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Creepy Uncle Joe Biden Molested by Memes

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Source: InfoWars

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Long Island Rail Road train slams into car 'trying to beat the gate,' 3 killed, officials say

Three people were killed in New York on Tuesday night when a Manhattan-bound train struck a car that was on the tracks, officials said.

The vehicle was "trying to beat the gate" at an intersection in Westbury around 7:30 p.m., according to Nassau County police.

The Long Island Rail Road train hit the vehicle, killing all three people inside, officials said. Several passengers on the commuter train suffered minor injuries.

The transit agency said the train was scheduled to arrive at Penn Station in New York City from Ronkonkoma at 7:56 p.m.

Service was suspended in both directions on the Ronkonkoma and Huntington/Port Jefferson branches.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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8 razor blades found on Michigan gas pump handle: police

Police in southwestern Michigan are warning residents to be vigilant after a patron reported finding razor blades on a gas pump handle.

A woman found two razor blades at Speedway on Ryno Street Monday evening, Coloma Township Police wrote on Facebook Tuesday evening.

When police inspected the next day, they found six more blades on top of the pump, the Detroit Free Press reported. Police reviewed surveillance footage but were unable to identify a suspect, the report said.

BOY EATING MCDONALD’S FINDS RAZOR BLADE IN HAPPY MEAL BOX

“They may have been there trying to do more, but then maybe someone may have saw them and they ran off. I’m not sure what happened,” Chief Wes Smigielski told WSBT 22.

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He said the rusty blades' condition indicates that they could have been there for a few months. An investigation is ongoing.

Source: Fox News National

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Lawmakers ask ‘Big Four’ auditors for client dining details

FILE PHOTO: The logo of KPMG is pictured at the Viva Tech start-up and technology summit in Paris
FILE PHOTO: The logo of accounting firm KPMG is pictured at the Viva Tech start-up and technology summit in Paris, France, May 25, 2018. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo

February 18, 2019

By Huw Jones

LONDON (Reuters) – The “Big Four” accounting firms in Britain have been asked by lawmakers to say how much they have spent on wining and dining clients and to demonstrate a link between the pay of their partners and the quality of their audits.

Rachel Reeves, chair of parliament’s business committee, has written to EY, KPMG, Deloitte and PwC with nine questions and a Feb. 27 deadline for replies. The letters dated Feb. 13 were published on Monday.

Begun in January, the committee’s inquiry aims to investigate whether reforms proposed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) will succeed in making the accountancy sector more competitive.

The CMA has recommended measures to inject more choice for companies when choosing an outside accountant to check their books.

A separate review has proposed a new regulator for auditors with tougher powers to improve quality after collapses at construction company Carillion and retailer BHS raised questions about how much time accountants spend on an audit.

In her letter, Reeves asks the Big Four to say how much they each spent on hospitality on audit and non-audit clients at Britain’s top 350 listed companies in the past five years.

This would include expenditure on non-audit customers who later became audit clients.

Elsewhere in the financial sector, brokers are under pressure from regulators to scale back on hospitality such as tickets for rugby or tennis matches.

Accountants are also being asked to show how pay and promotion of auditors are linked to audit quality.

The committee is due to publish its report in March. KPMG said it would supply the information as requested. Deloitte, EY and PwC had no immediate comment.

(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by David Holmes)

Source: OANN

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U.S., Russia say cannot support a U.N. call for Libya truce: diplomats

A Libyan man walks near a house damaged by an overnight shelling in Abu Salim district in Tripoli
A Libyan man walks near a house damaged by an overnight shelling in Abu Salim district in Tripoli, Libya April 17, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah

April 18, 2019

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The United States and Russia both said on Thursday they could not support a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Libya at this time, diplomats said, as mortar bombs crashed down on a suburb of the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

Russia objects to the British-drafted resolution blaming eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar for the latest flare-up in violence when his Libyan National Army (LNA) advanced to the outskirts of Tripoli earlier this month, diplomats said.

The United States gave no reason for its position on the draft resolution, which would also call on countries with influence over the warring parties to ensure compliance and for unconditional humanitarian aid access in Libya, which has been gripped by anarchy since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.

The United States’ U.N. mission declined to comment and the Russian U.N. mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the United States, Britain, France, Russia or China – the so-called permanent five – to pass. It was not immediately clear if Britain would persist with negotiations on a draft next week.

