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Pope calls Nicaragua bishop to Rome

Pope Francis has asked one of Nicaragua's most outspoken bishops to come to Rome for an undetermined period of time, church officials said Wednesday.

Silvio Báez, Managua's auxiliary bishop, has been a vocal critic of President Daniel Ortega and his government's crackdown on protesters over the past year. He said having to leave Nicaragua fills him with "sadness and pain."

Pope Francis recently told the 60-year-old Báez that he is needed in Rome. He didn't say if the decision was related to an alleged assassination plan revealed by former U.S. Ambassador Laura Dogu.

"He told me, 'I'm interested in having you with me here. I need you right now,' and I accepted with loving obedience," Báez said.

Báez said the U.S. government warned him of the plot several months ago. He told the pope that he had received a number of death threats during the past year, but it hadn't kept him from his work.

Drones constantly hover over his home. Men on motorcycles have entered the parking area. And he has had to change his phone number four times because of the threats.

Báez participated as a mediator in the short-lived first round of dialogue between the government and opposition last year. Ortega, who had invited the church to mediate, later blasted the bishops, accusing them of being coup-plotters.

When another round of talks was attempted this year, Báez was not invited to participate. The church withdrew from the talks April 3.

The Nicaraguan government did not immediately comment on Báez.

Nicaraguan writer Sergio Ramírez, winner of the 2017 Cervantes Prize, characterized the move as "a forced exile" via Twitter and called it "a hard hit to the fight for democracy in Nicaragua."

Last year, Báez and other church officials were attacked by a pro-government mob in the town of Diriamba. Báez escaped with a cut on his arm.

In October, a previously unknown Roman Catholic group in Nicaragua that local press tied to the government sent a letter to Pope Francis with 284,000 signatures asking that Báez be transferred. They accused him of promoting violence.

Báez said Wednesday "that was all a lie."

Nearly a year has passed since a move by Ortega's administration to cut social security benefits spurred large public protests that were met with violence by government forces and their supporters. According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, at least 325 people died in the unrest, 2,000 were wounded and at least 52,000 fled the country for exile.

Source: Fox News World

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AP Interview: Pelosi: ‘I Don’t Trust Barr; I Trust Mueller’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday she doesn't trust Attorney General William Barr and suggested his statement that he believes President Donald Trump's campaign was spied on undermines Barr's independence as the nation's top law enforcement officer.

The California Democrat said in an interview with The Associated Press she was "very concerned" about Barr's handling of special counsel Robert Mueller's Trump-Russia investigation report and accused Barr doing Trump's political bidding.

"He is not the attorney general of Donald Trump. He is the attorney general of the United States," Pelosi told AP. "I don't trust Barr, I trust Mueller."

Barr testified Wednesday before a Senate panel that he believes "spying did occur" on Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, aligning himself more closely with the president's views on the origins of the Russia investigation. Critics of the Russia probe note that it was launched during the Obama administration, though Mueller was appointed special counsel by Trump's Justice Department.

Pelosi said Barr's comments undermine the Constitution and his role in the Justice Department.

Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec declined to comment.

Barr said Wednesday he expects to release a redacted version of the Mueller report next week, but Pelosi said it's only a "matter of time" before the full report is made public.

"We will see it," she said.

As House Democrats pursue oversight of the Trump administration beyond the Mueller probe, Trump has complained that Democrats will never be satisfied. He and his allies call it presidential harassment.

Asked what would satisfy Democrats, Pelosi said: "I'll be satisfied when we have a new president of the United States who is a Democrat."

While some Democrats support pursuing impeachment proceedings against the president, however, Pelosi has kept them at a distance.

She recently brushed off impeachment calls, saying Trump's just not "worth it."

But that was before Barr released his four-page analysis of Mueller's report, which said the president was not exonerated by the special counsel. Mueller left open the question of whether Trump obstructed justice during the two-year probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Barr and his team at the Justice Department made their own decision to clear the president of criminal wrongdoing.

