Alaska Air Group has confirmed plans to acquire Virgin America in a $4 billion deal.
The merger will create the fifth largest US airline.
The deal will enable Seattle-based Alaska to expand into lucrative hubs such as San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The two boards “unanimously approved” the deal, which will see Alaska acquire Virgin America for $57 a share.
However, Virgin founder Richard Branson said there was “sadly nothing [he] could do to stop” the deal.
It is the first US commercial airline merger since US Airways and American Airlines combined in 2013 to make the world’s largest carrier.
Virgin America, which accounts for about 1.5% of US domestic flight capacity, was listed on the US stock market in 2014 as an offshoot of London-based Virgin Group.
In a company blog, Richard Branson said: “I would be lying if I didn’t admit sadness that our wonderful airline is merging with another.
“Because I’m not American, the US Department of Transportation stipulated I take some of my shares in Virgin America as non-voting shares, reducing my influence over any takeover. So there was sadly nothing I could do to stop it.”
Richard Branson added that consolidation is a trend that “cannot be stopped”, with the four largest airlines now controlling more than 80% of the US market.
Alaska and its partner regional airlines, which in total account for about 5% of US domestic flight capacity, serve more than 100 cities in the US, Canada, Costa Rica and Mexico.
If the deal gets approval from US government regulators and Virgin America shareholders, the companies expect to complete the transaction by January 1, 2017.
Brad Tilden, chairman and chief executive of Alaska Air Group, said: “With our expanded network and strong presence in California, we’ll offer customers more attractive flight options for non-stop travel.”
Virgin America shares surged 40% to $54.52 – just below the offer price – in early trading.
Alaska, which was reported to have beaten competition from rival airline Jet Blue for the company, fell 4.7% to $78.15.
The International Monetary Fund has dismissed reports that it is trying to push Greece towards default as “simply nonsense”.
“The IMF conducts its negotiations in good faith, not by way of threats, and we do not communicate through leaks,” IMF chief Christine Lagarde wrote in a letter to Greek PM Alexis Tsipras.
Christine Lagarde’s letter comes after Wikileaks published a transcript of IMF officials discussing bailout negotiations.
One says a “crisis” could force a deal.
Greece publicly demanded an explanation after the leak, suggesting the comments meant the IMF could be planning to deliberately prolong debt negotiations until the country was close to running out of money.
Christine Lagarde said the “incident” had made her “concerned as to whether we can indeed achieve progress”, but said she had decided to allow the IMF team to return to Athens to continue debt discussions.
However, the IMF chief also warned that the latest bailout deal was “still a good distance away”.
Christine Lagarde said that the IMF could only support a deal that would enable “robust growth” for Greece, while also allowing it to tackle its debt repayments.
In 2015, Greece agreed a multi-billion dollar bailout with the EU and IMF that was needed for the country to avoid bankruptcy and stay in the eurozone.
Talks between Greece, the EU and the IMF on a bailout review, assessing Greece’s progress at implementing money-saving reforms and aimed at unlocking further loans, are due to resume this week.
The review has been suspended twice since January due to disagreement among the lenders over the estimated size of Greece’s fiscal gap by 2018, as well as different opinions on pension reforms and how bad loans are being managed.
“In the interest of the Greek people, we need to bring these negotiations to a speedy conclusion,” wrote Christine Lagarde.
Eleven million documents have been leaked from one of the world’s most secretive companies, Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca.
The confidential documents have revealed how the rich and powerful use tax havens to hide their wealth.
They show how Mossack Fonseca has helped clients launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax.
The company says it has operated beyond reproach for 40 years and has never been charged with criminal wrong-doing.
The documents show links to 72 current or former heads of state in the data, including Iceland’s PM Sigmundur Gunnlaugson, who had an undeclared interest linked to his wife’s wealth and is now facing calls for his resignation.
The files also reveal a suspected billion-dollar money laundering ring involving close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Gerard Ryle, director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), said the documents covered the day-to-day business at Mossack Fonseca over the past 40 years.
The documents also shed light on how Mossack Fonseca offered financial services designed to help business clients hide their wealth.
One wealthy client, American millionaire and life coach Marianna Olszewski, was offered fake ownership records to hide money from the authorities. This is in direct breach of international regulations designed to stop money laundering and tax evasion.
An email from a Mossack Fonseca executive to Marianna Olszewski in January 2009 explains how she could deceive the bank: “We may use a natural person who will act as the beneficial owner… and therefore his name will be disclosed to the bank. Since this is a very sensitive matter, fees are quite high.”
In a statement, Mossack Fonseca said: “Your allegations that we provide structures supposedly designed to hide the identity of the real owners, are completely unsupported and false.
