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British PM Theresa May suffers another major defeat on revised Brexit deal, as clock ticks down

British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal was given another thumping defeat in Parliament on Tuesday, despite her last-minute efforts to secure concessions from E.U. leaders -- just weeks before Britain is set to leave the bloc.

The withdrawal agreement, hashed out with European leaders in 2018, was defeated 391-242, despite a dramatic, last-minute trip to Strasbourg by May on Monday, after which she had declared she had secured legally binding changes to the deal in an effort to appease parliamentarians. It was the second such defeat for the bill, after it was rejected 432-202 in January -- the largest defeat for a prime minister in the history of the House of Commons.

THERESA MAY'S BREXIT DEAL FACES NEW VOTE IN BRITISH PARLIAMENT: WHAT TO KNOW

May and her allies had sought to rally MPs to the deal in the hours before the vote, with a series of speeches urging lawmakers to back the deal to make sure Britain can leave the bloc with a deal on March 29.

“There is only one certainty if we don’t pass this vote tonight and that is that uncertainty will continue for our citizens and for our businesses,” a hoarse May warned MPs in the House of Commons.

“The reality is that we face a fork in the road, it is time to choose, it is time to support this deal, it is time for our country to move forward,” Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay said moments before the vote.

Much of the opposition to the deal on the right comes from concern over the “backstop” -- a safety net by which the U.K. temporarily remains in a customs union until a trade deal in secured, so as to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

“Brexiteers” have pointed to the lack of a unilateral exit mechanism in the backstop as evidence that it could lead to Britain never leaving the bloc, or being forced to accept unfavorable trading terms. May returned late Monday from a last-gasp meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, and announced that she had in fact secured "legally binding" changes to the agreement to prevent a permanent backstop.

But May's brief hopes of it moving the needle were dealt a blow on Tuesday when Attorney General Geoffrey Cox told the House of Commons that while the new clauses “enhance” the agreement, it does not change the fundamental risk.

MACRON SAYS EU MAY BLOCK UK'S BREXIT PLAN: 'THE TIME HAS COME FOR THE BRITISH TO MAKE CHOICES'

The legal risk...remains unchanged,” he told the House. “The question for the House is whether, in light of these improvements, as a political judgement, the House should now enter into those arrangements.”

May urged pro-Remain MPs to respect the 2016 referendum result, while telling pro-Brexit MPs that no Brexit at all was a real risk if they were to vote down her deal.

“Members across the aisles should ask themselves if they want to make the perfect the enemy of the good,” she said.

Labour Party MPs slammed May for her handling of Brexit and for her deal, accusing her of promoting a “blindfold Brexit.”

“For many honorable members the biggest concern is that her agreement provides no legal certainty about any of the fundamental questions about our future relationship with the E.U.” MP Liz Kendall told May. “As a result we will be back here time and time again and, far from providing certainty for the future, her blindfold Brexit is the most uncertain future for our country of all.”

It appeared that her concessions from Europe weren't enough to move two key groups -- the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and the pro-Brexit European Research Group (ERG) of Tory MPs -- who both indicated they would oppose the deal even with the new changes.

ANTI-BREXIT MPS BREAK AWAY FROM BOTH MAIN PARTIES, FORM PRO-EU INDEPENDENT GROUP

“The only reason for voting for the deal, which remains a bad deal...is the fear that if the deal is voted down then we might not leave the European Union,” ERG Chair Jacob Rees Mogg told Sky News. “That would be the one thing that would change people’s minds but I don’t think that is the case.”

The rejection of May's deal leaves Britain scheduled to leave the bloc with no deal on March 29, reverting Britain to World Trade Organization (WTO) terms with the E.U. Business groups, members of May's government and pro-Remain MPs have warned that such a “no deal” Brexit will cause havoc, but pro-Brexit MPs have brushed off that fear as overblown.

Parliament is now scheduled to vote Wednesday on a “no deal” Brexit -- a motion likely to be voted down. Should that happen, on Thursday a motion to delay Brexit past March 29 date of departure will be voted on.

