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3 candidates vie for North Macedonia presidency

Three candidates are vying for the presidency in North Macedonia, where voters go to the polls on Sunday for the first round of elections.

The post is largely ceremonial, but the election is seen as a key test of the government following deep polarization after the country changed its name to end a decades-old dispute with neighboring Greece over use of the term "Macedonia."

Here is a look at the three candidates, all of whom are university professors:

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Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, 63 — The first woman to run for president since the country declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. Known for her love of yoga and rock-and-roll, Siljanovska, a constitutional law professor, first emerged as a non-partisan candidate promoted by her university. Her nomination is now supported by the main conservative opposition VMRO-DPMNE party.

Siljanovska campaigned under the slogan "Justice for Macedonia, fatherland calls." She has been a vocal opponent of the deal with Greece that changed the country's name to North Macedonia in return for Athens dropping its objections to the country joining NATO.

Siljanovska served as minister without portfolio in 1992-1994 in the first government after independence and participated in writing the country's first constitution.

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Stevo Pendarovski, 56 — A former national security adviser for two previous presidents and until recently national coordinator for NATO, this is Pendarovski's second bid for the presidency after being defeated by outgoing President Gjorge Ivanov in 2014.

Pendarovski is running as the joint candidate for both the governing social democrats and the junior governing coalition partner, the ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration party. His candidacy is also supported by 29 smaller political parties.

He is a strong defender of the name deal with Greece, arguing that it paved the way for the country to nearly finalize its NATO accession and led to hopes EU membership talks will begin in June.

His slogan "Forward Together" reflects his main campaign platform of unity, and he has made NATO and EU membership a key strategic goal, saying they will bring more foreign investment, will create jobs and higher wages and prevent young people leaving the country.

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Blerim Reka, 58 — A soft-spoken international law professor who headed the country's diplomatic mission to the EU from 2006-2010, the ethnic Albanian candidate was nominated by two small ethnic Albanian opposition parties, BESA and the Alliance of Albanians.

Reka chose "Reka for the Republic" as his campaign slogan, saying the concept of a "republic for all" is the most suitable for a multiethnic state. He has campaigned mainly in the larger ethnic Albanian communities. He advocates Northern Macedonia strengthen its multiethnic and multicultural characteristics, but insists the country must reform its "corrupt" administration and establish rule of law and an independent judiciary.

Reka also supports the name deal with Greece, saying the agreement ended a long-standing dispute and opened the doors for the country to join NATO and the EU.

No ethnic Albanian presidential candidate has ever made it to the second round of elections in the past. But the ethnic minority's votes, which make up about a quarter of the country's 2.1 million people, have proved crucial to the election of the president in the runoffs.

Source: Fox News World

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U.S. official denounces ‘choreographed’ visits to China’s Xinjiang

FILE PHOTO: With Xinjiang’s fabled Tianshan mountains in the background, what is officially known as a vocational skills education centre is seen in Turpan
FILE PHOTO: With Xinjiang’s fabled Tianshan mountains in the background, what is officially known as a vocational skills education centre is seen in Turpan in Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China September 5, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo

March 24, 2019

By Ben Blanchard

BEIJING (Reuters) – “Highly choreographed” tours to Xinjiang organized by the Chinese government are misleading and propagate false narratives about the troubled region, a U.S. official said, after China announced plans to invite European envoys to visit.

China has been stepping up a push to counter growing criticism in the West and among rights groups about a controversial de-radicalization program in heavily Muslim Xinjiang, which borders Central Asia.

Critics say China is operating internment camps for Uighurs and other Muslim peoples who live in Xinjiang, though the government calls them vocational training centers and says it has a genuine need to prevent extremist thinking and violence.

China’s foreign ministry said late last week it would invite Beijing-based European diplomats to visit soon. Diplomatic sources said the so-far informal invitation had gone specifically to ambassadors and was planned for this week.

A U.S. government official, asked by Reuters if the U.S. ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, had been invited to visit Xinjiang, said there were no meetings or visits to announce.

