Libyan government boycotts UN-led Geneva talks
The Presidential Council (PC) said Tuesday it will boycott the ongoing military talks in Geneva until firm stances were taken against Haftar and his violations. In a statement, the PC vowed to respond firmly to the violations committed by Haftar with the appropriate form and timing. The PC insisted it is not enough to issue statements of condemnation. "The violations committed by Haftar require warrants of arrest and habeas corpus procedures at the internal and international levels, the PC added. It demanded the international community to take firm and concrete measures towards the aggression and the countries supporting it.
Source:Libya Observer
February 19, 2020 10:18 UTC
AP News in Brief 02-19-20
President Trump goes on clemency spree, and the list is longWASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has gone on a clemency blitz, commuting what he called a “ridiculous” 14-year prison sentence for former Illinois Gov. The clemency actions come as an emboldened Trump continues to test the limits of his office now that impeachment is over. Bloomberg finally faces foes after spending millions of dollars on adsFor Mike Bloomberg, the one way conversation with Democratic voters is about to end. As he faces his rivals onstage for the first time, they’ve made it clear they’re eager to take him on. “Plenty of pro-life Catholics are looking for an alternative to voting for President Trump,” said Kim Daniels, associate director of Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life.
Source:Libya Today
February 19, 2020 10:07 UTC
Oil: Supply Risks From Rosneft To Libya Push Crude Back Toward $60.
XThe U.S. sanctioned a unit of Russia's Rosneft PJSC for maintaining ties with Venezuela's president and its state-run oil company, threatening to crimp the nation's ability to export crude. "Throttling this Asian supply channel will provide some support for oil prices." The nation's crude output had dropped to around 123,000 barrels a day from 1.2 million barrels before a blockade of the country's ports by Haftar's supporters started in mid-January. At the end of the day, there is still far too much oil in the world." Other oil market news
Source:Libya Today
February 19, 2020 05:15 UTC
Buttigieg recalls time he tried to use three languages to help a family at a protest
Buttigieg recalls time he tried to use three languages to help a family at a protestBy Kate Sullivan, CNNDemocratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg shared a story at the CNN Town Hall in Nevada about how he tried to use his foreign language skills to help a family caught in the middle of a protest. Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg on Tuesday recalled the time he tried to use his foreign language skills to help a family caught up in the middle of a protest. Buttigieg speaks eight languages — “some better than others,” he said at a CNN town hall — including Norwegian, Maltese, Arabic, Spanish and Dari. The day President Donald Trump’s 2017 travel ban went into effect, Buttigieg said he went to a protest at a Houston airport. Buttigieg went up to the family and tried to communicate with them in Dari, which he likened to Farsi.
Source:Libya Today
February 19, 2020 04:07 UTC
Libya's GNA suspending ceasefire talks after Tripoli port attack
Libya's internationally recognised government has said it is suspending its participation in ceasefire negotiations hosted by the United Nations in Geneva, hours after an attack by renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar's forces on the capital's port. In a statement late on Tuesday, the presidential council of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) said it would respond firmly to the attack at the appropriate time. More:Footage shared online showed thick black smoke rising from the port, a major gateway for food, fuel, wheat and other imports. "Today's attack on Tripoli port could have led to a humanitarian and environmental disaster," NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said. It is currently split between two rival administrations - the Tripoli-based GNA and another allied with Haftar in the eastern city of Tobruk that controls key oil fields and export terminals.
Source:Libya Today
February 18, 2020 21:56 UTC
![[Eastern Libyan forces strike Tripoli port in new escalation]](https://gotechdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/16560/eastern-libyan-forces-strike-tripoli-port-in-new-escalation.jpg)
[Eastern Libyan forces strike Tripoli port in new escalation]
A smoke rises from a port of Tripoli following getting attacked in Tripoli, Libya February 18, 2020. In an escalation of the battle for Tripoli, the Libya Countrywide Army (LNA), a faction primarily based in the east of the country and commanded by Khalifa Haftar, reported it attacked the port. “Today’s attack on Tripoli port could have led to a humanitarian and environmental disaster,” NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla stated. Given that January, Turkey has sent numerous ships carrying arms and heavy trucks to Tripoli and Misrata, one more western port allied to the Tripoli authorities, diplomats say. The port strike arrived as U.S. ambassador Richard Norland frequented Haftar in his foundation in the vicinity of the jap metropolis of Benghazi.
Source:Libya Today
February 18, 2020 21:33 UTC
UN highlights serious, constructive spirit amid resumption of Libyan JMC talks - Xinhua
Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-19 04:20:28|Editor: mingmeiVideo Player CloseGENEVA, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) announced Tuesday the resumption of the intra-Libyan Joint Military Commission (JMC) talks in Geneva, saying that the participants came with the sense of responsibility and the serious and constructive spirit. "We hope that this spirit is carried into the fully inclusive Libyan Political Forum scheduled to start on 26 February and urge all parties to seize the opportunity to respond positively," the UNSMIL said in an announcement. Ghassan Salame, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and head of the UNSMIL, told a press briefing here that he is happy to be back in Geneva to moderate the second round of the military talks. He added that three tracks needed to be pushed together in a contemporary way: the economic track, the military track and the political one. The first round of the intra-Libyan Joint Military Commission talks started on Feb. 3 and concluded on Feb. 8 in Geneva.
