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Why Trump abandoned his plan to replace ObamaCare

President Trump collided with political reality this week, and reality won.

I'm not talking about the border crisis or the Mueller probe. This is about health care.

When the president proclaimed, seemingly out of nowhere, that the Republicans would be the party of health care, the media said he had taken on an impossible task. And as members of his party scrambled to distance themselves from the idea, it turned out the press was right.

In a series of tweets Monday night, Trump tried to extricate himself from his vow.

"Trump Retreats on Health Care," said The New York Times. "Trump Punts," said The Washington Post.

The president framed it as a mere delay. He said that "everybody agrees that ObamaCare doesn’t work" — well, not everyone — and that the Republicans are "developing a really great HealthCare Plan with far lower premiums (cost) & deductibles than ObamaCare."

NEW YORK POST: HOW REPUBLICANS SHOULD REPLACE OBAMACARE

BUT ... the vote "will be taken right after the Election when Republicans hold the Senate & win back the House."

The obvious implication is that Trump himself will have been safely reelected. And just as obvious is that the GOP may not regain full control of the government, making the promise moot.

Trump is a branding expert who loves to win the news cycle. Declaring that there would be a new super-duper Republican plan would accomplish that, but for the inconvenient fact that he tried and failed three different times to push an ObamaCare replacement through a Congress controlled by his party. The Democratic House has no interest in weakening ObamaCare, which now enjoys majority support in the polls for the first time.

The Times reports that "some of the president's senior advisers" pushed for the administration to join a Texas lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Obama law (although others, including Attorney General Bill Barr, were opposed).

If the suit were to succeed, it would leave millions with no coverage and kill the law's most popular provision, a ban on insurance companies rejecting applicants based on preexisting conditions.

The Post says the president, in backing off, was "apparently heeding warnings from fellow Republicans about the perils of such a fight during campaign season." Mitch McConnell made clear that he would not play a significant role, and Chuck Grassley, the Finance Committee chairman, said there was no plan to replace ObamaCare.

Politico said Trump touting a new health care law "was seen as a potential disaster-in-the making by GOP leaders, who knew their incumbents and candidates were hurt by it badly last November ... In public and private, Republican leaders made clear that they didn't want anything to do with the president's most recent maneuver. They begged Trump to back down, and made their displeasure known to other administration officials, as well."

FLASHBACK: CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS RATTLED BY TRUMP'S PIVOT TO OBAMACARE FIGHT AFTER MUELLER REPORT SUMMARY

The president has made a big deal in the past of promising legislative deals that he could not deliver. He convened those televised sessions on gun control that never went anywhere.

He proffered a deal on the wall in exchange for helping the dreamers that soon collapsed, leading to the current state of emergency. Democrats bear some responsibility here too.

The president also hasn't talked about the middle-class tax cut he talked up at the end of the midterms.

The reason Trump has been boxed in on health care is that he ran as a populist who wanted universal access to insurance but delivered more cheaply and efficiently. Yet that would mean preserving much of ObamaCare, which proved impossible to sell to the House Freedom Caucus while still holding on to enough moderates. That's why most Republicans didn't want Trump opening this Pandora's box.

Ross Douthat, the conservative Times columnist, says "there are effectively two Trump presidencies. One offers something like what the president promised on the campaign trail — a break with Paul Ryan's green-eyeshade approach to entitlement reform, a more moderate tack on health care, an indifference to Obama-era conservative orthodoxies on fiscal and monetary policy.

"The other offers a continuation of the Tea Party's insistence on spending cuts and Obamacare repeal, and appropriately its present leader is a former Tea Party congressman — Mick Mulvaney, the Zelig of the administration, whose zeal is apparently the main reason that the Obamacare lawsuit now has administration support.

"The first presidency is mostly real; the second presidency has been mostly imaginary ever since the failure of Obamacare repeal left Ryanism neutered."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

If Douthat is right, Trump is governing in most ways like a populist conservative — leaving aside cultural issues — and the hard-edged rhetoric from some of the hard-liners around him is mostly that, rhetoric.

That's why Trump has kicked the health-care can down the road. An actual plan that could satisfy conservative Republicans would hurt too many people, including some who voted for him.

