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Pakistan Warns Against India’s Arms Deal With Russia

India’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems, via a deal signed last year and worth $5.43 billion, has unnerved Pakistan, with Foreign minister Shah Mohammed Qureshi describing the S-400s as destabilizing weapon systems which could affect the region’s strategic stability. Delivery of the first S-400 system is likely to take place in 2020.

New Delhi (Sputnik): Expressing his apprehension about the arms purchase by India, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mohammed Qureshi has called on global powers to be “mindful” of their responsibility in terms of arms supplies to the region.

“The introduction of new destabilizing weapon systems, such as the S-400 anti-ballistic missile system, could further accentuate challenges to strategic stability. They can encourage a misadventure by an adversary, under a false sense of security,” FM Shah Mohammed Qureshi said on Wednesday in Islamabad.

Last October, India inked a $5.43 billion defense contract with Russia to purchase of five S-400 air defense systems despite the threat of US sanctions. Pakistan has immediately reacted by claiming that the purchase “is a part of their efforts to acquire a Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) System through multiple sources,” adding that the move could destabilize strategic stability in South Asia.
India has denied the accusations, deeming the purchase as necessary for national security.


Alex Jones breaks down how the crisis in Venezuela could trigger a world war.

India’s massive acquisition of conventional arms coupled with offensive doctrines, such as Cold Start, and its expansion of strategic assets, including nuclear submarines, are developments with serious security implications for Pakistan and the region, Qureshi opined.

He also mentioned that the recent ASAT test conducted by India on 27 March raised concerns in Islamabad. Qureshi warned the international community against providing concessions and sharing high-end technology with India.

“The country-specific exemption by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), has had negative implications for strategic stability in our region,” Qureshi stated.

Qureshi urged global powers to remain mindful while dealing with countries in the region as the strategic stability of South Asia is impacted not only by regional developments but also by the approach of the international community.

(Photo by Соколрус / Wiki)

As per the foreign minister, Pakistan had demonstrated its commitment to peace and stability by putting forward a proposal for a Strategic Restraint Regime (SRR) — based on three interlocking elements of conflict resolution: nuclear restraint, missile restraint and conventional balance. He said the proposal remains on the table and if pursued could lay the foundation for lasting peace and stability in the region.

The crisis between the two nuclear-armed nations escalated after the Pulwama terrorist attack in which 40 Indian soldiers were killed. Tensions were further heightened on 27 February when the two air forces got embroiled in a dogfight — their first ever in the last five decades — in retaliation to a “non-military pre-emptive” air strike conducted by the Indian Air Force against apparent terror infrastructure in Pakistan’s Balakot on 26 February.

Pakistan claimed that it shot down two Indian fighter jets in the dogfight, while India refuted the claim and said that the second downed fighter jet was a F-16 of the Pakistan Air Force which was shot down by an IAF MiG-21 Bison.


Owen breaks down how House Democrats were no match for Candice Owens because she’s authentic and they are not.

Source: InfoWars

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California seeks death penalty in ‘Golden State Killer’ case

California prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty if they convict the man suspected of being a notorious California serial killer who eluded capture for decades.

The move comes less than a month after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a moratorium on executing any of the 737 inmates on the nation's largest death row.

Prosecutors from four counties announced their decision one after another Wednesday during a brief court hearing for Joseph DeAngelo, jailed as the suspected "Golden State Killer."

He was arrested a year ago based on DNA evidence linking him to at least 13 murders and more than 50 rapes across California in the 1970s and '80s.

He has yet to enter a plea on 26 charges.

He stood expressionless and defense attorney Diane Howard did not comment.

Source: Fox News National

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Trump, riding high on news from Mueller probe, steps on his own applause lines

President Trump isn’t the first American politician to step on his own applause lines.

The President should have been reveling in what were the best moments of his presidency Tuesday afternoon. No indictment by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Mr. Trump’s declaration of a national emergency for a border wall remained in tact. As the President lunched at the Capitol with Republican senators, the House of Representatives stumbled to override his veto of a measure to terminate the national emergency.

CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS RATTLED BY TRUMP'S PIVOT TO OBAMACARE FIGHT AFTER MUELLER SUMMARY

Later on Tuesday, senators would cast ballots on a procedural vote to start debate on the Green New Deal, drafted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., engineered the roll call to shine a spotlight on Ocasio-Cortez’s climate change blueprint. McConnell wanted to bait Senate Democrats -- vying for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination -- into taking a stand on Ocasio-Cortez’s controversial gambit.

And then the President offered this nugget to reporters as he ducked into the Senate GOP lunch:

“The Republican party will soon be known as the part of health care,” boasted Mr. Trump.

You’ll excuse the dry cleaning bills of Republican senators who rushed their neckties to the drycleaners after nearly choking on their Senate bean soup in the luncheon.

This came just hours after the Justice Department announced it would attempt to invalidate the entire Affordable Care Act (ACA) in court.

“The human costs of this decision will be profound,” suggested Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., a moderate Democrat who represents a state President Trump won by 42 points, carrying all 55 counties. “Twenty million Americans will be left without the health insurance they rely on. The 133 million Americans and 800,000 West Virginians with a pre-existing condition will be at risk of losing their access to health insurance.”

ObamaCare has never been popular. Republicans bristle about the health care law. But Republicans have been particularly maladroit when it comes to ditching the ACA. Republicans chanted “repeal and replace” for nearly a decade. They’ve gotten nowhere. Multiple efforts to pass another health care measure swerved violently into the political ditch.

“The President has offered no plan. None,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. “He talks about it. He doesn’t do anything about it – which is true of so much of the legislation he has talked about.”

“They simply cannot help themselves,” said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., about the GOP’s latest charge to unwind ObamaCare. “Republicans have shown their true colors.”

The very existence and staying power of ObamaCare perturbs Republicans. There’s a reason why the President tore again into the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a few weeks ago on Twitter. Mr. Trump never forgave McCain for the vote he took nearly two years ago to scuttle the GOP’s repeal and replace effort. McCain’s decision stung President Trump, handing him one of the biggest defeats of his term.

“Remember, in (President) Trump’s mind, ending ObamaCare is about exacting revenge on McCain,” said one source who asked they not be identified.

On Wednesday, the President bragged that “if the Supreme Court rules that ObamaCare is out, we will have a plan that is better than ObamaCare.”

But how does this happen? Congressional Republicans could never coalesce around their own plan to take the place of the ACA. All Republicans could agree upon was repeal. The GOP House finally muscled through a replacement health care package after a lengthy fight. But it died in the Senate. Does the President implement a new plan by executive order? Declare a national emergency, bypassing Congress yet again?

“It’s ridiculous. Ridiculous,” chafed Manchin. “Why this administration would go down that path and throw it out completely when they couldn’t do it legislatively is unconscionable.”

“I am vehemently opposed to the administration seeking to invalidate the entire ACA,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who faces a competitive 2020 re-election in a battleground state. “The answer is for the administration to work with Congress and present a plan to replace and fix the law, not through the courts and seek to invalidate it all together.”

Perhaps President Trump is simply seizing the customary Republican posture when it comes to health care. Mr. Trump has long pushed to repeal ObamaCare. And now he doesn’t have (yet) a bill to replace it.

TRUMP PUSH TO INVALIDATE OBAMACARE SPARKED CLASH WITHIN ADMINISTRATION

That’s how things have gone for Republicans on health care for a while. It also explains the private reluctance of many GOPers to drift down the perilous health care path again.

Congressional Republicans have taken dozens of votes over the past decade to repeal ObamaCare. But they’ve never closed the deal with a package to succeed the health care law.

Republicans hoped things might be different under President Trump.

The GOP initially struggled with “replace” in the House in the spring of 2017. This was the first time Republicans had played with live ammo. In other words, there were consequences to repealing ObamaCare. House GOPers had to have something ready to fill the gap. Furthermore, Republicans had a bill which could actually become law. The Republican brass yanked the first measure to repeal and replace ObamaCare off the floor after it melted down. But Republicans rallied. The House approved a successor plan a few months later. The measure then died in the Senate, thanks in part, to the vote by John McCain.

