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Democrats cool toward NAFTA replacement, question labor standards

FILE PHOTO: Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) speaks at a press conference about a House resolution designed to prevent President Donald Trump from firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Capitol Hill in Washington
FILE PHOTO: Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) speaks at a press conference about a House resolution designed to prevent President Donald Trump from firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 27, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

March 13, 2019

By David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives gave a cool reception to the replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement on Wednesday as the top U.S. trade negotiator opened a campaign to win broad support for the accord in Congress.

Several Democrats said a closed-door meeting between United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and their caucus failed to ease their concerns about the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s (USMCA) provisions on labor, biologic drugs and some other issues.

A USTR spokeswoman declined to comment on the meeting.

The support of Democrats, who control the House, is considered important to passage of the USMCA, and Wednesday’s meeting at the U.S. Capitol signaled that the Trump administration has a lot of work to do to address the party’s concerns.

Democrats questioned whether new labor standards aimed at ensuring workers have the right to organize can be adequately enforced, as this depends partly on Mexico passing new labor laws.

“What you’re hearing is that a lot of people don’t think it’s good enough,” Representative Pramila Jayapal said of USMCA after the meeting, adding that she was concerned the new pact would not solve the biggest shortcoming of NAFTA, which allowed Mexican wages to stagnate.

“We know that when you don’t have strong enforcement provisions, you are essentially facilitating the outsourcing of jobs and bad worker protections and undercutting of U.S. workers,” said Jayapal.

NAFTA dealt with labor provisions in an unenforceable side-letter, allowing unions in Mexico to remain weak and wages low, drawing factories from the United States and Canada.

While USMCA’s labor chapter is part of the trade agreement itself and requires Mexico to adhere to International Labor Organization standards, Democrats questioned whether this could be adequately enforced through a state-to-state dispute settlement mechanism.

The Mexican government expects its Congress to pass a labor bill by the end of April that it says will strengthen the rights of unionized workers and fulfill its commitments under USMCA.

Mexico “could say they passed the laws, but the laws could be very weak,” said Representative Judy Chu, a Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee.

She said Lighthizer told Democrats that he believed that Mexico’s labor law would meet the terms of the agreement and that any enforcement issues could be resolved through a subsequent agreement following ratification. Jayapal added that Lighthizer said this could be addressed through implementing legislation.

Some Democrats said that Lighthizer listened closely to their concerns and that he would work to address them.

“He understands the concerns of our caucus and he knows we’re not there yet,” said Representative Bill Pascrell.

Other Democrats raised concerns about the prospect for higher drug prices resulting from the USMCA’s provision for 10 years of data exclusivity for biologic drugs. The United States allows 12 years currently and negotiated a five-year exclusivity period in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, which President Donald Trump declined to join in 2017.

Representative Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat who opposed several previous trade deals, called this an “absolutely unbelievable giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry.”

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, whose panel will handle the USMCA legislation, said the meeting did not provide any further clarity on the timing of the Trump administration’s submission of implementing legislation to Congress, or when a vote might occur.

(Reporting by David Lawder; editing by Grant McCool)

Source: OANN

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Social media services blocked in Sri Lanka after deadly attacks, group says

Sri Lankan authorities have blocked most social media services in the country following attacks that killed more than 200 people on Easter, according to officials and a group that monitors Internet censorship.

Sri Lankan officials said Sunday they were blocking social media temporarily to curtail the spread of false information and ease tensions until their investigation is concluded.

POPE CELEBRATES EASTER SUNDAY AMID BLOODSHED IN SRI LANKA

More than 200 people were killed and hundreds more wounded in eight bomb blasts that rocked churches and luxury hotels in or near Sri Lanka’s capital on Easter Sunday — the deadliest violence the South Asian island country has seen since a bloody civil war ended a decade ago.

Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardena described the bombings as a terrorist attack by religious extremists, and police said 13 suspects were arrested, though there was no immediate claim of responsibility. Wijewardena said most of the blasts were believed to have been suicide attacks.