The United States and Russia made their positions clear during a closed-door council briefing by U.N. Libya envoy Ghassan Salame, who diplomats said appealed for a ceasefire, warning that weapons were pouring into the country and it was heading toward a serious humanitarian situation.

The U.S. reluctance to support Security Council action is in contrast to Washington’s earlier public opposition to Haftar’s offensive, which began while U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was visiting Tripoli.

Some U.N. diplomats have suggested the United States might be trying to buy time as President Donald Trump’s administration works out how to deal with the latest developments in Libya.

“I think there are a range of views in Washington on the policy side and they haven’t reconciled them and they’re not entirely certain where the president is on it,” said a senior U.N. diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“The American system is trying to evaluate all the scenarios and work out which one is in America’s best interest and just hasn’t done that yet,” the diplomat said.

CONCERN

Haftar’s forces predicted victory within days, but Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj’s internationally recognized government has bogged them down in southern suburbs with help from armed groups from various western Libyan factions.

A united Security Council informally expressed concern on April 5, calling on all forces to de-escalate and halt military activity and specifically calling out the LNA.

In the following days, the council was unable, however, to issue a more formal statement, diplomats said, as Russia objected to a reference to the LNA, while the United States said it could not agree to a text that did not mention Haftar’s forces.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo then said in a statement on April 7 that “we have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by Khalifa Haftar’s forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital.”

Haftar enjoys the backing of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which view him as an anchor to restore stability and combat Islamist militants, while most Western powers have supported Serraj.

Trump met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on April 9.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian spoke with Pompeo about Libya on Thursday and both agreed on the need for a “rapid” ceasefire and return to the U.N-led political process, the French foreign ministry said in a statement. Paris has given Haftar support in the past.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Editing by Peter Cooney)

Source: OANN

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Some meta Mueller questions


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On the roster: Some meta Mueller questions - Time Out: R&Brie - Fox Poll: It’s Biden and Bernie by a mile - Audible: Claws out - The case of the cruel crop-duster 

SOME META MUELLER QUESTIONS 
Good grief. 

After two years of frothy speculation over the findings of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, we finally have some answers.

But here we go getting all frothed up again.

We haven’t yet seen the report, which is currently being scrubbed and scoured by lawyers at the Justice Department who are redacting the bits that might harm national security, damage ongoing investigations or improperly malign innocents and bystanders.

But because of Mueller’s topline finding that neither President Trump nor his campaign conspired with Russian operatives to defeat his 2016 opponent, Hillary Clinton, we’re watching an abrupt changing of lanes.

Democrats who had defended Mueller and his conduct are shifting into attack mode against a Justice Department some of them say is covering up Trump’s misdeeds. Some Republicans, meanwhile, are renewing their own attacks on federal law enforcement. They’re arguing that since Mueller has now cleared the president on the key concern, it’s evidence of systemic corruption inside the department.

But we don’t know what else is in the report and we don’t yet know how much of it will be released. Depending on the decisions of Attorney General William Barr, we may be just at the beginning of a weeks-long fight over what Congress and the public will get to see.

But spin in the absence of evidence is worse than a waste. As we just observed after two years of Mueller time, insubstantial spin creates false, arbitrary expectations and often leads to rank embracement. But since grievance is the coin of our current political realm, there are plenty on both sides happy to ignore the giant object lesson dropped on their heads Sunday afternoon.

But there are lots of good questions to be asked today and in the days to come.

- Will this news help break the fever among Democrats or intensify it? House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has for months been cautioning her fellow Democrats away from impeachment proceedings, instead urging them to instead focus on winning in 2020. We would guess that this reality check from Mueller will strengthen her hand in the long run. 

- How does a post-Mueller Trump behave? The presence of Mueller’s investigation was a powerful tool for the president’s aides in finding ways to constrain the mercurial chief executive. While there will certainly be ongoing state and federal investigations into alleged ethical and legal breaches by the president, his administration and his family, a great weight has been lifted. How will Trump behave now that he is unbound by Mueller? Remember that voters consistently have shown dislike for chaos in Trump’s White House.

Which Democratic presidential candidates are best positioned to thrive in the new environment? The political ground is shifting rapidly, but we can’t yet know in which direction. As we considered in our first question we can’t say yet whether this will make Democratic voters dispirited or even more bloodthirsty. Certainly it will be a painful adjustment for the percentage of the Blue Team that felt assured that Trump would not serve out his first term. Will those and other Democratic voters demand a nominee who promises legal retribution for Trump? Will other Democrats try to forget the whole thing to focus on more traditional issues? 

