Turkey cemented its involvement in the Libyan conflict on Saturday when Defence Minister Hulusi Akar visited the country.
Four days earlier, the Turkish Parliament voted to extend by 18 months a one-year presence in the country, which came into effect in January after an agreement with the Government of National Accord in Tripoli.
The GNA and rival House of Representatives in the east reached a UN-brokered ceasefire in October, which called for the departure of all foreign forces and mercenaries within three months.
Turkish media called the defence minister’s visit a “surprise inspection” of Turkish forces.
Mr Akar’s apparently unscheduled visit could be seen as Ankara challenging the government in the east and its powerful backer, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
Field Marshal Haftar vowed to repel the Turkish “colonisers” in a speech on Libya’s Independence Day, December 24.
On Sunday, Mr Akar said Field Marshal Haftar’s forces would become targets if they attacked Turkish forces in the region.
‘Drive out the colonisers’
By intervening in Libya’s conflict, Turkey has expanded its footprint across the Arab world.
It has provided troops, weapons, training and Syrian mercenaries to the GNA in a move widely condemned by the international community.
It occupied much of northern Syria, which has a large ethnically Kurdish population, and Turkish troops have continued to stage raids against Kurdish separatist fighters in northern Iraq.
Since 2016, Turkey has established several military bases in the Kurdish region of Iraq, causing tension with the Iraqi government in Baghdad.
Ankara continues to breach Libya’s borders to further its interests in the country, which has vast oil and gas resources beneath the Eastern Mediterranean and sits on Africa’s largest proven crude oil reserves.
Last year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a deal with the GNA that demarcated each country’s maritime boundaries, with the aim of drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean and within Greek territory.
The move sparked a row that involved regional and international powers.
In return for access to these resources, Mr Erdogan wanted to tip the conflict in favour of the GNA and its allied militias.
Backed by a regional alliance and local militias in eastern Libya, Field Marshal Haftar is regarded as a bastion against an Ottoman-style strongman.
Critics say Mr Erdogan is acting as a populist leader with a desire for aggressive adventurism in foreign countries.
These perceptions are not helped by the names of ships in the Turkish flotilla sent to explore for oil and gas in disputed parts of the Mediterranean.
Turkey's seismic exploration ship, the Oruc Reis, is named after the Ottoman admiral popularly known as Barbarossa.
The naval escort for the Oruc Reis is the Kemal Reis, named after a 15th century Ottoman admiral.
In his speech on Thursday to mark the 69th anniversary of Libyan independence, Field Marshal Haftar said there would be “no peace in the presence of a coloniser on our land” and called on his forces to get ready.
“We will therefore take up arms again to fashion our peace with our own hands … and, since Turkey rejects peace and opts for war, prepare to drive out the occupier by faith, will and weapons,” he said.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
THE%20SWIMMERS
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Top%2010%20most%20competitive%20economies
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
FULL%20FIGHT%20CARD
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Brief scores
Barcelona 2
Pique 36', Alena 87'
Villarreal 0
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Voy!%20Voy!%20Voy!
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More on Quran memorisation:
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
FA CUP FINAL
Chelsea 1
Hazard (22' pen)
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Match info
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Liverpool v Porto, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
Results
1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000
2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000
3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000
MATCH RESULT
Liverpool 4 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Liverpool: Salah (26'), Lovren (40'), Solanke (53'), Robertson (85')
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
THE%20JERSEYS
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Blue%20Beetle
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Sinopharm vaccine explained
The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades.
“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.
"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."
This is then injected into the body.
"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.
"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."
The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.
Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.
“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar