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Interviewing Islamic State detainees in Syria

FILE PHOTO: Belgian women Tatiana Wielandt and Bouchra Abouallal, each 26, who joined Islamic State in Syria are pictured in Ain Issa
FILE PHOTO: Belgian women Tatiana Wielandt and Bouchra Abouallal, both 26, who joined Islamic State in Syria are pictured in Ain Issa, Syria March 10, 2019. REUTERS/Issam Abdallah/File Photo

April 3, 2019

AIN ISSA, Syria (Reuters) – The Reuters team sat down in the dimly lit room in the camp in Ain Issa, northern Syria, and waited for the two Belgian sisters-in-law to arrive.

Our reporters in Brussels had been following their story for months: the women had joined Islamic State in Syria at its height, surrendered to Kurdish forces in 2017, and one of their mothers was trying to get them home with their six children.

Now Tatiana Wielandt and Bouchra Abouallal had agreed to speak to us face to face in the camp, a fenced-in expanse of tarpaulin tents close to the Turkish border under the control of their captors, the U.S.-backed SDF.

We had their location. But questions remained – not least how freely would they be able to talk, surrounded by their guards?

A security official brought them in with Wielandt’s youngest son – blond, barefoot and clinging to her robe – then left them alone for an hour-long interview.

Our team in Syria – correspondent Ellen Francis and video journalist Issam Abdallah – began by trying to make sure the women wanted to be there, watching for any signs that they were under mental or physical strain or under the sway of the guards.

“You can never be fully sure people in captivity are speaking of their own free will, but we still did our best to establish that they had consented,” said Francis. “We explained who we were and what we planned to report, trying to give them the chance to back out.”

The team’s reports made the context of interviews clear for the reader, with the TV footage showing the fenced-in life at the camp.

COMMON GROUND

Francis and two women were all the same age, 26 – a small piece of common ground that helped ease some awkwardness.

Abouallal and Wielandt said they had renounced Islamic State and were prepared to let their children go home without them if the Belgian government continued to block their return.

The interview went to the heart of a debate still raging about what to do with fighters’ families trying to get back to Europe, amid fears that they would bring their militancy back with them.

As everyone relaxed, the conversation ranged wider. The women, wearing hijab but showing their faces, asked for news from the outside world and shared anecdotes about their children’s troubles living in the camp.

They talked about falling in love with the two men they followed to Syria – Wielandt married Abouallal’s brother when they were teenagers. Both men died within a year of arriving in Syria.

“I felt we managed to have a long, relaxed conversation given all the circumstances – the chaos of the camp, the reality that they were in custody,” Francis said.

“We are there to move a story forward, not to judge. We regularly report on people from all sides of a conflict, asking them about their choices without dehumanizing them.”

(Reporting by Ellen Francis in Beirut and Alissa de Carbonnel in Brussels; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: OANN

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Ex-Exec Resigned Over Fox’s ‘Relationship With Facts’

A former Newscorp executive resigned in 2017 over what he considered a "significant change in tone" and a "significant shift in the relationship with facts, particularly on the Fox side."

"I hadn't been exposed, for a long time to a lot of what was going on on the opinion side, but beyond that I noticed a significant change in tone," former Newscorp senior vice president Joseph Azam told CNN's "Reliable Sources." 

"I'm a big believer in the marketplace of ideas, and I was fine working with and for people who had very different values and opinions than I did, but I noticed a significant shift in the ferociousness, and frankly, in the relationship with facts, particularly on the Fox side."

The "run up to the election" is when Azam noticed a change in tone and rhetoric that he said made him uncomfortable and "was exposed to it every day."

"It became very profitable to kind of fall in line with some of the anti-immigrant, anti-refugee, anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim rhetoric, and I was affected by that," Azam said.

Source: NewsMax America

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Soros-Funded Media Matters Smears Tucker Carlson Over Decade-Old Shock Jock Radio Appearances

Media Matters launched a new smear against Fox News host Tucker Carlson on Sunday compiling a bunch of out-of-context, heavily edited comments/jokes he made over a decade ago while on shock jock radio with Bubba the Love Sponge.

You can see Media Matters’ manipulative edited video on YouTube if you’re so inclined.

Tucker is refusing to apologize:

Carlson was employed by MSNBC at the time and it caused no controversy.

