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Federer to make clay court return at Madrid Open

Tennis - Australian Open - Fourth Round
Tennis - Australian Open - Fourth Round - Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, January 20, 2019. Switzerland’s Roger Federer speaks duriong a news conference after losing the match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas. REUTERS/Edgar Su

February 20, 2019

(Reuters) – Roger Federer confirmed his participation for this year’s Madrid Open on Wednesday, marking his return to the European clay court season after two years away.

The 20-times Grand Slam champion has not played this year since his Australian Open round of 16 defeat by Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in January.

Federer, whose sole French Open title came in 2009, has preferred to skip the European clay season over the last two seasons to manage his schedule.

The 37-year-old Swiss is the second most successful player at the Caja Magica behind Rafa Nadal, winning three titles in 2006, 2009 and 2012.

“Federer is one of the best players of all time, it’s no secret,” tournament director Feliciano Lopez said in a statement.

“We are happy because his return to Madrid is a gift to the tournament, but above all the fans will be able to see a unique player in the Caja Magica. Having the Swiss player back on clay with Djokovic and Nadal is going to be unmissable.”

World number one Novak Djokovic and 11-times French Open winner Nadal are also expected to feature at the Madrid Open, which will be played from May 3-12.

(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

Source: OANN

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Indianapolis shootings leave 6 dead in 24-hour period

Indianapolis police are searching for numerous shooters Monday after gun violence rocked the city this past weekend, leaving at least six people dead over a 24-hour period.

The fatal attacks throughout the city between Saturday night and Sunday night included a double-murder at a building police described to FOX59 as being a “motorcycle club hangout.” In another, a 17-year-old was said to have been gunned down in the street by an unknown assailant who pulled up beside him in a car.

“I don't know what's wrong with people...everybody shooting each other,” Arthur Littleton, a resident of the city, told the Indianapolis Star. “This isn't how it's supposed to be."

The violence began Saturday night when a man was found lying in the middle of a street with gunshot wounds. Less than two hours later, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department was called to another scene at an apartment complex, where a man had been targeted after visiting his friends, FOX59 reported. Both are said to have died from their injuries.

In the “motorcycle club hangout” shooting around 1 a.m. Sunday, which left a man and a woman dead, investigators told the station they believe some kind of disagreement between two or three groups hanging out in the building led to the attack.

The 17-year-old was killed Sunday afternoon and the final victim was gunned down that night.

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Police told FOX59 they are still investigating the shootings and, as of Monday, no arrests have been made. The names of the victims were not immediately released.

“As a city Indianapolis we cannot continue to tolerate this level of senseless violence that has a disregard for the sanctity of human life,” Rev. Charles Harrison, the president of the anti-gun violence Indianapolis Ten Point Coalition Board, said Monday. “This is our city, Indianapolis, and all of us must care and do all we can together to reduce violence, restore hope, and help improve the quality of life for every resident in this city.”

Source: Fox News National

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U.S. disrupted Russian trolls on day of November election: report

FILE PHOTO: Voters fill out their ballots for the midterm election at a polling place in Madison, Wisconsin
FILE PHOTO: Voters fill out their ballots for the midterm election at a polling place in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Nick Oxford

February 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. military disrupted the internet access of a Russian troll farm accused of trying to influence American voters on Nov. 6, 2018, the day of the congressional elections, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

The U.S. Cyber Command strike targeted the Internet Research Agency in the Russian port city of St. Petersburg, the Post reported, citing unidentified U.S. officials.

The group is a Kremlin-backed outfit whose employees had posed as Americans and spread disinformation online in an attempt to also influence the 2016 election, according to U.S. officials.

“They basically took the IRA (Internet Research Agency) offline,” the Post quoted one person familiar with the matter as saying. “They shut ‘em down.”

Cyber Command had no immediate comment on the report.

The Internet Research Agency was one of three entities and 13 Russian individuals indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office in February 2018 in an alleged criminal and espionage conspiracy to tamper in the U.S. presidential race, boost Trump and disparage his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

Prosecutors said the agency is controlled by Russian businessman Evgeny Prigozhin, who U.S. officials have said has extensive ties to Russia’s military and political establishment.

Prigozhin, also personally charged by Mueller, has been dubbed “Putin’s cook” by Russian media because his catering business has organized banquets for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish and Bernadette Baum)

Source: OANN

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Two U.S. senators complain of slowing sanctions on North Korea

Residents hold US and North Korean flags while they wait for motorcade of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un en route to the Metropole Hotel for the second US- North Korea summit in Hanoi
Residents hold US and North Korean flags while they wait for motorcade of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un en route to the Metropole Hotel for the second US- North Korea summit in Hanoi, Vietnam February 28, 2019. REUTERS/Kham

March 19, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Two senior U.S. senators called on Monday for the Trump administration to correct a slowing pace of U.S. sanctions designations on North Korea, saying there had been a marked decline in the past year of U.S. engagement with Pyongyang.

