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German prosecutors interview ex-Stasi agents over Lockerbie

Prosecutors in Berlin and the neighboring state of Brandenburg are interviewing former members of East Germany's secret police about the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.

All 259 people on board and 11 on the ground were killed when Pan Am Flight 103 ?blew up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.

Berlin prosecutors said Thursday on Twitter they have received a request for assistance from Scottish authorities "on the basis of which several alleged Stasi employees are questioned, including in Berlin."

German news agency dpa reported that prosecutors in Frankfurt an der Oder, 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Berlin, received similar requests. The ex-Stasi members are considered possible witnesses, not suspects.

Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was convicted of the bombing in 2001. He maintained his innocence until death in 2012.

Source: Fox News World

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UK PM May’s ‘reckless’ Brexit message angers the lawmakers she needs to win over

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement about Brexit in Downing Street in London
FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement about Brexit in Downing Street in London, Britain March 20, 2019. Jonathan Brady/Pool via REUTERS

March 21, 2019

By Kylie MacLellan

LONDON (Reuters) – If British Prime Minister Theresa May hoped a televised address late on Wednesday would help persuade wavering lawmakers to support her Brexit deal, it appears to have backfired, instead alienating the very people she needs to win over.

On Thursday, lawmakers lined up to attack the statement in which May blamed parliament for the need to seek a delay to Britain’s March 29 European Union exit. They branded it dangerous, reckless, toxic and irresponsible.

May’s Brexit deal has twice been crushed by parliament, first in January in the largest government defeat in modern history and again this month by a smaller, yet still sizeable, margin. She needs to win over at least 75 lawmakers to get it through.

“The Prime Minister’s statement was disgraceful,” said opposition Labour lawmaker Lisa Nandy, who represents a Brexit-supporting area. “Pitting parliament against the people in the current environment is dangerous and reckless,” she added on Twitter. “She’s attacking the MPs (Members of Parliament) whose votes she needs. It will have cost her support.”

Nandy had put forward a proposal which backed May’s deal on the condition parliament has a greater say in the next phase of Brexit talks, but told ITV: “I will not support a government that takes such a dangerous, reckless approach to democracy.”

After writing to the EU on Wednesday to request a three-month delay to Brexit, May told Britons parliament had done “everything possible to avoid making a choice”.

“Of this I am absolutely sure: you the public have had enough. You are tired of the infighting. You are tired of the political games and the arcane procedural rows,” she said in the televised statement from her Downing Street office.

“You want this stage of the Brexit process to be over and done with. I agree. I am on your side. It is now time for MPs to decide.”

May’s statement succeeded in uniting both pro-Brexit and pro-EU lawmakers – against her.

“If you are trying to persuade numbers of MPs to back a proposition, you don’t do that by insulting them,” pro-Brexit Conservative lawmaker Mark Francois told Sky News.

Conservative Sam Gyimah, who quit as a government minister over the Brexit deal and now supports a second referendum, said May resorting to a “blame game” was “all part of her strategy to run down the clock and rule out other options. Toxic.”

“DIAL DOWN THE HATE”

Several lawmakers said they had received death threats in recent weeks as Brexit has come to a head in parliament, and warned May’s comments had fueled the flames.

“Last week I received a message saying that my head should be chopped off,” said Labour lawmaker Paula Sherriff, who represents an electoral district neighboring one where Labour lawmaker Jo Cox was killed by a man obsessed with extreme right-wing ideology a week before the 2016 Brexit vote.

“I apprehended the prime minister last Thursday evening and I begged her ‘dial down the hate prime minister,'” she told parliament. “People are frightened … and the prime minister must show some leadership.”

Fellow Labour lawmaker Wes Streeting said May’s speech had been incendiary, warning on Twitter “If any harm comes to any of us, she will have to accept her share of responsibility.”

Asked about the suggestion May’s speech had put lawmakers at risk, her spokeswoman said: “I would flatly reject that.”

“It was a message to the public on a significant decision she has taken,” she said.

In response to the concerns, parliament’s Speaker, John Bercow, told lawmakers: “None of you is a traitor, all of you are doing your best … I believe passionately in the institution of parliament, in the rights of members of this House and in their commitment to their duty.”

“The sole duty of every member of parliament is to do what he or she thinks is right.”

