Japan's Minister of Economic Revitalization Toshimitsu Motegi speaks during the signing agreement ceremony for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, in Santiago, Chile March 8, 2018. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido
April 2, 2019
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan and the United States are likely to hold their first round of trade talks in Washington on April 15-16, a Japanese government source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters earlier on Tuesday he would travel to the United States as early as this month to start negotiations with his counterpart U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
U.S. President Donald Trump has made clear he is unhappy with Japan’s $69 billion trade surplus with the United States – nearly two-thirds of it from auto exports – and wants a two-way agreement to address it.
Trade frictions between Tokyo and Washington have been present since Trump took office in 2017 with a pledge to renegotiate trade deals he considers unfair to U.S. companies and workers.
The Trump administration is also engaged in ongoing trade talks with both the European Union and China as part of the Republican president’s “America First” agenda.
Japanese government officials are increasingly worried that Trump will demand a reduction in the number of Japanese auto imports to lower the trade deficit.
They are also concerned that Trump could impose steep import tariffs on autos and auto parts, which would deal a big blow to the export-reliant economy.
Abe may meet President Donald Trump in the United States in late April for talks on North Korea and Japan-U.S. trade.
Trump is expected to make a decision some time in May about whether to unleash steep tariffs on imported cars and auto parts after he commissioned a report from the U.S. Commerce Department to determine the effects of imports on national security.
(Reporting by Yoshifumi Takemoto; Writing by Stanley White; Editing by Sam Holmes)
FILE PHOTO: Samples of products of Fresenius and Fresenius Medical Care are on display during the company's annual news conference at their head quarters in Bad Homburg Germany, February 20, 2019. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
March 29, 2019
(Reuters) – Germany-based dialysis clinic operator Fresenius Medical Care AG will pay about $231 million to resolve criminal and civil allegations that the company paid bribes to public health and government officials in a variety of countries in order to win or retain business, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday.
As part of the settlement, the company admitted that it doled out bribes to officials in Angola and Saudi Arabia from 2007 through 2016, and also failed to maintain proper internal accounting controls, the department said.
(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington and Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Robert and Marion Murphy peek into their damaged shop in the Pemberton Quarters strip mall following severe weather Saturday, April 13, 2019 in Vicksburg, Miss. Authorities say a possible tornado has touched down in western Mississippi, causing damage to several businesses and vehicles. John Moore, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Jackson, says a twister was reported Saturday in the Vicksburg area of Mississippi and was indicated on radar. (Courtland Wells/The Vicksburg Post via AP)
The Latest on severe weather in the South (all times local):
12:45 a.m.
Multiple people have been reported injured as tornadoes continued to flare along the Mississippi-Alabama state line late Saturday and early Sunday.
Monroe County Coroner Alan Gurley says multiple people were injured and multiple homes were damaged in Hamilton, Mississippi, which is 60 miles (100 kilometers) southwest of Memphis, Tennessee. A tornado was reported in the area at the time.
At least one mobile home was destroyed, throwing a man from the mobile home. No fatalities were reported.
The roof of a hotel in New Albany, Mississippi, was damaged, although the cause was unclear.
A twister hit Vicksburg, Mississippi early Saturday evening. Earlier, two children died in East Texas after a tree fell on their moving car.
___
11:30 p.m.
Deadly storms continue to move across the South after spawning suspected tornadoes and damaging several homes.
The National Weather Service says a twister was reported Saturday night in the Vicksburg, Mississippi, area. No injuries were reported, and news footage showed shattered windows and rooftop debris.
In East Texas, authorities say two children were killed when high winds toppled a tree onto the back of the family car while it was in motion. The Angelina County Sheriff's Office says an 8-year-old and 3-year-old died after the tree hit the back of the car in Lufkin, about 115 miles (185 kilometers) northeast of Houston. The parents in the front seats were not hurt.
The weather service also says preliminary information showed an EF-3 tornado with winds of 140 mph touched down in Franklin, located about 125 miles (200 kilometers) south of Dallas.
Feces smeared on walls, intentional fires and theft plague churches across France as police figures show 875 of the country’s 42,258 churches were vandalized in 2018.
As Infowars’ Paul Joseph Watson reported just hours before the Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire, “The number of anti-religious attacks against Jews and Christians in France continues to rise, while attacks against Muslims are at their lowest for 9 years.”
The church attacks have some politicians saying France’s Christian heritage being threatened by “militant secularists.”
“Every day, at least two churches are profaned,” Republican MP MP Valerie Boyer stated.
