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Ex-NFL star Aaron Hernandez’s murder conviction reinstated

Former New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez arrives in the courtroom at Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River
FILE PHOTO: Former New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez arrives in the courtroom at Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River, Massachusetts April 1, 2015. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

March 13, 2019

(Reuters) – Massachusetts’ top court on Wednesday reinstated former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez’s conviction on charges of murdering an acquaintance in 2013, making it easier for the victim’s family to sue his estate.

Hernandez hung himself in his prison cell in 2017, days after being cleared of a separate 2012 double murder, leading a lower-court judge to toss his conviction under a longstanding state legal doctrine that vacated guilty sentences for people who died before they had exhausted the appeals process.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court scrapped that legal doctrine, saying that it was not in keeping with norms of “contemporary life.”

“When a defendant dies irrespective of cause, while a direct appeal as of right challenging his conviction is pending, the proper course is to dismiss the appeal as moot,” the court said.

Hernandez was convicted in 2015 of murdering acquaintance Odin Lloyd in an industrial park near his home by the Patriots’ stadium and sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. In 2017, he was cleared in a separate case of murdering two Cape Verdean men outside a Boston nightclub after a dispute over a spilled drink.

After the 27-year-old former athlete hung himself, his family turned his brain over to scientists who determined that Hernandez had the one of the worst cases of the brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy that they had ever seen.

CTE, which can cause premature dementia and violent behavior, is a condition caused by the sort of repeated head hits that have long been part of football. Multiple former players have sued the league over it and the NFL has scrambled to change rules to reduce the risk.

The high court’s decision clears the way for the victim’s family to file a wrongful death lawsuit against Hernandez, who had a $41 million contract when he was arrested for Lloyd’s killing, said Robert Bloom, a professor at Boston College Law School.

“What it means is that Lloyd’s family might be able to collect from the estate,” Bloom said. “They would have an action against the estate because of the wrongful death of their family member.”

(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; Editing by Scott Malone and Tom Brown)

Source: OANN

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White cop cleared in fatal shooting of black teenager

A jury acquitted a white former police officer Friday in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager as he was fleeing a high-stakes traffic stop outside Pittsburgh, a confrontation that was captured on video and led to weeks of unrest.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld was charged with homicide for killing Antwon Rose II last June. Rose was riding in an unlicensed taxi that had been involved in a drive-by shooting when Rosfeld pulled the car over and shot the 17-year-old in the back, arm and side of the face as he ran away.

The panel of seven men and five women — including three black jurors — saw footage of the fatal confrontation, which showed Rose falling to the ground after being hit. The acquittal came after fewer than four hours of deliberations on the fourth day of the trial.

Rose's family remained stoic as the verdict was read, with his mother telling his sister not to cry. Rosfeld's wife began sobbing, and she and Rosfeld were hustled out of the courtroom by deputies.

There were tears and gasps in an overflow courtroom, and several people broke out in song: "Antwon Rose was a freedom fighter, and he taught us how to fight."

Outside, dozens of protesters chanted: "Say his name: Antwon Rose the Second."

The Rose family's attorney, S. Lee Merritt, had urged a murder conviction, saying before closing arguments that it's "pretty obvious" Rose was not a threat to Rosfeld. He said the family would make a statement about the verdict on Monday.

Rose's death — one of many high-profile killings of black men and teens by white police officers in recent years — spurred angry protests in the Pittsburgh area last year, including a late-night march that shut down a major highway.

Defense lawyer Patrick Thomassey told reporters after the verdict that Rosfeld is "a good man, he is." He said he hoped the city remained calm, and "everybody takes a deep breath and gets on with their lives."

At trial, the prosecution and the defense sparred over whether Rosfeld — who'd worked for the East Pittsburgh Police Department for only a few weeks and was officially sworn in just hours before the fatal shooting — was justified in using lethal force.

Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Fodi declared in his closing argument that Rosfeld had acted as "judge, jury and executioner," and the video evidence showed "there was no threat" to the officer.

"We don't shoot first and ask questions later," the prosecutor added.

