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Johnson surges into lead at windy Hilton Head

PGA: RBC Heritage - Third Round
Apr 20, 2019; Hilton Head, SC, USA; Dustin Johnson tees off from seventh hole during the third round of the RBC Heritage golf tournament at Harbour Town Golf Links. Mandatory Credit: Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

April 20, 2019

(Reuters) – World number one Dustin Johnson overhauled halfway leader Shane Lowry to open up a one-stroke advantage after the third round of the windswept RBC Heritage in South Carolina on Saturday.

Johnson, a South Carolina native, shot a three-under 68 in trying conditions to end on 10-under 203, making his move with three consecutive birdies from the 13th and holding on to his lead despite dropping shots at 16 and 17.

Lowry’s lead evaporated with three bogeys on the back nine and he finished with an even-par 71, tied for second on nine-under along with Ian Poulter (67) and Rory Sabbatini (68) at Hilton Head Island’s Harbour Town Golf Links.

Six others were tied a shot further back on eight-under 205.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Salvo, North Carolina; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

Source: OANN

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Exclusive: U.S. blocks North Korean air traffic revival ahead of Trump-Kim summit

FILE PHOTO - U.S. President Trump and North Korea's Kim meet at the start of their summit in Singapore
FILE PHOTO - U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un meet at the start of their summit at the Capella Hotel on the resort island of Sentosa, Singapore June 12, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

February 19, 2019

By Allison Lampert and Hyonhee Shin

MONTREAL/SEOUL (Reuters) – The United States has blocked efforts by a U.N. agency to improve civil aviation in North Korea at a time when Pyongyang is trying to reopen part of its airspace to foreign flights, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The U.S. move is part of a negotiating tactic to maintain sanctions pressure on North Korea, one of the sources said, ahead of a second summit between President Donald Trump and leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam in late February.

Washington is seeking concrete commitments from Pyongyang at the summit to abandon its nuclear and missile programs.

The United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), with 192 member countries, has been working with Pyongyang to open a new air route that would pass through North and South Korean airspace.

Airlines currently take indirect routings to avoid North Korea due to the threat of unannounced missile launches, which have been witnessed by some passengers on commercial flights.

If the space was deemed safe, international airlines could save fuel and time on some routes between Asia and Europe and North America, and North Korea could begin reviving its own commercial aviation industry.

The cash-strapped country has a population of more than 25 million but its economy has been squeezed by a series of sanctions for its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Montreal-based ICAO was prepared to help improve North Korea’s aviation system by leading training sessions between its military and civil aviation staff, two sources said.

North Korea also asked ICAO for access to U.S.-produced aeronautical charts, they said.

U.S SEEKS LEVERAGE

But the United States discouraged the U.N. agency from helping North Korea with its air program as Washington wanted to “pool all the leverages and incentives” until Pyongyang makes substantial progress on denuclearization, a third source said.

“They would keep tight hold of all available leverage to make sure there is no loophole until the North Koreans take action that deserves a reward,” the source said.

All sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

ICAO cannot impose binding rules on governments, but wields clout through its safety and security standards which are approved by its member states.

Asked for comment, a U.S. State Department official said it does not publicly discuss details of diplomatic conversations. An ICAO spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

South Korea’s foreign ministry declined to comment, and North Korean mission to the United Nations in New York did not respond to a request for comment.

In 2017, the United States proposed the U.N. Security Council freeze the assets of state-carrier Air Koryo, which flies to a handful of cities in China and Russia, as part of new sanctions on Pyongyang. The measure was dropped during negotiations between the 15 members.

Airlines including Air Koryo and Air China Ltd offer less than 200,000 available seats a year in the North Korean market, according to a January note from independent research firm CAPA Centre for Aviation.

That compares with over 13 million seats available in the South Korean market, which has roughly double the population, CAPA said.

The biggest beneficiaries of lifting air restrictions over North Korea would be South Korean carriers including Korean Air Lines and Asiana Airlines Inc, according to CAPA.

DENUCLEARIZATION PRESSURE

The United States has doubled down on sanctions enforcement ahead of the planned second summit amid concerns Pyongyang is not committed to denuclearization, though Washington promised to relax some rules on humanitarian aid.