Meanwhile, according to Newsweek, some French officials say they “don’t know why” the churches have been targeted.
While the cause of the Notre Dame inferno is still unknown, one hypothesis is Islamic arson, but MSM is stopping anyone who dares mention this from speaking out.
For example, Fox News’ Shepard Smith and Neil Cavuto both cut off guests who alluded to the possibility of the fire being intentional.
A TIME Magazine columnist, Christopher J. Hale, claimed a worker at the cathedral told him the blaze was purposely started.
The media is also covering up the celebration of the cathedral’s destruction on social media, claiming Infowars lied about people reacting with smiley face emojis despite video evidence.
A brief summary of who is responding to the tragic Notre Dame fire with 'smiley faces' on Facebook. Appalling. pic.twitter.com/OBANPl9Wpv
Will we ever get to the bottom of the tragic destruction of the 800-year-old historic site, or will political correctness stop a real investigation from taking place?
Although Islamic terrorism and threats against Christians are on the rise in Europe, the MSM appears ready to censor any opinions that the fire at Notre Dame may have been a terror attack.
Alex breaks down how even french officials are now questioning the true motives of this tragedy.
This combination of undated photos released by the Jefferson County, Colo., Sheriff's Office on Tuesday, April 16, 2019 shows Sol Pais. (Jefferson County Sheriff's Office via AP)
Colorado schools are on edge Wednesday after a Miami woman “infatuated” with the 1999 Columbine massacre made threats and traveled to Colorado where she bought firearms earlier this week, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI.
Sol Pais, 18, who has a history of making “concerning” comments, arrived in Colorado from Miami early Monday and bought a pump action shotgun and ammunition, the FBI told reporters Tuesday evening. The FBI’s Miami office had reportedly alerted its Denver counterpart after learning of the potential threat.
Authorities said Pais was last seen in the foothills of Denver and remains at large. The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is currently leading multiple agencies in a massive manhunt. While no warrant has been issued for her arrest, the FBI said that district attorneys and the U.S. attorney’s office are discussing appropriate charges.
The FBI's Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force issued a notice Tuesday describing Pais as "infatuated with (the) Columbine school shooting." The alert said police who come into contact with her should detain her and evaluate her mental health.
More than 20 schools -- including Columbine -- were put on lockouts Tuesday, meaning classes were conducted as usual, but entry and exits were heavily restricted for nearly three hours. Officials have not made a decision about whether to keep schools open on Wednesday, the Denver Channel reported.
“We are holding off on that decision and not announcing now because it is changing by the minute,” Stan Hilke of the Department of Public Safety said.
Authorities said Pais hasn't singled out a particular school but has an "infatuation" with Columbine and the Columbine shooters. The threat comes just days ahead of the massacre's 20th anniversary.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Jerome Corsi, an associate of former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stone who was caught up in the Russia investigation, told Newsmax TV the Mueller report released Thursday shows no legal action will be taken against him.
"I'm feeling pretty good, John," Corsi told "Newsmax Now" host John Bachman. "First of all, it's very clear I'm not gonna be indicted, even though they gave me a plea deal, that they wanted me to plead to one charge on.
"In my most recent book, 'Silent No More,' I explain it was psychologically very abusive. These Mueller people, I think, used prosecutorial misconduct techniques in the way I was questioned. They were desperate to have me make a link between Roger Stone and Julian Assange, which then I think was fundamental, very key to their whole collusion argument."
President Donald Trump was cleared of conspiring with the Russians, and the Department of Justice said there was not enough evidence to show he obstructed justice by trying to squash the investigation.
Corsi echoed his past claims Mueller's team tried to have him admit he was the conduit between WikiLeaks, which published documents damaging to Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016, and Stone.
"The prosecutors went insane that I figured this out on my own that [WikiLeaks founder Julian] Assange had [Clinton campaign chairman John] Podesta's emails, and I did not have a contact with Julian Assange or Wikileaks whatsoever," Corsi said.
Important:Newsmax TV is now carried in 65 million cable homes on DirecTV Ch. 349, Dish Network Ch. 216, Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 1115, U-verse Ch. 1220, FiOS Ch. 615 or More Systems Here.
In an email obtained by The Daily Caller, infamous abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell expresses his concern that more states aren’t passing late-term abortion laws.
The email was part of a correspondence between Gosnell, who is being held at the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, and producers of the film.
In 2013, Gosnell was convicted of first-degree murder after carrying out possibly hundreds of illegal, late-term abortions.
The abortionist was also charged with involuntary manslaughter after a woman died while under his care.
