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Incendiary devices thrown at Turkish consulate in Zurich

Swiss police say two incendiary devices have been thrown at the Turkish consulate general in Zurich and that three men have been arrested.

Zurich police say officers patrolling the area noticed the incident, in which a hedge outside the building caught fire, shortly before 3 a.m. Monday.

They were able to extinguish the blaze immediately.

They arrested three men aged 17, 18 and 19 who tried to flee the scene when they saw police arrive. Police appealed for witnesses who may have noticed any suspicious activity to come forward.

Source: Fox News World

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Library opens archive dedicated to rocker Lou Reed

The New York Public Library has opened an archive dedicated to pioneering alternative rock musician Lou Reed.

The library acquired the archive after performance artist and musician Laurie Anderson, who was married to Reed, decided to share it with an institution that could preserve and showcase the archive. The New York Times reports the archive includes a large collection of personal notes, photographs and more than 600 hours of recordings.

Anderson says Reed never discussed what to do with his belongings before his death in 2013. She says she thought the archive should be accessible to young musicians and anyone interested in his life.

Reed was the lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter for The Velvet Underground, and had a solo career that spanned decades after leaving the band.

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Information from: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com

Source: Fox News National

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Nike shares dip on North America weakness but Wall Street remains upbeat

Nike shoes are seen on display in New York
FILE PHOTO: Nike shoes are seen on display in New York, U.S., March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

March 22, 2019

By Nivedita Balu

(Reuters) – Shares of Nike Inc fell 4 percent on Friday after the sportswear maker’s North America sales fell short of estimates for the first time in a year, but Wall Street analysts seemed more enthused about its new products and online growth.

The company faced intense pressure from European rivals Adidas and Puma a year ago, but has managed to win back market share with new launches of its popular Air Max and Jordan sneakers, increased focus on women’s wear and higher investment in online business.

“The athletic footwear cycle and brand power are solid. Nike’s business is strengthening in North America, and we expect the company to continue to recapture the share it has lost to Adidas,” said Jefferies analyst, adding that the stock might be slightly down given “high expectations”.

The company on Thursday blamed delay in new launches for a slowdown in apparel sales in North America during the quarter, which was marked by an outcry on social media after a Nike sneaker worn by Duke University basketball star Zion Williamson ripped open during a high-profile game.

Still, the stock continues to be one of Wall Street’s favorites. Out of 34 brokerages covering the stock, 25 analysts rate it ‘buy’ or higher and only one analyst has a sell rating on the stock.

Nike’s shares trade at 28.6 times the company’s 12-month forward earnings, compared with rival Adidas’ 21.5 times and Under Armour’s 59.5 times, according to Refinitiv IBES data.

Just two brokerages – Credit Suisse and UBS – lowered their target on the stock. Credit Suisse cut its price by $3 to $97, still well above the median price target of $92.5.

Nike’s online business, which includes sales from the SNKRS and Nike apps, was the main profit driver in the reported quarter. Revenue from that business rose 36 percent in the quarter.

While most analysts were enthusiastic about the results, some said higher expenses as the only dark spot in an otherwise strong report.

Jefferies analyst Randal Konik flagged a rise in selling, general and administrative expenses due to wage-related expenses.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Writing by Sweta Singh; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

Source: OANN

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Communities struggle to cope after killings that authorities have linked to illegal immigrants

Emotions ran high at a San Jose, Calif. community meeting this week where residents questioned local officials about the brutal stabbing death of Bambi Larson, who was allegedly killed by an undocumented immigrant wanted by federal immigration officials for deportation.

Authorities said Carlos Eduardo Arevalo Carranza – a native of El Salvador with a long criminal history and admitted gang ties -- stalked Larson, 59, before the February attack in her home.

“He had a crime record,” San Jose resident Connie Schneider told the Bay Area's FOX 2. “He shouldn't have been able to do this to anybody.”

LOESCH ON CA WOMAN'S MURDER: 'INNOCENT PEOPLE ARE PAYING' FOR DEMS' SANCTUARY POLICIES

Several communities have been shocked in recent weeks by slayings that authorities have attributed to suspects described as illegal immigrants, drawing attention to President Trump's call for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and the nationwide debate over sanctuary policies adopted by some states and cities that critics say have allowed some violent criminals living in the U.S. illegally to evade deportation.

Carranza, 24, had been deported back to El Salvador in 2013 but re-entered the United States illegally. The case has put a spotlight on California’s sanctuary laws, which allowed him to go free even though federal immigration officials had requested local authorities detain him in an effort to begin deportation proceedings. Those requests went unanswered.

San Jose and Santa Clara County officials have come under scrutiny for not handing Carranza over to federal officials.

“I think everybody believes something needs to be done,” Larson’s friend, George Bisceglia, told FOX 2. “There’s obviously a disconnect somewhere.”