“People were being dragged out,” said Bhanuka Harischandra, of Colombo, a 24-year-old founder of a tech marketing company who was going to the city’s Shangri-La Hotel for a meeting when it was bombed. “People didn’t know what was going on. It was panic mode.”

He added, “There was blood everywhere.”

The NetBlocks observatory said it detected an intentional nationwide blackout of popular services including Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp and Instagram.

The group said the country also was blocking messaging apps.

Facebook said in a statement that people rely on its services to communicate with loved ones and it was committing to maintaining service in the country.

Harischandra, who witnessed the attack at the Shangri-La Hotel, said there was “a lot of tension” after the bombings, but added: “We’ve been through these kinds of situations before.”

He said Sri Lankans are “an amazing bunch” and noted that his social media feed was flooded with photos of people standing in long lines to give blood.

NetBlocks director Alp Toker said such post-attack shutdowns are often ineffective and can end up creating an information vacuum that's easily exploited.

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“Having experienced the open and welcoming Sri Lanka during my last week traveling through the country, I had a sense that the country was turning the corner, and in particular those in the tourism industry were hopeful for the future,” said Peter Kelson, a technology manager from Sydney.

“Apart from the tragedy of the immediate victims of the bombings, I worry that these terrible events will set the country back significantly,” he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News World

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Inhofe Urges White House to Fill Top Pentagon Post

The Republican chairman of a key Senate committee is urging the White House to quickly nominate someone to lead the Pentagon.

Sen. James Inhofe said Tuesday that if the White House nominates Patrick Shanahan, who has been the acting secretary of defense since Jan. 1, he would welcome a "thorough but expeditious" investigation by the Defense Department inspector general of what Inhofe called "any outstanding issues." That seemed to be a reference to a recently announced investigation of alleged Shanahan bias in favor of his former employer, Boeing Co.

Inhofe is chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, which has jurisdiction over nominations to Pentagon positions.

Shanahan became acting secretary after Jim Mattis resigned in December. He is only the third person in history to serve as interim secretary.

Source: NewsMax Politics

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Pennsylvania landfills raise a stink in a New Jersey town

Quaint, close-knit – and stinky – are three words residents in Bordentown, New Jersey, have used to describe their community in recent months.

“I'll step outside and a waft of garbage will hit me in the face,” said resident Kristian Jobes.

Jobes, like many concerned community members, has taken to Facebook to alert city officials of the “rotten egg” odor hovering over at least a square mile.

Community members in Bordentown, sound off on Facebook, voicing their concerns about the smell.

Community members in Bordentown, sound off on Facebook, voicing their concerns about the smell.

According to Jobes, the smell lingers over houses, playgrounds and schools, and threatens outside activities. And yet after months of filing complaints, nothing seems to squelch the odor.

STALLED POOP TRAIN STINKS UP ALABAMA TOWN

“We all know what it is, and we just want them to do the right thing,” said Mayor John Lynch.

Lynch and other residents suspect  four landfills in and around Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They believe the smell begins there and is carried by winds that blow east across the border to New Jersey.

Lynch and other residents, like Kristian Jobes, suspect four landfills in and around Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They believe the smell begins there and is carried by winds to Jersey.

Lynch and other residents, like Kristian Jobes, suspect four landfills in and around Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They believe the smell begins there and is carried by winds to Jersey. (Fox News )

Landfills have been a problem for surrounding communities that have long complained of the smell they produce. As garbage piles up, and it emits a nasty odor, residents start fuming.

Officials at Waste Management insist they were only made aware of the smell earlier this month and weren’t contacted directly until Tuesday.

Three of the landfills — Tullytown, GROWS Landfill and GROWS North in Falls Township — are closed and have  been capped with a plastic lid and soil for at least two to three years. The remaining landfill, which continues to take in waste, is the Fairless Landfill.

