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Comic Zelenskiy wins Ukraine presidential vote in landslide

Results from nearly all polling stations show that TV star Volodymyr Zelenskiy has won the Ukrainian presidential runoff vote in a landslide.

The Central Election Commission says Monday that Zelenskiy has won 73% of the vote while the incumbent President Petro Poroshenko got just 24% support with more than 95% of the ballots counted.

Unlike in most of the elections in Ukraine's post-Soviet history, Zelenskiy appears to have won both in Ukraine's west and east, areas that have been traditionally polarized.

One of the campaign slogans of the popular television comedian who has no previous political experience was to unify Ukraine, which has been torn by bitter debates over its identity as well as the separatist conflict in the east that is fueled by neighboring Russia.

Source: Fox News World

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Arabs seek unity on Golan, but summit likely to expose rifts

Arab leaders meeting in Tunisia on Sunday hope to project unified opposition to the Trump administration's acceptance of Israeli control over the Golan Heights and Jerusalem, but as with past Arab League summits, the gathering is likely to expose their own bitter rivalries.

Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are likely to tone down any statement of condemnation, eager to maintain good relations with the White House as it cranks up pressure on their main rival, Iran.

Affirming the international consensus that the Golan is occupied Syrian land would only further highlight Syria's absence from the Arab League, from which it was expelled in the early days of the uprising against President Bashar Assad. Some Arab leaders think Syria — a founding member — should be readmitted. Others, like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have spent years supporting the insurgency.

Arab League summits are nearly always marred by no-shows. This year, Algeria's ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Sudan's Omar al-Bashir will skip the meeting as they contend with weekly mass protests against their long reigns.

Those expected to attend, meanwhile, are still split over the wars in Yemen and Syria, and the nearly two-year boycott of Qatar by fellow Arab League members.

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GOLAN LITE

Israel seized the Golan Heights in the 1967 Mideast war after Syria had for years used the strategic plateau to shell northern Israel. Arab states have long demanded its return, and condemned U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over it earlier this week.

Arab League spokesman Mahmoud Afifi said the 22-member bloc would aim to issue a proclamation on the Golan, but experts expect little more than a standard denunciation.

"It will be just a very strong, theatrical, nice, maybe strong statement," said Ahmed Abd Rabou, a visiting professor of international affairs at the University of Denver. "But I doubt that this will have a true political effect."

Arab leaders responded similarly to the even more inflammatory U.S. decision last year to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital — with statements condemning the move but little else.

Many Gulf states view the U.S. as a vital ally against Iran, welcoming Trump's decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear agreement and restore crippling sanctions. Other Arab states are preoccupied with their own troubles, with Yemen and Libya riven by internal conflicts and Iraq looking for international support as it struggles to rebuild after the war against the Islamic State group.

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READMITTING SYRIA

Many Arab states have softened their opposition to Assad as he has largely defeated the uprising with the help of Russia and Iran. They are concerned about inroads made by non-Arab Turkey and Iran, and may also be eyeing lucrative reconstruction projects in areas devastated by war.

The United Arab Emirates reopened its embassy in Damascus in December, and other Arab nations are expected to follow . Khemaies Jhinaoui, the foreign minister of summit-host Tunisia, said earlier this year that Syria's "natural place" is within the Arab League.

But Mahmoud Khemiri, a spokesman for the summit, said Assad's reintegration "isn't foreseeable at the current time."

Trump's Golan proclamation puts Arab leaders in the awkward position of standing up for a nation they have shunned, which could accelerate reconciliation efforts.

"It certainly gives Assad an opening to get himself readmitted. mainly because now he can play the aggrieved party in an issue about which the Arab world is totally united," said Fred Hof, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East.

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EMBATTLED LEADERS

Eight years after Arab Spring protests swept the region, threatening the future of the political order long upheld by the Arab League, protesters are again taking to the streets in Algeria and Sudan, calling for the resignation of two of the longest-serving Arab leaders.

Bouteflika, in office since 1999, canceled the April 18 presidential election and withdrew his bid for a fifth term, but announced a transition process that opponents fear could keep him in power indefinitely. The 82-year-old has rarely been seen in public and has not addressed the nation in person since a 2013 stroke.

Earlier this week, Algeria's top general called for initiating a constitutional process to declare Bouteflika unfit to serve, in a bid to address the mass protests held since Feb. 22. But opposition parties denounced the idea, fearing it would leave the secretive elite in power.