South and North Korea, meanwhile, have rapidly advanced relations, which prompted U.S. officials to openly warn against moving too quickly without sufficient progress on denuclearization.

A fourth source told Reuters that the U.S. move to facilitate humanitarian aid was intended to appease South Korea, facing some complaints that Washington is not willing to make any concessions.

“But they made it clear that there will be no relief of economic sanctions until they see substantial progress,” said the source who also spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

(Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal and Hyonhee Shin in Seoul. Additional reporting by Jamie Freed in Singapore, David Shepardson in Washington and Michelle Nichols in New York; Editing by Tracy Rucinski and Lincoln Feast)

Source: OANN

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Judge Nap: If True, Report Shows Trump's 'Corrupt Intent'

Judge Andrew Napolitano indicated Tuesday if a report about President Donald Trump trying to interfere with a federal investigation involving his former lawyer is true, that would be an attempt to obstruct justice.

The Fox News legal analyst told the network's Shepard Smith that The New York Times report claiming Trump asked former Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to replace the prosecutor in charge of the case involving Michael Cohen, National Enquirer publisher David Pecker, and Trump himself in New York City would be devastating if it is true.

Napolitano said Trump would have showed "corrupt intent" in making the alleged phone call to Whitaker.

"That is an effort to use the levers of power of the government for a corrupt purpose, to deflect an investigation into himself or his allies," he said.

When it comes to obstruction of justice, Napolitano said that is only a crime if the obstruction actually succeeded in blocking or changing a case.

"But if you try to interfere with a criminal prosecution that may knock at your own door by putting your ally in there, that is clearly an attempt to obstruct justice," Napolitano said.

"This breaks new ground," he added.

Source: NewsMax America

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Mississippi teen arrested in mom's death released on bond

A 14-year-old Mississippi girl arrested in the shooting and stabbing death of her mother has been released after her father posted bond.

Mississippi news outlets report the teenager, who's charged as an adult, was released over the weekend. Her bail was set at $100,000.

Ericka Hall was killed in January in Pike County. The 14-year-old and her 12-year-old sister were arrested. The younger girl was charged as a juvenile.

Children 13 and older accused of certain crimes are automatically charged as adults in Mississippi. Judges can transfer cases to youth court. District Attorney Dee Bates has said he would oppose a transfer.

A grand jury is considering the case of the 14-year-old, who faces a murder charge.

Her attorney has said the defense will be based on a self-defense theory.

Source: Fox News National

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Cuba orders further cuts to power generation: newspaper

People walk on a street in downtown Havana
FILE PHOTO - People walk on a street in downtown Havana December 29, 2015. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini

April 21, 2019

By Marc Frank

HAVANA (Reuters) – The Cuban government has ordered its state-run power system to further reduce electricity generation in the latest sign that a cash crunch exacerbated by new U.S. sanctions is taking an economic and human toll, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

Ciego de Avila’s provincial Communist Party newspaper, Invasor, reported that local generation would be cut 10 percent to save fuel as part of a nation-wide reduction ordered on April 18.

The report said cuts in fuel allocation for power generation begun in 2016 had so far spared the residential sector and essential services from blackouts but warned that could change.

More than 95 percent of the country’s electricity is generated by oil-fired plants.

Most business and infrastructure are state owned.

“We are at a critical point, according to the electric union, and if at certain times of the day the fuel allocated for the day runs out, we will have to shut down some circuits,” the paper said, adding that for now no programmed blackouts were planned.

Last month the United States began sanctioning ships and companies carrying Venezuelan fuel to Cuba. Cuba barters medical and other assistance for the oil and will be hard pressed to find an alternative given the cash crunch.

Communist Party leader Raul Castro and President Miguel Diaz-Canel have both told the National Assembly that the country should prepare for hard times, but a more diversified economy meant it would not be as harsh as the 1990s.

Cubans suffered through years of daily blackouts in the 1990s after the fall of former benefactor the Soviet Union.

Cuba’s foreign exchange earnings used to purchase abroad more than 50 percent of the fuel it consumes, food, animal feed and much more, have steadily fallen since 2015 when strategic ally and oil supplier Venezuela began to implode.

