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Abbas picks loyalist Shtayyeh as Palestinian prime minister

Senior Fatah official Mohammed Shtayyeh gestures during a Palestinian leadership meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
Senior Fatah official Mohammed Shtayyeh gestures during a Palestinian leadership meeting in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 20, 2019. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman

March 10, 2019

By Ali Sawafta and Nidal al-Mughrabi

RAMALLAH, West Bank/GAZA (Reuters) – Economist Mohammed Shtayyeh, a member of the West Bank’s dominant Fatah party, was named Palestinian prime minister on Sunday in what the rival Hamas group that runs Gaza called a blow to unity efforts.

The appointment was announced six weeks after Rami al-Hamdallah tendered his resignation from the post and the resignation of his unity government to President Mahmoud Abbas, underscoring the failure of Hamas and Fatah to implement a power-sharing deal.

Speaking to Palestine Television, Shtayyeh said he would immediately begin consultations with factions belonging to the Palestine Liberation Organization, which Abbas heads, on forming a new cabinet.

Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since seizing the enclave from Fatah in 2007, is not a member of the PLO. Ismail Rudwan, a senior official in the Islamist group, said the creation of “a separatist government … will prolong Palestinian division”.

Hamas and Fatah signed a reconciliation deal in November 2017 calling for Abbas’ West Bank-based Palestinian Authority (PA) to resume governing in Gaza and take control of its crossing points into Egypt and Israel.

However, disputes quickly arose on how to implement the agreement. Another sticking point has been policy toward Israel, which has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Middle East war and maintained tight control of Gaza’s borders since withdrawing settlers and troops from the area in 2005.

Shtayyeh’s immediate challenge is to shore up the cash-strapped PA, which exercises limited self-rule under interim peace accords with Israel.

The PA has been squeezed by steep U.S. aid cuts, with the cash crisis exacerbated by a dispute with Israel over the withholding of some 5 percent of the monthly tax revenues it transfers to the Authority.

Israel said the money it is holding back is used by the PA to pay stipends to families of militants killed or jailed by Israel. The PA has refused to accept any tax transfers until those funds are restored.

Shtayyeh, seen largely as a technocrat, most recently headed the Palestinian Economic Council for Research and Development, a donor coordination and advocacy body established by the PLO in 1993.

(Reporting by Ali Sawafta and Nidal Almughrabi; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Kirsten Donovan)

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Former AG Eric Holder uses Biden statement to take swipe at Trump

Former Attorney General Eric Holder on Wednesday hailed former Vice President Joe Biden’s response to allegations of misconduct from multiple women, while appearing to simultaneously take a swing at President Trump.

The reaction from Holder – who served during the Obama presidency – came after Biden released a video on Twitter in which he acknowledged the claims against him and promised to “be more mindful” going forward when it came to “respecting personal space.”

Holder commended the message as a “genuine - appropriate - expression of determination to change by a great public servant.”

It was “a stark contrast to another who occupies high office in our nation,” he tweeted, likely alluding to Trump.

JOE BIDEN RESPONDS TO MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS, SAYS HE’LL BE ‘MORE MINDFUL ABOUT RESPECTING PERSONAL SPACE’

Biden has been accused by multiple women of acting inappropriately toward them. The latest allegations surfaced Tuesday from two women who spoke to The New York Times. One of the claims dated from 2012, while the other encounter was said to have taken place a few years later.

In the 2012 incident, writer D.J. Hill said Biden put his hand on her shoulder, then dropped it down her back in a way that made her "very uncomfortable" while Hill and her husband posed for pictures with him at a fundraiser in Minneapolis. Hill said her husband noticed the movement and made a joke about it.

In the second incident, former college student Caitlyn Caruso told the paper that Biden "rested his hand on her thigh — even as she squirmed in her seat to show her discomfort — and hugged her 'just a little bit too long' at an event on sexual assault at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas."

JOE BIDEN’S ALLEGED ‘GROPING’ BEHAVIOR WAS DETAILED IN 2015 ‘DAILY SHOW’ SEGMENT

On Monday, Amy Lappos, a former aide to Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., told the Hartford Courant that Biden touched her face with both hands and rubbed noses in 2009. Late last week, former Nevada politician Lucy Flores wrote that Biden had grabbed her shoulders, smelled her hair and kissed her on the back of her head at a campaign event in 2014.

In his Twitter video, Biden said that throughout his career, he’s “always tried to make a human connection.”

"That’s my responsibility, I think. I shake hands, I hug people, I grab men and women by the shoulders and say ‘you can do this.’ And whether they’re women, men, young, old, it’s the way I’ve always been,” he said. “It’s the way I’ve tried to show I care about them and I’m listening."

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He went on to explain that he's always believed politics was "about connecting with people" and vowed to adapt to social norms.

