Archive for the ‘Libya’ Category

Libya, Harry and Meghan, SpaceX: Your Monday Briefing – The New York Times

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Good morning.

Were covering halting steps toward peace in Libya, Harry and Meghans hard break from the British royal family and a facial recognition app thats scraping photos from Facebook.

Gen. Khalifa Hifter, a rebel commander in Libya whose forces are laying siege to Tripoli, is due to meet in Moscow today with President Vladimir Putin of Russia, amid hopes that the general might embrace a permanent cease-fire agreement that he refused to sign last week.

The meeting comes a day after more than a dozen international powers with competing interests in Libya met in Berlin and called for a cease-fire, an arms embargo and a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process for ending a conflict that has festered for nearly nine years.

But expectations remain low: On Sunday, as General Hifters forces launched fresh attacks on Tripoli, he and the Libyan prime minister refused to even spend time in the same room together.

Related: As Russia and Turkey play a bigger role in trying to end the conflict, Europe is belatedly sensing the implications of a new Great Game, this time in North Africa, that is rapidly destabilizing its backyard, our Brussels-based correspondents write.

Russia: Our reporter in Moscow explains why Mr. Putin announced last week a surprise reorganization of the government four years before he is scheduled to step down. (Hint: An autocrats usual retirement package death, jail or exile is unappealing.)

When Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, made the bombshell announcement that they planned to step back from their royal duties, they said they hoped to carve out a progressive new role within the monarchy.

But under a severance deal announced over the weekend, the couple will lose most of the privileges and perks of royalty once they give up their full-time status and forsake Britain for an uncertain future in Canada and the United States. Its a harsher deal than the soft exit theyd imagined.

It brings me great sadness that it has come to this, Harry said of the agreement, which codifies one of the most dramatic ruptures within the British royal family since King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry an American, Wallis Simpson.

Details: Harry and Meghan will forgo public funding of their activities, abandon their royal designations and repay the more than $3 million they spent refurbishing their residence on the grounds of Windsor Castle. But for now, their website has retained references to His Royal Highness and Her Royal Highness.

Quotable: Penny Junor, a royal biographer, said the British royal family was trying to prevent a half-in, half-out arrangement, which doesnt work.

President Trumps high-powered legal team is expected to expand today on its earlier arguments that the case against the president is legally and constitutionally invalid, and driven by a desire to hurt him in the 2020 election.

Democrats argued in a competing legal brief on Saturday that Mr. Trump, through his pressure on Ukraine, had enlisted a foreign government to help him win re-election, then sought to conceal his actions from Congress. And with the presidents Senate impeachment trial set to open on Tuesday, Democrats are intensifying their demands for testimony and documents.

Another angle: Mr. Trumps personal lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani, and his Ukrainian allies see people who are fighting corruption in the country as enemies. That could complicate President Volodymyr Zelenskys battles with oligarchs and organized crime.

Related: The Times Magazine profiled Mr. Giuliani, a central player in Mr. Trumps Ukraine pressure campaign.

From opinion: The Timess editorial board endorsed both Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Italys anti-establishment Five Star Movement, which won the largest vote in national elections two years ago, was supposed to revolutionize the countrys politics. Now it looks to be on the verge of a slow-but-irreversible collapse.

Five Star had a messy breakup with Matteo Salvinis hard-right League party over the summer, and its governing coalition with the center-left Democratic Party hasnt worked out. The main problem, analysts say, is that Five Star has failed to transition from a vague protest movement into a governing party that is willing to take clear positions.

Whats next: At elections in the Emilia Romagna and Calabria regions later this month, the ascendant Mr. Salvini is hoping to put a stake in the governments heart, our Rome bureau chief, Jason Horowitz, writes.

Closer look: Last month Jason profiled Luigi Di Maio, Five Stars political leader and Italys foreign minister.

Isabel dos Santos, above center, Africas richest woman and the daughter of Angolas former president, often took cuts of her countrys wealth through decrees signed by her father. Global banks, bound by strict rules about politically connected clients, largely declined to work with her family.

But consulting companies readily embraced her business, and even agreed to take money from offshore shell companies tied to her and her associates. As a result, they both facilitated and helped legitimize her efforts to profit off diamonds, oil and banks in a country hobbled by corruption.

Virus in China: The authorities reported a third death and more than 130 new cases linked to a mysterious respiratory virus over the weekend, bringing the total number of reported cases to about 200. As millions in China prepare to travel home for Lunar New Year, some experts worry that the outbreak could be more severe than the government admits.

Rocket blast: SpaceX intentionally blew up a spacecraft, with NASAs blessing, after launching it from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as a way to test an escape feature for astronauts. The test may set the stage for SpaceX and Boeing to launch their first crewed flights.

Controversial app: Hundreds of American law enforcement agencies are using Clearview, a facial recognition app that identifies people based on photos scraped from Facebook and other websites. Clearview has shrouded itself in secrecy.

Klimt, revealed: A prosecutor said a painting by Gustav Klimt that was found last month inside the walls of the same Italian museum from which it was stolen almost 23 years ago is authentic.