Bill Maher made similar comments in the past and was defended by the left:

Does anyone believe for a second these leftists give a s*** what Tucker Carlson said on shock jock radio with Bubba the Love Sponge so many years ago?

They want to take him down because he represents a threat to the establishment.

They don’t like the fact he stands up against the US war machine and speaks out against mass immigration.

They don’t like the fact he gives honest leftists like Tulsi Gabbard and Andrew Yang a platform on national television.

That’s why some loser went through potentially hundreds of these old interviews and listened to them in their entirety just find some comments/jokes they could take out of context to attack him over.

Ian Miles Cheong nailed it:

They’re trying to destroy this man because of the threat he represents to the establishment and their billionaire globalist bosses. They can’t argue in favor of prog-globalism and defend brainwashing kids with transgender propaganda so they just dig up old comments they can misconstrue and take out of context.

A search of their archives shows they defended Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s defense of infanticide and didn’t even write about his blackface-KKK controversy (other than to attack one Fox News employee for suggesting Northam should “dig in” and not resign [which was also taken totally out of context]).

These dishonest hacks don’t give a damn about anything other than helping their globalist masters seize power.

Kudos to Tucker Carlson for refusing to issue a groveling apology and instead standing strong in the face of these dishonest smears.

Source: InfoWars

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The Latest: Egypt amendments pass, now set for referendum

The Latest on amendments to Egypt's constitution (all times local):

6:40 p.m.

Egypt's parliament has passed proposed amendments to the constitution that could see President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi remain in power until 2030.

The country's state-run MENA news agency says the 596-member assembly, backed by el-Sissi supporters, gave its final approval on Tuesday.

The amendments now face a national referendum, likely before early May when the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts.

The proposals would only extend a president's term in office from four to six years. But they include a special article to extend el-Sissi's current, second term to six years and allow him to run for another six-year term in 2024.

Critics of the move argue that Egypt is slipping back into authoritarianism, eight years after a pro-democracy uprising ended autocrat Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule.

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10:35 a.m.

Egypt's parliament is holding the last debate on proposed amendments to the constitution that could see President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi remain in power until 2030.

Tuesday's session comes ahead of a final vote by lawmakers on the changes to the 2014 charter, before the amendments are put on a national referendum, likely before early May when the Muslim holy month of Ramadan starts.

The proposals would only extend a president's term in office from four to six years. But they include a special article to extend el-Sissi's current, second term to six years and allow him to run for another six-year term in 2024.

Critics of the move argue that Egypt is slipping back into authoritarianism, eight years after a pro-democracy uprising ended autocrat Hosni Mubarak's three-decade rule.

Source: Fox News World

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Vietnam artist paints 'peace' portraits of Trump, Kim for Hanoi summit

President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have inspired one Vietnam artist to paint their portraits as a means to spread a message of “love and peace” ahead of the leaders’ summit in Hanoi this week.

Vietnam artist Tran Lam Binh, 36, has created about 10 pop-art portraits of Trump and Kim on canvas and paper using bright pink, blue, orange and yellow colors applied with casual brush strokes. The portraits include heart decorations and the words "Love" and "Peace."

90K BOTTLES OF RUSSIAN VODKA BELIEVED TO BE FOR KIM JONG UN SEIZED BY DUTCH CUSTOMS

A self-proclaimed Trump obsessive, Binh has turned out nearly 50 paintings of the U.S. president since the business mogul’s White House run began in 2015. Binh has even displayed some paintings at an exhibition on the sidewalk outside the White House.

Artist Tran Lam Binh is seen with some of his creations in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 25, 2019. (Associated Press)

Artist Tran Lam Binh is seen with some of his creations in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 25, 2019. (Associated Press)

"I liked his expression when he was running for president," Binh said. "He seemed like the world's most contemporary artwork. He's at a relatively advanced age, but very youthful, dynamic, fashionable and with inner strength that shows the greatness of a man who can change the world — and so I began my paintings."

"I liked his expression when he was running for president. He seemed like the world's most contemporary artwork. He's at a relatively advanced age, but very youthful, dynamic, fashionable and with inner strength that shows the greatness of a man who can change the world — and so I began my paintings."

