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Italy’s Salvini defends F-35 orders as necessary for country

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini present plans on how the 500th anniversary of Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci's death will be marked in Italy, in Rome
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte presents plans on how the 500th anniversary of Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci's death will be marked in Italy, in Rome, Italy March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

March 14, 2019

By Steve Scherer and Giuseppe Fonte

ROME (Reuters) – Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini on Thursday defended the country’s plans to buy 90 Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 fighter jets, following recent media reports suggesting that the order would be slashed back.

“Any effort to slow or review (purchases of the F-35) I would consider harmful” for the country, Salvini told reporters in Rome.

The comments by Salvini, who leads the ruling far-right League party, follow unsourced reports at the weekend in the Italian media saying Defence Minister Elisabetta Trenta was planning to slash the F-35 orders by two-thirds.

Trenta is from the populist 5-Star Movement, the League’s governing partner. 5-Star has always been critical of the F-35 purchases, saying the money could be better spent on welfare or to boost the economy, now in its third recession in a decade.

Last July, Trenta announced she was reviewing the F-35 orders, while noting that the penalties for scrapping the orders might be more costly than maintaining them.

After Salvini’s comments, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, who is not a member of either party, met with Trenta to discuss the F-35.

Conte’s office issued a statement afterward saying defense spending would be reviewed in coming months to ensure that all planned projects respected the country’s strategy and its role in the NATO alliance.

Disagreements over the F-35 could further build tensions within the populist government. A deadlock over whether to dig a new rail tunnel under the Alps between Italy and France nearly led to a government crisis only a week ago.

This week Italy’s air force commander, General Alberto Rosso, defended the fighter during testimony in parliament, saying he was concerned that the uncertainty regarding the F-35 would undermine the quality of the fleet.

Italy is already using 11 of the aircraft and has trained 25 pilots, Rosso said, adding that Italy owed 389 million euros to Lockheed that had not yet been paid.

Italy whittled back its F-35 order to 90 jets in 2012, from 131.

The plane is made by Lockheed Martin Corp, with companies including Northrop Grumman Corp, United Technologies Corp’s Pratt & Whitney and BAE Systems Plc also involved.

In Italy, defense group Leonardo’s Alenia manages a $1 billion-plus government-owned final assembly and checkout facility in Cameri.

(Reporting by Steve Scherer and Giuseppe Fonte; Editing by Frances Kerry)

Source: OANN

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EU countries want to know UK’s Brexit delay plan before approving: Irish finance minister

FILE PHOTO: Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Ministry of Finance in Dublin
FILE PHOTO: Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Ministry of Finance in Dublin, Ireland, February 5, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo

March 15, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Irish finance minister Paschal Donohoe said on Friday that many European Union leaders want to know clearly how Britain would use any extension to the Brexit process before granting it.

British lawmakers voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to seek a delay in Britain’s exit from the EU, due on March 29, but this must be agreed by each of the bloc’s members.

“Clearly given all that we have all gone through in watching the British political system grapple with the complexity of Brexit, there are many in the European Union that would want to be very clear on how this extension period will be used,” Donohoe told an audience after a speech at Bloomberg in London.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce and Tom Wilson; editing by Michael Holden)

Source: OANN

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BOJ tankan to show big manufacturers’ mood weakest in two years, trim capex: Reuters poll

FILE PHOTO: Steam is emitted from factories at sunset in Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki
FILE PHOTO: Steam is emitted from factories at sunset in Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, Japan February 13, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

March 22, 2019

TOKYO (Reuters) – Confidence among Japan’s big manufacturers likely weakened to the lowest in two years in the three months to March and it is seen worsening further over the next quarter, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, as China’s economic slowdown added to worries about sluggish global demand.

The Bank of Japan’s quarterly tankan business sentiment survey is expected to show the headline index for big manufacturers’ confidence worsened to plus 14 in March from plus 19 in December, the poll of 18 economists found.

The sentiment index for big non-manufacturers slipped to plus 22 in March from plus 24, according to the poll, though a positive number means optimists still outnumber pessimists.

“If the data shows worsening corporate sentiment and weak capital spending plans, market expectations for additional BOJ easing will increase,” said Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute.

Big manufacturers’ business sentiment is seen worsening in the coming quarter to plus 12 and non-manufacturers’ sentiment is likely to deteriorate to plus 20, the Reuters poll found.

Big companies were forecast to cut their capital spending plans by 0.4 percent for new fiscal year from April, the poll showed.

