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No majority in British parliament for second Brexit referendum: Reuters analysis

FILE PHOTO: British and EU flags flutter outside the Houses of Parliament in London
FILE PHOTO: British and EU flags flutter outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain January 30, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

March 11, 2019

By Kylie MacLellan

LONDON (Reuters) – There is no majority in Britain’s parliament in favor of holding a second Brexit referendum, according to a Reuters analysis of public comments made by lawmakers.

Britain is due to leave the European Union at the end of this month, and with parliament yet to approve Prime Minister Theresa May’s exit deal, calls for a second referendum to break the deadlock, often dubbed a ‘people’s vote’, have intensified.

Last month, the opposition Labour Party broke new ground for one of the major parties by saying it would support a new referendum on May’s deal after parliament defeated its alternative Brexit plan.

Labour’s position could face its first test on Tuesday when May’s deal is brought back to parliament. Labour indicated on Sunday it would not put forward its own proposal for a second referendum at that time, but other lawmakers could force a vote on the issue.

While a majority of lawmakers voted to remain in the bloc in the 2016 referendum, a Reuters analysis of public comments found that only 219 have expressed a willingness to support another vote, and a further 65 have not made their views known.

This is well short of the 318 votes needed to guarantee approval of the amendment if there are no absences or abstentions.

A referendum would need to be approved by parliament and May has ruled out proposing one, saying it would deepen already ugly divisions over Britain’s biggest decision since World War Two and betray the 52 percent – 17.4 million people – who voted to leave the EU.

POLITICAL STATEMENT

While Tuesday’s votes on amendments are not binding on the government, they would be politically hard to ignore.

Those in favor of a new referendum include many Labour lawmakers, seven of May’s Conservatives, the newly formed Independent Group and the pro-EU Liberal Democrats. The Westminster leader of the Scottish National Party has also backed the idea of another vote, although at least one of his lawmakers has voiced concern.

In contrast, 245 lawmakers openly oppose the idea, 15 are deeply skeptical and a further 94 government ministers and whips, or parliamentary enforcers, would be required to vote in line with the government’s position against another referendum.

So far, 24 of Labour’s 245 lawmakers have said publicly they do not support another referendum, while a further 13, many of whom represent areas that voted strongly in favor of leaving the EU, have expressed reservations.

“I will not, shall not and cannot vote for a second referendum, regardless of how much lipstick is put on it and what it is called,” Labour lawmaker Gareth Snell told parliament after his party announced its backing for another vote.

“That is a distraction from the main purpose of our job, which is to find a deal.”

Labour lawmaker Caroline Flint has said as many as 60 or 70 of her colleagues oppose a referendum.

It is unclear what conditions Labour might attach to supporting a second referendum, and there is disagreement within the party over whether any referendum should include an option to remain in the EU.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who voted against joining the EU in 1975, has said his party would support a referendum to “prevent a damaging Tory (Conservative) Brexit or disastrous ‘no deal'” – leaving open the possibility that it would back a different deal without a popular vote.

BRITAIN STILL DIVIDED

Some lawmakers may yet change their minds, particularly if any referendum was a confirmatory vote on whether to back May’s deal, much as Corbyn suggests, rather than a re-run of the 2016 vote. But the numbers suggest it is likely to have difficulty getting through parliament.

Opinion polls indicate Britons are still deeply divided over Brexit. While most voters would stick to their 2016 choice, some surveys have shown a swing towards remaining in the EU.

A YouGov poll last month found that, when asked to choose between accepting May’s deal and having another referendum, 51 percent favored a fresh vote and 49 percent – the deal.

Lawmakers across parties cite worries about prolonging uncertainty and increasing division as reasons for opposing a vote, while the most common argument is that it would be undemocratic to seek to overturn the result of a vote in which more than 30 million people took part.

But pro-referendum campaigners say voters did not know what kind of Brexit was available when they were offered a binary choice between “Remain” and “Leave” in the 2016 referendum.

“Now we know what Brexit looks like, now we know the cost, and now we know how badly Brexit compares to our current deal in the EU, the only way forward is to put it to the people,” said Labour lawmaker and People’s Vote campaigner David Lammy.

(Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper and William James; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

Source: OANN

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Senegal’s modernizing president leads field in upcoming election

A municipal worker prepares the election materials to be shipped to different cities in Dakar
A municipal worker prepares the election materials to be shipped to different cities in Dakar, Senegal February 6, 2019. Picture taken February 6, 2019 REUTERS/ Christophe Van Der Perre

February 19, 2019

By Sofia Christensen

DAKAR (Reuters) – President Macky Sall is the strong favorite to win Senegal’s election on Sunday, boosted by a modernizing first term that propelled economic growth although critics accuse him of jailing his rivals for political gain.

Sall, 57, is facing only four contenders in the first round of voting – the smallest presidential field since 1988 – after two of Senegal’s best-known opposition figures were ruled out because of corruption convictions.

Rights groups say this represents a crackdown on dissent in a country long seen as West Africa’s most stable democracy, which has seen peaceful transitions of power via the ballot box since independence from France in 1960.

But many voters and foreign backers applaud Sall for boosting economic growth to over six percent, one of the highest rates in Africa last year.

The growth was driven in part by a series of infrastructure projects including a new airport, 221 km (137 miles) of multi-lane motorways, a wrestling stadium and an express train that will connect the capital to a new city that has begun to rise from the semi-desert outside Dakar.

Billboards of Sall in a suit dot Dakar’s main coastal road and tout his achievements as the “Builder of Modern Senegal”.

“We are happy,” said fisherman Diabel Mbeguere, pulling his brightly-painted wooden boat onto Dakar’s Yoff beach after a day at sea. “There are highways here now, many things the president has done.”

“Electricity used to be a big problem,” he added.

Long power cuts that used to blight urban Senegal are rarer under Sall. Thousands of villages have gained access to electricity for the first time too, although more than half remain without power, according to the International Monetary Fund.

FRUSTRATED YOUTH

Opinion polls are banned in the run-up to elections, but a widely cited survey conducted by a Senegalese data company in November gave Sall 45 percent support. None of the other candidates had more than 16 percent.

His main challengers are former prime minister and third-time runner Idrissa Seck, 59, and 44-year old political rookie Ousmane Sonko, who is popular among Senegalese youth.

It is not yet clear how voting will be affected by the exclusion from the race of presidential hopefuls Khalifa Sall, a popular ex-mayor of Dakar who is no relation to Macky, and Karim Wade, the son of former President Abdoulaye Wade.

Under Senegalese law, Khalifa Sall and Karim Wade are barred from running as they were jailed for graft and corruption in 2018 and 2015 respectively. The opposition says this was a strategy to boost the president’s chances of winning, a charge the ruling party denies. Sall and Wade denied the charges.

Khalifa Sall has urged his supporters to vote for Seck, with whom he forged an alliance from behind bars earlier this month. Meanwhile Karim Wade’s father Abdoulaye says the vote is rigged and told supporters during a political meeting this month to take out the electoral roll and “douse it with petrol”.

His comments have been criticized by other opposition candidates and civil society groups and election day is not expected to be disrupted by widespread protests.

Even so, frustration with the incumbent is palpable among the educated youth, who struggle to find jobs in an economy based on exports of fish, phosphates and cement, and where more than half the population works in agriculture.

“Macky Sall promised to create 500,000 jobs for young people, but this never happened,” said 29-year old Romuald Preira, who recently completed a law degree at Dakar’s Cheikh Anta Diop university.

“I can’t even find a small job or an internship, and I’m not the only one.”

In response to a social media campaign, a televised debate between candidates is scheduled to take place on Thursday. The event is a first for Senegal, but Sall has refused to take part.

More than 6.5 million people are registered to vote, with polls opening on Sunday at 8 a.m. (0800 GMT) and closing at six (1800 GMT).

If no candidate secures a majority in the first round, the top two will face each other in a second round on March 24.

(Editing by Alessandra Prentice and Angus MacSwan)

Source: OANN

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China plans multinational fleet review marking navy founding

China plans to hold a multinational fleet review next month in the northern port of Qingdao to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army Navy.

Defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian told reporters Thursday that more than 60 countries will send representatives to the celebrations and that some would also send ships to take part.

He gave no details, and said further information would be released later. China has been building new, more sophisticated navy ships and submarines at a world-beating pace, challenging U.S. forces and regional rivals such as Japan and India.

That's given China a growing ability to conduct operations from ports, and while Beijing says its navy is purely for defense, it's seen as helping cement control over the South China Sea.

