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Euro zone banks in Britain must be ready for Brexit by March

FILE PHOTO: EU flags outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels
FILE PHOTO: European Union flags are seen outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium November 14, 2018. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File Photo

February 18, 2019

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Euro zone banks operating in Britain must be prepared for Brexit by March as any remaining supervisory concerns should have been address in the coming weeks, European Central Bank supervisory chief Anrea Enria said on Monday.

“With regard to euro area-based banking groups with operations in the United Kingdom, the current focus is on risk management, trading capabilities and the future activities of branches in the United Kingdom,” Enria said on Monday.

“The ECB expects banks to have addressed any remaining concerns by March this year,” Enria said at a European Parliament event in Brussels.

He also said that the majority of authorization procedures for London-based banks relocating to the euro zone have been completed or will be completed in the coming weeks.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa)

Source: OANN

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Moscow feels vindicated in the wake of “no collusion”

A sense of victory and vindication emanated from the Kremlin on Monday, following the revelation that the special counsel concluded there was no evidence that Trump team had colluded with Russia for a 2016 presidential victory.

“It is hard to find a black cat in a dark room, especially if it is not there,” said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov – who has long dismissed any allegations of connivance – in a call with journalists on Monday, referencing a Chinese philosopher. “Centuries have passed, but unfortunately there has been no understanding of this on the other side of the ocean.”

In a four-page letter to Congress released Sunday, Attorney General William Barr said “the Special Counsel did not find that the Trump campaign, or anyone associated with it, conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in these efforts, despite multiple offers from Russia-affiliated individuals to assist the Trump campaign.”

“The agents of conspiracy theory have been discredited,” wrote Alexey Pushkov, a foreign affairs specialist in the upper house of parliament, tweeted – pointing to Democratic and media attempts to push a theory of collusion. “From now on, only an idiot can believe them.”

FORMER CLINTON ADVISER SAYS DEMOCRATS RISK BACKLASH IF THEY DON’T ACCEPT MUELLER FINDINGS AND MOVE ON

He also contended that the “biased, artificial, provocative, conspiratorial, designed-to-fuel hatred toward Trump campaign” had a second objective, which was to “demonize Russia and prevent any U.S. moves towards better relations with Moscow.”

The Russian Embassy in the United Kingdom also took aim at those who maintained the narrative that Trump’s campaign did indeed conspire with Russia for election victory.

“That awkward moment when another anti-Russian fake crumbles to dust,” the official tweet said. “Excuses, anyone?

And for Konstantin Kosachyov, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of parliament, it was both an “I told you so” moment and a moment of regret over two withered years of deteriorating Russia-U.S. ties.

“Mueller’s long-awaited report proved what was known in Russia from the very beginning,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Monday. “Two years of unceasing lies. Two years of the highest-level policy built on the allegation of collusion. A conspiracy explaining the allegedly pro-Russian position of Trump, because of which he was essentially forced to impose more and more stringent measures against our country."

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with U.S. National security adviser John Bolton during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with U.S. National security adviser John Bolton during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Kosachyov also sought some kind of reconciliation.

"That is why two years were not just lost for Russian-American relations, but simply crushing for them,” he continued. “Someone will answer for this damage? Someone apologize? Someone will adjust something?"

Moreover, Russian media, which is mostly owned or overseen by authorities, didn’t waste any time in boasting about the report.

According to Vitali Shkliarov, an expert in U.S.-Russian relations and former senior adviser to Russian opposition presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak, the news about the Mueller report was “received with great enthusiasm’ in the former Soviet nation.

“This is a topic that has garnered a great deal of interest and attention there,” he told Fox News. “There was wide coverage about the announcement of the results, much of it tinged with sarcasm. Even liberal politicians seem pleased with the results and are critical of the length and cost of the investigation.”

One anchor of the popular Moscow daytime political show “Time Will Tell” stated on Monday that “the investigation was useless” and “its results proved that it was useless.”

Nonetheless, scores of political pundits, analysts and anti-Trump advocates in the United States still beg to differ on the summary. Many have voiced skepticism of Barr’s findings, while also emphasizing the fact that the attorney general’s summary said Mueller had reached no explicit resolution on whether or not Trump had attempted to obstruct justice.

HOLLYWOOD STARS APOPLECTIC OVER MUELLER PROBE FINDINGS: 'YOU CAN’T INDICT A HAM SANDWICH'

But that, too, became fodder for laughs among the Moscow media.

