After six years of bitter civil war, Libya this week got a government of unity at last, but uniting this shattered country will be more difficult.
The Government of National Unity, a transitional administration, was sworn in on Monday and is now in charge of keeping the peace long enough for elections for a permanent government to be held in December.
It will not be easy.
UN special envoy to Libya Jan Kubis welcomed the birth of the new government.
“Today’s swearing-in session illustrates the eagerness and the determination of Libyans to overcome their differences,” he said.
The UN played an important role in creating the new government, which has become Libya’s fifth transitional government in the decade since the revolution that overthrew Muammar Qaddafi.
A UN-chaired forum negotiated the formation of the government over four, often torturous, months, moulding it to replace Libya’s two rival governments – one in the west and another in the east. Those governments had been at war since 2014, operating parallel administrations and armies.
Now, both are set to dissolve.
The new prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, promised on Monday that the government will be one “of all Libyans”, ensuring his 33-member Cabinet is drawn from groups across the country.
For the moment, at least, he has parliament’s backing, with members voting 132-2 to endorse his Cabinet, although the 54 politicians who did not show up to vote hints that not everybody is satisfied.
The first problem for Mr Dbeibah, 61, a wealthy businessman from the city of Misurata, is what to do about a front line that snakes down the middle of country near the coastal city of Sirte.
The front line congealed last summer after rival forces fought themselves to a standstill. Earthworks and fortifications dot the line and the main coastal highway connecting east and west Libya remains blocked.
For the moment, the rival forces remain in place, but a UN-brokered ceasefire agreed to in October has stayed intact. The UN has deployed a small observation team to assess whether a larger monitoring effort can be deployed. In Geneva, a joint military commission consisting of five officials from each former government has so far been successful in providing a talking-shop to quickly solve ceasefire breaches.
Mr Dbeibah will also be cheered by the recent reunification of the central bank, which had been divided between east and west. Another boost is that Libya’s oil production is strong, with its fields for the moment free of the blockades and strikes that have often restricted output.
But running a government containing all factions will likely make decision-making cumbersome, particularly because it must decide what kind of constitution will govern the permanent government to be elected in December. There is strong support for a referendum on this constitution to be held in the summer.
Tripoli, meanwhile, continues to be dominated by more than a dozen powerful militias who periodically skirmish with each other. The militia chiefs will need to be convinced to hand over power to regular army and police agencies to give the capital security.
The capital’s administration must also find a way of ending frequent shortages of electricity and water. More than 1.3 million of Libya’s 6.5 million people depend on the UN for humanitarian aid.
Another priority is ensuring the departure of an estimated 20,000 mercenaries. On Friday, the UN Security Council called for mercenary withdrawal “without delay” and Mr Dbeibah has labelled the mercenary presence a “stab in our back."
While the ceasefire is holding, terrorism remains a threat. At the weekend, the Libyan National Army, commanded by Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar, raided an ISIS hideout in the south of the country, announcing the capture of its “most prominent leader”, Mohamed Milhoud Mohamed.
One key test of Mr Dbeibah’s government will be whether its unity remains intact when he makes the inevitable tough decisions about demobilising armies and where the budget is spent.
Another potential problem is a UN report alleging corruption in the formation of the new government which was given to the UN Security Council, but has yet to be made public.
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
FIXTURES
Saturday
5.30pm: Shabab Al Ahli v Al Wahda
5.30pm: Khorfakkan v Baniyas
8.15pm: Hatta v Ajman
8.15pm: Sharjah v Al Ain
Sunday
5.30pm: Kalba v Al Jazira
5.30pm: Fujairah v Al Dhafra
8.15pm: Al Nasr v Al Wasl
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
FINAL LEADERBOARD
1. Jordan Spieth (USA) 65 69 65 69 - 12-under-par
2. Matt Kuchar (USA) 65 71 66 69 - 9-under
3. Li Haotong (CHN) 69 73 69 63 - 6-under
T4. Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71 68 69 67 - 5-under
T4. Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 67 73 67 68 - 5-under
T6. Marc Leishman (AUS) 69 76 66 65 - 4-under
T6. Matthew Southgate (ENG) 72 72 67 65 - 4-under
T6. Brooks Koepka (USA) 65 72 68 71 - 4-under
T6. Branden Grace (RSA) 70 74 62 70 - 4-under
T6. Alexander Noren (SWE) 68 72 69 67 - 4-under
Bawaal%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Nitesh%20Tiwari%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Varun%20Dhawan%2C%20Janhvi%20Kapoor%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
BlacKkKlansman
Director: Spike Lee
Starring: John David Washington; Adam Driver
Five stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
READ MORE ABOUT CORONAVIRUS
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
Results
4pm: Maiden (Dirt) Dh165,000 1,600m
Winner: Moshaher, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
4.35pm: Handicap (D) Dh165,000 2,200m
Winner: Heraldic, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Maiden (Turf) Dh165,000 1,600m
Winner: Rua Augusta, Harry Bentley, Ahmad bin Harmash.
5.45pm: Handicap (D) Dh190,000 1,200m
Winner: Private’s Cove, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav.
6.20pm: Handicap (T) Dh190,000 1,600m
Winner: Azmaam, Jim Crowley, Musabah Al Muhairi.
6.55pm: Handicap (D) Dh190,000 1,400m
Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
7.30pm: Handicap (T) Dh190,000 2,000m
Winner: Rio Tigre, Mickael Barzalona, Sandeep Jadhav.
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
If%20you%20go
%3Cp%3E%0DThere%20are%20regular%20flights%20from%20Dubai%20to%20Addis%20Ababa%20with%20Ethiopian%20Airlines%20with%20return%20fares%20from%20Dh1%2C700.%20Nashulai%20Journeys%20offers%20tailormade%20and%20ready%20made%20trips%20in%20Africa%20while%20Tesfa%20Tours%20has%20a%20number%20of%20different%20community%20trekking%20tours%20throughout%20northern%20Ethiopia.%20%20The%20Ben%20Abeba%20Lodge%20has%20rooms%20from%20Dh228%2C%20and%20champions%20a%20programme%20of%20re-forestation%20in%20the%20surrounding%20area.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20101hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20135Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Six-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh79%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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