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Thailand’s pro-army party won popular vote, opposition second: election commission

Uttama Savanayana, Palang Pracharat Party leader, holds a news conference after the general election in Bangkok
Uttama Savanayana, Palang Pracharat Party leader, holds a news conference after the general election in Bangkok, Thailand, March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun

March 28, 2019

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s pro-army Palang Pracharat Party won the popular vote in Sunday’s general election with 8.4 million ballots, the Election Commission said on Thursday as it released unofficial results of the first election since a military coup in 2014.

The main opposition Pheu Thai Party, whose elected government was toppled in the coup, got 7.9 million votes, said Krit Urwongse, deputy secretary-general of the Election Commission.

The results represented 100 percent of the ballots counted but would remain unofficial until final results are announced on May 9.

The commission has not announced the full number of seats for each party in the 500-seat House of Representatives.

Results for the lower house’s 350 directly elected “constituent seats” showed Pheu Thai with 137 and the Palang Pracharat with 97.

The remaining 150 House of Representatives seats are allocated according to a complex formula involving the total number of votes for each party.

However, parties have been calculating their share of the allocated seats based on partial results, and both Palang Pracharat and Pheu Thai have claimed they have a mandate to form the next government.

(Writing by Kay Johnson)

Source: OANN

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Corey Lewandowski: Trump thinks Obama was ‘100%’ involved in spying of his campaign

Corey Lewandowski, President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, said Trump thinks former President Barack Obama was “100%” involved in spying on his 2016 presidential campaign.

“He (Trump) absolutely thinks that this went directly to the top of the previous administration,” said Lewandowski on “Fox & Friends” Thursday. “There is no way an opportunity like this to spy on a political opponent was not vetted at the highest levels of the government, whether it was Susan Rice or the Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes or Barack Obama himself. Somebody sanctioned this. His Department of Justice filed an application to spy on guys like Carter page, Corey Lewandowski, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, and everybody else at the campaign because they didn't like our politics.” 

He added: “We're American citizens. We fought for what we believed in. If the criteria is, ‘We don't like your politics, we can spy on you,’ guess what, the Democrats better be very concerned.”

MEDIA TAKE ISSUE WITH AG BARR FOR SAYING 'SPYING DID OCCUR' ON TRUMP CAMPAIGN 

On Capitol Hill Wednesday, Attorney General William Barr stated under oath that “spying did occur” on the Trump campaign ahead of the 2016 election.

“I am going to be reviewing both the genesis and the conduct of intelligence activities directed at the Trump campaign during 2016. I think spying on a political campaign is a big deal,” Barr told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing. "I think spying did occur, yes. I think spying did occur. The question was whether it was adequately predicated. And I'm not suggesting it wasn't predicated. I need to explore that.”

OBAMA SAYS TRUMP CLAIM HE ORDERED TRUMP TOWER WIRETAPPED IS FALSE 

“We know it wasn’t legal because spying on American citizens on domestic soil because you don't like our politics by definition is illegal,” said Lewandowski Thursday in response to Barr’s statements the day before. “The real question that Attorney General Barr has to determine is, how high in the previous administration did this go? Did Barack Obama know about this? Was this a rogue operation by Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security advisor? Because we know that Comey and Clapper and Brennan and that team was authorized to do it. But where did the pressure point come from? And that’s what Attorney General Barr wants to find out. Who authorized it? When did they authorize it? And who knew about it?”

In a tweet in March 2017, Trump accused his predecessor of wiretapping Trump Tower during the 2016 election. Trump tweeted, “Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!”

