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New Japan era name echoes PM Abe’s national pride agenda

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a press conference standing next to the calligraphy 'Reiwa' which was chosen as the new era name at the prime minister's office in Tokyo
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a press conference standing next to the calligraphy 'Reiwa' which was chosen as the new era name at the prime minister's office in Tokyo, Japan, April 1, 2019. Franck Robichon/Pool via Reuters

April 1, 2019

By Linda Sieg

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan on Monday unveiled a new name for the imperial era that begins on May 1, drawing from an ancient Japanese text for the first time, echoing Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s conservative agenda that aims to bolster national pride.

The name “Reiwa” for the new era when Crown Prince Naruhito becomes emperor, comes from two Chinese characters, the first meaning “good” or “beautiful” as well as “order” or “command” and the second meaning “peace” or “harmony”.

The characters were taken from the Manyoshu, an ancient collection of Japanese poetry, in a break with the tradition of selections from ancient Chinese texts.

The name implied “culture is born and nourished when people’s hearts are drawn beautifully together,” Abe told a news conference.

Asked the significance of its selection from a Japanese classical text, Abe said: “It is a collection which expresses our nation’s rich culture, which we should take pride in, along with our nation’s beautiful nature.

“We believe this national character should be passed along to the next era.”

Abe returned to office in 2012 after abruptly resigning in 2007 following a year plagued by scandals and stalled politics.

He rode a wave of popularity sparked mainly by a pledge to revive the stagnant economy, but has also long favored a conservative agenda aimed at restoring traditional values such as group harmony and pride in Japanese history and culture.

“His (Abe’s) interpretation echoes his calls for Japan to be proud of its roots and its tradition,” said Koichi Nakano, a professor of political science at Sophia University.

“He wants Japan to be proud of their country and this was seen as an opportunity to boost that.”

Japan imported the imperial calendar system from China about 1,300 years ago. There have been four era names in the modern period: Meiji, Taisho (1912-1926), Showa (1926-1989) and the current Heisei, which means “achieving peace”.

“It was unexpected that it (Reiwa) was taken from the Manyoshu, but it expresses Japanese culture in ‘kanji’ (characters),” said Isao Tokoro, a professor emeritus at Kyoto Sangyo University.

“It means ‘to get along well’ and ‘to be tender’ and shows an important value for 21st century Japan and the world.”

(Additional reporting by Ami Miyazaki and Yoshifumi Takemoto; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Source: OANN

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Australia central bank holds rates at 1.5 percent

Two women walk next to the Reserve Bank of Australia headquarters in central Sydney
Two women walk next to the Reserve Bank of Australia headquarters in central Sydney, Australia February 6, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel Munoz

April 2, 2019

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s central bank left its cash rate at 1.5 percent on Tuesday, a widely expected decision given policy makers have signalled a steady outlook for the near-term.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) made the announcement following its monthly policy meeting. A Reuters poll of 22 analysts had found all saw a steady outcome this week.

(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Sam Holmes)

Source: OANN

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Closing in trial of man who dropped daughter off bridge

A prosecutor says a Florida man who threw his 5-year-old daughter off a Tampa Bay area bridge knew what he was doing was wrong, and that he should be found guilty of first-degree murder.

Prosecutor Paul Bolan told jurors in his closing arguments Monday that John Jonchuck clearly knew what he was doing when he dropped his daughter Phoebe 62 feet (18 meters) into Tampa Bay four years ago.

Jonchuck's attorneys claim he was insane. They must convince jurors his mental illness was so severe that he didn't know what he was doing.

But Bolan says Jonchuck's act was premeditated and his fleeing the scene is proof he knew what he was doing was wrong.

If convicted of first-degree murder, Jonchuck faces a life prison sentence.

Source: Fox News National

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U.S. Senate Republicans defeat Green New Deal resolution

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/File Photo

March 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Republicans on Tuesday defeated the “Green New Deal” resolution that called for tackling climate change by moving the United States off fossil fuels, while Democrats said the vote was a political stunt on an issue that will rise in importance.

The vote was 57 against the resolution in the 100-member chamber, with 43 Democrats voting “present.” Republicans won over Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema and one independent senator, Angus King, who usually votes with the Democrats.