Source: Fox News World

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Sanders says he’s a millionaire, vows Tax Day release of his returns

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., announced Tuesday that he'll release 10 years of tax returns on Monday -- filings expected to show that the Democratic socialist made millions from book sales.

Sanders told The New York Times in an interview published on Tuesday that he hopes that his release will make President Trump more inclined to follow suit.

Both men have pushed back on the issue in the past.

BERNIE’S BIG BUCKS: SANDERS HAULS IN $18.2 MILLION, OUTPACING FIELD SO FAR

The presidential hopeful from Vermont has refused to release his records before, as when he ran for the high office against Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Pressure has mounted on Sanders again, now that congressional Democrats have pushed for the release of six years of returns by Trump.

WHAT IS ‘DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM’? BERNIE SANDERS’ POLITICAL IDEOLOGY EXPLAINED

“Not being a billionaire, not having investments in Saudi Arabia, wherever he has investments, all over the world, mine will be a little bit more boring,” Sanders told The Times, attempting to draw a stark contrast between his returns and Trump's.

Sanders and his wife - they say they do their own taxes, without the help of an accountant - earned just over $205,000 in income in 2014, but in 2017, a year after he lost the Democratic nomination to Clinton, Sanders earned an estimated $1.06 million.

So how did the Democratic socialist join the ranks of those more affluent parties he's targeted most? Book sales, he says.

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“I wrote a best-selling book,” he told The Times. “If you write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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NCAA roundup: No. 1 Duke barely holds off UCF

NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament-Second Round-Duke vs UCF
Mar 24, 2019; Columbia, SC, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward RJ Barrett (5) drives in while UCF Knights center Tacko Fall (24) defends during the second half in the second round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

March 25, 2019

RJ Barrett scored off a rebound with 12 seconds remaining, and Duke made a final defensive stand to pull out a 77-76 victory against Central Florida in the NCAA Tournament’s East Region second round Sunday in Columbia, S.C.

Central Florida’s BJ Taylor missed a runner in the final seconds, and a tip-in attempt by Aubrey Dawkins barely rolled off, allowing top-seeded Duke to advance. Duke (31-5) will meet Virginia Tech on Friday night in the Sweet 16 in Washington, D.C.

Taylor made two free throws with 45.2 seconds to play for a 76-73 lead for ninth-seeded UCF (24-9).

After Zion Williamson missed a 3-pointer, Javin DeLaurier grabbed the offensive rebound. Williamson drove for a layup and was fouled with 14.4 seconds left, with UCF 7-foot-6 center Tacko Fall fouling out on the play. Williamson missed a chance for a three-point play by leaving the free throw short, but Barrett rebounded and laid it in to put Duke ahead.

EAST REGION

No. 4 Virginia Tech 67, No. 12 Liberty 58

Post player Kerry Blackshear Jr. scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Hokies over the Flames in San Jose, Calif.

Blackshear’s work inside helped offset the early hot shooting of the Flames (29-7), who went cold in the second half, going almost seven minutes without a basket until Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz’s 3-pointer brought Liberty within 59-54 with 2:24 left.

Virginia Tech (26-8) set a school record for victories.

SOUTH REGION

No. 2 Tennessee 83, No. 10 Iowa 77

Junior power forward Grant Williams scored six of his 19 points in overtime as the Volunteers blew a 25-point lead before posting a victory over Iowa at Columbus, Ohio.

Senior guard Admiral Schofield also scored 19 points for the Volunteers (31-5). Junior guard Lamonte Turner scored 15 points and junior point guard Jordan Bone added 14 for Tennessee, which never trailed.

Junior guard Jordan Bohannon scored 18 points and junior guard Isaiah Moss added 16 for the 10th-seeded Hawkeyes (23-12). Sophomore forward Luka Garza tallied 13 points and junior power forward Tyler Cook and freshman guard Joe Wieskamp added 11 apiece for Iowa, which shot 39 percent from the field and went 7 of 21 from 3-point range.

No. 1 Virginia 63, No. 9 Oklahoma 51

The Cavaliers advanced to their third Sweet 16 in six seasons with a win over the Sooners at Columbia, S.C.