Declines in key exports nickel and sugar, and cancellation of a health services for cash deal with Brazil, have worsened matters.

Foreign trade fell 25 percent from 2013 through 2017, with imports dropping to $11.3 billion from $15.6 billion.

(Reporting by Marc Frank; Editing by Susan Thomas)

Source: OANN

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Biden holds strong lead in Iowa poll; Buttigieg surges to 3rd

Joe Biden remains far ahead of the pack of Democratic 2020 contenders in a new Iowa poll, suggesting the recent media storm over multiple allegations from women that the former vice president inappropriately touched them isn’t yet damaging the prospects of his likely White House run.

And the Monmouth University public opinion survey, released Thursday, is the second straight poll in an early-voting primary or caucus state to provide evidence that onetime long-shot candidate Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, is surging.

BUTTIGIEG SURGES TO THIRD PLACE IN NEW NH 2020 DEMS POLL

Twenty-seven percent of likely Democratic caucus goers in the state that votes first on the road to the White House said if the caucus were held today, they’d back Biden, who’s close to announcing his third bid for president.

Biden’s well-known but controversial brand of "tactile" politics was thrust into the spotlight nearly two weeks ago, amid allegations from 2014 Nevada Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Lucy Flores. She said in an essay published in New York magazine that Biden made her feel "uneasy, gross and confused" at a campaign rally when she said he kissed her on the back of the head. Other accusers soon came forward.

Speaking with reporters a week ago the former vice president stressed: “I’m sorry I didn’t understand more. I’m not sorry for any of my intentions. I’m not sorry for anything I’ve ever done. I’ve never been disrespectful intentionally to a man or a woman.”

But he acknowledged that "it is incumbent on me and everybody else to make sure that if you embrace someone, if you touch someone, it’s with their consent, regardless of your intentions."

VOTES SHRUG OFF BIDEN CONTROVERSY IN NEW POLL

The survey was conducted April 4-9, during and after the height of media coverage of the controversy.

The poll indicates that Biden does better among women – 37 percent said they back him – than men, where support dropped to 15 percent. And Biden’s 81 percent favorable rating among likely female Democratic caucus-goers was 8 percentage points higher than the 73 percent favorability he held with male Democrats.

“If Biden does get into this race, he’ll start out as a clear front-runner in Iowa. Not only does he garner support from crucial demographic groups but he is almost universally well-liked among all Democratic voters,” Monmouth University Polling Institute director Patrick Murray said.

Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont – who’s running a second straight time for the Democratic nomination – was second at 16 percent.

Buttigieg, a 37-year-old Afghanistan War veteran who would be the nation’s first openly gay president, was in third place in the poll, at 9 percent.

“Buttigieg’s current standing in the horse race is impressive given that nearly half of likely Democratic caucus-goers have yet to form an opinion of him. He has one of the best positive to negative ratios in the field,” Murray said in a statement.

Sens. Kamala Harris of California and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts stood at 7 percent, with former Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas at 6 percent, Sen. Amy Klobuchar  of Minnesota at 4 percent, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey at 3 percent, and former Housing and Urban Development secretary and former San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro at 2 percent.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Reps. Tim Ryan of Ohio and Eric Swalwell of California, former Rep. John Delaney of Maryland and entrepreneur Andrew Yang each received 1 percent support.

Everyone else in the large field of declared or potential Democratic 2020 contenders registered at less than 1 percent.

Polls this early in a presidential election cycle – there's still 10 months to go until the first votes are cast – are often heavily influenced by name recognition. Results can change often and drastically between this stage and the start of the caucus and primary calendar.

The Monmouth University poll was conducted by live telephone operators, with 761 registered Democrats in Iowa questioned. The questions in the Democratic race have a sampling error of plus or minus 5.2 percentage points.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Poland ruling party pledges more welfare spending ahead of vote

Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the ruling Law and Justice party speaks on a mobile phone during a session at the Parliament in Warsaw
Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party speaks on a mobile phone during a session at the Parliament in Warsaw, Poland January 30, 2019. Agencja Gazeta/Slawomr Kaminski via REUTERS

February 23, 2019

WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland’s nationalist ruling party pledged on Saturday to increase public spending by up to $10 billion a year, raising child subsidies, state pensions and transport infrastructure as part of a campaign ahead of this year’s parliamentary election.