“We do not provide beneficiary services to deceive banks. It is difficult, not to say impossible, not to provide banks with the identity of final beneficiaries and the origin of funds.”
The data also contains secret offshore companies linked to the families and associates of Egypt’s former President Hosni Mubarak, Libya’s former leader Muammar Gaddafi and Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.
It also reveals a suspected billion-dollar money laundering ring that was run by a Russian bank and involved close associates of Vladimir Putin.
The operation was run by Bank Rossiya, which is subject to US and EU sanctions following Russia’s annexation of Crimea.
The documents reveal for the first time how the bank operates.
Money has been channeled through offshore companies, two of which were officially owned by one of the Russian president’s closest friends.
Concert cellist Sergei Roldugin has known Vladimir Putin since they were teenagers and is godfather to the president’s daughter Maria.
On paper, Sergei Roldugin has personally made hundreds of millions of dollars in profits from suspicious deals.
Documents from Sergei Roldugin’s companies state that: “The company is a corporate screen established principally to protect the identity and confidentiality of the ultimate beneficial owner of the company.”
Mossack Fonseca data also shows how Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson had an undeclared interest in Iceland’s failed banks.
Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson has been accused of hiding millions of dollars of investments in his country’s banks behind a secretive offshore company.
Leaked documents show that Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson and his wife bought offshore company Wintris in 2007.
Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson did not declare an interest in the company when entering parliament in 2009. He sold his 50% of Wintris to his wife for $1, eight months later.
He is now facing calls for his resignation. He says he has not broken any rules, and his wife did not benefit financially from his decisions.
The offshore company was used to invest millions of dollars of inherited money, according to a document signed by Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson’s wife Anna Sigurlaug Pálsdóttir in 2015.
Mossack Fonseca says offshore companies are available worldwide and are used for a variety of legitimate purposes.
First refugees being deported from Greece has arrived in Turkey as part of an EU plan aimed at easing mass migration to Europe.
Scores of refugees boarded ferries on the Greek island of Lesbos and arrived in Dikili, western Turkey.
According to Frontex, the EU’s border agency, most of the 136 people who left Lesbos on April 4 were Pakistanis.
Meanwhile, the first group of 16 Syrian refugees has arrived in Germany from Turkey, officials say.
Under the deal, for each Syrian refugee returned to Turkey, the EU is due to take in another Syrian who has made a legitimate request.
However, Greek authorities said the first deportees were those who had not applied for asylum, and included citizens from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Morocco.
Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkir said there were no Syrians among the first group of refugees sent from Greece.
Another ferry carrying refugees to Turkey is also due to leave the Greek island of Chios on April 4.
Under the EU-Turkey deal, refugees arriving illegally in Greece are expected to be sent back to Turkey if they do not apply for asylum or if their claim is rejected.
However, refugees in Greece have complained of a lack of information about the asylum procedure and some said they were unaware they could be returned.
Frontex has less than one-tenth of the staff needed to do the job, the Associated Press reported.
The arrangement has alarmed rights groups, who say Turkey is not a safe country for refugees.
Amnesty International has accused Turkey of illegally returning Syrians to their homeland, something Turkey denies.
Save the Children called the deal “illegal and inhumane”, saying people told them they would kill themselves if sent back to Turkey.
Since the deal was struck in March, about 400 people have been arriving each day on the Greek islands.
Tens of thousands have been stuck in Greece after northern countries closed their borders. There have been clashes in camps amid dire conditions.
One million migrants and refugees have entered the EU by boat from Turkey to Greece since last year.
Many of the refugees are keen to travel to Germany and other northern EU countries and experts have warned the deal could force them to take alternative, more dangerous routes.
Huge flash floods caused by torrential rain hit northwest Pakistan killing at least 53 people, according to officials.
The rain began on April 2 bringing flooding to parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan provinces.
Photo Getty Images
Pre-monsoon rains often cause damage in rural Pakistan and officials said locals had been warned to leave their villages for safer places.
The summer monsoon season is even worse, last year killing dozens.
The weekend’s rains also saw dozens of people taken to hospital with injuries, a national disaster management official, Latif ur Rehman, told the Associated Press.
Footages from the scene showed shops and homes damaged, and bridges swept away.
According to officials, tents and other relief goods had been sent to the region. Hundreds of people have also moved to safer areas, local media reports.
Pre-orders of Tesla’s much-anticipated Model 3 electric car currently total 276,000, CEO Elon Musk has announced.
Tesla unveiled the five-seater car – its lowest-cost vehicle to date – on March 31.
Elon Musk tweeted the total reflected the orders received by the end of April 2.
