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A30 world news
Diahuebs 23 December 2021

Libya parliament says ‘impossible’ to hold presidential vote

whether another date had join the presidential race, to after the 2011 uprising and
been set for the voting, or if it return to his job so he could split between rival govern-
had been canceled altogether. “mobilize efforts” to and help ments — one in the east,
“re-draw a roadmap” to re- backed by military com-
The country’s election com- vive the political process. mander Khalifa Hifter, and
mission, which never named another U.N.-supported ad-
a final list of candidates as it The vote had faced many ministration in the capital of
was supposed to, disbanded challenges, including dis- Tripoli, in the west. Each side
the electoral committees late putes over the laws governing is supported by a variety of
Tuesday, and also handed the elections and occasional militias and foreign powers.
over responsibility for the infighting among armed
vote to parliament. groups. Other obstacles in- In April 2019, Hifter and
clude a long-running rift his forces, backed by Egypt
The commission on Wednes- between the country’s east and the United Arab Emir-
day proposed Jan. 24 as a and west, and the presence of ates, launched an offensive
new date for the first round thousands of foreign fighters to try and capture Tripoli.
of the presidential election and troops in the North Afri- His campaign collapsed after
and urged parliament to ad- can country. Turkey stepped up its mili-
dress the challenges that led tary support of the Tripoli
to failure to hold the vote on Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty In- government with hundreds
Friday. ternational’s deputy regional of troops and thousands of
director, said it was “all but Syrian mercenaries.
Many lawmakers have called impossible” to hold the vote
on Libyans to take to the amid violence and intimida- Mediated by the United Na-
(AP) — A Libyan parlia- streets to protest the election tion by armed groups and tions, an October 2020 cease-
mentary committee said For nearly a year, the planned delay. Around 100 candidates militias which “not only en- fire led to the formation of a
Wednesday that it has be- election was the lynchpin of had put themselves forward, joy rampant impunity but are transitional government with
come “impossible” to hold international efforts to bring including several high profile integrated into state institu- elections scheduled for Dec.
the long-awaited presi- peace to Libya, and many individuals who were subse- tions without any vetting to 24. The fate of that govern-
dential election in two have warned that either sce- quently banned from the race remove those responsible for ment is now unclear; the par-
days as scheduled, a major nario — holding the vote — including Seif al-Islam crimes under international liamentary committee said
blow to international ef- on time or postponing it — Gadhafi, the son of Libya’s law.” the government’s mandate
forts to end a decade of could be a destabilizing set- late dictator Moammar Gad- ends on Friday.
chaos in the oil-rich coun- back. hafi, who was ousted and She urged the interim gov-
try. killed in a NATO-backed ernment in Tripoli and the Later Wednesday, the east-
In a letter to Parliament uprising in 2011. self-styled Arab Armed Forc- based parliament’s presi-
The announcement was the Speaker Aguila Saleh, law- es to “immediately instruct dency tasked a 10-lawmaker
first official statement that maker al-Hadi al-Sagheir, Al-Sagheir, the lawmaker, all armed groups and militias committee to propose within
the balloting would not hap- head of the committee tasked said his committee reached under their command to end a week a new roadmap after
pen on Friday, although it to follow the electoral pro- its conclusion after “review- their harassment and intimi- failing to hold the vote as
had been widely expected cess, said the group found ing technical, security and dation of electoral officials, planned. It said lawmakers
amid mounting challenges “it is impossible to hold the judicial reports.” He urged judges and security staff.” would discuss the proposal
and calls for a delay of the election as scheduled on Saleh, the parliament speaker in the next general session,
vote. Dec. 24.” He did not specify who suspended his duties to Libya plunged into turmoil without giving a date.

China defends science exchange program following US arrest

(AP) — China on Wednes- ments, and failing to file re- him with millions of dollars research and amounts to ra- compromises the nation’s
day defended its interna- ports for a foreign bank ac- in research funding, prosecu- cial profiling of Chinese re- competitiveness in research
tional scientific exchange count in China. tors said. searchers. and technology and has had
programs in the wake of a chilling effect on recruiting
the conviction of a Har- Lieber’s defense attorney, Lieber also concealed his in- Hundreds of faculty mem- foreign scholars. The letters
vard University professor Marc Mukasey, had argued come from the Chinese pro- bers at Stanford, Yale, Berke- also complain the investiga-
charged with hiding his that prosecutors lacked proof gram, including $50,000 a ley, Princeton, Temple and tions have disproportionally
ties to a Chinese-run re- of the charges, maintaining month from the Wuhan Uni- other prominent colleges targeted researchers of Chi-
cruitment program. that investigators kept no re- versity of Technology, up to have signed letters to U.S. nese origin.
cords of their interviews with $158,000 in living expenses Attorney General Merrick
Foreign Ministry spokesper- Lieber prior to his arrest. and more than $1.5 million Garland calling on him to Lieber has been on paid ad-
son Zhao Lijian said China in grants, according to pros- end the initiative. ministrative leave from Har-
manages such exchanges Prosecutors argued that Li- ecutors. vard since being arrested in
along the same lines as the eber, who was arrested in The academics say the effort January 2020.
U.S. and other countries. January, knowingly hid his In exchange, they said, Lieber
involvement in China’s agreed to publish articles, or-
U.S. agencies and officials Thousand Talents Plan to ganize international confer-
should not “stigmatize” protect his career and reputa- ences and apply for patents
such programs and “instead tion. The Chinese program on behalf of the Chinese uni-
do something conducive to is designed to recruit people versity.
China-U.S. scientific and with knowledge of foreign
people-to-people exchanges technology and intellectual The case is among the high-
and cooperation,” Zhao said. property who could pass se- est profile to come from the
crets on to China. U.S. Department of Justice’s
Charles Lieber, 62, the for- “China Initiative.”
mer chair of Harvard’s de- Lieber denied his involve-
partment of chemistry and ment during inquiries from The effort, launched in 2018
chemical biology, pleaded U.S. authorities, including to curb economic espionage
not guilty to filing false tax the National Institutes of from China, has faced criti-
returns, making false state- Health, which had provided cism that it harms academic