Mamadi Diakite got the start for the Cavaliers (31-3) and provided a spark with a game-high 14 points and nine rebounds. Despite a 2-for-15 shooting performance from junior Kyle Guy, the Cavaliers got 12 points from Ty Jerome and 10 from De’Andre Hunter to make up for the lack of scoring.

Oklahoma (20-14) shot just 37 percent and was led by Christian James, who scored 13 points and pulled down five rebounds in his final game with the Sooners.

MIDWEST REGION

No. 1 North Carolina 81, No. 9 Washington 59

Luke Maye poured in 20 points as the Tar Heels defeated the Huskies in Columbus, Ohio.

The Tar Heels (29-6) were in control for most of the game, with freshmen Nassir Little’s 20 points and Coby White’s 17 points also providing a lift. North Carolina will face fifth-seeded Auburn in the Sweet 16 on Friday night in Kansas City, Mo.

Jaylen Nowell scored 12 points, while Noah Dickerson and Nahziah Carter each posted 10 points for Washington (27-9), which was hurt by 4-for-10 shooting on free throws.

WEST REGION

No. 3 Texas Tech 78, No. 6 Buffalo 58

Sophomore guard Jarrett Culver recorded 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Red Raiders crushed the Bulls at Tulsa, Okla.

Senior center Norense Odiase added 14 points and a career-best 15 rebounds for Texas Tech (28-6), which will face second-seeded Michigan in the Sweet 16 in Anaheim, Calif., on Thursday. Senior guard Matt Mooney and sophomore guard Davide Moretti had 11 points apiece and senior forward Tariq Owens had 10 points and seven rebounds for the Red Raiders.

Senior forward Nick Perkins registered 17 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Buffalo (32-4), which scored its fewest points of the season. Senior guard CJ Massinburg added 14 points and junior guard Davonta Jordan had 13.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Brazil court to decide on release of former president on Wednesday

FILE PHOTO: Brazil's former President Michel Temer is seen at the Federal Police headquarters in Rio de Janeiro
FILE PHOTO: Brazil's former President Michel Temer is seen at the Federal Police headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes/File Photo

March 22, 2019

RIO DE JANEIRO/BRASILIA (Reuters) – A Brazilian appeals court will decide on Wednesday whether to grant a request for the release of former President Michel Temer, a judge at the court said on Friday.

Judge Ivan Athié said that the Regional Federal Court of the 2nd Region (TRF-2) will decide on the petition by Temer’s defense. Athié has also requested that federal judge Marcelo Bretas, who asked for the arrest of the former president, expresses his opinion about the release request.

Temer was taken into custody on Thursday, accused of leading a group of politicians that received bribes for years in Brazil.

(Reporting by Ricardo Brito and Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Editing by David Gregorio)

Source: OANN

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NASCAR notebook: Kurt Busch takes quantum leap in qualifying in stride

FILE PHOTO: NASCAR: Food City 500-Practice
FILE PHOTO: Apr 6, 2019; Bristol, TN, USA; Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) during practice for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

April 14, 2019

RICHMOND, Va. – You would have thought Kurt Busch would have been elated at his third-place qualifying effort for Saturday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway.

After all, in the previous two races — at Texas and Bristol — Busch had failed to advance past the first round under the knockout format. He started those races 30th and 27th, respectively.

But in the first round of time trials on Friday, the driver of the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet posted the fastest lap of the day at 125.815 mph before securing the third spot in the final round.

But was Busch overjoyed at his performance? Not outwardly, at least.

“I thought it was three good runs,” Busch said matter-of-factly. “The car had a good bit of rear grip to it, which has been our struggle, so I’m really happy that (Friday’s) practice run and the qualifying runs showed us that the car’s got the grip level. Now we just need to make sure the balance stays with it.

“We’re just trying to be more consistent and not have any weak areas. And I think the changes they made, we’re trying to adjust to the weaker areas. So that should help us.”

Busch’s average qualifying position this year is 20.1, but he has picked up on average 11.5 spots during the races, heading into Richmond. Busch’s average finish of 8.6 is significantly better than his career average of 16.3.

GOODYEAR UNVEILS CHARLOTTE SIDEWALL HONORING FALLEN HEROES

On Saturday afternoon outside the Richmond Raceway media center, Stu Grant, Goodyear’s general manager of worldwide racing, unveiled a special sidewall that all Goodyear tires will display for the Charlotte races on Memorial Day weekend.