— Tran Lam Binh, 36, Vietnamese painter

Binh, who has also sculpted a 6 ½ foot statue of the president, began expanding his portfolio in 2017 from exclusively Trump-inspired portraits to include a second world leader: Kim Jong Un.

Artist Tran Lam Binh puts the final touches to a portrait of U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 25, 2019. (Associated Press)

Artist Tran Lam Binh puts the final touches to a portrait of U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 25, 2019. (Associated Press)

Binh said that while he won’t sell the portraits for profit, he wants to invite Trump and Kim, “if they have time,” to his studio and view his work.

"I will invite them for coffee and paint portraits of them and give them the paintings as a token with a message of love and peace," he said.

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Trump and Kim's summit in Hanoi this week is their second in less than a year, after meeting in Singapore last June. The leaders are expected to discuss several topics, specifically North Korea’s commitment toward denuclearization.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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CDC: '19 Flu Season 'Relatively Long'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: NewsMax America

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Meeting with North Korean leader gives Putin more leverage

For Russian President Vladimir Putin, a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un offers a chance to raise Moscow's clout in the region and gain more leverage with Washington.

While Russia's ability to influence Kim's position is limited compared to that of China, a dialogue with Kim could allow Putin to emerge as an essential player in the North Korean nuclear standoff.

With Russia-U.S. ties at their post-Cold War low over the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria and Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, the crisis over North Korea is a rare subject where Moscow and Washington could find some common ground and engage in political dialogue.

"There are areas where Washington and Moscow can and do cooperate, and North Korea is one of those areas," said Dmitri Trenin, the director of the Carnegie Moscow Center.

He noted that Putin wants to send a message to Washington — as well as Beijing and Seoul — that "Russia should be factored in when Korean issues are discussed."

Moscow's involvement comes at a tense moment when talks between Washington and Pyongyang are on hold following the failure of U.S. President Donald Trump's summit with Kim in Hanoi. For Kim, the meeting with Putin would be a win even if he just gets a cautious statement of solidarity with the North, or a rebuttal of Washington's policies.

"Right now, after the failure of the Hanoi Summit, Russia can play a role," said Georgy Toloraya, a former Russian diplomat who has extensive experience in the North Korean affairs. "That would be very useful. If Putin ever meets Trump, it will be one of the issues on the agenda."

Russia has a border with North Korea and, like the U.S., strongly opposes Pyongyang's nuclear bid.

"Russia is worried that Korea could become potentially a battleground for a new conflict ... potentially with nuclear overtones," Trenin said. "It is also worried that the North Korean nuclear and missile programs could lead to accidents that could endanger Russian security."

Moscow has argued that the crisis should be settled through U.S. providing security guarantees to the North and easing sanctions against Pyongyang.

Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov hailed the importance of U.S.-North Korean talks and promised Tuesday that the Kremlin will seek to "strengthen the positive trends and work to create preconditions and positive atmosphere for reaching solid agreements."

Putin has welcomed Trump's meetings with Kim, but urged the U.S. to do more to assuage Pyongyang's security concerns.

Trenin predicted that Putin "will try to steer the North Korean leader toward a productive, constructive dialogue with the U.S," but added that "Russia will not go out of its way to help the U.S. to try to push Pyongyang closer to accepting Washington's view."

"We don't need to punish North Korean people or even elite, we need to find a new way for them to be incorporated into the modern world," Toloraya said. "The U.S. knows that we don't have our own egoistic interests in North Korea, unlike China."

A supportive statement from Putin would be a big gift for Kim, who is also hoping to woo Russian investment to help build up its infrastructure.

Russia's past efforts to engage the North haven't always been successful.

Moscow maintained strong ties with Pyongyang during the Soviet era, building dozens of factories, sending supplies and providing weapons. Those ties fell apart after the 1991 Soviet collapse, with Russia withdrawing its support for former Soviet allies amid an economic meltdown.

Putin visited Pyongyang months after he was first elected in 2000. Seeking to steal the global limelight, Putin boasted about securing then-leader Kim Jong Il's promise to abandon Pyongyang's missile program in exchange for foreign help in launching satellites, but he suffered a setback when Kim quickly disavowed his statement.

Despite the flop, Putin continued courting Kim, who crossed Russia by train to visit Moscow in 2001. The North Korean leader again visited regions in Russia's far east the following year, and made another trip across the border in 2011.