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“You remember the mainstream media went apoplectic about this ‘Donald Trump is making these gross accusations with no foundation whatsoever.’ Well, fast forward to where we are now, two years later, we know that there was spying taking place. We know that they did it in violation of the Constitution. Even if they applied for a FISA warrant to spy on Americans, they did so because they didn't like our politics," said Lewandowski. "There was no collusion. This is Trump Derangement Syndrome. And so yes, I think the president knew about it back then and the American people are learning about it now.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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Germany’s AfD invites ex-Trump aide Bannon to media conference

FILE PHOTO: Bannon delivers a speech during a meeting to discuss the Marrakesh Treaty in Brussels
FILE PHOTO: Steve Bannon delivers a speech during a meeting to discuss the Marrakesh Treaty in Brussels, Belgium, December 8, 2018. REUTERS/Eric Vidal/File Photo

April 23, 2019

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has invited U.S. President Donald Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon to a media conference in Berlin for right-wing journalists and bloggers just two weeks before European elections.

The office of AfD lawmaker Petr Bystron confirmed a report in Der Spiegel magazine that the invitation to the May 11 event entitled “1. Conference of the Free Media” would discuss how to better and more efficiently shape information in future.

“We are now discussing the details,” Bystron was quoted by Spiegel as saying and the magazine said Bannon had been invited to the Bundestag lower house of parliament.

Bannon, a former chairman of the right-wing Breitbart.com website, has met several of Europe’s populist groups with the aim of advising them before May’s European elections but his efforts to act as a power broker have so far fallen flat.

Last year, he met France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen and he has said he plans to work with right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Eurosceptic, nationalist parties, including the AfD, are expected to make big gains in the elections to the European Parliament on May 26.

One poll last month published in German daily Bild said far-right parties could double the number of their seats.

The AfD, set up as a eurosceptic party in 2013 in the midst of the euro zone debt crisis, changed direction with new leaders and in 2015 tapped into anti-immigrant sentiment in response to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door migrant policy.

It was the third biggest party in Germany’s 2017 federal election and is the official opposition, currently polling at around 13 percent in opinion polls.

(Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Catherine Evans)

Source: OANN

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Democrat Gillibrand to deliver 2020 White House launch speech outside NY Trump hotel

FILE PHOTO: Potential 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Gillibrand arrives for a campaign stop in Manchester
FILE PHOTO: Potential 2020 U.S. presidential candidate and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) arrives for a campaign stop at Stark Brewing in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., February 1, 2019. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

March 24, 2019

By Joseph Ax

(Reuters) – Democratic U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will deliver a fiery first speech as an official presidential candidate in New York City on Sunday, calling U.S. President Donald Trump a “coward” at the doorstep of one of his most famous properties.

The location in front of Trump International Hotel – which she plans to call a “shrine to greed, division and vanity,” according to excerpts from her prepared remarks – is intended to show voters that Gillibrand will attack Trump directly, in contrast to some Democratic rivals who have hesitated to focus on the Republican president early in the 2020 campaign.

“President Trump is tearing apart the moral fabric of our country,” she plans to say. “He demonizes the vulnerable and he punches down…Our President is a coward.”

While some candidates, most notably Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, have harshly criticized Trump, others have largely avoided using his name, as Democrats try out different tactics for confronting the divisive president.

“She’s trying to differentiate herself from the field,” said Maria Cardona, a former senior adviser to Hillary Clinton. “It’s a pretty crowded field. She’s not really in the middle of it, and she needs to be in the middle of it.”

Though Gillibrand launched her formal campaign for the Democratic nomination only a week ago, she announced she was exploring a candidacy in January and spent the last two months visiting states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina that will hold early nominating contests next year.

But she has struggled to build momentum among a group of more than 15 announced and potential candidates, including five other sitting senators and former Vice President Joe Biden, who has not yet decided but is expected to join the race.

“Gillibrand simply lacks the star power or national prominence that would lead to extensive free media time,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Polling Institute at Monmouth University.

In recent surveys, Gillibrand has remained stubbornly mired in the 1-percent range, while other first-time presidential candidates like Kamala Harris and Elizabeth Warren, both U.S. senators, have shown more competitiveness.

The race remains in its infancy, however, with the first nominating contest in Iowa still 10 months away.

“Most voters are just learning the candidates’ names,” said Jesse Ferguson, a senior spokesman for Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. “Right now, the priority for a candidate is to introduce themselves and show what their values are and how that’s the answer to what we have in the White House.”