In a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Republican Cory Gardner and Democrat Ed Markey called for a recommitment to robust enforcement of U.S. and United Nations sanctions on North Korea.

The senators, the chairman and ranking member respectively of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, complained that the pace of sanctions designations on North Korea had “slowed considerably” in the past year of U.S. diplomatic engagement with the country.

They cited research by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think tank saying that the Trump administration had sanctioned 182 persons and entities for North Korea sanctions violations since March 31, 2017, but only 26 since Feb. 23, 2018, “despite ample evidence of illicit behavior from Pyongyang and its enablers.”

The letter pointed to a 2019 U.N. report which found that North Korea had continued to defy U.N. sanctions with a massive increase in smuggling of petroleum products and coal and violation of bans on arms sales.

While welcoming U.S. diplomatic efforts aimed at persuading North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, the senators’ letter said “the status quo is unacceptable and is contrary to the administration’s ‘maximum pressure and engagement’ doctrine.”

U.S.-North Korea engagement has appeared to be in limbo after a second summit in the past year between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un broke down last month over conflicting demands for sanctions relief and denuclearization.

The State and Treasury Departments did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Senators’ letter.

Pompeo said in a radio interview on Monday that the administration had “the toughest economic sanctions in history,” on North Korea “but the most promising diplomatic engagement in history” with the country as well.

Speaking to B98 FM in Kansas, Pompeo said Washington aimed to reengage with Kim. Pompeo said on March 5 that he was hopeful he could send a team to North Korea “in the next couple of weeks,” but there has been no sign of such direct engagement since the Feb. 27-28 summit.

The State Department said the U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun, who has led working-level talks with Pyongyang, would travel to London on Tuesday to meet British, French, and German counterparts to discuss coordinated efforts to advance North Korean denuclearization.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom in Washington; Editing by James Dalgleish)

Source: OANN

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Man who sent powder-filled letters to Trump sons gets probation

A Massachusetts man who sent threatening letters filled with white powder to President Trump’s sons and a Democratic U.S. senator was sentenced to probation Friday.

Daniel Frisiello, 25, of Beverly, was sentenced to five years of probation, with one year to serve in home detention with location monitoring and restitution, law enforcement sources told Fox News.

Frisiello pleaded guilty in October 2018 to 13 counts of mailing a threat to injure the person and six counts of false information and hoaxes.

He was arrested early last year after sending a letter filled with white powder to Donald Trump Jr in February 2018.

This booking photo released Thursday, March 1, 2018, by the Beverly Police Department shows Daniel Frisiello, of Beverly, Mass., accused of mailing five envelopes containing a white powder. Prosecutors are seeking three years in prison for Frisiello who admitted to sending threatening letters filled with white powder to President Donald Trump’s sons and others. Frisiello is set to be sentenced Friday, April 19, 2019, in Boston federal court.

This booking photo released Thursday, March 1, 2018, by the Beverly Police Department shows Daniel Frisiello, of Beverly, Mass., accused of mailing five envelopes containing a white powder. Prosecutors are seeking three years in prison for Frisiello who admitted to sending threatening letters filled with white powder to President Donald Trump’s sons and others. Frisiello is set to be sentenced Friday, April 19, 2019, in Boston federal court. (Beverly Police Dept via AP)

Trump Jr.’s now-ex-wife, Vanessa Trump, opened the letter and was briefly hospitalized after being exposed to the powder. Vanessa reportedly began coughing and feeling nauseous, however, she was soon cleared by doctors and the substance in the letter was found to be cornstarch.

LETTER WITH WHITE POWDER FOR TRUMP JR. CALLS HIM 'AWFUL,' SAYS HE'LL GET WHAT HE 'DESERVES'

Authorities said the letter included a threatening note that read: “You are an awful, awful person. I am surprised that your father lets you speak on TV. You are the family idiot, Eric looks smart.”

“This is the reason why people hate you, so you are getting what you deserve,” the note contained.

Other recipients included President Trump’s other son, Eric Trump, actor Antonio Sabato Jr. and Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.

Officials said they were able to track Frisiello down after examining a “glitter bomb” he allegedly sent to Michelle Dauber, a Stanford University law professor who supported an effort to recall a judge who made headlines when he sentenced a college student six months for sexual assault.

DONALD TRUMP JR. HITS NEWSWEEK, SUGGESTS MILLIONS OF ITS TWITTER FOLLOWERS ARE FAKE

Authorities said the font used in the letter sent to Dauber matched the lettering in the notes filled with white powder.