Democrats are marveling at this political gift presented them by the President. Democrats wanted to alter the narrative after the Mueller investigation failed to deliver the goods on Mr. Trump and others in his administration. Democrats ran on health care and pre-existing conditions in battleground districts they won in the midterms. Republicans may publicly embrace a new call to eliminate ObamaCare. But many are seething privately.

“This is the party of health care? This Republican Party? Come on. You can’t undo all the health care for tens of millions. The protections for pre-existing conditions for hundreds of millions. The drug costs for tens of millions of seniors. The protections for millions of young college graduates and say you’re for healthcare. You just can’t,” fumed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

“I’ll make this promise,” said House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., at his weekly press conference on Thursday. “The Republicans will make sure pre-existing conditions are protected.”

But shortly after speaking with Mr. Trump by telephone Wednesday, the California Republican pivoted to a tried and true GOP talking point which has worked for years – and then tossed in a new one.

“ObamaCare is a failure,” said McCarthy. “The real fear I have is the Democrats’ plan of ‘Medicare for All.’”

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., took a similar approach.

“ObamaCare is unconstitutional,” said Cheney. “We are seeing Democrats push this lie that Republicans don’t want to cover people with pre-existing conditions.”

Cheney described a possible end of ObamaCare as “a situation of desperation on behalf of the Democrats.”

Cheney said the timing of the announcement didn’t bother her, asserting that GOPers remain steadfast in their opposition to ObamaCare. But it rattled other Republicans.

“We felt vindicated,” said one senior House Republican about the conclusion of the Mueller probe. “We could have ridden this for a few weeks.”

Fox is told that many Republicans worry that voters could blame them if health care coverage is stripped from millions, to say nothing of the impact on the economy.

“It will destroy the infrastructure of health care in this country,” said Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla., who served for eight years as President Clinton’s Health and Human Services Secretary. “It would be a disaster for 100,000 people in my district.”

Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, represents a sprawling, rural district in Ohio, beset with staggering health care issues and opioid abuse.

“I’m not going to say the President made a mistake because he said all along he was going to repeal ObamaCare,” said Johnson. But the Ohio Republican noted that a GOP House, Senate and President failed to repeal and replace ObamaCare in 2017, after years of promising to do so.

“We missed a golden opportunity,” said Johnson.

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Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., chairs the Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest bloc of conservatives in the House. Johnson said the President surprised Republicans with his ObamaCare swivel. That’s why the RSC is trying to prepare legislation to fill the void if ObamaCare is ruled to be unconstitutional.

“Congress isn’t going to let 40 million people go without health care,” said the Louisiana Republican.

So, the President was riding high after news the conclusion of the Mueller investigation. And then Mr. Trump stepped on his own applause lines.

“In the south, they put it another way,” said one senior Democratic lawmaker who asked to not be identified. “He stepped on his own ‘appendage.’”

Source: Fox News Politics

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Ukrainian presidential election begins, surveys show comedian candidate leading the polls

Ukrainians cast ballots Sunday in a presidential runoff which had the incumbent struggling to fend off a strong challenge by a comedian who denounces corruption and plays the role of president in a TV sitcom.

Opinion surveys ahead of the election showed 53-year-old President Petro Poroshenko trailing far behind comic actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy, reflecting public dismay with Ukraine's endemic corruption, a moribund economy and a five-year fight against Russia-backed insurgents in the country's east.

Zelenskiy, 41, got twice as many votes as Poroshenko in the first round vote three weeks ago. Like his sitcom character, a teacher thrust into the presidency after a video of him blasting corruption went viral. He focused his campaign on fighting graft, riding the wave of public distrust of Ukraine's political elite.

Poroshenko, a billionaire candy magnate before he took office, has relied on traditional political barnstorming, using sympathetic television stations to extensively cover his appearances.

Zelenskiy largely stayed away from the campaign trail and eschewed interviews. He campaigned mainly on Instagram, where he has 3.7 million followers. After Zelenskiy voted Sunday, police handed him a court summons for failing to keep his ballot away from cameras, an administrative offense punishable by a $30 fine.