(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: OANN

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If it ain’t broke? Spain’s economy takes rare election back seat

FILE PHOTO: Workers assemble vehicles on the assembly line of the SEAT car factory in Martorell
FILE PHOTO: Workers assemble vehicles on the assembly line of the SEAT car factory in Martorell, near Barcelona, Spain, October 31, 2018. REUTERS/Albert Gea//File Photo

April 16, 2019

By Belén Carreño and Ingrid Melander

MADRID (Reuters) – For the first time in a decade, Spain’s economy is taking a back seat in an election campaign as the main contenders, switching tack with a growth run entering its sixth year, focus on winning voters’ hearts rather than filling their wallets.

That suggests whichever parties take office after the April 28 ballot are unlikely to shake up economic policy – a source of worry for some analysts and business leaders who believe unconcern could lapse into complacency.

Voters say unemployment, still hovering around 14 percent, remains a major problem, and the pension system and labor market are overdue for structural reform.

However, the jobless rate has nearly halved from its 2013 peak, and growth in the euro zone’s fourth largest economy has consistently outpaced the bloc’s average since shortly after it exited recession in the same year.

That has encouraged the main candidates in Spain’s most open election in decades not to dwell on the need for further reform.

Instead, they are focusing on a range of often emotive social issues, including Catalonia’s independence drive, women’s rights, Francisco Franco’s legacy and the depopulation of small villages.

Part of that shift is also down to the rapid emergence of a populist party Vox which, barring a single deputy some 40 years ago, looks certain to become the first far-right party to sit in the lower house of parliament since Franco’s dictatorship ended in 1975.

Vox leader Santiago Abascal, far from focusing on the economy during campaigning, has criticized former conservative prime minister Mariano Rajoy – who built his reputation dragging Spain out of recession – for doing so at the expense of other issues.

“He forgot that it was the nation that was truly at risk,” Abascal told Antena 3 TV last week, in a nod to the political crisis that erupted in Catalonia in 2017, when Rajoy imposed direct rule on the province after it unilaterally declared independence.

While that crisis rumbles on, the IMF expects the Spanish economy to grow 2.1 percent this year, well above its 1.3 percent euro zone forecast, boosted by domestic demand, public spending and ultra-low interest rates.

In a poll by the state-run Center for Sociological Studies (CIS), voters cited unemployment as their main concern, but this is not reflected in the public debate.

One reason, said Federico Steinberg, economist at Madrid’s Universidad Autonoma, is that many of those out of work tend not to vote, and candidates want to avoid worrying those in jobs by talking about deep and possibly painful structural reforms.

“No party wants to talk about the fact that the reforms they are going to make would generate losers,” he said.

JOBS MISMATCH

Some say this approach is shoring up problems for later.

“After the elections, we need to flee from short-term measures and promote a reformist agenda with a long-term vision, inclusive growth and social cohesion,” Santander chairman Ana Botin told shareholders on Friday.

Economy Minister Nadia Calvino sees one priority as tackling a mismatch between jobs and the skills the unemployed can offer, she told Reuters in an interview last month.

For now, however, what little economic content has appeared on campaign platforms has generally sent two simpler messages – changing the tax base and safeguarding pensions.

Because one in four voters is a retiree, all parties have tried to bill themselves as the main defender of the pension system. But while the right has said it wants to cut taxes sharply, the left aims to increase public spending across the board.

None have explained in detail how their proposals would impact the public deficit, which Spain has given a priority to narrowing in recent years.

According to calculations by Ignacio Conde-Ruiz, analyst at the Fedea economic think-tank, they would all widen the budget gap.

Out on a limb, Vox has dismissed Spain’s pension system as a pyramid scheme, and proposed creating a new system from scratch.

But with Vox’s chances of playing a major role in government limited, analysts doubt the next administration will produce any economic big bangs.

Goldman Sachs believes all possible coalition governments after April 28 would be committed to the European project and a competitive market economy.

“As such, changes to economic policies are likely to be more incremental than transformational… A limited further reform agenda implies some risks of complacency,” its analysts wrote in a note.

(Reporting by Belen Carreno; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Additional reporting by Jesus Aguado; Editing by Mark Bendeich and John Stonestreet)

Source: OANN

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South American presidents announce creation of new regional bloc

Presidents attend the Prosur summit, at the presidential palace La Moneda, in Santiago
Guyana’s Ambassador George Talbot, Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, Argentina's President Mauricio Macri, Colombia's President Ivan Duque, Peru's President Martin Vizcarra, Paraguay's President Mario Abdo Benitez, Chile's President Sebastian Pinera and Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno attend the Prosur summit, at the presidential palace La Moneda, in Santiago, Chile March 22, 2019. REUTERS/Rodrigo Garrido

March 22, 2019

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – A group of South American leaders signed a declaration to create a regional bloc of nations they say is open to any country, regardless of ideology, to collaborate on solving regional problems.

