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Libya, Sudan, Somalia hard hit as US top court partially lifts Trump's travel ban africanews Libya, Sudan and Somalia. The other three were Syria, Yemen and Iraq. Till date, Trump had signed two separate orders, but both had been suspended by lower courts forcing the case to be taken to the apex court. The second order called for 90-day ban on ... The Supreme Court Agrees To Hear Trump's Travel Ban And Lets It Mostly Take Effect For NowBustle The Latest: Imam still hopes for Syrian mother-in-law visaNews 12 Long Island Supreme Court travel ban ruling: What it meansUSA TODAY all 1,294 news articles »

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Libya, Sudan, Somalia hard hit as US top court partially lifts Trump's travel ban - africanews

One person was killed and five others wounded in tribal clashes that broke out in the southern Libyan city of Sabha in the first day of Eid Al-Fitr.

Local sources said gunmen from Tabu tribe exchanged fire with Gadadfa tribesmen in the City Center Street in Hai Mahdia district at around 1.00 am on Sunday while people were shopping for Eid, causing panic among the shoppers.

The street was very crowded with Eid shoppers and suddenly the gunfight started and people started to scramble and scream, an eyewitness reported.

Sabha Medical Center said a pregnant woman, a 13-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy were among the wounded in the random shooting that lasted for several hours before it came to an end.

It is still not clear what caused the fighting, but the city has been plagued with tribal clashes over trivial matters. In November 2016, a sparked between Gadadfa and Awlad Suleiman tribesmen that left 12 people dead and 25 otherswounded.

Tuareq, Tabu, Awlad Suleiman, Awlad Sahil, Magharha, and Gadadfa are the main social components in Sabha.

In March, the Italian government a comprehensivereconciliation agreement between Tabu and Awlad Suleiman tribes in the Italian capital of Rome to end tension between the two warring tribes.

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Ramadan ended with tribal clashes in southern Libya - The Libya Observer

Considered one of the most interesting female artists in the Middle East and northern Africa, Takwa Barnosa often overlays topical news photos - such as refugees drowning as they flee Libya -with commentary in calligraphy that invites the viewer to form theirown opinion about what is depicted. In a nationcurrently traumatized by numerous militias, warring clans, two competing governments and an ongoingrefugee crisis, she belongs to a circle of youngcreative Libyanswho are navigating their way throughthe anarchy and are attemptingto establisha new social order.

Deutsche Welle: At age 17, you started an arts foundation in Libya. Libya is a fractured society, often with chaotic conditions in everyday life. How did you manage this? Did you have any support for this endeavor?

Takwa Barnosa: No, actuallywe are not funded. I started this project in my own.In 2013 I wanted to study art and culture management abroad, but was it was hard to get a visa. So I enrolled at Tripoli University, at the Fine Arts Faculty. But what I wanted to learn isn't offered in the education system in Libya yet.

Whatwere looking for then?

I wanted to provide an opportunity to myself first, and then to others, to share art and provide a platform where people can meet, exchange ideas and perhaps create art projects. I started first at my mom's school, teaching a small class and doing my art work there. My friends would join me and paint their own small paintings. It was just a small circle but as it grew, so did my dream. So I convinced my mother to fund a project rather than sending me to study abroad. I found a place suitable for a modern art gallery in Libya, and we officially launched it in November 2016.

And what activities do you engage in there?

Apart from setting up exhibitions, we've established workshops related to painting, to culture, to literature, with film screenings and discussions about the arts in Libya: their history and how to develop the current arts scene. We had special events like Van Gogh's birthday. We also have an art lab where artists and creative people can meet and share ideas. They bring their materials and are free to do whatever they want. Age and artistic background don't matter.

What is the attitude of people in Libya towards art? Is it considered necessary in their lives, or superfluous in a place where people are concerned with getting by day-to-day?

Since we started, I've seen the attitude change. First people thought it was a waste of time, money and potential. Even my parents weren't convinced at first. Which is quite normal: if a seventeen-year-old says she doesn't want to go to school and would rather open an art gallery, it's a bold move. But then my mom agreed because she saw how much I believed in it. And if you believe in something, you achieve it.

Day by day, we launched new activities. We got good feedback even when we targeted youth and children. I can see the art scene in Libya growing. It's a slow growth, but more and more people are actively practicing art. Even people who weren't active in any creative field started to find something there related to their own identities.

Takwa Barnosa (fifth from left) at the Global Media Forum

How can art change a person? Can you give usan example?

Yes. One kid used to come with his school twice a week and would make fun of Van Gogh's artwork. Then the teacher explained it to him: the light effects, the colors employed. A month later, his mother came to us saying, "What have you done to my kid?" He'd stopped drawing everything except for imitating one painting by Van Gogh, aspiring to reach the same level. Later we talked with him, and he said, "I want to do it more professionally than Van Gogh!" For me, that was one of the best moments since we founded the art gallery.

Another example: I have an artist friend who's a bit isolated - actually, artists usually are. They live in their own world, and that can be very useful for creativity. At first she'd come to the art gallery just to have a conversation with me. Then she'd go back to her room to work on her art, never sharing experiences with all these other people and their different backgrounds. But after a while, she'd engage in conversation, gradually leaving her comfort zone. And as time went by, I started to see how her art practice evolved. She started using different colors and discovering new techniques. That was another inspiration to me.

Refugees rescued after leaving Libya: Barnosa's own art addresses displacement and political trauma at home

So you receive no support from the government or any other institution. But do you experience interference? Has anyone from any authority - religious or governmental - said to you: "This is what we want to see, and this is what we prefer not to"?

