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After Nielsen, temporary Homeland Security chief in tough spot

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan speaks about the impact of the dramatic increase in illegal crossings that continue to occur along the Southwest during a news conference, in El Paso
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin K. McAleenan speaks about the impact of the dramatic increase in illegal crossings that continue to occur along the Southwest during a news conference, in El Paso, Texas March 27, 2019. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo

April 8, 2019

By Yeganeh Torbati

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The temporary replacement for Kirstjen Nielsen, who quit on Sunday as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), faces the difficult reality of a boss who is demanding legally dubious solutions to an influx of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Kevin McAleenan, presently commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, will be the fourth person to helm the agency under Trump. McAleenan takes over as U.S. border officials estimated that 100,000 migrants were apprehended at the southern border in March, the highest level in a decade.

As acting secretary, McAleenan follows Nielsen and Elaine Duke, who led the department on an acting basis after John Kelly, Trump’s first DHS secretary, became White House chief of staff in 2017. Trump took office in January of that year.

The president, who made immigration a key campaign theme, has grown increasingly frustrated with his officials, even as they have implemented aggressive policies to limit immigration.

Nielsen oversaw a “zero tolerance” prosecution policy that led to the separation of thousands of parents and children, and launched a policy to return asylum seekers to Mexico until their claims are heard. Both policies garnered legal challenges.

Memorable images of women and children fleeing tear gas on the Mexican border happened on Nielsen’s watch, and McAleenan, whose officers made the decision to use tear gas canisters, defended its use.

“Kirstjen Nielsen’s resignation was long overdue,” California Senator Kamala Harris, who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, said on Twitter on Monday.

“I will under no circumstances support a nominee who does not forcefully denounce this administration’s policy of separating families at the border,” Harris said.

Trump increasingly has demanded policies that would violate U.S. laws, international agreements and court settlements or require Congress to pass dramatic legislative changes.

A congressional official familiar with the matter said some in Congress believe Trump forced out Nielsen in part because she was trying to obey laws on treatment of refugees, granting of amnesty and separation of families.

It was unclear early on Monday what legally sound strategies McAleenan could implement to achieve Trump’s objective of limiting migrant crossings at the southern border, especially as crossings are expected to reach their yearly peak in the coming months, immigration experts said.

On Friday, Trump called for Congress to “get rid of the whole asylum system” and get rid of immigration judges, and criticized a long-standing federal court decree mandating certain standards of care for migrant children.

“So much of what the president put out there isn’t really legally feasible,” said Sarah Pierce, an immigration policy analyst at the Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan think tank in Washington, D.C. “I, like many, and maybe Nielsen herself are kind of puzzled as to what could happen.”

Stephen Legomsky, a former chief counsel at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under Democratic President Barack Obama, said McAleenan likely will not have much freedom to pursue policies opposed by Trump or his powerful senior aide, Stephen Miller.

“It just seems to me that whoever is put in that position in this administration is going to have a very hard time resisting the philosophy of the White House,” Legomsky said.

(Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball in Washington; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Susan Thomas)

Source: OANN

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Trump Steps Back from Mexico Border Threat

President Donald Trump took a step back on Tuesday from his threat to close the U.S. southern border to fight illegal immigration, as pressure mounted from companies worried that a shutdown would cause chaos to supply chains.

Trump threatened on Friday to close the border this week unless Mexico acted. He repeated that threat on Tuesday but said he had not made a decision yet: "We're going to see what happens over the next few days."

Closing the border could disrupt millions of legal crossings and billions of dollars in trade. Auto companies have been warning the White House privately that it would lead to the idling of U.S. plants within days because they rely on prompt deliveries of components made in Mexico.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest U.S. business lobbying group, has been in contact with the White House to discuss the "very negative economic consequences that would occur across the country," said Neil Bradley, the group's top lobbyist, on a call with reporters.

Trump praised efforts by Mexico to hinder illegal immigration from Central America at its own southern border. On Monday, the Mexican government said it would help regulate the flow of migrants.