The candidates engaged in fierce mutual criticism and jockeyed for dominance. Wrapping up the campaign with a sentimental moment, both men dropped to on their knees during a debate at the country's largest sports stadium Friday to ask forgiveness of those who lost relatives on the eastern battlefront.

COMEDIAN COULD UNSEAT UKRAINE'S POROSHENKO IN THIS SUNDAY'S PRESIDENTIAL RUNOFF

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko gestures while speaking to the media as his wife Maryna stands next to him, at a polling station, during the second round of presidential elections in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, April 21, 2019. Top issues in the election have been corruption, the economy and how to end the conflict with Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine. ()

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko gestures while speaking to the media as his wife Maryna stands next to him, at a polling station, during the second round of presidential elections in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, April 21, 2019. Top issues in the election have been corruption, the economy and how to end the conflict with Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine. () (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Millions of Ukrainians who live in the rebel-controlled east and in Russia-annexed Crimea are unable to vote. Russia seized Crimea in 2014 in a move that Ukraine and almost all of the world views as illegal. Fighting in the east that erupted that same year after the Russian annexation has killed more than 13,000 people.

Poroshenko campaigned on the same promise he made when he was elected in 2014: to lead the nation of 42 million into the European Union and NATO. However, the goals have been elusive amid Ukraine's economic problems, pervasive corruption and fighting in the east. A visa-free deal with the EU spawned the exodus of millions of skilled workers for better living conditions elsewhere in Europe.

In a jab at his rival, the president warned voters that "it could be funny at first, but pain may come later."

Poroshenko emphasized the need to "defend achievements of the past five years," noting the creation of a new Ukrainian Orthodox Church that is independent from Moscow's patriarchate, a schism he championed.

UKRAINE'S PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE PUSHES FOR NEW PARLIAMENT 

But Poroshenko's message fell flat with many voters struggling to survive on meager wages and pay soaring utility bills.

"We have grown poor under Poroshenko and have to save to buy food and clothing," said 55-year-old sales clerk Irina Fakhova. "We have had enough of them getting mired in corruption and filling their pockets and treating us as fools."

Poroshenko denies any link to an alleged embezzlement scheme involving one of his companies and a top associate.

Ukrainian comedian and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy shows his ballot before casting his ballot at a polling station, during the second round of presidential elections in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, April 21, 2019. Top issues in the election have been corruption, the economy and how to end the conflict with Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Ukrainian comedian and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy shows his ballot before casting his ballot at a polling station, during the second round of presidential elections in Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, April 21, 2019. Top issues in the election have been corruption, the economy and how to end the conflict with Russia-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

Zelenskiy, who comes from Ukraine's mostly Russian-speaking east, has opposed Poroshenko's push for a bill that would outlaw the Russian language and mocked the creation of the new church as a campaign stunt.

Speaking to reporters, he said his campaign already "helped unite the country."

Like Poroshenko, Zelenskiy pledged to keep Ukraine on its pro-Western course, but said the country should only join NATO if voters give their approval in a referendum. He said his top priority would be direct talks with Russia to end the fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Zelenskiy's image has been shadowed by his admission that he had commercial interests in Russia through a holding company, and by his business ties to self-exiled billionaire businessman Ihor Kolomoyskyi. A Poroshenko archrival, Kolomoyskyi owns the TV station that aired the sitcom the actor starred in as well as his comedy shows.

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However, his ties to Kolomoyskyi have not sullied his image enough to cast him as a corrupt candidate in the eyes of voters.

"I have grown up under the old politicians and only have seen empty promises, lies and corruption," said Lyudmila Potrebko, a 22-year-old computer programmer who cast her ballot for Zelenskiy. "It's time to change that."

Source: Fox News World

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Late Brazil cane harvest may catch sugar traders off-guard

A combine harvester cuts sugar cane in a field at the Sao Martinho sugar mill in Pradopolis
FILE PHOTO: A combine harvester cuts sugar cane in a field at the Sao Martinho sugar mill in Pradopolis, Brazil September 13, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker

March 26, 2019

By Marcelo Teixeira

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – A likely delay in the start of Brazil’s center-south cane harvest may catch some New York sugar futures players on the wrong foot, forcing those operators to cover positions, according to analysts and commodity traders.

