Libya's parliament on Wednesday approved a budget for the government it appointed in March despite the incumbent administration refusing to step down, a move that may accelerate a return to parallel rule.
The budget passed by the parliament in the coastal city of Sirte is intended to finance the government of Fathi Bashagha, who has been unable to enter the capital Tripoli to take over from an administration that rejects his appointment.
The 89.7 billion Libyan dinar ($18.6 billion) budget was approved unanimously, the parliament's spokesperson said.
The session was attended by 98 of 165 legislators, while five voted in favour remotely, the spokesperson said.
The dispute over control of government and state revenue, and over a political solution to resolve 11 years of violent chaos, threatens to plunge Libya back into administrative partition and war.
In Tripoli, Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah, installed last year through a UN-backed process to lead an interim unity government, has said he will step down only after an election.
Underlining the divide in Libya, parliament speaker Aguila Saleh told legislators that Tripoli was controlled by outlaw groups and there were "local and international parties" seeking to prolong the crisis.
The Central Bank of Libya (CBL), which is based in Tripoli and is the only internationally recognised depository for Libyan oil revenues, finances Mr Dbeibah's government.
Under previous agreements, however, it pays salaries across Libya's political divide, including to fighters on different sides.
Legislator Saed Amgeb told Reuters that CBL governor Sadiq al-Kabir would not be able to refuse to finance the budget, citing an agreement between parliament and Libya's High State Council.
Libya analysts say if the CBL refuses to fund Mr Bashagha's budget, parliament may ask the head of its eastern branch to do so, effectively ending the CBL reunification process.
From 2014 to 2020, Libya was divided between warring eastern and western factions with a parallel government set up in the east with its own institutions, including a central bank.
The effort to reunify Libya's banking system is seen as crucial to resolving underlying economic drivers of conflict and has been a major thrust of diplomacy, but has moved slowly.
The parliament is based in the east and largely supported commander Khalifa Haftar's war against Tripoli and western factions.
Meanwhile, eastern factions demanding that Mr Dbeibah step aside have instigated a blockade of most Libyan oil output, with production falling to 100,000-150,000 barrels per day, according to the oil ministry.
Libya had been due to hold elections in December under a UN-backed peace process, but the vote was called off when factions could not agree on the rules. No new date has been set.
Libyan oil output last year was more than 1.2 million bpd and the reduced production adds to the pressure on markets already squeezed by tight supply elsewhere.
The oil ministry spokesman said Libya was facing a daily loss in export revenue of $70 million to $80 million as a result of the shutdowns. National Oil Corporation has not recently commented on oil output.
The political dispute over the control of government that is driving the shutdown meanwhile shows signs of escalating, making any swift return of Libyan oil to global markets uncertain.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg
Ajax v Real Madrid, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
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SCHEDULE FOR SHOW COURTS
Centre Court - from 4pm (UAE time)
Angelique Kerber (1) v Irina Falconi
Martin Klizan v Novak Djokovic (2)
Alexandr Dolgopolov v Roger Federer (3)
Court One - from 4pm
Milos Raonic (6) v Jan-Lennard Struff
Karolina Pliskova (3) v Evgeniya Rodina
Dominic Thiem (8) v Vasek Pospisil
Court Two - from 2.30pm
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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
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- Friday, Sep 22 – Kandy v Bahrain
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
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More on animal trafficking
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
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- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
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Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
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