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Australian man wins $33 million in lottery after accidentally buying two tickets

An Australian man has won more than $30 million in his country’s lottery - by accident.

The anonymous winner had been playing the same lottery numbers in The Lotto for over 30 years. This week he accidentally bought two of the same ticket for Tuesday’s drawing, thinking he was buying a ticket for another week's game.

The numbers exactly matched those of the division one Jackpot, doubling his $23.3 million ($US16.5 million) prize to $46 million ($US 33 million).

$768 MILLION POWERBALL JACKPOT TICKET SOLD IN WISCONSIN

According to The Lotto’s official statement, the Melbourne man had noticed he had won online but was only remembering one ticket. It wasn't until a member of their team called and told him he had won on both.

“You’re kidding,” he told the official, “Am I seeing things?”

ARKANSAS WOMAN WINS $150G POWERBALL PRIZE A MONTH AFTER LOSING HOME: 'HE'S AN ON-TIME GOD'

The new multi-millionaire had just gotten off work when he found out the life-changing news, but told the official “I might think about retiring.”

When asked how he was going to spend the money he said “First on a new home or holiday,” then “I’ll definitely share it with my family.”

“I have always marked my entries but I have never chosen anything in particular. They weren’t special before, but they are now.”

Even The Lotto company was thrilled by the news.

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"Imagine discovering you're a midweek multi-millionaire," Bronwyn Spencer, a spokesperson for the company told news.com.au.

Source: Fox News World

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Ex-Florida mayor allegedly smoked crack, acted as doctor at his home, report says

The former mayor of a Florida town – who is facing multiple charges, including allegedly shooting at cops and conspiring to impede an investigation against him – reportedly smoked crack cocaine nightly and used meth while he was still in office.

The new allegations against former Port Richey Mayor Dale Massad were revealed in court records obtained by the Tampa Bay Times on Thursday. Massad, while he was in office, allegedly received drugs via drug runners and acted as a doctor for friends at his home, the newspaper reported.

FLORIDA MAYOR WHO ALLEGEDLY SHOT AT COPS RE-ARRESTED, ACTING MAYOR IN CUSTODY, TOO

An investigation into Massad was reportedly launched after authorities received tips that Massad was engaging in corruption, using drugs and acting as a doctor in his home. Massad had previously lost his medical license in 1992 over a toddler’s death, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Massad was arrested in February for allegedly shooting at Pasco County sheriff’s deputies who were trying to serve a search warrant at his residence after reports he was operating an illegal medical practice at his home. He eventually surrendered to police and was taken into custody.

Massad was then re-arrested in March, along with the town’s acting Mayor Terrence Rowe, for allegedly conspiring to intimidate a city police officer who was involved in his February arrest.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said at the time it received information the two men had discussed ways to intimidate the police officer during a recorded phone call in March at the Pasco County Jail.

Court records, obtained by the Tampa Bay Times, revealed Massad bought crystal methamphetamine from a man named Corey White. He nicknamed the drug “jet fuel” and White told officers he had delivered the drug to the mayor dozens of times. Massad would also arrange others to buy the drugs for him, according to the documents.

Massad’s lawyers have maintained the former mayor is innocent of the allegations against him.

Bjorn Brunvand told the Tampa Bay Times the people who spoke to law enforcement shouldn’t be considered credible.

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“We have to be very, very careful about how much weight we give to those individuals,” he told the paper.

Fox News’ Lucia I. Suarez Sang contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Democrats’ extreme 2020 policies on abortion, immigration are playing into Trump’s reelection, analyst says

As the Democratic presidential field continues to expand, the 2020 candidates are pitching policies -- letting terrorists vote or allowing illegal immigrants into the country -- that play right into President Trump's reelection campaign, a political analyst told Fox News.

David Brody, the host of "Faith Nation" on CBN, appeared on "Fox & Friends" Wednesday morning to run through the presidential playing field. He believes things are not looking good for Democrats.

AMBASSADOR GRENELL 'QUITE PLEASED' BUTTIGIEG STOPPED PUSHING 'HATE HOAX' ABOUT PENCE

"What's the bumper sticker in 2020? Felons for Bernie? I mean, really, seriously?" Brody said. "He's for illegal immigrants coming into the country and he's OK with felons voting and you've got Donald Trump in 2020 saying make America safe again, great again, and all of that. Marinate on that for a moment."

