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The Libyan Prime Minister of the Government of National Accord, Fayez Al-Serraj, arrived in Qatar on Saturday on a formal visit to Doha to meet Qatari officials.

The Qatari Foreign Minister, Abdel Rahman Al Thani, received the Libyan delegation headed by Al-Serraj at the Royal Palace and reaffirmed his countrys support for the political process and unity in Libya.

We will keep pushing for efforts to establish accord among Libyan parties to help Libya be stable and secure and help all Libyans lead a normal life. The Qatari FM said, according to the media office of the GNA.

On Sunday, Al-Sirraj also met with the Qatari Prince, Tamim Al Thani, and discussed mutual relations and joint interests between the two countries.

The Qatari Prince stressed his countrys commitment to helping Libya and to support the GNA, calling on the international community to be committed to its resolutions and assist the GNA and sanction the parties hindering its work.

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Qatar hosts Libyan PM to reiterate its support for unity government in Libya - Libyan Express

Indications that Russia could intervene militarily in Libyas messy civil war are growing. If it does, the Trump White House will face a tangle of unpleasant choices with far-reaching consequences. Will the new U.S. administration acquiesce to Russias strongman vision for the region, or push back against Russias growing influence there?

For months, the Kremlin has sought to draw Libyas eastern potentate General Khalifa Hiftar into its orbit. Hiftar is currently the de facto leader of a bloc of eastern Libyan forces that oppose Libyas internationally recognized government in Tripoli, the so called Government of National Accord. Negotiations between the two sides are going nowhere and rumors of a potential Hiftar offensive against the Tripoli government have been swirling for months.

Hiftar has been to Moscow and paid a visit to the Russian aircraft carrier Kuznetsov in the Mediterranean, during which he held a video call with Russian Defense Minister Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Then, last week, Moscow reportedly deployed troops to a base on Egypts northern coast just 60 miles from the border crossing with Libya.

There are a few ways to interpret their latest move: It could just be posturing, part of a Russian hybrid warfare strategy aimed at influencing ongoing negotiations over Libyas future. But there are plenty of reasons to believe it may be the early phase of a Russian intervention.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is eager to underscore the challenges that U.S. pro-democracy interventions in the Middle East have faced and offer up an alternative Russian strategy that relies on authoritarian leaders that look a lot like Putin himself. The 2011 NATO intervention in Libya has long been a target of Kremlin criticism and the chance to portray Russia as Libyas savior as Russia has attempted to do in Syria must be more than a little tempting for the Russian president.

Closer ties to Libya would also offer Russia the chance to extend its reach further along the Mediterraneans southern littoral i.e. NATOs southern flank. Russia could, for example, seek to deploy advanced anti-access, area-denial systems along the Libyan coast, significantly enlarging the anti-access bubble that it has already established in the Eastern Mediterranean with similar deployments in Syria a bubble that was already raising significant concern with top U.S. military commanders a year ago.

Influence over Libya meanwhile offers Russia leverage over Europe when it comes to the challenge posed by the increasingly deadly central Mediterranean migration route, which begins in Libya.

Libyas high quality crude is yet another reason for Moscow to throw its weight behind Hiftar. The Kremlin is fixated on the coming global competition for natural resources and the Russian oil and gas company, Rosneft, just signed a new agreement with Libyas National Oil Corporation in February. Despite a few recent setbacks, Hiftar controls a significant amount of Libyas oil infrastructure in the east and has influence over some western fields as well.

A Russian move into Libya would put the Trump team in an extremely tough spot. The U.S. has invested time and energy in supporting the Tripoli government. Moreover, U.S. and allied special forces worked with Libyan militias aligned with Tripoli in a successful counter-terrorism operation that ousted the Islamic State from the town of Sirte last year. Russian dominance in Libya could lead Italy to scuttle the sanctions regime the United States and European Union imposed on Russia on account of its annexation of Crimea and invasion of eastern Ukraine in 2014. A deeper Russian anti-access area denial pocket would meanwhile be a challenge for U.S. Military operations in the region.

If Moscow backs a Hiftar move on Tripoli, would the U.S. step aside and let its Libyan partners get crushed by a Russian-backed force? Or would it try to take action potentially even militarily to slow Hiftar down and give these allies a fighting chance of avoiding calamity?

Its not an easy choice.

Supporting the government in Tripoli would require at least some U.S. boots on the ground. A large U.S. deployment might deter a Russian intervention, but would likely meet very strong resistance within the U.S. A small-scale intervention would be more feasible, but even if U.S. advisors operated far from the front lines they would still be at risk should Russian warplanes support a Hiftar advance as they have for forces loyal to the regime of Bashar Assad in Syria.

Moreover, overt action against a Russian ally would kill the broader U.S.-Russian reset that the White House still seems to want. True, the Trump administration has sent conflicting signals about its views on Russia, with some senior officials evincing near sympathy for Putin, while others clearly harbor deep suspicion. Nevertheless, going toe-to-toe with Russia in Libya would clearly put an end to the Putin-Trump attempt at reconciliation.

The risk, then, is that the U.S. and its allies would end up largely on the sidelines as Russia installs another strongman in the region, and extends its power along NATOs southern flank. This would be a tragic outcome to the story that began with such high hopes in 2011 and another boost to Putins prestige.

Christopher S. Chivvis is associate director of the RAND International Security and Defense Policy Center and Amanda Kadlec is a policy analyst at the non-profit, non-partisan RAND Corporation.