When Kim Jong Un came to power, the Kremlin hoped that he would visit Moscow to attend a 2015 Red Square parade marking the 70th anniversary of its WWII victory. Kim didn't show up.

Russia also was involved in the Chinese-led six-nation talks, aimed at persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear programs in exchange for aid and security guarantees. The North withdrew from those talks in 2009.

For many years, Moscow has pushed for building a trans-Korean railway, natural gas pipeline and power lines — massive projects that would allow Russia to significantly increase its regional clout. No visible progress has been made.

While Russia's leverage with North Korea was dwarfed by that of China, Pyongyang's main sponsor and ally, the North has been wary of its overdependence on Beijing and willing to accept Moscow's engagement.

"China and the U.S. are two superpowers, and North Korea has a reason to stand up to both in different ways," Trenin said. "Russia is a country whose attractiveness to North Korea lies precisely in it not having major leverage. Russia has this potential of being seen as a relatively benign actor by the North Koreans."

Russian-North Korean military cooperation and most of the trade was stopped by United Nations sanctions, but Moscow supplied grain and provided humanitarian aid to the North, and tens of thousands of North Korean migrant laborers have worked in Russia's underpopulated Far East.

Toloraya warned against underestimating a role Russia could play in the standoff, saying that Moscow has taken a cautious line but could emerge as a top player if need be.

"We have the tools, we don't use them. If we would like to supply a dozen or so of S-400 (air defense missile systems) to North Korea, it will change the whole balance of power in Korea, it's just one example."

___

AP Pyongyang bureau chief Eric Talmadge contributed to this report from Tokyo. Francesca Ebel in Moscow contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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Joe Biden’s brain surgeon said his former patient is “totally in the clear” as speculation over the candidate’s health — with Biden possibly becoming the oldest president in U.S. history — is likely to become a campaign issue.

The former vice president, who had been perceived by many as the strongest potential contender for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, formally announced his candidacy Thursday.

But Biden’s age – 76 – is expected to become a source of attacks from a younger generation of Democrats not because of obvious generational differences, but possibly for actual health concerns if Biden gets into office.

WHY THE MEDIA ARE CONVINCED JOE BIDEN WILL IMPLODE

Biden himself agreed last year that “it’s totally legitimate” for people to ask questions about his health if he decides to run for president, given his medical history — which has included brain surgery in 1988.

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality,” Biden told “CBS This Morning.” “Can I still run up the steps of Air Force Two? Am I still in good shape? Am I – do I have all my faculties? Am I energetic? I think it’s totally legitimate people ask those questions.”

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality. …  I think it’s totally legitimate [that] people ask those questions.”

— Joe Biden

But Dr. Neal Kassell, the neurosurgeon who operated on Biden for an aneurysm three decades ago, told the Washington Examiner that Biden appears to be “totally in the clear” — and even joked that the operation made Biden “better than how he was.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it,” Kassell said. “That’s more than I can say about all the other candidates or the incumbents.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it.”

— Dr. Neal Kassell

BIDEN’S CLAIM HE DIDN’T WANT OBAMA TO ENDORSE TRIGGERS MOCKERY

At the same time, however, Biden hasn’t been forthcoming about his health at least since 2008 when he released his medical records as a vice presidential candidate. The disclosure that time revealed some fairly minor issues such as an irregular heartbeat in addition to detailing previous operations, including removing a benign polyp during a colonoscopy in 1996, the outlet reported.

It remains unclear if Biden had more aneurysms. Some medical experts say that people who have had an aneurysm can have another one.

An aneurysm, or a weakening of an artery wall, can lead to a rupture and internal bleeding, potentially placing a patient’s life in jeopardy.

Biden won’t be the only Democrat grappling with old age. Sen. Bernie Sanders, another 2020 frontrunner, is currently 77 years old and agreed with Biden last year that their ages will be an issue in the race.

“It’s part of a discussion, but it has to be part of an overall view of what somebody is and what somebody has accomplished,” Sanders told Politico.

