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Thai parties hold final campaign rallies before election

Thailand's main political parties have held their final major rallies ahead of Sunday's general election, urging their supporters on and highlighting policies they hope will bring them victory.

The polls follow five years of military rule that began with a coup during a long-running battle for power between supporters and opponents of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by an earlier coup in 2006.

The main parties' prime ministerial candidates spoke at rallies held in stadiums in Bangkok. They included Prayuth Chan-ocha, who heads the current military regime, and Sudarat Keyuraphan, representing Thaksin's political machine, the army's main antagonist.

Source: Fox News World

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Boost to India’s ruling party from terror strike waning ahead of election: poll

FILE PHOTO: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses an election campaign rally in Meerut
FILE PHOTO: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures as he addresses an election campaign rally in Meerut in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, India, March 28, 2019. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo

March 30, 2019

By Subrat Patnaik

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The potential benefits accruing to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling alliance from a spike in nationalist sentiment following recent clashes with arch rival Pakistan might be waning, results of a nationwide opinion poll suggested.

Tensions with neighboring Pakistan soared after a suicide bomb attack in the Indian part of the disputed Kashmir region killed 40 Indian paramilitary police last month. The bombing was claimed by a Pakistan-based militant group.

That led national sentiment on security and terror-related issues in India to peak at nearly 29 percent in early March after India retaliated with airstrikes on a suspected militant camp in northern Pakistan, according to CVoter polling agency.

However, it has since waned to about 15 percent, as tensions have cooled, the agency said, citing its daily tracker of national sentiment.

Graphic link to India’s national sentiment: https://tmsnrt.rs/2CV8OSj

“A cliff-fall for (the) security narrative complicates BJP’s positioning as this is one issue where BJP comprehensively dominates the Congress and in fact entire opposition,” CVoter said, referring to Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that will face off against the main opposition Congress in the general election scheduled to begin on April 11.

Pollsters say the airstrikes and nationalist rhetoric had diverted attention away from socio-economic issues, including increasing unemployment and an agrarian crisis, that critics have often used to lambaste Modi’s policies.

The new poll numbers suggest those issues may be back on voters’ minds, CVoter said.

At election rallies in recent weeks the BJP has played up the airstrikes and a subsequent anti-satellite missile test that Modi hailed as making India a military space power. Some opposition parties criticized the anti-satellite test announcement as a political gimmick.

“The impact of mission Shakti (anti-satellite missile) test is anticipated to show in the next few days,” CVoter said.

A coalition led by Modi’s BJP is widely expected to retain power in the looming general election, the world’s biggest democratic exercise with about 900 million eligible voters. Final results of the vote will be available on May 23.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

India’s national sentiment (interactive link) https://tmsnrt.rs/2CV8OSj

India’s national sentiment https://tmsnrt.rs/2CIlbAU

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

(Additional reporting by Zeba Siddiqui in New Delhi; EDiting by Shri Navaratnam)

Source: OANN

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FBI head says agency has no desire to move its headquarters

FILE PHOTO - FBI headquaters is seen after Special Counsel Mueller handed in his report on Trump-Russia investigation in Washington
FILE PHOTO - A pedestrian walks past the headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) after Special Counsel Robert Mueller handed in his report to Attorney General William Barr on his investigation into Russia's role in the 2016 presidential election and any potential wrongdoing by U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, U.S., March 22, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

April 4, 2019

By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – FBI Director Chris Wray on Thursday defended the Trump administration’s decision to abandon plans to relocate the bureau’s crumbling and outdated headquarters to Virginia or Maryland, saying he prefers to build a new state-of-the-art facility at its current location in downtown Washington, D.C.

“It is the FBI’s view that the best balance of equities for the men and women of the FBI is to be here downtown, ideally in our current location,” Wray said in testimony during a U.S. House of Representatives appropriations hearing.

“Building a new building in that location gives us both the ability to have a level five security facility to significantly grow the number of people we can have there but also … make sure our folks are within close proximity to the hundreds and hundreds of meetings that they have with their partners every day all within about a mile and a half of our current location.”

Democrats in the U.S. House have been probing the abrupt move by the FBI in 2017 to abandon long-standing plans to relocate its headquarters outside of the capital.

