US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson threw his weight behind the UN’s mediation efforts in Libya in an apparent rebuke to squabbling European nations running their own diplomatic initiatives to restore peace.
Mr Tillerson said that the UN’s Libya envoy Ghassan Salame had the “full support of the United States” as the special representative prepares to outline his plan for national elections to end years of chaos following the 2011 toppling of Muammar Qaddafi.
Mr Tillerson was speaking after a meeting in London with his British counterpart Boris Johnson, Mr Salame, Dr Anwar Gargash, the UAE minister of state for Foreign Affairs; Angelino Alfano, the Italian foreign minister; Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s foreign minister and Nicolas de Riviere, political director of the French foreign ministry.
Mr Tillerson said that he was keen to ensure that Isil did not re-emerge amid the failure to get the country under control as rival militias continue to feud in the divided country.
“We think it’s time to focus mediation efforts in one location at the UN under his [Salame’s] leadership,” said Mr Tillerson at a joint press conference with Mr Johnson. “I think we had very strong unity among the group that met today to support the special representative.”
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Read more:
Libya could have elections as early as 2019
UN envoy announces high-level meeting on Libya
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Italy became the first Western diplomatic mission to reopen its embassy in January and had taken the lead in trying to bring peace to its former colony. It was angered when France launched its own efforts this year.
The country has had rival governments in east and west since 2014. Italy has thrown its weight firmly behind Fayez al-Serraj, head of Libya’s UN-backed government in Tripoli. Johnson last month met with Khalifa Haftar, the dominant figure in the east of the country, but who Italy regards with great suspicion.
In July, the rival leaders pledged in Paris to work towards elections in 2018 and a conditional ceasefire, but Haftar immediately played down the commitments.
Mr Johnson told reporters on Thursday that it was realistic for the country to hold elections by autumn 2018. Mr Johnson said that resolving conflict in Libya was a vital strategic goal with the country acting as the “front line” of a common struggle against terrorism and illegal migration.
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Read more:
UK Minister calls on Libyan leaders to curb their 'selfish' interests
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Mr Salame, who provided a summary of meetings with the key players in Libya to the London meeting, is due to present his plans to break the deadlock in Libya in New York next week.
He has said that new constitutional and electoral laws would have to be written to ensure any vote brought lasting change. That will entail a redrawing of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) – which is due to expire on Monday – and accept the political reality that requires for Mr Haftar to play a role in the country’s future.
“Would it be premature to hold the elections within a year? I happen to think that could be about the right timescale," said Mr Johnson.
“It is very important however, that you don't do it too fast and that you get the political groundwork done first," he added. “There has to be a constitution, there has to be an accepted basis for those elections to take place.”
The meeting was an opportunity for the United States to inject leadership into a programme that had been drifting with Italy, France and Arab states all playing key roles in diplomatic efforts, said analyst Shashank Joshi, of the Royal United Services Institute based in London.
He said that the Italian approach based on its own narrow strategic interests was being questioned by the United States. “It’s the first really serious round of diplomatic activity that Tillerson has been involved with,” he said. “They’re trying to achieve a more coordinated position on some of these issues.”
The politicians also discussed recovery efforts in the Caribbean in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma, their response to threats from North Korea and Iran, and the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Burma.
Mr Johnson said the suffering of the Rohingya people was an "abomination" and called on Burma’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi to use her “moral capital” to take on the country’s powerful military to halt the violence against the Muslim group.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Results
United States beat UAE by three wickets
United States beat Scotland by 35 runs
UAE v Scotland – no result
United States beat UAE by 98 runs
Scotland beat United States by four wickets
Fixtures
Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland
Admission is free
Sonchiriya
Director: Abhishek Chaubey
Producer: RSVP Movies, Azure Entertainment
Cast: Sushant Singh Rajput, Manoj Bajpayee, Ashutosh Rana, Bhumi Pednekar, Ranvir Shorey
Rating: 3/5
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Company%20profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Fighting with My Family
Director: Stephen Merchant
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Nick Frost, Lena Headey, Florence Pugh, Thomas Whilley, Tori Ellen Ross, Jack Lowden, Olivia Bernstone, Elroy Powell
Four stars
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Company%C2%A0profile
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Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Meydan Racecourse racecard:
6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes Listed (PA) | Dh175,000 | 1,900m
7.05pm: Maiden for 2-year-old fillies (TB) | Dh165,000 | 1,400m
7.40pm: The Dubai Creek Mile Listed (TB) | Dh265,000 | 1,600m
8.15pm: Maiden for 2-year-old colts (TB) | Dh165,000 | 1,600m
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) | Dh265,000 | 2,000m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh190,000 | 1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh190,000 | 1,600m.
Company%20Profile
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EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
Results:
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2,200m | Winner: AF Al Montaqem, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m | Winner: Daber W’Rsan, Connor Beasley, Jaci Wickham
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,600m | Winner: Bainoona, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,600m | Winner: AF Makerah, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 | Winner: AF Motaghatres, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,600m | Winner: Tafakhor, Ronan Whelan, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.