscow, Russia October 2, 2014. REUTERS/Alexander Bibik/File Photo

February 27, 2019

By Karen Freifeld and Steve Stecklow

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – An internal investigation by HSBC Holdings PLC into Huawei Technologies’ connections to a suspected front company in Iran found that the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker maintained close financial ties to the firm years after purportedly selling the unit, documents reviewed by Reuters show.

The HSBC probe of Huawei came in late 2016 and 2017 as the bank was trying to get the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to dismiss criminal charges for the bank’s own misconduct involving U.S. sanctions.

The bank’s findings, which have not been made public, were given in a series of presentations in 2017 to the DOJ. The department used them to help bring its current criminal case against Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou.

She is accused of conspiring to defraud HSBC and other banks by misrepresenting Huawei’s relationship with the suspected front company, Skycom Tech Co Ltd. Huawei has said Skycom was a local business partner in Iran, while the United States maintains it was an unofficial subsidiary used to conceal Huawei’s Iran business. Huawei and Skycom are also defendants in the U.S. case, accused of bank and wire fraud, as well as violating U.S. sanctions on Iran.

U.S. authorities allege Huawei used Skycom to obtain embargoed U.S. goods and technology in Iran and to move money out of the country via the international banking system. As a result of Huawei’s deception, U.S. authorities allege, HSBC and other banks cleared more than $100 million of transactions related to Skycom through the United States that potentially violated economic sanctions Washington had in place at the time against doing business with Iran.

Huawei declined to comment for this story. The company has denied the charges in the case.

Robert Sherman, a spokesman for HSBC, said, “Information provided by HSBC to the Justice Department was provided pursuant to formal demand, including grand jury subpoena or other obligation to provide information pursuant to a Deferred Prosecution Agreement or similar legal obligation.”

He added, “The U.S. Department of Justice has confirmed that HSBC is not under investigation in this case.”

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.

Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, was arrested in Vancouver in December. She remains free on bail while the U.S. government tries to have her extradited to face bank and wire fraud charges. The case comes at a time of heightened trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, and amid concerns by the United States that Huawei’s equipment could be used for Chinese espionage. The Shenzhen-based company, the world’s largest maker of telecommunications networking equipment, has repeatedly denied such claims.

Meng has maintained she is innocent of the allegations made against her.

Reuters reported in December that HSBC – which is referred to in the indictment only as “Financial Institution 1” – figured prominently in the Huawei case. HSBC’s internal probe of Huawei is reported here for the first time.

The HSBC documents contain new financial details about Huawei’s relationship with Skycom and the company that Huawei claims it sold Skycom to in 2007, Canicula Holdings Ltd. All three firms previously had bank accounts at HSBC, with the Skycom and Canicula accounts part of what the bank internally called the “Huawei Mastergroup.”

The HSBC probe found numerous ties between the three firms that suggested Huawei controlled both Skycom and Canicula long after the purported sale, the documents show. For example, Canicula’s address was “c/o Huawei Technologies.”

The probe also found that Huawei financed Canicula’s purchase of Skycom, lending Canicula about 14 million euros in a deal the documents show didn’t close until December 2009. Canicula repaid Huawei a year later using funds from Skycom.

After HSBC asked Huawei in 2013 to close the Skycom and Canicula accounts, Huawei employees assisted the bank. At Huawei’s request, the remaining funds in the Skycom account were transferred to a Huawei bank account, according to the documents.

HSBC’s move to close the accounts followed stories by Reuters in 2012 and 2013 about Huawei, Skycom, Canicula and Meng. The articles – which are cited in the HSBC documents as well as the indictment – reported that Skycom had offered to sell at least 1.3 million euros worth of embargoed Hewlett-Packard computer equipment to Iran’s largest mobile-phone operator in 2010. Reuters also reported that Meng had served on Skycom’s board of directors between February 2008 and April 2009.