Asked if she still thought Trump was not worth impeachment, Pelosi said to wait and see the full report.

"My view is that impeachment is very divisive in the country, and when we see what we need to see it may be imperative that he be impeached. But up until then, he's not worth it," Pelosi said.

She said again, "Let us see the report."

As the new Congress rounds out its first 100 days, the speaker said Democrats are doing far more than conducting oversight of the White House, even though she said that's their constitutional responsibility as an equal branch of government.

She said she prefers to keep the House focused on pocketbook issues for everyday Americans -- lowering health care costs and investing in infrastructure — and new ethics rules.

"We are not just focusing on him," she said. "We're focused on what we said we would do."

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Owens Nukes Nadler’s ‘Hate Crime’ Hearing

If you want to know why the Democrats are frightened of Candace Owens, watch the video of her Tuesday morning testimony before the House Judiciary Committee. For example, early in the proceedings, Owens chastised Chairman Jerrold Nadler for misrepresenting her...

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Gregg Jarrett: Impeachment will be ‘poison’ for ‘hardcore Trump haters’

Fox News legal analyst and commentator Gregg Jarrett told “The Todd Starnes Show” Wednesday that Democrats should not try to impeach President Trump after the release of the Mueller report because "it is a poison for them."

ILHAN OMAR CLAIMS US FORCES KILLED 'THOUSANDS' OF SOMALIS DURING 'BLACK HAWK DOWN' MISSION, RESURFACED TWEET SHOWS

Portraying himself as unjustly persecuted by the special counsel’s probe, Trump said Wednesday that his administration would refuse to cooperate with any further congressional investigations.

“I thought after two years we’d be finished with it. No, now the House goes and starts subpoenaing,” Trump told reporters on the White House lawn, claiming the probes have been commissioned by Democrats solely for political advantage.

"Look, these aren't, like, impartial people," the president said. "The Democrats are trying to win 2020."

"The only way they can luck out is by constantly going after me on nonsense," Trump added. "But they should be really focused on legislation."

Jarrett, who formerly worked as a defense attorney and adjunct law professor, agreed with the president, telling Starnes that what Democrats do next “remains to be seen. You know, there are a hardcore group of people, of Trump haters.”

Washington has spent a week sifting through the aftermath of Mueller’s report, which did not find a criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia to help the president win the 2016 election but reached no conclusion on whether he obstructed justice. Attorney General William Barr later said that he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined that Mueller did not establish sufficient evidence that Trump committed obstruction.

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Trump has at times railed against Mueller’s report, even resorting to public profanity in dismissing it, but has also embraced it, claiming exoneration and painting any other attempt as partisan overreach.

Meanwhile, Democrats have debated whether to pursue impeachment, a course that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has counseled against. But her party’s lawmakers have already signaled they will vote to hold reluctant witnesses in contempt of Congress and are preparing to eventually go to court to force testimony and cooperation. Democrats also argue that by refusing to cooperate with Congress, Trump is obstructing additional investigations.

Jarrett said that hardcore liberal Trump haters aren’t that much of a threat.

“I'm not sure the numbers are there [for impeachment],” he said. “And look, Nancy Pelosi well knows the repercussions of bringing an impeachment proceeding against the president.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Trump releases budget seeking billions for border wall, work requirements for welfare programs

President Trump kicked off a new battle with Congress on Monday by releasing his fiscal 2020 budget plan seeking billions more in funding for a border wall and controversial work requirements for Americans collecting a variety of welfare benefits.

Both proposals are sure to face resistance from Democrats, especially coming off a partial shutdown triggered by a border wall dispute that only ended when Trump declared a national emergency over immigration -- a step being litigated in the courts and challenged in Congress. The requests are part of the president's $4.7 trillion budget plan.

Escalating Trump's pursuit of wall funding, the White House in the new budget requested an additional $8.6 billion to build the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border—seeking $5 billion from Congress, plus $3.6 billion from the military construction budget, for fiscal 2020.