In the 2017 book, Gosnell: The Untold Story of America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer, the disgraced doctor voiced optimism for an eventual vindication of his heinous actions.
“It helps that I very strongly believe myself to be innocent of the heinous crimes of which I am accused…I continue to feel optimistic of the eventual outcome…the vindication of what I’ve done, why I’ve done it and how [it] will become accepted within my lifetime,” he said.
Now, following the passage of late-term abortion laws in New York and Virginia, Gosnell is unhappy with Pennsylvania’s current legal stance on the issue.
Meanwhile, the writer and producer of the film, “Gosnell,” Phelim McAleer and Ann McElhinney, are questioning whether the murderous doctor would even be convicted in today’s pro-abortion political climate.
McAleer noted, “Ralph Northam put Gosnell into a grey area. Ralph Northam showed it was OK for a baby to die after a botched abortion.”
“Previously, it had been accepted that a baby that survived an abortion could not be killed either by action or inaction,” McAleer continued.
In February of 2019, Senate Democrats blocked the Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act, which would have prevented the killing of newborns who survive abortions.
President Trump voiced his disdain for the decision in the tweet below.
Senate Democrats just voted against legislation to prevent the killing of newborn infant children. The Democrat position on abortion is now so extreme that they don’t mind executing babies AFTER birth….
One of the producers, Phelim McAleer, who also co-authored a book about the abortionist convicted of murder, joined David Knight to explain the establishment attempts to block the movie from crowdfunding, censor on social media, block media buys of ads and shut down screenings.
Also, one of the stars of the film, Dean Cain, was attacked by Tom Arnold.
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs for travel to Indianapolis, Indiana from the White House in Washington, U.S., April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
April 26, 2019
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said trade talks with China are going very well, as the world’s two largest economies seek to end talks with a trade agreement to defuse tensions.
Trump said on Thursday he would soon host China’s President Xi Jinping at the White House.
Earlier this week, the White House said that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would travel to Beijing for more talks on a trade dispute marked by tit-for-tat tariffs between the two countries.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up to his audience as he hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
April 26, 2019
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday praised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments on North Korea this week following the Russian leader’s summit with Pyongyang’s Kim Jong Un.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump also said China was helping with efforts aimed at the denuclearization of North Korea.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Makini Brice; Writing by Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
Representatives of Russian Transneft, Ukranian Ukrtransnafta, Polish Pern and Belarusian Belneftekhim gather to hold talks on fixing tainted oil supplies to Europe, in Minsk, Belarus April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko
April 26, 2019
By Katya Golubkova and Andrei Makhovsky
MOSCOW/MINSK (Reuters) – Russia is confident it can soon resolve a problem of polluted Russian oil contaminating a major pipeline serving Europe and affecting supplies as far west as Germany, a senior official said on Friday at talks with importers about the issue.
Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin did not give a precise timeframe but Moscow has previously said it would pump clean oil to the border with Belarus from April 29, seeking to end a crisis hitting the world’s second-largest crude exporter.
Sorokin was speaking at talks with officials from Belarus, Poland and Ukraine in Minsk on the issue. Belarus said the issue had cost it $100 million, while analysts say alternative supply routes for refiners cannot fully fill the gap.
Poland, Germany, Ukraine and Slovakia have suspended imports of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline. Halting those supplies has knock-on effects further along the network.
The problem arose last week when an unidentified Russian producer contaminated oil with high levels of organic chloride used to boost oil output but which must be separated before shipment as it can destroy refining equipment.
Russia’s Energy Ministry said pipeline monopoly Transneft and other Russian companies had a plan to mitigate the effects of the contaminated oil. It did not give details.
Russian officials have said contaminated oil has already been pumped into storage in Russia and Friday’s talks would focus on how to partially withdraw the tainted crude from the Druzhba pipeline running via other countries.
The suspension cuts off a major supply route for Polish refineries owned by Poland’s PKN Orlen and Grupa Lotos, as well as plants in Germany owned by Total, Shell, Eni and Rosneft.
Some refiners have outlined plans for alternative supplies, but analysts say other routes cannot meet the shortfall.
OIL PRICES
Ukraine’s Ukrtransnafta suspended the transit of oil through the pipeline on Thursday, closing supplies via Druzhba’s southern route to Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary.
The pipeline issue, which has supported global oil prices, lifted Russian Urals crude differentials to an all-time high on Thursday.
With pipeline supplies to Europe shut, Russia faces a challenge of how to divert about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) that was meant to be shipped through the network to other destinations at the time when export capacity is at its limits.