The Bank of Japan will publish its tankan survey at 8:50 a.m. Japan time on Monday April 1. (2350 GMT on March 31).

Reuters’ monthly Tankan poll, which tracks the BOJ’s closely watched tankan quarterly survey, found confidence among Japanese manufacturers hit its weakest in two-and-a-half years in March.

FACTORY OUTPUT AND RETAIL SALES

Factory output is expected to rise 1.0 percent in February from the previous month, the first gain in four months, the poll showed.

Recent drops in exports and industrial output prompted the BOJ to downgrade its views on them and the government cut its assessment on the economy for the first time in three years.

“Factory output likely rebounded after it dropped in January due to the Lunar New Year Holiday, but the pace of recovery is weak on sluggish foreign demand for semiconductor-related items,” said Takumi Tsunoda, senior economist at Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute.

Retail sales, which track performance of firms such as department stores, supermarkets and convenience stores, were seen rising 1.2 percent in February from a year earlier, twice the pace in January.

The trade ministry will publish the factory output and retail sales at 8:50 a.m. on Friday March 29, Japan time (2350 GMT March 28).

The poll also showed Tokyo’s core consumer price index (CPI), which includes oil products but excludes fresh food prices, rose 1.1 percent in March from a year earlier, the same pace as in February and January.

Price of electricity, city gas and oil related products likely supported Tokyo’s core CPI, analysts said.

The nation’s jobless rate likely remained steady at 2.5 percent in February and the jobs-to-applicants ratio stood at 1.63 last month, unchanged from January, the poll found.

The government will release Tokyo’s core CPI and jobs market data at 8:30 a.m. on Friday.

(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Source: OANN

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Israel’s Netanyahu, in close election race, visits U.S. ally

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades in Jerusalem
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades in Jerusalem March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Jim Young/Pool

March 24, 2019

By Jeffrey Heller

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – With Israel’s election just two weeks away, Benjamin Netanyahu will get to showcase his close ties with Donald Trump in a U.S. visit just days after the president backed Israel’s hold over the occupied Golan Heights.

The prime minister’s White House meeting with Trump on Monday could be overshadowed in the United States by the expected release of a confidential report into a probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

But Netanyahu, facing possible indictment in three corruption cases and denying any wrongdoing, will play to a domestic audience in highlighting what he hails as the strongest bond ever between an Israeli leader and an American president.

Before returning on Thursday from the long-planned trip to the home stretch of a close race, Netanyahu can expect a warm reception from Trump, who along with the First Lady, will also host a dinner for Netanyahu and his wife, Sara.

Trump helped set the scene for his ally on Thursday, announcing the time had come to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, strategic territory that Israel seized from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war.

The president’s move was widely seen in Israel – where Trump is a popular figure – as an attempt to provide an election boost to the right-wing Netanyahu, who had pressed for yet another departure from long-standing U.S. policy in one of the world’s most volatile regions.

Trump had already fulfilled two major items on Netanyahu’s wish list, recognizing contested Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017 and moving the American embassy to the holy city from Tel Aviv last May.

Those steps angered Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem, also captured by Israel in 1967, as the capital of a state in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. It also set them firmly against a peace plan Washington says it will present after the Israeli ballot.

“We have never had such a bond between the prime minister of Israel and an American president,” Netanyahu, who has featured Trump on his campaign billboards, told reporters upon his departure from Tel Aviv.

For Trump, Netanyahu’s embrace resonates with U.S. evangelists, a core constituency for the Republican leader who is up for re-election in 2020.

CLOSE RACE

Before arriving in Washington on Sunday, Netanyahu said he would speak to Trump “about his historic declaration” on the Golan and “continued pressure on Iran” following the U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Tehran that had relaxed sanctions on Israel’s arch-foe.

Netanyahu will also address the pro-Israel lobbying group, AIPAC, at its annual convention in Washington, as will his main challenger in the election, former military chief Benny Gantz who heads a centrist party.

The prime minister said he will meet leaders of Congress during the visit. Netanyahu’s relations with Democrats have been strained by his unflinching support for Trump, friction with the Democratic party’s progressive wing and his thorny relationship with Barack Obama.

Opinions polls show Netanyahu running neck and neck with Gantz. The political newcomer has called for clean governance, building on the attorney-general’s announcement in February that he intends to indict Netanyahu on bribery and fraud charges, pending a hearing after the April 9 vote.

