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Marketing exec's son allegedly caught in college admissions scandal says he didn’t know about scam

The son of Jane Buckingham, a marketing executive and parenting book author, said he didn’t know his mother allegedly paid bribes to help him get into college as part of a nationwide college admissions cheating scheme.

Jack Buckingham told the Hollywood Reporter that although he was told not to speak about the incident, he felt the need to release a statement “to get that off my chest.”

"I know there are millions of kids out there both wealthy and less fortunate who grind their ass off just to have a shot at the college of their dreams. I am upset that I was unknowingly involved in a large scheme that helps give kids who may not work as hard as others an advantage over those who truly deserve those spots,” Buckingham said.

Trendera CEO Jane Buckingham allegedly paid $50,000 for a proctor to take the ACT exam for her son.

Trendera CEO Jane Buckingham allegedly paid $50,000 for a proctor to take the ACT exam for her son. (Getty Images)

"For that I am sorry though I know my word does not mean much to many people at the moment. While the situation I am going through is not a pleasant one, I take comfort in the fact that this might help finally cut down on money and wealth being such a heavy factor in college admissions,” he continued. “Instead, I hope colleges may prioritize [looking at] an applicants' character, intellect and other qualities over everything else.”

USC, YALE UNIVERSITY AMONG COLLEGES SUED BY STANFORD STUDENTS AMID COLLEGE ADMISSIONS SCANDAL

Jane Buckingham, who founded the firm Trendera, was one of 50 people charged because of their alleged involvement in William “Rick” Singer’s scheme to help their children get into elite colleges by cheating on the school admissions exams or faking athlete profiles.

Buckingham allegedly paid $50,000 to Singer to have someone take the ACT exam on behalf of his son in July 2018. The marketing exec was initially supposed to fly her son to Houston to take the exam at a testing center, but the plan fell through because Jack had tonsillitis, the complaint stated. Singer then had Mark Riddell, dubbed the “best test-taker,” take the exam on behalf of Buckingham’s son.

COLLEGE CHEATING MASTERMIND AUDITIONED FOR REALITY SHOW IN 2010, SAYS HE HELPED HUNDREDS WITH SCHEME

“I know this is craziness, I know it is. And then I need you to get him into USC, and then I need you to cure cancer and [make peace] in the Middle East,” Buckingham told Singer in a phone call.

Buckingham also sent a sample of her son’s handwriting so Riddell would be able to replicate it for the exam, authorities stated.

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Buckingham also allegedly discussed paying Singer to help her daughter, Lilia Buckingham, because she is “not a great test taker,” according to the indictment.

Source: Fox News National

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Chicago cops smell political rat in wake of Jussie Smollett case dismissal

Livid Chicago law enforcement officials are furious Jussie Smollett has had all 16 felony charges dismissed against him after he was accused of staging his own hate crime – and they smell a political rat.

“The Chicago Police Department is not happy. Our Superintendent expressed his displeasure about the charges being dropped,” one officer in the Chicago police department told Fox News. “The Department exhausted manpower and numerous hours investigating this case to make sure it was handled properly."

The wiping of the case has been seen as nothing short of a "real blow" to those in Chicago's law enforcement. The department insider also noted that they have been left scratching their heads as to why the case was suddenly sealed, thus not allowing public scrutiny, and pointed to “politics” and questionable shuffles and possible interference in handling the case.

JUSSIE SMOLLETT HOAX CHARGES DROPPED, BUT FEDERAL INVESTIGATION, LAWSUITS COULD BE NEXT

“The police department worked super hard on this. They put a ton of manpower on it because they knew it sounded wrong from the beginning,” another former Chicago-based law enforcement source said.

"What’s interesting is that the former chief-of-staff of Michelle Obama called the state's attorney about the case, saying the (Smollett) family was concerned. Shortly after, the state's attorney recused herself and now the charges are dropped and the court has sealed the record.”

Reports emerged last week that Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx had been in contact with Mrs. Obama’s former chief-of-staff, Tina Tchen, who emailed her expressing the “concerns” that the Smollett family had about the ongoing investigation. Foxx is alleged to have then spoken with a Smollett relative whose number was provided by Tchen, and subsequently reached out to Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.