At the heart of their concerns is whether President Donald Trump may have improperly intervened in the FBI’s decision-making out of self-interest, in order to protect the nearby Trump Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue from any potential competition by developers who may want to erect a new hotel at the FBI’s current location.

Prior to taking office in January 2017, Trump supported the FBI’s relocation plans, according to Democrats involved in the probe.

Last fall, Congressional Democrats released an email which revealed that a White House-backed proposal for a new FBI building at the agency’s existing headquarters would result in a “less secure facility” and have a “higher per seat cost” than an earlier plan to move the FBI to the suburbs.

The decision to abandon the FBI’s relocation plans preceded Wray, who became director last August.

“When I came into this job, the previous project had already been canceled,” he testified. “I wasn’t involved in that part of it. I came into it with a blank slate.”

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Alistair Bell)

Source: OANN

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Pelosi slams Trump over attack on Muslim congresswoman using 9/11 images

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) addresses the North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) 2019 legislative conference in Washington
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) addresses the North America's Building Trades Unions (NABTU) 2019 legislative conference in Washington, U.S., April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

April 13, 2019

By Jan Wolfe

(Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized President Donald Trump on Saturday for a Twitter post that used 9/11 imagery while suggesting Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, a Muslim, was dismissive of the New York attacks.

“The memory of 9/11 is sacred ground, and any discussion of it must be done with reverence,” Pelosi said in a statement posted on Twitter. “The President shouldn’t use the painful images of 9/11 for a political attack.”

On Friday, Trump tweeted a video suggesting that Omar, a Democratic U.S. representative from Minnesota, was dismissive of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The video spliced news footage of 9/11 with a clip from a speech Omar gave last month in which she described the terror attack as “some people did something.”

The Trump tweet included the words “WE WILL NEVER FORGET!”

In Omar’s speech, given to a Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, she said Muslims had “lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen and, frankly, I’m tired of it, and every single Muslim in this country should be tired of it.”

Omar said the advocacy group recognized that “some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties.”

Lawmakers from Trump’s Republican party have accused Omar of minimizing the 9/11 attacks, while critics of the president say he took Omar’s words out of context in order to stoke anti-Muslim sentiment.

(Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Source: OANN

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Terminally ill Wisconsin girl who loves dogs visited by K-9 officers, nearly 40 police departments

A young Wisconsin girl with an inoperable brain tumor and a love of dogs experienced quite the day when nearly 40 different police departments from around the state — including K-9 officers — visited her at home.

In January, 7-year-old Emma Mertens was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma, a rare brain tumor, as Fox 6 reported. Soon after her diagnosis, Mertens asked people for photos of their dogs.

During the time since, Mertens, of Hartland, roughly 25 miles west of Milwaukee, has received countless letters and photos from friends and supporters trying to cheer her up.

And on Saturday, she received an even bigger act of kindness when K-9 officers from close to 40 different police departments stopped by her house.

"Today, just a few of us (roughly 40) stopped by to see Emma," the Hartford Police Department wrote in a Facebook post. "She had no idea we were coming so she was VERY excited. What an amazing and strong little girl. It was such a great morning."

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Photos of the happy day show the officers and the K-9s lined up to see Mertens. Her family wrote online that," There are no words....Pure Joy!" in response to the 7-year-old's special visit.

"Thank you to everyone who took the time to organize and participate in this. Emma is still all smiles! Over 35 different departments and many more K9s and officers," her family wrote.

Source: Fox News National

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Shopocalypse Now! 5,994 Stores Already Closed In 2019, Blowing Past 2018’s Full Year Total

2018 ended on an optimistic note for retailers with strong consumer spending “data” and what was widely considered to be an unexpected comeback for many brick and mortar stores.

While that may have been fun while it lasted, the carnage and pressure on the retail sector has once again been ramped backed up, resulting in a breakneck pace for store closings to start 2019.

In a start to the year that can only be described as absolutely demoralizingfor the industry, 5,994 stores have closed in the US so far this year, which is already more than last year‘s total of 5,864, according to Real Deal and WSJ. And retail sales have begun falling again recently, down 0.2% in February from a month earlier, after being up 0.7% in January. Retail sales fell 1.2% in December.

Mall vacancy rates ticked up in the first quarter to 9.3% from 9% in the fourth quarter of 2018.


Ana Lai, an analyst at S&P Global Ratings said:“I don’t think malls are out of the woods yet.”