VEGAN TOOTHPASTE PILL AIMS TO CUT PLASTICS IN LANDFILLS 

The company explained that members of its landfill team patrol communities near the property every day, including in Bordentown, and quickly report to site operators the conditions that could inconvenience neighbors. And, they said, they take immediate action.

“We cannot be sure…without knowing exactly where and when an odor was detected,” said a statement from Waste Management. The company also attributed heavy annual rainfall for slowing construction and creating an influx of landfill gas.

Trucks move through the weigh station at Waste Management's Fairless Landfill in Morrisville, Pennsylvania.

Trucks move through the weigh station at Waste Management's Fairless Landfill in Morrisville, Pennsylvania. (Fox News/ (Talia Kirkland))

That gas, says environmental scientist Laura Toran, can bring greenhouse gas threats if it isn't converted to energy properly. Despite 21st-century upgrades, Toran believes there are still three main challenges for landfills today.

Methane gas, which is produced in a landfill by anaerobic decomposition, can be collected using current technology and then used to generate electricity, or it can be purified and used as a power-generating fuel. Yet, if unused, it's the second-greatest contributing factor to the nation’s greenhouse gases. Leachate, a thick liquid that forms when garbage decomposes, can also attract disease-carrying vermin and cause various other pollutants.

Lynch said in recent weeks the numbers of complaints filed with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has increased, and no communication has been provided to his office regarding a solution.

“We don’t want this to drag out any longer and we aren’t looking to take legal action; we just simply want the smell fixed,” he said.

Source: Fox News National

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Migrants Hijack Cargo Ship That Rescued Them Off Coast of Libya

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Source: InfoWars

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Julian Assange Arrested In London

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s nearly seven year stay in the Ecuadorian embassy in London has finally come to a disastrous end. After Wikileaks warned last week that Ecuador was preparing in revoke Assange’s asylum based on the claim that he violated its terms, Assange was ousted on Thursday morning, and is now in the custody of British police.

Assange

Press reports suggested that Assange was arrested at around 10 am London Time (5 am New York) in what appeared to be a “planned operation.” Though his first battle will be with the British legal system over charges of skipping bail when he sought asylum in 2012, analysts expect that he will eventually face extradition to the US, after a sealed indictment against him were accidentally revealed last year. Wikileaks accused Ecuador of illegally terminating Assange’s asylum, adding that the Ecuadorian ambassador invited police inside the embassy to take Assange into custody.

In a tweet published moments ago, Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno said that Assange’s “discourteous and aggressive” behavior, as well as “hostile” acts committed by Wikileaks, pushed Ecuador to revoke his asylum. Moreno cited Wikileaks’ publication of sensitive Vatican documents earlier this year as the straw that finally broke the camel’s back. Members of the organization purportedly visited Assange in the embassy after the leak, apparently substantiating suspicions that Assange was still in charge of the organization.

Furthermore, Moreno declared his asylum “unsustainable and no longer viable” because Assange had repeatedly violated “clear cut provisions of the conventions of on diplomatic asylum.”

Following reports last week that the termination of Assange’s asylum was imminent, a UN envoy on torture warned Ecuador that revoking Assange’s protection would be a violation, since he could face “torture” and mistreatment should he be extradited to the US. Assange’s relationship with his host had become increasingly strained over the past year. Last year, Ecuador briefly revoked some of Assange’s “privileges”, including access to the Internet, over his ‘poor hygiene habits’, the #INAPapers about offshore money laundering, implicating the Ecuadorian president in a corruption scandal.

Edward Snowden reminded journalists of the UN’s finding in a tweet following Assange’s arrest.

The expulsion comes just a day after Wikileaks held a press conference accusing Ecuador of carrying out an “extensive spying operation” on Assange and handing intel over to the British and American authorities.

RT published video of a bearded, disheveled-looking Assange shouting at police as he was dragged out of the embassy and loaded into a van.

Footage of Assange’s arrest shows him holding a peculiar magazine that some suggested might have been an attempt to send his supporters a message.