“I really wanted to close it,” Trump said on Tuesday night at a fundraiser for congressional Republicans.

The Mexican government has not published apprehension statistics, but a senior White House official said it had provided daily updates to the Trump administration, including specific apprehension numbers.

"They say they're going to stop them. Let's see. They have the power to stop them, they have the laws to stop them," Trump said earlier on Tuesday.

PUSH BACK

Trump has made fighting illegal immigration from Mexico and Central America a key part of his agenda, but shutting down one of the world's most used borders might be a step too far, even for many of his fellow Republicans.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell joined Democrats in warning Trump against such a move.

"Closing down the border would have potentially catastrophic economic impact on our country and I would hope we would not be doing that sort of thing," McConnell told reporters on Tuesday.

A group representing General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said in a statement that "any action that stops commerce at the border would be harmful to the U.S. economy, and in particular, the auto industry."

Dozens of U.S. vehicle, engine, transmission and other auto parts plants could close because of a lack of components in the days after a border shutdown. It would also prevent thousands of vehicles built in Mexico from landing in U.S. dealer showrooms.

Automakers exported nearly 2.6 million Mexican-made vehicles to the United States in 2018, accounting for 15 percent of all vehicles sold in the country. Some, like the Chevrolet Blazer SUV, are only made in Mexico.

Retailers are also raising alarm bells, according to officials with two groups that represent hundreds of U.S. retail firms.

"It will be unprecedented self-inflicted pain," said David French, senior vice president of government relations at the National Retail Federation. "We are still nervous about this and we have been talking to some of our companies about maybe ramping up direct pressure on the White House by getting CEOs to call."

SLOWER BORDER

Senior U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials said on Tuesday a recent redeployment of some 750 officers on the border to deal with a surge in migrants - mostly Central American families turning themselves in to border agents - had already led to a slowing of legal crossings and commerce at ports of entry.

"Wait times in Brownsville (Texas) were around 180 minutes, which were two times the peaks of last year," said a senior DHS official on a call with reporters. "We ended the day yesterday at Otay Mesa (California) with a backup of 150 trucks that hadn't been processed," the official said.

Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Tuesday that backups were delaying commercial traffic at the U.S.-Mexico border at several crossings. He said the government had not drastically changed its migration strategy following the shutdown threats.

DHS officials said border facilities had been overwhelmed by families seeking asylum, fleeing poverty and violence in Central America.

DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said Manuel Padilla, a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Border Patrol, would now serve as the agency's coordinator on the border response.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection estimated that some 100,000 migrants were apprehended or encountered at the border in March, the highest level in a decade. "The system is on fire," a DHS official said.

Because of limits on how long children are legally allowed to be held in detention, many of the families are released to await U.S. immigration court hearings, a process that can take years because of ballooning backlogs.

To try to address the problem, the Trump administration in January started sending some migrants to wait out their U.S. court dates in Mexican border cities. On Monday, DHS said it would dramatically ramp up that program, despite court challenges.

The biggest priority for Nielsen is to seek action from Congress to change the immigration laws, said a DHS official. She sent a letter to Congress last week repeating many of the Trump administration's demands, including a request to quickly deport Central American minors that cross the border alone.

Under current law, minors who are not from the contiguous countries of Canada and Mexico are placed in the care of sponsors in the United States, which Nielsen called a "dangerous 'pull' factor" for migrants. Migrant advocates and some Democrats in Congress oppose the proposed legislative changes, saying they would send vulnerable children back to dangerous situations in their home countries.

Trump said he had spoken with "a few" Democrats on Tuesday about the administration's proposals and added: "They're changing their minds." 

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Reports Reveal 3rd Anti-Trump Dossier

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In physics, a tipping point refers to the point at which an object is no longer balanced, and adding a small amount of weight can cause it to topple. In general, a tipping point is defined as the “point at which a series of small changes or incidents becomes significant enough to cause a larger, more important change or the critical point in a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place.”

