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Shiffrin sets record for World Cup wins in season

Alpine Skiing - FIS Ski World Cup - Women's Parallel Slalom City Event
Alpine Skiing - FIS Ski World Cup - Women's Parallel Slalom City Event - Hammarbybacken, Stockholm, Sweden, February 19, 2019 - Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S. in action. TT News Agency/Christine Olsson via REUTERS

March 9, 2019

Mikaela Shiffrin won her 15th World Cup race of the season on Saturday, breaking a 30-year-old record for most wins.

Vreni Schneider of Switzerland set the previous record of 14 in the 1988-89 season.

Shiffrin, 23, set the record with a win in the slalom, her sixth victory in that discipline this season.

Even before the Saturday’s race in the Czech Republic, Shiffrin had locked up her third overall World Cup title.

After the first run of the competition, Shiffrin led Wendy Holdener of Switzerland by 0.37 seconds. A strong second run left her 0.85 seconds faster than Holdener and gave her the record and her 58th World Cup career victory.

Shiffrin attempted to break the record Friday in the giant slalom but fell short, finishing in third place behind Petra Vlhova of Slovakia.

“Yesterday in the second run I was pushing really hard,” Shiffrin said after Saturday’s race. “It was enough to get on the podium and I was really happy about that but felt disappointment from the first.

“So today I wanted to not protect something, ski with risks, ski to fight, and see what was possible. And it was really fun to ski both runs.”

–Field Level Media

Source: OANN

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Myanmar lawmaker: 50 believed dead in mudslide at jade mine

A lawmaker representing a gemstone-rich area in northern Myanmar says more than 50 people are believed to have died in a mudslide at a jade mining site.

Tin Soe said Tuesday that three bodies have been recovered and 54 people remain missing. He said it would be difficult to recover the bodies from under the mud.

The accident occurred Monday in the Hpakant area of Kachin state. Such accidents are not rare, and usually occur when mountainous piles of mining scraps slide down on people scavenging pieces of jade.

Tin Soe said in this case the victims worked for two mining companies, indicating they were formally employed rather than scavengers.

Source: Fox News World

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Flight recorders found in Ethiopian jetliner crash

Authorities in Ethiopia, China and Indonesia grounded all Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft Monday following the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines jetliner that killed 157 people, and investigators found the flight recorders from the field where the plane went down.

The new plane crashed shortly after takeoff in clear weather outside Addis Ababa on Sunday, and the airline decided to ground its remaining four 737 Max 8s until further notice as "an extra safety precaution," spokesman Asrat Begashaw said. Ethiopian Airlines had been using five of the planes and awaiting delivery of 25 more.

As Ethiopia observed a day of mourning, Red Cross workers slowly picked through the widely scattered debris near the blackened crash crater, looking for the remains of those aboard, while heavy machinery dug for larger pieces of the plane.

The plane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders were found, Ethiopian Airlines said. An airline official, however, said one of the recorders was partially damaged and "we will see what we can retrieve from it." The official spoke on condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to speak to the media.

Ethiopian authorities are leading the investigation into the crash, assisted by the U.S., Kenya and others.

"These kinds of things take time," Kenya's Transport Minister James Macharia told reporters.

Sunday's crash was strikingly similar to that of a Lion Air jet of the same Boeing model in Indonesian seas last year, killing 189 people. The crash was likely to renew questions about the 737 Max 8, the newest version of Boeing's popular single-aisle airliner, which was first introduced in 1967 and has become the world's most common passenger jet.

Safety experts cautioned against drawing too many comparisons between the two crashes until more is known about the disaster. Besides the groundings in China and Indonesia, Caribbean carrier Cayman Airways temporarily grounded their Max 8s.

People from 35 countries died in the crash six minutes after the plane took off from Ethiopia's capital for Nairobi. Ethiopian Airlines said the senior pilot issued a distress call and was told to return but all contact was lost shortly afterward. The plane plowed into the ground at Hejere near Bishoftu, scattering debris like a shredded book, a battered passport and business cards in multiple languages.

