Upcoming shows
Real News

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Real News with David Knight

9:00 am 12:00 pm



Maga First News

Upcoming Shows

Join The MAGA Network on Discord

0 0

UAW leader puts Detroit Three ‘on notice’ ahead of contract talks

United Auto Workers (UAW) union President Gary Jones addresses UAW delegates at the 'Special Convention on Collective Bargaining' in Detroit,
United Auto Workers (UAW) union President Gary Jones addresses UAW delegates at the 'Special Convention on Collective Bargaining' in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

March 13, 2019

By Nick Carey

DETROIT (Reuters) – The leader of the United Auto Workers union on Wednesday warned that job security and preventing the shift of U.S. jobs to Mexico would be top priorities in contract talks with Detroit’s automakers slated for later this year.

“There will be no more quiet closing of plants, no more shipping jobs to Mexico and abroad without a sound,” Jones said in a speech to delegates the union’s bargaining convention in Detroit. “They are on notice.”

This year’s contract talks between the UAW and General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV are likely to be contentious, with both sides focused on healthcare costs and the use of temporary workers.

The auto industry is expected to hit a downturn following an unprecedented run of strong sales dating to the end of the Great Recession.

The talks will come after GM’s announcement in November it will close five North American plants producing less-popular sedans.

Just last week, the last Chevrolet Cruze rolled off the line at GM’s plant in Lordstown in northeastern Ohio.

The closing has drawn a lawsuit from the United Auto Workers union and significant political blowback, including from Republican U.S. President Donald Trump.

Boosting American manufacturing jobs was a cornerstone of Trump ‘s successful 2016 campaign and Ohio is a key state for his 2020 reelection chances.

The UAW has vowed to fight for GM to reopen Lordstown with a new vehicle.

During his speech on Wednesday, Jones said to workers at Lordstown and other plants slated for closure: “We have your back.”

Analysts, however, say the chances of a new product being assigned to Lordstown are slim as Lordstown was one of several money-losing GM plants running well below capacity.

GM Chief Executive Mary Barra has said the cuts will help the company’s long-term financial stability. The automaker expects they will improve annual free cash flow by $6 billion by the end of 2020 – and fund new electric and self-driving vehicles.

(Reporting By Nick Carey; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Source: OANN

0 0

Dem Rep. Pocan Grills DeVos on Special Olympics Budget Cut

Amid a 2020 proposed budget cut for the special olympics brought forward by Trump administration Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., is taking a bow for reminding her 270,000 kids are seeing their support taken away.

"In @BetsyDeVosED's budget, there are major cuts to programs like the Special Olympics," Rep. Pocan tweeted Monday. "Sec. DeVos didn't know the number of kids who would be hurt by that cut, so I made sure she now knows that 272,000 kids are seeing their support taken away."

Secretary DeVos is widely being criticized for the proposed zeroing out of federal funding for the special olympics, to which she called "difficult decisions."

"Mr. Pocan, let me just say again, we had to make some difficult decisions with this budget," DeVos said during a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing Monday. "I don't know the number of kids."

Rep. Pocan interrupted her to remind her it was 270,000 kids.

"Let me just say that the Special Olympics is an awesome organization – one that is well supported by the philanthropic sector as well," DeVos replied.

Pocan continued to attack the secretary on a proposed 26-percent cut to special education grants to states, among other cuts, asking "what is it where we have a problem with have with kids in special education. Why are we cutting all of thems programs over and over within this budget?"

DeVos' response was the budget has retained the funding levels for special education programs like IDEA in an overall budget than trims 10 percent. Pocan got testy over her pivoting off the specific programs he had mentioned.

"Supporting students with special needs, we have continued to hold that funding at a level amount in the context of a budget proposal that is a 10 percent reduction," DeVos said.

Pocan then finished with a rebuke of the cuts amid to a 15.6 percent increase in executive salary of appropriation.

Source: NewsMax Politics

0 0

Muguruza retains Monterrey title as injured Azarenka retires

WTA International - Monterrey Open - Final
Tennis - WTA International - Monterrey Open Final - Club Sonoma, Monterrey, Mexico - April 7, 2019 Spain's Garbine Muguruza celebrates winning the Monterrey Open with the trophy REUTERS/Daniel Becerril

April 7, 2019

(Reuters) – Spain’s Garbine Muguruza successfully defended her Monterrey Open title when an injured Victoria Azarenka retired while trailing in the second set of the final on Sunday.

Second seed Muguruza was leading the match between the two former world number ones 6-1 3-1 when Azarenka was unable to continue because of a leg injury.

