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In the Libyan capital Tripoli, where war casts a long shadow over everyday life, a church offers something of a sanctuary for Christian migrants.

Saint Francis Catholic Church in the heart of Tripoli is a place of comfort and hope for Christmas, this year, more than ever.

"Attendance is in line with normal, at least so far", Maltese Bishop George Bugeja, 57, told AFP.

"We have kept the celebrations the same as usual."

"I find life very difficult but here at the church... I forget I am in Libya, if only for a few hours", Nigerian engineer Jonathan Joshua said.

The 30-year-old arrived in the country four years ago and lives and works in the capital's eastern suburbs.

"If the situation allows", he makes the trip to the church to attend Mass, making himself useful as an usher.

In early April, strongman Khalifa Haftar -- who has long held sway in eastern Libya -- launched a military offensive against the capital, seat of the UN recognised Government of National Accord. Deadly fighting in Tripoli's southern reaches has hit civilians, and left migrants more vulnerable than ever.

A July 3 airstrike killed 53 people at a detention centre for migrants in the eastern suburb of Tajoura.

- Laughter and tears -

On Friday afternoons -- a weekend in Libya -- the calm pervading outside the church doors contrasts against incessant comings and goings inside.

Christians, all foreigners, take the opportunity to flock to their place of worship.Sporting a white jacket and black trousers, Jonathan confers with fellow ushers for a candlelight mass as Christmas approaches.

Various languages mingle in the festive air, along with the laughter and tears of children impatient for the start of the ceremony.

Six young girls flap the wings of their costumes while slipping between the church pews, but are quickly brought back in line by Jonathan, anxious to ensure a degree of order.

The biggest Christian communities in Tripoli by nationality are from the Philippines, India and Pakistan, working in the health and construction sectors in particular.

Many others are from sub-Saharan Africa and particularly vulnerable due to a lack of immigration paperwork.

- 'Not much choice' -

Mgr Bugeja said there has been a steady stream of Filipinos and Nigerians going home because of the deteriorating security situation.

There was once a very large Filipino community "but now we are far fewer", said 62-year-old Erlinda, a nurse who has lived in Libya for 37 years.

She arrived at the age of 25, married a Libyan and bore four children, all of whom are now themselves married.

"Our life is here. My husband, my children and their families live and work in Libya".

While most Filipinos have left, others are reluctant to go home."They find it difficult to find work if they return home," Erlinda said. "We have a stable life here. At our age, it is retirement or we start again from zero".

For Erlina and her family, "the church is a reliable place... of peace and joy and sharing, above all in this period of the year when we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

"These are moments of spiritual joy".

Italian Berto -- a teacher who arrived five years ago and one of the few Europeans still in Libya's capital said he went to the church just to "take a look".

"Nothing perturbs me in this country anymore. I am used to the life here". "Either you love it or you hate it here", he mused.

Link:
Maltese bishop and his flock seek seasonal solace in war-torn Libya - Times of Malta

Issued on: 16/12/2019 - 19:43Modified: 16/12/2019 - 19:43

In an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with FRANCE 24, the International Criminal Court'sChief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda discussed the ICC's ongoing cases regarding Libya, Ivory Coast, the Palestinian Territories, Afghanistan, Myanmar and the Philippines.

Speaking to FRANCE 24 from The Hague, the ICC chief prosecutor warned Libyan Marshal Khalifa Haftar that she was monitoring his current offensive on Tripoli. She urged him to hand over one of his lieutenants, Mahmoud al-Werfalli, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court and whom Haftar recently promoted.

On the case against former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo, Bensouda expressed hope that appeals judges would overturn the acquittal granted by the court back in January. She stressed that she was also actively pursuing her investigation into possible crimes by current PresidentAlassaneOuattara's camp.

Bensouda told FRANCE 24 her preliminary probe into potential crimes in the Palestinian territories was nearing its conclusion. She admitted the court had been under pressure by the Trump administration to drop her probe into crimes in Afghanistan, including a ban on her travelling to the US.