The earlier Reuters coverage can be read here https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-huawei-hp/exclusive-huawei-partner-offered-embargoed-hp-gear-to-iran-idUSBRE8BT0BF20121230 and here https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-huawei-skycom/exclusive-huawei-cfo-linked-to-firm-that-offered-hp-gear-to-iran-idUKBRE90U0CA20130131.

The indictment alleges that banks in part relied on Huawei’s false statements in the Reuters stories – that it hadn’t violated sanctions on Iran and that Skycom was a local partner – to continue doing business with Huawei and Skycom.

HSBC had its own sanctions issues. In 2012, it paid $1.92 billion and entered into a five-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department for disregarding rules designed to prevent money laundering and processing transactions that violated sanctions.

Under the deal, HSBC agreed to strengthen its sanctions and anti-money laundering programs and to cooperate with the Justice Department in any investigations. To conduct its probe of Huawei, it hired the law firm Latham & Watkins.

The law firm did not respond to requests for comment.

According to the HSBC documents, investigators conducted more than 100 interviews, reviewed more than 292,000 emails and analyzed years of financial transactions. At least four presentations were made to the Justice Department between February and July 2017. The criminal charges against the bank were dismissed in December 2017.

The bank’s Huawei probe found that in August 2013, at Huawei’s request, HSBC’s then deputy head of global banking for the Asia Pacific region, Alan Thomas, met with Meng. According to the HSBC documents, Meng later provided Thomas with a PowerPoint presentation in English that stated that Huawei had sold its shares in Skycom and that she was no longer on its board. The presentation described Skycom as a Huawei “business partner” in Iran. That presentation – which the United States alleges contained “numerous misrepresentations” – plays a central role in the U.S. case against Meng.

Thomas, who retired in 2017, declined to comment.

In the months after the meeting with Meng, HSBC considered whether to retain Huawei as a customer, the documents show. The bank initially concluded the reputational risks were acceptable and kept on Huawei. But, according to the indictment, HSBC told Huawei around 2017 that it was terminating the relationship.

The HSBC probe also uncovered financial transactions by Canicula that referenced Syria or involved a Syrian bank. Reuters reported last month that until 2017 Canicula operated in Syria, where it was connected to Huawei. Like Iran, Syria has been subject to U.S. sanctions.

Two people familiar with Canicula’s operations in Syria have since told Reuters that Huawei used the company to circumvent sanctions there.

HSBC also told the Justice Department that it was aware of another company linked to Skycom in Iran. In August 2016, the HSBC documents say, the bank was notified by a British engineering recruitment company, Matchtech Group Ltd, that a Matchtech subsidiary had provided contractors to support telecommunications projects in Iran from 2010 to 2016.

The subsidiary, Networkers International Ltd, had contracted with Skycom and Huawei, and had received payments in U.S. dollars from Skycom, the HSBC documents state. The payments totaled about $7.6 million, the documents show. Networkers terminated its Iran-related contract with Skycom in October 2016, Matchtech told HSBC.

Matchtech is now known as Gattaca plc. A spokesman for Gattaca declined to comment.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York and Steve Stecklow in London. Additional reporting by James Pomfret in Hong Kong and Babak Dehghanpisheh in Geneva. Editing by Michael Williams and Richard Woods)

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Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk
Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk, Belarus April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

April 26, 2019

By Katya Golubkova and Andrei Makhovsky

MOSCOW/MINSK (Reuters) – Russia is confident it can soon resolve a problem of polluted Russian oil contaminating a major pipeline serving Europe and affecting supplies as far west as Germany, a senior official said on Friday at talks with importers about the issue.

Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin did not give a precise timeframe but Moscow has previously said it would pump clean oil to the border with Belarus from April 29, seeking to end a crisis hitting the world’s second-largest crude exporter.

Sorokin was speaking at talks with officials from Belarus, Poland and Ukraine in Minsk on the issue. Belarus said the issue had cost it $100 million, while analysts say alternative supply routes for refiners cannot fully fill the gap.