The eurosceptic Law and Justice (PiS) party won power in 2015 in part because of wide public support for its expansive welfare programs and promises of more economic equality.

With a general election due in late 2019, PiS remains the most popular party in Poland but a string of scandals has eroded its support, raising some doubts whether it can retain its parliamentary majority. PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski said the party was offering voters all it could.

“A person whose pockets are empty isn’t free,” Kaczynski, Poland’s de facto leader, told supporters at a party convention. “We are filling these pockets, within what’s possible.”

Kaczynski said most of the spending increases would take place in coming months and include an income tax exemption for workers younger than 26 years old.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the proposals would increase state spending by 30 billion-40 billion zloty ($7.8 billion-$10.5 billion) a year. Poland’s 2019 budget deficit is capped at 28.5 billion zloty.

($1 = 3.8258 zlotys)

(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak; Editing by Peter Graff)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain's far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville
FILE PHOTO: Supporters of the Spain’s far-right party VOX wave Spanish flags as they attend an electoral rally ahead of general elections in the Andalusian capital of Seville, Spain April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Marcelo del Pozo/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By John Stonestreet and Belén Carreño

MADRID (Reuters) – Spain’s Vox party, aligned to a broader far-right movement emerging across Europe, has become the focus of speculation about last minute shifts in voting intentions since official polling for Sunday’s national election ended four days ago.

No single party is anywhere near securing a majority, and chances of a deadlocked parliament and a second election are high.

Leaders of the five parties vying for a role in government get final chances to pitch for power at rallies on Friday evening, before a campaign characterized by appeals to voters’ hearts rather than wallets ends at midnight.

By tradition, the final day before a Spanish election is politics-free.

Two main prizes are still up for grabs in the home straight. One concerns which of the two rival left and right multi-party blocs gets more votes.

The other is whether Vox could challenge the mainstream conservative PP for leadership of the latter bloc, which media outlets with access to unofficial soundings taken since Monday suggest could be starting to happen.

The right’s loose three-party alliance is led by the PP, the traditional conservative party that has alternated in office with outgoing Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s Socialists since Spain’s return to democracy in the 1970s.

The PP stands at around 20 percent, with center-right Ciudadanos near 14 percent and Vox around 11 percent, according to a final poll of polls in daily El Pais published on Monday.

Since then, however, interest in Vox – which will become the first far-right party to sit in parliament since 1982 – has snowballed.

It was founded in 2013, part of a broader anti-establishment, far-right movement that has also spread across – among others – Italy, France and Germany.

While it is careful to distance itself from the ideology of late dictator Francisco Franco, Vox’s signature policies include repealing laws banning Franco-era symbols and on gender-based violence, and shifting power away from Spain’s regional governments.

TRENDING

According to a Google trends graphic, Vox has generated more than three times more search inquiries than any other Spanish political party in the past week.

Reasons could include a groundswell of vocal activist support at Vox rallies in Madrid and Valencia, and its exclusion from two televised debates between the main party leaders, on the grounds of it having no deputies yet in parliament.

Conservative daily La Vanguardia called its enforced absence from Monday’s and Tuesday’s debates “a gift from heaven”, while left-wing Eldiario.es suggested the PP was haemorrhaging votes to Vox in rural areas.

Ignacio Jurado, politics lecturer at the University of York, agreed the main source of additional Vox votes would be disaffected PP supporters, and called the debate ban – whose impact he said was unclear – wrong.

“This is a party polling over 10 percent and there are people interested in what it says. So we lose more than we win in not having them (in the debates),” he said

For Jose Fernandez-Albertos, political scientist at Spanish National Research Council CSIC, Vox is enjoying the novelty effect that propelled then new, left-wing arrival Podemos to 20 percent of the vote in 2015.

“While it’s unclear how to interpret the (Google) data, what we do know is that it’s better to be popular and to be a newcomer, and that Vox will benefit in some form,” he said.