May will almost certainly face further calls for either her resignation, or to call for a new general election to break the parliamentary stalemate. May has so far fended off a vote of no confidence from her own party in December, and a vote of no confidence in the government in January.

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Should the Commons vote to delay Brexit, it is unclear if the E.U. will even accept the call to delay Britain’s departure -- and could even demand a re-do of the referendum as part of the terms to accept such a delay.

French President Emmanuel Macron said this month that “under no circumstances would we accept an extension without a clear perspective” from the British.

"We don't need time, we need decisions," he said.

Source: Fox News World

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Sounders brace for angry Rapids

MLS: Colorado Rapids at Orlando City SC
Apr 6, 2019; Orlando, FL, USA; Colorado Rapids midfielder Cole Bassett (26) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Orlando City SC during the second half at Orlando City Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

April 9, 2019

The Colorado Rapids were left seeing red after their last match Saturday at Orlando City.

Only not the type of red they wanted.

The Rapids (0-4-2), who play host to the Seattle Sounders (4-0-1) on Wednesday night in Commerce City, Colo., held a one-goal lead midway through the second half when Orlando City’s Nani went down inside the penalty box after a challenge by Kellyn Acosta.

Nani, upset that he didn’t receive a penalty kick from referee Jair Marrufo, jumped to his feet and appeared to twice head-butt Acosta.

“It’s in the FIFA rulebook. That’s a red card,” Rapids striker Kei Kamara told the Denver Post. “We’ve seen softer red cards.”

To make matters worse for the Rapids, Orlando City rallied to tie the score, and then Nani made a penalty kick in the 89th minute for the winner in a 4-3 match.

“These things affect results,” Rapids coach Anthony Hudson told the Post. “The story line is Nani’s goals and the comeback, but the reality is he shouldn’t have been on the pitch.”

It was the second consecutive game in which Rapids yielded four goals, giving them a league-high 16 goals allowed.

That doesn’t bode well against a Seattle side that is tied for fourth in MLS with 11 goals scored. The Sounders have allowed a league-low three goals.

The Sounders are 18-5-2 all-time against the Rapids, including a 2-0 victory in Seattle in the second week of this season. Kelvin Leerdam and Raul Ruidiaz scored in the opening eight minutes, and Stefan Frei posted a shutout.

The Sounders, who have a history of slow starts, are off to their best this season.

Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer said because of that history, the Sounders won’t be looking past the Rapids.

“MLS is such, and we know it all too well, you can start off slow and continue (to the playoffs),” Schmetzer told reporters after practice Monday. “(The Rapids) will be a desperate team that will be at home and will try to get as many points as possible. This is MLS, we’re not taking anything for granted or lightly at all.”

The Sounders hope to have Ruidiaz, a forward who shares the team lead with three goals, back after he missed Saturday’s 1-0 home victory against Real Salt Lake with an ankle injury.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Trump budget to set stage for new wall battle; Bernie mum on Green New Deal at rally

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Developing now, Monday, March 11, 2019

NEW CONGRESSIONAL BATTLE AHEAD OVER TRUMP BUDGET - AND WALL FUNDING: A new showdown is brewing in Congress as President Trump will request a total of $8.6 billion in new border wall funding as part of the White House's upcoming budget proposal for the next fiscal year, to be released on Monday ... Trump will look to secure $5 billion from Congress for the Department of Homeland Security, plus $3.6 billion from the military construction budget. The request comes on top of the $8.1 billion Trump already has access to, which includes money he's trying to shift from military accounts after declaring a national emergency. The request faces all-but-certain rejection in Congress amid a growing crisis at the southern border, since Democrats control the House and spending bills in the GOP-led Senate need bipartisan support.

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VICTIMS ID'ED IN DEADLY ETHIOPIAN PLANE CRASH: Families from 35 countries are grieving as the victims in the deadly Ethiopian plane crash that left 157 dead are slowly being identified ... Three Austrian physicians. The co-founder of an international aid organization. A career ambassador. The wife and children of a Slovak legislator. A Nigerian-born Canadian college professor, author and satirist. They were all among the passengers who died Sunday morning when the Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 jetliner crashed shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa en route to Nairobi, Kenya. The airline has said eight Americans were killed; their names have not yet been released.