In Sudan, protests sparked by an economic crisis in December quickly morphed into calls for the resignation of al-Bashir, who seized power in an Islamist-backed military coup in 1989. He has shown no sign of stepping down, and authorities have launched a crackdown that has killed dozens of people.

The Arab League, dominated by monarchs and autocrats, is unlikely to side with the protesters in either country.

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INTERNAL DIVISIONS

Since its founding more than 70 years ago, the Arab League has struggled — largely unsuccessfully — for unity, with the perennial focus on the Palestinian cause eliding the many issues on which Arab leaders are deeply divided.

Libya, which slid into chaos after an Arab Spring uprising in 2011, is split between rival authorities in the east and west, each backed by an array of armed groups, some supported by other Arab states. In Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition battling the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels has struggled with internal discord, with militias allied with the United Arab Emirates clashing with forces loyal to the internationally recognized government.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain have been boycotting Qatar since June 2017 over its support for Islamist groups and its close ties to both Iran and Turkey. Qatar's emir and the leaders of the boycotting nations are expected to attend the summit and might even sit at the same sprawling table. Whether they will be able to set their dispute aside, even for one day, remains to be seen.

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Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Isabel Debre in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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Passengers rage over disruptions at India’s embattled Jet Airways

FILE PHOTO: Jet Airways flight information is seen at check-in counters inside the international airport in Mumbai
FILE PHOTO: Jet Airways flight information is seen at check-in counters inside the international airport in Mumbai, India, August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

March 15, 2019

By Aditi Shah

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s embattled Jet Airways put photographs of smiling women employees on social media last week for Women’s Day, using the tagline “Standing tall; touching the skies” but few passengers reacted cheerfully.

“‘Touching the skies’ is a good joke at a time when your flights are getting grounded,” said a respondent on Twitter, while others expressed anger and dismay at cancellations, delays in refunds and long response times to telephone calls.

India’s second-largest carrier, grappling with debt of more than $1 billion, Jet has delayed payments to banks, lessors, vendors and staff. Lessors have grounded more than three dozen planes, forcing hundreds of flights to be canceled.

Rising customer frustration could bring further disruption for the 25-year-old airline, as some flyers backed a boycott, while others blamed cancellations for ruining their plans.

“We had to worry about rebooking flights during our wedding, when there is already so much to do,” said Siddhant Agarwal, a 32-year-old businessman whose flight home from his honeymoon was abruptly canceled just days before his marriage.

Agarwal, who is based in the capital, New Delhi, had to pay nearly twice as much for new tickets, he said.

“They did not even offer an apology, which is disappointing and unprofessional.”

The airline, partly owned by Etihad Airways, did not respond to a request from Reuters for comment.

PLANES GROUNDED

Amid talks for a bailout led by state-run banks, lessors have forced the airline to ground at least 37 planes over non-payment of dues and some have also threatened repossession.

It had 556 flights on average in January, down from 641 a year earlier, data from the aviation regulator showed.

(For an interactive graphic on Jet’s average daily flights, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2FeFDel)

Jet has planned cancellations of more than 600 flights in March, said one source with direct knowledge of the matter.

Monday’s tally of about 330 flights compared with a daily average of nearly 650 in March 2018, a second source said, adding that short notice about grounded planes triggered many unplanned cancellations.

“The bigger worry is if people stop future bookings, because that will affect cash flows,” said the source, adding that cancellations in February and March outstripped prior months.

Jet Airways’ market share shrank to 14.3 percent in 2018 from 17.2 percent a year earlier, even as India’s aviation market grew nearly a fifth.

Some of the hundreds of aggrieved passengers who posted on the airline’s Facebook page and Twitter told of delays on the way to wedding and festival celebrations, and several uploaded screenshots showing telephone wait times longer than an hour for a response from the customer call center.

After a last-minute cancellation, comedian Kenny Sebastian expressed outrage on Twitter, warning his 1.74 million followers to avoid the airline.

“Best part is they made it sound like it was the passengers’ fault,” he said this week.

(Additional reporting by Aditya Kalra in New Delhi and Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Euan Rocha and Clarence Fernandez)

Source: OANN

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Oklahoma firefighters rescue suspected burglar trapped in chimney for hours

The lesson is clear: leave the chimney work to the professionals. Like Santa.

And that note of caution is particularly true for those climbing in with bad intentions -- such as a would-be burglar who got caught at an Oklahoma business Monday after becoming trapped in a chimney for hours, officials said.

The Tulsa Fire Department told FOX23 the man had cut the electricity lines of an air conditioner and attempted to shimmy down the chimney of the business when he became stuck.

