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Brexit reprieve boosts European shares

The German share price index DAX graph at the stock exchange in Frankfurt
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Staff

March 22, 2019

(Reuters) – European stock markets rose on Friday, relieved at the European Union’s agreement on a two-week reprieve that precludes Britain crashing out of the bloc without a deal next week.

The communique from Thursday’s meeting of EU leaders also kept the door open to a longer extension if Prime Minister Theresa May, as expected, fails at the third attempt to gain parliament’s approval for her negotiated exit deal.

After two days of losses, the pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.3 percent, led by 0.6 percent gains for Germany’s DAX and a 0.2 percent rise in French stocks.

As has often been the case on Brexit, London’s blue chip FTSE 100, packed with companies dependent on international revenues which tend to lose when sterling rises, dipped 0.2 percent.

The pound, fluctuating heavily in the past week on Brexit twists and turns, was up 0.3 percent in early trade.

Shares in Deutsche Bank, up earlier this week on the prospect of a merger with Commerzbank, rose more than 2 percent after disclosures showed its board members received their first bonuses in four years.

The retail sector led gains with a roughly 1 percent rise, while tech stocks, on a tear after surprisingly upbeat results from chipmaker Micron earlier this week, gained another 0.6 percent, tracking gains on Wall Street and in Asia.

German chipmaker Siltronic AG was the Stoxx 600’s top gainer with a 3.6 percent rise.

Adidas AG and Puma SE both gained after a disappointing quarterly report from rival Nike Inc which hinted at a slowing of the U.S. firm’s momentum in its home market.

Despite the relief, there were more signs of firms making preparations for a no-deal Brexit that is likely to send a depressive shock coursing through Europe’s major economies.

British low-cost airline EasyJet said on Friday it was ready to suspend the voting rights of a small number of shares to comply with rules that require 50 percent plus one share of the company to be owned by EU shareholders following Brexit.

Goldman Sachs analysts reduced the likelihood of May’s deal passing to just 50 percent, while raising the chances of “no-deal” to 15 percent. The bank continues to put the chances of no Brexit at all at 35 percent.

(Reporting by Medha Singh and Patrick Graham,)

Source: OANN

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Massachusetts won’t score students on slavery essay question

Massachusetts education officials have decided on the unusual step of not scoring 10th grade students on a statewide exam question that some considered racially insensitive.

The Boston Globe reports that the essay question on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System exam was based on a passage from the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Underground Railroad." Students were asked to write an essay from the perspective of a white woman who's conflicted about helping an escaped slave and uses derogatory language toward her.

Students complained that they were put in the uncomfortable position of either using racist language or sacrificing historical accuracy. The Massachusetts Teachers Association objected to the MCAS question. The organization says answering it could be especially traumatic for African American students.

State Education Commissioner Jeffrey Riley says the question was intended to challenge students, but he fully understands the concerns.

Source: Fox News National

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‘Russia has invaded Estonia, NATO is on the way’: German TV plumbs depths with fake war broadcast

A respected German analytical TV program opened its latest edition by informing viewers that Russian forces intruded into the Baltics. Was this “fantasy” just juvenile attention-seeking, or crude pro-NATO propaganda?

“Together with European and German allies, the US army is currently moving through land, air and sea to Estonia to expel Russian forces, which have once again invaded, as in Crimea before,” announced a worried Claus Kleber, host of heute journal, on the national public broadcaster ZDF Thursday night.

As millions of viewers tensed up, the veteran host announced that it was a “gotcha!”

“Do not worry. It is not true. This is just a fantasy scenario – but a realistic one,” said Kleber.

One of the biggest names in German journalism, Kleber explained that the fake-out was designed to make it clear that a war may be imminent, that it is likely to be a surprise, and that Germany will have to defend even its smallest allies, including Estonia.

“The problem today is that NATO seems more fragile today on its 70th birthday than during any time in its history. During which it has been an unprecedented success story,” said the host, before introducing a piece that gave a potted history of the alliance, from its post-WWII founding, to supposed revanchism from Russia, to its current bête noire Donald Trump.

Unless one believes there is truly some valid insight that is achieved by the entire episode, there are two ways of looking at these sub-Orson Welles shenanigans.

