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Netanyahu, Gantz make last pitches in tight Israeli election

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his chief challenger Benny Gantz are making their final appeals to voters ahead of crucial parliamentary elections that will determine whether the longtime Israeli leader stays in power.

Netanyahu has been buoyed by a tight alliance with President Donald Trump but clouded by a series of looming corruption indictments. He is seeking a fifth term in office that would make him Israel's longest-ever serving leader.

He faces his stiffest challenge in a decade from Gantz, a telegenic former military chief whose Blue and White party has inched ahead of Netanyahu's ruling Likud party in the polls.

Netanyahu, however, still appears to have the better chance of forming a coalition, with a smattering of small nationalist and ultra-Orthodox parties vowing to back him.

Source: Fox News World

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Kansas agency finds abuse and neglect in Wichita boy’s death

Kansas child welfare authorities investigated two reports of possible abuse or neglect involving a Wichita couple in the 17 months before their 3-year-old son was found dead in his crib.

The Kansas Department of Children and Families on Thursday completed its investigation into the April 12 death of Zaiden Javonovich, who authorities believe was dead days before his body was discovered.

In a report summary obtained by The Associated Press through an open records request, the agency said it found physical abuse and neglect in the case but provided no other details.

Zaiden's mother, Brandi Marchant, 22, and his father, Patrick Javonovich, 28, are charged with felony murder and child abuse in Zaiden's death. His body was found April 11 when police went to the home after receiving a call about a domestic disturbance. Zaiden's 4-month-old brother, who is Marchant's son, was found injured and hospitalized in critical condition.

In November 2017, the Department of Children and Families investigated possible emotional abuse after a report that Marchant made homicidal and suicidal statements in front of the children. One child who reported a homicidal statement mentioned Zaiden, according to the report. Several people were interviewed but investigators could not substantiate the claim.

A year later, the department was told the younger boy tested positive for marijuana at birth. The case could not be investigated as an abuse/neglect case because medical officials did not indicate the boy's health was hurt by marijuana use, the summary states.

Instead, a Family in Need of Assessment case was started. A social worker who met with the couple found both children appearing healthy, with all necessary supplies for the infant, according to the report. The parents, who are not married, completed a federally required plan of safe care and in another visit, Marchant completed a Department of Children and Families safety plan. The case was closed Jan. 14.

The Wichita Eagle reported the agency rejected a request for information about the younger boy. Spokesman Eric Smith confirmed the department received a report of alleged abuse and is investigating.

Source: Fox News National

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Factbox: Congress’s many promises to take on Modi in Indian election

FILE PHOTO: A worker pulls a roll of flags of India's main opposition Congress party kept for drying at a flag manufacturing factory, ahead of the 2019 general elections, in Ahmedabad
FILE PHOTO: A worker pulls a roll of flags of India's main opposition Congress party kept for drying at a flag manufacturing factory, ahead of the 2019 general elections, in Ahmedabad, India, March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Amit Dave/File Photo

April 1, 2019

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – From a monthly dole for the poor to jobs quota for women, India’s main opposition Congress party is making one promise after another in a bid to oust Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a multi-phase general election that starts next week.

Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has also weighed measures to woo farmers, small business owners and those who are less well-off.

Here are the main promises made by Congress, which will release its election manifesto on Tuesday.

“ASSAULT ON POVERTY”

Congress will give 72,000 rupees ($1,038) to each of India’s poorest families every year if voted back to power, its president Rahul Gandhi said last week, calling the move a “final assault on poverty”.

The program, to be implemented in phases, would benefit 250 million of a population of 1.3 billion, Gandhi said.

The BJP has called the announcement a gimmick while some economists have called it fiscally irresponsible.

JOBS

Gandhi says there are 2.2 million vacant government jobs and that Congress will fill them by March 31, 2020 if voted back to power.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

The party has promised to reserve a third of federal government jobs for women and push through the long-pending Women’s Reservation Bill, which provides for 33 percent of seats in national and state assemblies to be reserved for women.

HEALTHCARE

Congress has promised to more than double healthcare spending to 3 percent of GDP by 2024, provide free diagnostics and medicines through public hospitals, set up more medical colleges and give financial support to medical students.

EDUCATION

It has promised to boost spending on education to 6 percent of GDP by 2023/24, up from an estimated 2.7 percent in 2018.

REMOVING REDTAPE

Gandhi has said he will relax rules for new businesses and offer tax incentives to firms in order to create jobs if he comes to power.

New businesses would not need any government permissions in the first three years of operations. Congress would scrap taxes on investors in new businesses and make bank loans easier.

GST

Congress has promised to reform the goods and services tax into a “simple and minimum tax”.

(Compiled by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Source: OANN

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British businesses stash cash as Brexit gloom deepens: Deloitte

FILE PHOTO: The financial district can be seen as a person runs in the sunshine on London's south bank
FILE PHOTO: The financial district can be seen as a person runs in the sunshine on London's south bank, Britain February 23, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

April 14, 2019

(Reuters) – A growing number of large British-based businesses are prioritizing cashflow, fearing a downturn, as their view of the long-term economic impact of Brexit has darkened to its most negative so far, accountancy firm Deloitte said on Monday.

Some 81 percent of chief financial officers surveyed expect Brexit to lead to a long-term deterioration in Britain’s business environment, the highest since the question was first asked at the time of June 2016’s referendum on leaving the European Union.

This was up from 78 percent at the end of last year in the quarterly survey of 89 companies, including 15 in the FTSE 100 and 33 in the FTSE 250 share index, plus smaller firms and subsidiaries of major foreign companies.

Deloitte carried out the survey between March 26 and April 7, just after it became certain Britain would not leave on the long-planned date of March 29, and before British Prime Minister Theresa May secured a delay of up to six months.

“Large businesses are clearly looking to protect themselves against risk by raising cash levels and bullet-proofing balance sheets,” David Sproul, Deloitte’s chief executive for northwest Europe, said.

Official data last month showed British business investment fell every quarter of 2018, the longest decline since the 2008/09 financial crisis.

Speaking on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund’s spring meeting in Washington last week, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said a chaotic Brexit remained one of the top three risks to the world economy.

Trade tensions between the United States and China and a slowing euro zone economy have also fueled fears of a global downturn.

Most large businesses now expect the BoE to keep interest rates on hold over the coming year.

The Deloitte survey showed the proportion of CFOs expecting one or more interest rate rises in the next 12 months dropped to 40 percent from 58 percent at the end of 2018.

Deloitte’s long-running gauge of corporate risk appetite remained close to lows last seen after 2016’s Brexit referendum and during the depths of the financial crisis, and more than half of firms said increasing cashflow was a priority, the highest proportion in nine years.

(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by Alexander Smith)

Source: OANN

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Bombshell: Another Drag Queen Story Hour Member Exposed as Pedophile, Report Says

Investigators with MassResistance Houston claim they have uncovered the criminal record of yet another Drag Queen Story Hour participant revealing a history of child sex crimes.

According to the investigation by MassResistance, which compiled records, a Houstonian by the name of William Travis Dees was incarcerated and listed as a high risk sex offender in 2004 after he abused multiple children.

Dees is now a member of the Space City Sisters, the group claims, a drag queen organization which conducts Drag Queen Story Hour for children at the Houston Public Library.

After months of investigation, MassResistance said they have been able to identify Dees as a Space City Sister who has multiple aliases.

Mass Resistance organized at the Eleanor K. Freed Montrose Library Thursday for a press conference:

Following extensive research MassResistance issued a report they say exposes Dees in yet another Drag Queen Story Hour horror story.

Their report is presented below:


This is Elizabeth Anne Davidson/  aka Liz Davidson/ aka Liza Lot/ aka Sister Jeff / aka William Travis Dees.

(Image source: About-Online.com)

This photo is from an article that he wrote about his experience as a transgender dominatrix for hire, a trans prostitute and trans adult sex film worker. 

https://web.archive.org/save/http://about-online.com/featured/learned-trans-dominatrix-sex-work/   

This is William’s Instagram page where he goes by the name Liza Lott, a drag stage name that he uses.

William Dees is a Space City Sister that goes by the name of “Sister Jeff”. Space city Sisters are the Houston Chapter of Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

Here he is at the library where he was invited by library staff to be part of a team of organizers who greeted children at the library:  The library invited the Space City Sisters to greet kids and “make them feel safe” as they came to Drag Queen Story Hour…oh the irony.  Here is a link to a space city sister revealing the library reached out to them.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnTYR9s24gU

In the Instagram post below, Space City Sisters posts that they “had an amazing time helping the children feel welcomed and assuring them past ‘hate groups’ to Drag Queen Story Hour. 

January 2019 DQST with Liza Lott, aka Sister Jeff, aka Elizabeth Davidson, aka William Travis Dees

October 2018 Drag Queen Story Time

DQST with Sister Jeff in the front center.

Above: “Sister Jeff” at DQSH, Jan 2019.- “Sister Jeff” is wearing a blue, pink and white wig (?) and a purple shaw. 

Liza Lott is also involved with HATCH Youth, a program for LGBTQ youth ages 6 and up:

It was on Liza Lott’s Instagram page that he posted information leading to the discovery of the legal name, William Travis Dees.