Rescuers work at the scene of an Ethiopian Airlines flight crash near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, March 11, 2019. A spokesman says Ethiopian Airlines has grounded all its Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft as a safety precaution, following the crash of one of its planes in which 157 people were killed. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene)

Rescuers work at the scene of an Ethiopian Airlines flight crash near Bishoftu, or Debre Zeit, south of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Monday, March 11, 2019. A spokesman says Ethiopian Airlines has grounded all its Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft as a safety precaution, following the crash of one of its planes in which 157 people were killed. (AP Photo/Mulugeta Ayene)

NEW HAMPSHIRE FEELS THE BERN, DOESN'T GO GREEN: Sen. Bernie Sanders on Sunday returned to New Hampshire, the state that launched him into political orbit in 2016, and repeatedly targeted President Trump in a nearly hour-long speech ... The 2020 presidential candidate pushed his progressive proposals, such as criminal justice reform, the “Medicare-for-all” single-payer health care plan and universal affordable childcare, and once again vowed “to make public colleges and universities tuition free.” However, Sanders made no mention of the Green New Deal, the sweeping proposal beloved by progressives but ridiculed by many Republicans that aims to transform the country’s economy to fight climate change.

THE TALE OF THE R. KELLY TAPE? - R. Kelly could face new trouble as attorney Gloria Allred said Sunday that a client had turned a tape over to law enforcement that appears to feature embattled singer sexually abusing underage girls ... Allred's client, Gary Dennis, said in a press conference on Sunday that he doesn't know personally R. Kelly and doesn't know from where the tape originated. He said that he found the video while cleaning out a collection he'd had for years. Dennis alleged that a man who appeared to be Kelly was on the video performing sexual acts with young girls. Kelly's attorney denied all the allegations in a statement to TMZ. He already faces 10 counts of aggravated sexual abuse in connection to three girls and one woman.

THE SOUNDBITE

'FOX DERANGEMENT SYNDROME' -  "There is a disconnect here... There is a bit of Fox derangement syndrome with a section of the left. There are a lot of candidates and a lot of people in the Democratic Party who realize the power of the viewership and the power of the fairness of the news operation. But often they are drowned out by the loud voices on the left side of the party." – Bret Baier, on "Media Buzz," discussing the Democratic National Committee's decision to bar Fox News from hosting any of its primary presidential debates and hoping they will reconsider. WATCH

TODAY'S MUST-READS
Omar's comments threaten to divide district's Somali, Jewish residents: reports.
NYC Mayor de Blasio seen flapping to R. Kelly’s ‘I Believe I Can Fly’ amid child abuse claims.
2020 candidate Pete Buttigieg slams Pence, asks how he 'became a cheerleader for the porn star presidency.'
ICYMI: CNN to be sued for more than $250M over 'vicious' and 'direct attacks' on Covington Catholic student: lawyer

MINDING YOUR BUSINESS
Trish Regan: American capitalism is under attack.
Kudlow: No reason to 'obsess' about budget deficit.
Elizabeth Warren pushes Amazon breakup, backs away from socialism at SXSW.

STAY TUNED

On Fox Nation:

What Made America Great, Season 2
Brian Kilmeade travels to historic places and relives the biggest events that shaped our amazing country on "What Made America Great." Watch a preview of the show now.

Not a subscriber? Click here to join Fox Nation today!
Fox Nation is a subscription streaming service offering daily shows and documentaries that you can’t watch anywhere else. Watch from your phone, computer and select TV devices.

On Fox News:

Fox & Friends, 6 a.m. ET: Special guests include: U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., blasts Reagan, capitalism and political moderates; reaction from Peggy Grande, former executive assistant to President Reagan. Meet the Marine Corps veteran who's doing his part in the recovery from the deadly Alabama tornadoes by saving American flags, one home at a time. Trump supporters create their own "Yelp" for MAGA-friendly restaurants.

Hannity, 9 p.m. ET: Joe Lieberman, former U.S. senator from Connecticut and Democratic VP nominee.

