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UK economy to lose 3.5 percent of GDP in no-deal Brexit: IMF

FILE PHOTO: A river boat cruises down the River Thames as the sun sets behind the Canary Wharf financial district of London
FILE PHOTO: A river boat cruises down the River Thames as the sun sets behind the Canary Wharf financial district of London, Britain, December 7, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File Photo

April 9, 2019

By David Milliken

LONDON (Reuters) – Britain will suffer economic damage equivalent to the loss of at least 2-3 years of normal growth between now and the end of 2021 if it leaves the European Union without an exit deal, the International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday.

The world’s fifth-biggest economy could quit the EU as soon as Friday, disrupting its ties with the bloc that it joined 46 years ago, if Prime Minister Theresa May cannot agree a delay with EU leaders on Wednesday.

The IMF said that even in a relatively orderly no-deal Brexit scenario — with no delays at borders and minimal financial market turmoil — the economy would grow 3.5 percent less by the end of 2021 than it would under a smoother Brexit.

“The increase in trade barriers has an immediate negative impact on UK foreign and domestic demand,” the IMF said.

The EU economy would suffer too but by much less than Britain, facing an estimated 0.5 percent hit to gross domestic product compared with a smooth Brexit scenario, the IMF said.

British exports to the EU and other countries which have trade deals with the bloc would face new tariffs and regulatory barriers if Britain reverted to the World Trade Organization rules favored by some Brexit supporters.

Supporters of an abrupt Brexit have accused the IMF of making politically motivated forecasts in the past.

In its report on Tuesday, the fund said a worse-case no-deal Brexit scenario involving border delays and financial market turmoil would increase the damage to about 4 percent of GDP by 2021.

The forecasts took into account the British government’s plans not to impose tariffs on most categories of imports in the event of a no-deal Brexit, and also assumed that the Bank of England would cut interest rates.

BoE Governor Mark Carney gave broadly similar estimates of the cost of a no-deal Brexit last month, when he said preparations by government and businesses could mitigate only some of the damage of a no-deal Brexit.

A spokesman for Britain’s finance ministry said the government wanted to leave the EU with a deal but was getting ready for a possible no-deal Brexit.

The IMF downgraded its forecast for economic growth in Britain this year to 1.2 percent from a forecast of 1.5 percent it made three months ago, which would be the weakest since 2009.

Growth for 2020 was seen picking up to 1.4 percent, but in both years Britain’s economy was predicted to grow less than the euro zone, in contrast to before the 2016 Brexit referendum.

“The downward revisions … reflect the negative effect of prolonged uncertainty about the Brexit outcome, only partially offset by the positive impact from fiscal stimulus announced in the 2019 budget,” the IMF said.

The BoE should take a “cautious, data-dependent” approach to monetary policy, it added.

(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by William Schomberg)

Source: OANN

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Solar and wind firms call the ‘Green New Deal’ too extreme

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Representative Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Markey hold a news conference for their proposed
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) hold a news conference for their proposed "Green New Deal" to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in 10 years, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S. February 7, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

March 21, 2019

By Valerie Volcovici and Nichola Groom

WASHINGTON/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – U.S. solar and wind power companies may have the most to gain from the Green New Deal, an ambitious proposal backed by several Democratic presidential candidates to end U.S. fossil fuel consumption within a decade.

But do not expect the renewable energy firms to endorse it.

Representatives of America’s clean energy companies are withholding their support for the climate-fighting plan, calling it unrealistic and too politically divisive for an industry keen to grow in both red and blue states.

The cool reaction reflects the difficulty that progressive politicians vying for the White House may have in selling aggressive global-warming policy to the business community and more moderate voters.

It also underscores a new reality for U.S. solar and wind power companies long associated with the environmental left: As they have improved technology and lowered prices, their growth is shifting from politically liberal coastal states to the more conservative heartland, where skepticism of climate change and government subsidies runs high.