(Editing by Stephen Addison)

Source: OANN

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Albania prosecutors confiscate illegally sold public land

Prosecutors have confiscated public land on the western Albanian coast that was illegally sold or owned by a former lawmaker and other officials.

A statement Friday said that prosecutors seized 30 hectares (75 acres) of public land in Lezha district, 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of the capital, Tirana, estimated to be worth some 40 million euro ($45 million.)

Arben Ndoka, a former lawmaker, and about two dozen others have allegedly falsified documents for the land to be sold at inflated prices for development as tourist resorts, or at symbolic prices to fictitious owners.

Ndoka, who is under house arrest, denied the allegations.

Albania is working on fighting corruption as part of its bid to join the European Union.

Source: Fox News World

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MLB concerned at number of strikeouts, says Torre

FILE PHOTO: Joe Torre testifies before Senate Committee on Commerce Science and Transportation on domestic violence in professional sports in Washington
FILE PHOTO: Joe Torre, Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations (MLB), testifies before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on domestic violence in professional sports in Washington December 2, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron

March 20, 2019

By Jack Tarrant

TOKYO (Reuters) – Major League Baseball is concerned at strikeouts surpassing the number of hits and needs more balls in play to arrest the dip in popularity, the league’s chief baseball officer Joe Torre said on Wednesday.

Last season was the first in the league’s history to feature more strikeouts than hits, leading to calls for changes to increase interest.

Average attendance for regular season games in 2018 fell four percent from the previous year to 28,830 per game, according to MLB, while the total number of fans who showed up at the ballpark fell below 70 million for the first time since 2003.

Speaking ahead of the MLB season opener in Tokyo on Wednesday, Torre said the league needs to create more balls in play.

“I am concerned with our game because whenever you go through a season and there are more strikeouts than hits, then it is a concern to me,” said Torre, who led the New York Yankees to four World Series titles as a coach.

“To me the excitement of baseball, to watch the game and manage the game, is to have enough balls in play and we don’t have enough balls in play.”

According to NBC Sports, hitters were sent back to the dugout 41,207 times and recorded 41,019 safeties in 2018.

“We need to put the ball in play more,” said the 78-year-old Torre, who works as liaison between the MLB and its 30 clubs.

“Everyone is throwing 98-99 mph, everyone is trying to strike people out… it is all a concern to me.”

The Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics will start the new MLB season in the Tokyo Dome later on Wednesday and have been playing exhibition games as part of the league’s plan to spread the game in Asia.

“What has been great about the exhibition games here is that there has been a lot going on; players on bases, running the bases and that is exciting to me,” continued Torre.

“That is when the game is going to pick up pace, when we dare the hitters to hit the ball as opposed to trying to get them to miss the ball.”

(Reporting by Jack Tarrant; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)

Source: OANN

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Bashar Assad moves to regain full control of war-torn Syria with ISIS all but defeated

With the ISIS caliphate all but defeated and routed out of Syria, strongman Bashar Assad is using all means necessary to re-consolidate control over his war-ravaged country, targeting civilian infrastructure within rebel-held territory.

Throughout March, the Assad regime has targeted a school, a bakery, a hospital, and other medical facilities in its brutal attempt to regain control of Idlib Province, the last rebel stronghold of the Syrian opposition.

“Eight years into the crisis, the Syrian government continues to show utter disregard for the laws of war and the lives of civilians,” said Lynn Maalouf, Middle East Research Director at Amnesty International.

“The ongoing attacks in Idlib fit the same pattern we’ve seen before, in Aleppo, Daraa, Damascus Countryside, whereby Syrian government forces hit hospitals, medical facilities, emergency responders, bakeries, schools, leaving people no choice but to flee,” Maalouf added.

AS CALIPHATE CRUMBLES, ISIS FIGHTERS RAGE OVER ABSENT LEADER AL-BAGHDADI

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, people hold Syrian flags and portraits of President Bashar Assad during a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's move to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Israeli occupied Golan Heights, in the coastal port city of Tartus, Syria, Wednesday, March. 27, 2019.

In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, people hold Syrian flags and portraits of President Bashar Assad during a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's move to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Israeli occupied Golan Heights, in the coastal port city of Tartus, Syria, Wednesday, March. 27, 2019. (SANA via AP)

Assad has essentially won the civil war which broke out in 2011. While his autocratic rule was once threatened, he is making attempts to reestablish himself as a world leader on the international stage.