Whatever Assange’s intentions might have been, others pointed out that the Wikileaks founder and former hacker was looking seriously vitamin D deficient…his time inside the embassy, where he was largely cut off from sunlight, have clearly taken a toll on him, as this photo from 2012, taken shortly after he arrived, clearly shows.

Journalist Cassandra Fairbanks, who had been in London to protest revocation of the asylum, tweeted what appears to be a first-hand account of the arrest.

They just dragged him out of the embassy. Cucked piece of shit @lenin just let the UK GOVERNMENT GO INSIDE THE EMBASSY TO ARREST A MAN WITH ASYLUM.

FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU

— Cassandra Fairbanks (@CassandraRules) April 11, 2019
She also pointed out that Moreno will visit Washington DC in five days.

ECUADORIAN PRESIDENT @LENIN WILL BE IN DC IN FIVE DAYS. I AWAIT YOUR VISIT YOU FUCKING MONSTER

— Cassandra Fairbanks (@CassandraRules) April 11, 2019
Scotland Yard has confirmed that Assange is in custody.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid thanked Ecuador for its cooperation, suggesting that pressure from the British government was also a factor in Ecuador’s decision to revoke asylum.

While Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt thanked Ecuador and said Assange was “no hero” and that “no one is above the law.”

Foreign office minister Alan Duncan has issued a statement, calling the arrest “absolutely right” and adding that the UK courts will “deicde what happens next.”

“It is absolutely right that Assange will face justice in the proper way in the UK. It is for the courts to decide what happens next. We are very grateful to the government of Ecuador under President Moreno for the action they have taken.”


Infowars’ Kaitlin Bennett asks Trump supporters how they feel when wearing a MAGA hat in public.

“Today’s events follow extensive dialogue between our two countries. I look forward to a strong bilateral relationship between the UK and Ecuador in the years ahead.”

A spokeswoman for Russia’s foreign ministry denounced the arrest as ‘the hand of democracy squeezing the throat of freedom’.

With Assange facing a complicated, Continent-spanning legal fight, Wikileaks is soliciting donations for its ‘defense fund’ on Twitter.

They also accused the CIA of orchestrating his arrest.

Assange’s arrest marks the end of an era, and the ignominious close of a nearly decade-long struggle. Much has yet to be determined, including this.

Amid the chaos…a new hashtag has been born #FreeAssange.

Source: InfoWars

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Fox News Exclusive: Trump doesn’t think Biden will be able to ‘do the job’

Good morning and welcome to Fox News First. Here's a look at what you need to know today ...

EXCLUSIVE: Trump says 'Sleepy Joe' Biden doesn't have what it takes


President Trump, in a wide-ranging, exclusive phone interview with Fox News' Sean Hannity, dismissed the launch of former Vice President Joe Biden's presidential campaign, nicknaming him "Sleepy Joe" and saying he’s "not the brightest bulb." Biden, the president said, has name recognition but he won't "be able to do the job." When asked about Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Trump criticized his record, saying Sanders had "misguided energy" and asserted that Sanders "talks a lot" but hasn't accomplished anything. The president referred to former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke of Texas as "a fluke" who had lost much momentum and outright dismissed Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg -- although he said he was "rooting" for Buttigieg. (Trump could address Biden and the other Democratic presidential candidates when he speaks today before the National Rifle Association.)

The Democratic Party's youth movement: Biden's biggest challenge?
Former Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Howard Dean warned Joe Biden about the troubles he may face in his presidential campaign, especially from the “35-year-olds” who Dean says have been running the party -- a clear nod to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and fellow freshmen Democrats. “This is a very different party than even the party Joe Biden ran in in 2012. Very different,” Dean continued. “A lot of people could win this race. There’s 20 people in there. I think it’s going to take $20 million to get to the starting line. If you can’t raise $20 million, you’re gone, and I think that’s going to take care of about six or eight of these folks. ... But it is not the same party that it was five years ago.” A progressive political group that boosted Ocasio-Cortez's bid for Congress last year vowed to oppose Biden and blasted him as part of the “old guard.”