The first is to regard the modern news media as entertainers, who are not to be taken at face value. For all his PhD qualifications and long history as a top foreign correspondent, Kleber leads a moribund broadcast format – a scheduled news magazine show on terrestrial TV – and is trying to stay relevant by turning ever-more shrill. In the bland world of Germany’s news media, the more provocative approach has led to higher ratings for the esteemed heute-journal.

In this case, this stunt is merely borderline trolling that simply trivializes the very real concerns in the region, and among NATO allies through hyperbole. Estonia is not just some made-up country to be used as a storytelling prop.

But there is a less charitable interpretation: what if people are taking this seriously?

Imagine reading in the Western media that a Russian state channel was now putting out fake news bulletins about NATO invading Kaliningrad. Would you think this is provocative journalism or would you reckon that the Kremlin is irresponsibly stoking tensions, and preparing Russians for a confrontation with the West?

And for all the silliness, telling people “there will be a war with Russia, so you must love NATO” is not some irreverent journalistic opinion, it is the government line, beamed into homes across Germany as scaremongering, hysterical propaganda. Is this the  media really want to play?

Source: InfoWars

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First shipment of Red Cross humanitarian aid arrives in Venezuela

A worker directs trucks with logo of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) carrying humanitarian aid, at a warehouse where the aid will be stored, in Caracas
A worker directs trucks with logo of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) carrying humanitarian aid, at a warehouse where the aid will be stored, in Caracas, Venezuela, April 16, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero

April 16, 2019

CARACAS (Reuters) – The first shipment of humanitarian aid from the Red Cross intended to alleviate a dire economic crisis in Venezuela arrived in the once-prosperous, oil-rich country on Tuesday, a representative of the organization and a lawmaker said.

The delivery came after an about-face by President Nicolas Maduro, who last week said his socialist government had reached an agreement with the Red Cross to bring aid. Maduro had blocked previous efforts to deliver assistance and has denied the existence of a humanitarian crisis.

There was little hope that the shipment – intended to help hospitals cope with shortages of equipment and frequent power outages – would be anything more than a palliative measure for Venezuela, where over three million people have fled the chaos of hyperinflation and chronic shortages of food and medicine.

But opposition lawmaker Miguel Pizarro said the lack of “interference” by Maduro’s government with the entry of aid was a positive step and that more shipments would arrive in the days ahead.

“The same people who had previously denied the arrival (of aid), who had previously brought this country to the verge of confrontation, are today complying with humanitarian principles,” Pizarro told reporters at the Congress, adding that the Red Cross would handle the logistics of distribution.

Venezuela was plunged into a political deadlock in January, when Juan Guaido, the leader of the opposition-controlled National Assembly invoked the country’s constitution to assume an interim presidency, arguing Maduro’s 2018 re-election was illegitimate.

Guaido has since been recognized as Venezuela’s rightful leader by most Western nations. Several countries, including the United States and neighboring Colombia, contributed to a February effort to deliver aid across Venezuela’s land borders, in the hopes soldiers would disavow Maduro’s orders to block it.

While that effort failed, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in late March it was prepared to start an aid operation.

Tuesday’s shipment, which arrived via airplane from Panama, included 14 power generators, 5,000 liters of distilled water, and three surgery equipment kits capable of serving 10,000 patients each, according to the Red Cross.

Mario Villarroel, the Red Cross’ president in Venezuela, said on Twitter that the materials would be distributed to hospitals around the country.

The United Nations estimates that a quarter of Venezuelans are in need of humanitarian assistance, with 1.9 million suffering from malnutrition and some 300,000 whose lives are at risk due to lack of medicine.

(Reporting by Vivian Sequera, Shaylim Castro and Mayela Armas; writing by Luc Cohen; editing by G Crosse)

Source: OANN

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Critics slam UN for pointing fingers at Israel in new report while not also condemning Hamas' use of human shields

It has almost been one year since the start of the Gaza-Israel border uprisings that left 189 Palestinians dead in a monthslong rash of violent demonstrations demanding an end to the blockade on Gaza and the right to return to their lands. To mark the March 30 anniversary, a three-person U.N. war crimes investigation team, as part of a Commission of Inquiry (COI), has released a report indicating that Israeli security forces committed possible war crimes and crimes against humanity, and this week called on Israelis to prevent snipers from using lethal force against demonstrators.

However, Israel supporters and U.N. critics have this week blasted the leading human rights body and the report for failing to illuminate alleged Hamas war crimes – in particular, the widespread and illegal use of human shields.