Formerly opposed to Assad, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and other regional actors accepted the undeniable reality on the battlefield that Assad is victorious and there is no chance of a rebel victory.

The UAE, once a major foe of Assad that called for his removal, announced in December it would restore ties with Damascus and reopened its embassy. Bahrain also resumed diplomatic relations the same month.

Assad’s main backers, Iran and Russia, will likely ensure that Syria receives the necessary post-conflict reconstruction funding to stabilize the country while also increasing their influence in post-civil war Syria.

Reconstruction funding for Syria is estimated at $400 billion.

BRITISH ISIS BRIDE ADMITS SHE WAS 'BRAINWASHED' INTO BELIEVEING ISIS, HOPES FOR SECOND CHANCE

22 March 2019, Syria, Idlib: Members of the Syrian civil defense extinguish a fire in a house allegedly targeted by an airstrike in the town of Kafraya in the north of Idlib. According to activists 10 people died in airstrikes allegedly carried out by Russian warplanes.

22 March 2019, Syria, Idlib: Members of the Syrian civil defense extinguish a fire in a house allegedly targeted by an airstrike in the town of Kafraya in the north of Idlib. According to activists 10 people died in airstrikes allegedly carried out by Russian warplanes. (Getty)

It’s also likely Syria will need substantial assistance from the United States and the European Union. Much like Syria’s neighbors, calls for Assad’s removal have largely died down in the West, as the U.S. and E.U accepted the hard truth that Assad won. However, the U.S. and E.U want Syria to commit to political reforms before providing economic assistance.

But Assad has made it clear he does not intend on implementing any political reforms to reduce his hold on power.

The United States and European Union will have to balance the reality that there are millions of people suffering from a humanitarian catastrophe caused by the Assad regime's indiscriminate repression against the need to stabilize the country and prevent it from civil war recurrence.

The ongoing battle for Idlib could spark a renewed refugee crisis with millions potentially looking to flee the onslaught from Assad and regime allied forces, causing massive civilian casualties.

THE ISIS CALIPHATE IS GONE - BUT ISIS WILL BE BACK

“If this turns into an all-out offensive on Idlib, it would result in mass casualties and displacement,” Faysal Itani, Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, told Fox News.

Puppeteer Walid Rashed performs a puppet act for Syrian children, in the midst of the rubble of damaged buildings, to mark the World Theatre Day as part of his tour of Saraqib in the rebel-held province of Idlib. 

Puppeteer Walid Rashed performs a puppet act for Syrian children, in the midst of the rubble of damaged buildings, to mark the World Theatre Day as part of his tour of Saraqib in the rebel-held province of Idlib.  (Getty)

There are three million people trapped in Idlib, and nearly one million are displaced from other places in Syria. Idlib was also one of the first cities to take up armed resistance against the regime and the remaining rebels hunkered down in the province are primarily Jihadist militants.

Jidhasit fighters in Idlib are numbered in the low thousands, according to some estimates, and are also some of the most extremist forces that are left battling the government.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Syrian affiliate of Al Qaeda formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, is the most formidable Jihadist group currently operating in Idlib.

LAST ISIS ENCLAVE A SCENE OF 'DEVASTATION': FOX NEWS VISITS ONLY REMAINING VILLAGE RULED BY TERROR GROUP

The United States remains deeply concerned about the humanitarian consequences of the recent attacks on Idlib. In early March, the U.S. State Department accused Russia and Syria of escalating violence against innocent civilians in Idlib.

“The United States views with grave concern escalating violence in recent days in Idlib and neighboring areas prompted by Russian and Assad regime airstrikes and artillery,” State Department Deputy Spokesperson Robert Palladino said in a statement.

“Despite Russia’s claims to be targeting terrorists, these operations have caused dozens of civilian casualties and have targeted first responders as they attempt to save lives on the ground. These abhorrent attacks on civilian infrastructure and on settlements for internally displaced people must end now."

Source: Fox News World

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Steve Bannon says a Harris-O’Rourke ticket has ‘best shot’ against Trump in 2020

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon believes a Democratic ticket of U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris of California and former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas has the best shot to unseat President Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

Bannon made his claim Friday during an interview with CNBC. But he also said he believes Trump will likely be re-elected.