More tales from the FBI texts
Text messages between former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page indicate they discussed using briefings to the Trump team after the 2016 election to identify people they could "develop for potential relationships," track lines of questioning and "assess" changes in "demeanor" – language one GOP lawmaker called “more evidence” of irregular conduct in the original Russia probe. Fox News has learned the texts, initially released in 2018 by a Senate committee, are under renewed scrutiny, with GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley and Homeland Security Committee chair Ron Johnson sending a letter Thursday night to Attorney General Bill Barr pushing for more information on the matter. President Trump, speaking on Fox News' "Hannity" Thursday night, responded to this report by accusing Strzok and Page of an attempted "coup." "They were trying to infiltrate the administration," he said.

Kim accuses US of acting in 'bad faith'
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, fresh off his summit with  Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the U.S. has been acting in “bad faith” since his Hanoi meeting with President Trump over the stalemated issue of North Korean denuclearization. The North Korean leader told the Korean Central News Agency that, "the situation on the Korean Peninsula and the region is now at a standstill and has reached a critical point," the Straits Times of Singapore reported. Kim warned that the situation "may return to its original state as the U.S. took a unilateral attitude in bad faith at the recent second DPRK-US summit talks," the Korean Central News Agency added.

NFL Draft 2019: It's all about defense
The first round of the 2019 NFL Draft saw a run on defensive players, with eight of the top 12 picks in Nashville coming from that side of the ball. After Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray was taken first overall by the Arizona Cardinals, the San Francisco 49ers started a run of four straight front-seven players by taking Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa with the second overall pick -- the highest draft slot for any Buckeye since left tackle Orlando Pace went No. 1 overall to the St. Louis Rams in 1997.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP.

TODAY'S MUST-READS
Fox News’ Ed Henry recalls spending time with Celtics great John Havlicek.
Massachusetts judge accused of helping illegal immigrant evade ICE pleads not guilty.
Rosenstein slams Obama administration for choosing ‘not to publicize full story’ of Russia hacking.
F.H. Buckley: What Democrats have forgotten about citizenship.

MINDING YOUR BUSINESS
Amazon crushes earnings expectations, but revenue growth slows.
Low-tax states among best places to make a living in 2019.
Construction job market booming: These states are hiring.

#TheFlashback
2018: Bill Cosby is convicted of drugging and molesting Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his suburban Philadelphia mansion in 2004; it is the first big celebrity trial of the #MeToo era.
1986: An explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine causes radioactive fallout to spew into the atmosphere. (Dozens of people are killed in the immediate aftermath of the disaster while the long-term death toll from radiation poisoning is believed to number in the thousands.)
1977: Notorious nightclub Studio 54 opens in New York.

SOME PARTING WORDS

Watch the "Special Report" panel take a look at former Vice President Joe Biden's decision to run for president a third time and the battle for the "soul" of America.

Not signed up yet for Fox News First? Click here to find out what you're missing.

CLICK HERE to find out what's on Fox News programming today and over the weekend!

Fox News First is compiled by Fox News' Bryan Robinson. Thank you for joining us! Have a good day and weekend! We'll see you in your inbox first thing Monday morning.

Source: Fox News National

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Avengers fans gather at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to attend the opening screening of
Avengers fans gather at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to attend the opening screening of “Avengers: Endgame” in Los Angeles, California, U.S., April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake

April 26, 2019

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Marvel Studios superhero spectacle “Avengers: Endgame” hauled in a record $60 million at U.S. and Canadian box offices during its Thursday night debut, distributor Walt Disney Co said.