On Friday, Federal Judge Nathaniel Gorton said he declined to send Frisiello to prison because of concerns the 25-year-old would not respond well to incarceration. Frisiello's lawyer has said the man is developmentally disabled. But Groton stressed the sentence wasn't "lenient"

Frisiello thanked Groton and said the past year has been "hell" for his family. Prosecutors objected to the sentence.

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During the period of probation, Frisiello is prohibited from contacting victims in the case, sending letters through the mail, accessing the internet, and possessing and accessing computers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News National

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Liberals now pushing impeachment as a scarlet letter

Despite his initial exultation as he declared victory in the Mueller investigation, President Trump looks to be pretty mad right now.

And the reason seems to be that he's watching a lot of TV.

While praising "Fox & Friends" yesterday as the best (and highest-rated) morning political show, the president went off on its competitors:

"Morning Psycho (Joe), who helped get me elected in 2016 by having me on (free) all the time, has nosedived, too," he tweeted. "Angry, Dumb and Sick. A really bad show with low ratings - and will only get worse. CNN has been a proven and long term ratings and beyond disaster. In fact, it rewarded Chris Cuomo with a now unsuccessful prime time slot, despite his massive failure in the morning. Only on CNN!"

(Joe Scarborough, noting that his ratings keep rising, jabbed Trump with the banner "Morning Psycho Responds to Faithful Viewer," saying "he just can't quit us." Cuomo's prime-time show, while in third place, has settled in as the highest rated show on his network.)

TRUMP GOES ON TEAR AGAINST CRITICS OVER COVERAGE OF ECONOMY, RUSSIA CASE

Trump also unloaded on the "stupid" New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, calling him "obsessed with hatred," and saying the paper "will have to get down on their knees & beg for forgiveness-they are truly the Enemy of the People!"

(Krugman, whatever one thinks of his commentary, is a Nobel Prize winner in economics.)

Maybe this simply reflects how the president revels in staying on offense. He's happiest when attacking those he believes have treated him unfairly, especially in the media.

But he may well be reacting to the renewed impeachment chatter on the airwaves, especially MSNBC, and among Democrats like AOC who don't agree with Nancy Pelosi's decision to avoid such a move. The speaker's argument: the party can hold Trump accountable for "highly unethical and unscrupulous behavior" without wading into the impeachment bog.

Kamala Harris has now joined Elizabeth Warren in the pro-impeachment camp, but most of the other 2020 candidates are not ready to hop on the bandwagon.

What's striking is the unmistakable shift in tone among impeachment advocates in the days since the Mueller report was unveiled.

They know — and acknowledge — that it would dominate the news for many months and blot out any remnants of a Democratic agenda.

They know — and acknowledge — that it would fire up the Trumpian base.

They know — and acknowledge — that the Republican-controlled Senate would not even come close to convicting Trump.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE'S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF OF THE DAY'S HOTTEST STORIES

But they don't care.

They essentially echo what Rashida Tlaib, the leadoff guest on MSNBC's "All In" on Monday night, said after the election: Impeach the motherf---er anyway.

New York Times columnist Charles Blow makes the case:

"Obstruction of justice is a crime. If Trump committed that crime, he's a criminal. Are we simply going to allow a criminal to sit in the Oval Office and face no consequence? Are we simply going to let the next presidential election be the point at which Trump is punished or rewarded?

"It is maddening to think that we are at such a pass. But, my mind is made up: I say impeach him."

JARED KUSHNER: RUSSIA INVESTIGATION HAD 'HARSHER IMPACT' ON US THAN ELECTION MEDDLING

And here's the rationale: "I say that there is no such thing as a failed impeachment. Impeachment exists separately from removal ...

"So, an impeachment vote in the House has, to this point, been the strongest rebuke America is willing to give a president. I can think of no president who has earned this rebuke more than the current one. And, once a president is impeached, he is forever marked.

"So it's a big fat punishment, being branded with a scarlet 'I.'"

Another Times columnist, Michelle Goldberg, is just offended that he's president: "It's a national disgrace that Trump sleeps in the White House instead of a federal prison cell."

Mueller laid out an impeachment road map, she says, "and in a remotely functional country that's what it would be ...

HILLARY CLINTON: ANYONE OTHER THAN TRUMP WOULD HAVE BEEN INDICTED FOR OBSTRUCTION

"Whether or not this is politically wise, failing to impeach would be a grave abdication. If you want people to believe that the misdeeds enumerated in the Mueller report are serious, you have to act like it. To not even try to impeach Trump is to collaborate in the Trumpian fiction that he has done nothing impeachable."

So impeach or be complicit. This is the emerging "moral duty" argument of liberal adherents, who say it requires putting politics aside. In fact, the founders adopted impeachment as an explicitly political remedy for an unfit leader who had not necessarily committed crimes.