"You know, social norms begin to change, they’re shifted and the boundaries of protecting personal space have been reset and I get it. I get it," Biden said. "I hear what they’re saying. I understand it. And I’ll be much more mindful, that’s my responsibility. My responsibility and I’ll meet it."

Fox News’ Samuel Chamberlain and Gregg Re contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Wary of Xinjiang backlash, China invites waves of diplomats to visit

FILE PHOTO: Residents at the Kashgar city vocational educational training centre attend a Chinese lesson during a government organised visit in Kashgar
FILE PHOTO: Residents at the Kashgar city vocational educational training centre attend a Chinese lesson during a government organised visit in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China, January 4, 2019. REUTERS/Ben Blanchard/File Photo

February 21, 2019

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) – China is stepping up its diplomatic outreach over controversial camps in its heavily Muslim region of Xinjiang, inviting more foreign diplomats to visit as it seeks to head off criticism from Muslim-majority countries and at the United Nations.

Since December, China has taken at least three groups of foreign diplomats to visit to what it calls re-education and training facilities, but rights groups say are internment camps. A fourth group is scheduled to visit this month.

The country’s foreign ministry said on Saturday that Geneva-based diplomats from Pakistan, Venezuela, Cuba, Egypt, Cambodia, Russia, Senegal and Belarus were visiting Xinjiang on a trip that ended on Tuesday.

Six diplomatic sources told Reuters that the government had invited for the next visit China-based diplomats from Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon, Egypt, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Russia, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Hungary and Greece.

Two sources said that trip was scheduled for next week.

Officials from Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Russia, Hungary, Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Greece did not respond to requests for comment. Officials from Singapore, Bangladesh and Turkmenistan declined to comment. Cambodian officials said they were unaware of the visit.

A source at the Lebanese foreign ministry said Lebanon would not participate. Georgian diplomats received an invitation, but would not be able to attend, its foreign ministry press service said.

China’s Foreign Ministry, in a faxed response to Reuters, confirmed the Xinjiang government was inviting China-based diplomats to visit in coming days, but did not give details.

“We believe this trip will help increase their understanding and knowledge of Xinjiang,” it said. “Xinjiang is open, and we believe that anyone who is unprejudiced can objectively see the success of Xinjiang’s development.”

Xinjiang officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Separately, government officials will on Friday brief foreign envoys in Beijing about the situation in Xinjiang, four of the diplomats said. China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on that meeting.

‘VERY RATTLED’

Diplomatic sources say China has become increasingly worried about the overseas backlash against the camps, especially threats of U.S. sanctions, and has sought to counter that with a public push for a friendlier narrative.

“They’re very rattled,” one senior diplomat, who has discussed Xinjiang with Chinese officials, told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Muslim countries have generally held off criticizing China, at least in public.

But in February, Turkey called on China to close the camps, saying they are a “great shame for humanity,” prompting an angry reaction from Beijing.

“China does not want any other Muslim countries joining Turkey in criticizing the camps,” a second Beijing-based diplomat said.

All the diplomats who spoke to Reuters requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.

China’s Foreign Ministry told Reuters that the country’s efforts in Xinjiang had made “positive contributions” towards regional peace and security.

“China’s relevant measures have received understanding and support from numerous Islamic countries. Terrorism is the common enemy of mankind,” the ministry said in a separate faxed statement.

The government has also taken foreign reporters to the camps, including a small group in January that included Reuters. The tightly choreographed and chaperoned visit marked the first time non-Chinese media had been given access the camps.

U.N. MEETING

China hopes to mute criticism of its Xinjiang policies at two upcoming events, diplomats say.

One is the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, which starts on Monday in Geneva; the other is the Belt and Road summit in late April in Beijing, at which leaders from several Muslim nations are expected.

This month, rights activists urged European and Muslim nations to establish a U.N. investigation into the Xinjiang camps.

Switzerland, Germany, Britain and the United States were among the most critical of China’s policies in Xinjiang at its Universal Periodic Review by the U.N. Human Rights Council in January.

Yang Shu, head of the Institute for Central Asia Studies at Lanzhou University in northwestern China, told Reuters that it was important to take foreign visitors to Xinjiang, but that the effect would probably not be obvious.

“For countries that have good relations with China and have similar problems, it is easy for both to reach consensus on the Xinjiang issue,” said Yang, an expert on security and terrorism.

“For other countries, explanations will not have much effect. The United States and other countries have been criticizing China for a long time over the Xinjiang issue, and an explanation will not change their minds,” he said. “But overall, it’s better to do it than not to do it.”

China has pointed to the lack of attacks in the two years or so since it began running the camps as evidence of their success. Hundreds of people had died during unrest there, which the government blames on separatists and Islamist extremists.