A "Russia Today" headline on Monday was titled “Mueller meltdown: #Resistance licks wounds, MAGA camp enjoys salty popcorn & meme.”

The Moscow-funded outlet crowed that as the “Russiagate conspiracy theory disintegrates in the wake of the Mueller report’s conclusions, resistance (on) Twitter is struggling to cope, while Trump supporters are basking in the foes’ suffering.”

“The reality-based community could only look on in amazement. And laugh,” the article continued, underscoring those who “screeched about a cover-up.”

Putin and Trump souvenirs for sale in Moscow

Putin and Trump souvenirs for sale in Moscow (Fox News/Hollie McKay)

According to data exclusively obtained by Fox News from Sc2 Corp, a private analytics firm that combs online and social media data for the Special operations and national security community-based in Clearwater, Fla., the overall analogy was that few in Russia expressed surprise over the Mueller findings. The news prompted a spike in user engagement in Russia, with "positive sentiment" towards the news outweighing negative sentiment, but much of the engagement on the issue was relatively neutral.

"Russians are more concerned about internal 'Troll Farms' fomenting dissension and division at home and abroad," one of the firm's data experts noted.

Trump, who has from the very beginning framed the Mueller probe as a “witch hunt,” also claimed a triumph over the weekend, and questions have since swirled as to what that means for the Washington-Moscow accord in the near future.

“Russia is celebrating. There may not have been coordination with the campaign, but the U.S. intelligence community had documented extensive influence operations,” said Brett Bruen, a former U.S. diplomat who previously served as Director of Global Engagement at the White House. “I am very worried that Moscow will interpret this report as a bright green light to accelerate their influence operations. The Mueller report is the perfect tool to try and further divide Americans who have dramatically opposing interpretations of his decision.”

Nonetheless, other experts see a positive path for a genuine relationship reset.

“No one in Russia expects immediate changes, especially in respect to sanctions, but most believe that by the end of this year there will be more constructive dialogue and a real potential for improvement in our bilateral relations,” observed Kendall Coffey, a former U.S. Attorney, and lawyer in foreign affairs. “Trump’s original goal of exploring ways to improve Russia relations has been paralyzed by the investigative processes. While political resistance will remain, he is now able to focus his efforts on what is best for the United States.”

NO TRUMP MEETING THIS TRIP, BUT PUTIN'S STAGE-MANAGING ALWAYS A FACTOR

But Luke Coffey, director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation cautioned there are many more obstacles impeding diplomatic ties beyond the Mueller matter.

“Russia invaded and occupies a large section of Ukraine, and continues to occupy a large section of Georgia. Both of these countries are U.S. partners. Russia also continues to prop up Assad, which allows the civil war in Syria to continue,” he noted. “Moscow is also showing support for the Maduro regime in Venezuela, thus prolonging the suffering there. Until Russia stops its regional aggression and malign activity, U.S.-Russia relations can never get back on track.”

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Yet others predict the worst may be yet to come.

“In the larger context, those who lean against Trump will continue to destabilize the presidency,” added one source closely connected to the investigation. “This will only fuel efforts of Democrats to mess with the President.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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New Zealand shooting victim's 'courageous' last words to gunman go viral

A Christchurch worshipper, who was among the first to be targeted by a gunman Friday, is being hailed as a hero online for sharing "peaceful" and "courageous" words — likely his last — while confronting his attackers.

The man was overheard on a live stream video of the mass shooting saying, "Hello brother," as the gunman approached the entrance of the New Zealand mosque.

Mourners took to social media after the horrific massacre, which left at least 49 people dead, to honor the man.

49 KILLED AND MORE THAN 20 SERIOUSLY INJURED IN NEW ZEALAND MASS SHOOTING TARGETING MOSQUES

"'Hello brother' a word came out of a pure soul filled with a peaceful faith. 'Hello brother' was said to a killer with a rifle pointed to this greeting. 'Hello brother' he said thinking that he is talking to a human with soul and feelings. 'Hello brother' was shot dead," one Twitter user commented early Friday.

"'Hello, Brother' were the last words of the first #NewZealand victim. As he faced a rifle, his last words were peaceful words of unconditional love. DO NOT tell me that nonviolence is weak or pacifism is cowardice. I have seen the face of God," another echoed.