Pre-orders of the Model 3 will not necessarily all translate into actual sales when the car is released, with first deliveries in late 2017.
Potential car owners need to put down $1,000 deposits to reserve their vehicles.
Such has been the interest that Elon Musk tweeted the company was “definitely going to need to rethink production planning”.
Elon Musk has said his goal is to produce about 500,000 vehicles a year once production is at full capacity.
The basic model will start at $35,000 and have a range of at least 215 miles per charge.
Tesla delivered 50,580 vehicles in 2015. Most of those were its Model S saloon, which overtook Nissan’s Leaf to become the world’s best selling pure-electric vehicle.
However, Tesla still posted a net loss of $889 million for 2015, partly because it spent $718 million on research and development over the period.
It left Tesla with cash reserves of $1.2 billion, down from $1.9 billion a year earlier.
Tesla is facing competition from other electric cars with a similar price and range that will become available first, including General Motors’ Chevy Bolt and BYD’s Qin EV300.
Trillions of dollars are being traded everyday in the Forex currency exchange market. In order to become successful as a trader in the long run, you will need to analyze the future market patterns and price trends. There are many available indicators and analysis tools for conducting technical analysis, before a placing the trade.
Importance of technical analysis for success:
Some traders use different types of economic reports to predict the trending of prices. The problem with such reports is that the latest updates are not available on a real time basis. When it comes to trading, timing is everything, which is why referring to economic reports might just be not sufficient, although it is helpful to some extent.
Trading indicators like the Bollinger Bands and the Moving Averages are the most commonly used technical analysis tools, for trading in the currency exchange market. By using these tools, the traders can identify the opportunities for placing their trades. For example, the reversal of trends can be predicted during the crossover of moving average.
All successful traders are able to identify the changing of trends. Therefore, you will need all hone your technical analysis skills, if you wish to succeed as a trader in the long run. Some of the commonly used indicators are stochastic oscillators, moving averages, and the relative strength index.
By adopting technical analysis, it becomes easier for you to evaluate the historical and current prices, in addition to understanding the volumes of trade activities. These indicators do not give you any trade signals, or tell you when to place your trades or not.
The tools work purely based on the mathematical calculations, which is by considering both historical and current data. The information can be used by traders to predict the future movements of the prices. These indicators provide real time visual display of calculation results.
Using too many indicators:
Well, you can use different indicators on a single price charts to confirm the calculations. However, traders can get confused if they use too many indicators. Their signals might not be that reliable.
If you are looking at Forex trading for the long run, then you must make it a point to do your homework and learn as much as possible. There are thousands of online resources like articles, blogs, books, videos, etc. that you can use to understand how these indicators work.
Choose your tools carefully:
Some of these indicators use complex and advanced mathematics to display the results. You can use them to determine the volume, volatility, trends, and momentum of the currency exchange prices.
Of course, you need not get into the complex mathematics that is programmed in these indicators, but you will at least need to try to understand the logic of their working. That will help you in determining if that particular tool can help you in understanding and measuring the market better.
When you register for an online trading account, you will need to have the mindset of learning the process of technical analysis. That will be the mantra for your success down the line.
A piece of debris found on a Mauritian island will be examined to see if it is part of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Australian authorities say.
A hotel owner on the island who saw the debris said it bore a design and looked like it was from the inside of a plane.
If confirmed, it would be the first piece of interior debris from the plane yet to be found.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared in March 2014 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, carrying 239 passengers.
Despite an extensive deep water search, led by Australia, the plane and all its passengers remain missing.
Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester said the debris, found last week, was an “item of interest”.
The debris was discovered by hotel guests on Rodrigues Island, about 350 miles east of the main island of Mauritius.
Last month Australia said debris found in Mozambique was “almost certainly from MH370” and in 2015 French authorities said a wing part found on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion was part of the plane.
The search has focused on the southern Indian Ocean.
More than 95,000 sq km of a 120,000 sq km area has now been examined, with the remainder set to be covered by June, when the search is scheduled to end.
Renowned architect Zaha Hadid has died at the age of 65 after suffering a heart attack.
Zaha Hadid died following a heart attack on March 31 in a Miami hospital, where she was being treated for bronchitis.
The Iraqi-born architect was the first woman to receive the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) Gold Medal in recognition of her work.
Her designs have been commissioned around the world, including Hong Kong, Germany and Azerbaijan.
Collecting her Gold Medal in February, Dame Zaha Hadid said she was proud to have been the first woman to win in her own right.
Photo Getty Images
Zaha Hadid’s other creations include the Serpentine Sackler Gallery in London, the Riverside Museum at Glasgow’s Museum of Transport, and Guangzhou Opera House in China.