Fox News @ Night, 11 p.m. ET: An interview with Angela Yee, DJ Envy and Charlamagne tha God, co-hosts of the syndicated radio show, "The Breakfast Club."

On Fox Business:

Mornings with Maria, 6 a.m. ET: Special guests include: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; Judge Andrew Napolitano, Fox News senior judicial analyst; U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas; comedian Joe Piscopo; Gordon Chang, author of "The Coming Collapse of China."

Varney & Co., 9 a.m. ET: Special guests include: Nigel Farage, former leader of the UK Independence Party and member of the European Parliament.

Making Money with Charles Payne, 2 p.m. ET: Erin Gibbs, equity chief investment officer of S&P Investment Advisory Services.

On Fox News Radio:

The Fox News Rundown podcast: "Mueller Report Released Soon" - Rumors are swirling that the Mueller investigation is coming to its conclusion fairly soon. Fox News' Garrett Tenney gives an update on the status of the Russia probe. Fox News senior meteorologist Janice Dean has a newly released tell-all book about her life and career called “Mostly Sunny.” She shares a sneak peek. Plus, commentary by Fox News medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel.

Want the Fox News Rundown sent straight to your mobile device? Subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher.

The Brian Kilmeade Show, 9 a.m. ET: The battle over Trump's proposed budget and funding for his border wall and the latest in the 2020 presidential race will be the top topics of discussion with guests Mercedes Schlapp, the White House director of strategic communications; U.S. Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio. Michael Goodwin, New York Post columnist, on whether Democrats have finally gone too far.

#TheFlashback
2014: In an extraordinary public accusation, the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., declares the CIA interfered with and then tried to intimidate a congressional investigation into the agency's possible use of torture in terror probes during the Bush administration.
1959: The Lorraine Hansberry drama "A Raisin in the Sun" opens at New York's Ethel Barrymore Theater.
1954: The U.S. Army charges that Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, R-Wis., and his subcommittee's chief counsel, Roy Cohn, had exerted pressure to obtain favored treatment for Pvt. G. David Schine, a former consultant to the subcommittee. (The confrontation would culminate in the famous Senate Army-McCarthy hearings.)

Fox News First is compiled by Fox News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for joining us! Have a good Monday! We'll see you in your inbox first thing Tuesday morning.

Source: Fox News National

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Pakistan sentences Czech model to 8 years on drug charge

A Pakistani court has sentenced a 22-year-old Czech model to eight years and eight months in prison on charges of drug trafficking.

The court in the eastern city of Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, sentenced Tereza Hluskova on Wednesday.

According to the court, Hluskova was arrested in possession of 8.5 kilograms, or 19 pounds, of heroin in January 2018 at the Lahore airport from where she was heading to Ireland via Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

Her lawyer, Sardar Asghar Dogar, says she will appeal.

Hluskova was convicted during a court appearance last week. Her sentence also includes an $800 fine.

Source: Fox News World

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'I am not planning to heal:' A crash leaves suspended grief

The Rev. George Kageche Mukua was coming home. The Catholic priest had last seen his Kenyan family a year ago, when he boarded a plane for Europe.

His return ended in a thunderous impact in a rural field as Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 faltered shortly after takeoff from Addis Ababa and crashed. It struck so hard that the plane appeared to slip right into the ground.

Mukua was one of 32 Kenyans killed, a numbingly high toll on a flight carrying people from 35 countries. No nation lost more.

Like many families now grieving, Mukua's relatives find themselves at a loss in more ways than one. They say they have heard almost nothing from authorities.

They and others around the world are in a state of suspended grief.

Funeral arrangements for the 40-year-old priest are on hold, Mukua's sister, Goreti Kimani, told The Associated Press.

"There has been no family outreach by any agency involved in counselling," she said, making it even harder for the family to cope.

Unlike neighboring Ethiopia, Kenya's government has not ordered any flags to fly at half-staff or declared a national day of mourning. Apart from President Uhuru Kenyatta's message of condolences to relatives, there has been no government initiative to pay tribute to the dead.

