Upcoming shows
Real News

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Story Time

1:00 am 6:00 am



Maga First News

Upcoming Shows

Join The MAGA Network on Discord

0 0

Immigration judges say quotas will increase backlog of cases

Immigration judges say a new quota system threatens to increase an already overwhelming backlog of cases in U.S. immigration courts.

The system pushes for judges to close 700 cases a year and calls for them to be evaluated on that quota.

Immigration Judge Ashley Tabaddor said in a March 12 letter to lawmakers that the change would create a perception of government interference in the handling of cases that will lead more immigrants to file appeals.

Tabaddor, who heads the National Association of Immigration Judges, says the move could also flood federal courts with cases.

It can take years to get a decision in the immigration courts, which have more than 800,000 pending cases.

The letter followed testimony last week before a House subcommittee by James McHenry, who oversees the nation's immigration courts.

A message sent to immigration court officials was not immediately returned.

Source: Fox News National

0 0

Florida woman, 63, shot and killed following dispute about dog, family says

A 63-year-old Florida woman was shot and killed following a dispute with the shooter over her beloved dog, her family said.

Danette Simmons was pronounced dead Thursday after someone opened fire outside her house in Miami Gardens, WSVN reported. Police responded to a report of shots fired just before 11:30 p.m. and found Simmons suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.

“She didn’t deserve this. Somebody just takes your life over a dog? Oh, come one, man,” a family friend told WSVN.

Simmons’ niece Tyquandra Simmons also told WSVN her aunt was killed because of a dispute over her dog. Police have not confirmed a motive for the shooting.

TIPSTER HELPS FLORIDA COLD CASE DETECTIVES CRACK A WOMAN'S MURDER 21 YEARS AGO

“That just don’t sit right with me. It’s crazy,” Simmons said. “My auntie had a good heart, no matter what. My auntie loved everybody, everybody.”

The shooter has not been arrested and a description of the possible shooter has not been released. Danette Simmons’ family is urging anyone with information on the deadly shooting to come forward.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

“If they know who it is, they need to tell who did it,” the family friend told WSVN. “Because she was too good to all her grand kids and her family, period. She was a family person. She loved her family, man.”

Anyone with information is urged to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.

Source: Fox News National

0 0

NBA: Nowitzki and Doncic have fans cheering Mavs’ past and future

NBA: Sacramento Kings at Dallas Mavericks
FILE PHOTO: Dec 16, 2018; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks forward Luka Doncic (77) laughs with Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) during the first quarter against the Sacramento Kings at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

February 26, 2019

By Jahmal Corner

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Dallas Mavericks’ Slovenian sensation Luka Doncic was lighting up the game against the Los Angeles Clippers this week when a high-profile fan summoned him to his courtside seat at the Staples Center.

Former five-division boxing world champion Floyd Mayweather, who still commands the spotlight even in retirement, wanted to offer a seal of approval from one showman to another.

“He said he plays like me,” Doncic told Reuters of his interaction with Mayweather on Monday. “I said, ‘cool, I want to see it live.'”

The Mavericks may not be winning many games, but between Doncic and future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki, who is potentially playing his farewell season, they are winning over NBA arenas and turning foes to friends.

The Clippers defeated the Mavericks 121-112 but the night belonged to the NBA’s most popular duo at the moment — the past and future of the Dallas franchise.

Nowitzki, 40, is playing in his 21st NBA season and while the German has not announced that he will retire at the end of the campaign the mere possibility has been enough to commemorate his every NBA stop.

Nowitzki played in his 1,500th career game on Monday — only three players have played in more — and was cheered wildly by the L.A. crowd every time he touched the ball. He put up 12 points, but it felt like 50 given the fan reaction.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers added to the adulation when he called a timeout with nine seconds left in the game, grabbed the public address announcer’s microphone and paid tribute to Nowitzki.

The crowd then gave Nowitzki a standing ovation and Clippers players came over to pay homage to the German veteran.

“The career that he had has been excellent,” Clippers guard Lou Williams told reporters. “He is a champion in this league and one of the trailblazers for international players coming over to the NBA.”