“Since the 2014 Gaza conflict, Hamas (has) used civilians as human shields for its own fighters. Similar tactics were successfully adopted by Hezbollah against Israel in their 2006 conflict,” Lt. Gen Richard Natonski, a retired U.S. Marine and member of the Hybrid Warfare Task Force at the Jewish Institute for National Security America (JINSA), told Fox News. “The use of human shields in combat is contrary to Western thinking and the law of armed conflict. It’s hard to imagine how this wasn't mentioned in the U.N. report, except for perhaps a certain bias by the authors of the report against Israel."

ISRAEL’S AMBASSADOR CALLS ON UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL TO CONDEMN HAMAS FOLLOWING ROCKET ATTACKS

JINSA has issued its own report, “Defending the Fence: Legal and Operational Challenges in Hamas-Israel Clashes,” to counter the U.N. report's narrative.

“Hamas systematically violates international law by purposely using Gazan Palestinian civilians as human shields for attacking Israel, provoking Israeli actions that would lead to civilian casualties, and attacking Israeli civilians indiscriminately,” the JINSA report stated, underscoring that the COI’s report both “undermines the international legal regime it seeks to enhance and sets a precedent encouraging Hamas and similar armed groups to double down on these illegal tactics.”

President Trump at a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations General Assembly in September. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

President Trump at a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations General Assembly in September. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

Some Israel supporters have accused the U.N. Human Rights Council of being complicit in Hamas’ “terror campaign” against Israel.

“The U.N. report validates the illegal tactics used by Hamas against Israel, and sets a precedent encouraging not only Hamas, but similar groups like Hezbollah, to continue placing civilians in harm’s way,” Natonski said.

Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have been quick to condemn the U.N. council and its report as anti-Semitic and partisan. Israel went on to boycott its debate on Monday as hundreds of Israel proponents – including American officials – massed outside the U.N. building in Geneva.

The 252-page U.N. report makes brief mention of Israeli claims that Hamas, a designated terrorist organization in the United States, was using human shields and that journalists were acting as shields to protect Hamas operatives.

TRUMP TEAM VOWS TO HIT BACK AGAINST RUSSIA AND CHINA’S 'POLAR SILK ROAD' WITH ARCTIC DEFENSE STRATEGY

“Terrorists’ use of human shields is a remarkably effective tactic against countries like the U.S. and Israel, whose ethical and military codes require avoiding civilian casualties. Terrorists hide among civilians to shelter themselves from lawful attacks or deliberately cause civilian casualties,” said Mark Dubowitz, the CEO of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD). “Terrorists and their sponsoring regimes must be held accountable for their brutal practice of using civilians as human shields. The U.N. Commission’s unwillingness to hold Hamas accountable for its war crimes only costs more civilian lives.”

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz joined the chorus of condemnation by taking aim at the U.N. report, calling the “useful idiots” at the United Nations “absurd and dishonest.”

“Hamas and Hezbollah use human shields as a deliberate tactic,” the veteran GOP lawmaker said. “They use innocent Palestinian civilians, to put them in harm’s way, because they intend to exploit those human shields for when they are injured or killed when Israel defends itself.”

The Trump administration pulled out of the U.N Human Rights Council last year, specifying an inherent anti-Israel prejudice at the organization as a key reason for withdrawal.

Despite the criticism, the COI is remaining firm in their findings, which allege that 183 or the 189 who were killed in the skirmishes – which also included 32 children – were killed by live fire, and that such live ammunition also wounded more than 6,000 Palestinians.

Protesters wave their national flags while others burn tires near the fence of Gaza Strip border with Israel during a protest east of Gaza City, Friday, Nov. 9. Gaza's Hamas rulers said Friday that deadly protests along Gaza-Israel perimeter fence have achieved some goals; $15 million from Qatar to help pay the salaries of civil servants. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Protesters wave their national flags while others burn tires near the fence of Gaza Strip border with Israel during a protest east of Gaza City, Friday, Nov. 9. Gaza's Hamas rulers said Friday that deadly protests along Gaza-Israel perimeter fence have achieved some goals; $15 million from Qatar to help pay the salaries of civil servants. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

“The most important thing for the government of Israel is to review the rules of engagement immediately and to ensure that the rules of engagement are according to accepted international standards,” Santiago Canton, the commission’s chairman, told the Human Rights Council this week.