“I think everybody believes something needs to be done. There’s obviously a disconnect somewhere.”

— George Bisceglia, friend of a California murder victim

Sheriff's deputy mourned

North of California on Wednesday, residents and law enforcement officials were mourning Kittitas County, Wash., sheriff's deputy Ryan Thompson, who died Tuesday after exchanging gunfire with a suspect who allegedly evaded a traffic stop.

Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Thompson, 42, was shot and killed and a police officer was wounded after they exchanged gunfire with a road rage driving suspect Tuesday, authorities said Wednesday. (Kittitas County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Thompson, 42, was shot and killed and a police officer was wounded after they exchanged gunfire with a road rage driving suspect Tuesday, authorities said Wednesday. (Kittitas County Sheriff's Office via AP)

“You have to come and support our community,” Kittitas County resident Tami Merkle told Seattle’s KING 5 News. “And give our love to their family and the fallen officer.”

The suspect, 29-year-old Juan Manuel Flores Del Toro, entered the U.S. in 2014 on a temporary agricultural work visa. Investigators say he fatally shot Thompson, 42, and wounded Kittitas police Officer Benito Chavez, who is expected to survive.

Flores Del Toro was fatally shot by officers during the gunfire exchange.

“For this to happen here? It’s insane. You don’t get that here,” said Ethan Keaton, 17, a junior at Ellensburg High School, who was near a growing memorial at Kittitas Elementary School, according to the Seattle Times.

“For this to happen here? It’s insane. You don’t get that here.”

— Ethan Keaton, 17, student in area where a sheriff's deputy was killed this week

First United Methodist Rev. Jen Stuart changed the signage outside her church Wednesday to read, "Together we mourn Deputy Thompson, pray for Officer Chavez."

“This is the kind of thing that can tear a community apart – it can also bring us together if we choose to allow it to do that,” Stuart said.

“This is the kind of thing that can tear a community apart – it can also bring us together if we choose to allow it to do that.”

— The Rev. Jen Stuart

Four slain in Nevada 

In Reno, Nev., the killings of four people have become part of the national immigration debate. The bodies of Connie Koontz, 56; Sophia Renken, 74; Gerald "Jerry" David, 81; and David's wife, 80-year-old Sharon, were found between Jan. 10 and Jan. 16 in Gardnerville and South Reno.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT LINKED TO MULTIPLE MURDERS ALLEGEDLY STOLE VICTIMS' JEWELRY, COURT DOCS SAY

Wilber Ernesto Martinez-Guzman, 19 -- whom investigators say entered the U.S. illegally from El Salvador – has been charged with multiple felony counts related his alleged 10-day rampage because he needed money to buy drugs. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday to four murder counts.

President Trump cited the case as evidence for his promised U.S.-Mexico border wall and the Davids' daughters attended Trump's State of the Union address last month.

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Since the killings, the family members have remembered the Davids as a generous couple who stepped up when anyone needed anything.

"They took me under their wing and loved me unconditionally," the couple’s niece, Michelle Drummond, told the Reno Gazette-Journal in February. "I'm a better person for knowing them."

Source: Fox News National

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U.S. consumers forecast more spending than a year ago: NY Fed

Sears Kenmore washing machines are shown for sale
Sears Kenmore washing machines are shown for sale inside a Sears department store in La Jolla, California, U.S., March 22, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake

February 19, 2019

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. consumers expect to spend more money in 2019 than they did a year ago, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed on Tuesday.

Households expect larger increases in spending than they forecast the year prior on items including clothing, housing and transportation, data from the Survey of Consumer Expectations conducted in December showed. People with a high school education or less, in particular, drove the increase, the New York Fed said.

The average expected growth in spending in 2019 rose to 2.8 percent from 2.3 percent the year prior, according to the survey.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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The Latest: 2nd mosque shooting reported in New Zealand

The Latest on shootings at mosques in New Zealand (all times local):

3:45 p.m.

New Zealand media say a shooting has occurred in a second mosque in the city of Christchurch.

No details were immediately available.

Earlier Friday afternoon, police had urged people to stay indoors as authorities responded to a shooting at the Masjid Al Noor mosque.

A neighbor described mass casualties inside the mosque and said he saw the gunman flee.

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3 p.m.

A witness says many people have been killed in a mass shooting at a mosque in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.

Police have not described the scale of the Friday shooting but urged people in central Christchurch to stay indoors.

Witness Len Peneha says he saw a man dressed in black enter the Masjid Al Noor mosque and then heard dozens of shots, followed by people running from the mosque in terror.

He says he also saw the gunman flee before emergency services arrived

Peneha says he went into the mosque to try and help: "I saw dead people everywhere."