“If you just broadly endorse the Green New Deal, you are liable to upset one side of the aisle or the other. And that’s not constructive,” said Tom Werner, the CEO of SunPower Corp, one of the nation’s biggest solar power companies.

“The idea that you could go 100 percent (clean energy) in 10 years would require a lot of things happening perfectly, simultaneously,” he said. “You’d have to have bipartisan support, 52-state support.”

The Green New Deal was introduced last month by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat Congresswoman from New York, along with fellow Democrat Senator Edward Markey of Massachusetts. It has since become the center of a renewed debate in Washington about how vigorously the government must act to address climate change.

The Congressional resolution, which has no force of law, calls for the federal government to make investments to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in a decade by meeting 100 percent of America’s power demand with clean, renewable sources such as solar, wind, hydroelectric, or geothermal energy.

It also calls for massive investments in green infrastructure projects like “smart grids” to improve efficiency, along with a guarantee of millions of high-wage jobs with paid vacations, medical leave and retirement security. The resolution does not get into detail about how subsequent legislation would achieve these goals.

So far, at least eight Democratic presidential hopefuls – including senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota – have endorsed the plan as they seek to stand in stark opposition to the pro-drilling policies of President Donald Trump.

Trump’s fellow Republicans have widely panned the Green New Deal, saying it would cost trillions of dollars of taxpayer money, may be technically unfeasible, and smacks of radical socialism.

Rhiana Gunn Wright, founder of the think tank New Consensus, which is drawing up Green New Deal policies, said her group will not estimate costs of the plan until it is more fully drafted next year. She said opponents’ estimates are premature and do not account for the benefits of climate action and the costs of inaction.

The feasibility of the proposal has been a source of concern for the clean energy industry, too.

“We love the enthusiasm the Green New Deal has brought to the climate issue … but we need to operate in political reality,” said Dan Whitten, vice president of public affairs at the Solar Energy Industries Association, the solar industry’s main lobby group.

Another concern is the fact that the plan extends beyond energy and climate policies to include guarantees of jobs, training and healthcare for communities affected by climate change, said Greg Wetstone, president of the American Council on Renewable Energy, a non-profit organization promoting renewable energy industries.

“It creates controversy and complexity, tying this to issues that are not in our sphere,” he said.

Representatives of renewable energy firms Sunrun and Sunnova Energy said they were happy the Green New Deal was drawing so much attention to clean industry but stopped short of endorsing the plan.

“The Green New Deal has sparked an important conversation, and we’re excited to be part of it,” said Alex McDonough, Vice President of Public Policy at Sunrun.

INROADS IN TRUMP COUNTRY

The U.S. solar and wind industries have expanded over the last decade, thanks to lucrative government subsidies, and now employ some 350,000 workers nationwide – more than four times more than the coal sector, according to the 2019 U.S. Energy and Employment Report released this month.

While the growth began in liberal-leaning regions such as California and New England, it has more recently come in states that voted heavily for President Donald Trump in 2016, including Texas, North Carolina, Iowa and Florida, according to data from the American Wind Energy Association, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and SEIA.

That has helped strengthen the industry’s appeal to Republican lawmakers, allowing it to rebrand as a jobs engine in addition to a tool for combating global warming. And during the last election cycle in 2018, solar and wind companies contributed significantly more money to Republican candidates than to their traditional Democratic allies.

“We have raised these industries above science experiments and feel-goodery, and we are now real businesses and can’t just play to one half of the country,” said one renewable sector lobbyist, who asked not to be named discussing the topic.

“Staying out of the line of fire is the goal of most companies and trade associations,” said another clean energy industry representative. “There will be a real danger for our industry and companies if they are shouting out about the Green New Deal from the rooftops.”

The Sunrise Movement, a grassroots group that brought the Green New Deal into the national spotlight by holding demonstrations and confronting lawmakers on video, said it was aware of the reticence of green energy companies to back their proposal.

“We’ve met with companies and industries who could have a lot to gain from the Green New Deal, but the politics at this stage are too difficult to navigate,” Sunrise co-founder Evan Weber said.

