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Global steel demand slows as China economy falters and trade war hits

Steel pipes to be exported are seen at a port in Lianyungang
FILE PHOTO: Steel pipes to be exported are seen at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China December 8, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

April 16, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Growth in global steel demand will weaken over the next two years because of slowing economies, sluggish manufacturing in China and the Sino-U.S. trade war, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) said on Tuesday.

Demand growth will decline to 1.3 percent in 2019 and 1 percent next year, following 2018’s 2.1 percent, the association said.

China, which consumes about half the world’s steel, has seen its economy decelerate mildly while the government continues to steer the country away from investment-led to consumption-led growth, worldsteel said in a statement.

A damaging and long-standing trade conflict between the United States and China has also hurt investment sentiment.

“In 2019 and 2020, global steel demand is expected to continue to grow, but growth rates will moderate in tandem with a slowing global economy,” said Al Remeithi, chairman of the worldsteel economics committee.

Worldsteel pegged demand this year at 1.735 billion tonnes, followed by 1.752 billion tonnes in 2020.

“Uncertainty over the trade environment and volatility in the financial markets have not yet subsided and could pose downside risks to this forecast,” Remeithi warned.

Demand in 2018 and 2019 was cushioned by mild government stimulus in China, the effects of which will subside next year, worldsteel said.

Expectations that the government will boost stimulus measures to support infrastructure projects pushed China’s Shanghai steel futures to a 7-1/2-year high on Monday.

China’s state planner last week drew up a plan for urbanization, including improvements to infrastructure projects in medium-sized and small cities and an expansion of transportation systems.

Elsewhere, demand growth in developed economies is expected to slow to 0.3 percent this year and 0.7 percent in 2020 after last year’s 1.8 percent, reflecting a deteriorating trade environment, worldsteel said.

Demand from developing economies excluding China will rise 2.9 percent and 4.6 percent in 2019 and 2020, respectively.

(Reporting by Zandi Shabalala; Editing by Dale Hudson)

Source: OANN

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Noble’s tomb found in Egypt dates back to early pharaohs

Egypt says archaeologists have found the tomb of a noble from the time of one of the earliest pharaonic dynasties.

The Antiquities Ministry said Tuesday that the tomb uncovered in the Saqqara pyramids complex outside Cairo dates to the 5th Dynasty, which ruled the Nile Valley from 2388-2356 B.C.

Egypt frequently touts new archaeological finds, hoping to encourage tourism.

Source: Fox News World

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Vatican summit on sex abuse focuses calls for accountability

Cardinals attending Pope Francis' summit on preventing clergy sex abuse have called for a new culture of accountability in the Catholic Church to punish bishops and religious superiors who fail to protect their flocks from predator priests.

Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich said Friday that new legal procedures were needed, and that lay experts must be involved at every step of the process to investigate and punish Catholic superiors when they cover up abuse.

Mumbai Cardinal Oswald Gracias said bishops must hold themselves accountable and work together because the problem is not confined to one part of the world.

Francis summoned 190 bishops and religious superiors for the four-day tutorial on preventing abuse and protecting children after the scandal erupted last year in Chile and again in the U.S.

Source: Fox News World

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Bernie Sanders' speechwriter didn't disclose campaign role while writing Twitter attacks on other Dems: report

David Sirota, a journalist and speechwriter officially brought into Sen. Bernie Sanders presidential campaign on Tuesday, failed to disclose his previous work with Sanders while blasting his Democratic opponents online in recent weeks, according to a report.

The Atlantic questioned the Sanders campaign about Sirota's aggressive social media posts hours before its announcement of his hiring as a senior adviser and speechwriter. Sirota frequently trashed other Democrats on Twitter, his own website and in columns in the Guardian without disclosing his work as an unofficial adviser to Sanders.

Many of his attacks were aimed at Democratic candidates Beto O’Rourke, Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Kamala Harris of California, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, as well as potential candidates former Vice President Joe Biden and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

BERNIE SANDERS HITS HEAD ON SHOWER DOOR, RECEIVES STITCHES, CAMPAIGN SAYS

An analysis by the news magazine found Sirota had deleted more than 2,000 tweets and social media profiles after the magazine contacted him for its story. He blamed an "autodeleter that periodically and automatically deletes tweets. I started doing this many months ago,” he said in response to the Atlantic's inquiry.

