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McConnell Says Trump Right About Russia Probe

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says President Donald Trump was right about the Russia investigation.

McConnell says Attorney General William Barr's summary of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation confirms Trump's account that there was "no effort" by his campaign "to conspire or coordinate with Russia" to influence the 2016 election.

The Republican leader said he appreciates Barr's goal of "producing as much information as possible" from Mueller's investigation. But McConnell declined to call for the report's full release, as many Democrats want.

McConnell also warned Russia's ongoing efforts to interfere in U.S. institutions "are dangerous and disturbing."

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Trump vows to fight ‘all’ subpoenas against administration, calls demand for McGahn testimony ‘ridiculous’

President Trump on Wednesday vowed to fight back against congressional Democrats issuing subpoenas for administration officials, while calling their latest bid to bring in former White House Counsel Don McGahn for testimony “ridiculous.”

Departing the White House en route to a drug abuse summit in Georgia, the president was asked about the McGahn subpoena issued by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., who wants to hear from the ex-White House lawyer after he featured prominently in Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia report.

TRUMP: ‘NO REASON’ TO HONOR DEMS’ ‘VERY PARTISAN’ SUBPOENAS, AS MCGAHN TESTIMONY FIGHT LOOMS

“The subpoena is ridiculous. ... I have been the most transparent president and administration in the history of our country by far,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “We just went through the Mueller witch hunt where you had 18 angry Democrats, that hate President Trump … they hate him with a passion. How they picked this panel, I don’t know.”

He once again declared the probe found “no collusion and they also came up with no obstruction,” adding: “I thought after two years we’d be finished with it, no—now the House goes subpoenaing. They want to know every deal I’ve ever done.”

The special counsel did not find evidence of collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russia. But despite Trump's comments, Mueller did not come to a conclusion on the matter of whether the president obstructed justice -- rather, the report revealed an array of controversial actions and requests made by the president that were examined as part of Mueller’s investigation’s obstruction inquiry. McGahn's interview with investigators factored prominently into this section, including a claim that McGahn disobeyed Trump's call to have him seek Mueller's removal.

But Fox News reported Tuesday that the White House will fight the McGahn subpoena as it resists a series of other congressional requests, and Trump's comments Wednesday pointed to a bigger battle ahead on multiple fronts.

“We’re fighting all of the subpoenas,” Trump said. “Look, these aren’t like, impartial people. They are Democrats trying to win in 2020. …They’re not going to win against me.”

He added that “the only way they can luck out is by constantly going after me on nonsense.”

Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined that the evidence found in the investigation was “not sufficient” to establish an obstruction-of-justice charge. But Mueller’s report seemingly left the decision on obstruction up to Congress—intensifying their already existing investigations into the president.

Nadler slammed the administration in response to reports that they'd fight the McGahn subpoena.

"The Committee has served a valid subpoena to Mr. McGahn. We have asked him to supply documents to the Committee by May 7 and to testify here on May 21. Our request covers the subjects described by Mr. McGahn to the Special Counsel, and described by Special Counsel Mueller to the American public in his report. As such, the moment for the White House to assert some privilege to prevent this testimony from being heard has long since passed," he said in a statement. "I suspect that President Trump and his attorneys know this to be true as a matter of law—and that this evening’s reports, if accurate, represent one more act of obstruction by an Administration desperate to prevent the public from talking about the President’s behavior. The Committee’s subpoena stands."

But Trump on Wednesday urged Democrats to refocus. “I say it’s enough. Get back to infrastructure, get back to cutting taxes, lowering drug prices. Really, that’s what we should be doing,” Trump said.

TRUMP VOWS HE’D TAKE IMPEACHMENT FIGHT TO SUPREME COURT

He added that investigators should “litigate” and “go after” the Democratic National Committee, “crooked Hillary,” and law enforcement officials who investigated his campaign.

“All of these things—that’s what should be litigated because that was a rigged system,” he said. “I’m breaking down the swamp. They’re getting caught, they’re getting fired. Who knows what’s going to happen right now but I hope it’s very strong.”