“Highly choreographed and chaperoned government-led tours in Xinjiang have propagated false narratives and obfuscated the realities of China’s ongoing human rights abuses in the region,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The visit this month would be the first by a large group of Western diplomats to the region since international concern about Xinjiang’s security clampdown began intensifying last year. Hundreds have died in unrest in Xinjiang in recent years.

Several groups of diplomats from other countries have already been brought to Xinjiang on tightly scripted trips since late December to visit the facilities.

There have been two visits by groups including European diplomats to Xinjiang this year. One was a small group of EU diplomats, and the other by a group of diplomats from a broader mix of countries, including missions from Greece, Hungary and North African and Southeast Asian states.

A Reuters journalist visited on a government-organized trip in January.

The U.S. official described what was happening in Xinjiang as “a highly repressive campaign”, and said claims that the facilities were “humane job-training centers” or “boarding schools” were not credible.

“We will continue to call on China to end these counterproductive policies, free all those who have been arbitrarily detained, and cease efforts to coerce members of its Muslim minority groups residing abroad to return to China to face an uncertain fate.”

China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China has rejected all foreign criticism of its policies in Xinjiang, and says it invites foreigners to visit to help them better understand the region.

Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department said China’s treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang marked the worst human rights abuses “since the 1930s”.

The issue of Xinjiang adds another irritant to already strained ties between Washington and Beijing, who are trying to end a bitter trade war and have several other areas of disagreement, including the disputed South China Sea and U.S. support for Chinese-claimed Taiwan.

Late last year, more than a dozen ambassadors from Western countries, including France, Britain, Germany and the EU’s top envoy in Beijing, wrote to the government to seek a meeting with Xinjiang’s top official, Communist Party chief Chen Quanguo, to discuss their concerns about the rights situation.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has weighed sanctions against senior Chinese officials in Xinjiang, including Chen.

Two diplomatic sources told Reuters on Saturday that government officials had said a meeting with Chen was not being offered to the European ambassadors, and that the trip was not to discuss human rights but to talk about China-Europe cooperation on President Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road project.

It remains unclear whether they would accept the invitation, though the two sources said it was unlikely.

The European Union’s embassy in Beijing has declined to comment on the invitation.

Xi is currently in Europe on a state visit to Italy, Monaco and France. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang goes to Brussels next month for a China-EU summit.

EU leaders said on Friday the bloc must recognize that China is as much a competitor as a partner.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by John Ruwitch in SHANGHAI; Editing by Sam Holmes)

Source: OANN

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Bernie Sanders Raises Over $1 Million in 3 Hours

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., raised more than $1 million in a few hours after announcing his campaign for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, The Hill reports.

Sanders raised about $1 million in just over three hours after he officially announced his bid Tuesday morning, according to his campaign. This puts him on the course to outpace the $1.5 million that Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., raised in 24 hours last month, after she announced her campaign for the nomination. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, raised $1 million in 48 hours after announcing her candidacy earlier this month.

Axios reports that the Sanders campaign collected donations from 42,000 individuals on Tuesday. In 2016, his campaign touted an average donation of just $27 to emphasize his grassroots support.

"I wanted to let the people of the state of Vermont know about this first," Sanders said in an interview with Vermont Public Radio after his official announcement was released. "And what I promise to do is, as I go around the country, is to take the values that all of us in Vermont are proud of — a belief in justice, in community, in grassroots politics, in town meetings — that's what I'm going to carry all over this country."

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Revulsion in Northern Ireland over riot, fatal shooting

The dramatic riot in Londonderry last week was starkly reminiscent of the violence that plagued Northern Ireland for decades before the 1998 peace agreement. The result was both tragic and familiar: the death of a young journalist, apparently hit by a stray bullet.

Here are answers to some questions about the Thursday night riot:

HOW WAS THE JOURNALIST KILLED?

The riot started Thursday evening, after police in Northern Ireland moved into the Creggan housing complex in Londonderry, searching for weapons and members of dissident groups. They were pelted with gasoline bombs and other objects, and several armored police cars were set alight.

The riot attracted a crowd of residents and journalists. At one point, a gunman wearing a balaclava stepped out from behind a building, fired shots at the police and then took cover. No police were hit, but a bullet struck 29-year-old journalist Lyra McKee in the head, killing her.