TRUMP TO REQUEST $8.6 BILLION IN WALL FUNDING IN 'TOUGH' BUDGET REQUEST, SETTING UP CONGRESSIONAL SHOWDOWN

Meanwhile, the budget aims to implement new welfare requirements -- namely, that Americans 18-65 years old work at least 20 hours a week in a job, a job training program or a community service program to secure a range of benefits and aid.

According to the administration, the work requirement would apply to federal programs like food stamps, Medicaid, and federal housing, but would come with a hardship exemption. Last year, the administration opened the door for states to impose work requirements for Medicaid recipients. This part of the budget proposal would bring those work requirements to the federal level.

The budget, meanwhile, projects a $1.1 trillion deficit for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, but also calls for deep cuts to domestic programs.

“In the last two years, President Trump and his Administration have prioritized reining in reckless Washington spending. The Budget that we have presented to Congress and the American people…embodies fiscal responsibility and takes aim at Washington’s waste, fraud, and abuse,” Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Russ Vought said in a statement.

“Our national debt nearly doubled under the previous Administration and now stands at more than $22 trillion,” he continued. “This Budget shows that we can return to fiscal sanity without halting our economic resurgence while continuing to invest in critical priorities.”

The budget also includes a national paid family leave proposal and seeks money to establish the Space Force, as a new branch of the military, while sharply curbing spending on domestic safety-net programs. The outline includes a total of $2.7 trillion in nondefense spending cuts and the administration says the proposal would put the federal government on track to balance the budget by 2034.

The White House’s request for billions of dollars in additional funding for a wall comes as senior Homeland Security officials told Fox News that the administration is preparing for an estimated 180,000 migrants traveling as families to cross the border—either illegally, or claiming asylum—marking a record in family units crossing.

“We want to strengthen legal immigration and welcome more individuals through a merit-based system that enhances our economic vitality and vibrancy of our diverse nation. We also will continue to uphold our humanitarian ideals,” Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said last week during a House hearing. “But illegal immigration is simply spiraling out of control and threatening public safety and national security.”

NIELSEN DECLARES MIGRATION CRISIS 'SPIRALING OUT OF CONTROL,' WARNS IT WILL GET 'EVEN WORSE'

The $8.6 billion would allow the administration to complete more than the promised 722 miles of wall along the border, according to White House officials. The funding comes on top of the billions Trump is working to shift from military accounts after declaring a national emergency last month. The emergency declaration came after Congress blocked Trump’s original request for $5.7 billion for construction of the wall. That denial sparked the longest partial shutdown of the federal government in U.S. history.

Democrats, though, continue to argue that an emergency at the border is “non-existent,” and promised to block the proposal to build the wall again.

“President Trump hurt millions of Americans and caused widespread chaos when he recklessly shut down the government to try to get his expensive and ineffective wall, which he promised would be paid for by Mexico,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said in a statement.

“Congress refused to fund his wall and he was forced to admit defeat and reopen the government. The same thing will repeat itself if he tries this again. We hope he learned his lesson,” they said, adding that the funding would be better put to use toward domestic programs like “education and workforce development.”

The administration is expecting pushback on this “tough” budget, according to White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow.

“I would just say that the whole issue of the wall, of border security, is of paramount importance,” Kudlow said on “Fox News Sunday. “We have a crisis down there. I think the president has made that case very effectively.”

Trump also proposed an additional $750 billion for defense, while cutting non-defense discretionary spending by 5 percent below the cap. The budget will also increase requests for some agencies, while reducing others to reflect those priorities. For example, the 2020 budget seeks to reduce funding for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Budgets are mainly seen as blueprints for the White House’s priorities and agenda, but are often debated and negotiated on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers craft the appropriation bills that eventually fund the government.

And while the budget will suggest it balances in future years, it is also expected to rely on projections for continued economic growth from the tax cuts Trump signed into law in 2017. But there's no guarantee that would cover the lost tax revenues.