Snapshot: Above, a small clothing factory that was flooded by calls from widows seeking work in Aleppo, Syria. As the countrys civil war grinds on, more women in socially and religiously conservative areas are leaving home and working for the first time.

What were reading: This look back at Prohibition, 100 years later, from NorthJersey.com. Its a perfectly mixed cocktail of history, politics and culture, writes Gina Lamb, a Special Sections editor. Dont miss the video.

Cook: Red curry lentils with sweet potato and spinach is an aromatic meal inspired by Indian dal.

Watch: With Star Trek: Picard, a spinoff following Patrick Stewarts Starfleet officer, the franchise is trying to rediscover its place in a universe that it effectively invented.

Smarter Living: If youre a night owl tired of not getting enough sleep, heres how to become a morning person.

Facing the likelihood of incoming clouds of smoke from the bushfires scorching the country, tournament officials say they may have to close the retractable roofs on three stadiums and restrict play to the eight indoor courts. Play began today.

The retractable roof on what is now Rod Laver Arena was a big attraction when it was new, in 1988. According to its designers, the point was to allow the stadium to host concerts and sports in all seasons.

It also helped the Australian Open make the transition into one of the grander of tenniss four Grand Slam events.

When the event began in the early 20th century, travel time for Americans and Europeans could be more than a month, so play was largely limited to Australians and New Zealanders.

Even after the advent of jet travel, low prize money and dates around the Christmas holidays kept many players away. Chris Evert played the Australian Open just six times; John McEnroe five; Bjorn Borg once.

Over time, prize money and ranking points increased. The tournament shifted to the third and fourth weeks of January and moved to Melbourne Park which has since added two more retractable roofs. Those additions now seem prescient.

Thats it for this briefing. See you next time.

Mike

Thank youTo Mark Josephson and Eleanor Stanford for the break from the news. Todays Back Story is drawn from reporting by Ben Rothenberg, who covers the Australian Open for The Times. You can reach the team at briefing@nytimes.com.

P.S. Were listening to The Daily. Our latest episode is about Bernie Sanderss campaign strategy. Heres todays Mini Crossword puzzle, and a clue: Point of a fable (five letters). You can find all our puzzles here. The New York Times reported from 159 countries in 2019.

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Libya, Harry and Meghan, SpaceX: Your Monday Briefing - The New York Times

Pope appeals for a peaceful solution to the crisis in Libya – Vatican News

Pope Francis during his Sunday Angelus speaks of the crisis in Libya making particular mention of an important summit taking place in Berlin which aims to find a solution to the current situation.

The Pope expressed the hope that the conference would be the start of a path towards an end to violence and a negotiated solution leading to peace and much-desired stability in the country.

The UN estimates that the country's conflict has killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands more.

Germany is bringing together the key players in Libya's long-running civil war in a bid to determine the North African nation's future.

Also in attendence is Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the UK's Boris Johnson and the UN.

As talks continued on Sunday there was a call for all parties to refrain from hostilities against oil facilities.

Conflict has been rife in Libya since the 2011 uprising which ousted long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi.

A truce was announced earlier this month between Gen Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) and the rival and UN backed Government of National Accord (GNA), led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj. However, both sides have blamed eachother for breaches of the accord.

Listen to Nathan Morley's report

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Pope appeals for a peaceful solution to the crisis in Libya - Vatican News

The Commodities Feed: Libya oil disruptions – ING Think

Energy

Oil has had a strong start to the day, with ICE Brent touching US$66/bbl in early morning trading, following reports that forces loyal to Commander Haftar in Libya blocked oil exports, as fighting in the country continues. The blockade has seen the National Oil Corporation (NOC) declare force majeure, and warn that production could fall to just 72Mbbls/d in the coming days once storage tanks are full. Prior to the blockade, Libya was producing around 1.2MMbbls/d. A prolonged disruption from Libya would be enough to swing the global oil market from surplus to deficit in 1Q20. While, if a disruption of this magnitude was to last through until 2Q20, it would be enough to bring the global market to balance over the second quarter. Disruptions for the market do not stop there. In Iraq, OPECs second-largest producer, the 70Mbbls/d Al Ahdab oilfield was forced to shut, with security guards blocking access to the oilfield, as they seek permanent employment contracts. Meanwhile, there are reports that the 50Mbbls/d Badra oilfield is at risk of having to shut today as well.

Looking at the Commitment of Traders report, there was little change in speculative positioning in ICE Brent over the last reporting week. However NYMEX WTI saw significant liquidation, with speculators selling 62,636 lots over the reporting week, to leave them with a net long of 225,794 lots as of the 14th January. Meanwhile looking at Henry Hub natural gas, speculators continued to increase their net short over the last reporting period, selling 19,528 lots, leaving them with a net short of 269,944 lots - a record net short. However, this position is likely to be even larger at the moment, with Henry Hub coming under renewed pressure more recently, which has seen prices fall below US$2/MMBtu. This weakness is really reflective of the state of the global gas market, where all regions have an abundant supply. In the US natural gas inventories stand at 3.04Tcf, which is 494Bcf above levels seen at the same stage last year, and 149Bcf above the 5-year average. Meanwhile, forecasts for warmer than usual weather in the US havedone little to offer support to the US market.