S&P still has a negative outlook on the United States retail sector overall and predicts that roughly 12 of the 136 retailers that it rates will wind up defaulting this year. This is an astonishing four times the average annual rate.

And as retailers continue to struggle, mall owners are also facing financial difficulties. Some malls have even pushed back their opening dates. For instance, the opening of the American Dream retail and entertainment center in the Meadowlands in New Jersey, which was originally supposed to open in the spring, has already been pushed back to late summer. The Empire Outlets shopping center on Staten Island is now scheduled to open in May, after it was initially planned to open last fall.

Finally, one of the country’s largest malls, Destiny USA in Syracuse, recently saw its mortgage taken over by a special servicer. And even though the mall owner, Pyramid Management Group, says that it is trying to discuss an extension, the servicer is expecting a default from the owner in June.

A Pyramid spokesperson said:

“Destiny USA has experienced tenant closures, just as other properties across the country have on the brick and mortar front. We have and will continue to fill those spaces with new and exciting uses as we work to ensure the health, vibrancy and longevity of the center.”

Just four months into 2019, we have already seen bankruptcies or store closings from companies like Payless Shoesource, Gymboree and Charlotte Russe.

UBS has estimated that another 75,000 stores will have to close by 2026 if online retail continues to rise from its current 16% market penetration to its expected 25%.

GDP

We documented in early March when major chains such as Gap, JCPenney, Victoria’s Secret and Foot Locker all announced massive closures, totaling more than 465 stores over the course of just 48 hours. Back in February, we noted  that default rates on retail junk bonds had risen to 10.2% as of December, according to Fitch Ratings, more than double the level from the same period in 2017.



Alex Jones presents a video of Lou Dobbs during his Fox program where he warns his viewers that the French investigation into what exactly started the Notre Dame fire may be covering up the very realistic possibility of arson for what he calls “political reasons.”

Source: InfoWars

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Watergate Prosecutor: Harsh Sentence Can Make Manafort Cooperate

The power of a real threat of a lifetime in prison should not be underestimated to convince President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort to cooperate with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, Nick Akerman, former assistant special Watergate prosecutor, wrote in an opinion piece for NBC News on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, Mueller's office agreed with the probation department's guideline that Manafort should be sentenced to a prison term of between 19 to 24 years, meaning that for the 69-year-old Manafort it would essentially be a life sentence.

Akerman wrote the press has virtually ignored the possibility of Manafort cooperating due to this threat on the wrong assumption his "long trail of lies and duplicitous dealings with the government nullifies his ability to be an effective witness."

Ackerman stressed his experience as a prosecutor demonstrates this is not necessarily the case.

First of all, Ackerman points out it is not too late for Manafort to cooperate, because he has up to one year after his sentencing to ask the court for a reduction of sentence based on cooperation.

Although lying does not help a witness' credibility, Ackerman said that as a prosecutor he regularly won convictions with witnesses whose past crimes and lies did not preclude them from being effective witnesses and telling the truth.

This is because, he said, "The closeness of their relationships to the criminals they testified against made them insiders, with unique access and knowledge . . . and were able to describe in detail to juries the inner workings of those organizations."

Regarding the credibility of Manafort's testimony, Ackerman said much of what he says will also be able to be corroborated by more reliable sources.

Source: NewsMax America

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FILE PHOTO - A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat
FILE PHOTO: A worker sits on a ship carrying containers at Mundra Port in the western Indian state of Gujarat April 1, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – India has once again delayed the implementation of higher tariffs on some goods imported from the United States to May 15, a government official said on Friday.

The new tariff structure was to come into force from May 2, the spokeswoman said without citing reasons for the delay.

Angered by Washington’s refusal to exempt it from new steel and aluminum tariffs, New Delhi decided in June last year to raise the import tax from Aug. 4 on some U.S. products including almonds, walnuts and apples.

But since then, New Delhi has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the new tariff.

Trade friction between India and the U.S. has escalated after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans earlier this year to end preferential trade treatment for India that allows duty-free entry for up to $5.6 billion worth of its exports to the United States.

In a further blow, U.S. on Monday demanded buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers which allowed Iran’s eight biggest buyers including India to continue importing limited volumes.

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar in New Delhi and Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva and Raissa Kasolowsky)

Source: OANN

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One of Joe Biden’s newly-hired senior advisers has seemingly had a very recent change of heart.