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By proposing spending levels that don't raise the budget caps, the president is courting a debate with Congress. Lawmakers from both parties have routinely agreed to raise spending caps established by a previous deal years ago to fund the government.

Fox News’ Griff Jenkins, John Roberts, Chris Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.  

Source: Fox News Politics

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South Sudan opposition seeks 6-month extension on peace deal

South Sudan's opposition is calling for a six-month extension to implement next steps in a fragile peace deal as a major deadline approaches next month to form a power-sharing government between the president and his longtime rival.

Opposition deputy chairman Henry Odwar told The Associated Press on Saturday that the extension is needed because security arrangements are not yet adequate.

South Sudan's government rejects the idea of an extension, further raising concerns among observers that the peace agreement signed in September could fall apart. The deal ended five years of civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people and sent millions fleeing.

There could be a "constitutional vacuum" if opposition leader Riek Machar does not return to South Sudan as scheduled to form the transitional government that is meant to culminate in elections, government spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny said.

May 12 is the deadline for Machar to return and once again serve as President Salva Kiir's deputy, an arrangement that more than once has ended in gunfire. In a striking gesture meant to urge the rivals to finally make peace, Pope Francis knelt and kissed their feet during a meeting at the Vatican earlier this month.

The opposition has expressed "serious concerns" about the agreement. It would be a "recipe for disaster" if Machar returns without security measures in place, his wife, Angelina Teny, has said.

The committee charged with overseeing the peace deal's initial stages will consider the six-month extension request on Wednesday, according to the opposition. The committee is made up of members of the government and various opposition parties.

This latest peace deal has been marked by delays and continued fighting in parts of the country, with key aspects yet to be implemented. South Sudan's internal boundaries have not yet been drawn. A unified national army has not been formed.

Alan Boswell, senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, warned that the deal would "look very flimsy if Kiir unilaterally forms a new government without Machar."

South Sudanese are already wary of possible violence next month, said a recent report by the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, a local advocacy group. Without clear messaging from the parties' leaders the risk of citizens "panicking is high," it said.

___

Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

Source: Fox News World

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House Dem Leaders Try to Tone Down Impeachment Talk

House Democratic leaders are urging their colleagues to tone down the impeachment rhetoric as it relates to President Donald Trump.

During a Monday evening conference call, high-ranking party leaders tried to squash talk of pursuing impeachment at this time.

According to The Hill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others expressed their concern over jumping on the impeachment bandwagon without concrete evidence Trump might have committed an impeachable offense.

"We need to hear from [Attorney General William] Barr and [special counsel Robert] Mueller – and we need to see the unredacted report and the documents [that] go with it," House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said. "We cannot allow this president to continue going down this course."

Other lawmakers said it is time to pursue impeachment.

"I think we have great evidence that the president has blatantly violated so many laws. It's just ridiculous," Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., said, The Hill reported. "I think we have enough" to start the impeachment process.

According to CNN's Manu Raju, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said she is still in favor of impeaching Trump but she is not actively trying to recruit other members to join her effort.

Mueller recently completed his investigation into Russia interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. He did not find evidence Trump conspired with the Russians to defeat Democrat Hillary Clinton, but he was unable to determine whether Trump obstructed justice.

Since a redacted version of the report was released last week, Democrats are pointing to evidence that shows Trump may have tried to interfere with Mueller's probe.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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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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Well, Joe Biden didn’t exactly clear the field.

I don’t think it matters much that Biden waited until yesterday to become the 20th Democrat vying for the nomination, even though it exposed him to weeks of attacks while he seemed to be dithering on the sidelines.

A much greater warning sign, in my view, is the largely negative tone surrounding his debut. He is, after all, a former vice president, highly praised by Barack Obama, who has consistently led in the early primary polls, and beating President Trump in head-to-head matchups. Yet much of the press is acting like he’s an old codger and it’s just a matter of time before he keels over politically.

This is all the more remarkable in light of the fact that the vast majority of journalists and pundits know and like Joe Biden and his gregarious personality.