McKee had been well known for writing about the struggles of growing up gay in Belfast and about the legacy of violence in Northern Ireland. Her funeral is scheduled for Wednesday in Belfast.

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WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR HER DEATH?

A small group called the New IRA admitted responsibility Tuesday for the journalist's death and apologized to McKee's partner and family. The unusual apology may be seen as a response to the overwhelming public condemnation of the shooting and the nearly universal grief at McKee's death.

The New IRA, which has been increasingly violent in recent years, does not accept the Irish Republican Army's historic decision to lay down its arms and pursue a political settlement, a strategy that led to the signing of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement. The New IRA believes challenging the British presence in Northern Ireland is the best way to achieve its longtime goal of a united Ireland.

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WHERE IS THE POLICE INVESTIGATION NOW?

Two teenagers were arrested in the case last weekend but were released without being charged. A 57-year-old woman was arrested under the Terrorism Act on Tuesday morning but has not been identified or charged. Police have not said what role she is suspected of playing

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IS THE 'NEW IRA' THE SAME AS THE OLD IRA?

No. The IRA that spearheaded decades of violence in Northern Ireland known as "The Troubles" was extremely well organized and had some international political support as well as overseas connections that provided weapons and explosives. The IRA and its political leaders Gerry Adams and the late Martin McGuinness declared a cease-fire in 1994 and, through its political wing Sinn Fein, helped bring about the 1998 agreement that set up a power-sharing government that includes those who want a united Ireland and unionists who want continued ties with the United Kingdom.

The IRA no longer functions as an armed movement, but some small dissident groups have not put down their arms. Of these, the New IRA has the highest profile, but they have very little political support in the general population.

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WILL THE VIOLENCE GET WORSE?

The use of firearms aimed at police Thursday night marked an escalation, and follows a trend set in January when the New IRA was responsible for a car bombing that caused no injuries in Londonderry, which is typically called Derry by residents who resent the British presence.

The group also claimed responsibility for a series of letter bombs sent to the British mainland recently. British security services are spending more time and resources monitoring dissidents in Northern Ireland and have judged the threat of more terrorism in Northern Ireland as "severe."

But the dissident groups do not seem to be gaining public backing and the apparently accidental killing of McKee seems to have sparked a backlash against violence.

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IS BREXIT MAKING IT WORSE?

There is great uncertainty about whether a hard border will be put into place between Ireland and Northern Ireland when Britain leaves the European Union. After Brexit time, that now-invisible border will also become the border between the U.K. and the EU, which may necessitate identity and customs checks.

Politicians, academics and police have warned that any new border posts may well become targets for dissident groups — much like they were back in the violent "Troubles" era.

Source: Fox News World

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Violence in some areas of Colombia has worsened since peace deal, Red Cross says

Christoph Harnisch, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Colombia, poses for a photo after a news conference in Bogota
Christoph Harnisch, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Colombia, poses for a photo after a news conference in Bogota, Colombia March 28, 2019. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

March 28, 2019

BOGOTA (Reuters) – Violence in some regions of Colombia has worsened significantly since the 2016 signing of a peace deal with Marxist rebels, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Thursday.

Problems include mass displacements and injuries from landmines, as a power vacuum created by the demobilization of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) left smaller armed groups fighting for control of the lucrative drug trade.

Improving the situation will require a robust response from all parts of the government, the ICRC said, including the provision of basic services to the most deprived areas.

The FARC, the country’s largest rebel group, demobilized after signing an accord in late 2016 with the government to end more than five decades of war.

But implementation of the deal has been fraught. President Ivan Duque, who took office last year, has criticized it for being too lenient on rebels and is asking Congress to approve changes to a tribunal meant to try guerrillas for war crimes.

And conflict continues between the government, FARC members who refused to demobilize, the smaller ELN rebel group and crime gangs, the ICRC said.

Conditions are especially bad in provinces like Choco, Cauca, Arauca and Norte de Santander, where armed groups are fighting for control of drug trafficking routes and coca plantations.

“These civilian populations are in a more difficult situation than before,” ICRC delegation head Christoph Harnisch told journalists. “Peace did not reach these areas.”