She twice won the Riba Stirling Prize, the UK’s most prestigious architecture award.
In 2010, Zaha Hadid won for the Maxxi Museum in Rome, winning again in 2011 for the Evelyn Grace Academy in Brixton.
Born in Baghad, Zaha Hadid studied maths at the American University of Beirut – where she later designed a building on campus which was completed in 2014 – before embarking on her career at the Architectural Association in London.
In 1979, she set up her own company – Zaha Hadid Architects.
Zaha Hadid’s first major commission to be constructed was the Vitra Fire Station in Weil am Rhein in Germany.
The striking London Acquatics Centre in Stratford, which resembles a wave, features two 50-metre pools and a diving pool. After being used for the Olympics and Paralympics it was opened to the public in 2014.
Zaha Hadid also designed one of the stadiums that will take centre stage at the Qatar World Cup in 2022.
In 2015, however, the Japanese government scrapped plans to build the futuristic-looking stadium Zaha Hadid designed for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, opting instead for a scaled-down, less costly design.
Leonardo DiCaprio could be banned from entering Indonesia in the future over his comments on rainforests being cleared for palm oil plantations.
The 41-year-old actor entered Indonesia on a tourist visa and on March 27 visited Gunung Leuser National Park in Aceh.
Leonardo DiCaprio posted following his visit to the park: “A world-class biodiversity hotspot… but palm oil expansion is destroying this unique place.”
Now Heru Santoso, a spokesperson for the director general of the immigration department, has revealed Leonardo DiCaprio could be banned for such comments – if they’re “categorized as incitement or provocation”.
”In terms of [his] visa and immigration permit, Leonardo DiCaprio did not do anything wrong: He entered and left Indonesia legally. But, we still investigate,” Heru Santoso told BBC News.
“If DiCaprio’s posting in his social media can be categorized as incitement or provocation, we can blacklist him from coming back to Indonesia.”
It is not the first time a Hollywood star has run into trouble in Indonesia over their environmental activism.
Photo Instagram
Harrison Ford was threatened with deportation in 2013 for “harassing state institutions” after interviewing the then forestry minister about illegal logging.
In posts on his Instagram account, Leonardo DiCaprio said he was working to save the Leuser ecosystem, “the last place on Earth where Sumatran orangutans, tigers, rhinos and elephants coexist in the wild”.
On Twitter, Leonardo DiCaprio posted a link to a petition addressed to the Indonesian President Joko Widodo, calling for the area to be protected.
Some members of the government have accused Leonardo DiCaprio of running a “black campaign” to discredit the government and Indonesia’s palm oil industry.
Earlier this year environmentalist Leonardo DiCaprio used his Oscars speech to warn the world about climate change.
Accepting the Best Actor award, Leonardo DiCaprio explained: “Making The Revenant was about man’s relationship to the natural world.
“A world that we collectively felt in 2015 as the hottest year in recorded history. Our production needed to move to the southern tip of this planet just to be able to find snow.
“Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species.
“We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big polluters, but who speak for all of humanity, for the indigenous people of the world, for the billions and billions of underprivileged people out there who would be most affected by this.”
Brussels International Airport will partially operational on April 3 with new security controls, 12 days after it was attacked by suicide bombers.
Zaventem airport authorities said three Brussels Airlines’ flights would depart for European destinations.
The airport has not handled passenger flights since the attack on its departure hall claimed by the so-called Islamic State group.
The last month’s attacks on the airport and a metro station left 32 people dead.
Meanwhile, Belgian authorities charged a third suspect – named only as Y A – with terrorist offences linked to a plot to attack France.
Photo Getty Images
The charges come in the wake of the arrest of Frenchman Reda Kriket in a Paris suburb on March 24.
Brussels airport CEO Arnaud Feist said that “from Sunday morning, Brussels Airport should be partially operational”.
Arnaud Feist said he was expecting to receive official authorization for the reopening.
The first flight is expected to take off in the early afternoon for the Portuguese city of Faro. The others will be bound for the Greek capital Athens and Turin, Italy.
Passengers will only be able to get to the airport by car or taxi – the terminal is still closed to trains and buses.
Under the new security arrangements:
vehicles and passengers travelling to the temporary departures area will be screened on the access road
an additional police check and ID and boarding pass check will take place at the entrance to the temporary departures area. Those not flying will not be allowed in
passengers will then proceed towards the departure gates, undergoing the usual access and security controls
On April 1, Belgian officials reached a deal with police unions on enhanced security at the airport.
The dispute had delayed the reopening.
