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Oil falls more than 3 percent as Trump blames OPEC for ‘too high’ prices

Pumpjacks are seen against the setting sun at the Daqing oil field in Heilongjiang
Pumpjacks are seen against the setting sun at the Daqing oil field in Heilongjiang province, China December 7, 2018. Picture taken December 7, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

February 25, 2019

By Laila Kearney

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oil futures tumbled more than 3 percent on Monday in their largest daily percentage drop this year after U.S. President Donald Trump called on OPEC to ease its efforts to boost crude prices, which he said were “getting too high.”

Brent crude futures fell $2.36, or 3.5 percent, to settle at $64.76 a barrel. U.S. crude ended $1.78, or 3.1 percent, lower at $55.48.

“Oil prices getting too high. OPEC, please relax and take it easy. World cannot take a price hike – fragile!” Trump wrote, in the latest in a series of tweets about oil prices since April 2018.

The comments triggered a selloff that halted momentum from Friday’s session, when both benchmarks hit more than three-month highs on expectations for tightening supply and rising hopes for a U.S.-China trade deal.

“I think that tweet set a lot of downward momentum early in the day, and we haven’t recovered,” said Michael O’Donnell, senior market strategist at RJO Futures in Chicago.

Crude prices have risen by about 20 percent since the start of the year when the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-member producers, such as Russia, cut production to reduce a global glut.

“Trump appears to be attempting to micromanage the oil… to maintain strong enough production to keep global supplies in surplus,” Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates, said in a client note.

“But as far as the Saudis are concerned, today’s tweets could even embolden their efforts toward restraint.”

Saudi Arabia recently estimated its production will fall in March by more than anticipated under the supply-reduction agreement, to 9.8 million barrels per day.

In addition, U.S. sanctions on exports from Iran and Venezuela have tightened the market even as production in the United States surges.

“If you read into (Trump’s comments), I think there’s speculation there will, in fact, be another round of waivers granted to countries and companies to buy Iranian oil,” said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital Management, said about Trump’s tweet. “That’s also why you’re seeing the negative reaction.”

Washington surprised the market after granting waivers to eight Iranian oil buyers when the sanctions on oil imports started in November. Brent futures fell 22 percent that month and the waivers influenced OPEC’s December decision to cut supply starting in 2019.

(GRAPHIC: Trump Tweets on oil – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Evscq7)

Goldman Sachs analysts said “the near-term outlook for oil is modestly bullish over the next two to three months”, but added that the outlook for later in 2019 was weaker due to surging U.S. exports and an “an increasingly uncertain economic, policy and geopolitical backdrop”.

(GRAPHIC: U.S. oil production & drilling levels – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Vj9SWv)

(Reporting by Amanda Cooper and Noah Browning in London; additional reporting by Henning Gloystein and Ron Bousso; editing by Jason Neely and Marguerita Choy)

Source: OANN

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Google’s Always Listening: Nest Security System Has A Secret Embedded Microphone

Surprise! Another smart home device has the ability to spy on people.

I doubt anyone who is reading this will be shocked by this news, but here we go.

Back in early February, tech giant Google announced that Nest Secure, its home security and alarm system, was now compatible with the company’s Home Assistant voice-control function.

Here is an excerpt from that announcement:

Nest Secure has supported Google Assistant integration for quite some time, but with this most recent update, the product is taking that to a new level by turning itself into a Google Assistant speaker. This is just like what the Nest Cam IQ did last year. With the flip of a switch in the Nest app, you can set the Secure as an always-listening Assistant speaker. (source)

The problem?

Nest users didn’t know a microphone existed on their security device, to begin with.

In order to be compatible with a voice control feature, the device would need to have a microphone.

But Google never mentioned there was a microphone embedded in the device.

That important detail was never disclosed in any of the product material for the device, which has been on the market since 2017.

“As recently as January, the product specs for the device made no mention of a microphone,” the Associated Press reports.

