Protesters and armed groups from the city of Zuwara who accuse Libya's Tripoli-based government of racism towards them for being predominantly Amazigh forced ministers to cancel the reopening of the country's main border crossing with Tunisia.
Men with weapons and protesters blocked the road to the crossing at the coastal town of Ras Ajdir in north-west Libya, leading the Government of National Unity to cancel its reopening.
Demonstrators were from the coastal city of Zuwara, the population of which is predominantly from the Amazigh ethnic group – also known as Berbers.
The crossing, which was shut in March following armed clashes between Zuwara residents and security forces, was scheduled to fully open on Monday.
This would have been the result of an agreement between the Minister of Interior Imed Trabelsi and his Tunisian counterpart, Khaled Nouri.
Ras Ajdir border crossing has been the subject of previous conflict between Zuwara residents and Mr Trabelsi.
Mr Trabelsi has repeatedly accused tribal leaders’ of running the city according to their own rules, and said that “Zuwara cannot operate outside of state’s institutions”.
Zuwara residents say Mr Trabelsi excluded them from the negotiation process with Tunisian parties on the important crossing.
On Sunday, Zuwara leaders said Mr Trabelsi adopted “an ethnic and racist approach towards the Amazighs of Libya”.
They said the Libyan government has been marginalising and discriminating against local security forces and removing them from their duties in the city because of their Amazigh ethnic background.
Following the renewed protests, Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah met on Monday with a delegation from the Zuwara Municipal Council and a number of Amazigh tribal leaders to review their demands and service conditions at the Ras Ajdir border crossing, according to a Facebook post from the Government of National Unity.
“Developing the Ras Ajdir crossing is a necessary step towards providing vital services that many Libyans need,” Mr Dbeibah said.
He ordered the reopening of the Abu Kammash road to the border crossing and the completion of procedures to reopen it, in accordance with the plan agreed with the Tunisian government.
The Ministry of Interior confirmed last Saturday that they had finished all the necessary procedures and arrangements to reopen the border crossing, following a meeting with the Tunisian side.
In preparation for the reopening, the two countries have established six electronic registration centres for Libyan citizens’ cars and decided to exempt them from entrance fees, on condition that no armed clashes take place.
Authorities also said that they have found a solution to issues with many people on both sides of the border having similar names. In the past, this led to innocent people being mistakenly identified as wanted criminals or militants.
Libya has rival governments, the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity in the west and the rival House of Representatives, based in Tobruk, in the east.
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Kamindu Mendis bio
Full name: Pasqual Handi Kamindu Dilanka Mendis
Born: September 30, 1998
Age: 20 years and 26 days
Nationality: Sri Lankan
Major teams Sri Lanka's Under 19 team
Batting style: Left-hander
Bowling style: Right-arm off-spin and slow left-arm orthodox (that's right!)
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Dir: R Balki
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Brief scores:
England: 290 & 346
Sri Lanka: 336 & 243
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Funchal via Lisbon, with a connecting flight with Air Portugal. Economy class returns cost from Dh3,845 return including taxes.
The trip
The WalkMe app can be downloaded from the usual sources. If you don’t fancy doing the trip yourself, then Explore offers an eight-day levada trails tour from Dh3,050, not including flights.
The hotel
There isn’t another hotel anywhere in Madeira that matches the history and luxury of the Belmond Reid's Palace in Funchal. Doubles from Dh1,400 per night including taxes.
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Squads
India (for first three ODIs) Kohli (capt), Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Jadhav, Rahane, Dhoni, Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Shami.
Australia Smith (capt), Warner, Agar, Cartwright, Coulter-Nile, Cummins, Faulkner, Finch, Head, Maxwell, Richardson, Stoinis, Wade, Zampa.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch
Power: 710bhp
Torque: 770Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 2.9 seconds
Top Speed: 340km/h
Price: Dh1,000,885
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Buy farm-fresh food
The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.
In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others.
In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food.
In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
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