DALLAS SHARPSHOOTER

The NBA created a special roster spot for Nowitzki earlier this month at the All-Star Game, and the Dallas sharpshooter is now being embraced in places he was once feared and reviled.

“It’s definitely different,” Nowitzki told Reuters. “A couple weeks ago, in Boston and (Indianapolis), fans are cheering and I’m trying to actually score a basket for them because I haven’t scored all game. That was weird. Never had that in my career. “The fans have been incredible.”

While Nowitzki may be saying goodbye, 19-year-old point forward Doncic is introducing himself to fans.Doncic teased the Clippers and stole the show with a series of step back three-pointers and precise passes that have become a regular part of his act.

His night included 28 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and nine turnovers, fully showcasing the risk and reward style of the Mavericks teenager.

At one stage in the second quarter, Doncic tried to throw a pass around a defender to himself. His team mates could only laugh, but coach Rick Carlisle, known for being tough on his point guards, sent Doncic to the bench.”At times it’s tough for him because he feels like he can thread any needle,” Carlisle said. “And throw the ball through one guy’s nose, through his rear end and (to) a team mate. You just can’t do that in this league on a consistent basis.”That aside, Doncic has earned rave reviews throughout the league as he closes in on a Rookie of the Year honor, putting up 20.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game.

In truth, Doncic bends the definition of a rookie. Long before the Mavs acquired Doncic in a trade with the Atlanta Hawks in the 2018 NBA Draft, he made his professional debut with the Real Madrid senior team at 16. He led Madrid to the 2018 EuroLeague title, winning the EuroLeague MVP.“He’s exceeded all expectations,” Nowitzki said. “He’ll be fun to watch, hopefully for Mavs fans for a long, long time.”

(Editing by Toby Davis)

Source: OANN

0 0

Betsy DeVos to visit struggling South Carolina schools

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is visiting a South Carolina area known as the "Corridor of Shame" due to its underperforming schools, making a trip to an area that's been held out as an example of the need to make reforms to the state's schools.

DeVos plans to travel on Thursday to Florence County, one of several dozen districts along Interstate 95 once bestowed the nickname "Corridor of Shame" because of their substandard schools.

Along with U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Mitchell Zais — who headed up South Carolina's schools from 2011 to 2015 — Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette and state Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman, DeVos will visit Timmonsville Educational Center, as well as the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing & Technology, which focuses on matching up workforce training programs with local industry needs.

They'll also be joined by U.S. Rep. Tom Rice, whose office told The Associated Press on Wednesday he's discussed the importance of technical schools with DeVos in the past and has been working to get her to the district to get a firsthand look at improvements.

The visit comes amid ongoing debate on how to improve South Carolina's education system, with legislative leaders and the governor saying they're placing a priority on the issue this session. Gov. Henry McMaster, who has asked officials for a study of the decades-old formula that determines how districts are funded, pledged in his State of the State address last month that "the words 'Corridor of Shame' will be a distant memory."

The area was part of a decades-old lawsuit over education funding. In 2014, the state Supreme Court ruled that rural schools had violated the state Constitution by failing to provide each student with quality education. Last year, the high court dismissed the suit, voting 3-2 to close a legal case that examined whether the Legislature provides enough money and support for poor and rural schools, ruling that officials had resolved the overarching dispute.

In a 1999 ruling, justices coined the phrase "minimally adequate education," immediately bothering many people who thought South Carolina should aspire to being more than adequate at something as important as public education.

The legal case led to the 2005 "Corridor of Shame" documentary, which depicted decrepit conditions. Politicians and public officials have made pilgrimages to the area, including then-Sen. Barack Obama, who in 2007 toured a school, a portion of which was still in use and dated to the late 19th century.

Upon taking office in 2017, McMaster launched a tour of some of the schools seen in the film to push for his ideas on education reform.

___

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP

Source: Fox News National

0 0

Nicaragua reiterates pledge to release people detained in protests

Demonstrators participate in a protest against the government of Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega in Managua
FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators participate in a protest against the government of Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega in Managua, Nicaragua March 16, 2019. REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas

March 30, 2019

MANAGUA (Reuters) – The Nicaraguan government reiterated its pledge on Friday to release all people arrested during protests against President Daniel Ortega, though the government remains in disagreement with opposition groups about the number of prisoners.