Gillibrand, known as a moderate when she served as a congresswoman from upstate New York, has refashioned herself into a staunch progressive, calling for strict gun laws and supporting the environmental agenda known as the Green New Deal. Some liberal activists have viewed that shift with skepticism.

In recent years, she has led efforts to address sexual assault in the military and on college campuses, and she pushed for Congress to improve its own handling of sexual misconduct allegations. But she recently was forced to defend her office’s handling of a sexual harassment investigation, after a former employee said her allegations against a supervisor were mishandled.

The theme of her speech on Sunday will focus on what it means to be “brave.” Gillibrand will argue that she has stood up against big banks, sexual assault and most importantly Trump himself, with more votes against the Trump administration than any other senator.

“Symbols are powerful, and for Democratic primary voters, no symbol more clearly represents what’s wrong than the icon of Trump’s egotism that is Trump International,” Ferguson said.

(Reporting by Joseph Ax in New York; Additional reporting by James Oliphant in Washington; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Susan Thomas)

Source: OANN

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U.S. mulls sanctions against those behind rights abuses in China’s Xinjiang

An armed police officer stands guard outside the entrance of what is officially called a vocational skills education centre in Hotan
FILE PHOTO: An armed police officer stands guard outside the entrance of what is officially called a vocational skills education centre in Hotan in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China September 7, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

March 14, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is considering sanctions against those responsible for human rights violations against Muslims in China’s Xinjiang region, a U.S. State Department spokesman said on Thursday, calling it a “great shame for humanity.”

“We are committed to promoting accountability for those who are committing these violations and considering targeted sanctions as well, targeted measures, as well,” spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters at a briefing.

“We will continue to call on China to end these policies and to free these people who have been arbitrarily detained,” he said.

(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Source: OANN

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MLB notebook: Braves reliever Vizcaino lost for season

FILE PHOTO: MLB: Miami Marlins at Atlanta Braves
FILE PHOTO: Apr 7, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves relief pitcher Arodys Vizcaino (38) delivers a pitch to a Miami Marlins batter during the ninth inning at SunTrust Park. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

April 18, 2019

Atlanta Braves right-hander Arodys Vizcaino will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery Wednesday on his right shoulder, the team announced.

Vizcaino, 28, went on the 10-day injured list on Sunday (retroactive to April 11) due to shoulder inflammation. He appeared in four games, allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts in four innings.

Dr. David Altchek performed the procedure in New York, cleaning up the labrum and also removing scar tissue from the shoulder joint.

Vizcaino is in his sixth season in Atlanta and seventh in the major leagues, also having appeared for the Chicago Cubs in 2014. He is 13-11 with 50 saves and a 3.01 ERA in 206 appearances, striking out 218 batters in 194 1/3 innings.

–Detroit Tigers left-hander Matt Moore underwent season-ending surgery on his right knee, manager Ron Gardenhire told reporters.

Moore was scheduled to undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus, but more significant damage was discovered. The injury caused an abrupt ending to Moore’s first season in Detroit, which signed him to a one-year, $2.5 million deal during the offseason.

Moore pitched 10 shutout innings in his two starts with Detroit. He allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out nine.

–The St. Louis Cardinals placed outfielder Harrison Bader on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 14, due to a right hamstring strain.

In a corresponding move, the Cardinals recalled rookie outfielder Lane Thomas from Triple-A Memphis.

Bader has played in 13 games this season as has gotten off to a slow start, batting just .179 to go along with two home runs and five RBIs. In his rookie season in 2018, Bader batted .264 with 12 homers and 37 RBIs.

–Kansas City Royals right-hander Brad Keller and Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson were ejected after the former hit the latter with a pitch, prompting both teams’ benches to clear.

Two innings earlier, Anderson deposited a 3-2 fastball from Keller over the wall in left field for a two-run homer. Anderson punctuated the blast by emphatically tossing his bat, a decision that may have led to fireworks in his next at-bat.