Muguruza broke the pained Belarusian three times in the first set and again in the fourth game of the second.

The fifth-seeded Azarenka received treatment on her leg during a medical time-out between sets, but it became apparent as the second set began that her movement had become significantly hampered.

Azarenka was grimacing and stretching after nearly every point and, after Muguruza broke for a 3-1 lead, the two-time Australian Open champion decided to call it quits.

(Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, North Carolina, editing by Nick Mulvenney)

Source: OANN

0 0

Where Libya’s revolution began, many now yearn for a strong hand

Men restore their shops which were destroyed by the war in an old popular market, known as the Souk al-Jureid, in Benghazi
Men restore their shops which were destroyed by the war in an old popular market, known as the Souk al-Jureid, in Benghazi, Libya February 7, 2019. Picture taken February 7, 2019. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori

February 21, 2019

By Ulf Laessing

BENGHAZI, Libya (Reuters) – Sitting in his cafe near the spot where the protests against Muammar Gaddafi touched off the Libyan revolution eight years ago, Miftah Atluba is not sorry the dictator has gone.

Yet like many in Benghazi, who are tired after three years of street fighting that flattened whole districts, the 45-year-old thinks it’s time to return to the old way of running things.

“Muammar needed to go but democracy hasn’t worked out in Libya,” he said, sipping coffee in one of the few buildings still standing in a city center where from 2014 to 2017 war raged between the forces of Khalifa Haftar, a general who turned against Gaddafi, and his mainly Islamist opponents.

Atluba’s cafe was damaged. But the building survived, unlike the courthouse next door where the families of political prisoners gathered to demand their release in February 2011, triggering the uprising that toppled Gaddafi.

“We’ve had chaos and terrorism. Now we need military rule to build a state,” Atluba said.

The United Nations wants to hold a national conference to prepare for elections and unite a country which sits on Africa’s largest proven oil reserves and produces just under one million barrels a day.

Currently, political control in Libya is split between rival tribes, armed groups and even administrations. The east has its own government, which is opposed to a U.N.-backed authority in Tripoli.

But the scars of war in Benghazi show the difficulties of reconciling two rival camps – former soldiers and tribesmen in eastern Libya versus Islamists and urban elites in the west.

Pictures of a somber Haftar, dressed in uniform, have adorned Benghazi’s streets since his Libyan National Army (LNA) expelled their enemies.

Many Haftar supporters see little point in reconciling with opponents, whom they call “terrorists” or “Muslim Brothers”.

That leaves limited scope for moderates who believe Libya can become a civil state without a dominant role for the military.

“In Benghazi, most people would not allow you to criticize the army because they’ve paid a price,” said Jamal Falah, an activist, referring to Haftar’s forces and the battles they fought.

Falah is trying to organize a forum for Libyans from different regions to discuss a political solution that does not involve the United Nations. He wants to include people in the east who say the U.N. is biased towards Islamists.

But many LNA supporters are skeptical about dialogue. They are more encouraged by a military offensive in the south, where Haftar has challenged the government in Tripoli by taking control of the region’s main city and biggest oilfield.

Some say the 75-year-old general should order his troops to head for Tripoli without waiting for an election.

“The army has secured the east and, thank God, with the southern offensive now also the south,” said Fawzeia al-Furjani, a business leader who is from Haftar’s tribe. “How can you hold elections in the west when you have militias in control?”

But a push to the west by Haftar seems unlikely for now as his forces are already stretched in the south. They would in any case face resistance in Tripoli and other cities in western Libya, where many are suspicious of Haftar as a new Gaddafi.

When asked about a possible offensive towards Tripoli, LNA spokesman Ahmed Mismari said only: “The army (LNA) is charge of protecting the whole of Libya.” He said the force supported the idea of elections but saw no chance of reconciliation with former anti-LNA fighters.

SPLIT

Benghazi was the first Libyan city to rise up, in February 2011, because Gaddafi had punished the east for disloyalty by essentially neglecting it during his 42 years in power.

While Tripoli saw two years of relative stability once Gaddafi was killed, things went downhill within months in Benghazi as rival camps began to fight.

By 2012, much of the city was a no-go zone with al Qaeda flags at checkpoints. The U.S ambassador was killed by Islamist militants.

Haftar assembled his old army comrades and declared war on the Islamists, a conflict he won only in November 2017.

Since then, life in Benghazi has improved. Critics say Haftar has resurrected the old police state and his supporters have seized the property of opponents who fled to western Libya, charges denied by officials. But residents enjoy late-night shopping, theaters have reopened, and fuel shortages are a thing of the past.