He said Sunrise had met with the SEIA and AWEA, along with other executives.

Weber said industry support for the Green New Deal would be welcomed but is not vital: “We don’t expect all of them to be a strong advocate for the Green New Deal until the politics shift.”

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Nichola Groom; Editing by Richard Valdmanis and Brian Thevenot)

Source: OANN

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China home price outlook recovers as credit conditions improve

Buildings are seen in downtown Beijing
Buildings are seen in downtown Beijing, China December 31, 2018. Picture taken December 31, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee

March 29, 2019

By Yawen Chen and Ryan Woo

BEIJING (Reuters) – Home prices in China are expected to rise more this year than predicted just a few months ago, as Beijing urges banks to ramp up lending and lower interest rates to boost the slowing economy, a Reuters poll showed.

Strong underlying demand for housing and the relaxation of home purchase restrictions in some cities are also likely to support prices, even though sales are still expected to slow.

China’s average residential property prices are forecast to rise 5 percent in 2019 from a year earlier, up sharply from a gain of just 0.5 percent expected in the previous survey in December, according to the poll of 17 property analysts and economists.

Property investment is now expected to rise by 7 percent for the year, from 4 percent in the last poll, as some developers have shown more confidence in the market as domestic financing conditions improve.

Resilience in the property market would provide some cushion for the economy as Beijing works to revive the ailing manufacturing sector and restore flagging consumer confidence.

New home prices in China grew at their slowest pace in 10 months in February in a sign of slackening demand as the economy cools further. But prices have risen for 46 straight months, and year-on-year growth was a solid 10.4 percent.

In a bid to boost economic activity, some local governments have tacitly loosened restrictions on home purchases introduced in recent years to deter speculation, which is reviving talk of potential property bubbles. But the country’s biggest cities are widely expected to keep curbs in place unless the economy sharply deteriorates, which analysts do not expect.

“It is expected that the marginal relaxation of local policies will begin to take effect in the second half of 2019, which will form a certain support for demand and price,” said Daniel Yao, head of research for China at JLL, a commercial property services provider.

Betty Wang, senior China economist with ANZ bank, expects more regional policy adjustments.

“Reducing mortgage rates, withdrawing previous controls over home purchases and loosening requirements for provident-backed mortgage could be possible steps,” she said.

Few analysts believe there is a risk of major price declines due to tight government control over the market. Still, housing sales are expected to fall 5 percent in 2019, in line with the previous poll.

“This is a centrally managed market no matter how diverse it is. Also, overall there is large demand for (better) housing,” said David Ji, Head of Research & Consultancy, Greater China for Knight Frank.

The biggest risks facing the sector this year include lower government spending on its massive slum redevelopment programme, financing issues facing property developers and a chilling effect on confidence if the Sino-U.S. trade war drags on, the poll showed.

None of the analysts polled expected a property tax to be implemented this year, given the complex approval process and the still significant downward pressure on the economy.

Earlier this month, policymakers told parliament that work on a draft property tax is “steadily advancing”.

Asked to rate the affordability of Chinese housing on a scale, with 1 being the cheapest and 10 the most expensive, analysts’ median answer was 7, up from 6 in the last poll.

(For other stories from the quarterly housing market polls:)

(Reporting by Yawen Chen, Jenny Su and Ryan Woo; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Source: OANN

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Paul Ryan on advice to AOC: ‘I don’t think she really listened to a thing I said’

In an interview Tuesday night at an event in his home state, Wisconsin, former House speaker Paul Ryan told attendees he offered New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez some pointers for life in Congress as a young freshman representative -- and insisted that she didn't appear to listen to "a thing" he said.

Ryan, addressing several hundred members of the business and civic organization Forward Jainesville, began by reflecting on his election at age 28 to the House in 1998. Ryan opted not to run for re-election in 2018, and now serves on the board of the Fox Corporation, which owns the Fox News Channel.