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What Americans Need To Know If Russia Intervenes in Libya's Civil ... - Fortune

A TradeMaltastudyhas shown that Malta-basedmanufacturing companies showedan increased interest in Algeria following thecollapse of the security situation in Libya

Malta-based manufacturers focus on near markets, primarily in Europe, but are also seeking to develop new markets, especially in the Middle East and North Africa

The TradeMalta study, aimed at providing insights into the profile of internationally oriented companies in the non-food manufacturing sector, indicated that Malta-based manufacturers focus on near markets, primarily in Europe, but are also seeking to develop new markets, especially in the Middle East and North Africa.

However, following the ongoing unrest in Libya, the study found an increased interest in Algeria, another oil-based economy close to Malta.

The study, which covered a large variety of subsectors, also revealed that the cost of shipping and freight was listed as the most important barrier to export, followed by challenges in finding customers and agents.

Furthermore, more than 85% of the studys respondents claimed to have an export share of either below 20% or above 80%, meaning they were either small or large exporters. However, the study concluded that there is a fairly even distribution of smaller and larger companies represented among the exporting manufacturers in Malta.

With regard to access to finance, the most pressing issue was problems for clients in opening letters of credit. This was especially problematic for the experienced exporters with a large export share, according to the study.

While all respondents were keen to receive financial assistance to all export related activities, the results showed that attending and exhibiting in trade fairs is the activity for which manufacturing companies are most keen to obtain financial assistance. This was followed by assistance to travel to foreign markets.

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Manufacturing companies eye Algeria following unrest in Libya - MaltaToday

Forbes

From Libya To The United States, These Exhibits Expose The Secret Mechanisms Of State Surveillance Forbes If you're reading these words in a public space, there's a good chance that you're under surveillance. From sidewalks to subways, security cameras are now ubiquitous, passively observing the guilty and innocent alike. A few years ago, the artist Andrew ...

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From Libya To The United States, These Exhibits Expose The Secret Mechanisms Of State Surveillance - Forbes

African-Americans and Latinos comprise an overwhelming majority of the workforce in low-wage industries like fast food. Image courtesy of Twitter.

The Black Lives Matter movement is looking to tackle yet another social justice issue: fair, livable wages.

A band of Black Lives Matter groups and the organization leading the charge for the $15-per-hour minimum wage are teaming up to continue the struggle for racial justice and economic equality. Just as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought to connect the two pressing issues in his final years of life, BLM and the Fight for $15 are set to launch their first nationwide joint action on Tuesday, April 4.

The groups Fight Racism, Raise Pay efforts, which will fall on the 49th anniversary of Kings assassination, will be marked by organized protests in two dozen cities, including Milwaukee, Atlanta, Memphis, Chicago, Boston, Denver and Las Vegas, the Associated Press reported. The civil rights icon was shot and killed in Memphis while in town supporting sanitation workers on strike in 1968.

When MLK was assassinated, he was talking to workers who were dealing with union-busting [and] unfair wages, Kendall Fells, organizing director for the Fight for $15, told the wire service.The bottom line is that every day, workers of color across the country face deep-seated racism that would seem to be out of Dr. Kings era, but sadly it is still happening today.

Thousands of underpaid workers, local activists, elected officials and clergy are expected to converge at local rallies, marches, teach-ins and other demonstrations from coast to coast. Thoseprotests will then culminate in a march by thousands of laborers, civil rights leaders and politicians at the Lorraine Motel where theyll hold a memorial at the site of Dr. Kings assassination, according to a press release.

The organized action comes in the wake of President Donald Trumps election, prompting some social justice and civil rights groups to push back against an administration they deem to be hostile toward working-class and nonwhite Americans. Activists say that by joining together, the two groups will be able to reach more people and magnify their message.

Fight for $15 and Black Lives Matter first came together in Ferguson where the citys predominately Black workforce at the local McDonalds has been on strike since before the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown, according to the Associated Press. Since the shooting, workers there have not only organized to protest unfair wages but to challenge police department practices as well.

Were joining together with the Movement for Black Lives because our two movements have a common bond in fighting the racism that keeps down people of color everywhere, said Latierika Blair, 23, who works at McDonalds in Memphis making just $7.35 an hour. McDonalds conspires with police to try to silence us when we speak out for higher pay.

Corporations and politicians act to keep workers and Black people from getting ahead in America, Blair continued. We should be investing in our people and communities. Thats why we have to protest and thats why we will keep speaking out together until we win.

According to a recent analysis by the National Employment Law Project, nonwhite Americans are alarmingly overrepresented in low-paying industries like fast food. Moreover, more than half of African-Americans and nearly 60 percent of Latino workers earn less than $15 per hour.

In 1961, Dr. King saw a common link between the struggle for labor and civil rights, declaring that the two most dynamic and cohesive liberal forces in the country are the labor movement and the Negro freedom movement. Together, we can be architects of democracy. The Fight for $15 and BLM actions will close with a national moment of silence on April 4 at 6:01 p.m. Central time, marking the exact time King was shot and killed.

Dr. King spent his final days standing with Memphis sanitation workers because he saw the deep link between the labor movement and the civil rights movement, said theRev. William Barber II, founder of the social justice group Repairers of the Breach. Dr. King knew that if racism and poverty are inextricably linked, our struggles to confront them must be inseparable as well.

Organizations participating in next months efforts include Black Lives Matter chapters in Atlanta, Los Angeles and Flint, Michigan; NAACP branches inMissouri, North Carolina and Virginia, and other groups like Black Youth Project 100 and Dream Defenders in Tampa, Fla.

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Black Lives Matter to Join Forces with Wage Activists in 'Fight for $15' - Atlanta Black Star