A Google spokesperson told Business Insider this was an “error.”

“The on-device microphone was never intended to be a secret and should have been listed in the tech specs. That was an error on our part. The microphone has never been on, and is only activated when users specifically enable the option.

Security systems often use microphones to provide features that rely on sound sensing. We included the mic on the device so that we can potentially offer additional features to our users in the future, such as the ability to detect broken glass.” (source)

This is the second time Nest made the news this month.

On February 6, owners of Nest security cameras received an email from Google, warning them to secure their login credentials with things like two-factor identification and stronger passwords.

The reason?

The routine security reminder comes after an uptick in Nest camera hacks and even the occasional hoax, many of which have been downright bizarre and creepy: An Illinois family recently had its device breached by a hacker who spewed abusive epithets through the camera’s microphone into their living room, while another criminal peered into a baby’s room in Houston, Texas, for example. (source)

Google claimed the email was sent as a reminder and said there hadn’t been a breach of the broader Nest user base. As of February 2018, Nest had at sold 11 million of the devices.

This excerpt from the email was published by Popular Mechanics:

For context, even though Nest was not breached, customers may be vulnerable because their email addresses and passwords are freely available on the internet. If a website is compromised, it’s possible for someone to gain access to user email addresses and passwords, and from there, gain access to any accounts that use the same login credentials. For example, if you use your Nest password for a shopping site account and the site is breached, your login information could end up in the wrong hands. From there, people with access to your credentials can cause the kind of issues we’ve seen recently. (source)

Google has faced criticism in the past for its location data-tracking practices, along with allowing third-party developers to read people’s emails on Gmail, reports CNET.

And, Business Insider reminds us that in 2010, Google acknowledged that its fleet of Street View cars “accidentally” collected personal data transmitted over consumers’ unsecured WiFi networks, including emails.

Google can apologize and make excuses all it wants, but more and more people aren’t buying it.

“Nest’s failure to disclose the onboard microphone included in its secure home security system is a massive oversight,” said Ray Walsh, a digital privacy expert at BestVPN.com. “Despite Google’s assurances, the fact is that the device has a microphone which could potentially have been hacked or accessed by Google to perform covert corporate surveillance.”

The Register asked Google if any Nest microphones had been activated prior to the company’s announcement of their existence and whether the company could confirm that no audio data was collected during that period. “Google claims that the mics were never used prior to disclosure, which would preclude the possibility of covert data collection,” the tech site reports.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has asked the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to force Google to sell its Nest division and surrender any data that was collected from Nest customers.

In a brief statement on its website, the nonprofit privacy and civil liberties advocacy group said:

Following reports that Google installed secret listening devices in the homes security product Nest, EPIC asked the Federal Trade Commission to require Google to spin-off Nest and to disgorge the data obtained from Nest users. It is a federal crime to intercept private communications or to plant a listening device in a private residence. (source)

Google isn’t exactly known for being an ethical company.

Last year, Google came under fire for its participation in a controversial Pentagon program called Project Maven, which would use AI and machines to track and identify objects using drones for the Department of Defense.

Even Google employees objected to the company’s involvement in that program. In a letter signed by more than 3,100 Google employees, the workers stated: “We believe that Google should not be in the business of war… We cannot outsource the moral responsibility of our technologies to third parties.” It was reported that about a dozen employees resigned in protest over the project.

The Intercept reported that Google was forced to shut down the project after members of the company’s privacy team raised internal complaints that it had been kept secret from them.

In late 2018, more than 1,400 Google staff, many journalists, and human rights organizations called on Google to halt a controversial project called Dragonfly, a highly censored Chinese search engine:

Dragonfly is a search engine specially built for China. It would unleash more censorship on a mass scale by selectively blocking certain search terms, apparently at the behest of China’s government. Human rights groups are blasting the company for aiding and abetting China’s mass surveillance and rights violations which could result in potential imprisonment. (source)

Google used to have an iconic clause in its code of conduct that said, “Don’t be evil.” Last year, that clause was removed.


Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez posted a video on Instagram in which she said it’s logical for this generation to reconsider having children because of climate change affecting the globe. Alex exposes this eugenics talking point now going mainstream.

Source: InfoWars

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NHL-Woe Canada. Loss of home teams in playoffs may drive viewers away: study

NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames
FILE PHOTO: Apr 19, 2019; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames center Mark Jankowski (77) and goalie Mike Smith (41) react after their game against the Colorado Avalanche in game five of the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Saddledome. Avalanche won 5-1. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

April 25, 2019

By Frank Pingue

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canadians are passionate about hockey but many may tune out of the NHL playoffs now that no teams are able to end the country’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought this year, according to survey from the Angus Reid Institute on Thursday.

Three of the seven Canadian-based National Hockey League teams qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs but each fell in the first round, bringing familiar heartache for fans and potential trouble for Canada’s broadcasters, the survey said.

According to the online survey from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute, 56 percent of Canadians tuned in to the first round of the playoffs, where the Calgary Flames, Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs carried the nation’s Stanley Cup hopes.

Calgary, which were the top seed in the Western Conference, lost their best-of-seven series to Colorado in five games, while Winnipeg fell to St. Louis in six games followed by Toronto’s loss to Boston in a decisive seventh game on Tuesday.

Their early playoff exits ensures the Stanley Cup will be presented to a U.S. team for the 26th consecutive season and does not bode well for ratings.

In 2016, when for the first time in more than 40 years no Canadian teams made the playoffs, 45 percent of Canadians polled by Angus Reid said they would follow the action.

“While many Canadians are likely disappointed with the poor showing by Canada’s teams, executives at Canada’s broadcasters – Sportsnet and CBC – probably woke up Wednesday feeling morose as well,” the study said.

When asked during the first round which team they believe will snap the country’s Stanley Cup drought, 31 percent of the Canadians polled picked Toronto, 18 percent chose Winnipeg and 3 percent said no Canadian team would ever win it again.

While there is a territorial nature of hockey fans and rivalries that cross generational lines, it appears there would be some unity across Canada, which has not had a Stanley Cup winner since Montreal in 1993, should the drought ever end.

“A Stanley Cup would likely mean a lot to Canadians,” the poll said. “Among those who follow hockey, 62 percent say that they are willing to cheer for any Canadian team if their favorite is knocked out.”

The poll was conducted from April 18-23 with 1,544 Canadian adults and had a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.

(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

Source: OANN

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India’s Congress party promises jobs, help for farmers ahead of election

Rahul Gandhi, President of India's main opposition Congress party, his mother and leader of the party Sonia Gandhi and India's former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh display copies of their party's election manifesto for the April/May general electio
Rahul Gandhi (C), President of India's main opposition Congress party, his mother and leader of the party Sonia Gandhi and India's former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (R) display copies of their party's election manifesto for the April/May general election in New Delhi, India, April 2, 2019. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

April 2, 2019

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s main opposition Congress party said on Tuesday it would expand an existing jobs program to guarantee 150 days of work a year to rural households and provide additional help to farmers if the party wins a general election starting next week.

“Unemployment is the gravest challenge to the country and job creation is the highest priority for the economy,” the party said in a manifesto that identified farm distress and security for women among its main priorities.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act currently provides for 100 days of employment a year.

(Reporting by Devjyot Ghoshal; Writing by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Darren Schuettler)

Source: OANN

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Utah lawmakers repeal decades-old law criminalizing sex outside of marriage

The governor of Utah signed a bill this week repealing a 1973 law that criminalized sex outside marriage.

Republican Gov. Gary Herbert signed the bill Wednesday. It repealed a decades-old rule stating that “any unmarried person who shall voluntarily engage in sexual intercourse with another is guilty of fornication.”