"I think the best they're going to have, and I don't think these people will defeat him, I think a combination ... of [Kamala] Harris for president and Beto O'Rourke for VP is a way to mobilize their base and give it the best shot," Bannon said on CNBC's "Squawk Box."

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks at a town hall gathering in Hemingway, S.C. (Associated Press)

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks at a town hall gathering in Hemingway, S.C. (Associated Press)

Neither candidate has suggested possible running mates.

The Democratic field for the 2020 presidential election is packed with at least a dozen candidates. Speculation is still mounting over whether former Vice President Joe Biden will launch a White House bid.

Bannon said that if no clear candidate has broken out of the pack that can take on Trump “one-on-one” by the fall of 2019, Democrats may have to bring back Hillary Clinton, Politico reported.

"People should not count her out," he said. "She's going to be sitting in the bullpen waiting for the call."

Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke speaks during a stop at the Central Park Coffee Company in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. (Associated Press)

Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke speaks during a stop at the Central Park Coffee Company in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. (Associated Press)

Trump has already launched an offensive against his potential rivals, Bannon said, taking verbal jabs at U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

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"She's probably got some of the most well-formed policy positions, particularly in comparison to some of the other candidates on the left," Bannon said. "He's basically blown her up already. She's in single digits, and I don't think she'll break out."

Trump has also bashed O’Rourke for his hand movements during his candidacy announcement.

Source: Fox News Politics

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The Latest: $1M bond for suspect in North Dakota slayings

The Latest on bodies found at a business in Mandan, North Dakota (all times local):

2:10 p.m.

A judge has set $1 million cash bond for a North Dakota man accused of killing four people, citing the "heinous nature" of the crimes.

Chad Isaak, a 44-year-old chiropractor and Navy veteran, faces four murder charges in the slayings Monday in the city of Mandan.

The victims' bodies were found at the property management company where they worked. Three of the four had been stabbed and shot, and the fourth had been stabbed.

Morton County Judge James Hill said he agreed with prosecutors' request for the $1 million bond.

Assistant Morton County State's Attorney Gabrielle Goter said Isaak carefully planned the killings and tried to hide them. She said that raised concerns about the safety of witnesses and other employees at the property management company if he's free on bond.

___

12:40 p.m.

A criminal complaint and affidavit accuses a North Dakota man of trying to deceive surveillance video and then bleaching weapons and his clothing after killing four people.

Chad Isaak is charged with four counts of murder in Monday's attack at RJR Maintenance and Management in Mandan, a town near the capital of Bismarck. All four slain were RJR employees.

Investigators say surveillance video shows Isaak entering RJR wearing brightly colored clothing, then leaving in dark clothing after the slayings. They say a search of his home found a knife with bent blade tip, parts of a handgun and clothing all bearing traces of chlorine bleach.

The complaint also says nine bullet casings were found at his house. The victims were believed to have been shot nine times. The victims were also stabbed.

The complaint doesn't give a possible motive.

___

11:10 a.m.

The owner of a mobile home park where a man arrested in the slayings four people in North Dakota lived says the suspect "never attracted any attention."

Forty-four-year-old Chad Isaak is due in court Friday, a day after his arrest on suspicion of killing the business owner and three employees at the business that managed the mobile home park. Police say he shot and stabbed the victims, but they don't yet have a motive for the slayings.

Rolf Eggers says he bought the mobile home park in Washburn last fall and Isaak "came with the park." Eggers says that he didn't know Isaak. He says neighbors never complained about him.

The mobile home park is in Washburn, about 35 miles (56 kilometers) from the Mandan management company, RJR Maintenance and Management.

Eggers says he hasn't been contacted by law enforcement.

___

9:25 a.m.

A chiropractor suspected of killing four people at a property management business in North Dakota is due in court.

Forty-four-year-old Chad Isaak is jailed after his arrest Thursday on suspicion of killing the business owner and three employees in Mandan. Authorities say he shot and stabbed the victims.

Mandan Police Chief Jason Ziegler said authorities do not yet have a motive, but that Isaak lived on property managed by the company, RJR Maintenance and Management. Police found the bodies on Monday.

Isaak was expected to appear in court Friday afternoon. He's not yet been formally charged.

He lives in Washburn, which is 35 miles (56 kilometers) north of Mandan.

Source: Fox News National

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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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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)

Source: OANN

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