Arnaud Feist said he hoped the airport would get back up to full capacity in time for the start of the summer holidays at the end of June.
Greece has challenged the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a leaked conversation in which top officials allegedly discuss the Greek bailout.
Wikileaks published a transcript showing top officials discussing ways of putting pressure on Greece, Germany and the EU to get them to wrap up talks.
One of those quoted suggests a crisis “event” may be needed to force a conclusion.
Further negotiations between Greece and its lenders are due next week.
In 2015, Greece agreed a multi-billion dollar bailout with the EU and IMF that was needed for the country to avoid bankruptcy and stay in the eurozone.
The Wikileaks conversation purportedly involves Poul Thomsen, head of the IMF’s Europe department, and Delia Velculescu, leader of the IMF team in Greece, the senior officials in charge of Greece’s debt crisis.
Poul Thomsen is quoted as complaining about the pace of talks on reforms Greece has agreed to carry out in exchange for the bailout.
“What is going to bring it all to a decision point?” he asks.
“In the past there has been only one time when the decision has been made and then that was when they were about to run out of money seriously and to default.”
Delia Velculescu later agrees: “We need an event, but I don’t know what that will be.”
Poul Thomsen also appears to suggest the IMF could pull out of the bailout to force German Chancellor Angela Merkel to agree to debt relief.
Such a move could be politically difficult for Angela Merkel, the key figure in the crisis.
“Look…, Mrs. Merkel, you face a question, you have to think about what is more costly: to go ahead without the IMF, would the Bundestag say <<the IMF is not on board?>> or to pick the debt relief that we think that Greece needs in order to keep us on board? Right?” Poul Thomsen says.
The IMF would not comment on the purported leaks but said its public position on the matter was clear.
Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said: “As WikiLeaks revealed today, the IMF is planning to stall until July to bring Greece to its knees [again!] in order to force Angela Merkel’s hand.
“It’s time to stop Greece’s fiscal water boarding by an incompetent, misanthropic troika.”
Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan have performed together as Guns N’ Roses for the first time in 23 years.
The band picked Troubadour, a small Los Angeles club, where they were first noticed.
The concert at the West Hollywood club was reportedly only confirmed on April 1.
Just 500 fans were allowed to see one of the biggest groups of the late 1980s and early 1990s reformed.
The intimate concert was announced at midday on April 1 and tickets were just $10.
54-year-old Axl Rose still has his long blond hair but there was no bandana, Slash kept his trademark top-hat over his black curls.
Fans said they started the show with It’s So Easy, which has frequently been the band’s opener.
Years of rumors of a Guns N’ Roses reunion came to fruition earlier this year when the band were announced as headliners for the Coachella festival, which will take place later his month in the California desert.
Guns N’ Roses also announced details of their North American tour, which will all be in stadiums – so rather different from this intimate gig.
The main leg of the Not in This Lifetime Tour will begin on June 23 at Ford Field in Detroit, home to the National Football League’s Detroit Lions, and run until August 22 in San Diego.
Guns N’ Roses have only announced three concerts outside the United States – April 19 and 20 in Mexico City and July 16 in Toronto.
Oil prices have plunged after Saudi Arabia said it would freeze production only if other major producers did the same.
Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s remarks are seen as a challenge to Iran.
It has vowed to increase oil production following the lifting of Western sanctions.
In the Bloomberg interview, Prince Mohammed bin Salman also spoke about his plan for a giant public investment fund.
Worth more than $2 trillion, it would be designed to reduce Saudi Arabia’s reliance on income from oil.
Part of the plan would be a sale of shares in the state-owned oil company Aramco, which could start as soon as next year, according to the interview.
Iran will not take part in a conference in Doha on April 17, where the freezing of oil output is due to be discussed.
“If all countries agree to freeze production, we will be among them,” Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Bloomberg.
When asked whether Iran needed to be among those countries he said “without doubt”.
Oil prices, which had edged into positive territory, fell after Prince Mohammed’s comments.
Brent crude fell $1.63 cents, or 4%, to $38.70 a barrel. Prices rose 6% in the first three months of this year – the first quarterly increase since a 15% rally between April and June 2015.
A monthly survey by Reuters this week showed that oil output from the 13 OPEC members rose in March on higher production from Iran and near-record exports from southern Iraq.
Iraq reported OPEC’s biggest supply growth last year, producing more than 4 million barrels per day – making it the cartel’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia.
In February, Saudi Arabia and Russia said they would freeze oil output at January levels if other producers followed suit.
Oil prices have fallen from their recent peak of $116 in June 2014 because of oversupply and sluggish demand.
