Upcoming shows
Real News

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Story Time

1:00 am 6:00 am



Maga First News

Upcoming Shows

Join The MAGA Network on Discord

0 0

Germany raids groups suspected of supporting Hamas

German authorities have carried out raids on groups suspected of helping the militant Palestinian group Hamas under the guise of providing humanitarian aid.

The interior ministry said some 90 properties across Germany associated with an "Islamist network" were searched on Wednesday. It said the network was headed by two groups based in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, WWR Help and Ansaar International.

The ministry said there are indications that the network provided financial and propaganda support to Hamas, a longtime enemy of Israel that runs the Gaza Strip and was listed as a terror group by the European Union in 2001.

Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said that "anyone who supports Hamas under the cover of humanitarian aid flouts fundamental value judgments of our constitution."

Source: Fox News World

0 0

Tug-of-war with a lion: UK zoo's bizarre big cat challenge sparks backlash

A zoo in the United Kingdom is coming under fire for offering its visitors a chance to play a challenging game of tug-of-war with its lions and tigers for a small fee.

For about $20 (£15), zoogoers — eight and older — at Dartmoor Zoo can join a team of four at a long rope to rival a big cat, according to The Guardian. A juicy piece of raw meat attached to the end of the rope coaxes the lion or tiger into biting the end and giving it a good tug.

The challengers are pulling from the other side of the enclosure and do not come into close contact with the wild animals. The zoo says the activity is beneficial to the big cats, allowing them to get the vital exercise they need.

HUGE SNAKE MAULED BY ALLIGATOR IN FLORIDA, SHOCKING VIDEO SHOWS

“In the cooler weather, Dartmoor zoo’s keepers occasionally do rope-pulling with their big cats for enrichment purposes. This type of activity, which is common at many zoos, is very important to keep the animals fit and healthy as it encourages exercise, which builds muscle mass," Dartmoor Zoo said in a statement to The Guardian, adding that it's allowing a small group of guests to join staff members in the tug-of-war-like game for the first time.

A zoo in the U.K. is under fire for allowing visitors to play tug-of-war with its big cats.

A zoo in the U.K. is under fire for allowing visitors to play tug-of-war with its big cats. (Jay/Twitter @jayalex87)

Over the past week, videos of the supposed exercise have been circulating online, garnering thousands of views — and a lot of opinions.

One participant expressed his delight after playing tug-of-war, saying it was an "absolutely amazing experience" with his wife. He later joked about losing. A video he posted of the match was viewed more than 1,000 times.

"Brilliant That zoo is only a 30 min drive to me. I’ve not been for a few years I’m definitely going to play tug o war with a tiger. #DartmoorZoo," one Twitter user replied.

HUGE SNAKE MAULED BY ALLIGATOR IN FLORIDA, SHOCKING VIDEO SHOWS

"There is nothing wrong with this. I play the same game with my cats, they love the play hunting mice," another man added.

"The lion had fun too I bet. Dogs and cats love to play tug of war," a third chimed in.

But the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) disagrees, telling the BBC the game "doesn't promote respect" for the animals but is rather a "money-making gimmick."

An online petition demanding the zoo stops the practice has already received more than 2,000 signatures, the news organization reports. The creator of the petition, Sue Dally, compared the Dartmoor Zoo to a circus.

An online petition demanding the zoo stops the practice has already received more than 2,000 signatures.

An online petition demanding the zoo stops the practice has already received more than 2,000 signatures. (Jay/Twitter @jayalex87)

“The zoo claims it’s to give the animals intellectual exercise and fun, but it comes across as putting profits before the animal’s welfare. There are plenty of ways that experienced professionals can care for the rare animals, without turning them into a novelty plaything for tourists," Dally said, according to The Guardian.

Several social media users echoed Dally's point of view.

"Uh lets not treat them like pet dogs- I don't think the tigers would be bothered but if something went freakishly wrong it'll be the animal that suffers eg be shot. Fantastic," one Twitter user wrote.

"I think that it's wrong, and the Zoo should stop it now," another added, tagging the zoo.

"Imagine your source of fun would be playing tug of war with a beautiful but captive tiger/lion," a user pointed out.

But the zoo’s owner, Benjamin Mee, argued the activity isn't cruel at all.

"People are making a fuss about nothing," Benjamin told PlymouthLive this week. "I think this is 100 percent the right thing to be doing; the lion loves it.

Source: Fox News World

0 0

Maxine Waters’ Republican challenger says she’s more likely to be impeached than Trump

California congressional candidate Omar Navarro, who is running against Rep. Maxine Waters, said during an appearance on “Fox and Friends” Thursday that if there’s anyone who should be impeached, it’s the California Democrat.