But the former officer told the jury he thought Rose or another suspect had a gun pointed at him, insisting he fired his weapon to protect himself and the community. Neither teen was holding one when Rosfeld opened fire, though two guns were later found in the car.

"It happened very quickly," Rosfeld said. "My intent was to end the threat that was made against me."

A defense expert testified Rosfeld was within his rights to use deadly force to stop suspects he thought had been involved in a shooting.

Rose had been riding in the front seat of the cab when another occupant, Zaijuan Hester, in the back, rolled down a window and shot at two men on the street, hitting one in the abdomen. A few minutes later, Rosfeld spotted their car, which had its rear windshield shot out, and pulled it over. Rosfeld ordered the driver to the ground, but Rose and another passenger jumped out and began running away. Rosfeld fired three times in quick succession.

The defense said the shooting was justified because Rosfeld believed he was in danger and couldn't wait for other officers to get there.

"He's a sitting duck," Thomassey told jurors in his closing argument, asking them to consider "the standard of what a reasonable police officer would do under the circumstances."

Prosecutors had charged Rosfeld with an open count of homicide, meaning the jury had the option of convicting him of murder or manslaughter. The prosecution said Rosfeld gave inconsistent statements about the shooting, including whether he thought Rose was armed.

Hester, 18, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated assault and firearms violations. Hester told a judge that he, not Rose, did the shooting.

Source: Fox News National

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More than half of Americans believe Mueller probe was fair, are satisfied with results: Poll

More than half of Americans believe Special Counsel Robert Mueller conducted a fair investigation and were satisfied with the results -- including a majority of independents, according to a poll released Friday.

A new NPR/PBS New Hour/ Marist poll said 56 percent of those polled thought Mueller conducted a fair investigation, while 51 percent of respondents overall -- and 52 percent of independents -- said they were satisfied with the probe and its results, NPR reported.

MUELLER REPORT MORE THAN 300 PAGES LONG: DOJ 

According to NPR, the question of whether Americans were “satisfied” with the investigation was one of the only questions polled during the Trump administration in which a majority of independents voted alongside Republicans, rather than Democrats.

The poll also revealed that while Americans were “satisfied,” an overwhelming majority want the special counsel’s full report to be made public.

Mueller transmitted his report to Attorney General Bill Barr last Friday. Barr released his summary of the special counsel’s more than 300-page report on Sunday, announcing that Mueller found no evidence members of the Trump campaign -- or anyone associated with it -- colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, despite numerous offers from Kremlin-linked sources.

Another line of inquiry the special counsel’s office was probing was whether President Trump obstructed justice during the investigation. Mueller, after reviewing the evidence, decided not to come to a conclusion on the matter, and instead, kicked the decision to the Justice Department.

NELLIE OHR, WIFE OF DOJ OFFICIAL, DID EXTENSIVE OPPO RESEARCH ON TRUMP FAMILY, AIDES

Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller and conducted oversight of the investigation after former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to recuse himself due to his involvement in the Trump campaign, effectively cleared Trump on obstruction, saying evidence was not sufficient to establish the president committed an obstruction-of-justice offense.

The Justice Department is expected to release Mueller’s full report, with redactions, in the coming weeks. Congressional Democrats blasted Barr’s short, four-page summary of Mueller’s findings and have called for full transparency, urging the release of the full report to Congress and the public by April 2.

Barr has employed the help of Mueller, along with federal prosecutors in the special counsel's office, to help to determine which portions of the report can be made public, and which portions need to remain under seal due to sensitive grand jury materials and investigative methods.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Jokowi 2.0 could open Indonesia’s door to foreign investors

Indonesia's presidential candidate Joko Widodo laughs as his running mate for the upcoming election Ma'ruf Amin gestures at a carnival during his campaign rally in Tangerang
Indonesia's presidential candidate Joko Widodo laughs as his running mate for the upcoming election Ma'ruf Amin gestures at a carnival during his campaign rally in Tangerang, Banten province, Indonesia, April 7, 2019. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/File Photo

April 17, 2019

By Tom Allard and John Chalmers

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Foreign investors desperate for more access to Indonesia’s huge market can take comfort from the re-election of Joko Widodo as president for a second and final term on Wednesday: according to government insiders he is poised for a splurge of reform.