The ruling Communist Party’s official People’s Daily wrote last week, in a commentary excoriating Turkey for its criticism, that “the facts win out over oratory.”

Several Western diplomats told Reuters in recent weeks they were frustrated at Muslim countries’ unwillingness to speak out about Xinjiang.

A group of about a dozen ambassadors from Western countries wrote last year to request a meeting with Xinjiang’s top official, Communist Party chief Chen Quanguo, to discuss their concerns. No meeting has been scheduled.

The letter was circulated widely, but no Muslim country signed it, diplomats say.

Turkey’s outburst, however, has given some hope that the wider Islamic world could soon start making critical comments about Xinjiang, though Beijing-based diplomats admit this is unlikely, as many of them have human rights problems of their own.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Margarita Antidze in Tblisi, Tom Perry in Beirut, Ahmed Eljechtimi in Rabat, Prak Chan Thul in Phomn Pehn, James Pearson in Hanoi, Stephen Kalin in Riyadh, Antoni Slodkowski in Yangon, Maria Tsvetkova in Athens, Jack Kim in Singapore, Serajul Quadir in Dhaka, Marton Dunai in Budapest, Olzhas Auyezov in Almaty, Stephanie Ulmer-Nebehay in Geneva and Christian Lowe in Moscow; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

Source: OANN

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Uber files for IPO, lifting curtain on finances

FILE PHOTO: The Uber Hub is seen in Redondo Beach
FILE PHOTO: The Uber Hub is seen in Redondo Beach, California, U.S., March 25, 2019. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

April 11, 2019

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Uber Technologies Inc on Thursday filed publicly with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its initial public offering (IPO), taking it a step closer to one of the largest technology stock listings of all time.

The Uber filing gives the first comprehensive financial picture of the ride-hailing and transportation services company. Started in 2009 after its founders struggled to get a cab on a snowy night, Uber has changed the way millions of people travel and commute but continues to lose money.

The filing revealed Uber had 91 million users on its platforms at the end of 2018.

Reuters reported this week that Uber plans to sell around $10 billion worth of stock at a valuation of between $90 billion and $100 billion. Investment bankers had previously told Uber it could be worth as much as $120 billion.

(Reporting by Joshua Franklin in New York; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)

Source: OANN

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Paris Easter Mass honors firefighters who saved Notre Dame

The archbishop of Paris and Catholics from around France and the world honored the firefighters who saved Notre Dame Cathedral, praying Sunday at a special Easter Mass for a swift reconstruction of the beloved monument.

The fire that engulfed Notre Dame during Holy Week forced worshippers to find other places to attend Easter services, and the Paris diocese invited them to join Sunday's Mass at the grandiose Saint-Eustache Church on the Right Bank of the Seine River.

Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit handed over a bible that had been rescued from Notre Dame to the firefighters, who held a place of honor at Sunday's service.

Faithfuls attend a Sunday Mass at the grandiose Saint-Eustache church on the Right Bank of the Seine river in Paris, Sunday, April 21, 2019.

Faithfuls attend a Sunday Mass at the grandiose Saint-Eustache church on the Right Bank of the Seine river in Paris, Sunday, April 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Aupetit thanked city officials for their support amid "the drama" of last Monday's fire, and "especially you, those for whom this Mass is dedicated" — the firefighters who struggled for nine hours to contain flames that consumed Notre Dame's roof and collapsed its spire.

FAMILY FROM VIRAL NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL PHOTO FOUND, DAD CHOOSES TO STAY ANONYMOUS

He notably thanked fire service chaplain Jean-Marc Fournier, who saved the most precious thing for Catholics from the fire, the chalice containing consecrated hosts that for Catholics are the body of Christ.

Police and a soldier guarded the entry to Sunday's Mass, creating a long line to check bags before visitors could enter the 13th-century Saint-Eustache Church. It was unclear if the extra security was linked to an Easter Sunday attack on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that killed at least 190 people and wounded nearly 500 others.

Notre Dame's parishioners were joined by Catholics and others from around France and beyond. An Associated Press reporter heard at least six languages being spoken in the crowd.

NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL KEPT STANDING AMID FIRE WITH GIANT ROBOT ‘COLOSSUS’

"Everyone is affected by what happened to Notre Dame," said Parisian Michel Ripoche. "Easter is a holiday we celebrate every year, all our lives. Clearly what happened at Notre Dame added to the importance" of today's service.

The archbishop of Paris and Catholics from around France and the world honored the firefighters who saved Notre Dame Cathedral, praying Sunday at a special Easter Mass for a swift reconstruction of the beloved monument.

The archbishop of Paris and Catholics from around France and the world honored the firefighters who saved Notre Dame Cathedral, praying Sunday at a special Easter Mass for a swift reconstruction of the beloved monument. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Peggy Godley, visiting from Chicago with her husband and two daughters, "wanted to see what it was like to celebrate a Mass in Paris."