This is the 10th year Goodyear will replace its familiar “Eagle” branding with an inscription honoring the United States military and fallen heroes. This year’s tires will display the lettering “Honor and Remember,” a national Virginia-based organization whose mission is to “perpetually recognize the sacrifice of America’s military fallen service members and their families.”

“Goodyear and the military have always had a strong association,” Grant said.

“We supply ground tires for a lot of military vehicles. We supply aircraft tires to a lot of military aircraft around the world. We’ve got programs to supply this kind of consumer tires to military bases around the world, and we’ve got a corporate initiative to hire veterans.

“Supporting the military is one thing, but what we want to do is also to support the fallen. That’s why we’re partnering up with Honor and Remember. They’re a terrific organization. They recognize the fallen, but in addition, they recognize the families of the fallen with a positive message.”

SHORT STROKES

–Honorary pace car driver Ronde Barber, a former Pro Bowl defensive back with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said Friday at Richmond Raceway that his identical twin and ex-New York Giants running back Tiki Barber could beat him in a foot race.

“Back in the day, Tiki was always a little bit faster than me,” Ronde said. “He’s turned into a marathoner. He’s like Jimmie (Johnson). He runs the New York Marathon. I think he’s going to Paris to run a marathon. So I don’t think that I can outrun him. However, he drives around New York with a bunch of big SUVs or whatever. I have the sports cars at my house. So I think I’m the better driver.”

–Eight cars, including those of second-place qualifier Erik Jones and three-time Richmond winner Denny Hamlin, failed post-qualifying inspection on Saturday and had their times disallowed. Joining Jones and Hamlin at the rear of the field were Aric Almirola, Daniel Suarez, Jimmie Johnson, Joey Gase, Chase Elliott and Matt Tifft.

The cars of Elliott, Hamlin and Tifft all failed twice, and their teams suffered the additional penalty of the ejection of a crew member from the track. With the demotion of Jones, Kurt Busch earned the outside-front-row starting position next to pole winner Kevin Harvick.

–By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.

Source: OANN

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Cambodian authorities have ordered a one-hour reduction in the length of school days because of concerns that students and teachers may fall ill from a prolonged heat wave.

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said in an announcement seen Friday that the shortened hours will remain in effect until the rainy season starts, which usually occurs in May. The current heat wave, in which temperatures are regularly reaching as high as 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit), is one of the longest in memory.

Most schools in Cambodia lack air conditioning, prompting concern that temperatures inside classrooms could rise to unhealthy levels.

School authorities were instructed to watch for symptoms of heat stroke and urge pupils to drink more water.

The new hours cut 30 minutes off the beginning of the school day and 30 minutes off the end.

School authorities instituted a similar measure in 2016.

Source: Fox News World

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Explosions have rocked Britain’s largest steel plant, injuring two people and shaking nearby homes.

South Wales Police say the incident at the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot was reported at about 3:35 a.m. Friday (22:35 EDT Thursday). The explosions touched off small fires, which are under control. Two workers suffered minor injuries and all staff members have been accounted for.

Police say early indications are that the explosions were caused by a train used to carry molten metal into the plant. Tata Steel says its personnel are working with emergency services at the scene.

Local lawmaker Stephen Kinnock says the incident raises concerns about safety.

He tweeted: “It could have been a lot worse … @TataSteelEurope must conduct a full review, to improve safety.”

Source: Fox News World

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The Wider Image: China's start-ups go small in age of 'shoebox' satellites
LinkSpace’s reusable rocket RLV-T5, also known as NewLine Baby, is carried to a vacant plot of land for a test launch in Longkou, Shandong province, China, April 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

April 26, 2019

By Ryan Woo

LONGKOU, China (Reuters) – During initial tests of their 8.1-metre (27-foot) tall reusable rocket, Chinese engineers from LinkSpace, a start-up led by China’s youngest space entrepreneur, used a Kevlar tether to ensure its safe return. Just in case.

But when the Beijing-based company’s prototype, called NewLine Baby, successfully took off and landed last week for the second time in two months, no tether was needed.

The 1.5-tonne rocket hovered 40 meters above the ground before descending back to its concrete launch pad after 30 seconds, to the relief of 26-year-old chief executive Hu Zhenyu and his engineers – one of whom cartwheeled his way to the launch pad in delight.