White Sox manager Rick Renteria and Royals bench coach Dale Sveum also were ejected during the incident.

–White Sox outfielder Daniel Palka recorded his first hit of the season and then was demoted shortly after the conclusion of a 10-inning loss to the Royals.

Palka, who is batting .029 with 15 strikeouts in 35 at-bats over 13 games, was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte. The White Sox said they would make a corresponding move on Thursday.

Palka ended his slide of 32 hitless at-bats this season when he hit a soft pinch-hit single to left field off Kansas City right-hander Ian Kennedy in the seventh inning.

–Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop prospect Ji-Hwan Bae received a 30-game suspension without pay from Major League Baseball for violating the Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy, the commissioner’s office announced.

The 19-year-old was found guilty last year in a South Korean court of physically assaulting his former girlfriend on New Year’s Eve in 2017, according to The Athletic.

The suspension goes into effect Thursday for Bae, who has appeared in five games this season at Class-A Greensboro. He is 4-for-21 at the plate with three RBIs.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Illinois rep blasts ‘bogus’ Jussie Smollett case, rolls out bill to nix film tax credit for his employers

To Illinois Rep. Michael McAuliffe, actions apparently speak louder than words — which is why the Chicago Republican said he's firing back at Jussie Smollett's alleged hate crime hoax charges being dropped with legislation of his own.

The lawmaker announced his decision Tuesday to file a bill that would prohibit any TV or film production that employs the "Empire" actor from receiving state tax film credits. Earlier that day, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office said it was granting Smollett nolle pros, essentially dropping the case.

“A lot of valuable Chicago Police Department (CPD) man-hours and resources were wasted chasing down a bogus crime arranged by Smollett,” McAuliffe said in an online statement Tuesday. “Hate crimes are serious and so is the time and effort of the CPD. He has cost Chicago a lot more than a $10,000 bond. Smollett should not be able to get anything more from the City of Chicago or Illinois.”

KAMALA HARRIS ON JUSSIE SMOLLETT CHARGES BEING DROPPED: 'I'M COMPLETELY CONFUSED'

McAuliffe blasted the actor for causing a "media frenzy" over the past two months and claimed the Chicago Police Department was "forced" to dedicate resources to investigate Smollett's allegations that two men beat him up on a cold January night. The city of Chicago delivered a letter to Jussie Smollett's legal team Thursday seeking $130,000 from the actor, a spokesperson for the city law department told Fox News, while Smollett's lawyers argued Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson "owe him an apology."

"[Those resources] could have been better spent addressing gun violence and other, very real public safety threats," a statement from McAuliffe's office read.

“Where the City of Chicago is concerned, Jussie Smollett is far from exonerated."

— Michael McAuliffe

The representative noted Chicago's growing influence on the film and TV industry, explaining that the city offers tax breaks — a 30 percent film tax credit, plus a 15 percent bonus that's "available on labor expenditures in high-poverty areas" — to encourage growth in this field. The Fox drama "Empire," which Smollett stars in, currently films in Chicago.

CHARLES BARKLEY TELLS JUSSIE SMOLLETT THERE ARE 'REPERCUSSIONS' TO ACTIONS: WE ALL 'LOST IN THIS SCENARIO'

To combat what he considers injustice from the Cook County State's Attorney's Office regarding the Smollett ruling, McAuliffe said he would introduce legislation that would require any production company that employ's the 36-year-old actor to "forfeit" that state film tax credit or any other incentives offered by the Illinois Department of Revenue or the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

“Where the City of Chicago is concerned, Jussie Smollett is far from exonerated,” McAullife said. “While the State’s Attorney has chosen not to pursue justice in this case, we need to send a message that Smollett’s actions are not a reflection of the values we have in Chicago and won’t be tolerated. His accusations and lies caused a lot of pain to all Chicagoans.”

On Thursday, while explaining his new bill to CNN, McAuliffe said Smollett "made Chicago the laughing stock of the nation."