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The commission has furthermore submitted a clandestine file to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) naming specific individuals responsible for alleged violations and advocating that the dossier be passed to the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

A new round of protests is expected to commemorate the first anniversary of the uprisings at the end of the month.

Source: Fox News World

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U.S. judge approves bankruptcy loan for California power producer PG&E

FILE PHOTO: Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) trucks are seen parked on a road between homes destroyed by the Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, California
FILE PHOTO: Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) trucks are seen parked on a road between homes destroyed by the Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, California, U.S., October 11, 2017. Picture taken October 11, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

March 27, 2019

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Bankrupt California power provider PG&E Corp won court approval on Wednesday for a $5.5 billion loan to help maintain electricity and natural gas delivery and for investments to reduce the risk of wildfires as it reorganizes.

San Francisco-based PG&E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January in the aftermath of devastating wildfires that struck California in recent years, some linked or suspected to be linked to the company’s equipment.

Judge Dennis Montali of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in San Francisco approved the debtor-in-possession loan over objections of a committee representing victims of wildfires that wanted PG&E to fund a program for housing, food and other necessities for the victims before getting the financing approved.

PG&E filed for bankruptcy protection on Jan. 29 in anticipation of liabilities from the wildfires, including a catastrophic 2018 blaze, the Camp Fire. It killed 86 people in the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history.

The San Francisco-based owner of the biggest U.S. power utility warned in November it could face significant liability in excess of its insurance coverage if its equipment was found to have caused the Camp Fire that destroyed Paradise, California, last year.

PG&E has said it expects its equipment will be determined to have been an ignition source for the Camp Fire.

The financing will comprise a $3.5 billion revolving credit facility, a $1.5 billion term loan and a $500 million delayed-draw term loan.

Investment banks JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Plc and Citigroup Inc will provide financing, the company said in a filing.

(Reporting by Jim Christie in San Francisco; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Source: OANN

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Dem Pres Hopeful Castro Not Ruling out Reparations

Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro isn't ruling out direct payments to African-Americans for the legacy of slavery — a stand separating him from his 2020 rivals.

"If under the Constitution we compensate people because we take their property, why wouldn't you compensate people who actually were property," the former Obama-era housing secretary and ex-San Antonio mayor said on Sunday.

Castro was among the last of a pack of 2020 candidates to speak at the South by Southwest Festival in Texas, in what amounted to one of the biggest gatherings of the Democratic field yet.

As Democrats have addressed reparations in the early stages of the race, other candidates are discussing tax credits and other subsidies, rather than direct payments for the labor and legal oppression of slaves and their descendants. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders would put resources such as "Medicare for All" and tuition-free college into distressed communities.

Castro tells CNN's "State of the Union" he doesn't think that's the proper argument for reparations if "a big check needs to be written for a whole bunch of other stuff." Castro stopped short of saying he would push for direct compensation to descendants as president, saying instead that he would appoint a commissioner or task force that would make recommendations.

Sanders was in New Hampshire, while Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts was in Dallas, Kamala Harris of California was in Miami and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota was in Tampa.

Other highlights from Sunday's campaigning:

BERNIE SANDERS

The Vermont senator emphasized his rise from longshot candidate to major Democratic presidential contender in his first trip to New Hampshire since launching another run for president.

Sanders said his ideas that seemed "radical and extreme" four years ago are now helping define Democrats campaigns across the country.

"Those ideas that we talked about when I came here to New Hampshire four years ago, ideas that seemed so very radical at that time," Sanders said. "Well, today, virtually all of those ideas are supported by a majority of the American people and they are being supported by Democratic candidates from school board to president of the United States."

Sanders topped Hillary Clinton by 22 points in the state's 2016 primary. But he now faces a wider field of rivals who have adopted some of the same views on policy issues he pioneered during his last run for the White House.

"This is where the political revolution took off," Sanders said. "Thank you, New Hampshire."

____

JAY INSLEE

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee laid down a challenge for his 2020 rivals — join him in calling to abolish the Senate filibuster.

Inslee is a newcomer to the Democratic field and is running a campaign that's almost singularly focused on climate change. But he was similarly adamant about doing away with the Senate filibuster while speaking to a small audience early Sunday morning at SXSW.

He said the six Democratic senators currently running for the White House shouldn't think twice.

"Maybe they get religion on this and realize that the filibuster is going to stop us from doing anything from health care to climate change," Inslee said. "As long as Mitch McConnell has the keys to the car, we're not going to drive it anywhere."

