A Volkswagen logo is seen on a new car model at the 89th Geneva International Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland March 5, 2019. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
March 15, 2019
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Volkswagen AG and its former chief executive Martin Winterkorn over the German automaker’s diesel emissions scandal, accusing the company of perpetrating a “massive fraud” on U.S. investors.
The suit seeks to bar Winterkorn from serving as an officer or director of a public U.S. company and recover “ill-gotten gains”. Winterkorn was charged by U.S. prosecutors in 2018 and accused of conspiring to cover up the German automaker’s diesel emissions cheating.
Volkswagen said the SEC complaint “is legally and factually flawed, and Volkswagen will contest it vigorously. The SEC has brought an unprecedented complaint over securities sold only to sophisticated investors who were not harmed and received all payments of interest and principal in full and on time.”
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
Fendi released a new £750 ($1000) scarf that resembles a vagina.
According to one article, the item of clothing “makes wearers look like they’re being born”.
Fendi later removed the scarf from its website.
But that’s not the most idiotic thing about this.
Where do I even start with this one?
Fendi released a new £750 ($1000) scarf that resembles a vagina.
According to one article, the item of clothing “makes wearers look like they’re being born”.
Fendi later removed the scarf from its website.
But that’s not the most idiotic thing about this.
null
Some permanently offended imbecile posted the image and claimed that the scarf and its promo spiel was transphobic, or more accurately “twansphobic af”.
Because as we know, in clown world, men can have babies too! Or something….God only knows at this point.
WikiLeaks has published an urgent statement to its official social media accounts, saying the Ecuadorian embassy in London is preparing to expel Julian Assange within “hours to days,” citing two “high level” Ecuadorian sources, and that the South American country “already has an agreement with the UK for his arrest.”
The statement published Thursday night grabbed headlines in US and UK press, with WikiLeaks supporters calling on crowds to gather outside the embassy in solidarity with Assange.
WikiLeaks said via Twitter, A high level source within the Ecuadorian state has told WikiLeaks that Julian Assange will be expelled within “hours to days” using the INA Papers offshore scandal as a pretext — and that it already has an agreement with the UK for his arrest.
BREAKING: A high level source within the Ecuadorian state has told @WikiLeaks that Julian Assange will be expelled within "hours to days" using the #INAPapers offshore scandal as a pretext–and that it already has an agreement with the UK for his arrest.https://t.co/adnJph79wq
UK police and surveillance teams have been camped outside the embassy 24/7 ever since he first entered the building in 2012 and was given asylum there while facing extradition to Sweden on assault charges, which many believe was a classic “honey trap” scenario orchestrated by the CIA or another western intelligence agency, so that he could eventually be transferred to US detention.
Assange expulsion off the back of #INAPapers offshore corruption scandal: Ecuador's former Consul to London (2010-2018) analysis
"In short, the government seeks a false pretext to end the asylum and protection of Julian Assange."https://t.co/UQft7LAXHu
The corruption scandal WikiLeaks referenced involves WikiLeaks’ reporting on papers alleging that Ecuadorian president Lenín Moreno enriched himself from an offshore account in Panama — allegations which Moreno has vehemently denied.
For his part, Moreno has ramped up pressure and scrutiny on Assange this week, saying in a radio interview that the whistleblower and journalist has egregiously and repeatedly violated the terms of his asylum.
Moreno went so far as to indirectly suggest Assange and WikiLeaks leaked personal photos of him and his family online, but without directly referencing him by name.
WikiLeaks to @AP: "If President Moreno wants to illegally terminate a refugee publisher’s asylum to cover up an offshore corruption scandal, history will not be kind," https://t.co/XDKTvpRW3l
“Photos of my bedroom, what I eat and how my wife and daughters and friends dance [have circulated],” Moreno described, as reported by The Guardian.
“We should ensure Mr. Assange’s life is not at risk but he’s violated the agreement we have with him so many times,” Moreno said, according to the report.
WikiLeaks says Moreno is attempting to generate a “false pretext” and publicly justifiable excuse on the back of the INA Papers scandal for ending Assange’s asylum on the legal technicality that “conditions” have been broken.
However, once off embassy grounds there’s no telling what Assange would eventually face — though his immediate arrest by UK authorities for skipping his bail years ago is certain.
