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Ex-cop says he thought he saw a gun when he shot black teen

A white former police officer said Thursday he thought a weapon was pointed at him when he shot and killed an unarmed black teenager outside Pittsburgh last summer.

Former East Pittsburgh Police Officer Michael Rosfeld took the stand at his homicide trial and insisted he was in fear for his life when he gunned down 17-year-old Antwon Rose II.

Rosfeld, 30, got choked up and dabbed away tears as he recounted finding the mortally wounded Rose on the ground.

"I was upset, shocked," Rosfeld said. "He was moaning, trying to breathe."

The former officer testified after the prosecution rested its case earlier Thursday. Prosecutors said Rosfeld gave inconsistent statements about the shooting, including whether he thought Rose had a gun.

A prosecution witness has said that after the shooting, he heard Rosfeld say repeatedly, "I don't know why I shot him. I don't know why I fired." But another prosecution witness said he heard the officer ask, "Why did he do that? Why did he take that out of his pocket?"

Rosfeld fired three bullets into Rose after pulling over an unlicensed taxi he suspected — correctly, as it turned out — to have been involved in a drive-by shooting. Rose, a passenger in the car, was shot in the back as he fled.

Rosfeld testified the car that Rose was riding in had its rear windshield shot out. He chirped his siren and turned on his police lights, and the driver complied and pulled over. Rosfeld said he got out of his car with his gun drawn and ordered the driver to the ground.

That's when he said Rose and another occupant, Zaijuan Hester, "jumped out" of the car.

Demonstrating for the jury what threatening gesture he believed he saw, Rosfeld stood up, raised his right arm to shoulder length and fully extended it as if pointing a weapon.

"It happened very quickly," Rosfeld said. "My intent was to end the threat that was made against me. I just wanted to end the threat to me. I followed the threat and fired. I just saw that person moving, so I assumed the threat was still there."

Asked by his attorney, Patrick Thomassey, why he fired his gun and did not simply let the suspects get away, Rosfeld said: "Because I thought one of them was pointing a weapon at me. They were dangerous felon suspects. They had just fired a gun at someone."

Rose had been riding in the front seat of the cab when Hester, in the backseat, rolled down a window and shot at two men on the street, hitting one in the abdomen.

Hester, 18, pleaded guilty last week to aggravated assault and firearms violations. Hester told a judge that he, not Rose, did the shooting.

Earlier Thursday, Judge Alexander Bicket rejected a defense motion to acquit Rosfeld on the murder counts he faces.

Prosecutors charged Rosfeld with an open count of homicide, meaning the jury can convict Rosfeld of murder or manslaughter. The defense argued a murder charge wasn't appropriate in the case.

"What we have is a police officer doing his duty. There's not a hardness of heart required for first- or third-degree murder," Thomassey argued in court. "We have a burst of three shots in one second on a fleeing felon and we're going to charge him with murder? It's not fair."

Prosecutor Daniel Fitzsimmons said the fact that Rosfeld shot a fleeing Rose in the back was evidence of malice, and the judge ruled the murder counts would stand.

Rosfeld's decision to testify wasn't unusual. At least three other white officers charged in the on-duty fatal shootings of black people have taken the witness stand in recent years.

In October, a Chicago jury convicted former officer Jason Van Dyke of murder in the shooting death of teenager Laquan McDonald. After the trial, jurors said Van Dyke's testimony hurt his defense. Van Dyke got fewer than seven years in prison.

An officer in Balch Spring, Texas, was convicted of murder last August and sentenced to 15 years after a jury didn't buy his explanation that he was trying to protect his partner when he fired into a car full of black teenagers, striking a 15-year-old.

And in 2017, a former South Carolina patrolman was sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing an unarmed motorist. The officer pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges following a state trial at which he testified and the jury deadlocked.

___

Associated Press writer Claudia Lauer in Philadelphia contributed to this story.

Source: Fox News National

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5 found dead in Pennsylvania apartment, mother and daughter arrested: police

A mother and daughter in Pennsylvania were arrested and charged Monday night for allegedly killing five family members -- including two children -- whose bodies were found during a wellness check, according to local reports.