"It was different then," Ryan said, noting that only one other member of Congress was, like him, in his 20s. "Everybody else was like, 15, 20 years older than us. So, we were sort of the beginning of that trend of younger people coming. For a while, they stopped me from coming on the [House] floor because they thought I was a staffer."

Ryan said with youth came "energy" and the chance to make a real difference -- but he also discussed some of the possible pitfalls.

FEC COMPLAINT ACCUSES OCASIO-CORTEZ OF ORGANIZING 'SUBSIDY SCHEME'

"The best advice that I gave myself -- that my mom gave me, that others gave me -- was, you got two ears and one mouth, use it in that proportion," Ryan said. "You come in ready to go, but you have to know that you don't know everything. There's a lot you can learn from, listen and apply."

Prompted by a moderator's question, Ryan added: "Actually, I talked to AOC -- AOC, everybody calls her AOC. She's a year older than when I came in -- she's the youngest person now there. I gave her just a few little tips on just being a good member of Congress, new. I don't think she really listened to a thing I said," Ryan said as the audience laughed.

"Take it easy, just watch things for a while, don't ruffle any — see how it works first," he said, recounting his advice.

Ocasio-Cortez has emerged as one of the most vocal members of a Democratic freshman class in the House that includes some other prominent names -- including Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib (who has vowed, sometimes using colorful language, to impeach President Trump) and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar (whose repeated use of tropes called anti-Semitic has prompted rebukes from her own party).

From her sweeping environmental and social proposal called the Green New Deal, which some estimates say could cost more than $90 trillion, to her public spats with everyone from Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney to Trump and the White House, Ocasio-Cortez has made clear she has no plans to lie low -- even telling critics in February, "I'm the boss."

"I don't think she really listened to a thing I said."

— Former House Speaker Paul Ryan, on AOC

On Wednesday, Trump fired back, deriding Ocasio-Cortez as a "young bartender, 29 years old," and mocking senior Democrats for being "petrified" of her political clout.

"The Green New Deal. The first time I heard it, I said, 'That’s the craziest thing,'" Trump told House GOP lawmakers. "You have senators that are professionals, that you guys know, that have been there for a long time ... and they’re standing behind her shaking. They’re petrified of her."

Ocasio-Cortez worked as a bartender and political organizer in New York City before unseating incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley in a Democratic primary last year.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

For Ryan, though, age may not be the best line of attack for Republicans hoping to minimize Ocasio-Cortez's influence.

"A wave of young people started coming in more and more" starting in the early 2000s, Ryan said. "I think it's fantastic."

Source: Fox News Politics

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New Thai election rules make it hard to trump junta's pick

Thailand heads to the polls Sunday to vote in the country's first general election since the military toppled an elected government in a coup nearly five years ago.

Once the junta was in power, it tore up the constitution and had a new one written that significantly changed the nation's political structure and electoral rules.

Observers say the new system was a designed to limit the power of big political parties like those that dominated past elections and to increase the need for a coalition government. They say it will also give the military's allies an inside track on leading the next government.

Here's a look at the system:

APPOINTED SENATE

A 250-member Senate has been established and all of the senators will be appointees selected by the junta. The junta has said its selections will be revealed after the general election.

___

ELECTED LOWER HOUSE

The lower house of parliament will consist of 500 members, all of them elected. The majority of members — 350 — will represent individual constituencies around the country and be directly elected by voters in those areas. The other 150 will be party list members, selected from slates of candidates designated by each party, with winning seats assigned in rough proportion to the total share of votes each party receives nationwide.

___

AT THE POLLS

Voters used to cast two ballots, one for their local member of parliament and the other for their political party preference. The process was relatively straightforward and allowed voters to have local loyalties that differed from their national political party allegiances. Under the new system there is just one ballot and the vote for the local member of parliament will also count as one's party preference.