"I heard this big noise," resident Tsegaye Reta told the AP. "The villagers said that it was a plane crash, and we rushed to the site. There was a huge smoke that we couldn't even see the plane. The parts of the plane were falling apart."

Kenya lost 32 people, more than any country. Relatives of 25 of the victims had been contacted, Macharia said, and taking care of their welfare was of utmost importance.

"Some of them, as you know, they are very distressed," he said. "They are in shock like we are. They are grieving."

In Addis Ababa, members of an association of Ethiopian airline pilots cried uncontrollably for their dead colleagues. Framed photos of seven crew members sat in chairs at the front of a crowded room.

Canada, Ethiopia, the U.S., China, Italy, France, Britain, Egypt, Germany, India and Slovakia all lost four or more citizens.

Leaders of the United Nations, the U.N. refugee agency and the World Food Program said colleagues had been on the plane. The U.N. migration agency estimated that 19 U.N.-affiliated employees were killed.

Both Addis Ababa and Nairobi are major hubs for humanitarian workers, and some had been on their way to a large U.N. environmental conference set to begin Monday in Nairobi. The U.N. flag at the event flew at half-staff.

The crash shattered more than two years of relative calm in African skies, where travel had long been chaotic. It also was a serious blow to the Ethiopian Airlines, which has expanded to become the continent's largest and best-managed carrier and turned Addis Ababa into the gateway to Africa.

The state-owned carrier has a good reputation and the company's CEO told reporters no problems were seen before Sunday's fight. But investigators also will look into the plane's maintenance, which may have been an issue in the Lion Air crash.

The plane was delivered to Ethiopian Airlines in November. The jet's last maintenance was on Feb. 4, and it had flown just 1,200 hours.

China's Civil Aviation Administration said that it ordered airlines to ground all 737 Max 8 aircraft as of 6 p.m. (1000 GMT) Monday, in line with the principle of "zero tolerance for security risks."

It said it would issue further notices after consulting with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing.

China Southern Airlines is one of Boeing's biggest customers for the aircraft.

Chicago-based Boeing said it did not intend to issue any new guidance to its customers. It plans to send a technical team to the crash site to help Ethiopian and U.S. investigators, however, and issued a statement saying it was "deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the passengers and crew" on the Ethiopian Airlines Max airplane.

The 737 is the best-selling airliner in history, and the Max, the newest version of it with more fuel-efficient engines, is a central part of Boeing's strategy to compete with European rival Airbus.

"Safety is our No. 1 priority and we are taking every measure to fully understand all aspects of this accident, working closely with the investigating team and all regulatory authorities involved," the company said in a statement.

___

Meseret reported from Addis Ababa. Associated Press writer Niniek Karmini in Jakarta, Indonesia, and AP Airlines Writer David Koenig in Dallas, Texas, contributed.

___

Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa

Source: Fox News World

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Death toll from China pesticide plant explosion hits 12

Vehicle of paramilitary police is seen near smoke following an explosion at a chemical industrial park in Xiangshui
A vehicle of paramilitary police is seen near smoke following an explosion at a chemical industrial park in Xiangshui county, Yancheng, Jiangsu province, China March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Stringer

March 22, 2019

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – The death toll from an explosion at a pesticide plant in eastern China’s Jiangsu province on Thursday evening has risen to 12, state media said on Friday.

China Central Television reported that the fire at the Chenjiagang Industrial Park in the city of Yancheng had been put under control at 3.00am local time on Friday morning.

It said a total of 88 people were rescued from the scene, including the 12 fatalities.

According to a report in the official China Daily on Friday, the fire at a plant owned by the Tianjiayi Chemical Company spread to neighboring factories. Children at a kindergarten located in the vicinity of the factory were also hospitalized.

The exact cause of the blast is still under investigation, but the company – which produces more than 30 organic chemical compounds, some of which are highly flammable – has been cited and fined for work safety violations in the past, the China Daily said.