Those battles meant mass displacement increased by more than 90 percent last year, affecting 27,780 people, the organization said.

The number of land mine victims, more than half of whom were civilians, climbed last year by more than 280 percent to 221 people, the ICRC said. Thirty-one died of their injuries.

Duque’s government will need to bring more state resources to bear in these areas to improve the situation, Harnisch said, citing the need for health centers and other services.

“The answer cannot just be one of security – the answer must be from all of the government,” he said.

The arrival of more than 1 million Venezuelan migrants, fleeing food shortages and an ongoing political crisis in their country, has put additional pressure on deprived areas, he said.

Migrants are especially vulnerable to extortion or forced recruitment by armed groups and need access to healthcare and utilities.

“The response (to Venezuelan migration) up to now has been very generous, but it needs more structure and a more long-term strategy,” Harnisch said.

(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb; Editing by Helen Murphy and Rosalba O’Brien)

Source: OANN

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The Latest: Nigeria opposition leader rejects poll results

The Latest on Nigeria's election results (all times local):

10:35 a.m.

Nigeria's top opposition candidate is rejecting the results of what he calls a "sham election" and says he will be challenging it in court.

The statement by Atiku Abubakar was shared by aides on Wednesday morning, a few hours after the electoral commission declared President Muhammadu Buhari the winner of Saturday's election by nearly 4 million votes.

Abubakar's statement says he could have conceded "within seconds" if the vote had been free and fair, but it alleges "manifest and premeditated malpractices" in many of Nigeria's 36 states.

The statement asserts that voting was suppressed in Abubakar's strongholds in the south and that states where an extremist insurgency continues generated "much higher voter turnouts" than in peaceful states. It also objects to the deployment of the military in some areas.

Abubakar's statement adds that "I have never seen our democracy so debased."

It does not say when a court challenge will be lodged.

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Nigeria's president was declared the clear winner of a second term in Africa's largest democracy early Wednesday, after a campaign in which he urged voters to give him another chance to tackle gaping corruption, widespread insecurity and an economy limping back from a rare recession.

While many frustrated Nigerians had said they wanted to give someone new a try, President Muhammadu Buhari , a former military dictator, profited from his upright reputation in an oil-rich nation weary of politicians enriching themselves instead of the people.

Speaking shortly after the announcement of the official results and as many Nigerians awakened to the morning prayer, Buhari told colleagues that he was "deeply humbled" by the win. He also said he regretted the loss of dozens of lives in election-related violence.

"I will like to make a special appeal to my supporters not to gloat or humiliate the opposition. Victory is enough reward for your efforts," said Buhari.

He pledged that in his second term, his new administration "will intensify its efforts in security, restructuring the economy and fighting corruption. ... We will strive to strengthen our unity and inclusiveness so that no section or group will feel left behind or left out."

Supporters began dancing in the streets of the capital, Abuja, on Tuesday night as vote counting stretched his lead from the weekend election to nearly 4 million votes over top opposition challenger Atiku Abubakar, a billionaire former vice president who made sweeping campaign promises to "make Nigeria work again."

Buhari received 15.1 million votes, or 55 percent, the electoral commission said in making its official declaration. Abubakar received 11.2 million, or 41 percent. The average national turnout was 35.6 percent, continuing a downward trend.

In a failed last-ditch effort to stop the official declaration, Abubakar's party claimed that election data had been manipulated and demanded fresh elections in four of Nigeria's 36 states.

Buhari's party rejected the accusations. It also called on Abubakar, who hasn't made a public appearance since Saturday's election, to accept his loss gracefully and concede. "Let this nation move forward," campaign spokesman Babatunde Fashola said.

"There's no opposition that will roll over and play dead. Anybody that lost an election will always complain," Hameed Ali, the ruling party agent attending the vote declaration, told reporters.

The election, once described as too close to call, suffered from a surprise weeklong postponement and significant delays in the opening of polling stations. While election observers called the process generally peaceful, at least 53 people were killed in an attack claimed by the Islamic State West Africa Province extremist group and other violence, analysis unit SBM Intelligence said.