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POPULAR PARTY WOES

The number of seats allocated to each party is determined by a convoluted formula that handicaps those parties winning the most constituency seats, by putting a soft cap on the number of party list seats it can be awarded. Midsized parties that win fewer constituency seats are compensated with a lesser handicap, with the rationale that parties with substantial yet weaker vote totals deserve representation. In other words, voting for a big party's representatives dilutes the value of one's party list choice, and lowers the number of house seats that party can accumulate. This weakens bigger, more popular parties.

___

PRIME MINISTER PICK

A voter has even less of a voice in picking the prime minister, not just because he or she is indirectly elected by parliament, but because the election is by a joint vote of the elected lower house and the unelected senate. In theory, if all senators vote in a bloc — say for the military candidate who appointed them — a prime minister nominee could win the job by getting just 126 votes in the lower house. That means such a nominee would just need to woo 25 percent of the elected members of the house, plus one more, to become prime minister. The prime minister does not need to be a member of parliament.

Source: Fox News World

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Sterling surges as May secures Brexit assurances, yen dips

Illustration photo of a Japan Yen note in front of U.S. Dollar and British Pound Sterling notes
A Japan Yen note in front of U.S. Dollar and British Pound Sterling notes are seen in this June 22, 2017 illustration photo. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration

March 12, 2019

By Daniel Leussink

TOKYO (Reuters) – Sterling rose sharply on Tuesday as speculation swirled that British Prime Minister Theresa May might be closer to securing approval for her Brexit deal.

The pound extended earlier gains as May won legally binding Brexit assurances from the European Union, in a last ditch attempt to sway rebellious British lawmakers who have threatened to vote down her divorce deal in a parliamentary vote on Tuesday.

Sterling, jumped as high as $1.3290 as some investors bolstered bet the prime minister could secure a divorce deal before Britain’s scheduled March 29 departure from the EU.

The pound was last trading 0.6 percent higher on the day at $1.3223, having been as low as $1.2945 at one stage on Monday.

The euro slid to its lowest on the pound since mid-2017 at 84.71 pence. It was last quoted down about 0.4 percent on the day at 85.15 pence.

At a joint news conference with European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker late on Monday, May announced three documents aimed at addressing the most contentious part of the exit deal she agreed in November – the Irish backstop.

“Seeing them together in the same screen, is a positive – that there is some hand holding there and working together to move forward,” said Bart Wakabayashi, Tokyo branch manager at State Street Bank.

The Irish backstop is an insurance policy aimed at avoiding controls on the sensitive border between the British province of Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

“If they can break (the backstop) down to a level where there can be some negotiation or at least compromise on both sides, there definitely does seem (to be) light at the end of the tunnel,” added Wakabayashi.

If May loses the vote on Tuesday, she has said lawmakers will get a vote on Wednesday on whether to leave without a deal and, if they reject that, then a vote on whether to ask for a limited delay to Brexit.

Most other currencies stayed within familiar trading ranges before U.S. February inflation figures expected later on Tuesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six rivals, fell almost 0.2 percent to 97.063 on a modest improvement in investors’ risk appetite.

Against the Japanese yen, a safe-haven currency often bought in times of rising volatility, the dollar was 0.2 percent higher at 111.43 yen.

Data on Monday showed U.S. retail sales rose modestly in January, lifted by an increase in purchases of building materials and discretionary spending, but a drop in December was even larger than initially thought.

The euro found support against the dollar on the Brexit news and the improvement in risk appetite. The single currency was last up about 0.15 percent at $1.1259.

(Editing by Kim Coghill)

Source: OANN

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Iconic Barbie doll celebrates 60 years of evolution

Barbie dolls are seen inside the new flagship FAO Schwarz store in Rockefeller Plaza in New York
FILE PHOTO: Barbie dolls are seen inside the new flagship FAO Schwarz store in Rockefeller Plaza in New York, U.S., November 16, 2018. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

March 8, 2019

(Reuters) – Barbie, the fashion doll famous around the world, celebrates her 60th anniversary on Saturday with new collections honoring real-life role models and careers in which women remain under-represented.