Symone Sanders, a prominent Democratic strategist and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., staffer in 2016, was announced as one of the big-name members of Team Biden on Thursday.

But Sanders, who has also served as a CNN contributor, is seen in resurfaced footage from November 2016 expressing her opposition to a white person leading her party after Donald Trump’s election.

“In my opinion, we don’t need white people leading the Democratic party right now,” Sanders told host Brianna Keilar during a discussion on Howard Dean potentially becoming DNC chairman.

BIDEN HIRES FORMER BERNIE SANDERS’ SPOKESPERSON AS SENIOR ADVISER

“The Democratic party is diverse, and it should be reflected as so in leadership and throughout the staff, at the highest levels. From the vice chairs to the secretaries all the way down to the people working in the offices at the DNC,” she said.

Sanders wrapped up her remarks by saying: “I want to hear more from everybody. I want to hear from the millennials and the brown folks.”

Footage of the interview was resurfaced by RealClearPolitics.

After news of her hiring broke on Thursday, Sanders backed her new boss on Twitter.

TRUMP ASSESSES 2020 DEMS; TAKES SWIPES AT BIDEN, SANDERS; DISMISSES HARRIS, O’ROURKE; SAYS HE’S ROOTING FOR BUTTIGIEG

“@JoeBiden & @DrBiden are a class act. Over the course of this campaign, Vice President Biden is going to make his case to the American ppl. He won’t always be perfect, but I believe he will get it right,” she wrote.

The hiring of Sanders has been viewed as another indication of the expected tough fight that Biden and Sanders are in for as the two frontrunners battle a deep Democratic field.

While Sanders himself didn’t torch Biden as he jumped into the race, it’s clear that many of his progressive supporters view the former vice president as a threat.

Biden’s entry into the race – at least in the early going – sets up a battle between himself and Sanders, who thanks to his fierce fight with eventual nominee Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination, enjoys name ID on the level of the former vice president.

BIDEN VOWS THAT ‘AMERICA IS COMING BACK,’ SPARKING ‘MAGA’ COMPARISONS

Justice Democrats — who also called Biden “out-of-touch” – is an increasingly influential group among the left of the party. They’ve championed progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York as well as Sanders. The group was founded by members of Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.

Biden has pushed back against the perception that he’s a moderate in a party that’s increasingly moving to the left. Earlier this month he described himself as an “Obama-Biden Democrat.”

And Biden said he’d stack his record against “anybody who has run or who is running now or who will run.”

Former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile – a Fox News contributor – highlighted that “Joe Biden can occupy his own lane in large part because he’s earned it. He’s earned the right to call himself whatever.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

But she emphasized that “elections are not about the past, they’re about the future…I do believe he has the right ingredients. The question is can he find enough people to help him stir the pot.”

Fox News Andrew O’Reilly contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh, who is facing increased calls for her immediate resignation, remains in poor health and is not “lucid” enough to decide whether to step down, her attorney told reporters late Thursday.

Steve Silverman, speaking outside one of Pugh’s residences which was raided by the FBI and IRS earlier in the day, said the embattled city leader could make a decision as early as next week.

“She is leaning toward making the best decision in the best interest in the citizens of Baltimore City,” he said, adding that Pugh has “several options” to consider.

“She just needs to be physically and mentally sound and lucid enough to make appropriate decisions.”

BALTIMORE MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH, ON LEAVE AMID BOOK PROBE, HAS HOMES AND CITY HALL OFFICE RAIDED BY FEDS

Silverman said Pugh met with a doctor at home Thursday and plans to do so again Friday, the Baltimore Sun reported.

In the latest image-tarnishing scandal for struggling Baltimore, the first-term Democratic mayor faces accusations that she used children’s book deals to cover up kickbacks for favorable treatment as a state lawmaker and city leader that earned her roughly $800,000 over several years.

BALTIMORE’S ACTING MAYOR SAYS HE ‘WOULD HATE TO SEE’ EMBATTLED MAYOR RETURN AFTER BOOK SCANDALS

As a state senator, 69-year-old Pugh sold $500,000 worth of her self-published “Healthy Holly” illustrated paperbacks to the University of Maryland Medical System, a major state employer whose board she sat on for nearly 20 years.