In every conflict, there comes a time, usually following a string of heavy losses, when the despair lifts and the outlook brightens and hope returns. It doesn’t mean that the fight is over. In WWII, D-Day was the tipping point, but the Allies still had to endure the Battle of the Bulge. But it does signal the beginning of the end.

Over the last week or so, a series of events have occurred which, if assessed by themselves, might appear meaningless. When considered as a group, however, the synergy created can lead to a meaningful shift.

1. First, disgraced former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe has stepped into the spotlight. (You really have to wonder why McCabe, who remains under a criminal investigation, believes that now is a good time to publish a book and embark on a media tour.)

He presents himself more as one who is trying to defend himself than as a reasonable, credible leader who acted out of genuine concern for US national security. He still can’t offer any reasons why he opened a criminal investigation of Trump other than he “believed that there might be a threat to national security.” Trump’s firing of Comey is not evidence of obstruction of justice.

In the exchanges below with CNN’s Anderson Cooper and NBC’s Savannah Guthrie, please note my emphasis of words such as “I think, it’s possible, there might be, the President himself might in fact be a threat, in our view, potentially impact, possibly turn off, we thought it might be possible, if you believe that the President might have obstructed justice.”

Cooper asked him if he still believes that the President is a Russian asset. McCabe replied, “I think it’s possible. I thinkthat’s why we started the investigation and I’m anxious to see where Director Mueller concludes that.”

Appearing on NBC with Savanah Guthrie, McCabe was asked if he believed Trump was a threat to national security. He replied:

We had information that led us to believe that there might be a threat to national security. In this case, that the President himself might be in fact be a threat to the United States’ national security.

The president, in our view, had gone to extreme measures to potentially impact— negatively impact, possibly turn off— our investigation of Russian meddling into the election, and Russian coordination with his campaign. We thought that it might be possible [that Trump was working for Russia] … you have to ask yourself, if you believe that the President might have obstructed justice for the purpose of ending our investigation into Russia, you have to ask yourself why. Why would any President of the United States not want the FBI to get to the bottom of Russian interference in our election?

He is very careful to avoid any definitive statements about Trump’s wrongdoing because he knows that would come back to bite him. He’s an FBI agent. He knows how to avoid traps.

He then claimed that no one in the ‘Gang of Eight’ objected to their investigation. The ‘Gang of Eight’ at that time included Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Richard Burr (R-NC), then-House Speaker Paul Ryan, then-House Intelligence Committee Chair Devin Nunes (R-CA), Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi D-CA), and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA).

Knowing that members of the ‘Gang of Eight’ are not allowed to discuss what was said in their meetings, he tells NBC’s Savannah Guthrie that everyone was on board. I find it unbelievable that all 8 members agreed with opening the investigation, especially Devin Nunes, who worked tirelessly to expose the deep state.

McCabe: I told Congress what we had done.

Guthrie: Did anyone object?

McCabe: That’s the important part here, Savannah. No one objected. Not on legal grounds, not on constitutional grounds and not based on the facts.

Former Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) appeared on Fox News’ Martha MacCallum’s show and said that was not so.

The reason he’s doing it this way is that Devin Nunes and Paul Ryan are not allowed to discuss anything that’s said in a ‘Gang of Eight’ meeting and McCabe knows that. So he can level the accusation and Devin and Paul cannot refute him.

There were three investigations into a duly elected president. The Peter Strzok one from July of 2016 and then McCabe started a counterintelligence [probe] and if he’s telling the truth, started a criminal probe into the president of the United States.

I listened to Devin and Paul quiz the [Justice Department] and the FBI for hours on multiple occasions about the one counterintelligence investigation, we all knew about it. I find it stunning that they would know about a second one and not say a single solitary word.

McCabe’s media tour, in my opinion, has only diminished the already weak case against President Trump. And it has likely reinforced the perception in voters’ minds that McCabe truly is the liar DOJ IG Michael Horowitz believes him to be.