Global ticket sales for the film about Iron Man, Hulk and other popular characters reached $305 million for the first two days, Disney said.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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Funeral of journalist Lyra McKee in Belfast
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn attends the funeral service for murdered journalist Lyra McKee at St Anne’s Cathedral in Belfast, Northern Ireland April 24, 2019. Brian Lawless/Pool via REUTERS

April 26, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – The leader of Britain’s opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, said on Friday he had turned down an invitation to a state dinner which will be part of U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Britain in June.

“Theresa May should not be rolling out the red carpet for a state visit to honor a president who rips up vital international treaties, backs climate change denial and uses racist and misogynist rhetoric,” Corbyn said in a statement.

He said maintaining the relationship with the United States did not require “the pomp and ceremony of a state visit” and he said he would welcome a meeting with Trump “to discuss all matters of interest.”

(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Writing by William Schomberg)

Source: OANN

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Libyan Minister of Economy Ali Abdulaziz Issawi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tripoli
Libyan Minister of Economy Ali Abdulaziz Issawi speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tripoli, Libya April 25, 2019. REUTERS/Hani Amara

April 26, 2019

By Ulf Laessing

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Libya’s U.N.-recognized government has budgeted up to 2 billion dinars ($1.43 billion) to cover costs of a three-week-old war for control of the capital, such as treatment for the wounded, to be funded without new borrowing, the economy minister said.

Ali Abdulaziz Issawi suggested the government hoped for business to continue more or less as usual despite the assault on Tripoli, in the country’s northwest, by forces tied to a parallel administration based in the eastern city of Benghazi.

Once Africa’s third largest producer of oil, Libya has been riven by factional conflict since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, with the country now broadly split between eastern-based forces under Khalifa Haftar and the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, in the west, under Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

Still, with Haftar’s Libyan National Army forces unable so far to pierce defenses in Tripoli’s southern suburbs, normal life and business activities continue in much of the capital and western coastal towns.

Issawi, in an interview with Reuters in his Tripoli office, also said Libya’s commercial ports and wheat imports were still functioning normally, although some roads have been blocked.

He said the Serraj government estimates it will spend up to 2 billion dinars extra on medical treatment for wounded, aid for displaced people and other “emergency” war costs.

He said this was not military spending but analysts believe that the sum will also cover expenditures such as pay for allied armed groups or food for fighters.

“We could actually spend less,” he added, in comments that gave the first insight into the economic impact of the fighting.

Issawi said the Tripoli government, which controls little territory beyond the greater capital region, would not incur new debt to fund the war costs, sticking to a plan to post a 2019 budget without a deficit.

Tripoli derives revenue largely from oil and natural gas production, interest-free loans from local banks to the central bank, and a 183 percent surcharge on foreign exchange transactions conducted at official rates.

But with centralized tax collection greatly diminished, public debt has piled up – to 68 billion dinars in the west, including unpaid state obligations such as social insurance.

Some analysts expect Serraj’s government will be forced to raise new debt if the war for control of Tripoli drags on.

With much of Libya dominated by armed factions that also act as security forces, the public wage bill for both the western and eastern administrations has soared as fighters have been made public employees in efforts to buy their loyalty.

The east has sold bonds worth 35 billion dinars outside the official financial system as the Tripoli central bank does not fund the parallel government apart from some wages.

Despite its limited reach, the Tripoli government still runs an annual budget of around 46.8 billion dinars, mainly for public salaries and fuel subsidies.

“This year we cannot finance via debt…we will not borrow (by agreement with the central bank),” Issawi said.

According to International Monetary Fund data, Libya’s central government debt-to-GDP ratio is 143 percent, making it one of the most heavily indebted in the world on that measure.

Issawi declined to say what parts of the budget would be trimmed to support the extra outlay for war costs.

However, with some 70 percent of the budget allocated to public wages, fuel subsidies and other welfare benefits, a portion devoted to infrastructure is most likely to be axed.

Widespread lawlessness has meant there have been no major infrastructural projects since 2011, when a NATO-backed uprising overthrew dictator Muammar Gaddafi, leaving schools, hospitals and roads in acute need of restoration.