"Even at gunpoint, he showed us to be peaceful, gentle and kind. Let’s stop the violence instead of fueling it."

CHRISTCHURCH RESIDENT RECALLS AIDING GUNSHOT VICTIM WHO FLED FROM MASS SHOOTING

Police took three men and a woman into custody after the shootings, though officials later clarified that at least one of the arrests wasn't connected to the attacks. One of the suspects, identified as a 28-year-old Australian-born citizen, reportedly published a 74-page manifesto prior to the terror attack, admitting that he traveled to the country solely to train and commit the attack.

A Melbourne, Australia, resident was one of the first people to point out the "crucial detail" about the worshipper's final act on Facebook, encouraging those to focus on the victims and heroes — like the unidentified man in the video — rather than the attackers.

"Perhaps this hero was trying to diffuse the situation? [Allah] used this man to show the world the kindness that is Islam. I don't know but what I want, is to make certain, that is that this detail isn't lost amongst you," the Facebook user wrote, in part. "That this mans final act was an Islamic one, a sincere courageous and warm way to stop violence instead of fuelling it. May [Allah] grant this hero and the rest of the victims the highest level of paradise. Ameen."

Nearly 240 people have since shared the message or posted screenshots of it on Twitter. The majority who replied to the post responded with "Ameen."

"Today is chaos. But one incident stood out. Final words of the first Muslim man to die were 'hello brother.' Even at gunpoint, he showed us to be peaceful, gentle and kind. Let’s stop the violence instead of fueling it," one person shared the post in a tweet, which has since gone viral with nearly 10,000 retweets.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern alluded at a news conference to anti-immigrant sentiment as the possible motive for "one of New Zealand's darkest days," saying that while many people affected by the shootings may be migrants or refugees, "they have chosen to make New Zealand their home, and it is their home. They are us."

As for the suspects, Ardern said, "these are people who I would describe as having extremist views that have absolutely no place in New Zealand."

Fox News' Greg Norman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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Rick Santorum: Trump’s ‘Closing the Border Is a Bad Idea’

While former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., understands President Donald Trump's being "upset with Mexico," the CNN political pundit rejects the move of closing down the border.

"I think the idea of closing the border is a bad idea," Santorum told CNN's "State of the Union." "I understand why the president's doing it. He's upset with Mexico. He has every reason to be upset with Mexico."

Most of the migrants seeking asylum are not Mexican, though, Santorum said, acknowledging "Mexico could solve this problem," because it's failing to do enough to stop Central American migration to the U.S. border.

"[Trump] sort of flails and makes what I think are not particularly helpful charges against Mexico," Santorum said. "But the core of the problem is Mexico and he needs to go after them."

Hoping to leverage Mexico into action on the southern border crisis, President Trump teased a "very good likelihood" of closing the border, because Mexico is "going to have to do something."

"I'll just close the border, and with a deficit like we have with Mexico and have had for many years, closing the border would be a profit-making operation" he said Friday. "When you close the border also you will stop a lot of the drugs from coming in."

Source: NewsMax Politics

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India’s factory growth hits six-month low in March on weak demand: PMI

A labourer welds an iron pillar at a building material factory in an industrial area in Dasna
A labourer welds an iron pillar at a building material factory in an industrial area in Dasna, in the central Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, India, January 9, 2019. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

April 2, 2019

BENGALURU, (Reuters) – Growth in India’s manufacturing industry slowed to a six-month low in March as orders and output expanded at a weaker rate, but overall factory activity ran at a solid pace in the first quarter, a private survey showed on Tuesday.

The Nikkei Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, compiled by IHS Markit, fell to a six-month low of 52.6 in March from February’s 54.3, below a Reuters poll forecast of 53.9 but above the 50-mark separating growth from contraction for the 20th straight month.

Underscoring that long stretch of growth in the sector, factory activity in the first three months of 2019 increased at its quickest quarterly average rate in more than six years.

“Manufacturing sector expansion in India took a step back in March, with metrics for factory orders, production, exports, input buying and employment all moving lower. Still, growth was sustained on all fronts,” noted Pollyanna De Lima, principal economist at IHS Markit.

“Although global headwinds and a general slowdown in trade present some concerns for the future health of Indian manufacturers’ order books, so far companies have been able to weather the storm and secure healthy inflows of new work from abroad.”