On the list of areas he might tackle is sagging foreign investment, the troubled education system and restrictive labor rules.

“If the president’s victory ranges from 52-55 percent that would be the sweet spot,” said a senior government official who works closely with Widodo. “That would spur him to continue and maybe even accelerate economic reforms.”

Widodo – popularly known as Jokowi – looked set to hit that ‘sweet spot’ as early election results came in, showing he was set to win the popular vote and come at least eight percentage points ahead of challenger Prabowo Subianto, who investors feared would be a champion of economic nationalism.

Unofficial counts also suggest Widodo’s coalition will increase its hold on the national legislature.

Still, some analysts doubt that Widodo will move much beyond the cautious reform agenda of his first five-year term.

That’s partly because of his own plodding style, but also because conservative Muslims and nativists will remain a potent political force that is hostile to foreign capital, especially from China.

While the contest between Widodo and his challenger, former special forces general Prabowo was characterized by nationalist posturing on both sides, government officials and advisers say Widodo recognizes the need for more foreign investment to boost growth and raise productivity in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

Citing internal government discussions, Mohamad Ikhsan, an economic adviser to outgoing Vice-President Jusuf Kalla, said Widodo was told that economic growth would likely slip below 5 percent without a more liberal approach to foreign investment.

“The president understands this very well. He also understands that it’s not only capital that must be injected, foreign capital … we need to upgrade our human resources,” Ikhsan said.

“He promised that will be in the second term.”

That assessment was backed by the senior government official, who said a big part of Jokowi’s second-term reform drive would be opening education – and particularly universities – to foreign players and making the sector a business. He declined to be identified to speak openly about policy plans.

LEGACY

Some analysts suggested that Widodo’s margin of victory in the election, which looks likely to be less than his campaign had hoped for, might be a brake on reformist plans. His predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, took 61 percent of the vote when he won a second term and is widely thought to have squandered that chance to address systemic flaws in the economy.

“We expect Jokowi’s victory, especially as it was not emphatic, to only result in modest economic reform,” said Peter Mumford of the Eurasia Group, a risk consultancy. “(It) will be insufficient to break him free of the constraints of coalition partners and vested interests — elite political, military, religious and state-owned enterprise leaders.”

Australian National University analyst Greg Fealy said Widodo was committed to leaving his mark.

“He’s determined to make the biggest impact on national life that he can. He wants more development. He wants more infrastructure. He wants greater prosperity. He wants that legacy.”

Fealy said Indonesia’s recently negotiated free trade deal with Australia, which includes zero-tariff access on many goods and services and provisions for Australian universities to set up campuses in Indonesia, reflected the free market instincts of Widodo, a former furniture entrepreneur and big exporter.

The first president from outside Indonesia’s political, business and military elites, Widodo prioritized infrastructure development in his first term, building roads, railways, ports and airports across the archipelago of thousands of islands.

His building program has gone some way to address a major deficiency in the Indonesian economy, where logistics costs make many of its exports uncompetitive.

Ikhsan said more foreign capital would be needed to continue the program, and budget-sapping subsidies of petrol and food staples would have to be trimmed.

HUMAN RESOURCES

In his final campaign speech at Jakarta’s main stadium, Widodo said the next five years would bring a focus on developing “quality human resources”.

Indonesia’s education system has long been identified as substandard and a drag on development. Although 20 percent of the government budget is allocated to education, international surveys show math, reading and science skills among secondary students badly lag those of the country’s neighbors.

Business leaders say poor schooling and a weak tertiary education sector also deter investment, as do the country’s restrictive labor laws.

According to the senior government official, labor market reform “is something the president is very passionate about”.

“It’s very difficult to terminate or lay off people, therefore people are reluctant to hire. It’s pushed employment dramatically toward informal employment.”

Even so, “it would be the mother of all dogfights in parliament” to get labor reforms passed, he said.

Education reforms are no fait accompli either.

Many academics, nationalists and some Islamic bodies are opposed to liberalizing the university sector and bristle at suggestions that a modern curriculum might be imposed on pesantrens, the network of religious schools.