Navarro, who wants to take Waters’ district in the 2020 election, said his opponent could be removed from Congress for “disorderly behavior,” referring to her previous calls for confrontation and relentless pushing of the conspiracy that Trump colluded with the Russian government.

OCASIO-CORTEZ-ALIGNED GROUP ATTACKS BIDEN, SAYS HE’S ‘OUT-OF-TOUCH’ WITH DEMOCRATIC PARTY

He also said his candidacy reflects the people’s views in the district since he offers something to unite behind rather than causing further division in the country.

“You know when I walk around in my district and I talk to voters, I talk to different voters, talk to the Hispanic community, which is the largest community, 54 percent of my district, you have to look what are the demographics,” he said.

“When I look at the demographics, I talk to the voters knocking on doors, people want to see someone that’s going to unite them,” Navarro added.

MAXINE WATERS CALLS BARR A 'LACKEY AND A SYCOPHANT' FOR TRUMP

“They are seeing Maxine Waters dividing them. They are tired of it. They had her over 30 years. She has been in public service for 40 years. It’s time for a change. Time for someone that will bring back jobs, bring back stability and common sense into our district.”

“They are seeing Maxine Waters dividing them. They are tired of it. They had her over 30 years. She has been in public service for 40 years. It’s time for a change. Time for someone that will bring back jobs, bring back stability and common sense into our district.”

— Omar Navarro, Republican running for Congress against Rep. Maxine Waters

The Republican candidate also reacted to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s early Thursday announcement that he was running, saying he’s using identity politics.

“That is the typical playbook of the Democrats. They use identity politics to divide people. They divide my community by using identity politics,” he said of Biden’s campaign launch. “I was Latino growing up, my parents are from Mexico and Cuba. I noticed this growing up, I used to see Democrats from all over Los Angeles using identity politics at their best.”

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But Navarro said such divisive politics will backfire on Biden as it will only drive people away from the party. “One thing I've seen from the Democratic Party, that they have been pushing a lot of people away from the Democratic Party,” he said, pointing to increasingly hotheaded rhetoric by others.

Source: Fox News Politics

0 0

Pilot: Cruise ship woes off Norway started with engine snags

The Norwegian pilot on the cruise ship carrying more that was caught in a hefty storm off the coast of mid-Norway last weekend, says the situation became problematic when engine problems appeared.

Inge Lockert told the Vesteraalen newspaper Tuesday that "everything went as it should until we got engine problems."

Lockert could not be reached by The Associated Press.

Viking Sky subsequently made a mayday call Saturday afternoon, and helicopters winched off 479 passengers.

The evacuation was halted Sunday when the ship with about 900 people still on board, limped into a nearby port on its own engines after they were restarted.

Source: Fox News World

0 0

Uganda seizes eight suspects over American tourist’s kidnap

U.S. tourist Kimberly Sue Endicott poses with her guide, Jean Paul Mirenge in Uganda
U.S. tourist Kimberly Sue Endicott poses with her guide, Jean Paul Mirenge in Uganda, April 7, 2019, in this image taken from social media. Picture taken April 7, 2019. Wild Frontiers/via REUTERS

April 10, 2019

KAMPALA (Reuters) – Uganda has arrested eight local people suspected of involvement in the kidnap of an American tourist and her guide last week, the government said on Wednesday.

Kimberley Sue Endecott, 35, and local guide Jean Paul Mirenge-Remezo were ambushed and seized by gunmen as they drove in Queen Elizabeth National Park in southwest Uganda on April 2.

The kidnappers demanded a ransom of $500,000 and the pair were released six days later.

Confirming the arrests on a government Twitter account, spokesman Ofwono Opondo said he hoped they would help break a larger criminal network in Uganda and neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Ugandan police had announced arrests on Tuesday, but not given the number.

The firm that organized Endecott’s safari said she and her guide were released after a “negotiated settlement” and a Ugandan official also said a ransom was paid.

But Opondo contradicted that.

“The policy of the (government of Uganda) is that we don’t pay ransom. What you have been hearing is just rumor-mongering,” he said.

Given the importance of income from tourism, President Yoweri Museveni’s government was eager to solve the case and restore a feeling of safety in national parks.

In 1999, an American couple, four Britons and two New Zealanders were killed along with four guides after being ambushed by gunmen in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by George Obulutsa and Andrew Cawthorne)

Source: OANN

0 0

Has the media turned on UK’s Prince Harry and wife Meghan?

Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend a Commonwealth Day youth event in London
FILE PHOTO - Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend a Commonwealth Day youth event at Canada House in London, Britain, March 11, 2019. Chris Jackson/Pool via REUTERS

April 8, 2019

By Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) – Last May, millions across the world tuned in to watch Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Prince Harry tie the knot with his American actress girlfriend Meghan Markle, with the media feting the couple as the epitome of glamor and royal modernity.

But less than a year later, the couple have found themselves on the receiving end of much less flattering coverage as they prepare for the birth of their first child this spring.

“Frown Jewels: Meg is banned by Queen from using Di gems,” the front page headline on Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper the Sun said on Thursday over a story which claimed the monarch had banning Meghan from wearing royal jewelry, a sign of growing tensions between Harry’s wife and senior Windsors.

“Meghan Markle ‘pretty difficult’ person to deal with – ‘Harry is Miserable,'” said a Daily Express headline last month, while the Daily Mail ran this story in January: “How Meghan’s favourite avocado snack … is fuelling human rights abuses, drought and murder”.

There is no doubting the enduring, global fascination with the British royals. On Tuesday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as Harry and Meghan are officially known, launched their first Instagram account. Two days later, it had 3.4 million followers.

While much reporting by the British press on the royal family is respectful, verging on the sycophantic, at other times it can be harshly critical, even cruel.

“The press here in Britain is very aggressive, and they don’t hold back,” said veteran Sun photographer Arthur Edwards who has covered the royals for more than four decades.

The first public acknowledgement that Harry and Meghan were dating in November 2016 came in a statement criticizing the media for intruding into his then girlfriend’s private life.

It was indicative of how Harry views the media which he blames for the death of his mother Princess Diana. She died in Paris in 1997, when he was just 12, when her limousine crashed as it sped away from chasing paparazzi photographers.

“If there is a story and something’s been written about me, I want to know what’s been said. But all it does is upset me and anger me,” Harry said in a broadcast interview while on military service in Afghanistan in 2012.

In his youth, Harry found himself in the headlines for under-age drinking, wearing a Nazi outfit to a costume party and scuffling with photographers outside London nightclubs.

But his popularity grew both with Britons generally and the media who loved his antics when on official engagements, such as posing with the likes of Olympic gold medal sprinter Usain Bolt.

“FANTASTIC”

“When you went on tour with Harry before he was married, it was a fantastic tour. Every day he would make great pictures, he would do something that was spectacular,” Edwards said. “We think he’s the best thing in the royal family.”

But since Harry tied the knot, something changed, he said.

Newspapers were given minimal access to the couple’s wedding in May and there has some discontent among senior figures in the industry about the level of access to the royals who continue to be a huge draw for readers.

“Suddenly he’s turned completely the other way – he’s Mr Cool,” Edwards said. “He thinks, possibly, ‘why should I do anything for them?'”

The reason is likely to be the recent coverage of his wife.

There have been numerous reports of excessive demands the new duchess has made of staff and of rifts between Meghan and Harry and his elder brother William and his wife Kate.

Also, Meghan’s family, particularly her father, have regularly made headlines with critical comments about her.

Meghan herself said she avoided newspapers or Twitter. “I don’t read anything, it’s much safer that way,” she told a panel discussion at King’s College London in March.

But in January, U.S. magazine People said five of Meghan’s close friends had broken their silence to speak about the “lies and untruths” and “global bullying” the duchess had suffered and their fears about how this would affect her and her baby.

The following month, her friend, Hollywood film star George Clooney told Australian magazine WHO the media were harassing Meghan as they had Diana.

“She’s a woman who is seven months pregnant and she has been pursued and vilified and chased in the same way that Diana was and it’s history repeating itself,” he said.

Royal commentators and even those on the receiving end say media negativity is a rite of passage for the royals.

“It was something that Prince Charles said years ago when he and Diana were receiving some negative coverage. People put you on a pedestal just to knock you off,” Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty magazine, told Reuters.

Those who write about the royals say the problem is not so much the media itself, but vicious comments from online trolls and heated social media arguments involving Meghan’s fans. The rise in such abuse led Britain’s royals to unveil a new online protocol last month warning users of possible police action. [nL5N20R2OX]

“There’s been an awful lot of negativity online, social media, racism, all sorts of vile abuse but that’s not coming from the mainstream media,” said Robert Jobson, veteran royal correspondent for the London Evening Standard newspaper.

“The odd commentator may say something but actually on the whole it’s been very, very positive,” he added, saying people were shooting the messenger for covering negative stories coming from Meghan’s own family.

Readers, though, are not so sure.