Presidents from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru attended the summit in Santiago. Chile and Colombia had led the push for the new political grouping after criticism that the previous regional bloc, called Unasur, failed to take action on Venezuela.

(Reporting by Fabian Cambero,)

Source: OANN

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A Chinese woman adjusts a Chinese national flag next to U.S. national flags before a Strategic Dialogue expanded meeting, part of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) in Beijing
A Chinese woman adjusts a Chinese national flag next to U.S. national flags before a Strategic Dialogue expanded meeting, part of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) held at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, July 10, 2014. REUTERS/Ng Han Guan/Pool (CHINA – Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS)

April 26, 2019

By April Joyner

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Even as the lift from optimism over prospects for U.S.-China trade detente shows signs of wearing off for the wider U.S. stock market, upbeat sentiment around China’s economy could bolster shares of materials companies.

Shares of S&P 500 industrial and technology companies, which were buffeted by last year’s tit-for-tat tariffs as well as slowing global demand, have been very responsive to progress in U.S.-China trade relations and a strengthening Chinese economy. This year, those sectors have outpaced the ascent in the S&P 500, which reached a record closing high on Tuesday.

Materials stocks have not been as sensitive, however, even though they also stand to benefit as a stronger Chinese economy lifts global consumption and industrial output. As China has taken measures to stimulate its economy, its economic data have turned more upbeat. That in turn could aid global growth, which has flagged as a result of China’s cooldown.

“What we’re seeing is China spending more on stimulus: fiscal stimulus and monetary stimulus,” said Kristina Hooper, chief global market strategist at Invesco in New York. “That’s likely to be a positive for materials.”

The People’s Bank of China has cut banks’ reserve requirement ratio five times over the past year and is widely expected to ease policy further to spur lending and reduce borrowing costs. The stimulus appears to have boosted Chinese economic data, with factory activity growing in March for the first time in four months.

Yet so far in 2019, the S&P 500 materials index has underperformed the S&P 500 at large, rising just 11.9% compared with 16.7% for the benchmark index. Moreover, it is among the biggest decliners in the period since the S&P’s previous record closing level on Sept. 20. The materials index has fallen 7% over those seven months, versus a 5.2% gain for technology and a 3% loss for industrials. Only the energy index has dropped more over that period.

A trade agreement could serve as a catalyst for a bump in materials shares as a drag on China’s economy is lifted, some market strategists say. Some commodity prices, including those for copper and oil, have ascended this year as the prospects for the global economy have somewhat brightened.

“It all goes back to the global growth outlook,” said Andrea DiCenso, portfolio manager for alpha strategies at Loomis Sayles in Boston. “With the front run in hard data, we’re beginning to see a pretty significant rally.”

Additionally, a trade agreement is expected to include commitments from China to purchase higher quantities of U.S. products such as soybeans, which could benefit companies that make agricultural chemicals, including DowDuPont Inc and CF Industries Holdings Inc.

CF Industries is scheduled to report quarterly results after the bell on Wednesday, and DowDuPont is scheduled to report before the market open on Thursday.

To be sure, even with a trade agreement, some materials companies could face price pressures. Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Inc fell 10.1% on Thursday after the copper mining company posted a lower-than-expected profit as its production slipped and its costs rose.

A rollback of tariffs on Chinese imports, particularly aluminum and steel, would likely prompt a fall in some commodity prices, which could hurt prospects for certain materials companies, said Gene Goldman, chief investment officer at Cetera Investment Management in El Segundo, California.

Even so, those drawbacks may be outweighed by the support for global demand fostered by a U.S.-China trade agreement.

“You could see a number of companies with lowered expectations bring them back up as they talk favorably about the impact that a trade deal would have on them,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment strategist at Inverness Counsel in New York.

(Reporting by April Joyner; additional reporting by Sinéad Carew; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Source: OANN

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Cyprus police on Friday widened their search for more victims of a suspected serial killer after the 35-year-old national guard captain told investigators he killed four more people that he previously admitted to on the small Mediterranean nation.

The count now has climbed to seven.

CYPRUS FEARS POSSIBLE SERIAL KILLER AFTER BODIES OF TWO WOMEN ARE DISCOVERED IN MINESHAFT

Authorities said they are focusing on a military firing range, a man-made lake and an abandoned mine about 20 miles west of the capital Nicosia.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades expressed “deep sorrow and concern” at the slayings and said he shared the public’s revulsion at “murders that appear to have selectively targeted foreign women who are in our country to work.”