WikiLeaks reminded followers that Chelsea Manning is still in US custody after returning to prison a month ago: “US whistleblower Chelsea Manning, who the US government re-jailed a month ago to coerce her into a secret interrogation, as part of government efforts to prosecute WikiLeaks, was moved out of solitary after filing appeals case,” WikiLeaks stated.
And while we’ve heard ‘days if not hours’ before in terms of Assange’s pending expulsion from the embassy, the combination of WikiLeaks’ ‘high level source’ and Moreno’s motive suggests it’s actually happening this time.
Documenting the scene outside of the embassy is Ruptly with a livestream:
Hundreds of schoolchildren take part in a climate protest in Hong Kong, Friday. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Students from around the world took to the streets and protested what they see as a lack of urgency on tackling climate change.
Thousands of students and adults from over 100 countries organized demonstrations through social media and via word of mouth. In all, 150,000 protesters mobilized across Europe.
Protests also took place in the U.S. although the turnout wasn’t nearly as robust.
Eight-year-old Havana Chapman-Edwards, who refers to herself as a “tiny diplomat,” spoke to a group of protesters at the U.S. Capitol.
Students play with an inflatable globe as they march to demand action on climate change, in Rome, Friday. (Alessandro Di Meo/ANSA via AP)
“Borders, languages and religions do not separate us. … Today we are telling the truth and we do not take no for an answer,” Chapman-Edwards declared.
Alexandria Villasenor, 13, helped organize a “die-in” at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
"It won't be successful until the world leaders take some action," Villasenor said.
Roughly 1,000 protesters gathered in San Francisco outside the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Diane Feinstein in order to pressure Democrats to pass the Green New Deal. Another 1,000 gathered at the state capitol in St. Paul, Minn., where they chanted, “Stop denying the earth is dying.”
A shipyard in Northern England that builds nuclear submarines has reportedly been evacuated after what is being called a bomb scare. (Associated British Ports Barrow)
A shipyard in Northern England that builds nuclear submarines has reportedly been evacuated after an anonymous tipster told officials a bomb had been placed on one of the vessels.
The port, located in Barrow-in-Furness, is used by BAE Systems, an international defense, security and aerospace company. An employee told The Mail all staff had been evacuated.
A spokesperson for BAE systems confirmed an incident took place and that one of the oldest docks at the shipyard, the Devonshire Dock Complex, had been closed.
“We can confirm there is an ongoing incident at our Barrow site and we are liaising with Cumbria Police who are carrying out an investigation," the spokesperson said. “As a precaution, the Devonshire Dock complex has been closed. Staff, contractors and local residents are being kept informed.”
YUMA, Ariz. – The names of two Marine pilots who died in a helicopter crash during a training mission in southwestern Arizona were released Monday as the crash remained under investigation.
U.S. Marine Corps officials identified the dead pilots as Maj. Matthew M. Wiegand, 34, of Ambler, Pennsylvania, and Capt. Travis W. Brannon, 30, of Nashville, Tennessee.
They said the AH-1Z Viper crashed about 8:45 p.m. Saturday on the vast Marine Corps Air Station Yuma training grounds while the pilots were conducting a training mission as part of a weapons and tactical instructor course.
Officials said Wiegand held qualifications in the AH-1Z Viper and AH-1W Super Cobra and Brannon was attending the semi-annual weapons and tactics instructor course hosted by the Yuma base.
"It is a somber day for the entire Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command as we mourn this tremendous loss," Brig. Gen. Roger B. Turner Jr., a commanding general at the base in Twentynine Palms, California.
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff Tuesday.
Wiegand, who joined the Marines in 2008, was assigned to the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One in Yuma. His previous duty stations included the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida; the Marine Corps Base Camp in Pendleton, California, and the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma.
Marine officials said Wiegand previously deployed in support of a Unit Deployment Program in Okinawa, Japan, and his personal decorations included the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with a gold star.
Brannon was assigned to the Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367, Marine Aircraft Group 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
His previous duty stations included the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, the Marine Corps Base Camp in Pendleton, and the Marine Corps Air Station in Kaneohe Bay.