FOREX SURCHARGE

Issawi said the government planned to raise as much as 30 billion dinars by the end of 2019 from hard currency deals after imposing in September a 183 percent surcharge on commercial and private transactions done on the official rate of 1.4 to the U.S. dollar. That fee has effectively devalued the official rate to 3.9, much closer to the black market equivalent.

Some 17 billion dinars have been raised since then, with hard currency allocated for import credit letters now issued without delays, Issawi said. The forex fee has helped the government forecast a budget in the black for 2019.

Despite the narrowing spread between the two rates, the black market continues to thrive. Dozens of traders remained at their favorite spot behind the central bank headquarters in Tripoli when Reuters reporters visited it last week.

But traders said it could take time for the Serraj government to register the extra forex receipts as official banking channels were taking up to six months to approve import financing, keeping the black market in play for dealers.

Issawi said authorities planned to lower the forex fee from 183 percent, without saying when. The black market rate has dropped from 6 to around 4.1 since September but it has hardly moved of late as demand for black market cash remains high.

The Tripoli government has stopped subsidizing food and bread, which used to be cheaper than drinking water in Libya. Wheat imports are now being arranged by private traders and there are surplus stocks of flour at the moment, Issawi said.

(Reporting by Ulf Laessing in Tripoli with additional reporting by Karin Strohecker in London; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

Source: OANN

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Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., threatened possible jail time for White House officials refusing to comply with subpoenas to testify before the House Oversight Committee.

Connolly, a member of the House panel, made his comments during an interview on CNN on Thursday. He said that “if a subpoena is issued and you’re told you must testify, we will back that up.”

He added: “And we will use any and all power in our command to make sure it’s backed up — whether that’s a contempt citation, whether that’s going to court and getting that citation enforced, whether it’s fines, whether it’s possible incarceration.”

“We will go to the max to enforce the constitutional role of the legislative branch of government.”

His comments came after three officials have refused to comply with congressional requests to testify, CNN noted.

Trump told The Washington Post that his staff should not testify on Capitol Hill, explaining that the White House cooperated fully with special counsel Robert Mueller and “there is no reason to go any further, especially in Congress where it’s very partisan.”

Source: NewsMax Politics

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“Outdated laws” need fixing to deal with the surge in illegal immigrant families crossing the U.S. border with Mexico, a top Border Patrol official said Friday.

Migrant families face no consequences if apprehended trying to cross the border illegally under present law, Border Patrol chief of Operations Brian Hastings claimed during an appearance on “Fox & Friends.”

“We need a change in the current outdated laws that we’re dealing with for this current demographic and this crisis that we have,” he said.

Hastings said as of Thursday there have been 440,000 apprehensions along the southwest border. There were 396,000 apprehensions all of last year.

SOUTHERN BORDER AT ‘BREAKING POINT’ AFTER MORE THAN 76,000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TRIED CROSSING IN FEBRUARY, OFFICIALS SAY

And those numbers continue to rise, he said.

Historically 70 to 90 percent of apprehensions at the border were quickly returned to Mexico, Hastings said.

Now, 83 percent of those apprehended have come from the Central American northern triangle which includes Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, and of those 63 percent are “family units” and children who cannot be returned, he said.

“There are no consequences that we can apply to this group currently,” Hastings said. “We’re overwhelmed. If you look at agents there doing a tremendous job trying to deal with the flow.”

The law dictates children have to be released after 20 days of detention.

FLORIDA SHERIFF ON BORDER CRISIS AFTER MAJOR DRUG BUST: ‘IT MAKES ME ABSOLUTELY CRAZY’

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., says that has forced immigration officials to release entire families because “you don’t want to separate families.”

Recently, he said he is drafting legislation that would allow children to be detained for more than 20 days.

Hastings said agents are frustrated with the situation but are doing the best they can with the resources they have.

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“Up to 40 percent of our agents are processing at any given time,” he said. “That should say that in and of itself is pulling from those border security resources.”

Source: Fox News National

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