“(Trump’s statement about the Golan) will really help Netanyahu,” said Billha Ketter, 67, an event planner, speaking to Reuters in Rosh Pina, which abuts the Golan Heights. She accused the president of intervening in Israel’s election.

Opinion polls gauging whether Trump’s move is having an effect are expected later in the week.

(Additional reporting by Rami Ayyub in Rosh Pina, Israel; Editing by Maayan Lubell/Keith Weir)

Source: OANN

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England rise to third in world rankings ahead of Women’s World Cup

FILE PHOTO: Soccer: She Believes Cup Women's Soccer-England at Brazil
FILE PHOTO: Feb 27, 2019; Chester, PA, USA; England celebrates a goal against the Brazil during the second half of a She Believes Cup women's soccer match at Talen Energy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo

March 29, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – England enhanced their reputation as one of the favorites to win the Women’s World Cup later this year after rising to third in FIFA’s rankings on Friday, leapfrogging tournament hosts France in the process.

Phil Neville’s squad moved up thanks to their success at the SheBelieves Cup in the United States earlier this month, where they drew with the hosts and secured wins over Brazil and Japan to win the four-nation competition for the first time.

However, world champions the U.S. maintain their top ranking and are still the team to beat going into the World Cup which takes place from June 7-July 7.

The Americans are the most successful team in the tournament’s history, having won it three times and have only been defeated once in their last 30 matches.

Germany remain second in the rankings while France slip down to fourth, although they were one of the few top nations not to participate in a friendly tournament this month. Corinne Diacre’s side beat Uruguay 6-0 on their last outing earlier this month.

France open the World Cup, which features 24 nations, against South Korea at Paris’ Parc des Princes on June 7.

(Reporting by Christian Radnedge, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

Source: OANN

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Trump: No Rush to Complete China Trade Deal

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was in no rush to complete a trade deal with China that Washington wants to include structural reforms by Beijing, including how it treats U.S. intellectual property.

Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping had been expected to meet at Trump's resort home in Florida at the end of March to finalize a pact that would end a months-long trade war. But since both sides are still negotiating, no date has been set for a summit.

"I think things are going along very well - we'll just see what the date is," Trump told reporters at the White House. "I'm in no rush. I want the deal to be right. ... I am not in a rush whatsoever. It's got to be the right deal. It's got to be a good deal for us and if it's not, we're not going to make that deal."

The White House is demanding that China make structural reforms, including how it treats U.S. intellectual property and forces U.S. companies to share their technology when doing business in China.

According to reports, China this week balked at a meeting over concerns Trump would walk away from a trade deal, after Trump did not make a peace deal with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a summit in Vietnam.

Trump said he would prefer ironing out details of any trade agreement in a face-to-face meeting with Xi.

"I think President Xi saw that I'm somebody that believes in walking when the deal is not done and you know there's always a chance it could happen and he probably wouldn't want that," Trump said.

"We could do it either way. We could have the deal completed and come and sign or we could get the deal almost completed and negotiate some of the final points. I would prefer that."

Source: NewsMax Politics

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K-pop Big Bang member booked on alleged sex bribery; company shares drop

Seungri of South Korean band
FILE PHOTO: Seungri (Lee Seung-hyun) of South Korean band "Big Bang" poses with a Samsung Galaxy S3 phone sporting a cover with an image of the band on it during a pre-concert news conference in Singapore September 27, 2012. REUTERS/Tim Chong

March 11, 2019

SEOUL (Reuters) – A member of South Korean K-pop band Big Bang, who goes by the stage name Seungri, has been charged with providing prostitutes to foreign investors in his private club, media reported on Sunday, sending shares of his agency as much as 14 percent lower.

His agency, YG Entertainment Inc, one of South Korea’s three major K-pop talent agencies, told Reuters on Monday that it was aware the singer had been charged, however, it did not have any new comment.

Shares of YG Entertainment fell as much as 14.2 percent to their lowest since November 2018.

Police were not immediately available for comment.

The 28-year-old singer, whose real name is Lee Seung-hyun, was also not available for comment on Monday.

He denied procuring prostitutes last month when a media outlet reported he had been involved in “sex bribery”.

Shares of YG Entertainment plunged 21.9 percent after that report.

Following the February media report YG Entertainment said in a statement the report was false.

The agency said on Monday its position remained the same.

The scandal comes ahead of the singer’s mandatory military services, which all able-bodied men in South Korea must complete.