LinkSpace, one of China’s 15-plus private rocket manufacturers, sees these short hops as the first steps towards a new business model: sending tiny, inexpensive satellites into orbit at affordable prices.

Demand for these so-called nanosatellites – which weigh less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and are in some cases as small as a shoebox – is expected to explode in the next few years. And China’s rocket entrepreneurs reckon there is no better place to develop inexpensive launch vehicles than their home country.

“For suborbital clients, their focus will be on scientific research and some commercial uses. After entering orbit, the near-term focus (of clients) will certainly be on satellites,” Hu said.

In the near term, China envisions massive constellations of commercial satellites that can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for aircraft to tracking coal shipments. Universities conducting experiments and companies looking to offer remote-sensing and communication services are among the potential domestic customers for nanosatellites.

A handful of U.S. small-rocket companies are also developing launchers ahead of the expected boom. One of the biggest, Rocket Lab, has already put 25 satellites in orbit.

No private company in China has done that yet. Since October, two – LandSpace and OneSpace – have tried but failed, illustrating the difficulties facing space start-ups everywhere.

The Chinese companies are approaching inexpensive launches in different ways. Some, like OneSpace, are designing cheap, disposable boosters. LinkSpace’s Hu aspires to build reusable rockets that return to Earth after delivering their payload, much like the Falcon 9 rockets of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“If you’re a small company and you can only build a very, very small rocket because that’s all you have money for, then your profit margins are going to be narrower,” said Macro Caceres, analyst at U.S. aerospace consultancy Teal Group.

“But if you can take that small rocket and make it reusable, and you can launch it once a week, four times a month, 50 times a year, then with more volume, your profit increases,” Caceres added.

Eventually LinkSpace hopes to charge no more than 30 million yuan ($4.48 million) per launch, Hu told Reuters.

That is a fraction of the $25 million to $30 million needed for a launch on a Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Pegasus, a commonly used small rocket. The Pegasus is launched from a high-flying aircraft and is not reusable.

(Click https://reut.rs/2UVBjKs to see a picture package of China’s rocket start-ups. Click https://tmsnrt.rs/2GIy9Bc for an interactive look at the nascent industry.)

NEED FOR CASH

LinkSpace plans to conduct suborbital launch tests using a bigger recoverable rocket in the first half of 2020, reaching altitudes of at least 100 kilometers, then an orbital launch in 2021, Hu told Reuters.

The company is in its third round of fundraising and wants to raise up to 100 million yuan, Hu said. It had secured tens of millions of yuan in previous rounds.

After a surge in fresh funding in 2018, firms like LinkSpace are pushing out prototypes, planning more tests and even proposing operational launches this year.

Last year, equity investment in China’s space start-ups reached 3.57 billion yuan ($533 million), a report by Beijing-based investor FutureAerospace shows, with a burst of financing in late 2018.

That accounted for about 18 percent of global space start-up investments in 2018, a historic high, according to Reuters calculations based on a global estimate by Space Angels. The New York-based venture capital firm said global space start-up investments totaled $2.97 billion last year.

“Costs for rocket companies are relatively high, but as to how much funding they need, be it in the hundreds of millions, or tens of millions, or even just a few million yuan, depends on the company’s stage of development,” said Niu Min, founder of FutureAerospace.

FutureAerospace has invested tens of millions of yuan in LandSpace, based in Beijing.

Like space-launch startups elsewhere in the world, the immediate challenge for Chinese entrepreneurs is developing a safe and reliable rocket.

Proven talent to develop such hardware can be found in China’s state research institutes or the military; the government directly supports private firms by allowing them to launch from military-controlled facilities.

But it’s still a high-risk business, and one unsuccessful launch might kill a company.

“The biggest problem facing all commercial space companies, especially early-stage entrepreneurs, is failure” of an attempted flight, Liang Jianjun, chief executive of rocket company Space Trek, told Reuters. That can affect financing, research, manufacturing and the team’s morale, he added.

Space Trek is planning its first suborbital launch by the end of June and an orbital launch next year, said Liang, who founded the company in late 2017 with three other former military technical officers.

Despite LandSpace’s failed Zhuque-1 orbital launch in October, the Beijing-based firm secured 300 million yuan in additional funding for the development of its Zhuque-2 rocket a month later.

