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PG&E to name TVA’s Bill Johnson as CEO: source

FILE PHOTO: Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) trucks are seen parked on a road between homes destroyed by the Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, California
FILE PHOTO: Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) trucks are seen parked on a road between homes destroyed by the Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa, California, U.S., October 11, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

April 2, 2019

NEW YORK (Reuters) – PG&E Corp is expected to name Bill Johnson as chief executive of the bankrupt California energy company facing $30 billion in wildfire liabilities, as soon as Wednesday, a source familiar with the private negotiations said on Tuesday.

Johnson, who has been the CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority since 2013 and is retiring on Friday, would not comment on the PG&E rumors.

A group of investors, including Knighthead Capital Management, Redwood Capital Management and Abrams Capital Management, have been pushing for Johnson to be hired.

Before joining TVA, Johnson was the chairman, president and CEO of Progress Energy from 2007-2012 before it merged with North Carolina rival Duke Energy Corp.

Another hedge fund, BlueMountain Capital Management, announced a slate of 13 directors including hedge fund manager Jeff Ubben and former California treasurer Phil Angelides.

PG&E faces crushing liabilities related to deadly wildfires in 2017 and 2018 that killed dozens of people and destroyed thousands of homes.

A U.S. judge on Tuesday ordered PG&E not to pay shareholders dividends and instead use the money to fund its plan for cutting down trees to reduce the risk its equipment will spark more destructive wildfires in wooded areas of California.

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino and Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Source: OANN

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Rep. Eric Swalwell announces 2020 run on Colbert’s ‘Late Show’

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., an outspoken critic of President Trump, officially entered the 2020 White House race during his Monday appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

The 38-year-old three-term congressman is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Intelligence Committee, which for years has made headlines over its investigations of Russian influence in U.S. elections and federal surveillance.

“I’ve been in Congress for six years, I’ve defended our country from the Intelligence Committee while democracy has been on the ropes... and I see a country in quicksand, unable to solve problems and threats from abroad, unable to make life better for people here at home. Nothing gets done,” Swalwell told Stephen Colbert. The show released a preview clip with his announcement ahead of its airing Monday night.

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

He continued, “I’ve talked to people who are just like me who are the first in their family to go to college, got a lot of student debt, can’t buy a home, can’t start a business. I’ve talked to kids who sit in their classroom afraid that they’ll be the next victim of gun violence and they see Washington do nothing about it after the moments of silence and they see lawmakers who love their guns more than they love our kids.”

Swalwell declared, “None of that is going to change until we get a leader who is willing to go big on the issues we take on, be bold in the solutions we offer, and do good in the way that we govern. I’m ready to solve these problems. I’m running for the president of the United States.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Swalwell isn’t the first Democrat to make an official announcement on “The Late Show.” New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand revealed to Colbert she was launching an exploratory committee back in January. She has since made her candidacy official.

Rep. Swalwell is the eighteenth candidate who has joined the crowded field of Democrats in the primary.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Trump, Egypt’s Sisi to discuss security during White House visit

FILE PHOTO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi gives an address after the gunmen attack in Minya
FILE PHOTO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi gives an address after the gunmen attack in Minya, accompanied by leaders of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and the Supreme Council for Police (unseen), at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt May 26, 2017 in this handout picture courtesy of the Egyptian Presidency. The Egyptian Presidency/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo.

April 8, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump will discuss tensions in the Middle East, security, economic reform and human rights in Egypt during a meeting with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at the White House on Tuesday, a senior administration official said.

The U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity ahead of the visit, said the two leaders would also discuss the development of civil society in Egypt and, in a nod to concerns of Vice President Mike Pence, its treatment of religious minorities, including Christians.

Egypt’s parliament has moved to pave the way for Sisi to stay in power until 2034 with constitutional reforms.

Asked whether Trump supported such a move, the official said the administration was encouraging Egypt to develop democratic institutions while being mindful of U.S. security interests.