Eva Sigala, who works at the Durango Auto Center, said her boss raised the alarm when he heard noises emanating from the chimney early in the morning.

NEW YORK CITY BABY SITTER STABBED MOM OF TWO BECAUSE SHE ‘DON’T WORK FOR FREE,’ REPORTS SAY

"Well he came in this morning and he heard a whining and crying noise and at first he thought it was a pigeon, because we get pigeons stuck in there all the time and he listened closer and heard 'help', that's when he left, closed the door and called the cops," she told FOX23.

2 NYPD OFFICERS SUSPENDED DUE TO ALLEGED SLOW RESPONSE DURING HORRIFIC AX ATTACK, REPORT SAYS

Firefighters said surveillance video showed the man trying to Kris Kringle his way down the chimney around 12:30 a.m. Monday.

The man, who was not immediately identified, ended up stuck there until rescuers pulled him out around 9:45 a.m. Fire officials had at one point considered dismantling the entire chimney but eventually extracted the man via a pulley system.

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The man did not sustain any injuries during the incident.

Source: Fox News National

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Comedian Zelenskiy maintains strong lead in Ukraine presidential poll

FILE PHOTO: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukrainian comic actor and candidate in the upcoming presidential election, takes part in a production process of Servant of the People series in Kiev
FILE PHOTO: Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Ukrainian comic actor and candidate in the upcoming presidential election, takes part in a production process of Servant of the People series in Kiev, Ukraine March 6, 2019. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo

March 28, 2019

KIEV (Reuters) – Comic actor Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a political novice who plays a fictional president in a popular TV series, has maintained a strong lead in Ukraine’s presidential election race, according to an opinion poll published on Thursday.

But support for the 41-year-old remains far below the level needed to secure outright victory in the March 31 ballot, and most voters still do not expect him to become president, the KIIS survey showed.

The poll by KIIS research body, the final survey for the election’s first round, showed Zelenskiy on 20.9 percent of votes, with incumbent Petro Poroshenko second on 13.7 percent and opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko third on 9.7 percent.

Thirty-nine candidates have registered for the election. If no candidate wins 50 percent of the votes cast, the top two will face each other in a run-off on April 21.

KIIS said 21.5 percent of those it questioned favored Zelenskiy to win in a second round, 18.3 percent expected Poroshenko to be re-elected and 10.1 percent saw Tymoshenko as the winner.

KIIS said it interviewed 1,600 voters in all regions, except annexed Crimea, from March 20-26.

(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: OANN

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Ace Swedish coder held by Ecuador was defender of Assange

An ace Swedish programmer has been arrested in Ecuador in an alleged plot to blackmail the country's president over his abandonment of Julian Assange.

Ola Bini was an early, ardent supporter of Wikileaks. Friends say the 36-year-old encryption expert is being unfairly targeted for his activism on behalf of digital privacy.

Bini was arrested Thursday at the airport in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito as he was preparing to board a flight to Japan. The arrest came just hours after Assange was evicted from the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

Bini's lawyers say they have not been notified whether he's been charged. Authorities say the plot hatched with two unidentified Russian hackers involved threatening to release compromising documents about President Lenin Moreno as he toughened his stance against the Wikileaks founder.

Source: Fox News World

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Asian shares near eight-month highs, eyes on U.S.-China talks

FILE PHOTO: Men look at stock quotation boards outside a brokerage in Tokyo
FILE PHOTO: Men look at stock quotation boards outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, December 5, 2018. REUTERS/Issei Kato

April 4, 2019

By Swati Pandey and Wayne Cole

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Asian shares paused near an eight-month peak on Thursday as investors awaited developments on trade talks between the United States and China, who appear closer to signing a deal, nudging bond yields higher globally and softening the safe-haven yen.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan took a breather after five straight days of gains took it to its highest since late August.

Japan’s Nikkei was also flat to stay near a recent one-month top.

Risk sentiment this week was helped by media reports touting progress in Sino-U.S. trade talks. Bloomberg reported on Thursday the U.S. wanted to set a 2025 target for China to meet trade pledges.

The plan would see China committing to buy more U.S. commodities, including soybeans and energy products, and allow full foreign ownership for U.S. companies operating in China as a binding pledge.

On Wednesday, the Financial Times reported the United States and China were closer to reaching a final trade agreement.

“We may get similar optimistic remarks this week, something that could keep risk appetite supported, but, still, a final and sealed accord remains unlikely,” said Charalambos Pissouros, Cyprus-based senior market analyst at JFD Group.