The reason is that Biden, after a half-century in politics, lacks excitement, and the press is magnetically attracted to novel and unorthodox types like Beto and Mayor Pete. You don’t see Biden on the cover of Vanity Fair, and a grind-it-out win by a conventional warrior doesn’t set journalistic hearts racing.

JOE BIDEN ANNOUNCES 2020 PRESIDENTIAL BID: 3 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE FORMER VICE PRESIDENT

For many in the media, Biden isn’t liberal enough, at least not for the post-Obama era. He doesn’t promise free college and free health care and has a history of working with Republicans, such as John McCain (whose daughter Meghan loves him, and Biden will hit “The View” today.)

What’s more, Biden’s campaign style — speak at rallies, rack up union endorsements — seems hopelessly old-fashioned when we measure popularity by Instagram followers. News outlets are predicting he’ll have trouble getting in the online fundraising game, leaving him reliant on big donors, which used to be standard practice.

And then there’s the age thing. Biden would be the oldest president to be inaugurated, at 78, and he looked a step slow in encounters with reporters yesterday and a few weeks ago.

But what if the journalists are in something of a Twitter bubble, and the actual Democratic Party is much more moderate? We saw that with the spate of allegations by women of unwanted touching, which dominated news coverage until polls showed that most Dem voters weren’t concerned. In that wider world, the Scranton guy’s connection to white, working-class voters could help him against Trump in the industrial Midwest.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF OF THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

Biden denounced the president’s term as an “aberrant moment” in his launch video, saying four more years would damage the country’s character and “I cannot stand by and watch that happen.”

But first, he’d have to win the nomination in the face of an unenthusiastic press corps.

A New York Times news story said Biden would be “marshaling his experience and global stature in a bid to lead a party increasingly defined by a younger generation that might be skeptical of his age and ideological moderation.”

The Washington Post quoted Democratic strategists as saying that Biden faces an “uphill battle” and “isn’t necessarily the heir apparent to Obama, despite being his No. 2 in the White House for eight years. They argue voters will judge Biden by the span of his decades-long career and are worried the veteran pol hasn’t yet found a winning formula for his own candidacy.”

The liberal Slate said the ex-veep’s rivals view him as a “paper tiger”:

“Biden is something more like a 2016 Jeb Bush: a weak establishment favorite whose time might be past … Biden’s biggest challenge in the primary will be a compromised past spanning nearly 50 years.”

“Compromised” suggests a history of scandal, yet what Slate means is political baggage, such as his backing of a Clinton-era crime bill unpopular with black voters today. Yet I think the rank and file isn’t as concerned about a vote back in 1994, or even the Anita Hill hearings, as the chattering classes.

BIDEN’S SENATE RECORD, ADVOCACY OF 1994 CRIME BILL WILL BE USED AGAINST HIM, EX-SANDERS STAFFER SAYS

One of the few left-leaning pundits to suggest the press is underestimating Biden is data guru Nate Silver at 538:

“Media coverage could nonetheless be a problem for Biden. Within the mainstream media, the story of Biden winning the nomination will be seen as boring and anticlimactic. That tends not to lead to favorable coverage. Meanwhile, some left-aligned media outlets may prefer candidates who are some combination of more leftist, more wonkish, more reflective of the party’s diversity, and more adept on social media.

“If Biden is framed as being out of touch with today’s Democratic Party and that narrative is repeated across a variety of outlets, it could begin to resonate with voters who don’t buy it initially. If he’s seen as a gaffe-prone candidate, then minor missteps on the campaign trail could be blown up into big fumbles.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Look, it’s entirely possible that Biden could stumble, get lapped in fundraising and just be outclassed by younger and savvier rivals. He was hardly a great candidate in 1987 and in 2008.