Will this increase or decrease Republican unity? As long as Trump faced an existential threat from Mueller it was somewhat easier to paper over intra-party disputes. Just as Republicans could use the dangers of Mueller to try to keep Trump in line, the White House could use the threat of Mueller to help back down dissent. As we saw in recent weeks the Republican Senate has become increasingly restive. On the other hand, anyone who was withholding some loyalty to Trump out of a concern about collusion has no more excuse. 

We are in the beginning hours of the next political era and know very little about the facts and decisions that will shape it. That sounds like a good time to consider the possibilities but a bad time for bold pronouncements.

Politicians and members of the press should act accordingly. 

THE RULEBOOK: ABOUT BAD APPLES 
“Because the prospect of present loss or advantage may often tempt the governing party in one or two States to swerve from good faith and justice; but those temptations, not reaching the other States, and consequently having little or no influence on the national government, the temptation will be fruitless, and good faith and justice be preserved.” – John JayFederalist No. 3

TIME OUT: R&BRIE 
NPR: “[The] finding of a recent experiment by researchers in Switzerland … set out to determine how soundwaves might affect the microorganisms that give cheese its flavor. The experiment, titled Cheese in Surround Sound, started last fall with nine 22-pound wheels of Emmental cheese placed in nine separate wooden crates. The assorted fromage was played various types of sound waves and songs… There was also one control cheese wheel that wasn't given any music at all. The cheese was exposed to the music 24 hours a day over six months through a transmitter that focused the sound waves into the cheese wheels. … Once the cheese matured, it was analyzed by professional food technologists, who concluded the cheese wheels exposed to music had a milder flavor compared to the control cheese. The group also determined the cheese that was played hip-hop had ‘a discernibly stronger smell and stronger, fruitier taste than the other test samples,’ according to a summary of the experiment's findings.”

Flag on the play? - Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM with your tips, comments or questions.

SCOREBOARD
Trump job performance 
Average approval: 
44 percent
Average disapproval: 52 percent
Net Score: -8 points
Change from one week ago: up 4.2 points 
[Average includes: Fox News: 46% approve - 51% disapprove; USA Today/Suffolk: 48% approve - 49% disapprove; CNN: 43% approve - 51% disapprove; Gallup: 39% approve - 57% disapprove; Monmouth University: 44% approve - 52% disapprove.]

FOX POLL: BIDEN, SANDERS TOP DEMOCRATIC PREFERENCE
Fox News: “So many Democrats are running for president the race feels like a March Madness bracket. If it were, the No. 1 seeds would be former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. Either would be favored to beat President Donald Trump in the 2020 finals, according to the latest Fox News Poll. Democratic primary voters were read a list of 20 announced and potential candidates for the 2020 nomination. Biden is the top choice at 31 percent, followed by Sanders at 23 percent. California Sen. Kamala Harris (8 percent) and former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke (8 percent) make up a second tier. They are followed by New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker (4 percent), Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren (4 percent), and New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (2 percent). … Two-thirds of Democratic primary voters want Biden to run, and he is the top choice among those who prioritize beating Trump, followed by Harris, Sanders, and O’Rourke. Among those who say it is more important to vote for the candidate they like than the one who could win, Sanders is the first choice, followed by Biden.”

What do voters want? - Fox News: “The poll also asks Democratic primary voters about policies. Majorities are ‘very’ likely to back a candidate who supports Medicare for all (67 percent) and a 70 percent tax rate on income over $10 million (53 percent). Less than 4 in 10 are very likely to vote for a candidate who supports passing the Green New Deal (37 percent), paying reparations to descendants of slaves (31 percent), and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE (25 percent). The hypothetical head-to-heads among registered voters show support for Trump stays between 40-42 percent against each Democrat tested. He tops both Harris (39-41 percent) and Warren by 2 points (40-42 percent). Sanders has a 3-point edge over the president (44-41 percent), but Biden performs best, topping Trump by 7 points (47-40 percent).”

Buttigieg’s youth movement - WaPo: “[PeteButtigieg, who was elected mayor of South Bend, Ind., before he turned 30, is used to the double-takes. As his dark horse candidacy has gotten more attention, he's leaned into his age, declaring himself a member of the ‘school shooting generation’ that will live through the ‘business end of climate change.’ … The Indiana Democrat, who is expected to officially launch his candidacy next month, has turned years of “next big thing” coverage into a genuine presidential boomlet. He raised more than $1 million after a CNN town hall and appeared to have met the standard for entering the first Democratic debates. He's adding to a skeletal staff, expanding his campaign headquarters and beginning to build the sort of operation that could compete in early states. Here's what it looks like on the ground.