State-run Russian Railways held talks with energy firms on using up to 5,000 rail tankers to transport crude, RIA news agency reported on Friday.
Concerns about the quality of Urals crude also caused delays in loadings at the Baltic port of Ust-Luga, when buyers refused to lift cargoes, resulting in a brief shutdown of the port on Wednesday and Thursday. An Ust-Luga official and traders said on Friday loadings had resumed.
Russian loading plans indicate it aims to boost Urals exports in May before the expiry of a deal on output cuts agreed with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, Reuters calculations and Energy Ministry data show.
The provisional loading plan for Russia’s Baltic Sea ports and Novorossiisk in May show exports rising to 10.7 million tonnes, the highest level in half a decade.
Minsk estimated its loss from lower oil product exports due to contaminated Russian oil at around $100 million, Russia’s Interfax news agency reported on Thursday, citing Belarusian state oil company Belneftekhim.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, in charge of government energy policy, said this week that those found responsible for contaminating the oil could be fined. He did not provide names.
(Reporting by Agnieszka Barteczko in WARSAW, Sandor Peto in BUDAPEST, Jason Hovet in PRAGUE, Matthias Williams and Natalia Zinets in KIEV, Katya Golubkova, Olesya Astakhova, Gleb Gorodyankin, Olga Yagova and Maxim Rodionov in MOSCOW, Andrei Makhovsky in MINSK; writing by Katya Golubkova; editing by Michael Perry and Edmund Blair)
FILE PHOTO: A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo
April 26, 2019
(Reuters) – India has once again delayed the implementation of higher tariffs on some goods imported from the United States to May 15, a government official said on Friday.
The new tariff structure was to come into force from May 2, the spokeswoman said without citing reasons for the delay.
Angered by Washington’s refusal to exempt it from new steel and aluminum tariffs, New Delhi decided in June last year to raise the import tax from Aug. 4 on some U.S. products including almonds, walnuts and apples.
But since then, New Delhi has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the new tariff.
Trade friction between India and the U.S. has escalated after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans earlier this year to end preferential trade treatment for India that allows duty-free entry for up to $5.6 billion worth of its exports to the United States.
In a further blow, U.S. on Monday demanded buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers including India to continue importing limited volumes.
(Reporting by Manoj Kumar in New Delhi and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Raissa Kasolowsky)
Joe Biden has hired Symone Sanders, a prominent political strategist, as a senior adviser to his newly launched presidential campaign. (Gian Ehrenzeller/Keystone via AP)
One of Joe Biden’s newly-hired senior advisers has seemingly had a very recent change of heart.
But Sanders, who has also served as a CNN contributor, is seen in resurfaced footage from November 2016 expressing her opposition to a white person leading her party after Donald Trump’s election.
“In my opinion, we don’t need white people leading the Democratic party right now,” Sanders told host Brianna Keilar during a discussion on Howard Dean potentially becoming DNC chairman.
“The Democratic party is diverse, and it should be reflected as so in leadership and throughout the staff, at the highest levels. From the vice chairs to the secretaries all the way down to the people working in the offices at the DNC,” she said.
Sanders wrapped up her remarks by saying: “I want to hear more from everybody. I want to hear from the millennials and the brown folks.”
“@JoeBiden & @DrBiden are a class act. Over the course of this campaign, Vice President Biden is going to make his case to the American ppl. He won’t always be perfect, but I believe he will get it right,” she wrote.
The hiring of Sanders has been viewed as another indication of the expected tough fight that Biden and Sanders are in for as the two frontrunners battle a deep Democratic field.
Biden’s entry into the race – at least in the early going – sets up a battle between himself and Sanders, who thanks to his fierce fight with eventual nominee Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination, enjoys name ID on the level of the former vice president.
Justice Democrats — who also called Biden “out-of-touch” – is an increasingly influential group among the left of the party. They’ve championed progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York as well as Sanders. The group was founded by members of Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.
Biden has pushed back against the perception that he’s a moderate in a party that’s increasingly moving to the left. Earlier this month he described himself as an “Obama-Biden Democrat.”
And Biden said he’d stack his record against “anybody who has run or who is running now or who will run.”
Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile – a Fox News contributor – highlighted that “Joe Biden can occupy his own lane in large part because he’s earned it. He’s earned the right to call himself whatever.”
But she emphasized that “elections are not about the past, they’re about the future…I do believe he has the right ingredients. The question is can he find enough people to help him stir the pot.”
Fox News Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.
Click below to consent to the use of the cookie technology provided by vi (video intelligence AG) to personalize content and advertising. For more info please access vi's website.