“Look, you’ve got people who are 50 years of age who are not well, right? You’ve got people who are 90 years of age who are going to work every day, doing excellent work. And obviously, age is a factor. But it depends on the overall health and wellbeing of the individual.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Sanders released his medical records in 2016, with a Senate physician saying in a letter that the senator was “in overall very good health.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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Cambodian authorities have ordered a one-hour reduction in the length of school days because of concerns that students and teachers may fall ill from a prolonged heat wave.

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said in an announcement seen Friday that the shortened hours will remain in effect until the rainy season starts, which usually occurs in May. The current heat wave, in which temperatures are regularly reaching as high as 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit), is one of the longest in memory.

Most schools in Cambodia lack air conditioning, prompting concern that temperatures inside classrooms could rise to unhealthy levels.

School authorities were instructed to watch for symptoms of heat stroke and urge pupils to drink more water.

The new hours cut 30 minutes off the beginning of the school day and 30 minutes off the end.

School authorities instituted a similar measure in 2016.

Source: Fox News World

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Explosions have rocked Britain’s largest steel plant, injuring two people and shaking nearby homes.

South Wales Police say the incident at the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot was reported at about 3:35 a.m. Friday (22:35 EDT Thursday). The explosions touched off small fires, which are under control. Two workers suffered minor injuries and all staff members have been accounted for.

Police say early indications are that the explosions were caused by a train used to carry molten metal into the plant. Tata Steel says its personnel are working with emergency services at the scene.

Local lawmaker Stephen Kinnock says the incident raises concerns about safety.

He tweeted: “It could have been a lot worse … @TataSteelEurope must conduct a full review, to improve safety.”

Source: Fox News World

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The Wider Image: China's start-ups go small in age of 'shoebox' satellites
LinkSpace’s reusable rocket RLV-T5, also known as NewLine Baby, is carried to a vacant plot of land for a test launch in Longkou, Shandong province, China, April 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

April 26, 2019

By Ryan Woo

LONGKOU, China (Reuters) – During initial tests of their 8.1-metre (27-foot) tall reusable rocket, Chinese engineers from LinkSpace, a start-up led by China’s youngest space entrepreneur, used a Kevlar tether to ensure its safe return. Just in case.

But when the Beijing-based company’s prototype, called NewLine Baby, successfully took off and landed last week for the second time in two months, no tether was needed.

The 1.5-tonne rocket hovered 40 meters above the ground before descending back to its concrete launch pad after 30 seconds, to the relief of 26-year-old chief executive Hu Zhenyu and his engineers – one of whom cartwheeled his way to the launch pad in delight.

LinkSpace, one of China’s 15-plus private rocket manufacturers, sees these short hops as the first steps towards a new business model: sending tiny, inexpensive satellites into orbit at affordable prices.

Demand for these so-called nanosatellites – which weigh less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and are in some cases as small as a shoebox – is expected to explode in the next few years. And China’s rocket entrepreneurs reckon there is no better place to develop inexpensive launch vehicles than their home country.

“For suborbital clients, their focus will be on scientific research and some commercial uses. After entering orbit, the near-term focus (of clients) will certainly be on satellites,” Hu said.

In the near term, China envisions massive constellations of commercial satellites that can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for aircraft to tracking coal shipments. Universities conducting experiments and companies looking to offer remote-sensing and communication services are among the potential domestic customers for nanosatellites.

A handful of U.S. small-rocket companies are also developing launchers ahead of the expected boom. One of the biggest, Rocket Lab, has already put 25 satellites in orbit.

No private company in China has done that yet. Since October, two – LandSpace and OneSpace – have tried but failed, illustrating the difficulties facing space start-ups everywhere.

The Chinese companies are approaching inexpensive launches in different ways. Some, like OneSpace, are designing cheap, disposable boosters. LinkSpace’s Hu aspires to build reusable rockets that return to Earth after delivering their payload, much like the Falcon 9 rockets of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“If you’re a small company and you can only build a very, very small rocket because that’s all you have money for, then your profit margins are going to be narrower,” said Macro Caceres, analyst at U.S. aerospace consultancy Teal Group.

“But if you can take that small rocket and make it reusable, and you can launch it once a week, four times a month, 50 times a year, then with more volume, your profit increases,” Caceres added.

Eventually LinkSpace hopes to charge no more than 30 million yuan ($4.48 million) per launch, Hu told Reuters.