Benghazi is however divided over how much power should go to Haftar.

His supporters refer to him as “mushir”, or field marshal, a title granted by the eastern parliament. He is seen as a candidate for eventual presidential elections.

“I can only see Khalifa Haftar as president. He has built the state,” said Atluba, the cafe owner.

But some activists who welcomed Haftar’s military victory now want a civilian leader. They are careful to express support for the “jeish” (army), as the LNA is called, rather than for him.

“I am not ready to give up a civil state,” said a lawyer who gave his name as Essam. “For this we need an army like in any state. But it won’t have a political role.”

THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE

Residents meanwhile are testing the limits of how far they can go.

At one theater, actors tackled corruption and the decline of state services by playing Libyans who need to go to Tunisia for medical treatment but can’t get tickets as officials have bribed airport staff to board overbooked flights.

They steered clear of the military, but took a swipe at conservatives who have been backing the LNA.

When one Libyan, having finally arrived in more liberal Tunis, is chided by a fellow countryman for drinking beer, he retorts to a roar of approval from the audience: “In Tunisia, you don’t need security approval to have a drink.”

Haftar benefits from historic divisions between east and west – separate regions before Libya’s independence in 1951 – which have sharpened in recent years.

His forces depend on tribal alliances in eastern Libya. They have put out feelers to the west, where some have voiced support for Haftar, but their power base is in the east.

The LNA has also attracted supporters of a “federalist” movement, campaigning since 2011 for more power for the east, which sits on much of Libya’s oil.

The war’s destruction has created a sense of neglect in Benghazi as there is no money to rebuild. At least 10,000 apartments and other sites such as the port and university campus were damaged or destroyed, officials say.

The Tripoli-based central bank had almost $75 billion in foreign reserves but sends little cash to the eastern government, working only with the internationally recognized administration in Tripoli.

Many Benghazi residents have lost patience with politicians and look to the military to get things done.

“I refurbished my shop, which had been heavily damaged, without any help from the government,” said Anis Tajouri, who had just reopened a one-room store selling wedding dresses in Benghazi’s old market, formerly a combat zone.

He called for a strong national leader: “The democracy we’ve had since 2011 hasn’t worked out. We are a tribal society.”

(Editing by Giles Elgood)

Source: OANN

0 0

Elementary School Removes Cell Tower After Fourth Student Diagnosed With Cancer

Super Male Vitality

Limited Advanced Release

69.95

31.47

The all new and advanced Super Male Vitality formula uses the newest extraction technology with even more powerful concentrations of various herbs and extracts designed to be even stronger.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/smv-200.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

Super Male Vitality

69.95

31.47

The all new and advanced Super Male Vitality formula uses the newest extraction technology with even more powerful concentrations of various herbs and extracts designed to be even stronger.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/smv-200.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/super-male-vitality.html?ims=jftqm&utm_campaign=IW+-+SuperMale+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SuperMale-55%25off-Widget

Brain Force Plus

39.95

15.98

Flip the switch and supercharge your state of mind with the all-new Brain Force PLUS: 20% more capsules and a critically enhanced formula featuring a brand new ingredient and increased potency* – all for the same low price.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/bf-300-1.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

Brain Force Plus

39.95

15.98

Flip the switch and supercharge your state of mind with the all-new Brain Force PLUS: 20% more capsules and a critically enhanced formula featuring a brand new ingredient and increased potency* – all for the same low price.

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/bf-300-1.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/brain-force.html?ims=bnlem&utm_campaign=IW+-+Brain+Force+-STFA+-+60%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-BrainForce-60%25off-Widget

Survival Shield X-2 – Nascent Iodine

39.95

17.95

Leading the way into the next generation of super high -quality nascent iodine, Infowars Life Survival Shield X-2 is back and available for you to purchase!

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/x2-200.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/survival-shield-x-2-nascent-iodine.html?ims=jyedx&utm_campaign=IW+-+SSX2+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SSX2-55%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/survival-shield-x-2-nascent-iodine.html?ims=jyedx&utm_campaign=IW+-+SSX2+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SSX2-55%25off-Widget

Survival Shield X-2 – Nascent Iodine

39.95

17.95

Leading the way into the next generation of super high -quality nascent iodine, Infowars Life Survival Shield X-2 is back and available for you to purchase!