(Reporting by David Stanway; Editing by Michael Perry)

Source: OANN

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Colorado enacts ‘red flag’ law to seize guns from those deemed dangerous, prompting backlash

Colorado became the 15th state on Friday to adopt a “red flag” gun law, allowing firearms to be seized from people determined to pose a danger -- just weeks after dozens of county sheriffs had vowed not to enforce the law, with some local leaders establishing what they called Second Amendment "sanctuary counties."

The law didn't receive a single Republican vote in the state legislature, and has led to renewed efforts from gun-rights activists to recall Democrats who supported the measure. In a fiery and lengthy statement on Facebook on Friday, Eagle County, Colo., Sheriff James van Beek slammed the law as a well-intentioned but "ludicrous" throwback to the 2002 film "Minority Report," and outlined a slew of objections from law enforcement.

Van Beek charged that the law treats accused gun owners like "criminals," discourages individuals from seeking mental health treatment, and ignores the reality that "a disturbed mind will not be deterred by the removal of their guns."

Noting that cities with strict gun laws still experience high murder rates, van Beek asserted: "By removing guns from someone intent on committing suicide or murder, we still have the danger of someone who may be unbalanced, now, angrier than before, and looking for another means … explosives, poisons, knives, car incidents of mowing down groups of unsuspecting innocent."

Colorado’s law, approved by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, allows family, household members or law enforcement to petition a court to have guns seized or surrendered based on a showing that someone poses a danger under the "preponderance of the evidence," a civil standard which means that the defendant is more likely than not to be a threat.

"In other words, there is just over a 50/50 chance of accuracy," van Beek wrote, noting that someone's guns could be seized even without a mental health professional making a determination of any kind. "Like the flip of a coin. Couldn’t that apply to just about anything a person does?"

A subsequent court hearing could extend a gun seizure up to 364 days, and gun owners can only retain their guns if they meet a burden of demonstrating by "clear and convincing evidence" -- a much higher standard -- that they are not in fact a threat. Gun owners, van Beek said, are "guilty until proven innocent" under this framework.

Minority Republicans in the legislature had unsuccessfully tried to shift the burden of proof to the petitioner.

The law's passage marked a personal victory for first-term Democratic Rep. Tom Sullivan, whose son, Alex, was gunned down in the 2012 Aurora theater massacre that killed 12 people and wounded 70 others. The bill is slated to take effect in January.

“Three hundred and fifty one Fridays since Alex was murdered,” Sullivan began, wearing his son’s leather bomber jacket at the signing ceremony for the bill he sponsored.

“Being the parent of a murdered child, everything is stunted,” Sullivan said, prompting knowing, tearful nods from several other shooting survivors standing behind him. “I am elated, believe me. It just can’t come out because there is just too much work in front of us to get done.”

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, left, speaks as Rep. Tom Sullivan, D-Aurora, looks on before Polis signs a bill to allow Colorado to become the 15th state in the union to adopt a "red flag" gun law allowing firearms to be taken from people who pose a danger during a ceremony Friday, April 12, 2019, in the State Capitol in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, left, speaks as Rep. Tom Sullivan, D-Aurora, looks on before Polis signs a bill to allow Colorado to become the 15th state in the union to adopt a "red flag" gun law allowing firearms to be taken from people who pose a danger during a ceremony Friday, April 12, 2019, in the State Capitol in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Alex Sullivan was celebrating his 27th birthday at the theater. Tom Sullivan, elected to the House in November, has devoted his life since Aurora to counseling survivors of other mass shootings around the country and campaigning for gun control.

CALIFORNIA GUN SEIZURE PROGRAM HITS HURDLES

Responding in part to Sullivan's remarks, van Beek emphasized his own county's work on establishing partnerships to combat mental illness, which he characterized as a practical solution. The Aurora theater shooter, James Holmes, long suffered from mental illness.

"The Red Flag Law can remind one, of the movie 'Minority Report'; regulating against what we think someone might do," van Beek wrote. "It’s like regulating via clairvoyance, but in this case, we actually take away someone’s property and require them to go to court to prove their innocence of a crime that hasn’t been committed, yet they were punished because someone thought they might be thinking about it."