For now, the chances of Vox taking a major role in government remain slim, however.

The El Pais survey put the Socialists on around 30 percent, making them the frontrunners and likely to form a leftist bloc with Podemos, back down at around 14 percent.

The unofficial soundings suggest little change in the two parties’ combined vote, or the total vote of the rightist bloc.

That makes it unlikely that either bloc will win a majority on Sunday, triggering horse-trading with smaller parties favoring Catalan independence – the single most polarizing issues during campaigning – that could easily collapse into fresh elections.

(Election graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2ENugtw)

(Reporting by John Stonestreet and Belen Carreno, Editing by William Maclean)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo of the OPEC is seen at OPEC's headquarters in Vienna
FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries at OPEC’s headquarters in Vienna, Austria December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger/File Photo

April 26, 2019

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he called the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and told the cartel to lower oil prices.

“Gasoline prices are coming down. I called up OPEC, I said you’ve got to bring them down. You’ve got to bring them down,” Trump told reporters.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Sonia Bompastor, director of the Olympique Lyonnais womenÕs Youth Academy, leads a training at the OL Academy near Lyon
Sonia Bompastor, director of the Olympique Lyonnais womenÕs Youth Academy, leads a training at the OL Academy in Meyzieu near Lyon, France, April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Emmanuel Foudrot

April 26, 2019

By Julien Pretot

MEYZIEU, France (Reuters) – Olympique Lyonnais president Jean-Michel Aulas was wringing out his women’s team shirts in the locker room on a rainy London day eight years ago when he decided it was time to take gender equality more seriously.

It was halftime in their Champions League semi-final second leg against Arsenal at Meadow Park with 507 fans watching and Aulas realized that his players did not have a another kit for the second half.

“Next time, there will be a second set just like for the men, that’s how it’s going to work from now on,” he said.

Lyon have since won five Champions League titles to become the most successful women’s team in Europe and recently claimed a 13th consecutive domestic crown.

They visit Chelsea on Sunday in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, with a fourth straight title in their sights.

At the heart of their achievements is a pervasive ethos that promotes gender equality throughout the club, starting in the youth academy.

In 2013, Aulas appointed former Lyon and France player Sonia Bompastor as head of the Women’s Academy — the female equivalent of one of France’s top youth set-ups that has produced players such as Karim Benzema, Alexandre Lacazette and Hatem Ben Arfa.

At the Youth Academy, girls and boys share the same facilities.

“Pitches, physiotherapy rooms are the same for all,” the 38-year-old Bompastor told Reuters.

As the girls train under the watch of former Lyon and France international Camille Abily, the screams of the boys practicing can be heard nearby.

The boys and girls also benefit from the same psychological support that includes hypnosis sessions and yoga.

“We have a ‘mental ability’ cell and the hypnotist acts on the girls’ subconscious, on their deeply held beliefs after observing them on and off the pitch,” Bompastor added.

SAME TREATMENT

One message the Academy staff are trying to convey is that girls are as good as boys.

“Women’s nature is such that we have low self-esteem. So self-esteem is a big topic for our girls,” said Bompastor.

This is not the case with the boys, she added.

“Some 14, 15-year-old boys still think they would beat our professional players, we tell them this would not be happening. We still need to work on those beliefs,” she said.

Female players also have to face questions that their male counterparts do not, Bompastor explained.

“In France there is a problem with the way women are considered, there are high aesthetic expectations. So we get heavy questions on femininity, intimate questions that men don’t get,” she said.

OL’s Academy has been held up as a shining example for others to follow, even in the U.S., where women’s soccer has a wider audience than in Europe.

“About one third of the (senior women’s) squad comes from the Academy, we have a good balance,” said Bompastor.

“I’m getting tons of requests from American universities and foreign clubs, who want to come and visit our facilities.”

‘ONE CLUB’

The salaries of the senior players is one area where there remains a large discrepancy between Lyon’s men’s and women’s teams.

While the three best-paid women players in the world are at Lyon with Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg earning 400,000 euros ($445,520) a year, this figure is dwarfed by the around 4 million euros earned annually by men’s player Memphis Depay.