“Such instincts are contrary to our culture’s traditions and values,” he said in a statement from China, where he was on an official visit. He urged calm so police can complete their investigation.

The scale of the alleged crimes by a Cypriot National Guard captain has horrified the small nation of over a million people, where multiple killings are rare. Five British law enforcement officials — including a coroner, a psychiatrist and investigators who specialize in multiple homicides — have been dispatched to help with the investigation.

On Thursday, the 35-year-old suspect, who can’t yet be named because he hasn’t been formally charged, told investigators that he had killed four more people than he had previously admitted to. Police said the suspect will appear in court Saturday for another custody hearing.

Cypriot investigators and police officers search a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019. Police on the east Mediterranean island nation, along with the help of the fire service, are conducting the search Monday in the wake of last week's discovery of the bodies in the abandoned mineshaft and the disappearance of the six-year-old daughter of one of the victims. 

Cypriot investigators and police officers search a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019. Police on the east Mediterranean island nation, along with the help of the fire service, are conducting the search Monday in the wake of last week’s discovery of the bodies in the abandoned mineshaft and the disappearance of the six-year-old daughter of one of the victims.  (AP)

The victims — all foreigners— include Marry Rose Tiburcio, 38, from the Philippines, whose bound body was found April 14 in a flooded mineshaft. She and her six-year-old daughter had been missing since May of last year.

The girl remains missing and authorities believe she was also slain by the suspect. Divers have entered the reservoir to search for her but have not found her body yet.

CYPRUS: GROUND NOT YET READY FOR PEACE TALKS RESUMPTION 

Authorities tracked down the officer last week by scouring Tiburcio’s online messages.

Six days later, police discovered another body April 20 in the same mineshaft, identified by Cypriot media as 28-year-old Arian Palanas Lozano, also from the Philippines.

A third alleged victim, also of Filipino descent, is 31-year-old Maricar Valtez Arquiola, who had been missing since December 2017. The suspect initially denied killing Arquiola but reversed himself after a court hearing Thursday, a police official said.

The suspect on Thursday also pointed investigators to a military firing range, where they discovered another unidentified body, which according to the suspect belongs to a woman of either Nepalese or Indian descent.

SERIAL KILLER WHO MAY HAVE COMMITTED 90 MURDERS IS LINKED TO YET ANOTHER KILLING 

Cypriot police are also looking for a Romanian mother and daughter. Cypriot media identified them as Livia Florentina Bunea, 36, and eight-year-old Elena Natalia Bunea, who are believed to have been missing since September 2016.

The man-made lake remains off-limits to a manned search because of high levels of toxic heavy metals from the copper pyrite mine, Fire Service Chief Marcos Trangolas said, adding that authorities will use other means to scour the lake.

Chief of Cypriot police Zacharias Chrysostomou, center, walks with Cypriot investigators and police officers at a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019.

Chief of Cypriot police Zacharias Chrysostomou, center, walks with Cypriot investigators and police officers at a flooded mineshaft where two female bodies were found, outside of Mitsero village, near the capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, April 22, 2019. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

Cyprus police have faced criticism from immigrant activists who said they didn’t act fast enough to investigate the whereabouts of some of the victims, many of them domestic workers. The island nation has 80 unsolved missing persons cases, going back to 1990.

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Police chief Zacharias Chrysostomou said a three-member panel has been assigned to probe whether police followed all the correct protocol in recent missing persons cases.

According to the state-run Cyprus News Agency, an investigator had told the court at an earlier hearing that the suspect admitted to killing one woman he met online after having sex with her.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News World

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Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Gilber Caro is seen delivering a speech at a forum on human rights in Caracas
Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Gilber Caro is seen delivering a speech at a forum on human rights in Caracas, Venezuela June 12, 2018 in this still image taken from a video. REUTERS TV/ via REUTERS

April 26, 2019

CARACAS (Reuters) – Venezuela’s opposition-run National Assembly said on Friday that opposition lawmaker Gilber Caro was detained, which it described in a Twitter post as a violation of diplomatic immunity.

Caro had previously spend a year and a half in jail, before being freed in June 2018. The arrest comes as Juan Guaido, the National Assembly’s leader, mounts a challenge to President Nicolas Maduro, arguing his 2018 re-election was illegitimate. Guaido in January invoked the country’s constitution to assume an interim presidency.