RAHM EMANUEL CONSIDERS SUING JUSSIE SMOLLETT TO RECOUP MONEY WASTED ON INVESTIGATION: REPORT

Actor Jussie Smollett talks to the media before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped, Tuesday, March 26, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Actor Jussie Smollett talks to the media before leaving Cook County Court after his charges were dropped, Tuesday, March 26, 2019, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Ahead of the charges being dropped, the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President Kevin Graham alleged that Foxx may have interfered with the police probe and sought an investigation into whether Foxx herself had violated any laws.

Another retired police chief in the region told Fox News that politics has long plagued the Chicago judicial system.

“Politicians run for office promising to change the way things are done and this is what they do,” he said. “Policemen work their butts off to do a good job and this is what they get. The least a prosecutor could have done was to send it to the grand jury. It’s no wonder policemen get discouraged.”

BRIAN STELTER CAUTIONED BY CNN COLLEAGUE STEVE CORTES: 'DON'T DISRESPECT THE COPS' IN SMOLLETT CASE

Johnson claims to have been blindsided by the sudden dropping of charges, and others connected to law enforcement officials in Chicago told Fox News that conflict between the DA and the PD could “get pretty ugly.”

In late January, the black and openly gay actor told police that he was attacked by two men who jeered him with homophobic and racial epithets. While sympathy poured in for him from Hollywood and high-level advocacy organizations, skeptics also started to raise red flags. The two alleged assailants turned out to be brothers who previously worked with Smollett, and told investigators that they have been paid to assist in staging the incident.

Chicago’s Cook County State's Attorney’s Office did not specify if any information had arisen on the case, and simply stated that “after reviewing all of the facts and circumstances, including Mr. Smollett’s volunteer service in the community and agreement to forfeit his [$10,000] bond, we believe this outcome is a just disposition and appropriate resolution to the case.”

Other less pronounced theories have emerged as to why the charges were abandoned, with some in the broader law enforcement community suggesting that presumptions of guilt put forth by state officials in recent weeks may have “tainted the jury pool.”

At a press conference announcing the charges in February, Superintendent Johnson chided Smollett, questioning how an African-American man could use the symbolism of a noose to make false accusations” and mandated that “bogus police reports cause real harm.” But both Johnson and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel doubled-down and again came out lambasting the actor for his “hoax” on Tuesday after the charges were tossed.

“Police should never be conducting press conferences where they convict an individual of wrongdoing because that is not their job,” said Joe Ested, a former law enforcement official and author of “Police Brutality Matters."

“The job of law enforcement is to gather all evidence and present it to the prosecutor. When you hear of a dismissal of this nature, it usually comes from improper police procedures or misconduct somewhere during the evidence gathering.

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“It can be police omitting evidence, selectively interviewing witnesses and taking only certain statements into consideration but not all of the evidence; or it can be witnesses changing their statements. Police should never have the mindset of convicting people, especially in the public arena.”

Source: Fox News National

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Woman In ICE Custody After Attacking Man Wearing MAGA Hat In Mexican Restaurant

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With shrouded faces, Islamic State fighters stand guard over final enclave

Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are pictured together near the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province
Fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are pictured together near the village of Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province, in Syria March 9, 2019. Picture taken March 9, 2019. REUTERS/Rodi Said

March 10, 2019

By Rodi Said

BAGHOUZ, Syria (Reuters) – Armed with assault rifles and with faces wrapped in scarves, the Islamic State fighters visible at the boundary of their last enclave in eastern Syria are among the hardened jihadists who appear ready to fight to the death.

Thousands of people – many of them the wives of Islamic State fighters and their children – have been streaming out of the besieged enclave at Baghouz for weeks, forcing the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to delay an assault on the last vestige of the jihadists’ territorial rule.

Reuters TV footage of the Islamic State-controlled frontline shows armed militants, most with only their eyes visible, supervising the evacuations from a scrubby patch of agricultural land scattered with vehicles and a few buildings.

The SDF has said the fighters staying put through waves of evacuations are the most hardened foreign militants, wanted by governments around the world, who are likely to fight to the death.

On Saturday, a Reuters witness saw dozens of mostly men cross from Islamic State territory into SDF-controlled lines. The SDF said these were wounded Islamic State fighters.