Police said they discovered the bodies in a Bucks County apartment around 5:30 p.m. A neighbor had requested a wellness check after not seening the family for a week, Action News reported.

Shana S. Decree, 45, and Dominique Decree, 19, the mother and daughter, were transported to the hospital for unspecified reasons and later arrested, police said. It wasn't immediately clear how the family members died. Morrisville Chief of Police told Levittownnow.com that "there were no obvious signs of trauma."

TEXAS COUPLE ARRESTED AFTER BODY OF DAUGHTER, 3, FOUND IN ACID-FILLED CONTAINER, POLICE SAY

The family members were identified as Shana Decree’s children: Naa’Irah Smith, 25, a 13-year-old, her sister Jamilla Campbell, 42, and Campbell’s twin daughters, Imani and Erika Allen, both 9, according to Action News. Police said they are searching for Jamilla Campbell’s 17-year-old son, Joshua Campbell, but he is not considered a suspect.

“This is a terrible tragedy. I just spoke with the family of the five of the deceased and we’re all heartbroken,” Bucks County District Attorney Matthew Weintraub told reporters Monday night.

The mother and daughter face five counts of homicide and one count each of conspiracy, the Bucks County Courier Times reported, citing Weintraub. Police are continuing an investigation, the report said.

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Morrisville is located near the border of New Jersey and is about 35 miles northeast of Philadelphia.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Source: Fox News National

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Capitals waive 2018 playoffs standout Smith-Pelly

NHL: Washington Capitals at San Jose Sharks
Feb 14, 2019; San Jose, CA, USA; Washington Capitals right wing Devante Smith-Pelly (25) fights for control of the puck against San Jose Sharks defenseman Tim Heed (72) during the third period at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports

February 20, 2019

The Washington Capitals waived right winger Devante Smith-Pelly on Wednesday, cutting ties with one of the heroes of their run to the Stanley Cup last season.

Smith-Pelly scored seven goals in the postseason — matching his regular-season total — and tallied the game-tying goal during the Capitals’ Cup-clinching Game 5 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.

Smith-Pelly had four goals and four assists in 54 games this season.

NHL teams have until noon ET Thursday to claim Smith-Pelly.

Coach Todd Reirden told reporters after Wednesday’s practice that the team had planned to waive forward Dmitrij Jaskin but changed its mind and decided to let go of Smith-Pelly.

The Capitals could be maneuvering for a trade, with the NHL deadline coming Monday.

“That is a little bit of what is going on behind the scenes here and that is something that we’ll keep obviously between ourselves at this point, especially with the amount of stuff that’s going on in the league right now,” Reirden said, via The Washington Post.

Smith-Pelly, 26, has played for four teams in eight NHL seasons. He has 44 goals and 57 assists in 395 career games. He was playing on a one-year, $1 million contract this season.

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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German automaker Mercedes opens new Russia factory

Germany's Daimler AG has opened a new Mercedes factory in Russia, part of a 250 million euro ($281 million) investment it says will create 1,000 jobs.

CEO Dieter Zetsche said Wednesday the Moscow-area plant will produce Mercedes sedans and SUVs for the local market, and is part of a strategy to move production closer to customers.

The opening was attended by German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier, who also was meeting President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials on a two-day visit. Ministry spokeswoman Annika Einhorn said the trip aimed to address "opportunities and challenges for German business in Russia."

Germany's government stressed the visit didn't signal a return to business as usual. Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Germany's position on sanctions imposed over Russia's actions in Ukraine hasn't changed.

Source: Fox News World

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Euro zone February factory activity declined, overall growth scant: PMI

An employee works on the automobile assembly line of Bluecar electric city cars at Renault car maker factory in Dieppe, western France
FILE PHOTO: An employee works on the automobile assembly line of Bluecar electric city cars at Renault car maker factory in Dieppe, western France, September 1, 2015. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer/File Photo

February 21, 2019

Euro zone factory output unexpectedly slammed into reverse last month as activity in Europe’s manufacturing powerhouse Germany declined again amid trade tensions and struggles in the auto sector, surveys showed.