(Reporting by Caracas newsroom; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: Customers shop in a Sainsbury's store in Redhill
FILE PHOTO: Customers shop in a Sainsbury’s store in Redhill, Britain, March 27, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By James Davey

LONDON (Reuters) – With Sainsbury’s dream of creating Britain’s biggest supermarket group in tatters, its chastened CEO Mike Coupe needs to reassure investors he has the plan to arrest a sales decline when he presents annual results next week.

Britain’s competition regulator blocked Sainsbury’s 7.3 billion pound ($9.4 billion) takeover of Walmart’s Asda on Thursday, saying the deal would increase prices. Sainsbury’s shares fell 5 percent and are down 22 percent over the last three months.

For Sainsbury’s fourth quarter to March 9 analysts are on average forecasting a 1.6 percent fall in like-for-like sales, which would follow 1.1 percent decline over the Christmas period.

Monthly industry data from researcher Kantar has also shown Sainsbury’s as the weakest performer of the big four grocers this year and this month it lost its status as Britain’s No. 2 supermarket group by market share to Asda.

While Sainsbury’s has struggled, market leader Tesco has gained momentum, this month reporting a 34 percent jump in full year profit.

Prohibition of the deal was a major blow to Coupe, its architect and Sainsbury’s boss since 2014.

Martin Scicluna became Sainsbury’s chairman last month and when bedded-in may decide that if the group needs a major shake-up it is best carried out by a new leader.

Much will depend on the attitude of 22 percent shareholder the Qatar Investment Authority, which has so far declined to comment, as well as Coupe’s own appetite to continue after 15 years at the group.

THE RIGHT STRATEGY?

Coupe said on Thursday he was confident Sainsbury’s was pursuing the right strategy.

That was a clear indication that Wednesday’s results statement will not include radical changes to the group’s plans, such as a big margin reset — sacrificing profit to drive sales.

However, sources connected to Sainsbury’s said Coupe would likely acknowledge that more needs to be done on prices, so the supermarket business can better compete with its big four rivals – Tesco, Asda and No. 4 Morrisons – as well as German-owned discounters Aldi and Lidl.

Coupe’s strategy is based on differentiating Sainsbury’s food offer, growing its general merchandise, clothing business and bank, while investing in convenience and online channels.

Some analysts believe major change is needed.

HSBC analyst David McCarthy reckons Sainsbury’s needs a margin reset, should allocate more space for core lines and needs to drive better store standards. He said Sainsbury’s might consider closing down space in some of its larger stores and reducing its non-food offer.

For the full 2018-19 year analysts are on average forecasting a pretax profit of 626 million pounds, up from 589 million pounds in 2017-18 – a second straight year of profit growth. A full year dividend of 10.5 pence per share is forecast versus 10.2 pence last time.

Bank and lawyer fees related to the proposed combination with Asda were 17 million pounds in the first half and have reportedly jumped to around 50 million pounds.

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Keith Weir)

Source: OANN

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Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey rejected demands from a secular group to remove posts on social media where he sent Easter greetings and cited a Bible verse, offering to provide copies of the Constitution to his critics.

Ducey, who’s a practicing Catholic, has been bombarded with calls from Secular Communities for Arizona to remove the post, which included a cross, a Bible verse, and the phrase, “He is risen.”

ARIZONA’S GOP GOVERNOR WAGING WAR AGAINST OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING LAWS

The group argued the posts crossed a line into government sponsorship of religious messages and was unconstitutional.

The governor fired back at the group, saying in a tweet that he will never remove the posts or other religious ones.

“We won’t be removing this post. Ever. Nor will we be removing our posts for Christmas, Hanukkah, Rosh Hashanah, Palm Sunday, Passover or any other religious holiday,” he tweeted. “We support the First Amendment, and are happy to provide copies of the Constitution to anyone who hasn’t read it.”

Dianne Post, an attorney for the secular group, told the Arizona Republic “elected officials should not use their government position and government property to promote their religious views.”

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She added the courts have repeatedly “struck down symbolism that unites government with religion,” adding that Ducey’s office must “represent and protect the rights of all residents of Arizona, including those who do not believe in a monotheistic God or any gods at all.”

Many congratulated Ducey for not backing down amid the pressure, though some Facebook users sided with the secular group and criticized the governor on his original post.

“Why do you use a government platform to bring up your personal religion?” asked one person. “Are there no citizens in your jurisdiction that believe differently from you?”

Another stipulated that the post was somewhat discriminatory. “Great sensitivity, Doug. That’s the last time this Jew votes for you,” one person wrote.

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Ducey wished in a statement Arizonans last week a “blessed and joyful Easter and Passover weekend.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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