Public shock and sadness soon faded away. With unnatural deaths frequently making headlines in Kenya, from extremist attacks to ghastly road crashes to natural disasters, some people seem to have become immune to mass deaths and are not moved.

While waiting for closure, Mukua's family fills the time talking longingly of a man who was the peacemaker amid the often-fractious relationships that plague polygamous homes like theirs.

"Father did not know boundaries," Kimani said. "We are losing a friend, you know, a person who is not bothered about barriers. He will be reaching out to you, and he was our symbol of unity."

His loss is especially painful as two other brothers were killed in road crashes in the last three years.

"Personally, I am not planning to heal," Kimani said with a deep sigh, resigned. "I am just planning to move on."

But she couldn't help but ask: "There are so many other flights ... Why that one?"

Mukua had been returning home for his annual leave. He was posted to Rome for missionary work last year, much to his family's delight. Like many Kenyans with a loved one abroad, they had hoped the foreign posting would bring opportunities for siblings and other relatives.

Even before Europe, Mukua had been one for journeys.

While the family remained in their village of tea farms not far outside Kenya's capital, Nairobi, he left for South Africa and spent 10 years training to become a priest. He returned home and was ordained.

He was hardly a year and few months into the priesthood, said the Rev. Father Michael Wa Mugi, who worked with Mukua in his hometown of Githunguri.

"We really loved his kind words during the homilies," Wa Mugi said of his friend. "Father was good, down-to-earth humble, a priest who welcomed all."

George Mukua, a cousin, said he was having problems accepting his death. When a relative called this week asking if he had the latest news about the priest, his hopes quickly rose that he had been found alive.

"I kept on expecting he would tell me he had been found in a hotel or something," George Mukua said.

Instead, the wait continues for the family, and for others who have made the journey to the crash site in Ethiopia or stayed home in mourning.

No one seems to know how long it will take to identify whatever is found of the victims' remains.

On Friday, families and others said the work had finally begun. Some swiped their mouths and handed over DNA for the forensic work that many hope will be the key to end their wait.

___

Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

Source: Fox News World

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128,000 people in makeshift camps after Mozambique cyclone: minister

Aid workers offload maize meal for victims of Cyclone Idai at Siverstream Estates in Chipinge
Aid workers offload maize meal for victims of Cyclone Idai at Siverstream Estates in Chipinge, Zimbabwe, March 24, 2019. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo

March 25, 2019

BEIRA, Mozambique (Reuters) – The number of people in makeshift camps after a powerful cyclone in Mozambique has risen by 18,000 to 128,000 but the death toll remains roughly unchanged at 447, Land and Environment Minister Celso Correia said on Monday.

“The loss of lives remains the same as yesterday,” Correia said. “The number of people saved in INGC (National Institute of Disaster Management) camps has increased to 128,000,” Correia told reporters at a briefing.

Cyclone Idai lashed the Mozambican port city of Beira with winds of up to 170 kph (105 mph), then moved inland to Zimbabwe and Malawi, flattening buildings and killing at least 656 people across the three countries.

(Reporting by Emma Rumney; Writing by Alexander Winning; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

Source: OANN

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Trump Mocks Beto’s Hand Gestures: ‘Is He Crazy, or Is That the Way He Acts?’

President Trump on Thursday responded to Beto O’Rourke throwing his hat in the ring by mocking the way the failed Texas Senate candidate moves his hands.

During a meeting with Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar in the Oval Office, the president questioned if the hand gestures made by O’Rourke were authentic or a symptom of some underlying mental illness.

“He has a lot of hand movement. Is he crazy or is that just the way he acts?” Trump answered when asked his thoughts on the Texas Democrat’s presidential announcement. “I’ve never seen hand movement, I watched him a little while this morning, doing, I assume some kind of a news conference. I’ve actually never seen anything quite like it. Study it. I’m sure you’ll agree.”

Another reporter asked the president who he thought the bigger Democrat threat was between O’Rourke and former Vice President Joe Biden.

“Whoever it is, I’ll take them all,” Trump responded.

O’Rourke, who lost a Texas Senate race in 2018 to incumbent Republican Senator Ted Cruz, broke news of his 2020 presidential aspirations on social media early Thursday morning.