There is, however, a level of interaction between the men’s and women’s players that is not present at many other clubs.

“When you talk about OL you talk about women and men, you talk about one club and you feel it when you are here or outside in the city,” Germany defender Carolin Simon told Reuters.

“We see it when we play in the big stadium. It’s not ‘normal’ for women’s football,” the 26-year-old, who joined the club last year, added.

Lyon’s female players also enjoy respect from their male counterparts, Simon said.

“It’s very cool, it’s a big honor to feel that it doesn’t matter if you are a professional man or woman. We talk with the men, there are handshakes, it’s a good atmosphere and it’s also why we are successful,” said Simon.

“The men respect us and it’s not just for the cameras.”

Her team mate, England’s Lucy Bronze, sees the men’s respect as key to improving women’s football.

“We might not be paid the same but they are just normal with us, they see us as footballers the same as they are,” Bronze told Reuters.

“Being at Lyon has really opened my eyes. To improve women’s football, it starts with having the respect of your male counterparts. It’s the biggest thing because they can influence so many people.”

(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Toby Davis)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian migrants, stranded in war-torn Yemen, sit on the ground of a detention site pending repatriation to their home country, in Aden, Yemen
FILE PHOTO: Ethiopian migrants, stranded in war-torn Yemen, sit on the ground of a detention site pending repatriation to their home country, in Aden, Yemen April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Fawaz Salman/File Photo

April 26, 2019

GENEVA (Reuters) – Yemeni authorities have rounded up about 3,000 irregular migrants, predominantly Ethiopians, in the south of the country, “creating an acute humanitarian situation,” the U.N. migration agency said on Friday.

“IOM is deeply concerned about the conditions in which the migrants are being held and is engaging with the authorities to ensure access to the detained migrants,” the International Organization for Migration said.

The migrants are held in open-air football stadiums and in a military camp, it said in a statement.

The detentions began on Sunday in the city of Aden and the neighboring province of Lahj, which are under the control of the internationally recognized government backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Iran-aligned Houthi rebels control Sanaa, the capital, and other major urban centers.

Both sides are under international diplomatic pressure to implement a United Nations-sponsored ceasefire deal agreed last year in Sweden and to prepare for a wider political dialogue that would end the four-year-old war.

Thousands of migrants arrive in Yemen every year, mostly from the Horn of Africa, driven by drought and unemployment at home and lured by the wages available in the Gulf.

(Writing by Maher Chmaytelli, Editing by William Maclean)

Source: OANN

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U.S. dollar notes are seen in this picture illustration
U.S. dollar notes are seen in this November 7, 2016 picture illustration. Picture taken November 7. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them.

1/DOLLAR JUGGERNAUT

The dollar has zipped to near two-year highs, leaving many scratching their heads. To many, it’s down to signs the U.S. economy is chugging ahead while the rest of the world loses steam. After all, Wall Street is busily scaling new peaks day after day.

Never mind the cause, the effect is stark. The euro has tumbled to 22-month lows against the dollar and investors are preparing for more, buying options to shield against further downside. Emerging-market currencies are also in pain, with Turkish lira and Argentine peso both sharply weaker.

Now U.S. data need to keep surprising on the upside or even just meet expectations. The International Monetary Fund sees U.S. growth at 2.3 percent this year. For Germany, the forecast is 0.8 percent. The U.S. economy’s rude health has given rise to speculation the Fed might resume raising interest rates. Unlikely. But as other countries — Canada, Sweden and Australia are the latest — hint at more policy easing, there seems to be one way the dollar can go. Up.

(GRAPHIC: Dollar outperforms G10 FX – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dz17S5)

2/FED: UP OR DOWN?

Wall Street is near record highs and recession worries are receding, so as we mentioned above, investors might wonder if the Federal Reserve will start raising rates again.

Such a pivot is unlikely after the Fed killed off rate-rise expectations at its March meeting. And the latest Reuters poll all but puts to bed any risk of rates will go up this economic cycle, given inflation remains below the Fed’s alarm threshold and unemployment is the lowest in generations.