(Additional reporting by Kanupriya Kapoor; Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source: OANN

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Box Office: ‘Captain Marvel’ soars to $153 million launch

Cast member Brie Larson interacts with fans at the premiere for the movie
Cast member Brie Larson interacts with fans at the premiere for the movie "Captain Marvel" in Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 4, 2019. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

March 10, 2019

By Dave McNary

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Brie Larson’s “Captain Marvel” is soaring to a heroic opening weekend of $153 million in North America at 4,310 sites, reviving what had been a slumbering 2019 box office.

“Captain Marvel” took in $302 million internationally, giving it an estimated global opening weekend of $455 million — the sixth highest global debut of all time.

The 21st installment of Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe propelled total domestic moviegoing to $210 million — nearly $70 million above the same frame last year. It was the first weekend of 2019 to outperform the same frame of 2018.

“Captain Marvel” will wind up with the 18th biggest domestic opening weekend of all time. Disney’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” has the 17th-highest launch frame with $155.1 million in 2016. It will be the biggest opening title since “Incredibles 2” launched with $182 million in June and should post the best start for a standalone superhero film since Marvel’s “Black Panther” launched with $202 million in 2018.

Larson stars as Carol Danvers, the pilot who becomes the vastly powerful Captain Marvel after the Earth is caught at the center of a galactic conflict in 1995. The cast includes Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Lashana Lynch, Gemma Chan, Annette Bening, Clark Gregg, and Jude Law. The movie is written and directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck.

“Captain Marvel” performed well above studio projections, which had pegged the film at $125 million. It took in nearly triple what had been the biggest opener of the year with “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” at $55 million on Feb. 22-24.

Total domestic box office for 2019, which had plunged by 27 percent before the weekend, is now down 21 percent at $1.79 billion, according to Comscore’s Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst.

“Thankfully ‘Captain Marvel’s’ superpowers extend to the box office realm and as expected provided a much-needed box office boost that the 2019 box office has been waiting for with a positively out of this world debut,” he said. “The allure and power of the superhero genre is as powerful as ever and just what blockbuster starved audiences have been waiting for in the form of a perfectly cast Brie Larson in this most powerful role.”

“Captain Marvel” landed an A CinemaScore. Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak survey of audiences resulted in an 81 percent total positive score with a strong 66 percent of audiences saying they would “definitely recommend” the film.

Universal’s third weekend of “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” led the rest of the pack with $14.7 million at 4,402 locations for a 17-day domestic total of $119.7 million. The second weekend of “Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral” followed with $12.1 million at 2,442 venues.

Source: OANN

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Trump says trade deal with China could be reached in about four weeks

U.S. President Trump participates in Opportunity and Revitalization Council meeting at the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council in the Cabinet room at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 4, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

April 4, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday a trade deal with China was getting very close and could be reached in about four weeks.

Trump spoke at a meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who is in Washington for trade talks. Liu said there has been great progress in the negotiations.

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said there were still some major issues left to resolve.

Trump said the sticking points included tariffs and intellectual property theft, and the president said he would discuss tariffs with Liu.

China and the United States are in the middle of intense negotiations to end a months-long trade war that has rattled global markets. Washington wants sweeping changes to China’s economic and trade policies, while Beijing wants Trump to lift expensive sanctions on Chinese goods.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Eric Beech; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Alistair Bell)

Source: OANN

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Former Trump lawyer Cohen says assisting with more probes

FILE PHOTO - Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, arrives to testify to the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington
FILE PHOTO - Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of U.S. President Donald Trump, arrives to testify to the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 6, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

April 5, 2019

(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen has received requests for information from at least six government entities since late February, according to a letter from Cohen’s attorney to Democratic lawmakers, a sign of ongoing interest in evidence Cohen may have on his former boss.

The letter was sent by Lanny Davis on Thursday to the Democratic heads of four congressional committees asking that they attest in writing to his cooperation so far and the need to make him available to continue assisting with their probes.

Davis said he hoped federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York would take that into consideration and file a motion to have his sentence reduced and postpone the start of his prison term so he can readily assist investigators.