Party activists test Booker’s loyalties - Politico: “In an interview, [Cory] Booker laid bare what he is grappling with: He’s been in the minority most of the time he’s been in the Senate and seen the power of the filibuster block the conservative agenda. And he’s worried that if Democrats make changes to the fabric of the Supreme Court, it will be exploited to potentially greater effect by Republicans in the future. … But his institutional loyalties are being tested by an activist base lurching left and a need to break out of the sprawling Democratic field where he registers in the low- to mid-single digits. His ambivalence toward such explosive changes reflects Booker’s broader positioning in the 2020 race and within the Senate Democratic Caucus. … It’s a profile that could ultimately help him stand out among his 2020 counterparts…”

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Dems give cold shoulder to GOPers on bipartisan bills Politico

Hoyer heralds U.S.-Israeli friendship, subtly rebukes Rep. Omar - WaPo

Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., announces he will retire in 2020 - Medium

AUDIBLE: CLAWS OUT
“There's more than one way to skin a cat, and not everything has to be done through legislation explicitly.” – Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., discussing her use of Twitter to target big banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

FROM THE BLEACHERS
“Responding to you call for comments [on] March 22: ‘a lack of civics education in which too few Americans understand the value of their votes.’ My wife and I have never failed to vote in an election where it was legal and possible. Lately I observe that the freedom of elections no longer exists in CA and some other states. In CA, a proposition has allowed only the two leading candidates to appear on the final election ballot. That, together with an open primary wherein cross party voting is permitted, resulted in no Republican candidate appearing on the ballot for US Senator this year. Hence, despising the Democrat party of today (previously being a ‘liberal’ Democrat years ago), I had NO VOTE in that election. Now there appears to be a ‘trend’ for malicious leaders of some states to force the presidential electors to vote in proportion to the national vote. Hence, citizens of those states will have no vote at all. Their vote is being stolen. If there ever will be a justification for armed rebellion in this country, this is it. Incredible. Disastrous. Criminal. Treasonous. All appropriate descriptions.” – Victor Galindo, Laguna Woods, Calif.

[Ed. note: Whoa, whoa, whoa, Mr. Galindo! It’s a little early in the week to already be at “armed rebellion.” You’ve got to give me time to get warmed up! I certainly understand the frustration of California Republicans who are watching Democrats press their partisan advantage by consigning the already weakened GOP to permanent majority status. You might talk to Democrats in some Southern states that have similar election laws as California. Louisiana’s Blue Team would tell you that a jungle primary system is no fun for the weaker party. And while I certainly am concerned about what is now a collection of 13 states looking to hack the Constitution by awarding an Electoral College victory to the winner of the national popular vote, I would caution you against calling the elected leaders of those states “malicious.” You may think that they are wrong, but I don’t necessarily see malice in what they’re doing. These folks believe in more direct democracy, a view that I assume is sincerely held and one which they believe would benefit the country. And most of all, I would urge you to be especially careful with accusations of treason against your fellow Americans. Using such serious words so readily not only ensures that no fruitful discussion can follow, it diminishes their value in those rare times where they might be needful. In politics and life, it is possible to assume the best of others while always being prepared for the worst. The practice of patriotic grace is a blessing to both its recipient and its giver.]      

“I am embarrassed that this thought just dawned on me at the young age of 61... but is there any linkage to the name ‘Republicans’ to the US being a ‘republic’ and therefore supporting such concepts as the Electoral College and the Senate? Likewise, is the name of the ‘Democratic’ party directly linked to the strict concept of ‘democracy’ and therefore such things as majority rule?” – Ted Toburen, Wake Forest, N.C.