But as new orders and output grew at their slowest pace since September – despite inflationary pressures easing – firms increased headcount at the weakest rate in eight months.

That should keep retail inflation from rising significantly in the near-term. It was below the Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term target of 4 percent for a seven straight month in February, the latest official data showed.

Below-target inflation would give the central bank room to cut its benchmark repo rate for a second consecutive meeting, as is widely expected. It is due to announce its decision on April 4. [RBI/INT]

The latest survey also showed optimism amongst factories rose to its highest since August, supported by government policies announced ahead of this year’s general election.

“Expansionary public policies such as fiscal stimulus and interest rate reduction should also assist the manufacturing sector in gaining some traction in the near term,” said De Lima

(Reporting by Indradip Ghosh; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

Source: OANN

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Cuba to enact new constitution launching modest state revamp

FILE PHOTO - Cubans attend a public political discussion to revamp a Cold War-era constitution in Havana
FILE PHOTO - Cubans attend a public political discussion to revamp a Cold War-era constitution in Havana, Cuba August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Tomas Bravo

April 10, 2019

By Sarah Marsh

HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba’s national assembly is set to enact the new constitution on Wednesday, allowing the government to launch a modest update of its centrally planned single party system with dozens of laws expected on everything from the economy to political structures.

In a February referendum, Cubans overwhelmingly ratified the new constitution after a year of debate, updating its 1976, Soviet-era Magna Carta.

While it retains socialism as “irrevocable”, it codifies changes in Cuban society since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, like the opening of the economy to free enterprise, and includes a political restructuring among other changes.

The document specifies some of the new laws to be elaborated within the next two years, while more broadly stipulating the national assembly must establish a timeline for the around 50 laws needed to bring governing practice in step with the constitution.

Analysts say that while the constitution establishes the broad framework of this intense legislative process, there is leeway for it to enact more or less reform.

“The formation of a more open and democratic country depends on this process and not on the constitution,” said Cuban lawyer and legal columnist for independent media Eloy Viera Cañive.

He said Cubans needed to participate in the process, with recent the expansion of internet giving them a powerful tool to do so. Online protests already led the government to partially backtrack on new regulations on the private sector and the arts last December.

Some hope the upcoming legislative process could result in a greater modernization of the stagnant state-run economy, battling with declining aid from key ally Venezuela and a tightening U.S. trade embargo.

“(We) will be closely watching whether, and how quickly, Cuba moves to turn the constitution’s recognition of new forms of private property into a law that provides ‘legal personality’ for small and medium-sized enterprises that are privately owned,” said Michael Bustamante, an assistant professor of Latin American history at Florida International University.

Cuba’s growing bevy of self-employed citizens have been clamoring for such a law, that would give them the right for example to import and export, ever since former President Raul Castro started expanding the private sector a decade ago.

The first laws to be addressed, however, are expected to be others. The constitution stipulates that the national assembly must approve a new electoral law to reflect the restructuring of government within a half-year.

Within the following three months, it must elect a president, widely expected to remain Miguel Diaz-Canel, who succeeded Castro last April. That president must then appoint provincial governors and a prime minister,- a new post separating the role of head of state from head of government.

The Magna Carta stipulates that within 18 months, new laws reflecting constitutional changes to the judicial system such as the presumption of innocence in criminal cases and habeas corpus should also be introduced.

Meanwhile the process of a popular consultation and referendum on a new family code, that will address the controversial issue of gay marriage, should also be kicked off within two years.

(Reporting by Sarah Marsh; Editing by David Gregorio)

Source: OANN

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Barr to be grilled on Mueller report’s release; Trump ally sues, accuses news group of conspiracy #MAGAFirstNews with @PeterBoykin

Barr to be grilled on Mueller report's release; Trump ally sues, accuses news group of conspiracy #MAGAFirstNews with @PeterBoykin