2.  The Hill’s John Solomon and investigative reporter Sara Carter appeared together on Sean Hannity’s show on Tuesday night. Both have followed the Trump/Russian collusion probe closely.

Solomon spoke about a bombshell revelation he will be posting today about a third dossier prepared by Fusion GPS. He said:

We know about the Steele dossier, we know about the Blumenthal dossier that was sent to the State Department and forwarded to the FBI. Tomorrow, I’m gonna report that there was a third dossier put together and given to the Justice Department using Fusion GPS materials and when you hear who wrote it, who gave it to the Justice Department and who knew about it, you’re gonna love this.

He didn’t want to give the story away, but he gave Sean a clue that pointed to Nellie Ohr, wife of Bruce Ohr.

Sara Carter discussed how for over a year now, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the National Security Agency have “impeded” efforts by Republican lawmakers to review the “unmasking” requests of Obama Administration officials. Very little has been reported about the unmasking of over 100 Americans.

Hannity then discussed Victor Davis Hanson’s article (I posted about it here) in which he declared the coup against Trump to be dead. Hannity asked them both if they “believe that things are now closing in on those deep state people that tried to rig a presidential election and undo a duly elected President, breaking the law and doing nefarious and illegal things?”

Solomon: I do believe that the truth is coming out about the small group of people at the top of the Justice Department and the FBI tried to undo what the American voters did and do it in ways that were in violation of the law and the regulations they were supposed to adhere to.

Carter: Sean, what we’re seeing is a silent coup and if the Justice Department doesn’t open up an investigation, then it’s a disservice to the American people.

(The segment begins at 24:00 in the video below.)

3.  Jussie Smollett’s stunt provided a clear example of just how far those on the left are willing to take their hatred of conservatives. Americans have been riveted by the developments in this case. Smollett, as he navigates his way through the legal consequences he will surely face, will be a walking, talking reminder of how extreme the Democratic party has become.

4.  William Barr was confirmed by a senate vote of 54-45. (One senator did not vote.) 51 Republicans voted yes and one voted no. Three Democrats voted yes and 41 voted no.

Most reader comments express deep concern that Barr may be part of the deep state and therefore, will not do what’s necessary to clean up the mess and to hold people accountable. I would argue first that, after the damage done to his presidency by Jeff Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from oversight of the collusion investigation, Trump probably was very careful to vet Barr before nominating him. Second, Barr has been critical of the Mueller investigation in the past which is why only three Democrats voted for his confirmation. Third, this has been the most consequential, most destructive scandal in American political history. Does William Barr, after a long and respected career in law enforcement want to be remembered by history for his corruption? He has an opportunity to shine. I don’t believe he will be so quick to squander it because of his good buddy Robert Mueller.

Too much is known about the poisonous actions taken by this group of unelected government officials who have wielded such power. Although Democrats have moved so far to the left and would like nothing better than to see the US become a socialist state, which they, of course, would control, the majority of Americans oppose such a radical transformation. This feels like a pivotal moment in history. Let’s keep up the momentum.

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New Jersey teen claims Trump support cost him entry into National Honor Society

A Holmdel, N.J., teen who was denied entry into the National Honor Society says his support for President Trump was viewed as a “character flaw.”

“They told me I had this character leadership issue which they said was because I made a T-shirt for my class presidential campaign that said ‘Make Holmdel Great Again’ on them. And I posted that Trump quote on underclass Instagram as part of an inspirational daily quote thing I did as president,” Holmdel High School student Boris Kizenko said on "The Todd Starnes Show.”  “And so they said this was a character flaw that this didn't really make a lot of sense to me because it was only when I spoke out in favor of the president that it became a character flaw.”

Kizenko added, “And so I think it just showed how politically biased the school system is. Just one example, and after this happened, you know, I've heard countless stories of similar experiences happening to other students, and it's very unfortunate what happened.”

"I can confirm that political affiliation is not a consideration for National Honor Society acceptance and that no student would be denied admittance to NHS based on his/her political speech or political party affiliation," Superintendent Robert McGarry told The Asbury Park Press.