That is a fraction of the $25 million to $30 million needed for a launch on a Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Pegasus, a commonly used small rocket. The Pegasus is launched from a high-flying aircraft and is not reusable.

(Click https://reut.rs/2UVBjKs to see a picture package of China’s rocket start-ups. Click https://tmsnrt.rs/2GIy9Bc for an interactive look at the nascent industry.)

NEED FOR CASH

LinkSpace plans to conduct suborbital launch tests using a bigger recoverable rocket in the first half of 2020, reaching altitudes of at least 100 kilometers, then an orbital launch in 2021, Hu told Reuters.

The company is in its third round of fundraising and wants to raise up to 100 million yuan, Hu said. It had secured tens of millions of yuan in previous rounds.

After a surge in fresh funding in 2018, firms like LinkSpace are pushing out prototypes, planning more tests and even proposing operational launches this year.

Last year, equity investment in China’s space start-ups reached 3.57 billion yuan ($533 million), a report by Beijing-based investor FutureAerospace shows, with a burst of financing in late 2018.

That accounted for about 18 percent of global space start-up investments in 2018, a historic high, according to Reuters calculations based on a global estimate by Space Angels. The New York-based venture capital firm said global space start-up investments totaled $2.97 billion last year.

“Costs for rocket companies are relatively high, but as to how much funding they need, be it in the hundreds of millions, or tens of millions, or even just a few million yuan, depends on the company’s stage of development,” said Niu Min, founder of FutureAerospace.

FutureAerospace has invested tens of millions of yuan in LandSpace, based in Beijing.

Like space-launch startups elsewhere in the world, the immediate challenge for Chinese entrepreneurs is developing a safe and reliable rocket.

Proven talent to develop such hardware can be found in China’s state research institutes or the military; the government directly supports private firms by allowing them to launch from military-controlled facilities.

But it’s still a high-risk business, and one unsuccessful launch might kill a company.

“The biggest problem facing all commercial space companies, especially early-stage entrepreneurs, is failure” of an attempted flight, Liang Jianjun, chief executive of rocket company Space Trek, told Reuters. That can affect financing, research, manufacturing and the team’s morale, he added.

Space Trek is planning its first suborbital launch by the end of June and an orbital launch next year, said Liang, who founded the company in late 2017 with three other former military technical officers.

Despite LandSpace’s failed Zhuque-1 orbital launch in October, the Beijing-based firm secured 300 million yuan in additional funding for the development of its Zhuque-2 rocket a month later.

In December, the company started operating China’s first private rocket production facility in Zhejiang province, in anticipation of large-scale manufacturing of its Zhuque-2, which it expects to unveil next year.

STATE COMPETITION

China’s state defense contractors are also trying to get into the low-cost market.

In December, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) successfully launched a low-orbit communication satellite, the first of 156 that CASIC aims to deploy by 2022 to provide more stable broadband connectivity to rural China and eventually developing countries.

The satellite, Hongyun-1, was launched on a rocket supplied by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the nation’s main space contractor.

In early April, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT), a subsidiary of CASC, completed engine tests for its Dragon, China’s first rocket meant solely for commercial use, clearing the path for a maiden flight before July.

The Dragon, much bigger than the rockets being developed by private firms, is designed to carry multiple commercial satellites.

At least 35 private Chinese companies are working to produce more satellites.

Spacety, a satellite maker based in southern Hunan province, plans to put 20 satellites in orbit this year, including its first for a foreign client, chief executive Yang Feng told Reuters.

The company has only launched 12 on state-produced rockets since the company started operating in early 2016.

“When it comes to rocket launches, what we care about would be cost, reliability and time,” Yang said.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

Source: OANN

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At least one person is reported dead and homes have been destroyed by a powerful cyclone that struck northern Mozambique and continues to dump rain on the region, with the United Nations warning of “massive flooding.”

Cyclone Kenneth arrived just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore into central Mozambique, killing more than 600 people and displacing scores of thousands. The U.N. says this is the first time in known history that the southern African nation has been hit by two cyclones in one season.

Forecasters say the new cyclone made landfall Thursday night in a part of Mozambique that has not seen such a storm in at least 60 years.

Mozambique’s local emergency operations center says a woman in the city of Pemba was killed by a falling tree.

Source: Fox News World

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