The sheriff continued: "I find no mental health programs associated with this law. Just a possible overreach of well-meaning citizens, with no infrastructure for addressing the primary intention of the law: mental health as it relates to public safety."

From left, Tylecia Amos, 14, Shatyra Amos, 15, Michael Walker, 17, and Mykia Walker, 16, carry flowers to lay at a makeshift memorial across the street from the Century Theater parking lot, on Saturday, July 21, 2012 in Aurora, Colo. Twelve people were killed and dozens were injured in the attack early Friday at the packed theater during a showing of the Batman movie, "Dark Knight Rises." Police have identified the suspected shooter as James Holmes, 24. (AP Photo/Barry Gutierrez)

From left, Tylecia Amos, 14, Shatyra Amos, 15, Michael Walker, 17, and Mykia Walker, 16, carry flowers to lay at a makeshift memorial across the street from the Century Theater parking lot, on Saturday, July 21, 2012 in Aurora, Colo. Twelve people were killed and dozens were injured in the attack early Friday at the packed theater during a showing of the Batman movie, "Dark Knight Rises." Police have identified the suspected shooter as James Holmes, 24. (AP Photo/Barry Gutierrez) (The Associated Press)

Van Beek's post concluded by arguing that Colorado's law violated the Second Amendment. However, van Beek explicitly stopped short of declaring sanctuary county status, and suggested his office would enforce the law.

"Removing the guns in a constitutionally questionable manner, without notice, denying the accused the ability to defend charges, then requiring medical services that are not available, in order to reinstate private property rights, afterward, is like putting a Band-Aid on the probability of a wound, and not allowing its removal until an injury has occurred," he wrote. "In other words, the entire process is ludicrous."

Van Beek added: "I stand with other Sheriffs in opposition to the Red Flag law on constitutional grounds as well as its failure to address the true issues, which are behavioral and mental health. In addition, it places fiscal hardships on county budgets, places law enforcement officials in imminent danger, violates citizen’s rights, and actually works against the mental health concerns that it was originally designed to aid."

"The entire process is ludicrous."

— Eagle County, Colo. Sheriff James van Beek

Florida passed its own “extreme risk protection order” law after the 2018 Parkland school massacre. Others with versions of the law include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington state, as well as Washington, D.C.

“Colorado has endured more than our fair share of tragedies,” Polis said Friday. This law will not prevent every shooting, but it can be used in a targeted way to make sure that those who are suffering from a mental health crisis are able to temporarily have a court order in place that helps make sure they don’t harm themselves or others. Today we may be saving the life of your nephew, your niece, your grandchild.”

Gun rights activists pushed for Polis and some Democrats who supported the legislation to be recalled. Senate President Leroy Garcia, a Democrat, voted against the bill -- primarily, observers said, because his predecessor was recalled in 2013 for supporting the state's last major gun control push.

That 2013 legislation implemented background checks and ammunition magazine limits, following the Aurora and Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. In all, two Democratic lawmakers were recalled and another resigned for supporting those laws.

About half of Colorado’s 64 counties — most in rural areas — passed resolutions opposing the new bill and declared themselves “Second Amendment sanctuaries.”

Opposition from rural sheriffs elicited a warning last month from Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser, who has said those who won’t enforce the law should resign.

The law is named after Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy Zackari Parrish III, a 29-year old husband and father who was killed on New Year’s Eve 2017 by a man who had exhibited increasingly erratic behavior.

Parrish’s boss, Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock, and Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle attended. Pelle’s son, a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy, was wounded in the shooting that killed Parrish.

Pelle said he was working with Spurlock and other law enforcement chiefs to develop protocols for executing protective orders safely.

Co-sponsor Alec Garnett, a Democrat and the House majority leader, noted that Colorado’s law stands out for providing legal representation for gun owners.

“We have come a long way in this state from Columbine,” Garnett said, referring to the upcoming 20th anniversary of the April 20, 1999, Columbine High School massacre.