Brazilian oil company Petrobras has announced it will cut 12,000 jobs by 2020.
The voluntary layoff program will help save $9 billion at the company, which has struggled with losses following a price-fixing and bribery scandal.
It has also been hit by the global slump in the price of oil.
Petrobras, which has reported losses for the last two financial years, is expected to spend $1.23 billion on implementing the job cuts plan.
The semi-public company has long been one of the biggest employers in Brazil, with more than 80,000 employees.
However, Petrobras has seen its business hit by the huge falls in oil prices globally and one of the biggest corruption scandals in the country’s history, which has gone to the heart of the country’s government.
Petrobras’ announcement that 12,000 jobs are to be cut over the next five years is part of a investment plan to turn around the company’s fortunes.
The oil producer reported its biggest quarterly loss to date in Q4 of 2015 – $10.2 billion – after losses at its oil fields and refinery projects.
The corruption scandal involving price-fixing, bribery and political kickbacks over the last two years has dented confidence in the business. Some former Petrobras executives have been jailed.
The scandal has also harmed the reputation of Brazil’sPresident Dilma Rousseff, who was on the board of the company at the time of the offences.
Dilma Rousseff is facing the possibility of impeachment on unrelated charges of false accounting.
According to the latest figures released by the Labor Department, the US economy has created 215,000 jobs in March 2016, a little less than it did in the last month when 242,000 jobs were created.
The unemployment rate has risen to 5% from 4.9%, which was an eight-year low.
According to the Labor Department, more Americans were finding jobs, which suggested a sign of confidence in the US economy.
Photo Getty Images
The increase could allow a cautious Federal Reserve to raise interest rates gradually this year.
The US economy is continuing to create jobs, despite a global economic slowdown and cheap oil prices which have hit the energy sector.
The gains were in the service sectors, especially retail, health and education and leisure and hospitality. There were also new jobs in government and construction.
The unemployment figures for January and February have been revised slightly down to show 1,000 fewer jobs created than previously reported.
Financial markets have almost priced out the likelihood of a rate rise at the Fed’s June policy meeting.
A survey from CME FedWatch suggests a 47% chance of an increase in November, with 57% suggesting it would happen in December.
Donald Trump is now saying US abortion laws should remain unchanged, although he believes the procedure amounts to murder.
In an interview with CBS News, the Republican presidential hopeful said: “The laws are set. And I think we have to leave it that way.”
Donald Trump’s comments come as the New York property tycoon has struggled this week to articulate his position on abortion.
He withdrew a call for women who have abortions to be punished, only hours after suggesting it.
After an outpouring of criticism from both anti-abortion and abortion rights activists, Donald Trump later said only the people who perform abortions should face punishment.
Photo Getty Images
The comments end a rocky week for Donald Trump on the campaign trail.
According to some polls, Donald Trump is trailing Texas Senator Ted Cruz by 10 percentage points in Wisconsin, which holds its primary on April 5.
Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and Donald Trump’s Republican rivals Ted Cruz and John Kasich repeatedly criticized Trump’s shifting comments on abortion.
Ted Cruz said the remarks showed that Donald Trump “hasn’t seriously thought through the issues”.
John Kasich – the popular governor of Ohio – also questioned whether Donald Trump had the temperament needed for the office of the president.
Donald Trump supports a ban on abortions, with some exceptions.
Only the Supreme Court or a constitutional amendment has the power to overturn Roe v Wade and make abortion illegal.
After the comments were made public, Donald Trump’s spokeswoman Hope Hicks sought to clarify his statement.
Hope Hicks said that Donald Trump would change abortion laws if elected by appointing Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe v Wade.
Once a Democrat, Donald Trump has been criticized for supporting abortion rights in the past.
Anti-abortion activists have traditionally avoided placing blame on women who undergo abortions, but have focused on those who perform the procedure.
In recent years, conservatives have sought to tighten restrictions on abortion clinics and doctors rather than seek an outright ban.
Abortion rights advocates say these measures are meant to restrict women’s access to abortion.
The new laws are particularly widespread in conservative southern states.
Republican leaders have expressed concern about Donald Trump’s prospects in the general election because polls show that he is extremely unpopular with female voters.
Donald Trump has come under fire for disparaging women including former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina and TV presenter Megyn Kelly.
A knife reportedly found near OJ Simpson’s former property is not a murder weapon, tests have shown.
Despite a large amount of evidence, OJ Simpson was acquitted in the stabbing deaths of his ex-wife and her friend in 1995.
Police never found the murder weapon in that high-profile case, which captivated the US for more than a year.
OJ Simpson was later found legally responsible for the deaths of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman in a civil case.