The CBN chief political correspondent mocked Warren's idea as "the Democrats' all-you-can-eat buffet and everything's free," but he warns that even though it seems far Left, younger Americans are embracing some of the ideas. A recent Harris Poll found that 49.6 percent of millennials prefer living in a socialist country.

LIBERALS NOW PUSHING IMPEACHMENT AS A SCARLET LETTER

"Conservatives need to take this very seriously," Brody added. "Who doesn't like free stuff... but also lots of problems?"

As Trump cracks down on border crossings and illegal immigration, Democrats like Julian Castro are pushing for decriminalizing crossing the border. Brody warns Democrats are out of touch with reality with their immigration stance.

IT'S NOT THE ECONOMY RIGHT NOW FOR VOTERS: HERE'S WHY

"This policy is basically not just open borders. Forget that it's no border," he said. "When it comes to swing voters, independents in the middle of this country, they want the border secure."

And after New York passed and celebrated a late-term abortion law, Virginia and other states led by Democrats have pushed for similar legislation.

OCASIO-CORTEZ CALLED OUT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA SILENCE IN WAKE OF SRI LANKA TERROR ATTACKS

"Science and polling are both against the Democrats in late-term abortion," Brody said, pointing to viability and a poll that shows 71 percent of Democratic voters think late-term abortion should be illegal.

As freshman Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez continues to push for the "Green New Deal." Several Democratic presidential candidates have expressed their support.

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"Look, if you are talking about getting rid of airplanes and you are OK with transportation. Everybody is going to take a train and horseback. Who knows, and then you have digestive cow issues and the world is going to end in 12 years?" Brody concluded. "Come on, give me a break."

Source: Fox News Politics

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Snap returns to user growth, beats quarterly revenue estimates

FILE PHOTO: A woman stands in front of the logo of Snap Inc. on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) while waiting for Snap Inc. to post their IPO, in New York City
FILE PHOTO: A woman stands in front of the logo of Snap Inc. on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) while waiting for Snap Inc. to post their IPO, in New York City, NY, U.S. March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

April 23, 2019

(Reuters) – Snap Inc on Tuesday beat Wall Street targets for quarterly revenue as its photo-messaging app Snapchat added users for the first time in three quarters, backed by the popularity of its original shows and the launch of a new Android app.

The owner of Snapchat said the number of daily active users on the app rose to 190 million in the first quarter ended March 31 from 186 million three months earlier, but it was slightly down from 191 million from a year earlier.

The figure, widely watched by investors and advertisers, also beat analysts’ average estimate of 187.2 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

In an effort to increase the amount of time users spend on the app, Snap, which faces stiff competition from Facebook Inc’s Instagram, launched over 50 new shows in the reported quarter.

It also rebuilt its Android app, which had more bugs and a worse user experience than its iOS app. The targeting of Android users is a change of tune for Snap, which prioritized development on the Apple ecosystem through its stock market launch in 2017.

Snap’s revenue, which it earns from selling advertising on the app, jumped 39 percent to $320.4 million and beat Wall Street’s average estimate of $306.6 million.

Revenue growth was helped in part by new ad formats like unskippable commercials on its original shows, which are housed on the Discover page, a panel on the app that contains publisher content along with influencer content.

Snap’s focus on privacy and communication between friends has helped it avoid problems with misinformation and spread of unsavory content, which have plagued Facebook and Google’s YouTube, two of its rivals for digital ad dollars.

Average revenue per user jumped 39 percent to $1.68 during the quarter from a year earlier.

The company’s net loss narrowed to $310.4 million, or 23 cents per share, from $385.8 million, or 30 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company lost 10 cents per share in the quarter.

For the second quarter, Snap said it expects revenue of $335 million to $360 million. That compares with the average analyst estimate for revenue of $348.5 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Earlier this month, Snap launched a gaming platform within its Snapchat app featuring original and third-party games such as Zynga Inc’s Tiny Royale.

(Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru and Sheila Dang in New York; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

Source: OANN

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Rwandan rebel group spokesman faces terrorism-related charges in Kigali court

FDLR spokesperson, La Forge Fils Bazeye who was deported by the Democratic Republic of Congo to Rwanda is led away by Rwandan security members after appearing on charges of terror related accusations in a court Kigali
FDLR spokesperson, La Forge Fils Bazeye who was deported by the Democratic Republic of Congo to Rwanda is led away by Rwandan security members after appearing on charges of terror related accusations in a court Kigali, Rwanda April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Clement Uwiringiyimana

April 8, 2019

By Clement Uwiringiyimana

KIGALI (Reuters) – A Rwandan court filed terrorism-related charges against the spokesman for the FDLR rebel group on Monday, two months after his deportation from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo.

The FDLR is composed of former Rwandan soldiers and ethnic Hutu militiamen who fled into lawless eastern Congo after the massacre of around 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus during Rwanda’s genocide in 1994.

Nkaka Ignace, who also goes by the alias La Forge Bazeye, and an FDLR co-defendant, Jean-Pierre Nsekanabo, were charged at their first appearance in a Kigali court with six offences including membership of a terrorist group, taking part in terrorist activities and inciting others to commit terrorism.

“I confess to some of the charges but deny others,” Ignace told Judge Justin Nshimiyimana, adding he had been influenced by superiors in FDLR, whom he did not name, into plotting to topple President Paul Kagame’s government.

“I apologize for having been given negative information about Rwanda,” Ignace told the court.

Prosecutors said the two had “played a direct role in attacks”, which they did not specify, carried out by FDLR both in Rwanda and Congo.

In December, two Rwandan soldiers and an unknown number of rebels were killed when a group of attackers crossed into Rwanda from Congo, Kagame told reporters at the time.

Prosecutors said Ignace and Nsekanabo, identified as an intelligence officer in FDLR, had traveled to neighboring Uganda in January to meet representatives of another anti-Kigali rebel group, the Rwanda National Congress (RNC).

RNC is led by some of Rwanda’s most prominent dissidents including South Africa-based Kayumba Nyamwasa.

Rwanda has accused Uganda of supporting its dissidents. Early this year Rwanda closed its border with Uganda, disrupting regional trade and sparking tensions.

The two accused asked the court to free them on bail and a ruling on their application will be delivered on Wednesday.

(Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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Climate change protesters bring London to halt, demonstrator glues himself to subway train, 300 arrested in 2 days

London was brought to a standstill Wednesday morning after militant climate change protesters cause havoc for a third day in a row, climbing and gluing themselves on subway trains, causing road closures and other disruption, leading to an arrest of nearly 300 people in the past 48 hours.

The protesters calling themselves Extinction Rebellion, which were also responsible for a naked protest in the British Parliament earlier this month, are demanding the government to legally commit to reducing net carbon emissions to zero in the next six years and are willing to go to jail for the cause.

TOPLESS CLIMATE CHANGE PROTESTERS ARRESTED AFTER INTERRUPTING BREXIT DEBATE IN BRITISH PARLIAMENT

Londoners’ morning commute was particularly disrupted after the protesters climbed on top of a Docklands Light Railway (DLR) train in East London, prompting shutdown or severe delays on numerous underground lines.

Police and officials stand by as climate activists protest atop a Dockland Light Railway carriage at Canary Wharf station in London, as part of the ongoing climate change demonstrations in the capital, Wednesday April 17, 2019. The environment protest group Extinction Rebellion are calling for general public protests with civic disobedience held over several days, to highlight what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change.

Police and officials stand by as climate activists protest atop a Dockland Light Railway carriage at Canary Wharf station in London, as part of the ongoing climate change demonstrations in the capital, Wednesday April 17, 2019. The environment protest group Extinction Rebellion are calling for general public protests with civic disobedience held over several days, to highlight what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change. ((Kirsty O'Connor/PA via AP))

The group has been clashing with police officers and blocking traffic in Central London, including near Parliament, since Monday, resulting in at least 290 arrests, the BBC reported.

The scale of the arrests forced the police to reveal that “contingency plans are in place should custody suites become full.”

The road is blocked by demonstrators during a climate protest at Marble Arch in London, Tuesday, April 16, 2019. The group Extinction Rebellion is calling for a week of civil disobedience against what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change.

The road is blocked by demonstrators during a climate protest at Marble Arch in London, Tuesday, April 16, 2019. The group Extinction Rebellion is calling for a week of civil disobedience against what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

In addition to furious Londoners, the methods of the protest were criticized by left-wing London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who said that while he believes climate change must be tackled, he was “extremely concerned” about the disruptions.