Poland, Germany, Ukraine and Slovakia have suspended imports of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. Halting those supplies has knock-on effects further along the network.

The problem arose last week when an unidentified Russian producer contaminated oil with high levels of organic chloride used to boost oil output but which must be separated before shipment as it can destroy refining equipment.

Russia’s Energy Ministry said pipeline monopoly Transneft and other Russian companies had a plan to mitigate the effects of the contaminated oil. It did not give details.

Russian officials have said contaminated oil has already been pumped into storage in Russia and Friday’s talks would focus on how to partially withdraw the tainted crude from the Druzhba pipeline running via other countries.

The suspension cuts off a major supply route for Polish refineries owned by Poland’s PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos, as well as plants in Germany owned by Total, Shell, Eni and Rosneft.

Some refiners have outlined plans for alternative supplies, but analysts say other routes cannot meet the shortfall.

OIL PRICES

Ukraine’s Ukrtransnafta suspended the transit of oil through the pipeline on Thursday, closing supplies via Druzhba’s southern route to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

The pipeline issue, which has supported global oil prices, lifted Russian Urals crude differentials to an all-time high on Thursday.

With pipeline supplies to Europe shut, Russia faces a challenge of how to divert about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) that was meant to be shipped through the network to other destinations at the time when export capacity is at its limits.

State-run Russian Railways held talks with energy firms on using up to 5,000 rail tankers to transport crude, RIA news agency reported on Friday.

Concerns about the quality of Urals crude also caused delays in loadings at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga, when buyers refused to lift cargoes, resulting in a brief shutdown of the port on Wednesday and Thursday. An Ust-Luga official and traders said on Friday loadings had resumed.

Russian loading plans indicate it aims to boost Urals exports in May before the expiry of a deal on output cuts agreed with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, Reuters calculations and Energy Ministry data show.

The provisional loading plan for Russia’s Baltic Sea ports and Novorossiisk in May show exports rising to 10.7 million tonnes, the highest level in half a decade.

Minsk estimated its loss from lower oil product exports due to contaminated Russian oil at around $100 million, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing Belarusian state oil company Belneftekhim.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, in charge of government energy policy, said this week that those found responsible for contaminating the oil could be fined. He did not provide names.

(Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko in WARSAW, Sandor Peto in BUDAPEST, Jason Hovet in PRAGUE, Matthias Williams and Natalia Zinets in KIEV, Katya Golubkova, Olesya Astakhova, Gleb Gorodyankin, Olga Yagova and Maxim Rodionov in MOSCOW, Andrei Makhovsky in MINSK; writing by Katya Golubkova; editing by Michael Perry and Edmund Blair)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO - A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat
FILE PHOTO: A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – India has once again delayed the implementation of higher tariffs on some goods imported from the United States to May 15, a government official said on Friday.

The new tariff structure was to come into force from May 2, the spokeswoman said without citing reasons for the delay.

Angered by Washington’s refusal to exempt it from new steel and aluminum tariffs, New Delhi decided in June last year to raise the import tax from Aug. 4 on some U.S. products including almonds, walnuts and apples.

But since then, New Delhi has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the new tariff.

Trade friction between India and the U.S. has escalated after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans earlier this year to end preferential trade treatment for India that allows duty-free entry for up to $5.6 billion worth of its exports to the United States.

In a further blow, U.S. on Monday demanded buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers including India to continue importing limited volumes.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar in New Delhi and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Raissa Kasolowsky)

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One of Joe Biden’s newly-hired senior advisers has seemingly had a very recent change of heart.

Symone Sanders, a prominent Democratic strategist and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., staffer in 2016, was announced as one of the big-name members of Team Biden on Thursday.

But Sanders, who has also served as a CNN contributor, is seen in resurfaced footage from November 2016 expressing her opposition to a white person leading her party after Donald Trump’s election.

