UN Sends Mission To Libya To Investigate Use Of Mercenaries

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UN Sends Mission To Libya To Investigate Use Of Mercenaries
The United Nations will send a fact- finding mission to Libya next week to probe allegations that mercenaries were used in the conflict that ousted Muammar Qaddafi from power and subsequent steps taken by the government.

“In addition to the question of mercenaries, we intend to obtain direct and first-hand information on the activities of private companies offering military assistance, consultancy and security services on the international market, the type of activities they undertake in Libya and their effect on the enjoyment of human rights,” Faiza Patel, who heads the group, said today in an e-mailed statement from Geneva.

Members of the mission, the first to the North African country by independent experts designated by the UN Human Rights Council, will speak with Libyan authorities and representatives of civil society about the regulation of such companies “with special regard to permits, licensing, vetting and accountability for human-rights violations,” according to the statement. The three-day mission starts on May 21.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-05-18/un-sends-mission-to-libya-to-investigate-use-of-mercenaries.html

Cannes 2012: Weinstein Co. buys Libyan revolution documentary
CANNES, France — For the second time in as many days at the Cannes Film Festival, Harvey Weinstein has gotten political.

The independent-film mogul has bought “The Oath of Tobruk,” a documentary about the 2011 Libyan revolution directed by the provocateur French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy. The acquisition comes a day after Weinstein picked up “Code Name Geronimo,” a narrative film about the killing of Osama bin Laden, in the Cannes market. “Tobruk,” which was a late addition to the festival’s main selection, follows the efforts in Libya as well as the U.S. and Europe to support the rebels and oust Moammar Kadafi. Weinstein said he saw the movie as relevant to revolutions that are still going on, and one in particular.

Weinstein “sees this acquisition as a political action that could provide hope for other countries in a similar state of peril including Syria,” the Weinstein Co. company said in a statement announcing the deal. No release date has been set for the film.

Weinstein previously waded into the Middle East with the acquisition of “Miral,” Julian Schnabel’s movie about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Cradle of Libyan revolution votes for local council
Residents in the eastern city of Benghazi, cradle of the revolt that led to the ouster and death of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, headed to the polls on Saturday to elect a local council. “This is a first step in the transition from revolution to state building,” Suleiman Zubi, head of the local electoral committee, told AFP.

Benghazi was the birthplace of the February 17, 2011 uprising that put an end to more than four decades of dictatorship in Libya. “This was long overdue and I am so happy to be living this historic moment,” voter Suleiman al-Agury told AFP.

The day was observed as a public holiday and security forces were deployed to all entrances of Benghazi, an AFP journalist said.

The last time the city voted was in 1964 during the reign of King Idris I, whom Kadhafi overthrew in a bloodless coup in 1969.
http://news.yahoo.com/cradle-libyan-revolution-votes-local-council-105224847.html

Libya sends aid to Syrian refugees in Jordan
Libya has sent humanitarian aid to Jordan for distribution to the tens of thousands of Syrian refugees now sheltering in that country.

A convoy of 14 trucks arrived in Amman on Monday with food, clothes and other essentials. The aid is being distributed by the Al-Kitab and Sunna Society in Jordan to Syrians sheltering from the violence in their own country in the Jordanian capital Amman as well as Mafrag, Erbed and Zarqaa.

The society’s local chairman Zayed Hammad said that the convoy had been put together by a number of Libya civic groups. Hammad said however that in the last two months, the number of Syrians fleeing into Jordan had more than doubled. He warned that Jordan by itself would not be able to handle the influx of refugees if it continued at the present rate.

Jordan has waived import regulations to allow other Arab states to send assistance to Syrian refugees on its soil. One growing problem they face is a lack of housing. Rents for inadequate accommodation are high, having more than doubled within a year. The Jordanian government has so far avoided opening specific refugee camps for Syrian citizens, reportedly because it fear these might to turn into long-term settlements, as has happened with Palestinian refugees in the country.
http://www.libyaherald.com/libya-sends-aid-to-syrian-refugees-in-jordan/

Libya approves Islamic banking law -official
May 17 (Reuters) – Libya has approved an Islamic banking law that will introduce sharia-compliant banking in the North African country, a member of the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) said on Thursday.

Libya has been working to amend its banking laws to attract foreign investment and stimulate its private sector following last year’s war that ousted Muammar Gaddafi, the central bank governor has said.

NTC Chairman Mustafa Abdul Jalil said in October Libya’s new rulers were working on an Islamic banking system. The central bank submitted a proposal on this to the council for approval in the last few months.

“The NTC has adopted the central bank’s proposal regarding Islamic banking,” Salwa Al-Dgheily, a member of the NTC judicial committee, told Reuters. She said it was up to the central bank to now announce the law.

The central bank has been looking to update a 2005 banking law which first allowed foreign banks into Libya. (Reporting by Ali Shuaib; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/17/libya-banking-islamic-idUSL5E8GHFKV20120517

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