“The president views the relationship with Egypt, as he does all of our … relationships with foreign countries … through the lens of America First and what serves our interest,” the official said.

Military issues also may be on the agenda. Egypt has reportedly signed a $2 billion deal with Russia to buy more than 20 Sukhoi SU-35 fighter jets, as well as weapons for the aircraft.

Asked if the White House would discuss the purchase with the visiting Egyptian leader and whether it could possibly trigger U.S. sanctions, the official cautioned that U.S. law gives the president very little flexibility over sanctions imposed on those who do business with Russian defense sectors.

“Countries that engage in those purchases need to know that we are extremely limited in what we can do to mitigate,” the official said, noting that the United States had already faced similar situations with China, India and Turkey.

The U.S. Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA, authorizes sanctions on those who engage in significant transactions with the Russian defense or intelligence sectors. It also deals with sanctions on Iran and North Korea.

“We really would urge countries that wish to maintain and expand their military relationship with the United States to take that legislation very seriously,” the official said.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and David Alexander; Editing by Tom Brown)

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NHL roundup: Pastrnak hat trick leads Bruins over Rangers

NHL: New York Rangers at Boston Bruins
Mar 27, 2019; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) smiles at teammates after scoring his third goal of the game during the third period against the New York Rangers at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

March 28, 2019

David Pastrnak continued his torrid return from injury with a hat trick and two assists, and the Boston Bruins won their 12th straight at home, 6-3 over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night.

Pastrnak failed to record a point March 19 in his first contest back after missing 16 with a thumb injury, but he has five goals and six assists in four since.

On Wednesday, he set career highs with his 36th goal and five points in a regular-season game while helping the playoff-bound Bruins extend their longest home winning streak since a 14-game run in 2008-09.

Boston also avoided being swept in the three-game season series by the Rangers, who will miss the playoffs for a second straight campaign and are 2-8-5 since Feb. 24.

Stars 2, Flames 1

Dallas took another step toward clinching a playoff spot with a win at Calgary, but they may have paid a heavy price with goalie Ben Bishop leaving the game due to injury.

Late in the second period, Bishop came up lame after sliding across the crease while tracking the play and immediately departed due to a lower-body injury. It’s the second time this month Bishop has been hurt during a game. After getting injured on March 14, he missed two games.

The Stars, who hold the first Western Conference wild-card spot, received 20 saves from Bishop and another 15 stops from Anton Khudobin. Alex Radulov and Miro Heiskanen put Dallas up 2-0 with the Flames’ TJ Brodie scoring late.

Avalanche 4, Golden Knights 3

Tyson Barrie had a goal and two assists, and Nathan MacKinnon added a goal and an assist to lead Colorado to victory over Vegas in Denver.

Matt Calvert and Gabriel Bourque also scored goals for the Avalanche, which won for the fifth time in six games and moved two points ahead of Arizona for the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Avalanche and Coyotes, who both have five games remaining, play Friday night in Denver.

Philipp Grubauer had 34 saves to pick up his career-high 16th win of the season, improving to 5-0-1 in his last six starts.

Flyers 5, Maple Leafs 4 (SO)

Sean Couturier scored in the fifth round of a shootout to lift host Philadelphia past Toronto. Flyers goaltender Carter Hart, who made 38 saves through regulation and overtime, stopped William Nylander’s fifth-round attempt to preserve the win.

Couturier had the only successful shootout attempt among the 10 skaters who participated. The Flyers snapped their three-game home losing streak.

Travis Konecny, Radko Gudas, Couturier and Ryan Hartman each scored in regulation for the Flyers, who remained mathematically alive in the race for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

–Field Level Media

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2nd phase of voting begins in India’s general election

Voting has begun in the second phase of India's general elections amid massive security and a lockdown in parts of the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir.

The city of Srinagar is one of 97 constituencies across 13 Indian states where voting was scheduled Thursday.