“In my opinion, we don’t need white people leading the Democratic party right now,” Sanders told host Brianna Keilar during a discussion on Howard Dean potentially becoming DNC chairman.

BIDEN HIRES FORMER BERNIE SANDERS’ SPOKESPERSON AS SENIOR ADVISER

“The Democratic party is diverse, and it should be reflected as so in leadership and throughout the staff, at the highest levels. From the vice chairs to the secretaries all the way down to the people working in the offices at the DNC,” she said.

Sanders wrapped up her remarks by saying: “I want to hear more from everybody. I want to hear from the millennials and the brown folks.”

Footage of the interview was resurfaced by RealClearPolitics.

After news of her hiring broke on Thursday, Sanders backed her new boss on Twitter.

TRUMP ASSESSES 2020 DEMS; TAKES SWIPES AT BIDEN, SANDERS; DISMISSES HARRIS, O’ROURKE; SAYS HE’S ROOTING FOR BUTTIGIEG

“@JoeBiden & @DrBiden are a class act. Over the course of this campaign, Vice President Biden is going to make his case to the American ppl. He won’t always be perfect, but I believe he will get it right,” she wrote.

The hiring of Sanders has been viewed as another indication of the expected tough fight that Biden and Sanders are in for as the two frontrunners battle a deep Democratic field.

While Sanders himself didn’t torch Biden as he jumped into the race, it’s clear that many of his progressive supporters view the former vice president as a threat.

Biden’s entry into the race – at least in the early going – sets up a battle between himself and Sanders, who thanks to his fierce fight with eventual nominee Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination, enjoys name ID on the level of the former vice president.

BIDEN VOWS THAT ‘AMERICA IS COMING BACK,’ SPARKING ‘MAGA’ COMPARISONS

Justice Democrats — who also called Biden “out-of-touch” – is an increasingly influential group among the left of the party. They’ve championed progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York as well as Sanders. The group was founded by members of Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.

Biden has pushed back against the perception that he’s a moderate in a party that’s increasingly moving to the left. Earlier this month he described himself as an “Obama-Biden Democrat.”

And Biden said he’d stack his record against “anybody who has run or who is running now or who will run.”

Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile – a Fox News contributor – highlighted that “Joe Biden can occupy his own lane in large part because he’s earned it. He’s earned the right to call himself whatever.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But she emphasized that “elections are not about the past, they’re about the future…I do believe he has the right ingredients. The question is can he find enough people to help him stir the pot.”

Fox News Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who is facing increased calls for her immediate resignation, remains in poor health and is not “lucid” enough to decide whether to step down, her attorney told reporters late Thursday.

Steve Silverman, speaking outside one of Pugh’s residences which was raided by the FBI and IRS earlier in the day, said the embattled city leader could make a decision as early as next week.

“She is leaning toward making the best decision in the best interest in the citizens of Baltimore City,” he said, adding that Pugh has “several options” to consider.

“She just needs to be physically and mentally sound and lucid enough to make appropriate decisions.”

BALTIMORE MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH, ON LEAVE AMID BOOK PROBE, HAS HOMES AND CITY HALL OFFICE RAIDED BY FEDS

Silverman said Pugh met with a doctor at home Thursday and plans to do so again Friday, the Baltimore Sun reported.

In the latest image-tarnishing scandal for struggling Baltimore, the first-term Democratic mayor faces accusations that she used children’s book deals to cover up kickbacks for favorable treatment as a state lawmaker and city leader that earned her roughly $800,000 over several years.

BALTIMORE’S ACTING MAYOR SAYS HE ‘WOULD HATE TO SEE’ EMBATTLED MAYOR RETURN AFTER BOOK SCANDALS

As a state senator, 69-year-old Pugh sold $500,000 worth of her self-published “Healthy Holly” illustrated paperbacks to the University of Maryland Medical System, a major state employer whose board she sat on for nearly 20 years.