The former football star, who is currently serving a 33-year sentence for armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas, cannot be prosecuted again under US law for the murders.
LAPD had been skeptical that the weapon was tied to the Simpson and Goldman murders.
Police said at the time that the knife was a utility-type knife and was not consistent with the one used in the crime, but still ordered forensic tests.
The case recently returned to prominence with the airing of the TV mini-series American Crime Story: The People v OJ Simpson.
According to police, someone claiming to be a construction worker found the knife at OJ Simpson’s former home when it was razed in 1998.
The man gave the knife to a police officer who was working on a film set near the property.
The police officer kept it, thinking the case was closed. However, the officer, now retired, recently told a colleague about the weapon, as a result of which the current investigation was launched.
Greece has passed a law allowing refugees arriving in the country to be returned to Turkey.
The new law is essential for the implementation of an EU-Turkey deal aimed at easing the uncontrolled mass movement of people into Europe.
On April 4, Turkey is due to receive its first refugees returned from Greece.
However, there are warnings of a lack of preparation on both sides, while aid agencies are concerned refugees may be mistreated in Turkey.
Greece had to amend its laws for the deal to be possible and the bill was passed by 169 members of the 300-seat parliament.
In 2015, more than one million migrants and refugees arrived in the EU by boat from Turkey to Greece, and Athens has struggled to cope.
Tens of thousands have been stranded in Greece after northern counties closed their borders.
Under the EU-Turkey deal, refugees arriving illegally in Greece are expected to be sent back to Turkey from April 4 if they do not apply for asylum or if their claim is rejected.
In return, Turkey will receive aid and political concessions.
The UN has called on Turkey and Greece to ensure safeguards are in place before returns begin, warning of “serious gaps” on both sides.
According to an Amnesty International report, Turkey has been illegally forcing thousands of refugees back to Syria.
Turkey is yet to respond to the Amnesty report but has denied sending back any refugees against their will.
Turkey has taken in 2.7 million Syrian refugees since the civil war began five years ago. Many live in camps near the border between Turkey and Syria.
The death toll in Kolkata flyover collapse has raised to 24 as rescuers worked through the night in the Girish Park area.
The flyover was under construction when it collapsed suddenly on March 31.
Hopes of finding more survivors trapped under the collapsed bypass are fading in the Indian city formerly known as Calcutta.
The 1.2 mile-long flyover started construction in 2009 and missed several deadlines for completion.
Indian police have opened a case of culpable homicide against the company in charge of the construction, IVRCL.
Reports say five of the construction company’s officials have been detained for questioning and its headquarters in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad have been sealed off.
The company said it would co-operate with investigators. However one of its senior officials said in a news conference that the collapse had been “an act of god” as the company had a good safety record.
Officials said more than 90 people have been rescued, some of whom are in hospital in a critical condition.
SS Guleria of India’s National Disaster Response Force told the Associated Press that the rescue operation was in its “last stage” and that “there is no possibility of finding any person alive”.
It is not clear how many people may be still trapped under the debris.
Rescue workers have struggled to get cranes and other machinery through the narrow and congested streets of Burrabazar area where the incident happened.
The cause of the disaster was not immediately clear, but safety issues such as lack of inspections and the use of substandard materials have plagued construction projects in India.
We’re all supposed to be grown-up, responsible adults, right? We shouldn’t be finding any aspect of a healthy, responsible lifestyle unappealing anymore. It’s not like back when we were kids and we’d cry at the idea of having to eat our greens. We’ve got more sense than that now… right?
Well, I don’t know about you, but in my experience, there are still plenty of things we still avoid doing. We know we should do them, but we avoid them because they sound uncomfortable and unfun. Here are some examples.
Going to the dentist
It was much easier going to the dentist when I was a kid. Of course, that’s only because my mother made me go to the dentist at least twice a year. I didn’t have a say in the matter. As soon as I was all grown up and got my own place, I started shirking this responsibility somewhat. My dentist visits declined quite dramatically.
This is a pretty common thing amongst adults. Sometimes, adults even skip out on taking their kids to the dentist! We don’t want to be told to stop eating candy and to floss more. We’re even more scared of being told we need dental work like braces. But the fact is that avoiding the dentist is an incredibly silly thing. There is a strong link between oral health and heart health, so it’s not always about trying to perfect a nice smile! If you’re really worried, try finding a dentist that specialises in good customer service and comfort. Research it online. You can get dentures, dental implants and Invisalign clear braces at PaulCorcoranDDS.com.
Writing a will
Who wants to write a will? I’m guessing I didn’t just get a big show of hands. It’s the last thing we want to do because it relates to the last thing we’re going to do. It involves sitting down and speaking practically and business-like about what will happen after you die.