Illinois Rep. Michael McAuliffe (left) is introducing a bill to prevent companies that employ Jussie Smollett (right) from receiving state tax film credits.

Illinois Rep. Michael McAuliffe (left) is introducing a bill to prevent companies that employ Jussie Smollett (right) from receiving state tax film credits. (AP)

“The General Assembly here in Illinois gives a very robust tax credit to any production company that plans on filming TV shows or movies,” McAuliffe told the news network. "And I feel someone like ... Smollett or someone else that would commit the same type of act should not benefit from this generous, robust tax credit that is offered from the city of Chicago residents and the taxpayers of the state of Illinois."

Smollett was indicted on 16 felony counts in connection to his Chicago attack allegations in early March. He pleaded not guilty and was cleared of all charges by the Cook County State's Attorney's Office on Tuesday. Evidence in the case is also expected to remain sealed.

The "Empire" star has maintained his innocence throughout the investigation and said Tuesday he was ready "to just get back to work and move on" with his life.

In late February, "Empire" show executives revealed that Smollett's character had been cut from the final two episodes of Season 5 amid the open investigation. His future on the series still remains unclear. However, 20th Century Fox Television and Fox Entertainment sent a message in support of the actor Tuesday.

"Jussie Smollett has always maintained his innocence and we are gratified on his behalf that all charges against him have been dismissed,” the statement read.

McAuliffe did not immediately return Fox News' request for further comment on the legislation Friday morning.

Fox News' Sasha Savitsky contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London
Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London, Britain, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Gerhard Mey

April 26, 2019

By Hanna Rantala

LONDON (Reuters) – Irish rockers The Cranberries are saying goodbye with their final album released on Friday, a poignant tribute to lead singer Dolores O’Riordan who died last year.

“In the End” is the eighth studio album from the band that rose to fame in the early 1990s with hits likes “Zombie” and “Linger”, and includes the final recordings by O’Riordan, who drowned in a London hotel bath in January 2018 due to alcohol intoxication.

Work on the album began during a 2017 tour and by that winter, O’Riordan and guitarist Neil Hogan had penned and demoed 11 tracks.

With O’Riordan’s vocals recorded, Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler completed the album in tribute to her.

“When we realized how strong the songs were, that was the deciding factor really… There was no point… trying to ruin the legacy of the band,” Noel Hogan said in an interview.

“It was obvious that Dolores wanted this album done because when you hear the album, you hear the songs and how strong they are, and she was very, very excited to get in and record this.”

The Cranberries formed in Limerick in 1989 with another singer. O’Riordan replaced him a year later and the group went on to become Ireland’s best-selling rock band after U2, selling more than 40 million records.

O’Riordan, known for her strong distinctive voice singing about relationships or political violence, was 46 when she died.

“She was actually in quite a good place mentally. She was feeling quite content and strong and looking forward to a new phase of her life,” Lawler said.

“A lot of the lyrics in this album are about things ending… people might read into it differently but it was a phase of her personal life that she was talking about.”

The group previously announced their intention to split after the release of “In The End”.

“We are absolutely gutted we can’t play (the songs) live because that’s something that’s been a massive part of this band from day one,” Noel Hogan said.

“A few people have said to us about maybe even doing a one off where you have different vocalists… as kind of guests of ours. A year ago that’s definitely something we weren’t going to entertain but I don’t know, I think it’s something we need to go away and take time off for the summer and have a think about.”

Critics have generally given positive reviews of the album; NME described it as “(seeing) the band’s career go full-circle” while the Irish Times called it “an unexpected late career high and a remarkable swan song for O’Riordan”.

Their early songs still play on the radio. This week, “Dreams” was performed at the funeral of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead in Londonderry last week as she watched Irish nationalist youths attack police following a raid.

“We wrote them as kids, as a hobby and 30 years later they are on radio and on TV, like all the time… That’s far more than any of us ever thought we would have,” Noel Hogan said.

“That would make Dolores really happy because she was very precious about those songs. Her babies, she called them and to have that hopefully long after we’re gone… that’s all any band can wish for.”