“I think she’s been treated a bit unfairly from what I’ve seen,” said student Savanah Edwards. “I see that she’s criticized for a lot and I don’t think that’s fair to her.”

American student Laura Youngblood, 21, said: “I think that she gets a bit of bad rap. Marrying into the royal family is difficult coming from an American background which is a completely different culture. As Americans as a whole, we admire her so much – we think she’s great.”

In a speech to 12,000 children and teachers at Wembley Arena in London last month, Harry made little secret of his ongoing dislike of the media.

“Every day you are inundated with an over-exposure of advertising and mainstream media, social media and endless comparisons, distorting the truth and trying to manipulate the power of positive thinking,” he told them. “But you don’t let them sway you.”

Whatever the Windsors might think of the media, royal watchers say there is a symbiotic relationship between the two.

“The bottom line is when they’re doing their job they want to be seen doing what they’re doing and they’re quite happy to give access to the media,” Jobson said.

(Additional reporting by Jayson Mansaray; editing by Stephen Addison and Robin Pomeroy)

Source: OANN

0 0

Athletics: Hotel robbery takes edge off Farah’s marathon preparation

London Marathon Preview Press Conference
Athletics - London Marathon Preview Press Conference - The Tower Hotel, London, Britain - April 24, 2019 Great Britain's Mo Farah during the press conference Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs

April 24, 2019

By Mitch Phillips

LONDON (Reuters) – Briton Mo Farah was given an unwelcome birthday surprise when he was robbed at his hotel in Addis Ababa last month, putting a damper on what he said had been an otherwise perfect preparation for Sunday’s London Marathon.

Farah, third last year and facing a monumental challenge to overcome Kenya’s world record holder and defending champion Eliud Kipchoge, said he had completed a really good block of training in Ethiopia.

“I couldn’t have asked for better,” he said. “There were just a couple of things.”

Asked to expand, the multiple Olympic and world champion over 10,000 meters and 5,000m on the track, said: “There was a problem at the hotel. Someone went into my bag and took some money and took a present my wife had got me (a watch), so that was disappointing when I’d been staying there so long.

“It was on my birthday,” added Farah, who turned 36 on March 23 and won the Chicago Marathon last year.

He will be center of attention for the home crowd and the BBC broadcasting the race. Yet, he is only the eighth-fastest man in the field and his best of 2:05.11 is almost four minutes adrift of Kipchoge’s – which would leave him almost a mile behind the Kenyan if they were to reproduce those times on Sunday.

Kipchoge set his astonishing world record of 2:01.39 when winning Berlin last year and is seeking an unprecedented fourth London triumph.

He told a news conference on Thursday that he had not raced since Berlin and had followed his usual preparation – a system that has served him well in a career that has seen him win 10 of his 11 marathons, including the 2016 Olympic Games.

“I like London, I’m fit and ready to compete,” he said, adding that he was still in discussions regarding what pace he will ask the pacemakers to set.

Farah said he fully respected Kipchoge’s talent and extraordinary record but added that he was learning all the time having switched to the roads in 2017 and was not turning up “expecting to finish third or fourth.”

“You look up to these guys, you have to learn from the best and I have learned from each race I’ve done,” Farah said.

“I think I could have gone 2.04-something in Chicago (where he set a European record of 2:05:11) but it was about winning the race.

“Last year in London when Eliud increased the pace at around 20 miles I went with it a bit but just felt tired and in my mind I felt ‘I cant keep that going’ and you end up taking it back a notch. But I am here to race and will give 100 percent as I always do.”

EXTRA ENDURANCE

Farah said he had underestimated the volume of training required to convert his track speed into the extra endurance needed for 26.2 miles on the road, but that he was enjoying the challenge.

“The most important thing is that I’m happy and enjoying it,” he said. “I’m still hungry, I feel like I’ve got my mojo back.”

While Farah and Kipchoge fight it out at the sharp end, around 40,000 others will be pounding the streets of London in the 39th running of what organizers say is the world’s most popular race.

“We had 415,000 applications in five days,” said race director Hugh Brasher. “This weekend we will reach one billion pounds raised for charity by runners, with more than half of that coming in the last nine years.”

In the first race in 1981, co-founded by his father and former Olympic gold medalist Chris Brasher, five percent of finishers were female, while this year that figure is expected to be around 45 percent.

The race is also testing a number of innovations to help reduce its environmental impact, such as fewer feeding stations and an experiment where 700 runners will use a recyclable plastic belt to carry refillable bottles.

(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Christian Radnedge)

Source: OANN

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Story Time

1:00 am 6:00 am



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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Current track

Title

Artist