Fox News has reached out to the National Honor Society for comment.

Kizenko said he met all the honor society criteria.

FELONY CHARGES FILED AGAINST ALLEGED CONSERVATIVE ATTACKER

“When I appealed the decision when I was denied National Honor Society, you know, I checked all the boxes. I had the grade requirement. You need at least a 3.66 GPA, I have a 4.0. You needed 200 community service hours. Check that off,” said Kizenko, 16.

TRUMP VOWS TO SIGN COLLEGE FREE SPEECH EXECUTIVE ORDER

“I think that what happened to me with the National Honor Society … is really indicative of a greater problem with free speech we have across the nation,” Kizenko told Starnes.

Kizenko will be at the White House on Thursday to hear President Trump talk about higher education and free speech, said The Press.

Source: Fox News National

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Democrat Oversight Will be Weaker Than You Think

House Democrats are finding out how difficult it is to provide Congressional oversight.

Axios reported the White House has figured out there’s not much Democrats can do if the administration continues to say no to everything. The administration has blocked several key administration officials from appearing before the House Oversight Committee.

The Washington Post reported the latest example is the administration’s refusal to allow senior adviser Stephen Miller to testify regarding immigration policy.

Meanwhile, Axios noted that any of those who have actually been subpoenaed by the committee could be held in contempt if they do not appear. But it said the subpoenas are difficult to enforce. And the website said recent contempt cases have “fizzled,

Axios also pointed out President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization have filed suit against Oversight Committee chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., to block a subpoena for the president’s financial records.

But it said that strategy could have a downside, the website said.

"It totally undercuts the argument that we've been transparent and because there was no criminal wrongdoing that's why we encouraged everyone to cooperate," said a former senior White House official. "Now we look like we've got something to hide and we're not being open and transparent."

Still, the Trump White House is unlikely to face any consequences in the short-term, Axios said.

But one Democratic aide said there are ways of getting past the White House efforts.

“One trend we've been seeing more and more, and a way we can get new information, is from whistleblowers,” the aide said.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Outsider CEO won’t be a quick fix for Wells Fargo: analysts

A Wells Fargo logo is seen in New York City
FILE PHOTO: A Wells Fargo logo is seen in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith

March 29, 2019

By Imani Moise

(Reuters) – Wells Fargo & Co’s plan to bring in an outsider as its next chief executive could give the scandal-plagued bank a much needed fresh start, but a turnaround will not be easy for whoever takes the helm, analysts said.

The fourth-largest U.S. bank by assets said on Thursday that CEO Tim Sloan, a 31-year Wells Fargo veteran, would resign immediately and a committee would meet on Friday to start looking for a replacement from outside the bank.

More than two years after its wide-ranging sales practices scandal first came to light, Wells Fargo is still struggling to repair its reputation and relationship with U.S. regulators.

“Reforming decades of past mistakes at an institution as large as Wells is a difficult and time-consuming endeavor,” said Morningstar analyst Eric Compton in a note on Friday.

Wells Fargo shares were down 2.2 percent to $48.02 on Friday, after jumping more than 2.7 percent after the bank announced Sloan’s resignation on Thursday.

Investors are pondering what the change in leadership will actually mean for the bank over the next year or two, Marty Mosby, an analyst at Vining Sparks IBG, said in a note on Friday.

“The intermediate transition period will not likely be as productive as we had been assuming, and the longer-term ramifications won’t be played out for years,” Mosby said.

Admissions by the bank that it opened potentially millions of unauthorized accounts and improperly charged customers for services have resulted in billions of dollars in fines and settlements since 2016.

The Federal Reserve has also placed an unprecedented restriction on Wells Fargo to keep it from growing its balance sheet until it proves risk management controls are improved.

“It does seem that Wells Fargo management has lost the confidence of regulators,” Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari told Reuters on Friday. “It will be important to put in a CEO that can regain that confidence.”