[Ed. note: There are such linkages, indeed! The roots of our parties trace back all the way to the debate over independence and most definitely the construction of the Constitution. The first antecedents of the modern Republicans were the Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton. They favored a strong federal government, a powerful executive branch, lifetime appointments to the federal judiciary and the indirect election of presidents and senators. On the other side were the Anti-Federalists who favored de-centralized power and stronger states. As the weak Articles of Confederation foundered, the Federalists, who were mostly northerners, had their moment. With the help of Virginian James Madison from the other side of the aisle, they gave us the basic republican structure of our government. The Anti-Federalists had suffered for lack of a leader to match Hamilton, but that matter was remedied when newly elected George Washington summoned Thomas Jefferson home from his diplomatic post in Paris. The struggle inside Washington’s cabinet between Secretary of State Jefferson and Treasury Secretary Hamilton was the flash point for a new, sharper partisanship. Jefferson’s emerging party took the name Democratic-Republican for itself, meaning to signal that they were for both the will of the people but in favor of republican institutions that would act as a check on tyranny. The Federalists soon fumbled. John Adams got bounced after one term and Hamilton was permanently disgraced because of hush money he paid to cover up an affair. Jefferson’s victory in 1800 was the beginning of the end of the Federalist Party. By the 1820s, they were done. The successor party, the Whigs, that arose in the 1830s substantially carried forward the Federalist cause but soon enough collapsed on the issue of slavery. In the mid-1850s, abolitionists opposed to the expansion of slavery organized in opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which repealed the 1820 compromise that forbade slavery in new states north of the southern border of Missouri. As momentum grew for the anti-slavery cause, the members of this group took the name Republican for themselves. By this point, the Democrats had long ago dropped the R-word from their name. With Andrew Jackson and his successors, the party’s passions were clearly with the will of the people over the republican restraint. The new party that would be defined by Abraham Lincoln, however, wanted to put the rule of law and federal authority first. There are many, many exceptions, but generally we can say that Democrats have traditionally placed the greatest value on the will of the people while Republicans have been more interested in the rights of individual persons.]

Share your color commentary: Email us at HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM and please make sure to include your name and hometown.

THE CASE OF THE CRUEL CROP-DUSTER 
WJW: “The Court of Appeal in Australia will take a look at a lawsuit Monday that claims a supervisor bullied a man with his flatulence. David Hingst, 56, is an engineer. ‘I would be sitting with my face to the wall and he would come into the room, which was small and had no windows,’ Hingst told the Australian Associated Press. ‘He would fart behind me and walk away. He would do this five or six times a day.’ ‘He thrusted his bum at me while he’s at work,’ Hingst told a panel of judges in a previous claim that was dismissed. Hingst filed an appeal after the case was thrown out. Hingst said the flatulence caused him ‘severe stress.’ The Court of Appeal judges will deliver a ruling on the appeal on Friday.”

AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“Loyalty to the president is good, but loyalty to truth and integrity of the country is better.” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) speaking on "Special Report with Bret Baier" on June 5, 2013.

Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.

Source: Fox News Politics

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UK’s only female giant panda artificially inseminated at zoo

Britain's only female giant panda has been artificially inseminated in a bid to produce a cub.

Officials at Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland said Monday it's "far too early" to know if the procedure was a success. The zoo said Tian Tian had her annual health check on Sunday and was artificially inseminated "under expert veterinary care."

Tian Tian, 15, has had cubs in China but not in Britain, where she and male companion Yang Guang have lived since 2011. Her name means "sunshine."

There have been attempts to breed a cub every year since then, thus far without success. The zoo says the gestation period for a giant panda is typically about five months.

Source: Fox News World

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

April 26, 2019

By Ryan Woo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NEED FOR CASH

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

STATE COMPETITION

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer holds annual general meeting
Werner Baumann, CEO of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer AG, attends the annual general shareholders meeting in Bonn, Germany, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

April 26, 2019

By Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger

BONN (Reuters) – Bayer shareholders vented their anger over its stock price slump on Friday as litigation risks mount from the German drugmaker’s $63 billion takeover of seed maker Monsanto.

Several large investors said they will not support aspirin investor Bayer’s management in a key vote scheduled for the end of its annual general meeting.

Bayer’s management, led by chief executive Werner Baumann, could see an embarrassing plunge in approval ratings, down from 97 percent at last year’s AGM, which was held shortly before the Monsanto takeover closed in June.

A vote to ratify the board’s actions features prominently at every German AGM. Although it has no bearing on management’s liability, it is seen as a key gauge of shareholder sentiment.

“Due to the continued negative development at Bayer, high legal risks and a massive share price slump, we refuse to ratify the management board and supervisory board’s actions during the business year,” Janne Werning, representing Germany’s Union Investment, a top-20 shareholder, said in prepared remarks.

About 30 billion euros ($34 billion) have been wiped off Bayer’s market value since August, when a U.S. jury found the pesticide and drugs group liable because Monsanto had not warned of alleged cancer risks linked to its weedkiller Roundup.