While that downturn was offset by a much faster than expected acceleration in services activity – which meant overall private sector growth picked up modestly – it will likely worry policymakers as factories also drive the bloc’s dominant service industry.

IHS Markit’s Flash Composite Purchasing Managers’ Index, which is seen as a good guide to economic health, rose to 51.4 this month from a final January reading of 51.0, above a Reuters poll median expectation for 51.1 but still below where it has been for much of the past four years.

“The euro zone economy remained close to stagnation in February. The general picture remained one of a more subdued business environment than seen throughout much of last year,” Chris Williamson, IHS Markit’s chief business economist said.

Williamson said the results pointed to first-quarter euro zone growth of just 0.1 percent, below the latest Reuters poll estimate for 0.4 percent. They come soon after the European Central Bank ended its more than 2.6 trillion euro asset purchase stimulus programme.

The flash manufacturing PMI tumbled to 49.2 this month, its lowest since mid-2013 and substantially below the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction.

A Reuters poll had predicted a modest dip to 50.3 from January’s final reading of 50.5. The lowest forecast in the poll of 38 economists was 49.6.

An index measuring output, which feeds into a composite PMI, dropped to 49.2 from 50.5, its lowest reading since May 2013. In a further sign of how manufacturers are struggling, the new orders index fell to a near six-year low of 46.2 from 47.8.

Adding to that gloomy picture, factories ran down old orders faster while also building up a stock of completed products.

Germany’s vast manufacturing sector contracted for a second month, only weeks before Britain, Europe’s second-largest economy, is due to leave the European Union and as uncertainty around the U.S.-China trade war continued and new pollution standards are still affecting car makers.

“The weakness is being led by manufacturing. With factory order books deteriorating at an increased rate, the rate of contraction in the goods-producing sector will likely worsen in coming months,” Williamson said.

In contrast, demand for services across the currency union picked up and firms were able to build up a backlog of work, so a PMI for the services industry jumped to 52.3 from 51.2, above a Reuters poll consensus for 51.4.

That helped optimism rise, with the business expectations index bouncing to a four-month high of 61.6 from 60.5 and firms taking on new workers at a faster rate.

Yet with overall demand falling and backlogs diminishing firms had to curtail by how much they raised prices. The output prices index fell to an 18-month low of 52.5 from 53.4.

With January inflation across the bloc expected to be confirmed at 1.4 percent when official figures are released on Friday, well below the ECB’s 2 percent target ceiling, a decline in inflationary pressure will also concern ECB policymakers.

(Reporting by Jonathan Cable; Editing by Hugh Lawson; jonathan.cable@thomsonreuters.com; +44 20 7542 4688; Reuters Messaging: jonathan.cable.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)

Source: OANN

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Missouri firefighters push man home after electric wheelchair breaks, video shows

A group of firefighters in Missouri were recently caught on tape lending a helping hand to an individual whose electric wheelchair gave out.

A video of the kind gesture, which appeared to be shot from inside a vehicle following behind, was shared on Facebook Tuesday by the Raytown Fire Protection District and showed the responders pushing the wheelchair down the road.

FLORIDA FIREFIGHTERS PAINT HOME OF BLIND WORLD WAR II VETERAN, 89

“What happens when a Fire Truck comes upon a citizen who’s electric wheelchair has stopped working. You get out and help them home,” the post said.

The man, who is a veteran, received the assistance after his chair got caught in the ground while he was visiting a pond in the area, Deputy Chief Mike Hunley told The Kansas City Star. Attempts by people on the scene to help him were reportedly unsuccessful so the fire department was called.

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“Our guys responded out there and basically lifted a wheelchair with him in it up out of the rut he was stuck in,” Hunley said. “He apparently had been trying to get himself out with the wheelchair and had expended the battery so it was pretty drained.”

The firefighters were reportedly able to get the man home so he could power up his wheelchair.

