The US and Italy yesterday led an international diplomatic push to get Libya’s warring factions to sign a deal to form a unity government, hoping it will stop the spread of the Islamic State in the nation.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni, flanked by UN envoy Martin Kobler and 18 delegates, began talks to press the Libyan camps to move forward after a year of UN-brokered negotiations.
Delegations from Libya’s two rival governments last week agreed on Wednesday as the day to sign the deal, but opponents are resisting.
Photo: AFP
Past deadlines have slipped, while wide areas of the large, oil-producing nation have splintered into rival, armed factions.
A senior US Department of State official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the one-day meeting would endorse the Libyan agreement, hoping it would give Libyans confidence to move ahead knowing they had the support of the international community.
“Libyans wanted to know that if they took this step the international community would support them on it,” the official said.
The agreement would allow a new Libyan government to ask for international military assistance to fight the growing presence of the Islamic State group, which has mushroomed since a West-backed rebellion toppled former Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi four years ago.
“Libyans want to fight back, they want international help in fighting back,” the official said. “That is up to the Libyans, ultimately, but we expect that they will do so, and the outsiders will then help with training and equipping in appropriate ways.”
With Libya less than 300km away, Italy has sought to focus international attention on the north African nation since last month’s deadly attacks in Paris.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
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