The president was referring to alleged misconduct on part of the FBI and Justice Department at the beginning of the Russia investigation. Barr announced that he is reviewing that conduct, after stating that he believes "spying did occur" on the Trump campaign during the 2016 election. DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz is also reviewing alleged abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), and is expected to release his findings in the coming weeks.

Fox News' Gregg Re contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News Politics

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Fed’s Powell says no immediate policy responses needed to economy

FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell holds a press conference following a two day Federal Open Market Committee policy meeting in Washington, U.S.
FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell holds a press conference following a two day Federal Open Market Committee policy meeting in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo

March 9, 2019

By Alexandria Sage

PALO ALTO (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve does not see problems in the U.S. economy that warrant an immediate change in its policy, and it will be careful not to shock financial markets as it stabilizes its bond portfolio, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday.

The U.S. central bank is nearing a major milestone in its efforts to unwind economic stimulus measures enacted to fight the 2007-09 recession.

In a wide-ranging speech at Stanford University, Powell said the Fed was “well along” in discussions on a plan to end a runoff of its balance sheet, which ballooned during and after the recession.

While there were “cross-currents” pointing to economic risks, none were flashing warning signals serious enough for the Fed to change its interest rate policy stance, he said.

“With nothing in the outlook demanding an immediate policy response and particularly given muted inflation pressures, the committee has adopted a patient, wait-and-see approach,” Powell said in prepared remarks, referring to the Fed’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee.

He said the Fed would soon communicate details of its plan to stop shrinking its $4 trillion balance sheet later this year. His remarks appeared aimed at reassuring financial investors that the Fed would take pains not to shock investors.

“As we feel our way cautiously to this goal, we will move transparently and predictably in order to minimize needless market disruption and risks to our dual-mandate objectives,” he said. The Fed’s dual mandate is for maximum employment and the maintenance of stable prices.

Powell’s remarks were the last from any Fed policymakers until the conclusion of the Fed’s next policy-setting meeting, to be held March 19-20.

His remarks came after the Labor Department on Friday reported that U.S. employment growth almost stalled in February, a sign of a sharp slowdown in economic activity in the first quarter.

The Fed had released a statement in January that suggested it was no longer sure if it would continue raising interest rates, after hiking rates four times in 2018. Markets may look to the Fed’s quarterly interest-rate-hike projections, to be released after the Fed’s upcoming March meeting, for clues of when it might continue with rate hikes.

On Friday, however, Powell warned against reading too much into those forecasts, noting that in the past markets at times had misread them as policy promises. He said he asked a small panel of fellow Fed policymakers to figure out a better way to communicate their role.

In December the rate-hike forecasts suggested policymakers expected two rate hikes this year. Markets currently expect none.

Powell also called out the need for the Fed and other central banks to find better ways to deal with pervasive low inflation, and said that as the Fed reviews options this year, it ought to pay serious attention to strategies that would drive inflation higher to make up for past bouts of sluggish inflation.

But Powell said he sees a “high bar” for any fundamental changes to the Fed’s current approach because of the potential of inadvertently undermining the public’s confidence in the U.S. central bank’s commitment to fighting inflation.

(Additional reporting by Ann Saphir and Jason Lange; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: OANN

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AOC Calls Omar ‘One of the Most Effective Voices Right Now’

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Motor racing: Sponsor hails Netflix F1 series as big boost for the sport

FILE PHOTO: Haas Formula One Team Livery Launch
FILE PHOTO: Formula One F1 - Haas Formula One Team Livery Launch - Royal Automobile Club, London, Britain - February 7, 2019 Haas' Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean, Rich Energy CEO William Storey and Haas Team Principal Guenther Steiner pose with the car during the launch REUTERS/John Sibley

March 19, 2019

By Alan Baldwin

LONDON (Reuters) – Netflix’s behind-the-scenes ‘Drive to Survive’ Formula One documentary has been a huge success that could change the way broadcasters engage with audiences, one of the sport’s top sponsors said on Tuesday.