A few women in full face-covering black robes and children carrying bags could be seen among the people milling at the frontline. A man on crutches was also visible.

A no-man’s land of about 200m separates SDF positions from the Islamic State frontline at Baghouz, a collection of hamlets and farmland near the border with Iraq.

Evacuees are screened by the SDF as they emerge and are sent north to the al-Hol camp, already overcrowded with uprooted Syrians and Iraqis from years of war and struggling to cope with the influx.

After suddenly seizing swathes of land straddling the Iraqi-Syrian border in 2014 and declaring it their caliphate, Islamic State was beaten back by numerous local and foreign forces in both countries, suffering major defeats in 2017.

However, the jihadists remain a threat. In Iraq they have gone to ground, staging waves of killings and kidnappings. In Syria, their comrades hold out in remote desert areas and have carried out bombings in areas controlled by the SDF.

(Reporting by Rodi Said in Baghouz, Syria; Writing by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Source: OANN

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SK Innovation to invest $845 million in building second battery plant in Hungary

FILE PHOTO - The logo of SK Innovation is seen in front of its headquarters in Seoul
FILE PHOTO - The logo of SK Innovation is seen in front of its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, February 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo

February 27, 2019

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s SK Innovation, which owns the country’s top refiner SK Energy, said on Wednesday that it will invest a total of 945.2 billion won ($845 million) to build its second battery plant in Hungary.

The investment will be made to build and operate the company’s battery plant, the company said in a regulatory filing without elaborating on a production capacity and construction period.

(Reporting By Jane Chung; editing by Christian Schmollinger)

Source: OANN

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Small Business Administration chief Linda McMahon to step down: official

Administrator of the Small Business Administration Linda McMahon speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbour, Maryland
Administrator of the Small Business Administration Linda McMahon speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at National Harbour, Maryland, U.S., February 23, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

March 29, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Linda McMahon, director of the Small Business Administration, is to announce plans to resign on Friday to return to the private sector, an administration official said.

McMahon, 70, a prolific Republican fundraiser, was one of President Donald Trump’s first nominees to serve in his Cabinet after he won election in November 2016. She was co-founder of the company that became World Wrestling Entertainment.

Trump, without announcing McMahon’s departure plans, said he would appear with her at his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, at 4 p.m. EDT Friday. The administration official said McMahon’s departure would be announced them.

(Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Arizona man rescued after getting stuck in quicksand for hours at Zion National Park

An Arizona man was rescued Sunday hours after he got his leg stuck in quicksand and was forced to wait out a snowstorm at Zion National Park, officials said.

The unidentified man and a female companion were hiking the Left Fork Trail in the national park in Utah on Saturday when the 34-year-old got his leg stuck in quicksand at a creek, park officials said. After several attempts to free the leg, his friend left him with “warm gear and clothing” and went to look for help.

The woman hiked for three hours until she had enough cellphone service to call 911.

Rangers located the woman, who had signs of hypothermia after the hourslong hike, and it took several more hours to reach the trapped hiker who was knee-deep in the quicksand. He was also suffering from exposure, hypothermia and extremity injuries.

103-YEAR-OLD WOMAN SIGNS ON AS JUNIOR RANGER AT GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK

The rangers spent two hours trying to free the man’s leg.

“Late into the night, Rangers were able to free the male from the quicksand and began efforts to rewarm him and treat his leg. Rangers spent the night with the patient in frigid conditions,” park officials said, adding that 4 inches of snow also fell overnight.

Winter storms continued to delay rescue efforts into Sunday afternoon.

“Only after a small break in the weather occurred in the afternoon, the DPS helicopter was able safely extricated the patient with a hoist rescue operation,” officials said. “The patient was transported to an awaiting ambulance and transported to the hospital.”

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Temperatures in Zion National Park reached a high of 43 and low of 21 degrees Fahrenheit on Saturday, according to Accuweather.com. Temperatures dropped the next day to a high of 37 degrees as 2.5 inches of snow fell.

Source: Fox News National

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

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

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

WHY THE MEDIA ARE CONVINCED JOE BIDEN WILL IMPLODE

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

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

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

— Joe Biden

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

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

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

— Dr. Neal Kassell

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

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

Source: Fox News Politics

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Cambodian authorities have ordered a one-hour reduction in the length of school days because of concerns that students and teachers may fall ill from a prolonged heat wave.