The offense, which was not enforced by police, was classified as a class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and $1,000 fine.

Republican lawmaker Rep. Keven Stratton criticized the repeal, saying that “what is legally is often far below what is morally right,” Fox 13 reported. “I recognize our laws are not strong enough to rule an immoral people.”

Republican Gov. Gary Herbert signed the bill Wednesday. It repealed a decades-old rule stating that “any unmarried person who shall voluntarily engage in sexual intercourse with another is guilty of fornication.” (Francisco Kjholseth/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, File)

Republican Gov. Gary Herbert signed the bill Wednesday. It repealed a decades-old rule stating that “any unmarried person who shall voluntarily engage in sexual intercourse with another is guilty of fornication.” (Francisco Kjholseth/The Salt Lake Tribune via AP, File)

Most Utah lawmakers are Mormons; their faith stands opposed to sexual relations outside marriage. Still, the repeal passed 41-32 in the House after passing in the state Senate earlier this month.

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This bill, sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Karen Mayne, D-West Valley City, was not the first of its kind.

The state has made attempts in the past to repeal laws which were classified as “offenses against the family.” On Monday, Herbert signed another bill, which decriminalized adultery among consenting adults.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News Politics

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Parents charged in suspected starvation death of 2-month-old

An Indianapolis woman has been sentenced to seven years in prison for the 2017 starvation death of her 2-month-old daughter.

Court records say 28-year-old Janet Ringer was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty to one count of neglect. Ringer and the baby's father, William Moss, were charged last year with neglect of a dependent resulting in death.

The Indianapolis Star reports that the Indiana Department of Child Services faced scrutiny after the child's death, which occurred hours after four child welfare workers visited the infant's home. At least one of them expressed concern about the child's well-being but didn't report it to authorities.

Coroners determined the baby died on Aug. 21, 2017, from malnutrition and dehydration.

Moss is scheduled for trial in May.

Source: Fox News National

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Pentagon Tells Congress of Projects That Could Be Hit to Pay for Wall

Acting Pentagon Chief Patrick Shanahan said on Monday he had provided Congress with a list of projects from the military construction budget that could be cut back in order to help pay for a wall on the border with Mexico.

Last month Trump declared a national emergency in a bid to fund his promised wall at the U.S.-Mexico border without congressional approval.

The emergency declaration allows the Trump administration to use money from the military construction budget, if needed.

Trump issued the first veto of his presidency on Friday to block a measure passed by Democrats and Republicans in Congress that would terminate his emergency declaration for a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico to stem illegal immigration and crime.

Speaking before the start of his meeting with his French counterpart, Shanahan was asked if he had sent the list of projects to Congress.

"I have," Shanahan said.

The more than 20-page document seen by Reuters included all the projects that were not awarded funding as of Dec. 31 2018.

The list includes a cemetery at the U.S. Military Academy in New York and a command and control facility at Camp Tango in South Korea.

It is essentially up to Congress to go through the list and figure out which projects will not be affected, including military housing, barracks and projects that have already been awarded funding.

The list is unlikely to satisfy Congress.

"This list is wholly insufficient and just tells Congress what projects it already approved," said Evan Hollander, a spokesman for Representative Nita Lowey, a Democrat and chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee.

"This appears to be nothing more than another stall tactic designed to delay the political consequences of President Trump’s emergency declaration," Hollander said.

In a statement, the Pentagon said the pool of projects included was valued at about $12.9 billion. The Pentagon has said it could use about $3.6 billion from the military construction budget this year, if needed.

The issue was highlighted during a tense Congressional hearing on Thursday, when Democratic Senators demanded that they be provided a list of military that could be impacted if funding was used to build a wall.

"We know President Trump wants to take money from our national security accounts to pay for his wall, and now we have a list of some of the projects and needed base repairs that could be derailed or put on the chopping block as a result," Senator Jack Reed said in a statement.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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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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