BARR EXAM: Attorney General William Barr is expected to be grilled by Democratic lawmakers about his plan to release a redacted version of the Mueller reportinstead of the full report, to the public and will likely have to defend his handling of the special counsel's Russia investigation when he appears on Capitol Hill in the first of two days of ... See More testimony on Tuesday ... Barr will first testify before the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, whose panel consists of seven Democrats and four Republicans and is chaired by Rep. José Serrano, D-N.Y. On Wednesday, Barr will be on the hot seat before a subpanel of the Senate Appropriations Committee, chaired by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Lawmakers may also question Barr about the Justice Department's legal challenge to ObamaCare. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said Monday that Democrats pushing for the release of Mueller's full report should also insist on making public all information related to the Justice Department's investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while secretary of state and other controversies dating back to the Obama administration THE ROOT OF THE IMMIGRATION CRISIS: Now that Kirstjen Nielsen is out as Homeland Security Secretary and President Trump has replaced her with a "tough cop" in U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan as acting secretary, there is debate over whether the shakeup will make any difference is combating the illegal immigration crisis at the border ... On "Special Report" Monday, the Federalist's senior editor Mollie Hemingway noted that while Nielsen stepped down, the problem wasn’t her performance of her job but the performance of Congress and its inability to address policies that “incentivize” human trafficking. NUNES TARGETS NEWS AGENCY: House Intelligence Committee ranking member Devin Nunes filed a $150 million lawsuit against the McClatchy Company and others on Monday, alleging that one of the news agency's reporters conspired with a political operative to derail Nunes' oversight work into the Hillary Clinton campaign and Russian election interference ... The filing, obtained by Fox News, came a day after Nunes, R-Calif., revealed he would send eight criminal referrals to the Justice Department this weekconcerning purported surveillance abuses by federal authorities during the Russia probe, false statements to Congress and other matters. In March, Nunes filed a similar $250 million lawsuit alleging defamation against Twitter and one of its users, Republican consultant Liz Mair. RUSSIA COLLUSION TRUE BELIEVER JOINS CROWDED 2020 DEM FIELD: Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., an outspoken critic of President Trump, officially entered the 2020 White House race during his Monday appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert"... The 38-year-old four-term congressman is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, which for years has made headlines over its investigations of Russian influence in U.S. elections and federal surveillance.

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FILE PHOTO - Otto Frederick Warmbier is taken to North Korea's top court in Pyongyang North Korea
FILE PHOTO – Otto Frederick Warmbier (C), a University of Virginia student who was detained in North Korea since early January, is taken to North Korea’s top court in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released by Kyodo March 16, 2016. Mandatory credit REUTERS/Kyodo/File Photo

April 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said the United States did not pay any money to North Korea as it sought the release of comatose American student Otto Warmbier.

The Washington Post reported on Thursday that Trump had approved payment of a $2 million bill from North Korea to cover its care of the college student, who died shortly after he was returned to the United States after 17 months in a North Korean prison.

(Reporting by Makini Brice and Susan Heavey)

Source: OANN

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Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London
Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London, Britain, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Gerhard Mey

April 26, 2019

By Hanna Rantala

LONDON (Reuters) – Irish rockers The Cranberries are saying goodbye with their final album released on Friday, a poignant tribute to lead singer Dolores O’Riordan who died last year.

“In the End” is the eighth studio album from the band that rose to fame in the early 1990s with hits likes “Zombie” and “Linger”, and includes the final recordings by O’Riordan, who drowned in a London hotel bath in January 2018 due to alcohol intoxication.

Work on the album began during a 2017 tour and by that winter, O’Riordan and guitarist Neil Hogan had penned and demoed 11 tracks.

With O’Riordan’s vocals recorded, Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler completed the album in tribute to her.

“When we realized how strong the songs were, that was the deciding factor really… There was no point… trying to ruin the legacy of the band,” Noel Hogan said in an interview.

“It was obvious that Dolores wanted this album done because when you hear the album, you hear the songs and how strong they are, and she was very, very excited to get in and record this.”

The Cranberries formed in Limerick in 1989 with another singer. O’Riordan replaced him a year later and the group went on to become Ireland’s best-selling rock band after U2, selling more than 40 million records.

O’Riordan, known for her strong distinctive voice singing about relationships or political violence, was 46 when she died.

“She was actually in quite a good place mentally. She was feeling quite content and strong and looking forward to a new phase of her life,” Lawler said.

“A lot of the lyrics in this album are about things ending… people might read into it differently but it was a phase of her personal life that she was talking about.”

The group previously announced their intention to split after the release of “In The End”.

“We are absolutely gutted we can’t play (the songs) live because that’s something that’s been a massive part of this band from day one,” Noel Hogan said.

“A few people have said to us about maybe even doing a one off where you have different vocalists… as kind of guests of ours. A year ago that’s definitely something we weren’t going to entertain but I don’t know, I think it’s something we need to go away and take time off for the summer and have a think about.”