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said in an announcement seen Friday that the shortened hours will remain in effect until the rainy season starts, which usually occurs in May. The current heat wave, in which temperatures are regularly reaching as high as 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit), is one of the longest in memory.

Most schools in Cambodia lack air conditioning, prompting concern that temperatures inside classrooms could rise to unhealthy levels.

School authorities were instructed to watch for symptoms of heat stroke and urge pupils to drink more water.

The new hours cut 30 minutes off the beginning of the school day and 30 minutes off the end.

School authorities instituted a similar measure in 2016.

Source: Fox News World

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Explosions have rocked Britain’s largest steel plant, injuring two people and shaking nearby homes.

South Wales Police say the incident at the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot was reported at about 3:35 a.m. Friday (22:35 EDT Thursday). The explosions touched off small fires, which are under control. Two workers suffered minor injuries and all staff members have been accounted for.

Police say early indications are that the explosions were caused by a train used to carry molten metal into the plant. Tata Steel says its personnel are working with emergency services at the scene.

Local lawmaker Stephen Kinnock says the incident raises concerns about safety.

He tweeted: “It could have been a lot worse … @TataSteelEurope must conduct a full review, to improve safety.”

Source: Fox News World

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The Wider Image: China's start-ups go small in age of 'shoebox' satellites
LinkSpace’s reusable rocket RLV-T5, also known as NewLine Baby, is carried to a vacant plot of land for a test launch in Longkou, Shandong province, China, April 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

April 26, 2019

By Ryan Woo

LONGKOU, China (Reuters) – During initial tests of their 8.1-metre (27-foot) tall reusable rocket, Chinese engineers from LinkSpace, a start-up led by China’s youngest space entrepreneur, used a Kevlar tether to ensure its safe return. Just in case.

But when the Beijing-based company’s prototype, called NewLine Baby, successfully took off and landed last week for the second time in two months, no tether was needed.

The 1.5-tonne rocket hovered 40 meters above the ground before descending back to its concrete launch pad after 30 seconds, to the relief of 26-year-old chief executive Hu Zhenyu and his engineers – one of whom cartwheeled his way to the launch pad in delight.

LinkSpace, one of China’s 15-plus private rocket manufacturers, sees these short hops as the first steps towards a new business model: sending tiny, inexpensive satellites into orbit at affordable prices.

Demand for these so-called nanosatellites – which weigh less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and are in some cases as small as a shoebox – is expected to explode in the next few years. And China’s rocket entrepreneurs reckon there is no better place to develop inexpensive launch vehicles than their home country.

“For suborbital clients, their focus will be on scientific research and some commercial uses. After entering orbit, the near-term focus (of clients) will certainly be on satellites,” Hu said.

In the near term, China envisions massive constellations of commercial satellites that can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for aircraft to tracking coal shipments. Universities conducting experiments and companies looking to offer remote-sensing and communication services are among the potential domestic customers for nanosatellites.

A handful of U.S. small-rocket companies are also developing launchers ahead of the expected boom. One of the biggest, Rocket Lab, has already put 25 satellites in orbit.

No private company in China has done that yet. Since October, two – LandSpace and OneSpace – have tried but failed, illustrating the difficulties facing space start-ups everywhere.

The Chinese companies are approaching inexpensive launches in different ways. Some, like OneSpace, are designing cheap, disposable boosters. LinkSpace’s Hu aspires to build reusable rockets that return to Earth after delivering their payload, much like the Falcon 9 rockets of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“If you’re a small company and you can only build a very, very small rocket because that’s all you have money for, then your profit margins are going to be narrower,” said Macro Caceres, analyst at U.S. aerospace consultancy Teal Group.

“But if you can take that small rocket and make it reusable, and you can launch it once a week, four times a month, 50 times a year, then with more volume, your profit increases,” Caceres added.

Eventually LinkSpace hopes to charge no more than 30 million yuan ($4.48 million) per launch, Hu told Reuters.