“It is absolutely crucial to get more people using public transport, as well as walking and cycling, if we are to tackle this climate emergency - and millions of Londoners depend on the Underground network to get about their daily lives in our city,” he tweeted.

“Targeting public transport in this way would only damage the cause of all of us who want to tackle climate change, as well as risking Londoners' safety and I'd implore anyone considering doing so to think again.”

EXTINCTION REBELLION: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTESTS HALT TRAFFIC

The militant protesters also glued their hands to the train carriages as they touted their success in causing mayhem in the capital, prompting the authorities to turn off the transportation system’s public Wi-Fi to stop them from coordinating actions, the Daily Mail reported.

Some commuters said the protest was “ridiculous” because it only forced commuters to use their cars rather than using the considerably more environmentally-friendly subway.

Police officers speak to protestors under a lorry, during a civic disobedience event to block Waterloo Bridge in London, Wednesday, April 17, 2019. The group Extinction Rebellion is calling for a week of civil disobedience against what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change.

Police officers speak to protestors under a lorry, during a civic disobedience event to block Waterloo Bridge in London, Wednesday, April 17, 2019. The group Extinction Rebellion is calling for a week of civil disobedience against what it says is the failure to tackle the causes of climate change. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Transport disruptions reportedly affected 500,000 people over the last few days, while retailers located on the high street say they lost about $12 million in sales in the last two days due to the protests.

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Farhana Yamin, a protester who was arrested on Tuesday, apologized to Londoners on BBC Radio 4 but insisted that such actions are justified.

“I totally want to apologize to people using public transport. But at the same time we need to take actions that are disruptive so everyone understands the dangers we're facing right now,” she said.

“I'm not someone who goes out on to the streets and disrupts and gets arrested for no reason at all. But I feel people should understand that we are at a critical moment in our humanity's history.”

Source: Fox News World

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Ex-president Banda pulls out of Malawi presidential race

FILE PHOTO: Former Malawian President Joyce Banda speaks at a conference on women in development programmes in Lagos
FILE PHOTO: Former Malawian President Joyce Banda speaks at a conference on women in development programmes in Lagos, Nigeria July 28, 2016.REUTERS/Akintunde Akinleye/File Photo

March 14, 2019

BLANTYRE (Reuters) – Malawi’s scandal-hit ex-president Joyce Banda has withdrawn her presidential bid and endorsed opposition frontrunner Lazarus Chakwera, the two candidates’ parties announced on Thursday.

Banda, who served as president between 2012 and 2014 and was accused of abuse of office and money laundering during her term, had been set to run for the role again in elections in May.

“Malawi is bigger than individuals,” a joint statement from Chakwera’s Malawi Congress Party, the southern African country’s second largest, and Banda’s People’s Party said.

“As such we all have to set aside individual aspirations and embrace the greater and common good.”

Opinion polls had previously tipped the ruling Democratic Progressive Party of President Arthur Peter Mutharika to win, but he now faces strong opposition which could reduce his chances of an outright victory.

Banda garnered just over 1 million votes in the last election, which could be enough to tip the scales in Chakwera’s favor based on his level of support in 2014.

Chakwera scored just under 1.5 million votes in that election, which Mutharika won with 1.9 million votes. However, while Banda has been trying to build her party, many still see her as discredited.

Banda proclaimed her return to politics last year after returning from a nearly four-year, self-imposed exile abroad.

She had left soon after losing her seat in 2014, following allegations that she was involved in a wide-ranging corruption scandal uncovered a year earlier in which senior government officials were accused of siphoning off millions of dollars in public money.

Banda denies the allegations. A warrant for her arrest was issued while she was abroad but it was never enforced upon her return, and no charges have been filed.

(Reporting by Frank Phiri; Editing by Emma Rumney and Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Fox News World

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FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture
FILE PHOTO: Small toy figures are seen in front of a displayed Huawei and 5G network logo in this illustration picture, March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

April 26, 2019

By Charlotte Greenfield

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The logo commodities trader Glencore is pictured in Baar
FILE PHOTO: The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company’s headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, July 18, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

April 26, 2019

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

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

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

(Reporting by Muvija M in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

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