A combination of posts he shared of texts messages from his mother and a photo of prescriptions drugs he was prescribed for gender transition provided enough detail to verify his identity and run a background check. In one post, his mother calls him “William”.  We then looked at the family associated with the name William Travis Dees (which had been associated with data such as address and phone number for his alias Elizabeth Davidson) and found his picture posted in his family’s social media confirming for us that he was in fact the William Travis Dees.

This is an address we were able to use to help connect dots to the drag queen’s real identity.

A photo from a family member’s Facebook page featuring William Dees.

Here is his record:  https://www.bustedoffenders.com/texas/houston/sex-offenders/william-travis-dees/07361172

The Texas Penal Code with relevant sections bolded:

Sec. 21.11.  INDECENCY WITH A CHILD.  (a)  A person commits an offense if, with a child younger than 17 years of age, whether the child is of the same or opposite sex and regardless of whether the person knows the age of the child at the time of the offense, the person:

(1)  engages in sexual contact with the child or causes the child to engage in sexual contact; or

(2)  with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person:

(A)  exposes the person’s anus or any part of the person’s genitals, knowing the child is present; or

(B)  causes the child to expose the child’s anus or any part of the child’s genitals.

(b)  It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the actor:

(1)  was not more than three years older than the victim and of the opposite sex;

(2)  did not use duress, force, or a threat against the victim at the time of the offense;  and

(3)  at the time of the offense:

(A)  was not required under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, to register for life as a sex offender;  or

(B)  was not a person who under Chapter 62 had a reportable conviction or adjudication for an offense under this section.

(b-1)  It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the actor was the spouse of the child at the time of the offense.

(c)  In this section, “sexual contact” means the following acts, if committed with the intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person:

(1)  any touching by a person, including touching through clothing, of the anus, breast, or any part of the genitals of a child;  or

(2)  any touching of any part of the body of a child, including touching through clothing, with the anus, breast, or any part of the genitals of a person.

(d)  An offense under Subsection (a)(1) is a felony of the second degree and an offense under Subsection (a)(2) is a felony of the third degree.

Sec. 22.021.  AGGRAVATED SEXUAL ASSAULT.  (a)  A person commits an offense:

(1)  if the person:

(A)  intentionally or knowingly:

(i)  causes the penetration of the anus or sexual organ of another person by any means, without that person’s consent;

(ii)  causes the penetration of the mouth of another person by the sexual organ of the actor, without that person’s consent; or

(iii)  causes the sexual organ of another person, without that person’s consent, to contact or penetrate the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor; or

(B)  regardless of whether the person knows the age of the child at the time of the offense, intentionally or knowingly:

(i)  causes the penetration of the anus or sexual organ of a child by any means;

(ii)  causes the penetration of the mouth of a child by the sexual organ of the actor;

(iii)  causes the sexual organ of a child to contact or penetrate the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor;

(iv)  causes the anus of a child to contact the mouth, anus, or sexual organ of another person, including the actor; or

(v)  causes the mouth of a child to contact the anus or sexual organ of another person, including the actor; and

(2)  if:

(A)  the person:

(i)  causes serious bodily injury or attempts to cause the death of the victim or another person in the course of the same criminal episode;

(ii)  by acts or words places the victim in fear that any person will become the victim of an offense under Section 20A.02(a)(3), (4), (7), or (8) or that death, serious bodily injury, or kidnapping will be imminently inflicted on any person;

(iii)  by acts or words occurring in the presence of the victim threatens to cause any person to become the victim of an offense under Section 20A.02(a)(3), (4), (7), or (8) or to cause the death, serious bodily injury, or kidnapping of any person;

(iv)  uses or exhibits a deadly weapon in the course of the same criminal episode;

(v)  acts in concert with another who engages in conduct described by Subdivision (1) directed toward the same victim and occurring during the course of the same criminal episode; or

(vi)  with the intent of facilitating the commission of the offense, administers or provides to the victim of the offense any substance capable of impairing the victim’s ability to appraise the nature of the act or to resist the act;

(B)  the victim is younger than 14 years of age, regardless of whether the person knows the age of the victim at the time of the offense; or

(C)  the victim is an elderly individual or a disabled individual.

(b)  In this section:

(1)  “Child” has the meaning assigned by Section 22.011(c).

(2)  “Elderly individual” has the meaning assigned by Section 22.04(c).

(3)  “Disabled individual” means a person older than 13 years of age who by reason of age or physical or mental disease, defect, or injury is substantially unable to protect the person’s self from harm or to provide food, shelter, or medical care for the person’s self.