Critics have generally given positive reviews of the album; NME described it as “(seeing) the band’s career go full-circle” while the Irish Times called it “an unexpected late career high and a remarkable swan song for O’Riordan”.

Their early songs still play on the radio. This week, “Dreams” was performed at the funeral of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead in Londonderry last week as she watched Irish nationalist youths attack police following a raid.

“We wrote them as kids, as a hobby and 30 years later they are on radio and on TV, like all the time… That’s far more than any of us ever thought we would have,” Noel Hogan said.

“That would make Dolores really happy because she was very precious about those songs. Her babies, she called them and to have that hopefully long after we’re gone… that’s all any band can wish for.”

(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; additoinal reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: OANN

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2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

April 26, 2019

By Joshua Schneyer and M.B. Pell

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Senator Elizabeth Warren will introduce a bill Friday that offers new protections for U.S. military families facing unsafe housing, following a series of Reuters reports revealing squalid conditions in privately managed base homes.

The Reuters reports and later Congressional hearings detailed widespread hazards including lead paint exposure, vermin infestations, collapsing ceilings, mold and maintenance lapses in privatized base housing communities that serve some 700,000 U.S. military family members.

(View Warren’s military housing bill here. https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dy5aht)

(Read Reuters’ Ambushed at Home series on military housing here. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-military)

The Massachusetts Democrat’s bill would mandate both regular and unannounced spot inspections of base homes by certified, independent inspectors, holding landlords accountable for quickly fixing hazards. The military’s privatization program for years allowed real estate firms to operate base housing with scant oversight, Reuters found, leaving some tenants in unsafe homes with little recourse against landlords.

The bill would also require the Department of Defense and its private housing operators to publish reports annually detailing housing conditions, tenant complaints, maintenance response times and the financial incentives companies receive at each base. The provisions aim to enhance transparency of housing deals whose finances and operations the military had allowed to remain largely confidential under a privatization program since the late 1990s.

The measure would also require private landlords to cover moving costs for at-risk families, and healthcare costs for people with medical conditions resulting from unsafe base housing, ensuring they receive continuing coverage even after they leave the homes or the military.

“This bill will eliminate the kind of corner-cutting and neglect the Defense Department should never have let these private housing partners get away with in the first place,” Warren said in a statement Friday.

The proposed legislation comes after February Senate hearings where Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, slammed private real estate firms for endangering service families, and sought answers about why military branches weren’t providing more oversight.

Her legislation would direct the Defense Department to allow local housing code enforcers onto federal bases, following concerns they were sometimes denied access. Warren’s office said a companion bill in the House of Representatives would be introduced by Rep. Deb Haaland, Democrat of New Mexico.

In response to the housing crisis, military branches are developing a tenant bill of rights and hiring hundreds of new housing staff. The branches recently dispatched commanders to survey base housing worldwide for safety hazards, resulting in thousands of work orders and hundreds of tenants being moved. The Defense Department has pledged to renegotiate its 50-year contracts with private real estate firms.

Congress has been quick to take its own measures. Earlier legislation proposed by senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California, along with Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, would compel base commanders to withhold rent payments and incentive fees from the private ventures if they allow home hazards to persist.

(Editing by Ronnie Greene)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London
FILE PHOTO: Offices of Deloitte are seen in London, Britain, September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar

(Reuters) – Deloitte quit as Ferrexpo’s auditor on Friday, knocking its shares by more than 20 percent, days after saying it was unable to conclude whether the iron ore miner’s CEO controlled a charity being investigated over its use of company donations.

Blooming Land, which coordinates Ferrexpo’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, came under scrutiny after auditors found holes in the charity’s statements.

Ferrexpo on Tuesday said findings of an ongoing independent investigation launched in February indicated some Blooming Land funds could have been “misappropriated”. It did not provide any details or publish its findings.

Shares in Ferrexpo, the third largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry, were 23.4 percent lower at 206.1 pence at 1022 GMT following news of Deloitte’s resignation.

“Ferrexpo’s shares are deeply discounted vs peers … following the resignation of Deloitte, we expect downside risks to dominate Ferrexpo’s shares near term.” JP Morgan analyst Dominic O’Kane said in a note on Friday.