Source: Fox News Politics

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An immigrant’s tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility

The Wider Image: An immigrant's tale: Leaving Britain to escape Brexit hostility
Maria, 31, holds her baby daughter Ioana, who is less than a week old, at their home in London, Britain, February 3, 2019. REUTERS/Alecsandra Dragoi

March 20, 2019

By Alecsandra Dragoi

LONDON (Reuters) – A few months after Britain voted to leave the European Union, Maria was waiting to see a doctor at a London hospital when an elderly English woman told her to go back to her native Romania.

“You are a foreigner,” Maria, who was heavily pregnant at the time, recalls the woman saying. “Your place is not here.”

Maria was stunned. Until that moment, she had never faced direct abuse over her nationality in her 10 years in the country.

But ever since the 2016 Brexit campaign – when some Leave supporters said they wanted Britain to take more control of immigration – Maria said hostility toward EU nationals such as her has come into the open.

The 31-year-old, who asked to use just her first name, said she was now preparing to leave Britain later this year with her husband and two children, fed up with what she described as xenophobia, as well as the rising cost of living in London.

“After Brexit we could all feel the obvious feeling that we are not wanted here,” Maria said. “I don’t want my kids to grow up in this sort of environment.”

She worries about her children being bullied at school. Last year her Romanian nanny and two-year-old daughter were playing in a park when a woman publicly accused them of being thieves.

Huge uncertainty still hangs over Brexit – with politicians torn between a range of options, including calling the whole thing off. But many Europeans are already voting with their feet and choosing to move.

In the year to the end of June last year, 145,000 EU nationals quit Britain, an 18 percent increase on the previous year, while the number of people arriving has slowed.

Politicians from across the political spectrum regularly say they are proud of Britain’s diverse makeup. And the government has passed legislation to let EU citizens living in the UK apply to stay after the split.

But many EU immigrants, particularly those from the poorer eastern member states such as Poland and Romania, complain they are still made to feel unwelcome.

They say they find themselves accused of stealing jobs from Britons and driving down wages, even though unemployment is at a four-decade low, or of overburdening health services.

Official figures show hate crime in Britain surged to a record level last year, up by almost a fifth, with the Brexit vote cited as a significant factor.Maria came to Britain in 2008 to work in a care home and was hoping she would earn enough buy a car. She initially planned to stay for a year but then met her Romanian husband and decided to stay longer.

On a good month from their work at a removal company, they can save about 500 pounds, enough for them to buy a house back home in Romania. They live frugally in a tiny studio apartment in Hampstead, London, with their two daughters.

They share with their elder daughter a large double bed which takes up most of the flat. There is a small table in the corner of the room where they eat their meals.

“It is very difficult because if one of the children is crying they will wake up the other one,” she said. “You can’t socialize with many people because it is very small.”

Maria said she was initially following all the news about Brexit, but now finds it perplexing.

“I think Brexit is madness,” she said. “I don’t think they needed to come out of the EU. It is very sad that Brexit is destroying the UK.

“We have been affected by this uncertainty. There is so much uncertainty and we just wanted to go home.”

(Writing by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Stephen Addison and Andrew Heavens)

Source: OANN

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Warnings of chaotic ‘no-deal’ grow amid UK Brexit deadlock

The alarms are flashing, the cliff-edge is coming closer — but can Britain avoid tumbling out of the European Union?

After lawmakers rejected the government's Brexit deal on three occasions, and twice failed to agree on any other option, the U.K. has just 10 days to come up with a new plan or crash out of the EU.

A look at what might happen next:

NO DEAL

Michel Barnier, who has been the chief Brexit negotiator for the other 27 EU countries, has warned that a 'no-deal' Brexit is "likely" because of Britain's political impasse.

Earlier this month, the EU agreed to postpone the original Brexit date of March 29, but gave Britain only until April 12 to come up with a new plan and seek a further extension, or leave without an agreement or a transition period to smooth the way.

Most politicians, economists and business groups think leaving the world's largest trading bloc without an agreement would be damaging for the EU and disastrous for the U.K. It would lead to tariffs imposed on trade between Britain and the EU, customs checks that could cause gridlock at ports and which could spark shortages of essential goods.

A hard core of Brexiteer legislators in May's Conservative Party dismiss this as "Project Fear" and argue for what they call a "clean Brexit." But most lawmakers are opposed to leaving without a deal. Parliament has voted repeatedly to rule out a 'no-deal' Brexit — but it remains the default position unless a deal is approved, Brexit is canceled or the EU grants Britain another extension.

May says the only way to guarantee Britain does not leave the EU without a deal is for Parliament to back her deal, which lawmakers have already rejected three times.