Source:Libya Today
February 18, 2020 21:00 UTC
Huge locust outbreak in East Africa reaches South Sudan
Thank you for reading the news about Huge locust outbreak in East Africa reaches South Sudan and now with the detailsJeddah - Yasmine El Tohamy - ANKARA: Brussels agreed on Monday to launch a new naval and air mission off the Libyan coast to enforce a UN arms embargo. EU member countries are expected to prepare a legal text to support the mission in the eastern Mediterranean. “President Trump also reiterated that continued foreign interference in Libya would only serve to worsen the situation,” Deere said. Ankara is accused of providing weapons and military assistance to Tripoli’s Government of National Accord (GNA) by circumventing the international arms embargo. “That may explain why Turkey, so far, has not complained about, or condemned, it too vocally,” he told Arab News.
Source:Libya Today
February 18, 2020 19:52 UTC
Near verbatim transcript of the press stakeout by Ghassan Salamé, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, 18 February 2020 - Libya
Do you need a ceasefire to be in place before your political talks next week? Are your political talks next week, are they the national conference you talked about originally in Ghadames? We spent the last four months of 2019 building this consensus and that led to the Berlin Conference on the 19th of January. It is more difficult on the military track, and we will see about the political track when we start discussions next week.] The idea is now we have this insistence on the arms embargo - it is a big story in Libya.
Source:Libya Today
February 18, 2020 19:52 UTC
Libya: UN Says Rival Forces Resume Talks to Save Cease-Fire
A second round of U.N.-brokered talks aimed at achieving a cease-fire between the rival governments in Libya has resumed in Geneva, with the chief U.N. mediator expressing hope of making progress. He says separate talks dealing with Libya’s financial and economic situation are moving ahead and political talks are set to begin in Geneva next week. He notes the U.N. Security Council has adopted a resolution supporting calls by world leaders last month during a summit in Berlin for a permanent cease-fire in Libya. Salame says both sides have decided it was better not to hold face-to-face talks just yet. Salame says that does not concern him because he is interested in getting an agreement, not a photo op.
Source:Libya Today
February 18, 2020 19:30 UTC
Haftar's forces strike Tripoli port, bringing marine traffic to a halt
Khalifa Haftar's forces have carried out a rocket attack on Tripoli sea port, hitting the port's facilities and interior quay, according to eyewitnesses. Photos and footage on social media showed Tuesday afternoon smoke pillowing the sky over Tripoli port, whose sources said fuel and gas vessels docked at the port had been pushed away from the port as a precaution. The sources added that no casualties had been reported from Haftar's attack on the port, while massive material losses in commercial ships and people's goods were reported by the Libyan Ports Authority. Meanwhile, Haftar's forces claimed the attack on Tripoli port as their major operations room said the attack was on an arms and ammunition depot, while their Motivation Department's Chief Khalid Al-Mahjoub said they targeted a Turkish warship. This attack on the Tripoli port comes a day after Libyans flocked by thousands to streets all across Tripoli, especially the Martyrs Square, and all others cities outside Haftar's control, to celebrate the 9th Anniversary of February 17 Revolution.
Source:Libya Observer
February 18, 2020 18:56 UTC
Libya's State Lawsuits Administration wins case against Turkish firm demanding $95m
Court of the International Commercial Chamber rejected the lawsuit lodged by Turkish company Tekfen-TML against the state of Libya calling for compensation worth 95 million dollars, saying its investments were subject to damage in Libya by February 17 revolution in 2011, the administration's Facebook page reported Tuesday. The Turkish firm was ordered by the court to pay 2.747 million pounds to Libya as legal fees in total with 2% interest that will be added starting two weeks from the verdict day until the sum is fully paid. The court also rejected the firm's request to get a refund of the money it spent on the lawsuit. The administration said it helped the Libyan treasury avoid losing 95 million dollars to the compensation lawsuit of the Turkish firm. It added that the final verdict was announced in last November as it had rejected the lawsuit of the Turkish firm that was in contracts with Libya's Man-made River Authority, basing the verdict on the fact that Libya didn't violate the terms of securing and protecting the company and its staffers inside Libya.
Source:Libya Observer
February 18, 2020 17:48 UTC
UNSMIL resumes Libyan military 5+5 talks in Geneva
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has announced the resumption of talks by the Libyan Joint Military Commission 5 + 5 on Tuesday at the Palace of the Nations in Geneva. The mission praised through its Twitter account what it called “the sense of responsibility shown by those taking part”, expressing hope that the military talks would be translated into a broader-based political path which is scheduled to begin on February 26. UNSMIL also urged the participants in the three tracks of Libyan dialogue (military –political-economic) to show inspirational and constructive participation for the good of Libya and its future. UNSMIL announced on February 08 the end of the first round of the 5 + 5 talks which were held in Geneva.
Source:Libya Observer
February 18, 2020 17:48 UTC
Afghanistan ceasefire; Russia-backed attack in Ukraine; Arms flow into Libya; Bracelet of silence; And a bit more.
Taliban, U.S. set ceasefire deal. Ukraine’s military says Russia-backed forces launched an attack near a demilitarized city in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region, AP reports from Kyiv. Ukraine’s President President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on Facebook that the violence was “not just a cynical provocation… it is an attempt to disrupt the peace process in the Donbass, which had begun to move through small but continuous steps,” More from AP, here; or from Reuters, here. The attack happened this past August in Berlin, and in typical Bellingcat fashion, involves a lot of evidence and back story. “A large, somewhat ungainly white cuff with spiky transducers, the bracelet has 24 speakers that emit ultrasonic signals when the wearer turns it on.
Source:Libya Today
February 18, 2020 15:33 UTC