Cohen, who is due to start a three-year prison term on May 6, is still going through a recently accessed hard drive with more than 14 million files, including e-mails, voice recordings and attachments from his computers and phones, Davis said.

“It is our hope that the authorities in the Southern District of New York will consider this total picture of cooperation … and the particular facts involved here to grant Mr. Cohen a reduced term,” Davis wrote.

Cohen was one of Trump’s closest aides and once said he would “take a bullet” for him. But he turned against Trump last year and is cooperating with prosecutors after pleading guilty to tax evasion, bank fraud and campaign finance violations.

Cohen testified before a handful of congressional committees in late February including a dramatic televised hearing in front of the House Oversight Committee in which he denounced the president as a “conman” and a “cheat” and accused Trump of breaking the law while in office.

“There is no doubt that Mr. Cohen’s testimony, both public and private, has contributed substantially, with documents and other evidence, to triggering additional areas for investigation by law enforcement authorities and the Congress,” Davis wrote.

Davis did not identify the six government entities.

(Reporting by Nathan Layne in New York; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

Source: OANN

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Police secure the area where the body of a woman was discovered near the village of Orounta
Police secure the area where the body of a woman was discovered near the village of Orounta, Cyprus, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Stefanos Kouratzis

April 26, 2019

NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cypriot police searched on Friday for more victims of a suspected serial killer, in a case which has shocked the Mediterranean island and exposed the authorities to charges of “criminal indifference” because the dead women were foreigners.

The main opposition party, the left-wing AKEL, called for the resignation of Cyprus’s justice minister and police chief.

Police were combing three different locations west of the capital Nicosia for victims of the suspected killer, a 35-year-old army officer who has been in detention for a week.

The bodies of three women, including two thought to be from the Philippines, have been recovered. Police sources said the suspect had indicated the location of the third body, found on Thursday, and had said the person was “either Indian or Nepali”.

Police said they were searching for a further four people, including two children, based on the suspect’s testimony.

“These women came here to earn a living, to help their families. They lived away from their families. And the earth swallowed them, nobody was interested,” AKEL lawmaker Irene Charalambides told Reuters.

“This killer will be judged by the court but the other big question is the criminal indifference shown by the others when the reports first surfaced. I believe, as does my party, that the justice minister and the police chief should resign. They are irrevocably exposed.”

Police have said they will investigate any perceived shortcomings in their handling of the case.

One person who did attempt to alert the authorities over the disappearances, a 70-year-old Cypriot citizen, said his motives were questioned by police.

The bodies of the two Filipino women reported missing in May and August 2018 were found in an abandoned mine shaft this month. Police discovered the body of the third woman at an army firing range about 14 km (9 miles) from the mine shaft.

Police are now searching for the six-year-old daughter of the first victim found, a Romanian mother who disappeared with her eight-year-old child in 2016, and a woman from the Phillipines who vanished in Dec. 2017.

The suspect has not been publicly named, in line with Cypriot legal practice.

A public vigil for the missing was planned later on Friday.

(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: OANN

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An employee looks up at goods at the Miniclipper Logistics warehouse in Leighton Buzzard
FILE PHOTO: An employee looks up at goods at the Miniclipper Logistics warehouse in Leighton Buzzard, Britain December 3, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

April 26, 2019

LONDON, April 26 – British factories stockpiled raw materials and goods ahead of Brexit at the fastest pace since records began in the 1950s, and they were increasingly downbeat about their prospects, a survey showed on Friday.

The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) quarterly survey of the manufacturing industry showed expectations for export orders in the next three months fell to their lowest level since mid-2009, when Britain was reeling from the global financial crisis.

The record pace of stockpiling recorded by the CBI was mirrored by the closely-watched IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index published earlier this month.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken)

Source: OANN

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Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Florence Lo

April 26, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Fewer than half of Malaysians approve of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, an opinion poll showed on Friday, as concerns over rising costs and racial matters plague his administration nearly a year after taking office.

The survey, conducted in March by independent pollster Merdeka Center, showed that only 46 percent of voters surveyed were satisfied with Mahathir, a sharp drop from the 71 percent approval rating he received in August 2018.

Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan coalition won a stunning election victory in May 2018, ending the previous government’s more than 60-year rule.

But his administration has since been criticized for failing to deliver on promised reforms and protecting the rights of majority ethnic Malay Muslims.

Of 1,204 survey respondents, 46 percent felt that the “country was headed in the wrong direction”, up from 24 percent in August 2018, the Merdeka Center said in a statement. Just 39 percent said they approved of the ruling government.

High living costs remained the top most concern among Malaysians, with just 40 percent satisfied with the government’s management of the economy, the survey showed.

It also showed mixed responses to Pakatan Harapan’s proposed reforms.

Some 69 percent opposed plans to abolish the death penalty, while respondents were sharply divided over proposals to lower the minimum voting age to 18, or to implement a sugar tax.

“In our opinion, the results appear to indicate a public that favors the status quo, and thus requires a robust and coordinated advocacy efforts in order to garner their acceptance of new measures,” Merdeka Center said.

The survey also found 23 percent of Malaysians were concerned over ethnic and religious matters.

Some groups representing Malays have expressed fear that affirmative-action policies favoring them in business, education and housing could be taken away and criticized the appointments of non-Muslims to key government posts.

Last November, the government reversed its pledge to ratify a UN convention against racial discrimination, after a backlash from Malay groups.

Earlier this month, Pakatan Harapan suffered its third successive loss in local elections since taking power, which has been seen as a further sign of waning public support.

Despite the decline, most Malaysians – 67 percent – agreed that Mahathir’s government should be given more time to fulfill its election promises, Merdeka Center said.

This included a majority of Malay voters who were largely more critical of the new administration, it added.

(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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The German share price index DAX graph at the stock exchange in Frankfurt
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Staff

April 26, 2019

By Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh

(Reuters) – European shares slipped on Friday after losses in heavyweight banks and Glencore outweighed gains in healthcare and auto stocks, while investors remained on the sidelines ahead of U.S. economic data for the first quarter.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1 percent by 0935 GMT, eyeing a modest loss at the end of a holiday-shortened week. Banks-heavy Italian and Spanish indices were laggards.

The banking index fell for a fourth day, at the end of a heavy earnings week for lenders.

Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland tumbled after posting lower first quarter profit, hurt by intensifying competition and Brexit uncertainty, while its investment bank also registered poor returns.

Weakness in investment banking also dented Deutsche Bank’s quarterly trading revenue and sent its shares lower a day after the German bank abandoned merger talks with smaller rival Commerzbank.

“The current interest rate environment makes it challenging for banks to make proper earnings because of their intermediary function,” said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior market economist eurozone, at Rabobank.

Since the start of April, all country indexes were on pace to rise between 1.8 percent and 3.4 percent, their fourth month of gains, while Germany was strongly outperforming with 6 percent growth.

“For now the current sentiment is very cautious as markets wait for the first estimates of the U.S. GDP growth which could see a surprise,” Mevissen said.

U.S. economic data for the first-quarter is due at 1230 GMT. Growth worries outside the United States resurfaced this week after South Korea’s economy unexpectedly contracted at the start of the year and weak German business sentiment data for April also disappointed.

Among the biggest drags on the benchmark index in Europe were the basic resources sector and the oil and gas sector, weighed down by Britain’s Glencore and France’s Total, respectively.

Glencore dropped after reports that U.S authorities were investigating whether the company and its subsidiaries violated certain provisions of the commodity exchange act.

Energy major Total said its net profit for the first three months of the year fell compared with a year ago due to volatile oil prices and debt costs.

Chip stocks in the region including Siltronic, Ams and STMicroelectronics lost more than 1 percent after Intel Corp reduced its full-year revenue forecast, adding to concerns that an industry-wide slowdown could persist until the end of 2019.

Meanwhile, healthcare, which is also seen as a defensive sector, was a bright spot. It was helped by French drugmaker Sanofi after it returned to growth with higher profits and revenues for the first-quarter.

Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES led media stocks higher after it maintained its full-year outlook on the back of the company’s Networks division.