He was followed on stage by Castro, who also signaled an openness to the Senate doing away with the filibuster, which is a procedural tool that requires a supermajority of at least 60 votes to pass many big items, instead of a simple majority.

JOHN HICKENLOOPER

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said he's not cut out for the Senate — and that he doesn't see himself switching races if his presidential run fizzles out.

"I don't see it in my future," Hickenlooper said.

Democrats have sights on Sen. Cory Gardner's seat. The Colorado Republican is up for re-election in 2020. Hickenlooper said he's spoken with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer but says he considers running for president a calling.

Hickenlooper also said decriminalizing prostitution is worth exploring. He brought up the recent Florida crackdown on massage parlor prostitution and investigation into human trafficking, which resulted in New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft being charged with two misdemeanor counts of prostitution. Kraft has pleaded not guilty.

"There are a lot of arguments, and I think they're worth taking into serious consideration, that legalizing prostitution and regulating where there are norms and protections" to prevent abuse should be looked at, Hickenlooper said.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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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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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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Sudan’s military, which ousted President Omar al-Bashir after months of protests against his 30-year rule, says it intends to keep the upper hand during the country’s transitional period to civilian rule.

The announcement is expected to raise tensions with the protesters, who demand immediate handover of power.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which is spearheading the protests, said Friday the crowds will stay in the streets until all their demands are met.

Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi, the spokesman for the military council, said late Thursday that the military will “maintain sovereign powers” while the Cabinet would be in the hands of civilians.

The protesters insist the country should be led by a “civilian sovereign” council with “limited military representation” during the transitional period.

The army toppled and arrested al-Bashir on April 11.

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture
FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

April 26, 2019

By Charlotte Greenfield

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies said Britain’s decision to allow the firm a restricted role in building parts of its next-generation telecoms network was the kind of solution it was hoping for in New Zealand, where it has been blocked from 5G plans.

Britain will ban Huawei from all core parts of 5G network but give it some access to non-core parts, sources have told Reuters, as it seeks a middle way in a bitter U.S.-China dispute stemming from American allegations that Huawei’s equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage.

Washington has also urged its allies to ban Huawei from building 5G networks, even as the Chinese company, the world’s top producer of telecoms equipment, has repeatedly said the spying concerns are unfounded.

In New Zealand, a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network that includes the United States, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) in November turned down an initial request from local telecommunication firm Spark to include Huawei equipment in its 5G network, but later gave the operator options to mitigate national security concerns.

“The proposed solution in the UK to restrict Huawei from bidding for the core is exactly the type of solution we have been looking at in New Zealand,” Andrew Bowater, deputy CEO of Huawei’s New Zealand arm, said in an emailed statement.

Spark said it has noted the developments in Britain and would raise it with the GCSB.

The reports “suggest the UK is following other European jurisdictions in taking a considered and balanced approach to managing supplier-related security risks in 5G”, Andrew Pirie, Spark’s corporate relations lead, said in an email.

“Our discussions with the GCSB are ongoing and we expect that the UK developments will be a further item of discussion between us,” Pirie added.

New Zealand’s minister for intelligence services, Andrew Little, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday that he would report to parliament the conclusions of a government review of the 5G supply chain once they had been taken.

He added that the disclosure of confidential discussions on the role of Huawei was “unacceptable” and that he could not rule out a criminal investigation into the leak.

The decisions by Britain and Germany to use Huawei gear in non-core parts of 5G network makes it harder to prove Huawei should be kept out of New Zealand telecommunication networks, said Syed Faraz Hasan, an expert in communication engineering and networks at New Zealand’s Massey University

He pointed out Huawei gear was already part of the non-core 4G networks that 5G infrastructure would be built on.

“Unless there is a convincing argument against the Huawei devices … it is difficult to keep them away,” Hasan said.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo commodities trader Glencore is pictured in Baar
FILE PHOTO: The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company’s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Glencore shares plunged the most in nearly four months on Friday after news overnight that U.S. regulators were investigating whether the miner broke some rules through “corrupt practices”.

Shares of the FTSE 100 company fell as much as 4.2 percent in early deals, and were down 3.5 percent at 310.25 pence by 0728 GMT.

On Thursday, Glencore said the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating whether the company and its units have violated some provisions of the Commodity ExchangeAct and/or CFTC Regulations.

(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

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