https://www.infowars.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/x2-200.jpg

https://www.infowarsstore.com/survival-shield-x-2-nascent-iodine.html?ims=jyedx&utm_campaign=IW+-+SSX2+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SSX2-55%25off-Widget

https://www.infowarsstore.com/survival-shield-x-2-nascent-iodine.html?ims=jyedx&utm_campaign=IW+-+SSX2+-STFA+-+55%25+Off+-+Widget&utm_source=Infowars+Widget&utm_medium=Widget&utm_content=IW-STFA-SSX2-55%25off-Widget

Source: InfoWars

0 0

House Democrats ask White House about Kushner use of WhatsApp messaging

FILE PHOTO: Middle East summit in Warsaw
FILE PHOTO: White House adviser Jared Kushner looks on during the Middle East summit in Warsaw, Poland, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/File Photo

March 21, 2019

By Mark Hosenball

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Democratic head of a U.S. congressional investigative panel on Thursday pressed the White House for information on whether President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, used the unofficial WhatsApp messaging tool to communicate sensitive or classified information with foreign leaders.

U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings made the request in a letter to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, which was seen by Reuters.

In the letter, Cummings noted that Kushner’s lawyer had told Congress in December that Kushner used WhatsApp as part of his official duties but did not say whether such messages included classified information.

The congressman also said the lawyer told his committee that Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and Kushner’s wife, continued to receive emails related to official business on a personal email account.

Cummings said in his letter that a law governing presidential records prohibits top White House officials, including the president and vice president, from using non-official electronic messaging accounts.

Cummings said that when it was under Republican control in March 2017, his committee started investigating whether White House officials were using personal email and messaging accounts to conduct official business.

He said that Trump’s White House had so far failed to provide documents and information and was “obstructing” his committee’s efforts to investigate possible violations of White House policy and the presidential records law.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Mark Hosenball; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

Source: OANN

0 0

Man gets life in prison for stabbing policeman at Michigan airport

FILE PHOTO: Amor Ftouhi, arrested in connection with the stabbing of a police officer at Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan, is pictured in this handout photo
FILE PHOTO: Amor Ftouhi, arrested in connection with the stabbing of a police officer at Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan, is pictured in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters June 29, 2017. FBI/Handout via REUTERS

April 18, 2019

By Steve Friess

FLINT, Mich. (Reuters) – A Tunisian man was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday for stabbing a police officer at the airport in Flint, Michigan, a decision a federal judge said was made easier by the defendant’s defiant and angry remarks in court.

“Do I regret what I did? Never,” Amor Ftouhi, 51, told U.S. District Judge Matthew Leitman. “If I had to do it one more time, I would do it. I regret I didn’t kill that cop.”

Leitman noted that Ftouhi stated he wished he was free so that he could continue to harm and kill people.

“I have never imposed a sentence even close to this before,” the judge said. “I wrung my hands about whether that (life) is an appropriate sentence, but after this morning, I have no doubt whatsoever.”

In June 2017, Ftouhi shouted “Allahu Akbar (God is greatest)” before stabbing Lieutenant Jeff Neville, who was working security at Bishop Flint Airport. Other officers wrestled Ftouhi to the ground and prevented him from grabbing Neville’s gun.

An FBI investigation found that Ftouhi, who lived in Montreal, Canada, had legally entered the United States five days earlier and tried on multiple occasions to buy a firearm at a gun show.

Ftouhi said on Thursday he had hoped to obtain a machine gun. Failing that, he used a knife to attack Neville, who survived and testified in court on Thursday.

Ftouhi, who holds dual Tunisian-Canadian citizenship, was convicted during a five-day trial in November.

In an unusual move, Leitman interrupted Ftouhi’s statement to the court on Thursday to tell him his testimony was damaging his case. Ftouhi was undeterred and continued to rail against the United States, his defense counsel and American Muslims who do not “care about your brothers around the world.”

“In my heart, in my blood, in my head, I felt I had to do jihad against the enemies of Allah,” Ftouhi said.

Ftouhi’s attorney Joan Morgan said the assailant had been depressed and mentally unstable.

Neville, 57, retired from his job of 37 years following the attack. He told reporters after the hearing that Ftouhi had lived a normal life up until about two years ago.

“I can’t wrap my head around it … He came to this country, to Flint, Michigan, to attack me?” Neville said. “I would have been disappointed, frankly, if he didn’t get life because he’s a really dangerous man. If he got out of prison at 70 years old, he’d still be a dangerous man.”

(Reporting by Steve Friess; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Bernadette Baum)

Source: OANN

NOW ON AIR
Now On Air

Real News with David Knight

9:00 am 12:00 pm



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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

“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.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“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

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!

Listen to https://magaoneradio.net and Listen Daily! Don't Forget to Share Click a Link Below!
Current track

Title

Artist