Source: Fox News World

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UN gives green light for North Koreans to travel to Vietnam

U.N. diplomats say the Security Council committee monitoring sanctions against North Korea has given a green light to Kim Jong Un's delegation to travel to Vietnam next week for talks with U.S. President Donald Trump on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

The diplomats said Wednesday that Vietnam's government requested an exemption from sanctions for the entire delegation to travel to Hanoi and there was no objection by any of the 15 council nations. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because consultations were private.

The exemption covers anyone in the delegation who is on the U.N. sanctions blacklist and thus banned from traveling and subject to an asset freeze. It will also allow all delegation members to take home luxury goods whose import to North Korea is banned by the council.

Source: Fox News World

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai
FILE PHOTO: A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai, India, May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

April 26, 2019

By Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Surging global oil prices will pose a first big challenge to India’s new government, whoever wins an election now under way, especially as domestic prices have been allowed to lag, meaning consumers are in for a painful surge as they catch up.

For oil-import dependent India, higher global prices could lead to a weaker rupee, higher inflation, the ruling out of interest rate cuts and could further weigh on twin current account and budget deficits, economists warned.

But compounding the future pain, state-run fuel suppliers and retailers have held off passing on to consumers the higher prices during a staggered general election, which began on April 11 and ends on May 23, according to sources familiar with the situation.

That delay is expected to be unwound once the election is over. And there could be additional price increases to make up for losses or profits missed during the period of delayed increases, the sources said.

In some major Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, pump prices are adjusted periodically so they move largely in tandem with international crude prices.

That was what was supposed to happen in India but the election means there have been many days when pump prices have been unchanged.

In New Delhi, for example, while crude oil prices have gone up by nearly $9 a barrel, or about 12 percent, in the past six weeks, gasoline prices have only risen by 0.47 rupees a liter, or 0.6 percent.

State-controlled fuel suppliers and retailers declined to say why they had delayed price increases, or discuss whether there has been any pressure from the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A government spokesman declined to comment.

The opposition Congress party said Modi’s government was violating its own policy of daily price revision by advising the state oil companies to hold prices steady.

“The government should cut fuel taxes otherwise consumers will have to pay much higher oil prices once the elections are over,” said Akhilesh Pratap Singh, a senior leader of the Congress party.

(GRAPHIC: India Polls: Fuel price hike lags crude surge – https://tmsnrt.rs/2XLlxik)

Nitin Goyal, treasurer at the All India Petroleum Dealers Association, representing fuel stations in 25 states, said prices were similarly held down for 19 days in the southern state of Karnataka last year, when it held state assembly elections.

Only for them to surge after the vote.

“Consumers should be ready for a rude shock of a massive jump in retail prices, similar to the level we have seen in the Karnataka state election,” Goyal said.

‘CREDIT NEGATIVE’

Sri Paravaikkarasu, director for Asia oil at Singapore-based consultancy FGE, said retail prices of gasoline and gasoil prices would have been up to 6 percent, or about 4 rupee, higher if they had been allowed to rise in line with global prices.

“Indian pump prices have failed to keep up with the recent uptrend in crude prices,” Paravaikkarasu said.

“With the country’s general elections underway, the incumbent government has been keeping pump prices relatively unchanged.”

India had switched to a daily price revision in June 2017 from a revision every two weeks, as the government allowed retailers to set prices.

But the government faced protests last October when retailers raised prices by up to 10 rupees a liter after the crude oil price went above $80 a barrel, forcing it to cut fuel taxes.

Global prices rose to their highest level in 2019 on Thursday, days after the United States announced all Iran sanction waivers would end by May, pressuring importers including India to stop buying Tehran’s oil. [O/R]

Higher oil prices will mean Asia’s third largest economy is likely to see growth of less than 7 percent rate this fiscal year, economists said. Growth slowed to 6.6 percent in the October-December quarter, the slowest in five quarters.

Rating agency CARE has warned that a 10 percent rise in global oil prices could increase demand for dollars, putting pressure on the rupee and widening the current account deficit.

India’s oil import bill rose by nearly one-third in the fiscal year ending March 31 to $140.5 billion, against $108 billion the previous year.

“The increase in international oil prices is a credit negative for the Indian economy,” ICRA, the Indian arm of the Fitch rating agency, said in a note.

“Every $10/ bbl increase in crude oil prices increases the fiscal deficit by about 0.1 percent of GDP.”

Any big price rise would also build a case for the central bank to keep rates steady, or even raise them.

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee, which cut the benchmark policy repo rate by 25 basis points this month, warned that rising oil and food prices could push up inflation.

Policymakers are worried that a sustained increase in the oil price in the range of $70-75/barrel or higher can move the rupee down by 3-4 percent on an annual basis.

The rupee has depreciated by 1.24 percent against the dollar since a year high in mid-March.

($1 = 70.1800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Martin Howell and Rob Birsel)

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