(c)  An aggravated sexual assault under this section is without the consent of the other person if the aggravated sexual assault occurs under the same circumstances listed in Section 22.011(b).

(d)  The defense provided by Section 22.011(d) applies to this section.

(e)  An offense under this section is a felony of the first degree.

(f)  The minimum term of imprisonment for an offense under this section is increased to 25 years if:

(1)  the victim of the offense is younger than six years of age at the time the offense is committed; or

(2)  the victim of the offense is younger than 14 years of age at the time the offense is committed and the actor commits the offense in a manner described by Subsection (

This is the same ‘Sister Jeff” from Drag Queen Story Time that followed a woman into the women’s restroom, which appears to be a violation of another city ordinance:

In this social media post (below), Liz Davidson, aka Liza Lott, aka Sister Jeff, aka William Dees, aka Elizabeth Davidson admits he was in the women’s restroom and makes himself out to be the victim in this scenario.  A drag queen who is transgender follows a woman who he most certainly recognized as one of the protesters into the public lady’s room at the library and he is claiming it was all innocent. 

A complaint was made at the Freed Montrose Library to an officer on duty, no report has been made available yet.

(https://youtu.be/mXwJ7H1Lnh8)

MassResistanceHouston members and Community Leader Tex Christopher have warned the Mayor and City Council for months about this program, the library has temporarily suspended the program but doubled-down and plans to bring it back this summer. The organizers reported that they gave a list of names to the library in October and all volunteers had background checks from that time on.  The library had said the previously identified sex offender was just an oversight due to the volunteer submitting a wrong name and no social security number on his application. 

Below are screen shots of an application for a greeter to the library, the application does not indicate a field for inputting a social security number. It does inquire about online presence, this is something we brought to the council and the mayor’s attention in the past. None of these volunteers have social media that would be acceptable for a person being held up as a role model for children and the fact they use their stage names makes their social media easy to find.  Most parents would not approve of these volunteers as role models or to read or be involved in any children’s programs based on the social media presence alone.  Then there is the matter of the background checks that “don’t get performed” or are ignored, whichever it is.  If background checks were performed then why did the library not admit in March that there was more than one sex offender found in their background checks?  They invited this guy to be part of a welcoming committee to the children and this was for several consecutive months.  They had background checks since October 2018.  Another oversight?  The public deserves answers.

MassResistance Houston will demand answers from city leaders and the library officials who have withheld documents demanded released by the Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton.  MassResistance Houston will demand an audit to be conducted on the background checking and volunteer applications to determine how many were not ever conducted and how many sex offenders have been involved in programming in the Houston Public Libraries and for which programs.  MassResistance will demand a new ordinance that protects children by requiring background checks for all city-sanctioned events that involve children.

MassResistance Houston made a video that demonstrates the attitudes that they faced when they went to city hall over the course of the last several months to raise concerns about Drag Queen Story Hour.  That video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKyJEJbkAaA

Screen shot of application to volunteer:

This is Space City Sisters, with Sister Jeff, some of the “sisters” are involved in pup play activities and contests.

 


Source: InfoWars

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HSBC promotes 1300 staff as investment bank overhaul gathers pace: memo

FILE PHOTO: The HSBC bank is seen in the financial district of Canary Wharf
FILE PHOTO: The HSBC bank is seen in the financial district of Canary Wharf in London, Britain, July 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs

March 19, 2019

By Sinead Cruise and Lawrence White

LONDON (Reuters) – HSBC is stepping up a root-and-branch overhaul of its global banking and markets division, naming 83 new managing directors in a 1,300-strong promotions spree aimed at revitalizing its investment banking franchise.

After another year of underwhelming performance in 2018, HSBC’s management team – bolstered by new finance chief and ex-investment banker Ewen Stevenson – are plotting a push to recover ground lost to rivals, with a revamp of its trading floor seen as top priority, sources close to HSBC said.

Samir Assaf, chief executive of global banking and markets, distributed a memo last Monday pointing out the significant rise in the number of women promoted this year.

HSBC is trying to close a gender pay gap of 61 percent, the worst among major British firms and largely caused by a lack of women in senior, higher paid roles.

Around a third of the 83 new managing directors are female, the memo seen by Reuters showed, a 13 percentage point rise from the previous year, according to a source at the bank with knowledge of the matter.

A spokesman for HSBC declined to comment.

The wave of promotions comes just weeks after the bank axed dozens of sales and advisory jobs in London following an extended period of turmoil in its investment banking operations.

Last year saw an exodus of high-profile dealmakers in Europe, with sources saying there was frustration at a lack of a clear strategy.