That is a fraction of the $25 million to $30 million needed for a launch on a Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Pegasus, a commonly used small rocket. The Pegasus is launched from a high-flying aircraft and is not reusable.

(Click https://reut.rs/2UVBjKs to see a picture package of China’s rocket start-ups. Click https://tmsnrt.rs/2GIy9Bc for an interactive look at the nascent industry.)

NEED FOR CASH

LinkSpace plans to conduct suborbital launch tests using a bigger recoverable rocket in the first half of 2020, reaching altitudes of at least 100 kilometers, then an orbital launch in 2021, Hu told Reuters.

The company is in its third round of fundraising and wants to raise up to 100 million yuan, Hu said. It had secured tens of millions of yuan in previous rounds.

After a surge in fresh funding in 2018, firms like LinkSpace are pushing out prototypes, planning more tests and even proposing operational launches this year.

Last year, equity investment in China’s space start-ups reached 3.57 billion yuan ($533 million), a report by Beijing-based investor FutureAerospace shows, with a burst of financing in late 2018.

That accounted for about 18 percent of global space start-up investments in 2018, a historic high, according to Reuters calculations based on a global estimate by Space Angels. The New York-based venture capital firm said global space start-up investments totaled $2.97 billion last year.

“Costs for rocket companies are relatively high, but as to how much funding they need, be it in the hundreds of millions, or tens of millions, or even just a few million yuan, depends on the company’s stage of development,” said Niu Min, founder of FutureAerospace.

FutureAerospace has invested tens of millions of yuan in LandSpace, based in Beijing.

Like space-launch startups elsewhere in the world, the immediate challenge for Chinese entrepreneurs is developing a safe and reliable rocket.

Proven talent to develop such hardware can be found in China’s state research institutes or the military; the government directly supports private firms by allowing them to launch from military-controlled facilities.

But it’s still a high-risk business, and one unsuccessful launch might kill a company.

“The biggest problem facing all commercial space companies, especially early-stage entrepreneurs, is failure” of an attempted flight, Liang Jianjun, chief executive of rocket company Space Trek, told Reuters. That can affect financing, research, manufacturing and the team’s morale, he added.

Space Trek is planning its first suborbital launch by the end of June and an orbital launch next year, said Liang, who founded the company in late 2017 with three other former military technical officers.

Despite LandSpace’s failed Zhuque-1 orbital launch in October, the Beijing-based firm secured 300 million yuan in additional funding for the development of its Zhuque-2 rocket a month later.

In December, the company started operating China’s first private rocket production facility in Zhejiang province, in anticipation of large-scale manufacturing of its Zhuque-2, which it expects to unveil next year.

STATE COMPETITION

China’s state defense contractors are also trying to get into the low-cost market.

In December, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) successfully launched a low-orbit communication satellite, the first of 156 that CASIC aims to deploy by 2022 to provide more stable broadband connectivity to rural China and eventually developing countries.

The satellite, Hongyun-1, was launched on a rocket supplied by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the nation’s main space contractor.

In early April, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT), a subsidiary of CASC, completed engine tests for its Dragon, China’s first rocket meant solely for commercial use, clearing the path for a maiden flight before July.

The Dragon, much bigger than the rockets being developed by private firms, is designed to carry multiple commercial satellites.

At least 35 private Chinese companies are working to produce more satellites.

Spacety, a satellite maker based in southern Hunan province, plans to put 20 satellites in orbit this year, including its first for a foreign client, chief executive Yang Feng told Reuters.

The company has only launched 12 on state-produced rockets since the company started operating in early 2016.

“When it comes to rocket launches, what we care about would be cost, reliability and time,” Yang said.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

Source: OANN

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At least one person is reported dead and homes have been destroyed by a powerful cyclone that struck northern Mozambique and continues to dump rain on the region, with the United Nations warning of “massive flooding.”

Cyclone Kenneth arrived just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore into central Mozambique, killing more than 600 people and displacing scores of thousands. The U.N. says this is the first time in known history that the southern African nation has been hit by two cyclones in one season.

Forecasters say the new cyclone made landfall Thursday night in a part of Mozambique that has not seen such a storm in at least 60 years.

Mozambique’s local emergency operations center says a woman in the city of Pemba was killed by a falling tree.

Source: Fox News World

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