The agency said that the singer would join the army later this month to fulfill his military duties.

(Reporting by Joori Roh)

Source: OANN

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A Chinese woman adjusts a Chinese national flag next to U.S. national flags before a Strategic Dialogue expanded meeting, part of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) in Beijing
A Chinese woman adjusts a Chinese national flag next to U.S. national flags before a Strategic Dialogue expanded meeting, part of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, July 10, 2014. REUTERS/Ng Han Guan/Pool (CHINA – Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS)

April 26, 2019

By April Joyner

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Even as the lift from optimism over prospects for U.S.-China trade detente shows signs of wearing off for the wider U.S. stock market, upbeat sentiment around China’s economy could bolster shares of materials companies.

Shares of S&P 500 industrial and technology companies, which were buffeted by last year’s tit-for-tat tariffs as well as slowing global demand, have been very responsive to progress in U.S.-China trade relations and a strengthening Chinese economy. This year, those sectors have outpaced the ascent in the S&P 500, which reached a record closing high on Tuesday.

Materials stocks have not been as sensitive, however, even though they also stand to benefit as a stronger Chinese economy lifts global consumption and industrial output. As China has taken measures to stimulate its economy, its economic data have turned more upbeat. That in turn could aid global growth, which has flagged as a result of China’s cooldown.

“What we’re seeing is China spending more on stimulus: fiscal stimulus and monetary stimulus,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco in New York. “That’s likely to be a positive for materials.”

The People’s Bank of China has cut banks’ reserve requirement ratio five times over the past year and is widely expected to ease policy further to spur lending and reduce borrowing costs. The stimulus appears to have boosted Chinese economic data, with factory activity growing in March for the first time in four months.

Yet so far in 2019, the S&P 500 materials index has underperformed the S&P 500 at large, rising just 11.9% compared with 16.7% for the benchmark index. Moreover, it is among the biggest decliners in the period since the S&P’s previous record closing level on Sept. 20. The materials index has fallen 7% over those seven months, versus a 5.2% gain for technology and a 3% loss for industrials. Only the energy index has dropped more over that period.

A trade agreement could serve as a catalyst for a bump in materials shares as a drag on China’s economy is lifted, some market strategists say. Some commodity prices, including those for copper and oil, have ascended this year as the prospects for the global economy have somewhat brightened.

“It all goes back to the global growth outlook,” said Andrea DiCenso, portfolio manager for alpha strategies at Loomis Sayles in Boston. “With the front run in hard data, we’re beginning to see a pretty significant rally.”

Additionally, a trade agreement is expected to include commitments from China to purchase higher quantities of U.S. products such as soybeans, which could benefit companies that make agricultural chemicals, including DowDuPont Inc and CF Industries Holdings Inc.

CF Industries is scheduled to report quarterly results after the bell on Wednesday, and DowDuPont is scheduled to report before the market open on Thursday.

To be sure, even with a trade agreement, some materials companies could face price pressures. Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc fell 10.1% on Thursday after the copper mining company posted a lower-than-expected profit as its production slipped and its costs rose.

A rollback of tariffs on Chinese imports, particularly aluminum and steel, would likely prompt a fall in some commodity prices, which could hurt prospects for certain materials companies, said Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera Investment Management in El Segundo, California.

Even so, those drawbacks may be outweighed by the support for global demand fostered by a U.S.-China trade agreement.

“You could see a number of companies with lowered expectations bring them back up as they talk favorably about the impact that a trade deal would have on them,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York.

(Reporting by April Joyner; additional reporting by Sinéad Carew; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Source: OANN

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A former ICE special agent told Fox News that he hopes the case of the Massachusetts judge accused of helping an illegal immigrant flee federal authorities will “send a message to other activist judges that immigration laws aren’t optional.”

Jim Hayes made the comments Friday on ‘Fox & Friends’ a day after Newton District Court Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph and court officer Wesley MacGregor were indicted by a federal grand jury for obstruction of justice and three other counts. The pair allegedly helped Jose Medina-Perez get out of the Massachusetts courthouse in 2018 through a back door in order to elude the ICE agent who sought him.

“I think that the judge certainly faces the criminal charges that are pending. I think certainly that bar card is up for grabs at this point, depending on the outcome of that case,” Hayes told ‘Fox & Friends’.

“I think that, hopefully, these charges will send a message to other activist judges that immigration laws aren’t optional,” he added.