On Twitter, Sirota criticized Gillibrand for endorsing former U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., before he lost in a primary against then-political novice Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; and criticized former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his “allegedly awesome climate policies.” He also accused Harris of giving in to big donors and changing her position on health care.

BERNIE SANDERS’ CAMPAIGN SEES MAJOR SHAKEUP, JUST ONE WEEK AFTER LAUNCH

Faiz Shakir, Sanders’s campaign manager, said Sirota -- who worked as Sanders press secretary during his time in the House of Representatives (1991 to 2007) -- had been in an advisory role prior to his hiring on March 11.

“He was advising beforehand,” Shakir said. Sirota’s hiring comes amid a major staff shakeup on the Sanders campaign.

Sirota, an ardent supporter of Sanders, has become one of his most aggressive attack dogs. At one point, he said critics of the Vermont senator “are deranged and/or running a deliberate disinfo campaign.” In January, he responded to criticism online for railing against O’Rourke, who had not entered the presidential race yet, tweeting: “The screaming temper tantrums by Democratic Party operatives whenever reporters scrutinize a lawmaker’s voting record is something to behold. These people quite literally hate democracy,” according to the news site.

EX-SANDERS SPOKESMAN CALLS HILLARY CLINTON TEAM CHOICE WORDS IN INTERVIEW

In a December opinion piece in the Guardian, Sirota wrote that “a new analysis of congressional votes from the non-profit news organization Capital & Main shows that even as O’Rourke represented one of the most solidly Democratic congressional districts in the United States, he has frequently voted against the majority of House Democrats in support of Republican bills and Trump administration priorities.”

Capital & Main is Sirota’s website. A disclaimer at the end of the story referenced that.

Other incendiary comments made by Sirota include: "Let's hope the Boston Marathon bomber is a white American" during the investigation into the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, of which he later doubled down in a separate piece titled, "I still hope the bomber is a white American."

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The Atlantic said Sirota’s hiring had been in discussion before Sanders launched his White House bid.

“This new job was not something I expected or planned for — but it is something I am excited to do,” Sirota wrote in his note. “I want to express my deepest thanks to all of you who have supported my journalism work over the years — your support has meant so much to me, especially in those times when my work has generated blowback from the powerful.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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New Jersey man convicted of strangling childhood friend

A New Jersey man faces life in prison after a jury found him guilty Tuesday of strangling his former high school classmate and throwing her body off a bridge.

Liam McAtasney, 21, was convicted of the December 2016 murder of 19-year-old Sarah Stern in Neptune City, N.J., as well as robbery, desecration of human remains, conspiracy to desecrate human remains and hindering apprehension.

The Monmouth County jury had begun deliberations on Monday and had asked to review a secretly recorded conversation in which McAtasney discussed Stern's death with a friend, Anthony Curry.

Sarah Stern's body has never been found

Sarah Stern's body has never been found (Facebook)

McAtasney told Curry in the video that he “pretty much hung [Stern]” and then shoved a shirt down the victim's throat and placed his finger on her nose.

"It took me a half hour to kill her," said McAtasney, who added that he had "set a timer," and claimed Stern’s dog “laid there and watched as I killed her.”

NEW JERSEY FAMILY TERRORIZED BY 'THE WATCHER' OPENS UP ABOUT CREEPY ORDEAL

McAtasney also said that while he made off with $10,000 from the crime, he expected to come away with much more.

"I thought I was going to come out $50,000 to $100,000 in my pocket. She had one safe that she took money out, and she only had $10,000," said McAtasney, who told Curry that the cash was of "terrible quality ... I don’t even know if I can put any of it in the f------ bank."

Defense attorney Carlos Diaz-Cobo, who vowed to appeal Tuesday's verdict, said the description of Stern's death was an elaborate lie McAtasney told to impress Curry, an amateur horror filmmaker.