In December, the company started operating China’s first private rocket production facility in Zhejiang province, in anticipation of large-scale manufacturing of its Zhuque-2, which it expects to unveil next year.

STATE COMPETITION

China’s state defense contractors are also trying to get into the low-cost market.

In December, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) successfully launched a low-orbit communication satellite, the first of 156 that CASIC aims to deploy by 2022 to provide more stable broadband connectivity to rural China and eventually developing countries.

The satellite, Hongyun-1, was launched on a rocket supplied by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the nation’s main space contractor.

In early April, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT), a subsidiary of CASC, completed engine tests for its Dragon, China’s first rocket meant solely for commercial use, clearing the path for a maiden flight before July.

The Dragon, much bigger than the rockets being developed by private firms, is designed to carry multiple commercial satellites.

At least 35 private Chinese companies are working to produce more satellites.

Spacety, a satellite maker based in southern Hunan province, plans to put 20 satellites in orbit this year, including its first for a foreign client, chief executive Yang Feng told Reuters.

The company has only launched 12 on state-produced rockets since the company started operating in early 2016.

“When it comes to rocket launches, what we care about would be cost, reliability and time,” Yang said.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

Source: OANN

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At least one person is reported dead and homes have been destroyed by a powerful cyclone that struck northern Mozambique and continues to dump rain on the region, with the United Nations warning of “massive flooding.”

Cyclone Kenneth arrived just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore into central Mozambique, killing more than 600 people and displacing scores of thousands. The U.N. says this is the first time in known history that the southern African nation has been hit by two cyclones in one season.

Forecasters say the new cyclone made landfall Thursday night in a part of Mozambique that has not seen such a storm in at least 60 years.

Mozambique’s local emergency operations center says a woman in the city of Pemba was killed by a falling tree.

Source: Fox News World

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German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer holds annual general meeting
Werner Baumann, CEO of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer AG, attends the annual general shareholders meeting in Bonn, Germany, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

April 26, 2019

By Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger

BONN (Reuters) – Bayer shareholders vented their anger over its stock price slump on Friday as litigation risks mount from the German drugmaker’s $63 billion takeover of seed maker Monsanto.

Several large investors said they will not support aspirin investor Bayer’s management in a key vote scheduled for the end of its annual general meeting.

Bayer’s management, led by chief executive Werner Baumann, could see an embarrassing plunge in approval ratings, down from 97 percent at last year’s AGM, which was held shortly before the Monsanto takeover closed in June.

A vote to ratify the board’s actions features prominently at every German AGM. Although it has no bearing on management’s liability, it is seen as a key gauge of shareholder sentiment.

“Due to the continued negative development at Bayer, high legal risks and a massive share price slump, we refuse to ratify the management board and supervisory board’s actions during the business year,” Janne Werning, representing Germany’s Union Investment, a top-20 shareholder, said in prepared remarks.

About 30 billion euros ($34 billion) have been wiped off Bayer’s market value since August, when a U.S. jury found the pesticide and drugs group liable because Monsanto had not warned of alleged cancer risks linked to its weedkiller Roundup.

Bayer suffered a similar defeat last month and more than 13,000 plaintiffs are claiming damages.

Bayer is appealing or plans to appeal the verdicts.

Deutsche Bank’s asset managing arm DWS said shareholders should have been consulted before the takeover, which was agreed in 2016 and closed in June last year.

“You are pointing out that the lawsuits have not been lost yet. We and our customers, however, have already lost something – money and trust,” Nicolas Huber, head of corporate governance at DWS, said in prepared remarks for the AGM.

He said DWS would abstain from the shareholder vote of confidence in the executive and non-executive boards.

Two people familiar with the situation told Reuters this week that Bayer’s largest shareholder, BlackRock, plans to either abstain from or vote against ratifying the management board’s actions.

Asset management firm Deka, among Bayer’s largest German investors, has also said it would cast a no vote.

Baumann said Bayer’s true value was not reflected in the current share price.

“There’s no way to make this look good. The lawsuits and the first verdicts weigh heavily on our company and it’s a concern for many people,” he said, adding it was the right decision to buy Monsanto and that Bayer was vigorously defending itself.

This month, shareholder advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis recommended investors not to give the executive board their seal of approval.

(Reporting by Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

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