36 of the promotions are in HSBC’s global banking business, which includes its mergers and acquisitions and equity advisory bankers.

The bank has also poached senior hires from rivals, including former JPMorgan banker Greg Guyett as head of global banking and former Goldman Sachs banker Peter Enns as the global head of its financial institutions group.

HSBC tumbled further in investment banking league tables in some key market segments in 2018, with its fourth quarter performance in equities particularly weak.

Revenues there fell 20 percent from a year earlier, the second worst performance among major investment banks after France’s BNP Paribas.

HSBC slipped to 20th among global equity deal bookrunners in 2018 from 16th the previous year, according to Refinitiv data. It also fell to 24th from 19th in the rankings for advising on completed mergers and acquisitions.

The bank fared better in its traditional stronghold of debt underwriting, placing 6th according to Refinitiv data, with revenues growing 14 percent in its transaction banking business.

MOOD LIFT

Investors are pinning their hopes on Georges Elhedery to improve productivity and lift the mood in the bank’s global markets business, after he took over the division from caretaker boss Thierry Roland on Friday.

Elhedery, who is relocating to London from Dubai to take up the role, is filling a position vacated by veteran HSBC banker Thibaut de Roux in September last year.

25 of the new promotions are in global markets, and other high-ranking appointments are in progress.

Nathalie Safar, one of the investment bank’s most senior women, is leaving her position as global equities chief operating officer after eight years in the role, a second staff memo seen by Reuters showed.

She will take up a newly-created position of head of front to back resource and cost management, focusing on making savings that will fund investments in the bank’s growth areas.

A search for her successor is underway, the memo said.

(Editing by Kirsten Donovan)

Source: OANN

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Egypt’s central bank seen maintaining key rates: Reuters poll

Stacks of money are pictured as an employee counts them at a bank in Cairo
Stacks of money are pictured as an employee counts them at a bank in Cairo September 4, 2014. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih

March 25, 2019

By Yousef Saba

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt’s central bank is likely to maintain interest rates at its meeting on Thursday, a Reuters poll showed on Monday, although some analysts predicted a cut ahead of expected fuel price increases this summer.

Eight out of 12 economists polled by Reuters said the bank’s monetary policy committee was unlikely to change its overnight rates, with deposits at 15.75 percent and lending at 16.75 percent.

Four analysts predicted that the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) would cut rates by 100 basis points (bps), following a cut of the same size last month, which was the first since March 2017.

“We anticipate that the CBE will keep interest rates on hold this month due to the recent uptick in price inflation,” said Nadene Johnson, an economist at NKC African Economics.

“But considering the need for private sector stimulus, the CBE is expected to reduce rates by 100 bps before year end.”

Headline inflation quickened in February to 14.4 percent from 12.7 percent in January. It had cooled to 12.0 in December from 15.7 percent the month prior. The bank’s target range is 10 to 16 percent.

Core inflation, which strips out volatile items such as food, also rose in February to 9.2 percent from 8.6 percent the previous month.

“The CBE I believe would need to capitalize on the cut that took place last month with another 1 percent cut this month,” said Hany Farahat, senior economist at Egyptian investment bank CI Capital.

The Egyptian pound’s continued appreciation, sustained foreign inflows in treasuries and the U.S. Federal Reserve holding rates all position Thursday’s meeting as a “golden window” for a further cut, he added.

Furthermore, an expected fuel subsidy cut in the summer, tied to an agreement with the International Monetary Fund, would naturally prevent the central bank from cutting rates in Q3, he said.

“And the meeting in Q2 is in May, which is very close to the subsidy cut decision,” said Farahat. “I would think right now is optimal.”

Egypt raised fuel and electricity prices last summer, reforms linked to a $12 billion IMF loan program agreed in late 2016. Those measures included a currency float, fuel and energy subsidy cuts and the introduction of a value-added tax.

Remaining fuel subsidies are expected to be cut around mid-2019, and the petroleum minister said last month that Egypt would implement an automatic price indexation mechanism on 95 octane petrol starting in April.

To curtail inflation, the central bank’s monetary policy committee raised interest rates by 700 basis points over eight months following the IMF deal. It cut them by 100 bps last month. Prior to that, it had cut them in February and March last year by a combined 200 bps.

“We are looking for no move by the CBE, but we are very uncertain,” said Charles Robertson, chief economist at Renaissance Capital.

“A 100 bps cut may be the only way to stop EGP appreciation, but a cut might backfire if investors lose confidence in the authorities’ determination to cut inflation in 2020.”

The pound has strengthened more than 3 percent against the dollar in the year to date.

(Reporting by Yousef Saba; Editing by Alison Williams)

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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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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