(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; additoinal reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: OANN

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2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

April 26, 2019

By Joshua Schneyer and M.B. Pell

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Senator Elizabeth Warren will introduce a bill Friday that offers new protections for U.S. military families facing unsafe housing, following a series of Reuters reports revealing squalid conditions in privately managed base homes.

The Reuters reports and later Congressional hearings detailed widespread hazards including lead paint exposure, vermin infestations, collapsing ceilings, mold and maintenance lapses in privatized base housing communities that serve some 700,000 U.S. military family members.

(View Warren’s military housing bill here. https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dy5aht)

(Read Reuters’ Ambushed at Home series on military housing here. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-military)

The Massachusetts Democrat’s bill would mandate both regular and unannounced spot inspections of base homes by certified, independent inspectors, holding landlords accountable for quickly fixing hazards. The military’s privatization program for years allowed real estate firms to operate base housing with scant oversight, Reuters found, leaving some tenants in unsafe homes with little recourse against landlords.

The bill would also require the Department of Defense and its private housing operators to publish reports annually detailing housing conditions, tenant complaints, maintenance response times and the financial incentives companies receive at each base. The provisions aim to enhance transparency of housing deals whose finances and operations the military had allowed to remain largely confidential under a privatization program since the late 1990s.

The measure would also require private landlords to cover moving costs for at-risk families, and healthcare costs for people with medical conditions resulting from unsafe base housing, ensuring they receive continuing coverage even after they leave the homes or the military.

“This bill will eliminate the kind of corner-cutting and neglect the Defense Department should never have let these private housing partners get away with in the first place,” Warren said in a statement Friday.

The proposed legislation comes after February Senate hearings where Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, slammed private real estate firms for endangering service families, and sought answers about why military branches weren’t providing more oversight.

Her legislation would direct the Defense Department to allow local housing code enforcers onto federal bases, following concerns they were sometimes denied access. Warren’s office said a companion bill in the House of Representatives would be introduced by Rep. Deb Haaland, Democrat of New Mexico.

In response to the housing crisis, military branches are developing a tenant bill of rights and hiring hundreds of new housing staff. The branches recently dispatched commanders to survey base housing worldwide for safety hazards, resulting in thousands of work orders and hundreds of tenants being moved. The Defense Department has pledged to renegotiate its 50-year contracts with private real estate firms.

Congress has been quick to take its own measures. Earlier legislation proposed by senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California, along with Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, would compel base commanders to withhold rent payments and incentive fees from the private ventures if they allow home hazards to persist.

(Editing by Ronnie Greene)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London
FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar

(Reuters) – Deloitte quit as Ferrexpo’s auditor on Friday, knocking its shares by more than 20 percent, days after saying it was unable to conclude whether the iron ore miner’s CEO controlled a charity being investigated over its use of company donations.

Blooming Land, which coordinates Ferrexpo’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, came under scrutiny after auditors found holes in the charity’s statements.

Ferrexpo on Tuesday said findings of an ongoing independent investigation launched in February indicated some Blooming Land funds could have been “misappropriated”. It did not provide any details or publish its findings.

Shares in Ferrexpo, the third largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry, were 23.4 percent lower at 206.1 pence at 1022 GMT following news of Deloitte’s resignation.

“Ferrexpo’s shares are deeply discounted vs peers … following the resignation of Deloitte, we expect downside risks to dominate Ferrexpo’s shares near term.” JP Morgan analyst Dominic O’Kane said in a note on Friday.

Swiss-headquartered Ferrexpo did not provide a reason for the resignation of Deloitte, which declined to comment, while Blooming Land did not respond to a request for comment.

Funding for Blooming Land’s CSR activities is provided by one of Ferrexpo’s units in Ukraine and Khimreaktiv LLC, an entity ultimately controlled by Ferrexpo’s CEO and majority owner Kostyantin Zhevago, Ferrexpo said on Tuesday.