It remained unclear what exactly triggered Sloan’s abrupt departure. Sloan, who had been CEO since after the scandal erupted in 2016, said he made the decision because the focus on him was hampering the bank’s recovery.

Sloan twice disappointed investors by pushing back the date he expected to get the asset cap removed.

When the consent order was announced in February 2018, he said reviews of its plan to meet the Fed’s request would be completed in October of that year. In May he said the cap would be lifted in early 2019, but in January he told analysts he expected the bank to operate under the cap through 2019.

Analysts still say that timeline is too ambitious.

“We do not expect the asset cap to get lifted until mid-2020,” said Citigroup Inc’ analyst Keith Horowitz in a note on Thursday.

KBW’S Brian Kleinhanzl also wrote in a note that the bank seems to be far from convincing the Fed that it has made sufficient changes.

Banks typically operate under consent orders from the Fed for many years. The Fed has yet to end a 2013 enforcement order against JPMorgan Chase & Co related to its London Whale scandal, according to an analysis of the U.S. central bank’s public notices. A 2011 consent order against 10 banks related to crisis-era mortgage practices ended last year.

Wells Fargo executives did not provide new information about when they expected the Fed to lift the asset cap on Thursday.

TRIMMING COSTS

Outside of regulatory pressures, the new CEO will also be faced with investors who want management to shore up the bank’s core business. Wells Fargo was the only bank among the top four U.S. lenders to not grow loans or deposits over the past two years, according to Refinitiv data.

While current executives have suspended the bank’s 2020 expense target to give a new CEO room for a novel strategy, analysts expect incoming management to maintain Wells Fargo’s approach of growing profits by getting leaner.

“I think the new CEO is going to take the path of trimming costs and buying back stocks and you still won’t see a lot of balance sheet expansion in terms of loan growth because they are under that cap,” said Edward Jones analyst Kyle Sanders.

Wells Fargo Board Chair Betsy Duke did not give clear guidelines on what kinds of candidates the board is looking for.

The next CEO will likely be a finance executive with experience with consumer banking and digital strategy, as well as the ability to smooth relationships with Washington, analysts said.

Citi’s Horowitz said JPMorgan Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake, who has experience running the consumer bank at the largest U.S. bank by assets, would be his first call.

A seasoned executive from a financial technology company already based in San Francisco could also be a good fit, said Edward Jones’ Sanders.

(Reporting by Imani Moise. Additional reporting by Elizabeth Dilts, David Henry and Michelle Price; Editing Anna Irrera and Meredith Mazzilli)

Source: OANN

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Report: Court Rules Male-Only Draft Unconstitutional

Now that women are eligible for combat roles in the U.S. military, an all-male Selective Service draft is unconstitutional, according to a Texas federal judge, USA Today reported.

The ruling handed by U.S. District Judge Gray Miller pointed to the Pentagon's 2015 lifting of restrictions on women in the military

Women had not been permitted to register for Selective Service and men who failed to register at their 18th birthday could be denied benefits such as federal employment and student loans.

"The average woman could conceivably be better suited physically for some of today's combat positions than the average man, depending on which skills the position required," Miller wrote in his ruling. "Combat roles no longer uniformly require sheer size or muscle."

The National Coalition For Me brought the case to the court by two men who argued an all-man draft was unfair, according to the report.


"Yes, to some extent this is symbolic, but it does have some real-world impact," Marc Angelucci, the men's lawyer, told USA Today. "Either they need to get rid of the draft registration, or they need to require women to do the same thing that men do."

Source: NewsMax America

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Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond looks on during an interview with Reuters at the British Ambassador's residence in Beijing
Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond looks on during an interview with Reuters at the British Ambassador’s residence in Beijing, China April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Florence Lo/Pool

April 26, 2019

BEIJING (Reuters) – British finance minister Philip Hammond said on Friday that he had a “very constructive meeting” with his counterpart in the opposition Labour Party before leaving for Beijing and that he was optimistic about finding common ground.