Barring that, Parliament could try to take drastic action such as toppling the government or legislating to force it to avoid 'no-deal' — though these are risky and tricky options.

___

MAY'S UNDEAD DEAL

After almost two years of negotiations, Britain and the EU struck a divorce deal in November, laying out the terms of the departure from the bloc and giving a rough outline of future relations.

But it has been roundly rejected by lawmakers on both sides of the Brexit divide. Pro-Brexit lawmakers think it keeps Britain too closely tied to EU rules. Pro-EU legislators argue it is worse than the U.K.'s current status as an EU member.

Parliament has thrown it out three times, although the latest defeat, by 58 votes, was the narrowest yet. It was rejected even after May won over some pro-Brexit lawmakers by promising to quit if it was approved.

May is considering one last push this week, arguing that Parliament's failure to back any other deal means her agreement is the best option available. But the odds of success look long.

___

SOFT BREXIT

On Monday, Parliament voted on four alternative proposals to May's rejected deal after lawmakers seized control of the schedule from the government.

None got a majority, but the votes revealed a solid block of support for a "soft Brexit" that would maintain close economic ties between Britain and the EU. A plan to keep the U.K. in an EU customs union, ensuring seamless trade in goods, was defeated by just three votes.

May has ruled those options out, because sticking to EU trade rules would limit Britain's ability to forge new trade deals around the world.

But tweaking her deal to adopt a customs union could gain May valuable votes in Parliament. It also would likely be welcomed by the EU and would allow Britain to leave the bloc in an orderly fashion in the next few months.

However, it would also cause a schism in the Conservative Party, sparking the potential resignation of pro-Brexit government ministers.

___

NEW BREXIT REFERENDUM

Parliament also narrowly rejected a proposal for a new referendum on whether to leave the EU or remain.

The proposal for any Brexit deal to be put to public vote in a "confirmatory referendum" was defeated by 12 votes. It was backed by opposition parties, plus some of May's Conservatives — mainly those who want to stay in the bloc.

Her government has ruled out holding another referendum on Britain's EU membership, saying voters in 2016 made their decision to leave.

But with divisions in both Parliament and in May's Cabinet, handing the decision back to the people in a new plebiscite could be seen as the only way forward.

___

BREXIT DELAYED

The alternative to a "no-deal" departure is to delay Brexit for at least several months, and possibly more than a year, to sort out the mess. The EU is frustrated with the impasse and has said it will only grant another postponement if Britain comes up with a whole new Brexit plan.

The bloc is reluctant to have a departing Britain participate in the May 23-26 European parliament elections, but that would have to be done if Brexit is delayed. Still, EU Council President Donald Tusk has urged the bloc to give Britain a Brexit extension if it plans to change course.

A long delay raises the chances of an early British election, which could rearrange Parliament and break the deadlock.

___

Follow AP's full coverage of Brexit at: https://www.apnews.com/Brexit

Source: Fox News World

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South Korea’s new unification minister seeks ‘creative solution’ to North Korea: U.S. stalemate

Kim Yeon-chul, a nominee for South Korean Unification Minister, speaks during a confirmation hearing for the post of Unification Minister at the National Assembly in Seoul
Kim Yeon-chul, a nominee for South Korean Unification Minister, speaks during a confirmation hearing for the post of Unification Minister at the National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, March 26, 2019. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

March 26, 2019

By Joyce Lee

SEOUL (Reuters) – South Korea’s nominee for unification minister said on Tuesday he will seek a creative solution so that North Korea and the United States can meet again soon.

Inter-Korean relations are in limbo since the second U.S.-North Korea summit broke down last month.

Last week South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s attempts to engage with Pyongyang were set back with North Korea temporarily pulling out of an inter-Korean liaison office in Kaesong. North Korea reversed its decision and some officials returned to work on Monday.

“I will seek a creative solution so that North Korea and the U.S. can meet again soon and find common ground,” nominee Kim Yeon-chul said in a confirmation hearing.

U.S President Donald Trump made a conciliatory gesture to Pyongyang last week by announcing that he had put a hold on pending new sanctions against North Korea.

Kim did not elaborate on his creative solution, but said he will seek various ways to cooperate with North Korea for the two Koreas to truly become one. The Ministry of Unification handles relations with North Korea.

A longtime confidant of South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Kim is a pro-engagement scholar who heads the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification. He is expected to expedite Moon’s initiative for a “peace-driven economy”, Moon’s spokesman previously said.