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McAtasney's roommate, Preston Taylor, testified that he helped the suspect throw Stern's body off the bridge in Belmar and left Stern's car nearby with the key inside to make it look like a suicide.

The defense claimed there was no physical evidence against McAtasney, who declined to testify in his defense.

Stern's body has never been found. McAtasney is due to be sentenced May 24.

Fox News' Kathleen Joyce and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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UK’s Labour says it will back call for second Brexit referendum

Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and members of the shadow cabinet, arrive at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool
FILE PHOTO: Britain's Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and members of the shadow cabinet, arrive at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool, Britain, September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Phil Noble

February 25, 2019

By Kylie MacLellan and William James

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s opposition Labour Party said on Monday it would back calls for a second referendum on Brexit if parliament rejects its alternative plan for leaving the European Union.

With just over a month until Britain is due to leave the bloc on March 29, Prime Minister Theresa May is seeking changes to her exit deal in order to break an impasse in parliament.

Labour’s decision could damage her hopes of winning support for a revised deal in a vote she has promised by March 12, by attracting those who would have backed her agreement in order to avoid a no-deal exit but who would prefer a second referendum.

Parliament is due to debate and vote on Wednesday on the next steps in Britain’s tortuous departure from the EU, and lawmakers are set to offer proposals, or amendments, which could include demanding the exit deal is put to a public vote.

Labour said it would put forward an amendment calling on the government to adopt its Brexit proposals, which include a permanent customs union with the EU and close alignment with the bloc’s single market.

“If Parliament rejects our plan, then Labour will deliver on the promise we made at our annual conference and support a public vote,” Labour’s Brexit spokesman Keir Starmer said.

Parliament is not expected to back Labour’s Brexit plan and it remains unclear whether there is a majority in parliament in favor of holding a second referendum.

“We’re in a very volatile situation. We are in the middle of a political crisis and a constitutional crisis… It’s difficult to say at any one point what feelings are going to be two or three weeks down the line,” a Labour spokesman told reporters.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has been under pressure for some time to support a second referendum. Last week, eight referendum-supporting lawmakers quit the party, in part owing to frustration over his failure to back another vote.

The prospect of holding a second vote poses a dilemma for Corbyn: while many of the party’s members and supporters fervently back a so-called People’s Vote, others simply want Britain to leave the EU as soon as possible.

BACK TO ‘SQUARE ONE’

Labour said it would support a bid by its lawmaker Yvette Cooper to give parliament the legal power to force May to delay Brexit by seeking an extension to the Article 50 negotiating period.

“We are committed to also putting forward or supporting an amendment in favor of a public vote to prevent a damaging Tory (Conservative) Brexit being forced on the country,” Corbyn was due to tell a meeting of his lawmakers on Monday, his office said.

“One way or another, we will do everything in our power to prevent no deal.”

Brandon Lewis, Chairman of May’s Conservatives, said another popular vote would “take us back to square one” and Labour had gone back on its promise to respect the 2016 referendum result. That went 52-48 percent in favor of leaving the EU.

The amendment on a public vote may not come at this week’s vote in parliament however. The Labour spokesman said the wording and timing of the amendment was still to be decided.

A proposal by Labour lawmakers Peter Kyle and Phil Wilson that May’s deal be put to the public in another referendum will not be put forward for a vote in parliament until May brings her agreement back for approval.

“There’s no turning back for Jeremy now,” Kyle said.

Labour lawmakers at the meeting on Monday were split in their reactions.

“I still have deep reservations about the idea of having another referendum. I think it’s going to be deeply divisive,” lawmaker Stephen Kinnock said.

Labour foreign affairs spokeswoman Emily Thornberry told ITV a second referendum should present a choice between May’s deal and remaining in the EU, but the Labour spokesman directly contradicted her, saying that would be an unacceptable choice.

The Remain Labour campaign group, which wants to stop Brexit, said the announcement was “a significant step forward”.

“A second referendum was only ever possible with the votes of Labour Members of Parliament and we are now on the verge of making this happen,” founder Andrew Lewin said in a statement.

“We are not complacent, but we are closer tonight to a People’s Vote than we have ever been.”