Source: Fox News National

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Trump done playing ‘nice’ at the border; Biden has potential ‘Creepy Uncle Joe’ problem

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Developing now, Monday, April 1, 2019

TRUMP: NO MORE PLAYING 'NICE' AT THE BORDER - President Trump has threatened to shut down the southern border this week to combat the illegal immigration crisis and in a tweet sent Sunday night, he suggested he was done playing Mr. Nice Guy ... "The Democrats are allowing a ridiculous asylum system and major loopholes to remain as a mainstay of our immigration system," Trump tweeted. "Mexico is likewise doing NOTHING, a very bad combination for our Country. Homeland Security is being sooo very nice, but not for long!"

Meanwhile, Trump has also vowed to cut direct aid to El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras as their citizens flee north toward the U.S. in caravans. Mexican officials said Sunday they will give out humanitarian visas on a "limited basis" to some of the roughly 2,500 Central American and Caribbean migrants gathered in the southern state of Chiapas.

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2020 DEMS 'BELIEVE' BIDEN'S ACCUSER: A number of Democratic presidential candidates weighed in over the weekend on the allegations made by a former Nevada political candidate that former Vice President Joe Biden inappropriately touched and kissed her on the back of the head during a 2014 campaign rally ... Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., told ABC's "This Week" that she has no reason not to believe the allegations made by Lucky Flores. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who is running for the Democratic nomination, said during an interview with CBS' "Face the Nation” that while he has no reason not to believe Flores, he doesn’t believe that “one incident alone” would disqualify Biden from running for the White House. On NBC's "Meet The Press, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper called the allegations against Biden "very disconcerting."

Earlier in the weekend, while speaking to reporters in Iowa, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro said they believed Flores. Biden – who is expected to soon launch his 2020 presidential bid – has denied ever acting inappropriately toward Flores or anyone, but promised to "listen respectfully"

FILE PHOTO: Ashton Carter makes remarks after he was sworn in as U.S. Secretary of Defense as his wife Stephanie (above, R) Vice President Joe Biden (L) listen February 17, 2015 in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

FILE PHOTO: Ashton Carter makes remarks after he was sworn in as U.S. Secretary of Defense as his wife Stephanie (above, R) Vice President Joe Biden (L) listen February 17, 2015 in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

ICYMI: TIME FOR A HISTORY LESSON FOR AOC? - Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., might want to brush up on some history after asserting, incorrectly, that Republicans in Congress amended the Constitution to kick President Franklin Delano Roosevelt out of office ... "They had to amend the Constitution of the United States to make sure Roosevelt did not get reelected," Ocasio-Cortez said Friday during a night hall event with MSNBC with Chris Hayes. Ocasio-Cortez was referring to the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution, which passed in 1947. FDR died in office in 1945.

FAIRFAX ACCUSER SPEAKS OUT: One of the two women accusing Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax of sexual assault has spoken out publically on television for the first time, saying that she wants to testify in front the Virginia Assembly -- and that Fairfax should resign ... Vanessa Tyson, an associate professor of political science at Scripps College in Claremont, Calif., told "CBS This Morning" in an interview airing on Monday that she did not want her students interested in politics to face a similar situation. CBS News' interview with Fairfax's other accuser, Meredith Watson, is set to air Tuesday. A spokesperson for Fairfax said Sunday the lieutenant governor had taken two polygraph tests showing that he engaged in "no wrongdoing whatsoever."

SLAIN STUDENT'S LAST MOMENTS CAPTURED ON CHILLING VIDEO: Authorities on Sunday released surveillance video they said showed the moment a University of South Carolina student exited a bar and entered the car she mistakenly thought was her Uber, but was instead her alleged killer ... Samantha Josephson, 21, could be seen approaching the Chevy Impala and entering the backseat. Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said investigators found the victim’s blood in Nathaniel David Rowland’s vehicle. Rowland is in custody, charged with kidnapping and murder.

THE SOUNDBITE

'CREEPY UNCLE JOE' -  "If anybody just types in 'Creepy Uncle Joe Videos' you come up with a treasure trove. I think Joe Biden has a big problem here because he calls it affection and handshakes, his party calls it completely inappropriate.” – Kellyanne Conway, counselor to President Trump, on "Fox News Sunday," on the allegations of inappropriate conduct leveled against former Vice President Joe Biden by former Nevada political candidate Lucky Flores. (Click the image above to watch the full video.)