But if the former vice president finds his footing and the field narrows, the press will be forced to change its tune, and we’ll see a spate of stories about how Joe Biden has “grown.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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South Africa's 400m Olympic gold medallist and world record holder Wayde van Niekerk looks on as he attends South African Championships in Germiston
South Africa’s 400m Olympic gold medallist and world record holder Wayde van Niekerk looks on as he attends South African Championships in Germiston, South Africa, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

April 26, 2019

GERMISTON, South Africa (Reuters) – Olympic 400 meters champion Wayde van Niekerk has backed South African compatriot Caster Semenya in her battle with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), which now appears to have taken a new twist.

Semenya, a double 800 meters Olympic gold medalist, is waiting for the outcome of her appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to halt the introduction of new regulations by governing body IAAF that would require her to take medicine to limit her natural levels of testosterone.

The IAAF wants female athletes with differences of sexual development who run in events from 400 meters to a mile, to reduce their blood testosterone level to below five (5) nmol/L for a period of six months before they can compete, saying they have an unfair advantage.

“She’s fighting for something beyond just track and field, she’s fighting for woman in sports, in society and I respect her for that,” Van Niekerk told reporters.

“I will support her and with the hard work and talent that she’s been putting into the sport. With what she believes in and what she’s dreaming for, I’ve got a lot of respect for her.

“I really hope and pray that everything just goes from strength to strength for her.”

Semenya has sprung a surprise at the on-going South African Athletics Championships though, ditching the 800 meters and instead competing over 1,500 and 5,000-metres – the latter one would not require her to medically lower her testosterone level.

She stormed to victory in the 5,000-metres final in a modest time of 16:05.97, but looked to have lots left in the tank as she passed the finish line.

Semenya beat fellow Olympian and defending national 5,000m champion Dominique Scott in Thursday’s final but the latter admitted she is unsure whether the 800m specialist could be a serious Olympic contender over the longer distance.

“Honestly‚ I have no idea‚” Scott said. “Before today I probably would have said no. It’s hard to compare a 5,000 at altitude to a 5,000 at sea level.

“But I think she’s an amazing runner and I don’t think there’s any limit or ceiling on what she can do.”

Van Niekerk, the 400m world record holder, had to abort his comeback from a knee injury, that had sidelined him for 18 months, following a combination of cold weather and a wet track.

“We are trying to take the correct decisions now early in the year so as not to put myself in any harm,” he said.

“It was a bit chilly this entire week prepping and coming through here as well it was quite cold and it caused bit of tightness in my leg. We decided to not risk it.

“My recovery is going well and I would like to be back in competition this year, but will only do so if I can deliver a good performance.

“I am a competitor and respect my opponents, so I need to be at my best when I return.”

(Reporting by Nick Said, additional reporting by Siyabonga Sishi; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)

Source: OANN

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The suspected leader of the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka died in the Shangri-La hotel, one of six hotels and churches targeted in the attacks that killed at least 250 people, authorities said.

Police said Mohamed Zahran, leader of the National Towheed Jamaat militant group, had been killed in one of the bombings. The group’s second in command was also arrested, police said.

Zahran amassed an online following for his hate-filled sermons. Some were delivered before a banner depicting the Twin Towers.

Sri Lankan authorities said Friday that Islamic cleric Mohammed Zahran died in the blast at the Shangri-La hotel during the Easter Sunday atatcks that killed at least 250 people. 

Sri Lankan authorities said Friday that Islamic cleric Mohammed Zahran died in the blast at the Shangri-La hotel during the Easter Sunday atatcks that killed at least 250 people.  (YouTube)

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Friday that the attackers responsible for the bombings were supported by the Islamic State group. Around 140 people in Sri Lanka had connections to ISIS, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said.

“We will completely control this and create a free and peaceful environment for people to live,” he said.

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Investigators determined the attackers received military training from someone called “Army Mohideen.” They also received weapons training overseas and at some locations in Sri Lanka, according to authorities.

A copper factory operator arrested in connection with the bombings helped Mohideen make improvised explosive devices, police said. The bombings have led to increased security throughout the island nation as authorities warned of another attack.

Source: Fox News World

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