Libya’s Prime Minister Fayez Al Sarraj announced that he will step down by the end of October to make way for a new government to unite the North African country divided by war and foreign military interventions.
Mr Al Sarraj, who leads the Tripoli-based government recognised by the United Nations, led the defence of the capital with Turkish military assistance against an offensive by forces allied to a rival administration based in eastern Libya. Both sides agreed to a truce in August.
Mr Al Sarraj’s decision to resign came after the capital descended into political infighting between an uneasy alliance of politicians and militias that had united to stop the offensive led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. He has also faced a protest movement against corruption and poor services in the country, which has been wracked by violence since a Nato-supported popular uprising in 2011 deposed the dictator Muammar Qaddafi, who was later killed.
Libya's oilfields, its main source of revenue, have been closed since January by eastern tribes allied with Field Marshal Haftar.
The rival Libyan administrations have been holding talks in Morocco and plan to meet next month in Geneva to agree on a new presidential council and elections. Mr Al Sarraj called on them to speed up their dialogue and appoint a new prime minister so that he could hand over power by the end of October.
“I wish them luck. On this occasion, I announce to all my sincere desire to hand over my duties to the coming executive authority by no later than the end of October, given that the dialogue committee finishes its work and chooses a new presidential council,” he said in a pre-recorded televised speech.
Mr Al Sarraj welcomed the "preliminary and promising recommendations" agreed upon during the Morocco dialogue, which outlined the process for forming a new presidential council and the appointment of a new head of government who would take office "peacefully".
The talks, termed the "Libyan Dialogue", brought together five members of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord and five from the rival parliament headquartered in the eastern city of Tobruk. Their discussions focused on appointments to head the country's key institutions, with the naming of the heads of Libya's central bank, its National Oil Corporation and the armed forces the main points of dispute.
Morocco also hosted talks in 2015 that led to the creation of the GNA.
Mr Al Sarraj's announcement spells the end of his five-year leadership over an unruly government that seldom managed to control more than disparate parts of the country.
“This opens up the Government of National Accord internally for rivalries as to who will take over and who will represent western Libya” in the Geneva talks, Emad Badi, a Libya expert and senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, told Bloomberg. “He was always kind of a lame duck, this just cements it. Now he’s set a timeline for being replaced.”
Mr Al Sarraj's resignation would be welcomed by Field Marshal Haftar and his regional backers. Turkey, however, has seen him as a partner who delivered on granting them access to gas-rich parts of the Mediterranean.
In western Libya, Mr Al Sarraj has been accused by rivals of protecting unruly militias that have infiltrated security services. His supporters say that the militias need to be tackled patiently to avoid bloodshed.
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