Amid a national dialogue about the political crisis that has engulfed the country, the government and the opposition said in a joint statement that the International Red Cross will participate in the prisoners’ release.

The government says 260 people were detained as a result of the protests, while the opposition says more than 600 people are in detention.

(Reporting by Ismael Lopez; writing by Julia Love; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)

Source: OANN

0 0

Arizona bill that would allow employers to pay students less than minimum wage sparks controversy

Students in Arizona see a controversial new bill as a "direct attack" on them. Small businesses are welcoming the proposal.

The bill that’s been coined as the Youth Employment Act would allow employers to pay less than the current state’s minimum wage of $11 to full-time students younger than 22 working 20 hours or less weekly. Though this wouldn’t be a requirement for employers, it would open the doors for them to pay students the federal minimum wage of $7.25.

State Rep. Travis Grantham sponsored the bill, which passed in the State House with a vote of 31-29. Grantham said they’re not attempting to cut anyone’s pay but instead to open up entry-level jobs that “went away” when the minimum wage was raised after a proposition that raised Arizona's minimum wage up to $12 an hour by 2020 was passed by voters in 2016.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Lorena Austin is a full-time student at ASU on a full-ride scholarship but still has four part-time jobs that she relies on to get by. Though she’s over 22, she worries for her many peers who this bill would directly affect: 

Lorena Austin is a full-time student at ASU on a full-ride scholarship but still has four part-time jobs that she relies on to get by. Though she’s over 22, she worries for her many peers who this bill would directly affect:  (Fox News)

“The Youth Employment Act is a bill that I think deals with some of the unintended consequences of our state's minimum wage law here,” Grantham said. “What we have going on in Arizona is there's a lot of folks who can't get a job in that age range of like 16 to 22 years old. Many of these people are full-time students, many of them it may be their first job they're trying to get and unfortunately a lot of employers can't pay the individuals the mandated high minimum wage numbers because these are entry-level jobs.”

MINIMUM WAGES SET TO INCREASE IN THESE 20 STATES IN 2019

Students walk on Arizona State University's downtown Phoenix campus

Students walk on Arizona State University's downtown Phoenix campus (Fox News)

But full-time students like Lorena Austin say the proposal amounts to age discrimination.

Austin is a full-time student at Arizona State University on a full-ride scholarship. She has four part-time jobs that she relies on to get by. She works 30 to 40 hours a week and spends about 30 hours a week studying and going to class. Though she’s over 22, she worries for her many peers who this bill would affect directly.

Students and Healthy Working Families Coalition, which included the host Living United for Change Arizona (LUCHA), protest the bill outside of the Arizona State Capitol building

Students and Healthy Working Families Coalition, which included the host Living United for Change Arizona (LUCHA), protest the bill outside of the Arizona State Capitol building (Fox News)

“Already there's a huge disparity between wages and the cost of education. And students literally simply can't afford it,” Austin said. “…I think it is a matter of livelihood, it's a matter of being able—do I choose between having a roof over my head or doing well on this course? Do I choose between having food or supplies that I need for this education?”

WHAT CHANGES TO THE MINIMUM WAGE MEAN FOR SMALL BUSINESSES IN AMERICA

Austin argues that while her father was able to attend college and pay for his tuition by working part-time, that’s not the case anymore today. Austin said if a student was to work the federal minimum wage rate and pay for a semester of college, which for her is about $12,800 tuition a semester, it would take a student almost 22 months to pay it off.

Ruby Hernandez, 18, and Blanca Collazo, 17, both high school seniors, worry about the bill affecting their families and their freshman year of college in the fall. Collazo plans on attending Grand Canyon University and said her family relies on her and her father’s income. In her home of six, it’s just her and her dad working, she said.

“I know so many people who will be struggling with paying for different things like school… I don't think I'll be able to pay it off with $7.25, like, if I barely can't even pay it off with $11 that we're earning right now,” Collazo said.

For Hernandez, she said she has to work to pay off her tuition because right now, only her mom has a job.