O’Rourke also spoke to supporters in Iowa after his presidential announcement.

Throughout the 2016 presidential election campaign, then-candidate Trump displayed his flair for inventing descriptive terms and nicknames for his opponents — deemed “linguistic kill shots” by hypnotist and Dilbert creator Scott Adams — which worked to harm their public perception.


Source: InfoWars

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A worker walks on the roof of a new home under construction in Carlsbad
FILE PHOTO: A worker walks on the roof of a new home under construction in Carlsbad, California September 22, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake

April 26, 2019

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The U.S. economy is growing at a 2.08% annualized pace in the second quarter based on upbeat data on durable goods orders and new home sales in March, the New York Federal Reserve’s Nowcast model showed on Friday.

This was faster than the 1.92% growth rate calculated by the N.Y. Fed model the week before.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Extraordinary European Union leaders summit in Brussels
FILE PHOTO: Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte arrives at an extraordinary European Union leaders summit to discuss Brexit, in Brussels, Belgium April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Yves Herman

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Friday he had assured China’s Huawei Technologies that it would not face discrimination in the rollout of Italy’s 5G telecoms network.

Conte was speaking on a visit to China where he said he met Huawei’s chief executive, Ren Zhengfei. The prime minister’s comments were carried in Italy by TV broadcaster Sky Italia.

“I told him that we have adopted some precautions, some measures to protect our interests that demand very high levels of security … not only from Huawei but any company entering into the 5G arena,” he said.

Huawei, the world’s biggest producer of telecoms equipment, is under intense scrutiny after the United States told allies not to use its technology because of fears it could be a vehicle for Chinese spying. Huawei has categorically denied this.

(Writing by by Mark Bendeich; Editing by Angelo Amante)

Source: OANN

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U.S. President Trump departs for travel to Indianapolis from the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he departs for travel to Indianapolis, Indiana from the White House in Washington, U.S., April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

April 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Donald Trump on Friday was expected to announce his intention to revoke the United States’ status as a signatory of the Arms Trade Treaty, which was signed in 2013 by then-President Barack Obama but never ratified by Congress, two U.S. officials said.

Trump was expected to announce the decision in a speech in Indianapolis, to the National Rifle Association, the officials said. The NRA, a powerful gun lobby group, has long been opposed to the treaty, which was negotiated at the United Nations.

(Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Bill Trott)

Source: OANN

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A remote controlled robot for the 'Isotopium: Chernobyl' game is seen at the game's location in Brovary
A remote controlled robot for the ‘Isotopium: Chernobyl’ game is seen at the game’s location in Brovary, Ukraine April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

April 26, 2019

By Margaryta Chornokondratenko

KIEV (Reuters) – A Ukrainian computer game that brings to life a town abandoned after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster may not sound like everyone’s idea of fun but has attracted 60,000 people globally since its launch in October.

Players of “Isotopium: Chernobyl” drive tanks around the ghost town of Prypyat near Chernobyl, knocking out competitors as they search for an energy source called isotopium and collecting points every time they find some.

While the game takes its theme from the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in northern Ukraine, which marked its 33rd anniversary on Friday, it was also inspired by the 2009 science fiction film “Avatar”.

Newcomers to the game think they have entered a virtual world when in fact they are controlling a real robot, equipped with a camera and computer, which makes its way around a model of the town rendered down to the tiniest detail.

“When playing our game, for the first 5-10 minutes many players don’t understand that it is not fictional,” said the game’s co-founder Sergey Beskrestnov. “They message us saying: ‘You have cool texture, you have good graphics, your designer is good, well done. You have a cool operating system.’

“People then reply: ‘It is not an operating system, it is real,’ and the player can’t believe it is real,” said Beskrestnov, speaking mid-game from Prypyat city square as he towers over surrounding five-storey buildings.

Kiev-born Beskrestnov was just 12 years old when on April 26, 1986 a botched test at the nuclear plant in the then Soviet Union sent clouds of smoldering nuclear material across large swathes of Europe, forced over 50,000 people, including Beskrestnov’s family, to evacuate and poisoned unknown numbers of workers involved in its clean-up.