TODAY'S MUST-READS
Report: Trump 'saving' Judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ginsburg.
Why didn’t Obama do more to counter Russia’s interference in our election?
Nipsey Hussle, Grammy-nominated rapper, shot dead in Los Angeles.

MINDING YOUR BUSINESS
Facebook's Zuckerberg calls for more regulation of Internet.
What happens if the Trump administration kills ObamaCare?
Bait crisis could take the steam out of lobster this summer.

STAY TUNED

On Fox News:

Fox & Friends, 6 a.m. ET: Special guests include: Tom Homan, former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "Unplanned" star Ashley Bratcher explains why she fired back at Alyssa Milano's attack on Georgia's pro-life bill. "Catch a Contractor" host Skip Bedell kicks off "Fox & Friends'" spring cleaning series with do-it-yourself tips.

Hannity, 9 p.m. ET: Special guests include Karl Rove, former White House deputy chief of staff under President George W. Bush, and  Victor Davis Hanson, author of "The Case for Trump."

Fox News @ Night, 11 p.m. ET: Ken Starr, former Whitewater independent counsel

On Fox Business:

Mornings with Maria, 6 a.m. ET: Special guests include: U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa.

Varney & Co., 9 a.m. ET: Brandon Judd, National Border Patrol Council president.

Countdown to the Closing Bell with Liz Claman, 3 p.m. ET: Former Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.

After the Bell, 4 p.m. ET: Atish Davda, founder and CEO of EquityZen.

On Fox News Radio:

The Fox News Rundown podcast: "The Border May Be Closing" - Fox News' Claudia Cowan has an update at the southern border from El Paso, Texas as President Trump threatens to shut down the border. An interview with writer, director, actor Terry Gilliam on his new film, "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote." Plus, commentary by Guy Benson, co-host of "Benson & Harf."

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: President Trump's threat to shut down the southern border, the Mueller report and the latest in the 2020 presidential race will be the topics of debate with the following guests: Michael Goodwin, New York Post columnist; Karl Rove, former White House deputy chief of staff under President George W. Bush; Adm. James Stavridis, operating executive with The Carlyle Group; Bret Baier, host of "Special Report"; Corey Lewandowski, former Trump campaign manager.

The Todd Starnes Show, Noon ET: Todd speaks with Trump campaign adviser Lara Trump and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., about President Trump’s plan for the border and James Dobson Family Institute founder Dr. James Dobson will discuss his organization’s latest victory in the name of religious freedom.

#TheFlashback
2003: American troops enter a hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq, and rescue Army Pfc. Jessica Lynch, who had been held prisoner since her unit was ambushed on March 23.
1984: Marvin Gaye is shot to death by his father, Marvin Gay, Sr. in Los Angeles, the day before the recording star's 45th birthday. (The elder Gay would plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter, and receive probation.)
1976: Apple Computer is founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne.
1954: The United States Air Force Academy is established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Fox News First is compiled by Fox News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for joining us! Have a good Monday (and don't fall for April Fools' jokes)! We'll see you in your inbox first thing Tuesday morning.

Source: Fox News National

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Cambodian authorities have ordered a one-hour reduction in the length of school days because of concerns that students and teachers may fall ill from a prolonged heat wave.

Education Minister Hang Chuon Naron said in an announcement seen Friday that the shortened hours will remain in effect until the rainy season starts, which usually occurs in May. The current heat wave, in which temperatures are regularly reaching as high as 41 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit), is one of the longest in memory.

Most schools in Cambodia lack air conditioning, prompting concern that temperatures inside classrooms could rise to unhealthy levels.

School authorities were instructed to watch for symptoms of heat stroke and urge pupils to drink more water.

The new hours cut 30 minutes off the beginning of the school day and 30 minutes off the end.

School authorities instituted a similar measure in 2016.

Source: Fox News World

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Explosions have rocked Britain’s largest steel plant, injuring two people and shaking nearby homes.