District Court Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph departs federal court on Thursday in Boston after facing obstruction of justice charges for allegedly helping a man in the country illegally evade immigration officials as he left her Newton, Mass., courthouse after a hearing in 2018. (AP)

District Court Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph departs federal court on Thursday in Boston after facing obstruction of justice charges for allegedly helping a man in the country illegally evade immigration officials as he left her Newton, Mass., courthouse after a hearing in 2018. (AP)

MASSACHUSETTS JUDGE WHO ALLEGEDLY HELPED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ESCAPE ICE IS INDICTED

Medina-Perez, a twice-deported illegal immigrant with a fugitive warrant for drunken driving in Pennsylvania, had been in Joseph’s courtroom in order to be arraigned on drug charges, the Boston Globe previously reported.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Joseph, who has been suspended without pay, and MacGregor appeared in court Thursday and pleaded not guilty to all counts. No date has been set for their next court appearance.

“People who serve in the criminal justice system have to have honesty and integrity in order for the system to work and for our system and our justice system to continue,” Hayes said.

Fox News’ Katherine Lam and Nicole Darrah contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Cyprus police on Friday widened their search for more victims of a suspected serial killer after the 35-year-old national guard captain told investigators he killed four more people that he previously admitted to on the small Mediterranean nation.

The count now has climbed to seven.

CYPRUS FEARS POSSIBLE SERIAL KILLER AFTER BODIES OF TWO WOMEN ARE DISCOVERED IN MINESHAFT

Authorities said they are focusing on a military firing range, a man-made lake and an abandoned mine about 20 miles west of the capital Nicosia.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades expressed “deep sorrow and concern” at the slayings and said he shared the public’s revulsion at “murders that appear to have selectively targeted foreign women who are in our country to work.”

“Such instincts are contrary to our culture’s traditions and values,” he said in a statement from China, where he was on an official visit. He urged calm so police can complete their investigation.

The scale of the alleged crimes by a Cypriot National Guard captain has horrified the small nation of over a million people, where multiple killings are rare. Five British law enforcement officials — including a coroner, a psychiatrist and investigators who specialize in multiple homicides — have been dispatched to help with the investigation.

On Thursday, the 35-year-old suspect, who can’t yet be named because he hasn’t been formally charged, told investigators that he had killed four more people than he had previously admitted to. Police said the suspect will appear in court Saturday for another custody hearing.

Cypriot investigators and police officers search a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019. Police on the east Mediterranean island nation, along with the help of the fire service, are conducting the search Monday in the wake of last week's discovery of the bodies in the abandoned mineshaft and the disappearance of the six-year-old daughter of one of the victims. 

Cypriot investigators and police officers search a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019. Police on the east Mediterranean island nation, along with the help of the fire service, are conducting the search Monday in the wake of last week’s discovery of the bodies in the abandoned mineshaft and the disappearance of the six-year-old daughter of one of the victims.  (AP)

The victims — all foreigners— include Marry Rose Tiburcio, 38, from the Philippines, whose bound body was found April 14 in a flooded mineshaft. She and her six-year-old daughter had been missing since May of last year.

The girl remains missing and authorities believe she was also slain by the suspect. Divers have entered the reservoir to search for her but have not found her body yet.

CYPRUS: GROUND NOT YET READY FOR PEACE TALKS RESUMPTION 

Authorities tracked down the officer last week by scouring Tiburcio’s online messages.

Six days later, police discovered another body April 20 in the same mineshaft, identified by Cypriot media as 28-year-old Arian Palanas Lozano, also from the Philippines.

A third alleged victim, also of Filipino descent, is 31-year-old Maricar Valtez Arquiola, who had been missing since December 2017. The suspect initially denied killing Arquiola but reversed himself after a court hearing Thursday, a police official said.

The suspect on Thursday also pointed investigators to a military firing range, where they discovered another unidentified body, which according to the suspect belongs to a woman of either Nepalese or Indian descent.

SERIAL KILLER WHO MAY HAVE COMMITTED 90 MURDERS IS LINKED TO YET ANOTHER KILLING 

Cypriot police are also looking for a Romanian mother and daughter. Cypriot media identified them as Livia Florentina Bunea, 36, and eight-year-old Elena Natalia Bunea, who are believed to have been missing since September 2016.

The man-made lake remains off-limits to a manned search because of high levels of toxic heavy metals from the copper pyrite mine, Fire Service Chief Marcos Trangolas said, adding that authorities will use other means to scour the lake.

