The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held a landmark meeting with the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to seal a reconciliation with the former US enemy.
Ms Rice said today before leaving that the United States and Libya had decided "to move forward in a positive way" and deal "as well as we can with issues of the past".
The first US secretary of state to visit Tripoli in 55 years exchanged gifts with Mr Gaddafi ? he gave her a lute instrument and she presented a shield with the department's coat of arms.
But the tensions have not completely disappeared.
The Libyan foreign minister Abdelrahman Mohammed Shalgam said his country does not need "pressure" or "lectures" on human rights, one of the issues raised by Ms Rice in talks.
Ms Rice declared however: "After many, many years it is a good thing that the US and Libya found a way forward." She praised some "strategic choices" made by Libya.
"This is a good time for a constructive relationship between the US and Libya to emerge," Ms Rice said.
Mr Shalgam said the world has change and Ms Rice's groundbreaking visit to Libya was proof of the new mood.
"The time of confrontation is over. There may still be differences of opinion but this will not endanger the relationship."
Ms Rice earlier described her brief visit as "historic".
"That is not to say that everything has by any means been settled between the United States and Libya. There is a long way to go," she told reporters travelling with her.
"But I do believe that it has demonstrated that the United States doesn't have permanent enemies. It demonstrates that when countries are prepared to make strategic changes in direction the United States is prepared to respond."
Diplomats said Ms Rice wanted Iran and North Korea to know that they could benefit from rapprochement with the West, highlighting Libya's commitment to abandon nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programmes.
Ms Rice met Mr Gaddafi ? once described by the former US president Ronald Reagan as a "mad dog" ? at his Tripoli residence, Bab al Azizia, which was hit in US bombing raids ordered by Mr Reagan in 1986.
After talks they shared an Iftar meal, which breaks the fast during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Ms Rice's visit comes less than a month after the two governments reached an agreement on a plan to compensate US victims of Libyan attacks and Libyan victims of US reprisals.
Both sides acknowledged they have differences and Ms Rice said she had raised with Mr Gaddafi the issue of human rights, including the case of jailed dissident Fathi al Jahmi, 66.
"It is important to have dialogue, including on issues of human rights," she said at the news conference.
"As this relationship goes forward and deepens it will continue to be important for us to have transparency and to talk about these issues in a respectful way."
Mr Shalgam, however, clearly angry at the question raised at the news conference, said Mr Jahmi was receiving medical treatment at a private clinic.
"We care about our own people," he said. "We do need not anybody to come put pressure on us or give us lectures."
US-Libya ties were suspended in 1981 when Washington put Mr Gaddafi's regime on its list of state sponsors of terrorism. It was forced even further into isolation after the bombing of a US airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988.
The White House said Ms Rice's visit marked a "new chapter" and that cooperation could expand in education and culture, commerce, science and technology, and security and human rights.
The last US secretary of state to visit was John Foster Dulles in 1953, who met King Idris ? the ruler ousted in a bloodless military coup led in 1969 by Mr Gaddafi.
Last year, Mr Gaddafi proclaimed his love for "Leezza", telling al Jazeera television: "I support my darling black African woman. I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders."
Mr Gaddafi's December 2003 announcement that he was giving up weapons programmes followed secret talks with the US and Britain.
Ms Rice moved on to Tunisia, a strong US military ally with whom it is trying to negotiate a free trade deal. She will go from there to Algeria and Morocco.
*AFP
Japan 30-10 Russia
Tries: Matsushima (3), Labuschange | Golosnitsky
Conversions: Tamura, Matsuda | Kushnarev
Penalties: Tamura (2) | Kushnarev
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
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
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
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On sale: Available to order now
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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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
More on Quran memorisation:
The Specs
Engine 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp (542bhp in GTS model)
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000 (Dh549,000 for GTS)
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Racecard:
2.30pm: Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoun Emirates Breeders Society Challenge; Conditions (PA); Dh40,000; 1,600m
3pm: Handicap; Dh80,000; 1,800m
3.30pm: Jebel Ali Mile Prep Rated Conditions; Dh110,000; 1,600m
4pm: Handicap; Dh95,000; 1,950m
4.30pm: Maiden; Dh65,000; 1,400m
5pm: Handicap; Dh85,000; 1,200m
SHAITTAN
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Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
How to vote
Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.
They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi
Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