Hammond, speaking on the sidelines of a summit on China’s Belt and Road initiative in Beijing, said talks with Labour aimed at finding a way forward on Brexit had not stalled.

“I’m optimistic that we will find common ground,” he said. “Both sides have got clear positions and both sides will have to compromise in order to reach an agreement.”

Hammond added that he absolutely did not favor a no deal exit from the European Union.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; editing by Darren Schuettler)

Source: OANN

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Police secure the area where the body of a woman was discovered near the village of Orounta
Police secure the area where the body of a woman was discovered near the village of Orounta, Cyprus, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Stefanos Kouratzis

April 26, 2019

NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cypriot police searched on Friday for more victims of a suspected serial killer, in a case which has shocked the Mediterranean island and exposed the authorities to charges of “criminal indifference” because the dead women were foreigners.

The main opposition party, the left-wing AKEL, called for the resignation of Cyprus’s justice minister and police chief.

Police were combing three different locations west of the capital Nicosia for victims of the suspected killer, a 35-year-old army officer who has been in detention for a week.

The bodies of three women, including two thought to be from the Philippines, have been recovered. Police sources said the suspect had indicated the location of the third body, found on Thursday, and had said the person was “either Indian or Nepali”.

Police said they were searching for a further four people, including two children, based on the suspect’s testimony.

“These women came here to earn a living, to help their families. They lived away from their families. And the earth swallowed them, nobody was interested,” AKEL lawmaker Irene Charalambides told Reuters.

“This killer will be judged by the court but the other big question is the criminal indifference shown by the others when the reports first surfaced. I believe, as does my party, that the justice minister and the police chief should resign. They are irrevocably exposed.”

Police have said they will investigate any perceived shortcomings in their handling of the case.

One person who did attempt to alert the authorities over the disappearances, a 70-year-old Cypriot citizen, said his motives were questioned by police.

The bodies of the two Filipino women reported missing in May and August 2018 were found in an abandoned mine shaft this month. Police discovered the body of the third woman at an army firing range about 14 km (9 miles) from the mine shaft.

Police are now searching for the six-year-old daughter of the first victim found, a Romanian mother who disappeared with her eight-year-old child in 2016, and a woman from the Phillipines who vanished in Dec. 2017.

The suspect has not been publicly named, in line with Cypriot legal practice.

A public vigil for the missing was planned later on Friday.

(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: OANN

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An employee looks up at goods at the Miniclipper Logistics warehouse in Leighton Buzzard
FILE PHOTO: An employee looks up at goods at the Miniclipper Logistics warehouse in Leighton Buzzard, Britain December 3, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

April 26, 2019

LONDON, April 26 – British factories stockpiled raw materials and goods ahead of Brexit at the fastest pace since records began in the 1950s, and they were increasingly downbeat about their prospects, a survey showed on Friday.

The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) quarterly survey of the manufacturing industry showed expectations for export orders in the next three months fell to their lowest level since mid-2009, when Britain was reeling from the global financial crisis.

The record pace of stockpiling recorded by the CBI was mirrored by the closely-watched IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index published earlier this month.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken)

Source: OANN

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Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Florence Lo

April 26, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Fewer than half of Malaysians approve of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, an opinion poll showed on Friday, as concerns over rising costs and racial matters plague his administration nearly a year after taking office.

The survey, conducted in March by independent pollster Merdeka Center, showed that only 46 percent of voters surveyed were satisfied with Mahathir, a sharp drop from the 71 percent approval rating he received in August 2018.

Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan coalition won a stunning election victory in May 2018, ending the previous government’s more than 60-year rule.

But his administration has since been criticized for failing to deliver on promised reforms and protecting the rights of majority ethnic Malay Muslims.

Of 1,204 survey respondents, 46 percent felt that the “country was headed in the wrong direction”, up from 24 percent in August 2018, the Merdeka Center said in a statement. Just 39 percent said they approved of the ruling government.

High living costs remained the top most concern among Malaysians, with just 40 percent satisfied with the government’s management of the economy, the survey showed.