Although Brazil’s 2019/20 center-south cane crop officially starts in April, many mills begin crushing earlier if their cane is ready. However, fields this year are developing late, after a dry spell in December and January, followed by ample March rain.

The late rainfall may lead some mills to hold off crushing to let the cane turn that moisture into better agricultural yields.

“If that happens, we will see traders running to deal with that lack of available sugar,” said Arnaldo Corrêa, a sugar industry analyst at Archer Consulting.

Last Friday, U.S. government data showed speculators had reduced their net short position in raw sugar on the ICE futures exchange, surprising many in the market.

Brazil is a big swing factor in the global sugar market due to the flexibility of its mills, which manage to go quicker or slower on processing, or direct more cane to ethanol versus sugar production, depending on prices.

“If there is a delay in crushing, then the supply of raw sugar that can be tendered against the May futures may be severely restricted,” an analyst at a large European trading house told Reuters.

“There will be a lot of debate about specifically how much cane will be crushed in the second half of March and in April,” said the analyst, requesting anonymity to speak openly.

The start to Brazil’s cane harvest has varied dramatically in recent years. In 2016, Brazilian mills crushed 80 million tonnes from mid-March to the end of April, but the crush in the same period of 2017 fell below 50 million tonnes.

Last year Brazil’s center-south crushed 67.7 million tonnes in that six-week stretch, producing 2.41 million tonnes of sugar. Analysts are forecasting less this year.

Datagro, a leading sugar and ethanol consultancy in Brazil, sees most mills pushing their first crush back by two weeks due to high ethanol inventories and slow cane development.

Brazilian cane industry group Unica said on Tuesday that just 27 center-south mills were operating in the first half of March, down from 50 at the same time last year.

If processing continues to lag, mills and traders that have already sold sugar in New York might roll their positions to July instead of delivering the sugar. That could leave buyers scrambling to find new supplies.

To be sure, a sunny forecast for early April in center-south Brazil could help to jumpstart crushing season, bringing sugar to the market as expected.

Dib Nunes, a Brazilian cane expert, said major cane areas near Presidente Prudente and Araçatuba are likely to see delays, but other parts of Sao Paulo state may not.

Not all of Brazil’s cash-strapped mills can afford to wait.

“A potential delay would be 15 or 20 days maximum, not more, because many mills also need to make cash,” he said.

(Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira; Editing by Brad Haynes and Susan Thomas)

Source: OANN

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Border agents install razor wire at El Paso bridges

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it's installing coils of razor wire at Texas ports of entry across from Juarez, Mexico, where large groups of migrants wait to seek asylum.

The agency released photos of long coils of concertina wire installed on movable barriers in El Paso. Soldiers and CBP agents deployed to the border have installed the wire at or near various entry ports.

Local officials protested the wire, including Rep. Veronica Escobar. The El Paso Democrat says border bridges "should not become militarized zones based on a misguided policy rooted in fear."

CBP says it's responding to increasing numbers of migrants in Juarez, including some members of the caravan that originally went to the border at Piedras Negras, Mexico. That's across from Eagle Pass, Texas, roughly 400 miles (644 kilometers) from El Paso.

Source: Fox News National

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Turkey running low on hard cash reserves as markets fear ‘dollarisation’

FILE PHOTO: People check currency exchange rates at an currency exchange office in Istanbul
FILE PHOTO: People check currency exchange rates at an currency exchange office in Istanbul, Turkey, November 25, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

March 27, 2019

By Karin Strohecker

LONDON (Reuters) – Turkey’s repeated attempts to shore up the lira over the past year have left it perilously low on hard cash reserves as domestic households scramble to shift their savings to dollars and companies struggle to refinance their overseas debts.

The drain on the central bank’s foreign currency buffers raises uncomfortable questions about Turkey’s balance of payments and its ability to roll over foreign loans – and how and from whom it would seek emergency reserves if necessary.

