The timing of the conference was no coincidence. Two days after Europe had commemorated the armistice of the First World War, Italy's new government brought together Libya's warring factions in Palermo, Sicily.
In one way, the Palermo conference was a success. The head of the two main power blocs in Libya, the Libyan prime minister Fayez Al Serraj, who controls the capital, and Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, who controls the east of the country, met for the first time in months. Both committed to a United Nations-led process that aims to hold elections by next summer. Italy's prime minister Giuseppe Conte, a political novice who less than a year ago was still teaching law, looked pleased.
But behind the smiles lies great division in Italy and a deep rivalry between Rome and Paris, both of which have tried to bring peace to Libya and – crucially – take the credit for it. In the search for unity and peace in the Mediterranean, Europe's divisive politics are making a hard task harder still.
For months, France has tried to take the lead on Libya. France hosted a conference in May that brought together rival Libyan factions, holding it, crucially, just before Italy's new government was sworn in. Not to be outdone, Italy, determined to wrest control of the political process, publicly cast doubt on whether Libyan elections set for December would be possible, and went to Washington to announce its own plan for a conference in Palermo. Those December elections will not happen now, and so, after Palermo, Italy has the upper hand.
But the divide between these two European countries runs deep. On the surface, it can look simply like political and economic rivalry. Rome and Paris support different sides of the long-running dispute that has split post-Qaddafi Libya. Italy prefers the transitional government in Tripoli, while France favours General Haftar, believing he can stem the violence and stabilise the country. Their national oil companies also compete commercially inside the country.
The dispute can also seem historical, with both sides having occupied parts of Libya for a time, and now considering it, in the way too many European countries still think about other sovereign nations, as their “backyard”.
But really the dispute is philosophical. French and Italian rivalry is not merely about which historical colonial power gets to involve itself in Libya’s affairs. It is about who speaks for Europe and what Europe itself is today.
The question of whether Europe is a collection of sovereign nation states or a supranational institution forging ever closer union between its constituent parts, is one that has dogged the EU since its foundation. Recent events – the rise of a populist government in Italy and the imminent departure of the UK from the bloc – have once again imbued it with a sense of urgency. Italy and France, two of the core EU states, embody the two sides of this debate.
France under Emmanuel Macron has become a defender of the EU model: multilateral, liberal, encouraging those beyond its borders to see its own history of co-operation as a role model.
Italy, which since June has been run by a coalition between the right-wing Lega and the populist, anti-establishment Five Star Movement, is on the other side, taking an Italy-first, anti-EU, anti-immigration approach.
What does this debate have to do with Libya?
Foreign policy has always been an important plank of political power. Facilitating peace with other countries, especially countries with which there are historic links, is a way of cementing political, even moral, authority.
France has recently preferred to conduct its policy through multilateral institutions or in partnership with other nations. It currently deploys around 4,000 troops in West Africa as part of the Sahel alliance of five countries. It also supports military operations in the region through the Economic Community of West African States. That is the EU-sanctioned institutional approach.
For Italy’s populists, this vision of the EU is a political danger to its own resurgent nationalism. An EU that rules from the centre could dictate how many migrants Italy would have to allow in – precisely one of the issues that rocketed the current government to power – rather than allow Rome to make its own sovereign laws, and damn the consequences to other EU states.
A peace settlement in Libya, done on Rome's terms, without the institutional imprimatur of the EU, would offer a reflected glow to Italy's current government. It would prove that a patriotic, Italy-first approach is a viable political option.
The tensions and competition between the two are having an impact on Libya’s peace process, compounding the tensions between rival groups.
For now, though, participants at Palermo are playing down these rivalries. After the conference, the UN special envoy for Libya Ghassan Salame said that the differences between Paris and Rome had been left behind. If so, they will have ample time to catch up.
The UN plan calls for a national conference early in 2019 to decide on the format of elections, followed by a ballot that both sides have agreed to abide by. But even before that, there are serious political questions to consider, such as how to unite the factions into a national army and what to do about rival central banks.
The answers to these and related questions will have long-term repercussions for France's foreign policy and Italy's domestic policy. It is unlikely they will stay quiet on them.
The elections can only be overseen by the United Nations, but it is the national governments who support the rival sides – not merely France and Italy, but governments across the Middle East as well – who must ensure they fulfil the timetable. For the sake of the Libyan people, the warring factions along the nation’s coast and those across the Alps need to get on the same page.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
IF YOU GO
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
Where to stay: Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.
Step by step
2070km to run
38 days
273,600 calories consumed
28kg of fruit
40kg of vegetables
45 pairs of running shoes
1 yoga matt
1 oxygen chamber
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The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
Cry Macho
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam
Rating:**
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
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.
Fanney Khan
Producer: T-Series, Anil Kapoor Productions, ROMP, Prerna Arora
Director: Atul Manjrekar
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Rajkummar Rao, Pihu Sand
Rating: 2/5
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
'Moonshot'
Director: Chris Winterbauer
Stars: Lana Condor and Cole Sprouse
Rating: 3/5
All the Money in the World
Director: Ridley Scott
Starring: Charlie Plummer, Mark Wahlberg, Michelle Williams, Christopher Plummer
Four stars
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHayvn%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristopher%20Flinos%2C%20Ahmed%20Ismail%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbu%20Dhabi%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efinancial%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eundisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2044%20employees%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eseries%20B%20in%20the%20second%20half%20of%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHilbert%20Capital%2C%20Red%20Acre%20Ventures%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