Swiss-headquartered Ferrexpo did not provide a reason for the resignation of Deloitte, which declined to comment, while Blooming Land did not respond to a request for comment.

Funding for Blooming Land’s CSR activities is provided by one of Ferrexpo’s units in Ukraine and Khimreaktiv LLC, an entity ultimately controlled by Ferrexpo’s CEO and majority owner Kostyantin Zhevago, Ferrexpo said on Tuesday.

Ferrexpo’s board has found that Zhevago did not have significant influence or control over the charity, but Deloitte said it was unable reach a conclusion on this.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact Zhevago.

In a qualified opinion, a statement addressing an incomplete audit, Deloitte said it had been unable to conclude whether $33.5 million of CSR donations to Blooming Land between 2017 and 2018 was used for “legitimate business payments for charitable purposes”.

Deloitte said on Tuesday that total CSR payments made to Blooming Land by Ferrexpo since 2013 total about $110 million.

Ferrexpo, whose major mines are in Ukraine, has said that the investigation was ongoing and new evidence pointed to potential discrepancies.

Zhevago, 45, who ranked 1,511 on Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires for 2019 with a net worth of $1.4 billion, owns the FC Vorskla soccer club and has been a member of Ukraine’s parliament since 1998.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Tanishaa Nadkar in Bengaluru and additional reporting by Pavel Polityuk in Kiev; editing by Gopakumar Warrier, Bernard Orr)

Source: OANN

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Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba
Children walk past a damaged building in the aftermath of the Cyclone Kenneth in Pemba, Mozambique April 26, 2019 in this still image obtained from social media. SolidarMed via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

April 26, 2019

By Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer

JOHANNESBURG/LUANDA (Reuters) – Cyclone Kenneth killed at least one person and left a trail of destruction in northern Mozambique, destroying houses, ripping up trees and knocking out power, authorities said on Friday.

The cyclone brought storm surges and wind gusts of up to 280 km per hour (174 mph) when it made landfall on Thursday evening, after killing three people in the island nation of Comoros.

It was the most powerful storm on record to hit Mozambique’s northern coast and came just six weeks after Cyclone Idai battered the impoverished nation, causing devastating floods and killing more than 1,000 people across a swathe of southern Africa.

The World Food Programme warned that Kenneth could dump as much as 600 millimeters of rain on the region over the next 10 days – twice that brought by Cyclone Idai.

One woman in the port town of Pemba died after being hit by a falling tree, the Emergency Operations Committee for Cabo Delgado (COE) said in a statement, while another person was injured.

In rural areas outside Pemba, many homes are made of mud. In the main town on the island of Ibo, 90 percent of the houses were destroyed, officials said. Around 15,000 people were out in the open or in “overcrowded” shelters and there was a need for tents, food and water, they said.

There were also reports of a large number of homes and some infrastructure destroyed in Macomia district, a mainland district adjacent to Ibo.

A local group, the Friends of Pemba Association, had earlier reported that they could not reach people in Muidumbe, a district further inland.

Mark Lowcock, United Nations under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, warned the storm could require another major humanitarian operation in Mozambique.

“Cyclone Kenneth marks the first time two cyclones have made landfall in Mozambique during the same season, further stressing the government’s limited resources,” he said in a statement.

FLOOD WARNINGS

Shaquila Alberto, owner of the beach-front Messano Flower Lodge in Macomia, said there were many fallen trees there, and in rural areas people’s homes had been damaged. Some areas of nearby Pemba had no power.

“Even my workers, they said the roof and all the things fell down,” she said by phone.

Further south, in Pemba, Elton Ernesto, a receptionist at Raphael’s Hotel, said there were fallen trees but not too much damage. The hotel had power and water, he said, while phones rang in the background. “The rain has stopped,” he added.

However Michael Charles, an official for the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said heavy rains over the next few days were likely to bring a “second wave of destruction” in the form of flooding.

“The houses are not all solid, and the topography is very sandy,” Charles said.

In the days after Cyclone Idai, heavy inland rains prompted rivers to burst their banks, submerging entire villages, cutting areas off from aid and ruining crops. There were concerns the same could happen again in northern Mozambique.

Before Kenneth hit, the government and aid workers moved around 30,000 people to safer buildings such as schools, however authorities said that around 680,000 people were in the path of the storm.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney and Stephen Eisenhammer; Writing by Emma Rumney; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Alexandra Zavis)

Source: OANN

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