On the other side, National Review Editor Rich Lowry says the post-Mueller Democrats are desperate and indulging in a "fantasy":

"If House Democrats impeach Trump ... they will be sorely disappointed. They will wake up the day afterward and, after all the drama and wall-to-wall coverage, he'll still be president of the United States, tweeting per usual.

"Impeachment would be a symbolic mark against Trump, but at what cost? Impeachment won't magnify the president's alleged offenses but will make them smaller as the argument devolves into a microscopic examination of his words and actions (and non-actions). It would be the most forlorn impeachment ever."

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If impeachment is viewed as a gussied-up censure vote, rather than a constitutional remedy, then the liberals who are pushing it don't care if it's forlorn or not. They just want to do something cathartic, regardless of the real-world consequences.

But the Democrats who fervently want Donald Trump out of office have a better option: Beat him at the ballot box next year.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Report: DEA Snooped on Americans Who Bought Money Counters

The Drug Enforcement Administration secretly collected bulk records of Americans' purchases of money-counting machines to look for possible drug traffickers — and hid the practice from judges and defendants, The New York Times reported.

The DEA in 2008 began to issue blanket administrative subpoenas to learn who was buying money counters, according to an inspector general report. The subpoenas involved no court oversight nor were they pegged to any particular probe.

The agency ultimately collected tens of thousands of records showing the names and addresses of people who bought the devices until the practice stopped in 2013 amid the furor over Edward Snowden's national security leaks, the Times reported.

In an apparent slip-up, the OIG report contained one uncensored reference about how DEA policy called for hiding the fact the names of suspects came from its database of its money-counter purchases.

That instruction "was intended to protect the program's sources and methods; criminals would obtain money counters by other means if they knew that the DEA collected this data," it said, the Times reported.

Source: NewsMax America

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Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza talks to the media during a news conference in Caracas
Venezuela’s Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza talks to the media during a news conference in Caracas, Venezuela April 8, 2019. REUTERS/Manaure Quintero

April 26, 2019

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department on Friday imposed sanctions on Venezuela’s foreign minister and a Venezuelan judge, according to a statement on the department’s website.

Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza and a judge, Carol Padilla, were targeted over the ongoing crisis in Venezuela, the Treasury Department said, the latest in a list of officials blacklisted by U.S. authorities for their role in President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

(Reporting by Susan Heavey, Makini Brice and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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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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A bedridden 67-year-old woman and more than a dozen animals were rescued Thursday after a welfare check found that they were living in a home filled with trash, urine, and feces, Florida police said.

Pinellas County sheriff’s deputies said when they arrived at the home in Dunedin around 7:20 p.m. Thursday, they could smell the odor of rotting trash and animal feces as they walked up to the driveway.

“Inside the residence, the odor of feces and urine was so overwhelming that deputies had to don masks,” the sheriff’s department said in a statement.

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

Walking throughout the residence, the deputies found 10 emaciated dogs and puppies living in bins filled with their own feces, five large Macaw birds flying freely, rats, bugs and overall squalor.

Puppies discovered living in their own feces inside a Florida home that was filled with trash, urine, and feces.

Puppies discovered living in their own feces inside a Florida home that was filled with trash, urine, and feces. (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)

Deputies said due to the large amounts of trash in the home, they had to clear a path to reach the victim’s bedroom.

“None of the home’s toilets were working and all were found to be overflowing with feces,” deputies said. “The only working sink was located on the opposite end of the house from the victim’s bedroom.”

They said there was no food or water for the victim or the animals.

FLORIDA MAN IN EASTER BUNNY COSTUME CAUGHT IN VIRAL BRAWL IS WANTED IN NEW JERSEY, HAS HISTORY OF ARRESTS

The victim was transported to a local hospital for injuries that were non-life threatening, while the animals were transported to shelters.

The woman’s caretaker, Richard Lawrence Goodwin, 65, was arrested and charged with abuse and neglect of an elderly person, disabled person, and cruelty to animals.

Richard Goodwin, 69, was arrested for abuse and neglect of an elderly and disabled person after deputies found she was living in deplorable conditions.

Richard Goodwin, 69, was arrested for abuse and neglect of an elderly and disabled person after deputies found she was living in deplorable conditions. (Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)

The sheriff’s department said this was Goodwin’s second arrest for abuse and neglect of the same victim. He was previously arrested in May 2018.

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Neighbor Victoria Muenzerbeer told FOX 13 that Goodwin and the victim were hoarders and the conditions inside the home were horrible years ago when she visited once.

“I went in and it was absolutely, a human being couldn’t live there,” she said. “The kitchen wasn’t usable and part of the wall was falling in.”

Source: Fox News National

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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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