ARIZONA REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS AIM TO FIGHT PROP 206, WHILE SUPPORTERS TELL THEM HANDS OFF

“If it was to go down to $7.25, I would have to worry about finding multiple jobs, not just one, because it wouldn't be enough hours to support myself, so maybe like finding side jobs…like Lyft or Uber, anything…just to help me get by to support myself," Hernandez said. "(The bill) is very discriminative towards young people and it just shows that our lawmakers are not really concerned about like how it would affect the students because they're not under the age of 22.”

Cesar Aguilar, who is executive director of the Arizona Students Association, which represents the over 580,000 university and community college students in the state, said this is a “direct attack on students.”

“If you can fight and die for your country, you should be getting the same pay as everyone else, doing the same work,” Aguilar said.

Grantham disagrees it will hurt students. In fact, he said, it will help them.

“To say that that this discriminates against somebody is actually, I find that to be quite offensive,” Rep. Grantham said. “I kind of feel like the high minimum wage standard we have discriminate against people who can't show they have the experience needed to get a job."

“To say that that this discriminates against somebody is actually, I find that to be quite offensive,” Rep. Grantham said. “I kind of feel like the high minimum wage standard we have discriminate against people who can't show they have the experience needed to get a job." (Fox News)

“To say that that this discriminates against somebody is actually, I find that to be quite offensive,” Grantham said. “I kind of feel like the high minimum wage standard we have discriminated against people who can't show they have the experience needed to get a job. How do we give people that first experience? We allow them to work for these companies, allow them to work for the small businesses, allow them to work in the mom and pop shops, and get that vital experience so that they can add to our economy and grow with our state.”

Grantham said “more youth will get more jobs.” Some of those jobs Grantham mentioned were grocery baggers or car dealership lot attendants. Grantham said he also wants entry jobs to be available for his daughters when they’re ready for their first job.

“It's unfortunate that a lot of our youth are being denied the opportunity to build that character, to get that first job because the job is just not available,” Grantham said.

"If I'm an employer, I don't have much of an incentive to take on a potential employee that has zero job experience and does not have the hard skills because they haven't completed their education,” Heinrich said.

"If I'm an employer, I don't have much of an incentive to take on a potential employee that has zero job experience and does not have the hard skills because they haven't completed their education,” Heinrich said. (Fox News)

Chad Heinrich is the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Arizona director and said small businesses employ around 1 million people, which makes up more than 40-percent of the state’s workforce.

“The youth unemployment rate is roughly 12 percent nationally,” Heinrich said. “In Arizona, we have a minimum wage that is about 50 percent higher than the federal minimum wage. That really prohibits small businesses and businesses of any size from hiring folks that don't really have any work experience.”

Heinrich said hiring levels from small businesses are at a 45-year high. The problem, he said, is small businesses are having trouble finding qualified workers.

“Next year, (the minimum wage) will be $12 an hour,” Heinrich said. “So, at $12 an hour, it will be 65 percent higher than the federal minimum wage. So, that's a barrier for students that want to enter the workforce. If I'm an employer, I don't have much of an incentive to take on a potential employee that has zero job experience and does not have the hard skills because they haven't completed their education.”

“If you can fight and die for your country, you should be getting the same pay as everyone else, doing the same work,” Aguilar said.

“If you can fight and die for your country, you should be getting the same pay as everyone else, doing the same work,” Aguilar said. (Fox News)

Economist and University of Miami professor, Michael Szanto, said he understands both sides of the issue. He said it will particularly hurt poorer students who need the money to pay their tuition and to feed themselves.

BUSINESSES WARN OF PRICE HIKES, STAFF CUTS AS MINIMUM WAGE INCREASES KICK IN

“We don't want this to become predatory and preying on students who are already disadvantaged, and making the situation worse,” Szanto said.

The student association and the American Civil Liberties Union are already threatening to sue if the bill passes.

Szanto said there needs to be a balance when it comes to the minimum wage that considers both small businesses and workers. But he said Arizona voters spoke their minds when they voted to raise the minimum wage in 2016—so the bill would be legal, but only “in a very narrow sense.”

“It’s in the interest of the state of Arizona and the United States as a whole, that we do everything we can to get our future leaders, engineers, doctors, etc. to be huge successes,” Szanto said. “So, we want to do everything we can to boost the chances of young adults in this country because they’re a big part of the future.”