South Wales Police say the incident at the Tata Steel plant in Port Talbot was reported at about 3:35 a.m. Friday (22:35 EDT Thursday). The explosions touched off small fires, which are under control. Two workers suffered minor injuries and all staff members have been accounted for.

Police say early indications are that the explosions were caused by a train used to carry molten metal into the plant. Tata Steel says its personnel are working with emergency services at the scene.

Local lawmaker Stephen Kinnock says the incident raises concerns about safety.

He tweeted: “It could have been a lot worse … @TataSteelEurope must conduct a full review, to improve safety.”

Source: Fox News World

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The Wider Image: China's start-ups go small in age of 'shoebox' satellites
LinkSpace’s reusable rocket RLV-T5, also known as NewLine Baby, is carried to a vacant plot of land for a test launch in Longkou, Shandong province, China, April 19, 2019. REUTERS/Jason Lee

April 26, 2019

By Ryan Woo

LONGKOU, China (Reuters) – During initial tests of their 8.1-metre (27-foot) tall reusable rocket, Chinese engineers from LinkSpace, a start-up led by China’s youngest space entrepreneur, used a Kevlar tether to ensure its safe return. Just in case.

But when the Beijing-based company’s prototype, called NewLine Baby, successfully took off and landed last week for the second time in two months, no tether was needed.

The 1.5-tonne rocket hovered 40 meters above the ground before descending back to its concrete launch pad after 30 seconds, to the relief of 26-year-old chief executive Hu Zhenyu and his engineers – one of whom cartwheeled his way to the launch pad in delight.

LinkSpace, one of China’s 15-plus private rocket manufacturers, sees these short hops as the first steps towards a new business model: sending tiny, inexpensive satellites into orbit at affordable prices.

Demand for these so-called nanosatellites – which weigh less than 10 kilograms (22 pounds) and are in some cases as small as a shoebox – is expected to explode in the next few years. And China’s rocket entrepreneurs reckon there is no better place to develop inexpensive launch vehicles than their home country.

“For suborbital clients, their focus will be on scientific research and some commercial uses. After entering orbit, the near-term focus (of clients) will certainly be on satellites,” Hu said.

In the near term, China envisions massive constellations of commercial satellites that can offer services ranging from high-speed internet for aircraft to tracking coal shipments. Universities conducting experiments and companies looking to offer remote-sensing and communication services are among the potential domestic customers for nanosatellites.

A handful of U.S. small-rocket companies are also developing launchers ahead of the expected boom. One of the biggest, Rocket Lab, has already put 25 satellites in orbit.

No private company in China has done that yet. Since October, two – LandSpace and OneSpace – have tried but failed, illustrating the difficulties facing space start-ups everywhere.

The Chinese companies are approaching inexpensive launches in different ways. Some, like OneSpace, are designing cheap, disposable boosters. LinkSpace’s Hu aspires to build reusable rockets that return to Earth after delivering their payload, much like the Falcon 9 rockets of Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“If you’re a small company and you can only build a very, very small rocket because that’s all you have money for, then your profit margins are going to be narrower,” said Macro Caceres, analyst at U.S. aerospace consultancy Teal Group.

“But if you can take that small rocket and make it reusable, and you can launch it once a week, four times a month, 50 times a year, then with more volume, your profit increases,” Caceres added.

Eventually LinkSpace hopes to charge no more than 30 million yuan ($4.48 million) per launch, Hu told Reuters.

That is a fraction of the $25 million to $30 million needed for a launch on a Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Pegasus, a commonly used small rocket. The Pegasus is launched from a high-flying aircraft and is not reusable.

(Click https://reut.rs/2UVBjKs to see a picture package of China’s rocket start-ups. Click https://tmsnrt.rs/2GIy9Bc for an interactive look at the nascent industry.)

NEED FOR CASH

LinkSpace plans to conduct suborbital launch tests using a bigger recoverable rocket in the first half of 2020, reaching altitudes of at least 100 kilometers, then an orbital launch in 2021, Hu told Reuters.