Automakers in the region rose 0.4 percent, led by Valeo’s 6 percent jump as the French parts maker said its performance would improve in the second half of the year.

Continental AG advanced after it backed its outlook for the year despite reporting a fall in first-quarter earnings.

Renault rose more than 3 percent as it clung to full-year targets and pursues merger talks with its Japanese partner Nissan.

(Reporting by Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gareth Jones and Elaine Hardcastle)

Source: OANN

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U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up to his audience as he hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

April 26, 2019

By Jan Wolfe and Richard Cowan

(Reuters) – The “i word” – impeachment – is swirling around the U.S. Congress since the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s redacted Russia report, which painted a picture of lies, threats and confusion in Donald Trump’s White House.

Some Democrats say trying to remove Trump from office would be a waste of time because his fellow Republicans still have majority control of the Senate. Other Democrats argue they have a moral obligation at least to try to impeach, even though Mueller did not charge Trump with conspiring with Russia in the 2016 U.S. election or with obstruction of justice.

Whether or not the Democrats decide to go down this risky path, here is how the impeachment process works.

WHAT ARE GROUNDS FOR IMPEACHMENT?

The U.S. Constitution says the president can be removed from office by Congress for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Exactly what that means is unclear.

Before he became president in 1974, replacing Republican Richard Nixon who resigned over the Watergate scandal, Gerald Ford said: “An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.”

Frank Bowman, a University of Missouri law professor and author of a forthcoming book on the history of impeachment, said Congress could look beyond criminal laws in defining “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Historically, it can encompass corruption and other abuses, including trying to obstruct judicial proceedings.

HOW DOES IMPEACHMENT PLAY OUT?

The term impeachment is often interpreted as simply removing a president from office, but that is not strictly accurate.

Impeachment technically refers to the 435-member House of Representatives approving formal charges against a president.

The House effectively acts as accuser – voting on whether to bring specific charges. An impeachment resolution, known as “articles of impeachment,” is like an indictment in a criminal case. A simple majority vote is needed in the House to impeach.

The Senate then conducts a trial. House members act as the prosecutors, with senators as the jurors. The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court presides over the trial. A two-thirds majority vote is required in the 100-member Senate to convict and remove a president from office.

No president has ever been removed from office as a direct result of an impeachment and conviction by Congress.

Nixon quit in 1974 rather than face impeachment. Presidents Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 were impeached by the House, but both stayed in office after the Senate acquitted them.

Obstruction of justice was one charge against Clinton, who faced allegations of lying under oath about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Obstruction was also included in the articles of impeachment against Nixon.

CAN THE SUPREME COURT OVERTURN?

No.

Trump said on Twitter on Wednesday that he would ask the Supreme Court to intervene if Democrats tried to impeach him. But America’s founders explicitly rejected making a Senate conviction appealable to the federal judiciary, Bowman said.

“They quite plainly decided this is a political process and it is ultimately a political judgment,” Bowman said.

“So when Trump suggests there is any judicial remedy for impeachment, he is just wrong.”

PROOF OF WRONGDOING?

In a typical criminal court case, jurors are told to convict only if there is “proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” a fairly stringent standard.

Impeachment proceedings are different. The House and Senate “can decide on whatever burden of proof they want,” Bowman said. “There is no agreement on what the burden should be.”

PARTY BREAKDOWN IN CONGRESS?

Right now, there are 235 Democrats, 197 Republicans and three vacancies in the House. As a result, the Democratic majority could vote to impeach Trump without any Republican votes.

In 1998, when Republicans had a House majority, the chamber voted largely along party lines to impeach Clinton, a Democrat.

The Senate now has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who usually vote with Democrats. Conviction and removal of a president would requires 67 votes. So that means for Trump to be impeached, at least 20 Republicans and all the Democrats and independents would have to vote against him.

WHO BECOMES PRESIDENT IF TRUMP IS REMOVED?

A Senate conviction removing Trump from office would elevate Vice President Mike Pence to the presidency to fill out Trump’s term, which ends on Jan. 20, 2021.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe and Richard Cowan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney)

Source: OANN

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