Brannon also participated in Marine Rotational Force Darwin in Northern Territory, Australia, and his personal decorations included the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
JOHANNESBURG – A cyclone is expected to hit landfall in central Mozambique early Friday and aid groups are warning that tens of thousands of people could be displaced.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in a statement says Tropical Cyclone Idai could bring "further devastation" to a region already affected by heavy rains.
The aid group CARE in a separate statement says people in Malawi are also at risk after the southern African nation recently reported some 60 deaths in heavy rains.
The cyclone is expected to make landfall near Beira, one of Mozambique's largest cities.
FILE PHOTO: Jet Airways aircraft are seen parked at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, India, April 18, 2019. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo
April 26, 2019
By Aditi Shah and Abhirup Roy
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) – The grounding of India’s Jet Airways is turning into a quick windfall and long-term opportunity for international airlines keen to scoop up nearly a million outbound passengers from what was once the nation’s biggest airline.
Jet, which previously had a fleet of around 120 largely Boeing Co planes, was forced to indefinitely halt all flight operations on April 17 after its banks rejected the carrier’s plea for emergency funds.
The carrier’s descent into crisis has benefited international airlines in the form of rising fares and demand, data showed.
Fares from India to cities such as Dubai, London, New York, Singapore and Bali in the first quarter of 2019 rose between 4 percent and 32 percent from a year ago, according to Indian travel portal MakeMyTrip Ltd.
In the peak travel months of May and June, fares to London have spiked as much as 36 percent and tickets to San Francisco are up nearly 20 percent from a year ago, according to data from travel portal Yatra.com.
“For the next three months it’s actually bonanza time for international players,” said Ashish Nainan, a research analyst at CARE Ratings. “At least until the middle of June, the fares are not going to come down.”
Due to rising demand, even before Jet’s lessors grounded planes, carriers such as British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, Singapore Airlines Ltd and United Airlines saw an up to a 27 percent increase in passenger numbers from India in the last quarter of 2018, data from India’s aviation regulator showed. That is the latest period for which the data is available.
India is one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets, clocking 15-20 percent domestic growth in recent years. It has long had only two full-service long-haul carriers, state-run Air India and Jet.
Jet is now hoping to be bailed out by a new investor, with final bids due on May 10.
INCREASING CAPACITY
Before its grounding, Jet had the biggest share of India’s outbound international air traffic, carrying 12 percent of the 7.8 million passengers headed overseas in the Oct-Dec quarter, down from 14 percent a year earlier, data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation showed.
For an interactive graphic on Jet’s market share, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2WvDQYi
For an interactive graphic on average daily flights by the airline, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2FeFDel
The total number of passengers traveling overseas with Jet fell 10 percent during the last quarter of 2018 even as the outbound travel market grew about 5 percent.
Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines posted a 27 percent increase in passengers from India, Cathay registered 17 percent growth and British Airways saw a 10 percent rise in the same period.
Cathay said the events at Jet combined with increasing demand for travel had led it to deploy larger aircraft with more seats on some Indian routes.
“In the long term we would certainly like to be able to offer more capacity into India, not just on our existing routes but by establishing new services to secondary cities,” Cathay said in a statement.
Singapore Airlines, in an email to Reuters, said the Indian market is “very promising” but declined to give details of airfare levels or demand patterns in the wake of Jet’s exit, citing a quiet period before the release of its annual results.
DOMESTIC GAINS
Jet’s grounding has also had a big impact on the domestic market, with inter-city air fares to major cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata soaring more than 20 percent in May and June, according to Yatra.com.
The spike in fares is expected to underpin strong earnings for IndiGo and SpiceJet Ltd, which are set to report results for the quarter ended March 31 in the coming weeks.
“Domestic Indian carriers are the main benefactors, but I suspect if Jet fails to be revived by May 10 then Vistara and other airlines that ply international routes, particularly the lucrative Gulf market, are the main winners,” said Shukor Yusof, the head of aviation consultancy Endau Analytics. Vistara is a joint venture of India’s Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines.
Inadequate bilateral traffic rights between India and other countries, however, could be an impediment to foreign carriers’ hopes of winning business lost by Jet, some analysts said.
“Even before Jet’s operational shutdown, international capacity was significantly constrained,” said Kapil Kaul, CEO for South Asia of consultancy CAPA. “We have now more serious capacity challenge … this is unlikely to be stabilized in the near term.”