The company is in its third round of fundraising and wants to raise up to 100 million yuan, Hu said. It had secured tens of millions of yuan in previous rounds.

After a surge in fresh funding in 2018, firms like LinkSpace are pushing out prototypes, planning more tests and even proposing operational launches this year.

Last year, equity investment in China’s space start-ups reached 3.57 billion yuan ($533 million), a report by Beijing-based investor FutureAerospace shows, with a burst of financing in late 2018.

That accounted for about 18 percent of global space start-up investments in 2018, a historic high, according to Reuters calculations based on a global estimate by Space Angels. The New York-based venture capital firm said global space start-up investments totaled $2.97 billion last year.

“Costs for rocket companies are relatively high, but as to how much funding they need, be it in the hundreds of millions, or tens of millions, or even just a few million yuan, depends on the company’s stage of development,” said Niu Min, founder of FutureAerospace.

FutureAerospace has invested tens of millions of yuan in LandSpace, based in Beijing.

Like space-launch startups elsewhere in the world, the immediate challenge for Chinese entrepreneurs is developing a safe and reliable rocket.

Proven talent to develop such hardware can be found in China’s state research institutes or the military; the government directly supports private firms by allowing them to launch from military-controlled facilities.

But it’s still a high-risk business, and one unsuccessful launch might kill a company.

“The biggest problem facing all commercial space companies, especially early-stage entrepreneurs, is failure” of an attempted flight, Liang Jianjun, chief executive of rocket company Space Trek, told Reuters. That can affect financing, research, manufacturing and the team’s morale, he added.

Space Trek is planning its first suborbital launch by the end of June and an orbital launch next year, said Liang, who founded the company in late 2017 with three other former military technical officers.

Despite LandSpace’s failed Zhuque-1 orbital launch in October, the Beijing-based firm secured 300 million yuan in additional funding for the development of its Zhuque-2 rocket a month later.

In December, the company started operating China’s first private rocket production facility in Zhejiang province, in anticipation of large-scale manufacturing of its Zhuque-2, which it expects to unveil next year.

STATE COMPETITION

China’s state defense contractors are also trying to get into the low-cost market.

In December, the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC) successfully launched a low-orbit communication satellite, the first of 156 that CASIC aims to deploy by 2022 to provide more stable broadband connectivity to rural China and eventually developing countries.

The satellite, Hongyun-1, was launched on a rocket supplied by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC), the nation’s main space contractor.

In early April, the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALVT), a subsidiary of CASC, completed engine tests for its Dragon, China’s first rocket meant solely for commercial use, clearing the path for a maiden flight before July.

The Dragon, much bigger than the rockets being developed by private firms, is designed to carry multiple commercial satellites.

At least 35 private Chinese companies are working to produce more satellites.

Spacety, a satellite maker based in southern Hunan province, plans to put 20 satellites in orbit this year, including its first for a foreign client, chief executive Yang Feng told Reuters.

The company has only launched 12 on state-produced rockets since the company started operating in early 2016.

“When it comes to rocket launches, what we care about would be cost, reliability and time,” Yang said.

(Reporting by Ryan Woo; Additional reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Gerry Doyle)

Source: OANN

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At least one person is reported dead and homes have been destroyed by a powerful cyclone that struck northern Mozambique and continues to dump rain on the region, with the United Nations warning of “massive flooding.”

Cyclone Kenneth arrived just six weeks after Cyclone Idai tore into central Mozambique, killing more than 600 people and displacing scores of thousands. The U.N. says this is the first time in known history that the southern African nation has been hit by two cyclones in one season.

Forecasters say the new cyclone made landfall Thursday night in a part of Mozambique that has not seen such a storm in at least 60 years.

Mozambique’s local emergency operations center says a woman in the city of Pemba was killed by a falling tree.

Source: Fox News World

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German drug and crop chemical maker Bayer holds annual general meeting
Werner Baumann, CEO of German pharmaceutical and chemical maker Bayer AG, attends the annual general shareholders meeting in Bonn, Germany, April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

April 26, 2019

By Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bayer is appealing or plans to appeal the verdicts.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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