Finally looking at the week ahead, and in terms of data releases, it will be fairly quiet for the oil market. Today the US is off for Martin Luther King Jr Day, and as a result, the usual US releases will be delayed by a day. API inventory numbers will be published on Wednesday, while the EIA weekly report will come out on Thursday.

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The Commodities Feed: Libya oil disruptions - ING Think

Libya Rebels Capture Key Coastal City in Threat to U.N.-Backed Government – The New York Times

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey has become the Tripoli governments last major patron, providing armed drones, armored vehicles and, in the past week, Turkish troops.

Turkish officials say their troops will act mostly in an advisory role and avoid front-line combat. But there are indications, from American officials and from videos posted on the internet, that Ankara has deployed Syrian irregulars to Libya, drawn from units that fought the Kurds in northeastern Syria last year.

The increasingly prominent foreign role drew an angry rebuke from the United Nations envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salam, who told reporters on Monday that probably thousands of foreign mercenaries had arrived in Libya to participate in the fight.

The battle has displaced 300,000 people and caused over 2,200 deaths.

Mr. Salam blamed one of Mr. Hifters foreign backers he didnt specify which one for a drone strike on a government military facility near Tripoli on Saturday that killed 30 unarmed military recruits. His message to every foreign power mired in the conflict, he said: Get out of Libya.

In Brussels on Tuesday, the foreign ministers of Britain, Germany, France and Italy, as well as Josep Borrell, the foreign policy chief of the European Union, issued a joint statement condemning the continuing outside interference in the conflict.

Mr. Borrell singled out Turkey for criticism.

We asked for a cease-fire and we asked also to stop escalation and external interference, which has been increasing in the past days, he told reporters. It is obvious that this makes a reference to the Turkish decision to intervene with their troops in Libya.

Located about halfway along Libyas Mediterranean coastline, Surt has long straddled the geographic and political fault lines that divide eastern and western Libya, said Frederic Wehrey, a Libya specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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Libya Rebels Capture Key Coastal City in Threat to U.N.-Backed Government - The New York Times

UN envoy appeals for other nations to ‘keep out of Libya’ – UN News

GhassamSalam, head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL),was speaking to reportersin New Yorkon Monday, following a closed-door meeting of the Security Council.

It was heldafter dozens of cadets were killedthis past weekend in adroneattack on a military academyin thecapital, Tripoli, located in western Libyaand seat of theUN-recognized government.

Since April, the cityhas been undersiegeby the Libyan National Army (LNA), which is aligned with a rival administration in the east.

Theattackonthe military academyis the latest in a recent spike in aerial bombings andprobablywas carried out by a country supporting the LNA, according to Mr.Salam.

He called forothercountries to take your hands out of Libya,which is suffering fromincreasingforeign interferencein thelong-running factional conflict which hasleft the country in crisis sincethefall offormer dictatorMuammarGadaffiin 2011.

What I asked the Security Council,andwhat I askedthese countries,isvery clear: keep out of Libya. There are enough weapons in Libya; they do not need extra weapons. There are enough mercenaries in Libya,so stop sendingmercenaries as is the case right now with hundreds, probably thousands, coming into the country of late,he said.

There is a resolution calling foranarms embargoin Libya.Those who voted for this resolution are necessarily in need to implement it.If everybodyviolatesthe arms embargo, its a problem. But if those whovoted for it areviolating it,its an even bigger problem.

The UN envoydescribed the current situation in Libya as particularly difficult and bleak.

Ordinary people are paying dearly, with dozens of schools closed, health facilities attacked, and thousands displaced.

Mr.Salamstressed that there is no military solution to the conflict, which couldpotentially have animpactonfragileneighbouringcountries.

He stated:Libya is not only an oil story. Libya is not only a gas story. Libya is not only a geopolitical story: it is also a human story. And people are suffering, and for no other reason but for the fact that there is no international, clear message that enough is enough.

The United Nations is determined to find a way out of the current bleak situation, he said.

UNSMILhaslaunched a three-track process to bring thetwosides together to address the economic and financial situation, military and security matters, and political dialogue.

The firsttrackbegan on Monday, with representatives from the parties meeting in Tunis to discusseconomic and financial concerns, he reported.

I hope that in the next two weeksIwill be able to launchthe second track, concerningmilitary and securityissues: that is the ceasefire,thearms embargo, DDR(disarmament, demobilizationand reintegration)process,terrorism and counter terrorism, and these kindsof issues,he added.

And I am hopeful that before the end of this month we will be able to launch the political dialogue, probablyin Geneva.

Mr.Salamalsoexpressed hope thataconference will be heldinBerlinin the coming weeks togive an international "push to efforts underway on the ground.

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UN envoy appeals for other nations to 'keep out of Libya' - UN News