(Editing by Kevin Liffey, Catherine Evans and Frances Kerry)

Source: OANN

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Mueller submits long-awaited Russia probe report to Justice Department

Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Friday submitted to Attorney General Bill Barr his long-awaited report on the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential race and possible collusion with Trump associates.

Several lawmakers, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., received a letter about the report's drop

“Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III has concluded his investigation of the Russian interference in the 2016 election and related matters," the letter said.

Barr also said that he “may be in a position to advise you of the Special Counsel’s principal conclusions as soon as this weekend.”

It’s not clear how much, if any, of the report will be made public or provided to Congress. None of Mueller’s findings were immediately released.

The president has repeatedly decried Mueller’s probe as a “witch hunt,” emphatically denying he or his campaign colluded with Russia to undermine Democrat Hillary Clinton’s chances in the 2016 race. The president has alleged a slew of internal “conflicts of interest” from Mueller’s team and has previously said his legal team is drafting a “major counter report” in response to its findings.

Mueller’s investigation, which was initially ordered to look into the 2016 election in May of 2017, has gone on for almost two years. It has expanded to probe financial crimes of Trump associates before the election, conversations Trump’s national security adviser had with the Russians during the transition and whether Trump obstructed justice with his comments and actions related to the probe.

Mueller, the former director of the FBI under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, was appointed special counsel by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in May of 2017. In his order, Rosenstein directed Mueller to investigate any links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign, as well any other matters that arose from the investigation.

“If the Special Counsel believes it is necessary and appropriate, the Special Counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters,” Rosenstein wrote to Mueller.

Since then, Mueller’s team has indicted, convicted, or won guilty pleas from 34 people and three companies as part of an investigation that has also probed issues unrelated to the 2016 campaign.

Twenty six Russian nationals and three Russian companies have been charged with interfering in the 2016 presidential election.

But none of the Trump associates connected to Trump have been charged with crimes related to collusion, though Mueller’s team charged former Trump associate Roger Stone in January with lying about his communications with WikiLeaks, which published hacked Democratic emails during the election.

Other convictions include: former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former campaign adviser George Papadopoulos, who both pleaded guilty to making false statements in 2017.

Former campaign adviser Rick Gates in 2018 pleaded guilty and former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted and later pleaded guilty in a separate financial crimes case dating back before the 2016 election.

Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to making false statements in a case brought by Mueller in November.

Alex van der Zwaan, a London-based lawyer, pleaded guilty to making false statements this year, and Richard Pinedo, a California man, pleaded guilty to identity fraud in 2018.

Mueller has also looked at actions taken by Trump after sworn in as president, like his firing of FBI director James Comey and his ousting of Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

Sessions, once one of President Trump’s most loyal and trusted advisers infuriated Trump over his recusal from the Russia investigation. In March 2017, Sessions announced his plans to recuse himself after reports surfaced detailing undisclosed conversations with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the campaign.

At the time of his recusal, Sessions said he met with the “relevant senior career department officials” to discuss the issue.

“Having concluded those meetings today, I have decided to recuse myself from any existing or future investigations of any matters related in any way to the campaigns for president of the United States,” Sessions said.

Rosenstein, Sessions’ number two at the Justice Department, then took control of the investigation and decided to appoint Mueller to take over the probe – an investigation Trump has repeatedly lambasted as a “phony witch hunt.”

Rosenstein said at the time, “What I have determined is that based upon the unique circumstances the public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command.”

Mueller said in a statement, upon his appointment: “I accept this responsibility and will discharge it to the best of my ability.’’

Rosenstein later ceded oversight to then-acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker when he took over for Sessions. But the report was submitted to Barr, who was confirmed in February by the Senate as attorney general.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Fox News' Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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

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

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

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

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

School authorities instituted a similar measure in 2016.

Source: Fox News World

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Fox News World

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

April 26, 2019

By Ryan Woo

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NEED FOR CASH

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

STATE COMPETITION

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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

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

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

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

Source: Fox News World

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

April 26, 2019

By Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bayer is appealing or plans to appeal the verdicts.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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