Germany has reopened its embassy in Libya as its Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, arrived in Tripoli and said planned December elections must take place.
The German mission to Libya had been based in neighbouring Tunisia since 2014, when almost all embassies closed Tripoli as violence broke out in the capital.
“The fact that I am primarily talking about civic participation rather than civil war in Tripoli today is a genuine step forward," Mr Maas said on his arrival.
Last October a ceasefire was agreed to between armed groups. It has largely held.
It paved the way for an interim government, which took office this year, with presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled to take place in December.
But there are concerns that they may be delayed as politicians argue over the legal framework for them to take place.
Germany has tried to act as an intermediary between the competing factions in Libya and has hosted summits with key international players and Libyan figures.
“The former parties to the conflict have acknowledged that there can be no violent solution for their country,” Mr Maas said.
“For lasting stability, Libya now needs nationwide elections to give rise to political institutions.
“That is why it is so crucial that these elections take place. The separation of powers instead of violence is the challenge that the country faces right now.”
He praised the country's efforts to improve stability over the past two years.
“Today there's a national unity government, the oil blockade has been ended and the weapons have mostly been silenced,” Mr Maas said.
“Libya needs continued international engagement to achieve progress for all people in Libya. It is for this reason that I came to Tripoli to reopen the German embassy here."
Meanwhile, the Speaker of Libya's eastern-based parliament signed a law allowing the presidential election to take place on December 24, although another body rejected the move, saying the legislation was flawed.
Aguila Saleh has sent the law to other political bodies and to the UN, a spokesman said.
The High State Council, a body empowered by a political agreement in 2015, said Mr Saleh had unilaterally pushed the law through using powers he did not hold.
The council said he did so to "obstruct the upcoming elections by deliberately issuing a flawed law".
The eastern-based parliament, elected in 2014, has not yet agreed on a law for a parliamentary election.
Its law on the presidential election would allow serving officials to stand for office if they temporarily stepped down from their posts three months before the vote.
Parliament agreed on the bill last month and sent it to the legal committee, but did not hold another vote on it before Mr Saleh issued it as law.
There are doubts as to whether the election will take place.
"It's more and more unlikely by the day. There just isn't enough time," said Tarek Megerisi, of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
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Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
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Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
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Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Specs%3A%202024%20McLaren%20Artura%20Spider
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.0-litre%20twin-turbo%20V6%20and%20electric%20motor%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20power%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20700hp%20at%207%2C500rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMax%20torque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20720Nm%20at%202%2C250rpm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eight-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E0-100km%2Fh%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.0sec%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETop%20speed%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E330kph%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh1.14%20million%20(%24311%2C000)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More on animal trafficking
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