It is part of Barbie’s evolution over the decades since her debut at the New York Toy Fair on March 9, 1959.

To mark the milestone, manufacturer Mattel Inc created Barbie versions of 20 inspirational women from Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka to British model and activist Adwoa Aboah.

The company also released six dolls representing the careers of astronaut, pilot, athlete, journalist, politician and firefighter, all fields in which Mattel said women are still under-represented.

Barbie is a cultural icon celebrated by the likes of Andy Warhol, the Paris Louvre museum and the 1997 satirical song “Barbie Girl” by Scandinavian pop group Aqua. She was named after the daughter of creator Ruth Handler.

Barbie has taken on more than 200 careers from surgeon to video game developer since her debut, when she wore a black-and-white striped swimsuit. After criticism that Barbie’s curvy body promoted an unrealistic image for young girls, Mattel added a wider variety of skin tones, body shapes, hijab-wearing dolls and science kits to make Barbie more educational.

Barbie is also going glamorous for her six-decade milestone. A diamond-anniversary doll wears a sparkly silver ball gown.

(Writing by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: OANN

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Joe Biden’s brain surgeon said his former patient is “totally in the clear” as speculation over the candidate’s health — with Biden possibly becoming the oldest president in U.S. history — is likely to become a campaign issue.

The former vice president, who had been perceived by many as the strongest potential contender for the Democratic Party’s 2020 presidential nomination, formally announced his candidacy Thursday.

But Biden’s age – 76 – is expected to become a source of attacks from a younger generation of Democrats not because of obvious generational differences, but possibly for actual health concerns if Biden gets into office.

WHY THE MEDIA ARE CONVINCED JOE BIDEN WILL IMPLODE

Biden himself agreed last year that “it’s totally legitimate” for people to ask questions about his health if he decides to run for president, given his medical history — which has included brain surgery in 1988.

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality,” Biden told “CBS This Morning.” “Can I still run up the steps of Air Force Two? Am I still in good shape? Am I – do I have all my faculties? Am I energetic? I think it’s totally legitimate people ask those questions.”

“I think they’re gonna judge me on my vitality. …  I think it’s totally legitimate [that] people ask those questions.”

— Joe Biden

But Dr. Neal Kassell, the neurosurgeon who operated on Biden for an aneurysm three decades ago, told the Washington Examiner that Biden appears to be “totally in the clear” — and even joked that the operation made Biden “better than how he was.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it,” Kassell said. “That’s more than I can say about all the other candidates or the incumbents.”

“Joe Biden of all of the politicians in Washington is the only one that I’m certain has a brain, because I have seen it.”

— Dr. Neal Kassell

BIDEN’S CLAIM HE DIDN’T WANT OBAMA TO ENDORSE TRIGGERS MOCKERY

At the same time, however, Biden hasn’t been forthcoming about his health at least since 2008 when he released his medical records as a vice presidential candidate. The disclosure that time revealed some fairly minor issues such as an irregular heartbeat in addition to detailing previous operations, including removing a benign polyp during a colonoscopy in 1996, the outlet reported.

It remains unclear if Biden had more aneurysms. Some medical experts say that people who have had an aneurysm can have another one.

An aneurysm, or a weakening of an artery wall, can lead to a rupture and internal bleeding, potentially placing a patient’s life in jeopardy.

Biden won’t be the only Democrat grappling with old age. Sen. Bernie Sanders, another 2020 frontrunner, is currently 77 years old and agreed with Biden last year that their ages will be an issue in the race.

“It’s part of a discussion, but it has to be part of an overall view of what somebody is and what somebody has accomplished,” Sanders told Politico.

“Look, you’ve got people who are 50 years of age who are not well, right? You’ve got people who are 90 years of age who are going to work every day, doing excellent work. And obviously, age is a factor. But it depends on the overall health and wellbeing of the individual.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Sanders released his medical records in 2016, with a Senate physician saying in a letter that the senator was “in overall very good health.”

Source: Fox News Politics

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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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