The voracious domestic appetite for hard currency, meantime, has become a critical gauge of trust in the authorities’ ability to manage the lira and the country’s finance during the harshest economic contraction in a decade.

Data released last week showed gross FX reserves at Turkey’s central bank dropped by some $3 billion to $73.78 billion in the week to March 15. Meanwhile total forex deposits and funds, including precious metals, of Turkish local individuals hit a record high of $105.74 billion.

“There are very few other countries whose level of FX reserves is as low as Turkey’s,” Paul McNamara, investment director at GAM in London. “With reserves down to this level, they really have no room for error and there is a lack of confidence, and that needs to be addressed.”

The numbers weighed heavily on the lira, prompting Ankara’s regulator to launch probes into a number of banks and blaming them for fuelling speculation with Turkish lenders reluctant to provide liras to offshore FX markets, pushing rates for foreign investors to punitive levels.

But the data itself showed more than just the low levels of reserves. It was also testimony to the role the central bank plays in the country ruled by President Tayyip Erdogan who takes a tough stance on the direction of monetary policy.

“It is a signal that the central bank is supplying part of the economy with FX reserves and not through the market,” said Ulrich Leuchtman, head of FX & EM research at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

“That indicates that the exchange rate is an issue, and also that the central bank is meddling in economic policy, which isn’t really what it should be doing.”

Turkey’s reserves look under pressure on several measures.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), seen as the oracle on currency crises due to its vast experience in trying to put countries’ finances back together, has developed a number of gauges to capture the resources a country has available to meet shocks.

According to the IMF, reserves to short-term debt ratio stood at just over 50 percent for Turkey at the end of 2018 while the fund’s rule of thumb is that a ratio of 100 percent is adequate.

The picture looks somewhat different in calculations by the Institute of International Finance. The IIF estimated some $75 billion issued by government, banks and corporates is maturing in 2019, of which $17 billion is short-term, $59 billion medium to longer-term, and the rest made up of trade finance and non-resident deposits.

Turkey’s import cover ratio – the number of months that imports can be sustained should all inflows seize up – stood at around four months, compared more than six months for South Africa or 18 months for Russia, according to the IMF.

Fresh FX reserve data due out in the coming days is expected to show some reprieve, but not necessarily for the right reasons, say analysts. As part of efforts to prop up the lira in the run-up to local elections on Sunday, the central bank suspended auctions at the one-week repo rate, forcing borrowers into higher interest rate windows – a move that is expected to add another $2.5 billion to reserves.

Meanwhile, locals’ mistrust of their own policymakers as seen in their record holdings of dollars, gold and other safe haven assets have added to market jitters.

Countless emerging market crises have shown over the decades that it is not necessarily the withdrawal of foreign investors from a market but the drying up of central bank reserves and a flight of local households and businesses from a currency that are instrumental in its collapse.

“The concern has been dollarisation: It is not really foreigners leading the way, it is all about locals,” said Tim Ash, senior emerging markets strategist at BlueBay Asset Management. “The actions they have taken takes foreigners out, but it doesn’t really solve the problem with locals.”

Rampant inflation dogged Turkey for decades before 2000 and has been back in double digits since the start of 2017. In February, inflation stood at just under 20 percent.

Meanwhile last August’s 25 percent lira tumble of the lira has pushed Turkey into a painful recession.

Locals’ appetite for hard currency shows little sign of abating. Mustafa Alkan, manager at a foreign exchange office in Istanbul, said demand has been high over the past three weeks.

“People are panicking – when the dollar increases, they panic and buy,” he said, adding some customers had come with tens of thousands of liras in their pockets to his counter.

Many Turks were rattled by the lira’s tumble last August to 7.24 to the dollar. The lira currently trades at 5.4.

“There is a view that the dollar will go back to the levels it saw (last summer)… As long as there is no value in the lira, people will flock to dollar.”

(Reporting by Karin Strohecker; Additional reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen in Istanbul, Ece Toksabay in Ankara and Marc Jones in London; Graphics by Ritvik Carvalho; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Source: OANN

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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.)

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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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