Not yet. I even come from a religious family, not an artistic one. And when it comes to the authorities, I've never turned to them for funding or anything else, so there has been no connection there.

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How art paints the way in Libya - Deutsche Welle

While Syria is the disaster of a generation, Libya isnt far behind. Currently, Libya is upending global oil markets through increased oil production for export. This latest occurrence is overturning the OPEC production limit deal that exempts Libya, Nigeria, and Iraq.

While Nigeria and Iraq have their own domestic and geopolitical issues, its Libya and the various factions that should be of grave concern to the world community. Once NATO overthrew the Gaddafi regime without a nation-building plan in place, Libya became an attractive safe haven for ISIS and various other tribal factions warring over Libyas fossil fuel resources, which represent billions a year in potential income.

The various armed factions (government-sponsored, Islamic, and military) are all vying for the opportunity and riches that comes with boosting Libyas crude oil production to one million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of July. Recently, some of these factions signed an agreement with German Wintershall (GW) to get oil fields back online, adding another 160,000 bpd of output which would otherwise have been idle in the chaos following the invasion by Western powers.

Geopolitical forces were in play, but the various factions in question put their differences aside to put this deal in place; the result is that world oil markets are seeing more supply. The National Oil Corporation (NOC) and GW had formerly been locked in negotiations over disputed past payments for oil field services rendered. With these negotiations finally resolved, oil production has surged ahead crashing the OPEC deal, and the internal focus has shifted toward fighting ISIS instead of each other.

Reconciliations between rival factions have caused production to grow from 178,000 to over 902,000 bpd. Since oil accounts for an overwhelming majority of Libyan economic activity, this reconciliation has major geopolitical implications in the MENA region. New oil revenue allows the fledgling government to wage war against extremists, and set up a somewhat functional state in the midst of a troubled region.

Yet nothing is certain in Libya anymore, and the political system continues to be fractured as ever. If oil exports collapse over internal or external struggles, or Libyan militant groups decide to exert their own pressure on oil facilities, tensions will spike, output will drop, and government revenue will dry up. What Libya is then reduced to is an oil-producing state whose terminals, fields, and pipelines are at the frontlines of combating Islamic extremism and stopping the flow of immigrants from North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia that are overwhelming European policymakers.

Moreover, the Qatar crisis has exacerbated tensions in Libya between the various militias and groups vying for oil and political power. The eastern government in Libya joined with its financial backers in Egypt and the UAE by denouncing Qatars actions, and wanted oil companies operating in Qatar to cease and desist operations immediately.

These factions wanted Qatar Holding to stop doing business with a Swiss commodity trading giant, Glencore. However, Glencore has an oil export contract with the NOC as the only official and legal business allowed to export crude from Libya. Politics and business mixed together earlier this year when the eastern government and NOC chairman praised the Libyan National Army (LNA) in assisting the NOC to restore control over four key oil export terminals in the Libyan oil crescent.

The LNA is affiliated with the government in Benghazi, but given Libyas internal political struggles, the situation on the ground can change quickly with regards to oil production and the fight against ISIS. Political and macroeconomic certainty is ever elusive in Libya since Gaddafis ouster.

In terms of Libya, the allegiances underpinning the Qatar crisis can be broken down into the following: Qatar supports Islamic militias in Misrata and other units loyal to Sadiq al-Ghariani, the Mufti of Qatar, but the UAE and Egypt support General Khalifa Haftar, the leader of the LNA whos aligned with the government based in Tobruk.

Ever since the LNA took over oil terminals and relinquished control to the NOC, production disruptions have been less frequent. The NOC target of one million bpd seems achievable this summer unless ISIS is able to expand operations or another large-scale civil war erupts. With Libyan oil production transforming back to higher, disruptive levels, the energy industry could be in for lower prices for the remainder of this year and next. As this Libyan revolution unfolds, energy investors can expect the unexpected, and changes in political leadership, economics, and various factions looking to destabilize the fragile government will have policymakers and business leaders treading lightly with regards to Libya.

The paradox is that, for starters, the resulting lower energy prices weaken both the Libyan economy and the economies of Arab states that rely on oil markets for geopolitical influence. With cheap and abundant oil resources since the 2014 crash, new policy responses are coming from nations like Saudi Arabia, which launched Vision 2030 and recently empowered the young son of King Salman as the next Saudi monarch. Other oil-reliant nations will have to respond as well if oil continues its downward trend.

Understanding Libya is a difficult assignment, but one thing is clear. As the country nears one million bpd in exports, any hope of stabilizing oil prices and by extension politics in the MENA region will remain elusive for years to come.

The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the authors are theirs alone and dont reflect any official position of Geopoliticalmonitor.com.

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Libyan Exports Rain on OPEC's Parade - Geopoliticalmonitor.com

We will lend him our full support in his efforts to promote dialogue between Libyan parties and to strengthen the political process conducted under UN auspices, as well as to ensure that diplomatic initiatives are consistent. We would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the action of his predecessor, Martin Kobler, who is concluding his mission and who played a key role as head of UNSMIL.

The only way to ensure the countrys lasting stabilization and achieve its reconstruction is through a political solution involving all Libyan actors. This process, based on the inter-Libyan political agreement, is the only way to effectively combat terrorism and organized crime. France calls on all Libyan parties to recommit to it.

In this context, France is attached to the full implementation of the resolutions adopted by the Security Council and to respect for the mechanisms that it adopted, notably in order to ensure compliance with the arms embargo and to effectively combat illicit oil exports.

Originally posted here:
Libya Appointment of the new special representative of the UN secretary-general (20 June 2017) - France Diplomatie (press release)