"We didn't get to see Notre Dame. We were hoping to be there, but it's too late," she said.

Faithfuls attend a Sunday Mass at the grandiose Saint-Eustache church on the Right Bank of the Seine river in Paris, Sunday, April 21, 2019.

Faithfuls attend a Sunday Mass at the grandiose Saint-Eustache church on the Right Bank of the Seine river in Paris, Sunday, April 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Notre Dame isn't expected to reopen to the public for five or six years, according to its rector, although the French president is pushing for a quick reconstruction. Investigators believe the fire was an accident, possibly linked to renovation work.

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Notre Dame Rector Patrick Chauvet told The Associated Press on Good Friday that he has "plenty of hope, because I believe that from this suffering there will be a renaissance."

He said he would fight for speedy rebuilding work.

Culture Minister Franck Riester said Sunday that most of the sensitive spots in the cathedral have been stabilized, including support structures above its prized rose windows.

"There remain some sensitive points in the vaulted ceiling, and so teams from the Culture Ministry, construction companies are working to remove the rubble that remains on the ceiling and progressively cover it up. And after that, we can say that the Notre Dame of Paris is saved," he said on France-2 television.

Source: Fox News World

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Delaware State University official pleads guilty to taking $70G in bribes from out-of-state students

A former Delaware State University official on Wednesday admitted to accepting more than $70,000 in bribes to falsely classify students as eligible to pay in-state tuition over a four-year period.

Crystal Martin, who worked for the registrar’s office at the Dover-based historically black institution, pleaded guilty to a felony bribery charge, authorities said. The scheme cost the school more than $3 million in lost tuition.

“The defendant abused her position at a public university to personally profit and to defraud her employer,’’ U.S. Attorney David Weiss said in a statement. “Individuals who accept bribes while serving in a public capacity risk undermining trust in those institutions.’’

“The defendant abused her position at a public university to personally profit and to defraud her employer. Individuals who accept bribes while serving in a public capacity risk undermining trust in those institutions.’’

— U.S. Attorney David Weiss 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office did not name the school Martin worked for, but her LinkedIn profile said she worked at Delaware State. A spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg that Martin worked for the school until 2017.

News of the scam comes amid a college admissions scandal that has ensnared dozens of wealthy parents, including actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman. Federal prosecutors allege that those facing charges paid millions of dollars in bribes and fees for test takers and university coaches to get their kids admitted to elite universities.

Crystal Martin's bribery scheme cost Delaware State University more than $3 million in lost tuition, authorities say. (LinkedIn)

Crystal Martin's bribery scheme cost Delaware State University more than $3 million in lost tuition, authorities say. (LinkedIn)

The students in the Delaware case were already admitted to the school, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The scheme spanned from 2013 to 2017, prosecutors said. Martin accepted bribes from an unnamed co-conspirator to forge residency documents for hundreds of out-of-state students to allow them to qualify for cheaper in-state tuition.

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For the 2018-19 school year, tuition for out-of-state students was $16,094, compared with $7,868 for Delaware residents, according to the school's website.

Martin faces up to 10 years in prison. She is scheduled for sentencing July 1.

Source: Fox News National

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Salvini advisor under investigation for alleged corruption: judicial sources

Salvini launches the start of his campaign for the European elections, in Milan
Matteo Salvini, Italy's Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the far-right League Party, speaks as he launches the start of his campaign for the European elections, in Milan, Italy April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo

April 18, 2019

ROME (Reuters) – Italian prosecutors have opened an investigation into corruption allegations against a junior transport minister who serves as economic adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, judicial sources said on Thursday.

Armando Siri, a prominent member of the right-wing League party, is suspected by prosecutors of taking bribes to help companies operating in the renewable energy sector, the sources said.

Siri did not respond to requests from Reuters for comment, but was quoted by Italian newspapers as denying all wrongdoing.

The League acknowledged the investigation although it has not been officially confirmed.

“We have full confidence in Armando Siri. We hope that the investigation will be quick and leaves no shadow”, the League said in a statement.

However, 5-Star took a different stance, potentially opening up a new division in the often fractious coalition.

“If the facts were to be confirmed, it is clear that undersecretary Siri should resign from the government”, Deputy Prime Minister and 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio said.

The investigation is led by Rome and Palermo prosecutors and concerns Siri and nine other people.

Siri is a vocal supporter of expensive tax cuts which are part of the coalition pact between the League and the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement.

In 2014, he plea-bargained a prison sentence for the fraudulent bankruptcy of a company he was president of.

(Reporting by Domenico Lusi; writing by Angelo Amante and Francesca Piscioneri, editing by Gavin Jones and Raissa Kasolowsky)

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)

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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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