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Separately, a prosecutor refused to approve criminal charges Friday against Pittsburgh's mayor and six City Council members over the passage of firearms restrictions that gun rights advocates say are blatant and deliberate violations of state law.

Seven city residents tried to file private criminal complaints against Democratic Mayor Bill Peduto, who signed the legislation into law this week, and council members who voted to approve the bills. The complaints charge the mayor and council with official oppression and other counts.

Fox News' Andrew O'Reilly and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Prosecutor: ‘No common sense’ in Michigan cop’s use of Taser

A prosecutor urged jurors on Tuesday to convict a former Michigan State Police trooper of second-degree murder in the death of a Detroit teen, saying there wasn't a "lick of common sense" in firing a Taser at a boy riding an all-terrain vehicle.

Damon Grimes, 15, crashed the ATV and died on a Detroit street in 2017. Mark Bessner is on trial for a second time after the first trial last fall ended without a unanimous verdict.

Assistant prosecutor Matthew Penney said Grimes was joy-riding in a residential neighborhood, a minor offense that didn't deserve such a tragic result. He said being shot with the Taser was like getting hit with an "electric baseball bat."

"That's not a reasonable use of force," Penney said in his closing argument. "Not if you have a lick of common sense."

Bessner's attorneys tried to get his former partner, Trooper Ethan Berger, to testify, but Berger invoked his constitutional right to remain silent. Berger was driving the patrol car when Bessner fired the Taser from the passenger seat.

Bessner declined to testify in his own defense. It was a major shift in strategy: He had offered an emotional narrative at the first trial, telling jurors that he believed Grimes had a gun in his waistband . He said he was "shocked" to learn the boy didn't have a weapon.

Defense lawyer Richard Convertino said Bessner was assigned to a high-crime area in Detroit where ATV riders were commonly caught with guns.

Bessner's use of the Taser was "perfectly reasonable" if he felt his life was at risk, Convertino said.

"It was a tense, rapidly evolving, uncertain — uncertain — environment," he told jurors. "Split second. Not a second. A split second."

Outside court, Convertino said Bessner didn't testify because he didn't believe the prosecutor had met the burden of proof.

"It's a risk assessment. If there's no need to present additional evidence in whatever form, you just don't do it," Convertino told The Associated Press.

By not sitting in the witness chair, Bessner avoided questions from the prosecutor about an audio recording of him wishing to use a Taser in a different ATV incident. It was a new piece of evidence discovered after the first trial.

___

Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwhiteap

Source: Fox News National

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Shanann Watts' mom says she felt her 'spirit' the moment she was killed

Shanann Watts' mom told Dr. Phil that she felt her daughter's spirit "the moment" she was murdered by her husband, Chris Watts, and heard the Holy Spirit say her name.

Sandy Rzucek, the mother, made the startling revelations to Dr. Phil.

"I felt my daughter's spirit the moment she died," she said. "Something woke me up and I sat at the foot of the ... you know, sat up and a spear went through my forehead and I heard the Holy Spirit say 'Shanann,' and I said, 'holy, something happened to my daughter."'

Rzucek's daughter and two grandchildren, Celeste, 3, and Bella, 4, were also killed on Aug. 13.

Chris Watts is serving a life sentence for the slayings. In a five-hour jailhouse interview with investigators, that he strangled his wife.

He then put his wife’s body in his truck, told his daughters to get into the vehicle and drove to a secluded oil field where he worked, the report said. He recalled taking out Shanann's body out of the truck first, placing her where he would ultimately bury her before smothering his daughters. His older daughter begged for her life, reports said.

He was arrested in their murders days later when authorities recovered the girls’ bodies, which were submerged in an oil tank located where their father worked. Shanann Watts was buried in a shallow grave.

Fox News' Katherine Lam contributed to this report. 

Source: Fox News National

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

April 26, 2019

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

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

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

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

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

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

(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Writing by William Schomberg)

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

By Ulf Laessing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FOREX SURCHARGE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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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