The 10-part series, made in conjunction with Formula One and covering the 2018 championship, was released ahead of last weekend’s Australian season-opener in Melbourne.

Filmed without the cooperation of world champions Mercedes and rivals Ferrari, it focuses on those further down the starting grid such as the U.S.-owned Haas team and their principal Guenther Steiner.

“I think it’s phenomenally successful, certainly from our perspective,” Heineken’s sponsorship lead for F1 Ben Pincus said at an Advertising Week Europe panel discussion on the ‘resurgence of Formula One’.

“It’s fascinating how you can tell a story without actually ever featuring any on-track action, and a story that in some respects is more compelling and more engaging to your less hard-core fan,” he added.

“I think it’s been a great success…it’s getting people thinking differently about how they broadcast, how they engage with audiences.

“It makes you think about stuff that you might take for granted being really interesting and appealing to others.”

Pincus suggested Formula One’s ‘traditional linear broadcasters’ could grow their audiences by adopting some of Netflix’s story-telling techniques when it comes to the off-track action.

Red Bull Racing’s head of marketing Oliver Hughes said it seemed like 90 percent of those on his flight to Melbourne had been watching the series.

He added that Red Bull, who feature prominently in parting ways with Renault and Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo, had given the Netflix cameras good access and would be even more welcoming for a second season now in the works.

“We entered it with pretty open eyes and a huge amount of trust and our view is that for this year we’ll be more into it than we were last season,” he said.

“We gave access that was enough to be credible but we could have given more. I think the teams that gave more, especially in the midfield, have provided a really interesting story.”

Yath Gangakumaran, Formula One’s director of corporate strategy and business development, said Netflix did not give viewing figures but had “told us it’s gone down very well”.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)

Source: OANN

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USTR names new general counsel to replace departing Vaughn

Members of the U.S. trade delegation Robert Lighthizer and Steven Mnuchin arrive at a hotel in Beijing
FILE PHOTO: Members of the U.S. trade delegation Robert Lighthizer and Steven Mnuchin arrive at a hotel in Beijing, China March 28, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

April 22, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Monday that his agency’s general counsel, Stephen Vaughn, will depart the Trump administration in coming weeks and be replaced by veteran Washington lawyer Joseph Barloon.

Barloon is a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP. Both he and Vaughn worked with Lighthizer at the Washington office of Skadden, Arps for years, as did Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish.

Vaughn “has played a central role in shaping and implementing the president’s trade policies, especially related to China and the World Trade Organization,” Lighthizer said.

Vaughn, who represented United States Steel Corp alongside Lighthizer for years, handled the legal aspects of USTR’s “Section 301” investigation into China’s trade and intellectual property practices, which led to tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese imports and current U.S.-China trade negotiations.

Barloon, who specializes in government enforcement actions along with civil and criminal investigations at Skadden Arps, would bring “legal expertise and sound judgment” to USTR’s trade negotiations and efforts to rebalance trade and reform global trading rules, Lighthizer said.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: OANN

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CDC: '19 Flu Season 'Relatively Long'

The flu has not been as severe as in recent years, but it is extending into spring at historical highs, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The rate of medical visits due to the flu is double the baseline 2.2 percent, recording a 4.4 percent for the week ending March 16, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports. It is the highest mark this late in the year since the CDC began recording the data 20 years ago.

"The CDC expects flu activity to remain elevated for a number of weeks, suggesting this season is likely to be relatively long," according to the report, per USA Today. ". . . Flu activity is expected to remain elevated nationally through April."

The flu season generally runs from October to May, and 44 states have widespread flu reports, while 26 are reporting high activity.

"Influenza-like-illness levels have been at or above baseline for 17 weeks this season," CDC reported. "By this measure, the last five seasons have averaged 16 weeks, with a range of 11 to 20 weeks."

Flu symptoms include: stuffy nose, fever, cough, muscle or body aches, headaches, and tiredness.

There have been 76 flu-related pediatric deaths nationwide, according to the report.

Source: NewsMax America

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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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