The election is taking place in seven phases over six weeks in the country of 1.3 billion people.

Some 900 million people are registered to vote for candidates to fill 543 seats in India's lower house of Parliament.

Voting concludes on May 19 and counting is scheduled for May 23.

The election, the world's largest democratic exercise, is seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party.

Modi has used Kashmir as one of the top issues of his campaign.

Source: Fox News World

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U.S. Soccer Federation defends support for women’s team after lawsuit

Soccer: She Believes Cup Women's Soccer-Brazil at USA
FILE PHOTO: Mar 5, 2019; Tampa, FL, USA; United States forward Tobin Heath (17) and forward Alex Morgan (13) and forward Mallory Pugh (11) celebrate after a goal during the first half against Brazil during a She Believes Cup women's soccer match at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Douglas DeFelice-USA TODAY Sports

March 15, 2019

(Reuters) – The U.S. Soccer Federation defended on Friday its treatment of the World Cup-winning national women’s team and said it was surprised at a recent lawsuit (USWNT) alleging gender discrimination.

All 28 members of the U.S. women’s squad were named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit that was filed in federal court in Los Angeles on International Women’s Day last week.

It includes complaints about wages and nearly every other aspect of the team’s working conditions.

Federation president Carlos Cordeiro said in an open letter that the body had made a sincere effort to provide the very best resources possible to the women’s team.

“U.S. Soccer believes that all female athletes deserve fair and equitable pay, and we strive to meet this core value at all times,” he added.

The lawsuit comes just three months before the U.S. women open their World Cup title defense in France.

The players said they have been consistently paid less money than their male counterparts even though their performance has been superior to the men’s team.

According to the lawsuit, filed three years after several players made a similar complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. soccer has “utterly failed to promote gender equality.”

Cordeiro, however, said the soccer federation continues to be a champion for the women’s game in the United States and on the global stage.

“From our proactive efforts to grow and invest in women’s soccer at every level in the U.S., to advocating for the improvement and increased support of the women’s game worldwide, U.S. Soccer is active, committed and passionate in its support today and will be into the long-term future.”

Cordeiro added that the federation had in recent years increased its investment in the USWNT program and worked in close partnership with the players to ensure they have everything they need.

“We have added additional technical and high-performance staff focused only on the USWNT, provided additional charter flights to improve travel, and created two elite women’s international tournaments to provide high-level competition in the United States, among other efforts to support the team,” he said.

“We also continue to expand our investment in female player development programs, including our eight Youth National Team programs and the Girl’s Development Academy.”

Cordeiro also pointed to a 2017 agreement with the women’s team.

“In April of 2017, we agreed to a fair and equitable collective bargaining agreement with the Women’s National Team, which included a contract structure that the players specifically requested to provide them with a guaranteed salary and benefits.

“At no point since that time have players raised concerns about the CBA itself, and we continue to work with them in good faith.”

Cordeiro said he had spoken on Wednesday with some of the veteran players to better understand their thoughts and concerns.

“Our initial conversation was open, cordial and professional, and we will continue to work to resolve this matter,” he said.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina; Editing by Toby Davis)

Source: OANN

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No further cut to Pemex credit rating expected: Mexico minister

FILE PHOTO: Mexico's Finance Minister Carlos Urzua listens as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador speaks to the media during a news conference to announce a plan to strengthen finances of state oil firm Pemex, in Mexico City
FILE PHOTO: Mexico's Finance Minister Carlos Urzua listens as President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (not pictured) speaks to the media during a news conference to announce a plan to strengthen finances of state oil firm Pemex, at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico February 15, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Romero/File Photo

April 13, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Mexican Finance Minister Carlos Urzua said on Saturday he does not expect rating agencies to further downgrade the credit rating of state-owned energy company Pemex.

With $106 billion in financial debt, Pemex is the world’s most indebted oil company and is teetering on the brink of having its debt downgraded to junk.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Paul Simao)

Source: OANN

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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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