A new national government likely to be in place sometime after elections end in May is expected to address the international capacity constraints, and once bilateral agreements are eased airlines including Emirates, Turkish and Qatar would immediately benefit, said Kaul.
“We would love to add more flights but we are at the limit of the allocation granted to us for traffic rights,” Emirates Chief Commercial Officer Thierry Antinori told reporters in Dubai on Wednesday.
(Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Dubai, Jamie Freed in Singapore and Tanvi Mehta in Mumbai; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
FILE PHOTO: The company logo for pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is displayed on a screen on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid
April 26, 2019
By Pushkala Aripaka and Ankur Banerjee
(Reuters) – AstraZeneca Plc beat first-quarter sales and earnings expectations on Friday as the British drugmaker benefited from a push into cancer drugs and emerging markets including China.
Newer treatments such as lung cancer drug Tagrisso, now the company’s top selling medicine, have helped the drugmaker’s return to growth after years of crumbling sales due to patent losses on older drugs.
Sales in China have shown explosive growth, more than doubling since 2012, but AstraZeneca executives on Friday said that may not be sustained.
“The enormous growth you currently see in China, 28 percent, probably is not sustainable, but we feel very bullish that the growth will continue to be at a pace of between 15 percent and 20 percent,” Ruud Dobber, executive vice president, BioPharma, told Reuters.
Shares of the company were down 0.2 percent at 5,878 pence at 1031 GMT.
The turnaround in AstraZeneca’s fortunes has been powered by a push into cancer treatments led by Chief Executive Pascal Soriot, who saw off a 2014 takeover bid from Pfizer in part by promising annual sales of $45 billion by 2023.
In the first quarter, sales from its oncology unit rose 59 percent to $1.89 billion, accounting for 35 percent of total product sales.
The company has moved deeper into cancer therapy market through wide-ranging deals, including those for immunotherapy and targeted therapy. Last month, it agreed a multi-billion dollar oncology deal with Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo Co Ltd.
Interactive graphic on AZN’s top 10 drugs by sales – https://tmsnrt.rs/2W5XIRX
“We’re reaching that point where after years of having to keep faith, we have actually got something tangible to believe in,” Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Nicholas Hyett said.
AstraZeneca also backed its annual sales and earnings forecast and said it has extensively prepared for UK’s anticipated exit from the European Union, even in the event of a no-deal exit.
The company has already spent more than 40 million pounds ($52 million) on Brexit preparations, including stockpiling six weeks’ worth of drugs in the UK and four weeks in continental Europe to guard against shortages.
AstraZeneca said product sales rose 14 percent at constant currency to $5.47 billion in the quarter, led by its lung cancer drug Tagrisso and respiratory treatment Pulmicort.
Interactive graphic on AZN’s quarterly oncology sales – https://tmsnrt.rs/2W9tbCD
China sales increased by 28 percent to $1.24 billion in the quarter, accounting for nearly a quarter of overall product sales.
Core earnings came in at 89 cents per share in the quarter. Analysts on average were expecting core earnings of 85 cents per share and product sales of $5.29 billion, according to a company provided consensus of 19 analysts.
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka and Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr/Keith Weir)
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It’s the type of crime that doesn’t happen every day.
Police in the suburbs of Philadelphia say three suspects broke into a medical facility in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, last Saturday and fled with 18 colonoscopies – devices used for examining the health of patients’ colons.
Suspects are seen leaving a medical facility in Wynnewood, Pa., allegedly carrying 18 colonoscopes worth about $450,000. (Lower Merion Police Department)
The devices were reportedly worth a total of about $450,000, authorities said.
But police were perplexed about what the suspects might have planned to do with the instruments.
“This is not something that a typical pawn shop might accept,” Lower Merion Police Detective Sergeant Michael Vice told Philadelphia’s WCAU-TV. “My feeling would be that it was some type of black market sales.”
Such a market apparently does exist, Lower Merion Police Superintendent Michael J. McGrath told Philly.com.
“They appeared to know precisely where to go, and they pried the door open,” McGrath said of the suspects, who were captured on surveillance video leaving the facility, carrying bulging backpacks.
Police are hoping the suspects will be caught in the end.
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