“The sealing of a deal is expected to happen at a meeting between U.S. President Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, which according to market chatter could even happen in June,” he added.

“It would be interesting to see whether these talks will open the door for the meeting to happen earlier than anticipated.”

Overnight, Wall Street edged higher to extend a strong start to the quarter as a rally among chipmaker shares provided a boost to the broader market. [.N]

The Dow rose 0.15 percent, while the S&P 500 gained 0.21 percent and the Nasdaq 0.6 percent.

Moves in the currency market were miniscule in early Asian hours after bigger swings overnight. All the major currencies gained on the safe-haven yen with the risk-sensitive Australian dollar touching a five-week high.

The greenback eased against a basket of currencies to 97.031. The euro edged up to $1.1246, while reaching a two-week top on the yen at 125.45.

Sterling gained to $1.3179 after Prime Minister Theresa May held talks with the opposition Labour party in a bid to break the Brexit deadlock that may lead to a softer departure deal with the EU.

The lower house of Britain’s parliament late on Wednesday also narrowly passed legislation which would force May to seek a delay to Brexit in order to prevent the risk of leaving without a deal on April 12.

In commodity markets, spot gold nudged up to $1,292.21 per ounce.

Oil prices weathered U.S. government data that showed a surprise build in crude inventories, with futures near their highest in almost five months as OPEC-led output cuts and sanctions on Iran tightened the supply outlook. [O/R]

U.S. crude eased 4 cents to $62.42 while Brent crude rose 10 cents to $69.41.

(Reporting by Swati Pandey and Wayne Cole; Editing by Sam Holmes)

Source: OANN

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Police secure the area where the body of a woman was discovered near the village of Orounta
Police secure the area where the body of a woman was discovered near the village of Orounta, Cyprus, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Stefanos Kouratzis

April 26, 2019

NICOSIA (Reuters) – Cypriot police searched on Friday for more victims of a suspected serial killer, in a case which has shocked the Mediterranean island and exposed the authorities to charges of “criminal indifference” because the dead women were foreigners.

The main opposition party, the left-wing AKEL, called for the resignation of Cyprus’s justice minister and police chief.

Police were combing three different locations west of the capital Nicosia for victims of the suspected killer, a 35-year-old army officer who has been in detention for a week.

The bodies of three women, including two thought to be from the Philippines, have been recovered. Police sources said the suspect had indicated the location of the third body, found on Thursday, and had said the person was “either Indian or Nepali”.

Police said they were searching for a further four people, including two children, based on the suspect’s testimony.

“These women came here to earn a living, to help their families. They lived away from their families. And the earth swallowed them, nobody was interested,” AKEL lawmaker Irene Charalambides told Reuters.

“This killer will be judged by the court but the other big question is the criminal indifference shown by the others when the reports first surfaced. I believe, as does my party, that the justice minister and the police chief should resign. They are irrevocably exposed.”

Police have said they will investigate any perceived shortcomings in their handling of the case.

One person who did attempt to alert the authorities over the disappearances, a 70-year-old Cypriot citizen, said his motives were questioned by police.

The bodies of the two Filipino women reported missing in May and August 2018 were found in an abandoned mine shaft this month. Police discovered the body of the third woman at an army firing range about 14 km (9 miles) from the mine shaft.

Police are now searching for the six-year-old daughter of the first victim found, a Romanian mother who disappeared with her eight-year-old child in 2016, and a woman from the Phillipines who vanished in Dec. 2017.

The suspect has not been publicly named, in line with Cypriot legal practice.

A public vigil for the missing was planned later on Friday.

(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Gareth Jones)

Source: OANN

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An employee looks up at goods at the Miniclipper Logistics warehouse in Leighton Buzzard
FILE PHOTO: An employee looks up at goods at the Miniclipper Logistics warehouse in Leighton Buzzard, Britain December 3, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson

April 26, 2019

LONDON, April 26 – British factories stockpiled raw materials and goods ahead of Brexit at the fastest pace since records began in the 1950s, and they were increasingly downbeat about their prospects, a survey showed on Friday.

The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) quarterly survey of the manufacturing industry showed expectations for export orders in the next three months fell to their lowest level since mid-2009, when Britain was reeling from the global financial crisis.

The record pace of stockpiling recorded by the CBI was mirrored by the closely-watched IHS Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index published earlier this month.

(Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken)

Source: OANN

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Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad speaks at the opening ceremony for the second Belt and Road Forum in Beijing, China April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Florence Lo

April 26, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Fewer than half of Malaysians approve of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, an opinion poll showed on Friday, as concerns over rising costs and racial matters plague his administration nearly a year after taking office.

The survey, conducted in March by independent pollster Merdeka Center, showed that only 46 percent of voters surveyed were satisfied with Mahathir, a sharp drop from the 71 percent approval rating he received in August 2018.

Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan coalition won a stunning election victory in May 2018, ending the previous government’s more than 60-year rule.

But his administration has since been criticized for failing to deliver on promised reforms and protecting the rights of majority ethnic Malay Muslims.

Of 1,204 survey respondents, 46 percent felt that the “country was headed in the wrong direction”, up from 24 percent in August 2018, the Merdeka Center said in a statement. Just 39 percent said they approved of the ruling government.

High living costs remained the top most concern among Malaysians, with just 40 percent satisfied with the government’s management of the economy, the survey showed.

It also showed mixed responses to Pakatan Harapan’s proposed reforms.

Some 69 percent opposed plans to abolish the death penalty, while respondents were sharply divided over proposals to lower the minimum voting age to 18, or to implement a sugar tax.

“In our opinion, the results appear to indicate a public that favors the status quo, and thus requires a robust and coordinated advocacy efforts in order to garner their acceptance of new measures,” Merdeka Center said.

The survey also found 23 percent of Malaysians were concerned over ethnic and religious matters.

Some groups representing Malays have expressed fear that affirmative-action policies favoring them in business, education and housing could be taken away and criticized the appointments of non-Muslims to key government posts.

Last November, the government reversed its pledge to ratify a UN convention against racial discrimination, after a backlash from Malay groups.

Earlier this month, Pakatan Harapan suffered its third successive loss in local elections since taking power, which has been seen as a further sign of waning public support.

Despite the decline, most Malaysians – 67 percent – agreed that Mahathir’s government should be given more time to fulfill its election promises, Merdeka Center said.

This included a majority of Malay voters who were largely more critical of the new administration, it added.

(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: OANN

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The German share price index DAX graph at the stock exchange in Frankfurt
The German share price index DAX graph is pictured at the stock exchange in Frankfurt, Germany, April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Staff

April 26, 2019

By Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh

(Reuters) – European shares slipped on Friday after losses in heavyweight banks and Glencore outweighed gains in healthcare and auto stocks, while investors remained on the sidelines ahead of U.S. economic data for the first quarter.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1 percent by 0935 GMT, eyeing a modest loss at the end of a holiday-shortened week. Banks-heavy Italian and Spanish indices were laggards.

The banking index fell for a fourth day, at the end of a heavy earnings week for lenders.

Britain’s Royal Bank of Scotland tumbled after posting lower first quarter profit, hurt by intensifying competition and Brexit uncertainty, while its investment bank also registered poor returns.

Weakness in investment banking also dented Deutsche Bank’s quarterly trading revenue and sent its shares lower a day after the German bank abandoned merger talks with smaller rival Commerzbank.

“The current interest rate environment makes it challenging for banks to make proper earnings because of their intermediary function,” said Teeuwe Mevissen, senior market economist eurozone, at Rabobank.

Since the start of April, all country indexes were on pace to rise between 1.8 percent and 3.4 percent, their fourth month of gains, while Germany was strongly outperforming with 6 percent growth.

“For now the current sentiment is very cautious as markets wait for the first estimates of the U.S. GDP growth which could see a surprise,” Mevissen said.

U.S. economic data for the first-quarter is due at 1230 GMT. Growth worries outside the United States resurfaced this week after South Korea’s economy unexpectedly contracted at the start of the year and weak German business sentiment data for April also disappointed.

Among the biggest drags on the benchmark index in Europe were the basic resources sector and the oil and gas sector, weighed down by Britain’s Glencore and France’s Total, respectively.

Glencore dropped after reports that U.S authorities were investigating whether the company and its subsidiaries violated certain provisions of the commodity exchange act.

Energy major Total said its net profit for the first three months of the year fell compared with a year ago due to volatile oil prices and debt costs.

Chip stocks in the region including Siltronic, Ams and STMicroelectronics lost more than 1 percent after Intel Corp reduced its full-year revenue forecast, adding to concerns that an industry-wide slowdown could persist until the end of 2019.

Meanwhile, healthcare, which is also seen as a defensive sector, was a bright spot. It was helped by French drugmaker Sanofi after it returned to growth with higher profits and revenues for the first-quarter.

Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES led media stocks higher after it maintained its full-year outlook on the back of the company’s Networks division.

Automakers in the region rose 0.4 percent, led by Valeo’s 6 percent jump as the French parts maker said its performance would improve in the second half of the year.

Continental AG advanced after it backed its outlook for the year despite reporting a fall in first-quarter earnings.

Renault rose more than 3 percent as it clung to full-year targets and pursues merger talks with its Japanese partner Nissan.

(Reporting by Medha Singh and Agamoni Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Gareth Jones and Elaine Hardcastle)

Source: OANN

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U.S. President Donald Trump hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington
U.S. President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up to his audience as he hosts Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day at the White House in Washington, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

April 26, 2019

By Jan Wolfe and Richard Cowan

(Reuters) – The “i word” – impeachment – is swirling around the U.S. Congress since the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s redacted Russia report, which painted a picture of lies, threats and confusion in Donald Trump’s White House.

Some Democrats say trying to remove Trump from office would be a waste of time because his fellow Republicans still have majority control of the Senate. Other Democrats argue they have a moral obligation at least to try to impeach, even though Mueller did not charge Trump with conspiring with Russia in the 2016 U.S. election or with obstruction of justice.

Whether or not the Democrats decide to go down this risky path, here is how the impeachment process works.

WHAT ARE GROUNDS FOR IMPEACHMENT?

The U.S. Constitution says the president can be removed from office by Congress for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Exactly what that means is unclear.

Before he became president in 1974, replacing Republican Richard Nixon who resigned over the Watergate scandal, Gerald Ford said: “An impeachable offense is whatever a majority of the House of Representatives considers it to be at a given moment in history.”

Frank Bowman, a University of Missouri law professor and author of a forthcoming book on the history of impeachment, said Congress could look beyond criminal laws in defining “high crimes and misdemeanors.” Historically, it can encompass corruption and other abuses, including trying to obstruct judicial proceedings.

HOW DOES IMPEACHMENT PLAY OUT?

The term impeachment is often interpreted as simply removing a president from office, but that is not strictly accurate.

Impeachment technically refers to the 435-member House of Representatives approving formal charges against a president.

The House effectively acts as accuser – voting on whether to bring specific charges. An impeachment resolution, known as “articles of impeachment,” is like an indictment in a criminal case. A simple majority vote is needed in the House to impeach.

The Senate then conducts a trial. House members act as the prosecutors, with senators as the jurors. The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court presides over the trial. A two-thirds majority vote is required in the 100-member Senate to convict and remove a president from office.

No president has ever been removed from office as a direct result of an impeachment and conviction by Congress.

Nixon quit in 1974 rather than face impeachment. Presidents Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 were impeached by the House, but both stayed in office after the Senate acquitted them.

Obstruction of justice was one charge against Clinton, who faced allegations of lying under oath about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Obstruction was also included in the articles of impeachment against Nixon.

CAN THE SUPREME COURT OVERTURN?

No.

Trump said on Twitter on Wednesday that he would ask the Supreme Court to intervene if Democrats tried to impeach him. But America’s founders explicitly rejected making a Senate conviction appealable to the federal judiciary, Bowman said.

“They quite plainly decided this is a political process and it is ultimately a political judgment,” Bowman said.

“So when Trump suggests there is any judicial remedy for impeachment, he is just wrong.”

PROOF OF WRONGDOING?

In a typical criminal court case, jurors are told to convict only if there is “proof beyond a reasonable doubt,” a fairly stringent standard.

Impeachment proceedings are different. The House and Senate “can decide on whatever burden of proof they want,” Bowman said. “There is no agreement on what the burden should be.”

PARTY BREAKDOWN IN CONGRESS?

Right now, there are 235 Democrats, 197 Republicans and three vacancies in the House. As a result, the Democratic majority could vote to impeach Trump without any Republican votes.

In 1998, when Republicans had a House majority, the chamber voted largely along party lines to impeach Clinton, a Democrat.

The Senate now has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who usually vote with Democrats. Conviction and removal of a president would requires 67 votes. So that means for Trump to be impeached, at least 20 Republicans and all the Democrats and independents would have to vote against him.

WHO BECOMES PRESIDENT IF TRUMP IS REMOVED?

A Senate conviction removing Trump from office would elevate Vice President Mike Pence to the presidency to fill out Trump’s term, which ends on Jan. 20, 2021.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe and Richard Cowan; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Peter Cooney)

Source: OANN

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