Ferrexpo’s board has found that Zhevago did not have significant influence or control over the charity, but Deloitte said it was unable reach a conclusion on this.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact Zhevago.

In a qualified opinion, a statement addressing an incomplete audit, Deloitte said it had been unable to conclude whether $33.5 million of CSR donations to Blooming Land between 2017 and 2018 was used for “legitimate business payments for charitable purposes”.

Deloitte said on Tuesday that total CSR payments made to Blooming Land by Ferrexpo since 2013 total about $110 million.

Ferrexpo, whose major mines are in Ukraine, has said that the investigation was ongoing and new evidence pointed to potential discrepancies.

Zhevago, 45, who ranked 1,511 on Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires for 2019 with a net worth of $1.4 billion, owns the FC Vorskla soccer club and has been a member of Ukraine’s parliament since 1998.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru and additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kiev; editing by Gopakumar Warrier, Bernard Orr)

Source: OANN

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Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba
Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, Mozambique April 26, 2019 in this still image obtained from social media. SolidarMed via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

April 26, 2019

By Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer

JOHANNESBURG/LUANDA (Reuters) – Cyclone Kenneth killed at least one person and left a trail of destruction in northern Mozambique, destroying houses, ripping up trees and knocking out power, authorities said on Friday.

The cyclone brought storm surges and wind gusts of up to 280 km per hour (174 mph) when it made landfall on Thursday evening, after killing three people in the island nation of Comoros.

It was the most powerful storm on record to hit Mozambique’s northern coast and came just six weeks after Cyclone Idai battered the impoverished nation, causing devastating floods and killing more than 1,000 people across a swathe of southern Africa.

The World Food Programme warned that Kenneth could dump as much as 600 millimeters of rain on the region over the next 10 days – twice that brought by Cyclone Idai.

One woman in the port town of Pemba died after being hit by a falling tree, the Emergency Operations Committee for Cabo Delgado (COE) said in a statement, while another person was injured.

In rural areas outside Pemba, many homes are made of mud. In the main town on the island of Ibo, 90 percent of the houses were destroyed, officials said. Around 15,000 people were out in the open or in “overcrowded” shelters and there was a need for tents, food and water, they said.

There were also reports of a large number of homes and some infrastructure destroyed in Macomia district, a mainland district adjacent to Ibo.

A local group, the Friends of Pemba Association, had earlier reported that they could not reach people in Muidumbe, a district further inland.

Mark Lowcock, United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, warned the storm could require another major humanitarian operation in Mozambique.

“Cyclone Kenneth marks the first time two cyclones have made landfall in Mozambique during the same season, further stressing the government’s limited resources,” he said in a statement.

FLOOD WARNINGS

Shaquila Alberto, owner of the beach-front Messano Flower Lodge in Macomia, said there were many fallen trees there, and in rural areas people’s homes had been damaged. Some areas of nearby Pemba had no power.

“Even my workers, they said the roof and all the things fell down,” she said by phone.

Further south, in Pemba, Elton Ernesto, a receptionist at Raphael’s Hotel, said there were fallen trees but not too much damage. The hotel had power and water, he said, while phones rang in the background. “The rain has stopped,” he added.

However Michael Charles, an official for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said heavy rains over the next few days were likely to bring a “second wave of destruction” in the form of flooding.

“The houses are not all solid, and the topography is very sandy,” Charles said.

In the days after Cyclone Idai, heavy inland rains prompted rivers to burst their banks, submerging entire villages, cutting areas off from aid and ruining crops. There were concerns the same could happen again in northern Mozambique.

Before Kenneth hit, the government and aid workers moved around 30,000 people to safer buildings such as schools, however authorities said that around 680,000 people were in the path of the storm.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer; Writing by Emma Rumney; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Alexandra Zavis)

Source: OANN

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A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai
FILE PHOTO: A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai, India, May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

April 26, 2019

By Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Surging global oil prices will pose a first big challenge to India’s new government, whoever wins an election now under way, especially as domestic prices have been allowed to lag, meaning consumers are in for a painful surge as they catch up.