Chief of Cypriot police Zacharias Chrysostomou, center, walks with Cypriot investigators and police officers at a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019.

Chief of Cypriot police Zacharias Chrysostomou, center, walks with Cypriot investigators and police officers at a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Cyprus police have faced criticism from immigrant activists who said they didn’t act fast enough to investigate the whereabouts of some of the victims, many of them domestic workers. The island nation has 80 unsolved missing persons cases, going back to 1990.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

Police chief Zacharias Chrysostomou said a three-member panel has been assigned to probe whether police followed all the correct protocol in recent missing persons cases.

According to the state-run Cyprus News Agency, an investigator had told the court at an earlier hearing that the suspect admitted to killing one woman he met online after having sex with her.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News World

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Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Gilber Caro is seen delivering a speech at a forum on human rights in Caracas
Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Gilber Caro is seen delivering a speech at a forum on human rights in Caracas, Venezuela June 12, 2018 in this still image taken from a video. REUTERS TV/ via REUTERS

April 26, 2019

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s opposition-run National Assembly said on Friday that opposition lawmaker Gilber Caro was detained, which it described in a Twitter post as a violation of diplomatic immunity.

Caro had previously spend a year and a half in jail, before being freed in June 2018. The arrest comes as Juan Guaido, the National Assembly’s leader, mounts a challenge to President Nicolas Maduro, arguing his 2018 re-election was illegitimate. Guaido in January invoked the country’s constitution to assume an interim presidency.

(Reporting by Caracas newsroom; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Customers shop in a Sainsbury's store in Redhill
FILE PHOTO: Customers shop in a Sainsbury’s store in Redhill, Britain, March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By James Davey

LONDON (Reuters) – With Sainsbury’s dream of creating Britain’s biggest supermarket group in tatters, its chastened CEO Mike Coupe needs to reassure investors he has the plan to arrest a sales decline when he presents annual results next week.

Britain’s competition regulator blocked Sainsbury’s 7.3 billion pound ($9.4 billion) takeover of Walmart’s Asda on Thursday, saying the deal would increase prices. Sainsbury’s shares fell 5 percent and are down 22 percent over the last three months.

For Sainsbury’s fourth quarter to March 9 analysts are on average forecasting a 1.6 percent fall in like-for-like sales, which would follow 1.1 percent decline over the Christmas period.

Monthly industry data from researcher Kantar has also shown Sainsbury’s as the weakest performer of the big four grocers this year and this month it lost its status as Britain’s No. 2 supermarket group by market share to Asda.

While Sainsbury’s has struggled, market leader Tesco has gained momentum, this month reporting a 34 percent jump in full year profit.

Prohibition of the deal was a major blow to Coupe, its architect and Sainsbury’s boss since 2014.

Martin Scicluna became Sainsbury’s chairman last month and when bedded-in may decide that if the group needs a major shake-up it is best carried out by a new leader.

Much will depend on the attitude of 22 percent shareholder the Qatar Investment Authority, which has so far declined to comment, as well as Coupe’s own appetite to continue after 15 years at the group.

THE RIGHT STRATEGY?

Coupe said on Thursday he was confident Sainsbury’s was pursuing the right strategy.

That was a clear indication that Wednesday’s results statement will not include radical changes to the group’s plans, such as a big margin reset — sacrificing profit to drive sales.

However, sources connected to Sainsbury’s said Coupe would likely acknowledge that more needs to be done on prices, so the supermarket business can better compete with its big four rivals – Tesco, Asda and No. 4 Morrisons – as well as German-owned discounters Aldi and Lidl.

Coupe’s strategy is based on differentiating Sainsbury’s food offer, growing its general merchandise, clothing business and bank, while investing in convenience and online channels.

Some analysts believe major change is needed.

HSBC analyst David McCarthy reckons Sainsbury’s needs a margin reset, should allocate more space for core lines and needs to drive better store standards. He said Sainsbury’s might consider closing down space in some of its larger stores and reducing its non-food offer.

For the full 2018-19 year analysts are on average forecasting a pretax profit of 626 million pounds, up from 589 million pounds in 2017-18 – a second straight year of profit growth. A full year dividend of 10.5 pence per share is forecast versus 10.2 pence last time.

Bank and lawyer fees related to the proposed combination with Asda were 17 million pounds in the first half and have reportedly jumped to around 50 million pounds.

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Keith Weir)

Source: OANN

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