Before the March rate-pause announcement, a preponderance of economists penciled in one or more increases this year. But that has flipped. A majority of those surveyed April 22-24 see no further tightening through December and more are leaning toward a cut by the end of next year.

Indeed, interest rate futures imply Fed Funds will be below the current 2.25-2.50 percent target range by this December.

Recent positive consumer spending and exports data have eased market concerns of a sharp economic slowdown. But inflation probably needs to run hot for a long period to panic policymakers off their wait-and-see course.     

(GRAPHIC: Federal funds and the economy – https://tmsnrt.rs/2DzjTZz)

3/HEISEI TO REIWA

Next week ends three decades of Japan’s Heisei era. Heisei, or Achieving Peace, began in 1989 near the peak of a massive stock market bubble and closes with the country trapped in low growth, no inflation, and negative interest rates.

The new era that dawns on May 1 is called Reiwa, meaning Beautiful Harmony. It begins when Crown Prince Naruhito ascends the Chrysanthemum Throne. But do investors really want harmony? What they want to see is a bit of economic growth and inflation to shake up the status quo.

The Bank of Japan’s stimulus toolkit to revive a long-suffering economy is anything but harmonious and yet it’s set to stay. The central bank confirmed recently rates will stay near zero for a long time. But the coming days may not be harmonious or peaceful for currency markets. A 10-day Golden Week holiday kicks off on April 29 and investors are fretting over the risk of a “flash crash” – a violent currency spasm that can occur in times of thin trading turnover.

The year has already seen two yen spikes and many, including Japan’s housewife-trader brigade – so-called Mrs Watanabes – appear to have bought yen as the holiday approaches. Their short dollar/long yen positions recently reached record highs, stock exchange data showed.

(GRAPHIC: Japan stocks: from Hensei to Reiwa – https://tmsnrt.rs/2W6a7Fe)

4/EARNING TURNING

Quarterly earnings were supposed to be the worst in Europe in almost three years, but with a third of results in, things are looking a little rosier.

Two-thirds of companies’ results have beat expectations, and they point to earnings growth of 4.5 percent year-on-year. Financials have delivered the biggest surprises, according to analysis by Barclays.

That might just show how low expectations were. In fact, analysts are still taking a red pen to their estimates.

The latest I/B/E/S data from Refinitiv shows analysts on average expect first-quarter earnings-per-share for STOXX 600-listed companies to fall 4.2 percent. That would be their worst quarter since 2016 and down sharply from an estimated 3.4 percent just a week earlier.

Those estimates may end up being a little too bearish as earnings season goes on, quelling worries that Europe is heading toward a corporate recession.

GSK and Reckitt Benckiser will give the market a glimpse of the health of the consumer products market and spending on everything from toothpaste, washing powder and paracetamol.

(GRAPHIC: Earnings forecasts – https://tmsnrt.rs/2DuO2ZF)

5/WAITING FOR THE OLD LADY

Sterling has gone into the doldrums amid the Brexit delay and unproductive talks between the UK government and the opposition Labour party on a EU withdrawal deal. The resurgent dollar, meanwhile, has taken 2 percent off the pound in April. It is unlikely the Bank of England will be able to rouse it at its May 2 meeting.

Despite robust retail and jobs data of late, the economic picture is gloomy – 2019 growth is likely to be around 1.2 percent, the weakest since 2009, investment is down and Governor Mark Carney says business uncertainty is “through the roof”.

Indeed, expectations for an interest rate increase have been whittled down; Reuters polls forecast rates will not move until early 2020, a calendar quarter later than was forecast a month ago. The hunt for a new governor to replace Carney in October adds more uncertainty to the mix.

The recent run of UK data has fueled hopes of economic rebound. That’s put net hedge fund positions in the pound into positive territory for the first time in nearly a year. The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street might temper some of that optimism.

(GRAPHIC: Sterling positions – https://tmsnrt.rs/2XJwUXX)

(Reporting by Alden Bentley in New York, Vidya Ranganathan in Singapore; Karin Strohecker, Josephine Mason and Saikat Chatterjee in London; compiled by Sujata Rao; edited by Larry King)

Source: OANN

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