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

UMMS reportedly paid Pugh for 100,000 copies of her books between 2011 and 2018 with the stated intention of distributing the books to schools and day care centers. But some 50,000 copies remain unaccounted for and officials are probing if they were even printed.

Pugh also made $300,000 in bulk sales to other customers including health carriers that did business with the city of Baltimore.

BALTIMORE CITY COUNCIL CALLS ON EMBATTLED MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH TO RESIGN IMMEDIATELY

The politically isolated Pugh slipped out of sight on April 1 after a hastily organized press conference where she called her no-contract book deals a “regrettable mistake.” That same day, Maryland’s governor called on the state prosecutor to investigate allegations of “self-dealing.”

Pugh took an indefinite leave of absence, citing her health deteriorating intensely after a bout with pneumonia.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide. (Loyd Fox/Baltimore Sun via AP)

On Thursday morning, agents with the FBI and IRS searched her two Baltimore homes, her City Hall offices, and a nonprofit organization she once led. The home of at least one of Pugh’s aides was also scoured.

Silverman said federal agents also served a subpoena at his law firm, retrieving Pugh’s original financial records. They did not seek any attorney-client privileged communications, he said.

Pugh’s attorney said she was “emotionally extremely distraught” following the searches by FBI and IRS agents.

“There was nothing incriminating that came out of her home,” Silverman said.

UMMS spokesman Michael Schwartzberg told reporters that the medical system received a grand jury witness subpoena seeking documents and information related to Pugh.

Other probes against Pugh include a review by the city ethics board and the Maryland Insurance Administration.

BALTIMORE MAYOR’S $500G DEAL FOR ‘HEALTHY HOLLY’ CHILDREN’S BOOKS DRAWS SCRUTINY

In recent weeks, the calls for Pugh’s resignation have intensified with the strongest voice coming from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who did not mince words after Thursday’s early morning raids.

“Now more than ever, Baltimore City needs strong and responsible leadership. Mayor Pugh has lost the public trust,” he said. “She is clearly not fit to lead. For the good of the city, Mayor Pugh must resign.”

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun via AP)

Many of her fellow Democrats, including those on Baltimore’s demoralized City Council and state lawmakers, are also insisting that Pugh put the citizens’ interests above any attempt to preserve her political career.

City Council member Brandon Scott called the Thursday raids “an embarrassment to the city.”

However, only a conviction can trigger a mayor’s removal from office, according to the city solicitor. Baltimore’s mayor-friendly City Charter currently provides no options for ousting its executive.

Six of Pugh’s staffers joined her on paid leave earlier this month; three of them were fired this week by the acting mayor.

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Pugh came to office in late 2016 after edging out ex-Mayor Sheila Dixon, who had spent much of her tenure fighting corruption charges before being forced to depart office in 2010 as part of a plea deal connected to the misappropriation of about $500 in gift cards meant for needy families.

She would certainly face a bruising 2020 Democratic primary if she were to return and run for reelection. Veteran City Council leader Bernard “Jack” Young, who is serving as acting mayor, said as she went on leave that he would merely be a placeholder. But this week, before the raids, he said “it could be devastating for her” if she tried to return.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Syria’s ambassador to the United Nations has blasted the United State and the European Union for imposing sanctions on his country, describing them as “economic terrorism.”

Bashar Ja’afari made his comments Friday in the Kazakh capital of Astana where Russia, Turkey and Iran held a new round of talks with the Syrian government and the opposition on steps to bring peace to the country.

His comments came as government-held parts of Syria are witnessing widespread fuel shortages that are largely the result of Western sanctions on Syria and its key ally Iran.

Ja’afari says: “This is economic terrorism that is escalating through unilateral economic measures.”

A final statement issued at the end of Astana’s 12th round rejected President Donald Trump’s formal recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over Syria’s occupied Golan Heights.

Source: Fox News World

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