But we shouldn’t be avoiding this responsibility. Just because it’s not required by law, it doesn’t mean it’s something that isn’t important! If you pass on without a will in place, the state will determine the distribution of your assets. If you know that you want certain things to go to certain people after your death, you need to make one. You can get help finding a will attorney at Lawyers.FindLaw.com.
Exercising
This is the ultimate one. It’s found on a million new year’s resolution lists across the country. We buy gym memberships to try forcing our future selves to exercise so as not to waste money. And yet so many of us still don’t exercise enough. Why? Maybe we’re not clear enough on how important daily exercise is. Maybe we don’t know just how dangerous the modern sedentary lifestyle is to our hearts. It could also have a lot to do with thinking that exercise requires a large time commitment. We’re all pretty busy, right? Who has time for exercise?
Did you know that you can get started on exercising and healthier living on just half an hour a day? You have forty-eight half-hours in your day. Reckon you could give up one of them a few times a week, make sure you get your heart rate elevated for at least half an hour. You’ll want to do more in the long run, but this is a great start! LiveStrong.com provides a great list of the risks of not exercising.
A major study on body mass index (BMI) evolution has found that there are now more adults in the world classified as obese than underweight.
The new study, led by scientists from Imperial College London and published in The Lancet, compared BMI among almost 20 million adult men and women from 1975 to 2014.
The researchers found obesity in men has tripled and more than doubled in women.
Lead author Prof. Majid Ezzat said it was an “epidemic of severe obesity” and urged governments to act.
The study, which pooled data from adults in 186 countries, found that the number of obese people worldwide had risen from 105 million in 1975 to 641 million in 2014.
Meanwhile, the number of underweight people had risen from 330 million to 462 million over the same period.
Global obesity rates among men went up from 3.2% in 1975 to 10.8%, while among women they rose from 6.4 % in 1975 to 14.9%.
This equates to 266 million obese men and 375 million obese women in the world in 2014, the study said.
The research also predicted that the probability of reaching the WHO’s global obesity target – which aims for no rise in obesity above 2010 levels by 2025 – would be “close to zero”.
The clinical definition of obese is a BMI – a measurement that relates weight and height – of 30kg/m2.
Prof. Majid Ezzati said: “Our research has shown that over 40 years we have transitioned from a world in which underweight prevalence was more than double that of obesity, to one in which more people are obese than underweight.
“Although it is reassuring that the number of underweight individuals has decreased over the last four decades, global obesity has reached crisis point.”
“We hope these findings create an imperative to shift responsibility from the individual to governments and to develop and implement policies to address obesity.
“For instance, unless we make healthy food options like fresh fruits and vegetables affordable for everyone and increase the price of unhealthy processed foods, the situation is unlikely to change.”
The team also examined the number of people who are underweight, and over the same time period the study suggested the rates had fallen from 14% to 9% in men, and 15% to 10% in women.
Other statistics from the study include:
More obese men and women now live in China and the USA than in any other country
China has the largest number of obese people in the world with 43.2 million men and 46.4 million women
The US has 41.7 million obese men and 46.1 million obese women
Almost a fifth of the world’s obese adults – 118 million – live in only six high-income English-speaking countries – Australia, Canada, Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, UK, and the US
By 2025, the UK is projected to have the highest levels of obese women in Europe (38%), followed by Republic of Ireland (37%) and Malta (34%)
Being underweight remains a significant health problem in countries such as India and Bangladesh
North Korea is jamming GPS signals near the South Korean border, Yonhap news agency reports.
The radio waves have reportedly affected 110 planes and ships, and can cause mobile phones to malfunction.
South Korea’s unification ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee was quoted by AFP news agency as saying it was an “act of provocation”.
Tensions have been high between the two countries since North Korea’s fourth nuclear test in January.
The broadcasts appeared to have started a month ago from various locations along the border, but on March 31 North Korea discharged its largest amount of GPS-jamming signals, according to Yonhap, citing a senior government official.
The South Korean coastguard reported about 70 fishing vessels had been forced to return to port after GPS navigation issues, AFP said. There has been no reported disruption to flights.
According to Yonhap, since 2010 North Korea has been accused of jamming signals at least three other times. It is believed to be using equipment imported from Russia.
Pyongyang has called the allegations “sheer fabrication”.
Since North Korea’s nuclear test in January and subsequent launch of a long-range rocket, South Korea has stepped up security measures including border patrols and allowing the US to fly fighter jets near the border.
In return, North Korea has threatened “indiscriminate” nuclear strikes on the US and South Korea.