Source: Fox News National

0 0

New Hampshire cold case unit solves 5 decade old murder

New Hampshire's Cold Case Unit said Wednesday it has solved its oldest crime, the 52-year-old shooting death of an auto repair shop worker, and said the man who did it killed himself years later.

On Sept. 1, 1966, Everett Delano, 49, was shot three times in the head while working at Sanborn's Garage in Andover. Money was missing from the cash drawer. A bathroom sink faucet was left running. Investigators found fingerprints, which they preserved. Photos of the prints were sent to FBI. But after an extensive investigation, the case stalled.

The cold case unit reopened the Delano case in 2013 after being contacted by his daughter, Darlene Delano. Its report released through the attorney general's office said the case hadn't been identified when the unit was organized in 2009.

"There was a very long time our family didn't know if we would ever receive the answers about what happened that day," Darlene Delano said in a statement on behalf of the family. "Today, our family has the long overdue answers we have been waiting for."

During their review, investigators discovered that the fingerprints hadn't been entered into the FBI's Automated Fingerprint Identification System, which wasn't fully operational in 1966. New Hampshire's state police forensic laboratory began using the database in 1998.

The prints identified a match in 2013: Thomas Cass, 67, of Orleans, Vermont. Cass, who was 20 in 1966, had a criminal record, including convictions for robbery, assault, escape, theft, and burglary, in Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

The report said Cass denied any knowledge of the Delano case when investigators first visited him that year, but he voluntarily provided a DNA sample.

The report said in February 2014, investigators saw Cass again and told him that forensic evidence had been found that linked him to Delano's murder. They didn't tell him what it was. Cass said he had never been to Sanborn's Garage and requested a lawyer. Immediately after the interview, police conducted a search warrant at his home. No weapons were found.

Four days later, investigators learned that Cass had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. A woman he lived with had called 911, saying he believed that police were coming to arrest him in relation to a cold case investigation.

She told police that after they first visited in 2013, Cass had changed his will to make her the beneficiary of her estate. She also said after he had been accused of the crime, he told her he didn't do it, but also said, "you never talk about something that has no statute of limitations." She also said Cass had made comments about never going back to prison.

"The evidence derived from this investigation, and all of the reasonable inferences that can be taken from that evidence, establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Cass shot and killed Mr. Delano," the report said.

Source: Fox News National

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Story Time

1:00 am 6:00 am



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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer holds annual general meeting
Werner Baumann, CEO of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer AG, attends the annual general shareholders meeting in Bonn, Germany, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

April 26, 2019

By Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger

BONN (Reuters) – Bayer shareholders vented their anger over its stock price slump on Friday as litigation risks mount from the German drugmaker’s $63 billion takeover of seed maker Monsanto.

Several large investors said they will not support aspirin investor Bayer’s management in a key vote scheduled for the end of its annual general meeting.

Bayer’s management, led by chief executive Werner Baumann, could see an embarrassing plunge in approval ratings, down from 97 percent at last year’s AGM, which was held shortly before the Monsanto takeover closed in June.

A vote to ratify the board’s actions features prominently at every German AGM. Although it has no bearing on management’s liability, it is seen as a key gauge of shareholder sentiment.

“Due to the continued negative development at Bayer, high legal risks and a massive share price slump, we refuse to ratify the management board and supervisory board’s actions during the business year,” Janne Werning, representing Germany’s Union Investment, a top-20 shareholder, said in prepared remarks.

About 30 billion euros ($34 billion) have been wiped off Bayer’s market value since August, when a U.S. jury found the pesticide and drugs group liable because Monsanto had not warned of alleged cancer risks linked to its weedkiller Roundup.

Bayer suffered a similar defeat last month and more than 13,000 plaintiffs are claiming damages.

Bayer is appealing or plans to appeal the verdicts.

Deutsche Bank’s asset managing arm DWS said shareholders should have been consulted before the takeover, which was agreed in 2016 and closed in June last year.

“You are pointing out that the lawsuits have not been lost yet. We and our customers, however, have already lost something – money and trust,” Nicolas Huber, head of corporate governance at DWS, said in prepared remarks for the AGM.

He said DWS would abstain from the shareholder vote of confidence in the executive and non-executive boards.