Beskrestnov and his partner Alexey Fateyev used Google maps and hundreds of pictures from the Chernobyl area to recreate Prypyat landmarks, including residential buildings, a hotel, concert hall, amusement park and a stadium.

The game’s real-scale model occupies a 180 square meter (1,938 sq. ft) basement of a residential building in the Ukraine city of Brovary, just 150 km (93 miles) from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and 30 km east of Kiev.

Miniature radioactivity warning signs, graffiti on the walls of abandoned buildings and tables and chairs left scattered inside a small cafe all add to the creepy atmosphere of a once lively town.

“It’s a really neat concept …,” Shaun Prescott wrote in a review of the game published by PC Gamer magazine in January. “Controlling the tanks is kinda cumbersome, but they are tanks, after all.”

An attentive player will notice at least one inaccuracy – the real Chernobyl nuclear power plant is not located in town as it is in the game.

It costs $9 to immerse in the atmosphere of a post-apocalyptic town for an hour but only 20 people at a time can play simultaneously. Beskrestnov’s company, Remote Games, said 62,615 people around the world have registered to play the game, including around 15,000 in France and 10,000 in the United States.

A camera fixed on top of a moving tank broadcasts high quality signal in real time, allowing players from as far apart as Australia and Canada enjoy the game without facing any time delay in delivering video signals.

Its creators next ambition is to devise a game featuring the colonization of Mars in which 1,000 people will be able to simultaneously control robots on different missions involved in the operation.

“Many people advise us to contact Elon Musk directly because it resonates his dreams and ideas,” Beskrestnov jokes.    

(Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: A Starbucks sign is show on one of the companies stores in Los Angeles, California
FILE PHOTO: A Starbucks sign is show on one of the companies stores in Los Angeles, California, U.S. October 19,2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Initial optimism over first-quarter results from Starbucks Corp was waning fast on Wall Street on Friday, as analysts questioned the longer-term prospects of its new sales push given subdued overall customer traffic numbers especially in China.

The company on Thursday beat brokerage estimates for quarterly same-store sales on the back of demand for its new Cloud Macchiato, Matcha tea and cold brews in the United States.

However, BTIG’s Peter Saleh was one of a number of sector analysts who said while customers forking out for higher-priced new drinks had helped drive growth in same-store sales, “anemic” traffic at cafes remained a concern.

He and others pointed to a 1 percent decline in footfall at cafes in the Chinese market, viewed as crucial to the chain’s growth for the foreseeable future.

More broadly, transaction numbers, the substitute analysts use for customer traffic, were unchanged in all three of the company’s global regions.

Shares in the company, which hit a record high after the results on Thursday, fell 1 percent in morning trade.

“We remain cautious given near-term headwinds surrounding China, including cannibalization, increasing competition (and) a slowing economy,” Wedbush analyst Nick Setyan said.

Starbucks has also poured money into beefing up its delivery network in China as it battles with local startup Luckin Coffee, whose speedy growth led it to file for an IPO in the United States earlier this week.

New menu items and partnerships with delivery services, the heart of the company’s strategy to win back customers lost to artisanal coffee shops and cheaper fast-food rivals, did help Starbucks’ sales in its home market.

However, analysts said growth in China may continue to be subdued.

Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog said she expects store expansion in China to take priority over comparable sales growth.

She downgraded her rating on Starbucks’ to “market perform” from “outperform”, arguing that the company facing tough sales comparisons later on in 2019 from last year and the current rich valuation of shares meant the stock had limited room to rise.

“Investors will be hesitant to invest new money in a stock with a topline that, while still strong, is unlikely to meaningfully accelerate,” Herzog said.

Still, the company’s solid same-store growth in the United States, improving profit margins and a lower tax rate for the rest of the year led at least 6 Wall Street brokerages to raise their price targets on the stock to as high as $81.

11 of 29 brokerages rate Starbucks “buy” or higher, 17 “hold” and 1 “sell” or lower. Their median price target is $75.

(Reporting by Uday Sampath in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

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