Bayer suffered a similar defeat last month and more than 13,000 plaintiffs are claiming damages.

Bayer is appealing or plans to appeal the verdicts.

Deutsche Bank’s asset managing arm DWS said shareholders should have been consulted before the takeover, which was agreed in 2016 and closed in June last year.

“You are pointing out that the lawsuits have not been lost yet. We and our customers, however, have already lost something – money and trust,” Nicolas Huber, head of corporate governance at DWS, said in prepared remarks for the AGM.

He said DWS would abstain from the shareholder vote of confidence in the executive and non-executive boards.

Two people familiar with the situation told Reuters this week that Bayer’s largest shareholder, BlackRock, plans to either abstain from or vote against ratifying the management board’s actions.

Asset management firm Deka, among Bayer’s largest German investors, has also said it would cast a no vote.

Baumann said Bayer’s true value was not reflected in the current share price.

“There’s no way to make this look good. The lawsuits and the first verdicts weigh heavily on our company and it’s a concern for many people,” he said, adding it was the right decision to buy Monsanto and that Bayer was vigorously defending itself.

This month, shareholder advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis recommended investors not to give the executive board their seal of approval.

(Reporting by Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

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Sudan’s military, which ousted President Omar al-Bashir after months of protests against his 30-year rule, says it intends to keep the upper hand during the country’s transitional period to civilian rule.

The announcement is expected to raise tensions with the protesters, who demand immediate handover of power.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which is spearheading the protests, said Friday the crowds will stay in the streets until all their demands are met.

Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi, the spokesman for the military council, said late Thursday that the military will “maintain sovereign powers” while the Cabinet would be in the hands of civilians.

The protesters insist the country should be led by a “civilian sovereign” council with “limited military representation” during the transitional period.

The army toppled and arrested al-Bashir on April 11.

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture
FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

April 26, 2019

By Charlotte Greenfield

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies said Britain’s decision to allow the firm a restricted role in building parts of its next-generation telecoms network was the kind of solution it was hoping for in New Zealand, where it has been blocked from 5G plans.

Britain will ban Huawei from all core parts of 5G network but give it some access to non-core parts, sources have told Reuters, as it seeks a middle way in a bitter U.S.-China dispute stemming from American allegations that Huawei’s equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage.

Washington has also urged its allies to ban Huawei from building 5G networks, even as the Chinese company, the world’s top producer of telecoms equipment, has repeatedly said the spying concerns are unfounded.

In New Zealand, a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network that includes the United States, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) in November turned down an initial request from local telecommunication firm Spark to include Huawei equipment in its 5G network, but later gave the operator options to mitigate national security concerns.

“The proposed solution in the UK to restrict Huawei from bidding for the core is exactly the type of solution we have been looking at in New Zealand,” Andrew Bowater, deputy CEO of Huawei’s New Zealand arm, said in an emailed statement.

Spark said it has noted the developments in Britain and would raise it with the GCSB.

The reports “suggest the UK is following other European jurisdictions in taking a considered and balanced approach to managing supplier-related security risks in 5G”, Andrew Pirie, Spark’s corporate relations lead, said in an email.

“Our discussions with the GCSB are ongoing and we expect that the UK developments will be a further item of discussion between us,” Pirie added.

New Zealand’s minister for intelligence services, Andrew Little, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday that he would report to parliament the conclusions of a government review of the 5G supply chain once they had been taken.

He added that the disclosure of confidential discussions on the role of Huawei was “unacceptable” and that he could not rule out a criminal investigation into the leak.

The decisions by Britain and Germany to use Huawei gear in non-core parts of 5G network makes it harder to prove Huawei should be kept out of New Zealand telecommunication networks, said Syed Faraz Hasan, an expert in communication engineering and networks at New Zealand’s Massey University

He pointed out Huawei gear was already part of the non-core 4G networks that 5G infrastructure would be built on.

“Unless there is a convincing argument against the Huawei devices … it is difficult to keep them away,” Hasan said.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo commodities trader Glencore is pictured in Baar
FILE PHOTO: The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company’s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Glencore shares plunged the most in nearly four months on Friday after news overnight that U.S. regulators were investigating whether the miner broke some rules through “corrupt practices”.

Shares of the FTSE 100 company fell as much as 4.2 percent in early deals, and were down 3.5 percent at 310.25 pence by 0728 GMT.

On Thursday, Glencore said the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating whether the company and its units have violated some provisions of the Commodity ExchangeAct and/or CFTC Regulations.

(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

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