It remained to be seen whether Abubakar will follow through on pledges to accept a loss, or challenge the results. A former U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, John Campbell, said the troubled election had given the candidates grounds to go to the courts. That route could take months.

Many Nigerians have prayed for peace. They were surprised in 2015 when President Goodluck Jonathan took the unprecedented step of conceding to Buhari before official results were announced. It was the first defeat of an incumbent president by the opposition in the country's history.

"Jonathan set the benchmark on how electoral outcomes should be handled," Chris Kwaja, a senior adviser to the United States Institute of Peace, a U.S. government-backed institution promoting conflict resolution worldwide, told The Associated Press. "Accept defeat in the spirit of sportsmanship. This is a critical vehicle for democratic consolidation."

Nigerians were praised for their patience and resilience in this bumpy vote.

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Anna reported from Kano, Nigeria. Associated Press writer Sam Olukoya in Lagos, Nigeria, contributed to this report.

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Follow AP's full coverage of the Nigeria elections here: https://www.apnews.com/Nigeria

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Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

Source: Fox News World

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Standard Chartered to cut costs, divest businesses in fresh growth strategy

FILE PHOTO: People pass by the logo of Standard Chartered plc at the SIBOS banking and financial conference in Toronto
FILE PHOTO: People pass by the logo of Standard Chartered plc at the SIBOS banking and financial conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

February 26, 2019

By Sumeet Chatterjee and Lawrence White

HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) – Standard Chartered PLC on Tuesday said it would cut $700 million in costs and exit smaller businesses, as part of the lender’s new three-year strategy overhaul to boost growth.

The bank plans to achieve return on tangible equity of at least 10 percent by 2021, from 5.1 percent last year, and intends to distribute to shareholders surplus capital not deployed to fund additional growth.

Earnings growth and divestment are likely to generate that surplus capital, it said in the earnings statement, adding planned exits and the run-down of low-return businesses include discontinuing ship leasing and completing the sale of its private equity arm.

“We will achieve this through relentlessly focusing on where we have a distinct competitive advantage, attacking the residual causes of lower returns and ramping-up innovation and productivity,” Chief Executive Bill Winters said in a statement.

StanChart shares have fallen 40 percent since Winters, a former JPMorgan Chase & Co banker, took over the bank in June 2015. Last year, the bank’s London shares dropped 22 percent compared with a 15.6 percent fall for rival HSBC Holdings.

The 150-year-old lender’s new strategy comes at a time when its core emerging markets face increasing risk of slowdown due to the impact of the Sino-U.S. trade war as well as economic uncertainties in China and Britain, two of its main markets.

StanChart, which generates the bulk of its revenue in Asia, has seen its fortunes slump in recent years as restructuring under Winters repaired a balance sheet hit by excessive lending in the previous decade, but left the bank struggling to lift profit.

Winters, in additions to cutting risky lending, has also worked to improve senior bankers’ accountability and exit some businesses.

To stimulate growth, StanChart has poured money into retail banking and wealth management technology platforms, a move which led to a surge in costs but has yet to yield significant return.

Chief Financial Officer Andy Halford told staff in October the bank had made “virtually no progress” in meeting cost targets and urged managers to consider cutting jobs, paring back travel expenses and freezing recruitment.

The bank’s costs grew 2 percent in 2018 to $10.1 billion. However, it said, “continued cost discipline” would enable sustained investment.

Hong Kong shares in StanChart extended their morning gains to be up more than 2.6 percent in the afternoon session, while the main Hong Kong market index was trading down 0.6 percent.

Earlier, the bank posted a 5.5 percent rise in 2018 pre-tax profit, pulled down by $900 million in provisions set aside to cover any impact from regulatory investigations in the United States and Britain.

StanChart last week said the provision related to the potential resolution of U.S. investigations into alleged sanctions violations and foreign exchange trades.

The emerging markets-focused bank booked profit of $2.55 billion, versus $2.42 billion in 2017.

Before provision for regulatory matters, restructuring and other items, StanChart reported a profit of $3.9 billion, compared with the $3.9 billion average of 16 analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee in HONG KONG and Lawrence White in LONDON; Additional reporting by Alun John; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

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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