A staunch backer of Korean reconciliation, Kim was a North Korea studies professor and adviser to a previous administration in which Moon also served.

More recently, he advised Moon’s office on Korean summits before moving to head a think-tank affiliated with the unification ministry.

Kim, 55, was a vocal critic of a 2016 decision to close the Kaesong factory complex just on the North Korean side of the border, after Seoul’s then-conservative government said the North had diverted wages paid to workers by South Korean firms to bankroll its weapons programs.

(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Michael Perry)

Source: OANN

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California man sentenced to prison for starting wildfire that forced over 7,000 to evacuate

A man was sentenced to 12 years in prison after he admitted to sparking a wildfire in Southern California that forced over 7,000 residents to evacuate last summer.

Brandon McGlover, 33, pleaded guilty to two counts of arson to a structure or forest land on Thursday in connection to the Cranston Fire, which unfolded last July in Riverside County. McGlover admitted to setting several structures on fire that day, though he gave no motive. He originally had faced more charges but they were cut during a preliminary hearing, the Press-Enterprise reported.

By the time the Cranston fire was contained, it had burned over 13,000 acres, destroying at least five homes in its path. McGlover, from Temecula, was ordered to pay restitution to his victims, which could amount to millions of dollars.

The Cranston fire took place during a devastating summer for California, which saw at least six other major fires ravage the state. A few months after the Cranston fire, the Woolsey fire destroyed the homes of a number of Hollywood's biggest names, including Miley Cyrus, Gerard Butler and Robin Thicke.

HOT AIR BALLOON CARRYING 10 CRASHES IN CALIFORNIA, FIRE OFFICIAL SAYS

By the time the Cranston fire was contained, it had burned across more than 13,000 acres, destroying at least five homes in its path.

By the time the Cranston fire was contained, it had burned across more than 13,000 acres, destroying at least five homes in its path. (Gina Ferazzi/Los AngelesTimes via Getty Images, File)

McGlover's attorney, Joseph Camarata, spoke on his behalf during the sentencing and relayed a message of sorrow and regret from his client.

“He would like to offer his deepest sympathies to everyone who has been affected by these fires,” Camarata said.

'ATMOSPHERIC RIVER' BRINGING THREAT OF MUDSLIDES, FLOODING TO CALIFORNIA

His victims, however, remained unconvinced. Residents whose lives were forever changed by the Cranston fire said that they suffered from depression, anxiety and shock. One woman, Janine Munson, said her husband died after he suffered a heart attack as they were trying to escape the flames.

The environmental impact of the fire has been substantial; the surrounding area now carries a risk of mudslides.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

McGlover's attorney made one final request at the sentencing hearing: that his client could be allowed to hug his parents, who also lived in the area.

The judge did not allow the embrace, citing security concerns.

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Video: Officer who fatally shot man said she had no choice

A North Carolina police officer who fatally shot a black man in a parking lot after repeatedly ordering him to drop his gun was heard on bodycam video saying several times that she had no choice.

An 11-minute bodycam video released Wednesday by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police shows the moments leading up to and after the shooting of 27-year-old Danquirs Napoleon Franklin outside a Burger King on March 25.

Officer Wende Kerl shot and killed Franklin. She was heard saying, "He pulled a gun. He wouldn't drop it." Later, she said, "All I know is I shot because he had a gun in his hand."

A person could be heard groaning on the video, while a person inside the car where Franklin was shot was heard to say, "This is crazy, man."

Source: Fox News National

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Honeywell beats profit estimates, raises full-year forecast

A logo of Honeywell is pictured on their booth during EBACE in Geneva
FILE PHOTO: A logo of Honeywell is pictured on their booth during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

April 18, 2019

(Reuters) – Honeywell International Inc on Thursday reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit and raised it full-year financial forecast as a boom in air travel drove demand for its aircraft parts used in the commercial airline industry.

The company now expects 2019 sales of $36.5 billion and $37.2 billion, up from $36.0 billion to $36.9 billion. Profit forecast was raised to a range of $7.90 to $8.15 from a range of $7.80 to $8.10 per share.

Honeywell earned $1.92 per share in the first quarter, beating analysts’ average estimate of $1.83 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitv.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru)

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

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

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

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Source: OANN

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

April 26, 2019

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

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

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

(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Writing by William Schomberg)

Source: OANN

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: Fox News National

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

April 26, 2019

By Ulf Laessing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

FOREX SURCHARGE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Source: OANN

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