American and European governments backed efforts by the United Nations to forge unity among Libya’s competing factions at a London summit attended by Rex Tillerson, the US secretary of state, on Thursday.
Ghassan Salame, the UN envoy who has been appointed to broker negotiations in Libya, reviewed his plans to take forward the Libya Political Agreement (LPA), which he is due to present in New York next week.
Boris Johnson, the British foreign secretary was the host for the talks in London's Lancaster House. As well as Mr Tillerson and Mr Salame, the talks were attended by Dr Anwar Gargash, the UAE minister of state for Foreign Affairs, Angelino Alfano, the Italian foreign minister, Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s foreign minister and Nicolas de Rivière, political director of the French foreign ministry, at the talks at Lancaster House.
The LPA is due to expire on Monday and there is a need to break the deadlock while keeping all interested parties from walking away from the table in Salame’s new road map. After separate diplomatic initiatives by France and Italy among the Libyans, the UN is key to aligning international efforts into one framework.
“The US wants new energy and focus to mediation efforts led by the United Nations,” Brian Hook, policy chief of staff with the US state department said. “The big goal of this is to avoid a military solution.”
In July, the UN-backed Government of National Accord headed by Fayez al-Sarraj and the eastern-based army commander Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar committed to a ceasefire and holding elections as soon as possible.
Mr Salame provided a summary of meetings with Libyan political leaders, officials and activists as well as international players figures in Libya. If all goes according to Mr Salame’s plan, the country could be ready to hold elections for president and parliament by 2019.
“Many in Libya, as well as the West, recognise that the LPA must be amended and that Haftar will have to play some role in the country’s future,” said Elissa Miller, non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Centre for the Middle East.
While in London Mr Tillerson also discussed recovery efforts in the Caribbean in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. At a meeting in the prime minister's residence in Downing Street, Theresa May told Mr Tillerson that the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal must be a cornerstone of efforts to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
Schedule for Asia Cup
Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)
Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)
Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)
Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four
Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)
Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)
Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)
Sept 28: Final (Dubai)
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
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THE SPECS
Engine: 3-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 424hp
Torque: 580 Nm
Price: From Dh399,000
On sale: Now
match info
Chelsea 2
Willian (13'), Ross Barkley (64')
Liverpool 0
FIXTURES (all times UAE)
Sunday
Brescia v Lazio (3.30pm)
SPAL v Verona (6pm)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9pm)
AS Roma v Torino (11.45pm)
Monday
Bologna v Fiorentina (3.30pm)
AC Milan v Sampdoria (6pm)
Juventus v Cagliari (6pm)
Atalanta v Parma (6pm)
Lecce v Udinese (9pm)
Napoli v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
The biog
Full name: Aisha Abdulqader Saeed
Age: 34
Emirate: Dubai
Favourite quote: "No one has ever become poor by giving"
The Bio
Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