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Baltimore police officers stand outside the house of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Pugh and also in City Hall. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

UMMS reportedly paid Pugh for 100,000 copies of her books between 2011 and 2018 with the stated intention of distributing the books to schools and day care centers. But some 50,000 copies remain unaccounted for and officials are probing if they were even printed.

Pugh also made $300,000 in bulk sales to other customers including health carriers that did business with the city of Baltimore.

BALTIMORE CITY COUNCIL CALLS ON EMBATTLED MAYOR CATHERINE PUGH TO RESIGN IMMEDIATELY

The politically isolated Pugh slipped out of sight on April 1 after a hastily organized press conference where she called her no-contract book deals a “regrettable mistake.” That same day, Maryland’s governor called on the state prosecutor to investigate allegations of “self-dealing.”

Pugh took an indefinite leave of absence, citing her health deteriorating intensely after a bout with pneumonia.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide.

Federal agents arrive at the Maryland Center for Adult Training in Baltimore. MD, Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall, as well as the office of her lawyer and the home of a top aide. (Loyd Fox/Baltimore Sun via AP)

On Thursday morning, agents with the FBI and IRS searched her two Baltimore homes, her City Hall offices, and a nonprofit organization she once led. The home of at least one of Pugh’s aides was also scoured.

Silverman said federal agents also served a subpoena at his law firm, retrieving Pugh’s original financial records. They did not seek any attorney-client privileged communications, he said.

Pugh’s attorney said she was “emotionally extremely distraught” following the searches by FBI and IRS agents.

“There was nothing incriminating that came out of her home,” Silverman said.

UMMS spokesman Michael Schwartzberg told reporters that the medical system received a grand jury witness subpoena seeking documents and information related to Pugh.

Other probes against Pugh include a review by the city ethics board and the Maryland Insurance Administration.

BALTIMORE MAYOR’S $500G DEAL FOR ‘HEALTHY HOLLY’ CHILDREN’S BOOKS DRAWS SCRUTINY

In recent weeks, the calls for Pugh’s resignation have intensified with the strongest voice coming from Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who did not mince words after Thursday’s early morning raids.

“Now more than ever, Baltimore City needs strong and responsible leadership. Mayor Pugh has lost the public trust,” he said. “She is clearly not fit to lead. For the good of the city, Mayor Pugh must resign.”

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall.

Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service agents search the home of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh in Baltimore, MD., Thursday, April 25, 2019. Agents with the FBI and IRS are gathering evidence inside the two homes of Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and in City Hall. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun via AP)

Many of her fellow Democrats, including those on Baltimore’s demoralized City Council and state lawmakers, are also insisting that Pugh put the citizens’ interests above any attempt to preserve her political career.

City Council member Brandon Scott called the Thursday raids “an embarrassment to the city.”

However, only a conviction can trigger a mayor’s removal from office, according to the city solicitor. Baltimore’s mayor-friendly City Charter currently provides no options for ousting its executive.

Six of Pugh’s staffers joined her on paid leave earlier this month; three of them were fired this week by the acting mayor.

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Pugh came to office in late 2016 after edging out ex-Mayor Sheila Dixon, who had spent much of her tenure fighting corruption charges before being forced to depart office in 2010 as part of a plea deal connected to the misappropriation of about $500 in gift cards meant for needy families.

She would certainly face a bruising 2020 Democratic primary if she were to return and run for reelection. Veteran City Council leader Bernard “Jack” Young, who is serving as acting mayor, said as she went on leave that he would merely be a placeholder. But this week, before the raids, he said “it could be devastating for her” if she tried to return.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad
FILE PHOTO: Cases of Pepsi are shown for sale at a store in Carlsbad, California, U.S., April 22, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Amit Dave and Mayank Bhardwaj

AHMEDABAD/NEW DELHI (Reuters) – PepsiCo Inc has sued four Indian farmers for cultivating a potato variety that the snack food and drinks maker claims infringes its patent, the company and the growers said on Friday.

Pepsi has sued the farmers for cultivating the FC5 potato variety, exclusively grown for its popular Lay’s potato chips. The FC5 variety has a lower moisture content required to make snacks such as potato chips.

PepsiCo is seeking more than 10 million rupees ($142,840.82) each for alleged patent infringement.

The farmers grow potatoes in the western state of Gujarat, a leading producer of India’s most consumed vegetable.

“We have been growing potatoes for a long time and we didn’t face this problem ever, as we’ve mostly been using the seeds saved from one harvest to plant the next year’s crop,” said Bipin Patel, one of the four farmers sued by Pepsi.

Patel did not say how he came by the PepsiCo variety.

A court in Ahmedabad, the business hub of Gujarat, on Friday agreed to hear the case on June 12, said Anand Yagnik, the lawyer for the farmers.

“In this instance, we took judicial recourse against people who were illegally dealing in our registered variety,” A PepsiCo India spokesman said. “This was done to protect our rights and safeguard the larger interest of farmers that are engaged with us and who are using and benefiting from seeds of our registered variety.”

PepsiCo, which set up its first potato chips plant in India in 1989, supplies the FC5 potato variety to a group of farmers who in turn sell their produce to the company at a fixed price.

The All India Kisan Sabha, or All India Farmers’ Forum, has asked the Indian government to protect the farmers.

The farmers’ forum has also called for a boycott of PepsiCo’s Lay’s chips and the company’s other products.

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

PepsiCo is the second major U.S. company in India to face issues over patent infringement.

Stung by a long-standing intellectual property dispute, seed maker Monsanto, which is now owned by German drugmaker Bayer AG, withdrew from some businesses in India over a cotton-seed dispute with farmers, Reuters reported in 2017. (reut.rs/2ncBknn)

(Reporting by Amit Dave in AHMEDABAD and Mayank Bhardwaj in NEW DELHI; Editing by Martin Howell and Louise Heavens)

Source: OANN

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FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the NYSE in New York
FILE PHOTO: The Archer Daniels Midland Co (ADM) logo is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By P.J. Huffstutter and Shradha Singh

CHICAGO/BENGALURU (Reuters) – Archer Daniels Midland Co said on Friday it was considering spinning off its ethanol business after slim biofuel margins and Midwestern floods slammed the U.S. grains merchant’s profit, which tumbled 41 percent in the first quarter.

ADM said it was creating an ethanol subsidiary, which will include dry mills in Columbus, Nebraska; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Peoria, Illinois.

The ethanol subsidiary will report as an independent segment, the company said, allowing options “which may include, but are not limited to, a potential spin-off of the business to existing ADM shareholders.”

Results were hit by the “bomb cyclone” blizzards that devastated the Midwest and Great Plains this year, causing massive flooding across Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, washing out rail lines and wreaking havoc in the moving and processing of corn, soybeans and wheat. One-sixth of U.S. ethanol production was halted.

In March, ADM warned Wall Street that flooding and severe winter weather in the U.S. Midwest would reduce its first-quarter operating profit by $50 million to $60 million.

“The first quarter proved more challenging than initially expected,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Juan Luciano, with earnings down in its starches, sweeteners and bioproducts unit. Luciano said impacts of the severe weather ultimately “were on the high side of our initial estimates”.

Ongoing problems in the ethanol industry added to the problems and “limited margins and opportunities” for ADM, Luciano said.

The ethanol industry has been in the midst of a historic downswing due to the U.S.-China trade war, excess domestic supply and weak margins.

ADM, which had been an ethanol pioneer, signaled to Wall Street in 2016 that it was hunting for options and considering sales of its U.S. dry ethanol mills. Luciano told Reuters this year that offers ADM had received for the mills were too low.

In addition, ADM said it planned to repurpose its corn wet mill in Marshall, Minnesota, to produce higher volumes of food and industrial-grade starches.

Other major traders are alsy trying to distance themselves from struggling ethanol businesses. Louis Dreyfus Company BV spun off its Brazilian sugar and ethanol business Biosev in 2013. Rival Bunge sold its sugar book and has sought a buyer for its Brazilian mills since 2013.

ADM, which makes money trading, processing and transporting crops, such as corn, soybeans and wheat, has been looking to strengthen its core business. Last month it said it would seek voluntary early retirements of some North American employees and cut jobs as part of a restructuring effort.

The company expects to lower 2019 capital spending by 10 percent to between $800 million and $900 million.

Net earnings attributable to the company fell to $233 million, or 41 cents per share, in the three months ended March 31, from $393 million, or 70 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell to $15.30 billion from $15.53 billion. On an adjusted basis, the company earned 46 cents per share, while analysts on average had estimated 60 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Shradha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta, Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)

Source: OANN

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