Two people familiar with the situation told Reuters this week that Bayer’s largest shareholder, BlackRock, plans to either abstain from or vote against ratifying the management board’s actions.

Asset management firm Deka, among Bayer’s largest German investors, has also said it would cast a no vote.

Baumann said Bayer’s true value was not reflected in the current share price.

“There’s no way to make this look good. The lawsuits and the first verdicts weigh heavily on our company and it’s a concern for many people,” he said, adding it was the right decision to buy Monsanto and that Bayer was vigorously defending itself.

This month, shareholder advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis recommended investors not to give the executive board their seal of approval.

(Reporting by Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

Sudan’s military, which ousted President Omar al-Bashir after months of protests against his 30-year rule, says it intends to keep the upper hand during the country’s transitional period to civilian rule.

The announcement is expected to raise tensions with the protesters, who demand immediate handover of power.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, which is spearheading the protests, said Friday the crowds will stay in the streets until all their demands are met.

Shams al-Deen al-Kabashi, the spokesman for the military council, said late Thursday that the military will “maintain sovereign powers” while the Cabinet would be in the hands of civilians.

The protesters insist the country should be led by a “civilian sovereign” council with “limited military representation” during the transitional period.

The army toppled and arrested al-Bashir on April 11.

Source: Fox News World

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture
FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

April 26, 2019

By Charlotte Greenfield

WELLINGTON (Reuters) – China’s Huawei Technologies said Britain’s decision to allow the firm a restricted role in building parts of its next-generation telecoms network was the kind of solution it was hoping for in New Zealand, where it has been blocked from 5G plans.

Britain will ban Huawei from all core parts of 5G network but give it some access to non-core parts, sources have told Reuters, as it seeks a middle way in a bitter U.S.-China dispute stemming from American allegations that Huawei’s equipment could be used by Beijing for espionage.

Washington has also urged its allies to ban Huawei from building 5G networks, even as the Chinese company, the world’s top producer of telecoms equipment, has repeatedly said the spying concerns are unfounded.

In New Zealand, a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network that includes the United States, the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) in November turned down an initial request from local telecommunication firm Spark to include Huawei equipment in its 5G network, but later gave the operator options to mitigate national security concerns.

“The proposed solution in the UK to restrict Huawei from bidding for the core is exactly the type of solution we have been looking at in New Zealand,” Andrew Bowater, deputy CEO of Huawei’s New Zealand arm, said in an emailed statement.

Spark said it has noted the developments in Britain and would raise it with the GCSB.

The reports “suggest the UK is following other European jurisdictions in taking a considered and balanced approach to managing supplier-related security risks in 5G”, Andrew Pirie, Spark’s corporate relations lead, said in an email.

“Our discussions with the GCSB are ongoing and we expect that the UK developments will be a further item of discussion between us,” Pirie added.

New Zealand’s minister for intelligence services, Andrew Little, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

British culture minister Jeremy Wright said on Thursday that he would report to parliament the conclusions of a government review of the 5G supply chain once they had been taken.

He added that the disclosure of confidential discussions on the role of Huawei was “unacceptable” and that he could not rule out a criminal investigation into the leak.

The decisions by Britain and Germany to use Huawei gear in non-core parts of 5G network makes it harder to prove Huawei should be kept out of New Zealand telecommunication networks, said Syed Faraz Hasan, an expert in communication engineering and networks at New Zealand’s Massey University

He pointed out Huawei gear was already part of the non-core 4G networks that 5G infrastructure would be built on.

“Unless there is a convincing argument against the Huawei devices … it is difficult to keep them away,” Hasan said.

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
FILE PHOTO: The logo commodities trader Glencore is pictured in Baar
FILE PHOTO: The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company’s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Glencore shares plunged the most in nearly four months on Friday after news overnight that U.S. regulators were investigating whether the miner broke some rules through “corrupt practices”.

Shares of the FTSE 100 company fell as much as 4.2 percent in early deals, and were down 3.5 percent at 310.25 pence by 0728 GMT.

On Thursday, Glencore said the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is investigating whether the company and its units have violated some provisions of the Commodity ExchangeAct and/or CFTC Regulations.

(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Current track

Title

Artist