For oil-import dependent India, higher global prices could lead to a weaker rupee, higher inflation, the ruling out of interest rate cuts and could further weigh on twin current account and budget deficits, economists warned.

But compounding the future pain, state-run fuel suppliers and retailers have held off passing on to consumers the higher prices during a staggered general election, which began on April 11 and ends on May 23, according to sources familiar with the situation.

That delay is expected to be unwound once the election is over. And there could be additional price increases to make up for losses or profits missed during the period of delayed increases, the sources said.

In some major Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, pump prices are adjusted periodically so they move largely in tandem with international crude prices.

That was what was supposed to happen in India but the election means there have been many days when pump prices have been unchanged.

In New Delhi, for example, while crude oil prices have gone up by nearly $9 a barrel, or about 12 percent, in the past six weeks, gasoline prices have only risen by 0.47 rupees a liter, or 0.6 percent.

State-controlled fuel suppliers and retailers declined to say why they had delayed price increases, or discuss whether there has been any pressure from the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A government spokesman declined to comment.

The opposition Congress party said Modi’s government was violating its own policy of daily price revision by advising the state oil companies to hold prices steady.

“The government should cut fuel taxes otherwise consumers will have to pay much higher oil prices once the elections are over,” said Akhilesh Pratap Singh, a senior leader of the Congress party.

(GRAPHIC: India Polls: Fuel price hike lags crude surge – https://tmsnrt.rs/2XLlxik)

Nitin Goyal, treasurer at the All India Petroleum Dealers Association, representing fuel stations in 25 states, said prices were similarly held down for 19 days in the southern state of Karnataka last year, when it held state assembly elections.

Only for them to surge after the vote.

“Consumers should be ready for a rude shock of a massive jump in retail prices, similar to the level we have seen in the Karnataka state election,” Goyal said.

‘CREDIT NEGATIVE’

Sri Paravaikkarasu, director for Asia oil at Singapore-based consultancy FGE, said retail prices of gasoline and gasoil prices would have been up to 6 percent, or about 4 rupee, higher if they had been allowed to rise in line with global prices.

“Indian pump prices have failed to keep up with the recent uptrend in crude prices,” Paravaikkarasu said.

“With the country’s general elections underway, the incumbent government has been keeping pump prices relatively unchanged.”

India had switched to a daily price revision in June 2017 from a revision every two weeks, as the government allowed retailers to set prices.

But the government faced protests last October when retailers raised prices by up to 10 rupees a liter after the crude oil price went above $80 a barrel, forcing it to cut fuel taxes.

Global prices rose to their highest level in 2019 on Thursday, days after the United States announced all Iran sanction waivers would end by May, pressuring importers including India to stop buying Tehran’s oil. [O/R]

Higher oil prices will mean Asia’s third largest economy is likely to see growth of less than 7 percent rate this fiscal year, economists said. Growth slowed to 6.6 percent in the October-December quarter, the slowest in five quarters.

Rating agency CARE has warned that a 10 percent rise in global oil prices could increase demand for dollars, putting pressure on the rupee and widening the current account deficit.

India’s oil import bill rose by nearly one-third in the fiscal year ending March 31 to $140.5 billion, against $108 billion the previous year.

“The increase in international oil prices is a credit negative for the Indian economy,” ICRA, the Indian arm of the Fitch rating agency, said in a note.

“Every $10/ bbl increase in crude oil prices increases the fiscal deficit by about 0.1 percent of GDP.”

Any big price rise would also build a case for the central bank to keep rates steady, or even raise them.

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee, which cut the benchmark policy repo rate by 25 basis points this month, warned that rising oil and food prices could push up inflation.

Policymakers are worried that a sustained increase in the oil price in the range of $70-75/barrel or higher can move the rupee down by 3-4 percent on an annual basis.

The rupee has depreciated by 1.24 percent against the dollar since a year high in mid-March.

($1 = 70.1800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Martin Howell and Rob Birsel)

Source: OANN

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