It also showed mixed responses to Pakatan Harapan’s proposed reforms.

Some 69 percent opposed plans to abolish the death penalty, while respondents were sharply divided over proposals to lower the minimum voting age to 18, or to implement a sugar tax.

“In our opinion, the results appear to indicate a public that favors the status quo, and thus requires a robust and coordinated advocacy efforts in order to garner their acceptance of new measures,” Merdeka Center said.

The survey also found 23 percent of Malaysians were concerned over ethnic and religious matters.

Some groups representing Malays have expressed fear that affirmative-action policies favoring them in business, education and housing could be taken away and criticized the appointments of non-Muslims to key government posts.

Last November, the government reversed its pledge to ratify a UN convention against racial discrimination, after a backlash from Malay groups.

Earlier this month, Pakatan Harapan suffered its third successive loss in local elections since taking power, which has been seen as a further sign of waning public support.

Despite the decline, most Malaysians – 67 percent – agreed that Mahathir’s government should be given more time to fulfill its election promises, Merdeka Center said.

This included a majority of Malay voters who were largely more critical of the new administration, it added.

(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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The German share price index DAX graph at the stock exchange in Frankfurt
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Staff

April 26, 2019

By Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh

(Reuters) – European shares slipped on Friday after losses in heavyweight banks and Glencore outweighed gains in healthcare and auto stocks, while investors remained on the sidelines ahead of U.S. economic data for the first quarter.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1 percent by 0935 GMT, eyeing a modest loss at the end of a holiday-shortened week. Banks-heavy Italian and Spanish indices were laggards.

The banking index fell for a fourth day, at the end of a heavy earnings week for lenders.

Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland tumbled after posting lower first quarter profit, hurt by intensifying competition and Brexit uncertainty, while its investment bank also registered poor returns.

Weakness in investment banking also dented Deutsche Bank’s quarterly trading revenue and sent its shares lower a day after the German bank abandoned merger talks with smaller rival Commerzbank.

“The current interest rate environment makes it challenging for banks to make proper earnings because of their intermediary function,” said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior market economist eurozone, at Rabobank.

Since the start of April, all country indexes were on pace to rise between 1.8 percent and 3.4 percent, their fourth month of gains, while Germany was strongly outperforming with 6 percent growth.

“For now the current sentiment is very cautious as markets wait for the first estimates of the U.S. GDP growth which could see a surprise,” Mevissen said.

U.S. economic data for the first-quarter is due at 1230 GMT. Growth worries outside the United States resurfaced this week after South Korea’s economy unexpectedly contracted at the start of the year and weak German business sentiment data for April also disappointed.

Among the biggest drags on the benchmark index in Europe were the basic resources sector and the oil and gas sector, weighed down by Britain’s Glencore and France’s Total, respectively.

Glencore dropped after reports that U.S authorities were investigating whether the company and its subsidiaries violated certain provisions of the commodity exchange act.

Energy major Total said its net profit for the first three months of the year fell compared with a year ago due to volatile oil prices and debt costs.

Chip stocks in the region including Siltronic, Ams and STMicroelectronics lost more than 1 percent after Intel Corp reduced its full-year revenue forecast, adding to concerns that an industry-wide slowdown could persist until the end of 2019.

Meanwhile, healthcare, which is also seen as a defensive sector, was a bright spot. It was helped by French drugmaker Sanofi after it returned to growth with higher profits and revenues for the first-quarter.

Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES led media stocks higher after it maintained its full-year outlook on the back of the company’s Networks division.

Automakers in the region rose 0.4 percent, led by Valeo’s 6 percent jump as the French parts maker said its performance would improve in the second half of the year.

Continental AG advanced after it backed its outlook for the year despite reporting a fall in first-quarter earnings.

Renault rose more than 3 percent as it clung to full-year targets and pursues merger talks with its Japanese partner Nissan.

(Reporting by Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gareth Jones and Elaine Hardcastle)

Source: OANN

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