She added that she had just recently been authorised by judges to open a probe into crimes against the Rohingya minority by the Myanmar authoritiesbut that it was too early to say if this would involvesenior Myanmar military chiefs.

Finally, Bensouda said her office was looking into crimes in the "war on drugs" in the Philippinesbut that it was not yet possible to say whether thiswould target President Rodrigo Duterte.

Click on the player above to watch the full interview

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Exclusive: ICC chief prosecutor sends warning to Libyan strongman Haftar - The Interview - FRANCE 24

The Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit said the rejection by the House of Representatives in Tobruk of the Libyan-Turkish MoUs had put the Arab League in trouble.

Aboul Gheit said in a TV interview that Libya is a member of the Arab League and has an internationally recognized government that is called "Government of National Accord", which signed the MoUs with Turkey.

He added that the Arab League received letters on the issue from both sides, but had decided to freeze them as he doesn't want to weaken the Arab League any more, as it is going through the weakest times since it was established in 1945.

The Tobruk-based HoR, and its supporting Arab countries, especially Egypt which hosts the Arab League HQ, rejected the two MoUs between Libya and Turkey.

HoR Speaker Aqila Saleh informed the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres after the signing of the MoUs that the HoR rejects it and called for withdrawing international recognition from the Presidential Council and asked for the HoR to be internationally recognized.

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Libya's Tobruk-based HoR has put the Arab League in trouble - The Libya Observer

Libya is playing host to a bitter war that has witnessed the country being carved up. Those responsible for Muammar Gaddafis ouster are taking the next step and plundering the country. The U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), joined by France and Russia, established a coalition, a joint front, against the UN-recognized Government of National Accord in aims to share Libya, its oil and natural gas.

The have all lined up behind Khalifa Haftar, who is one of the terror barons the CIA has bred for our region. He is a Trojan horse. He is one of the names to be used for the great alliance in question and their affiliated companies, and later tossed like a rag to a corner.

Haftar is Libyas Daesh; the biggest terrorist organization

With extraordinary military support, Haftars army has become the biggest terrorist organization in our region, after Daesh and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The role Haftar has undertaken in Libya is one and the same as the role Daesh assumed in Syria. His army is currently the biggest terrorist organization in the region.

He receives great amounts of ammunition support daily from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, France, the U.S. and Russia. Egyptian troops are directly involved in the war. So are French forces. Meanwhile, the UAE amassed all its air forces in Libya.

Countries trying to corner Turkey in the north of Syria through the PKK and Daesh, then aspiring to open the Turkey front, have, this time, established the same front in Libya. Haftar is receiving shipments the same way the PKK and its Syrian affiliate the Peoples Protection Units (YPG) received them. Another country is being destroyed by the hands of Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The same front, same alliance is attacking Turkey from the Mediterranean this time

Turkey cracked the siege in Syria and rendered the project dysfunctional with the Euphrates Shield, Afrin and Peace Spring operations. The terror corridor, the map plan collapsed. Turkey not only fought the PKK there but it also had to fight the Saudi Arabia-UAE-Egypt bloc. The map that extended from the Iranian border to the Mediterranean collapsed.

Right at this moment, one leg of the siege was being carried out through the sea. The siege was being extended from the Iranian border toward the Mediterranean. A massive front, alliance was formed in a bid to corner Turkey from the East Mediterranean and siege it from the Mediterranean and the Aegean. The U.S., Israel, Greece, the Greek Cypriot Administration of South Cyprus (GCAS), France, certain EU countries, along with the Saudi administration, Egypt, and the UAE, stood up against Turkey here as well.

UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt fighting Turkey across the region

There are deals upon deals, alliances upon alliances made over East Mediterranean energy resources; this time the Mediterranean was being carved up. Similar to that in northern Syria, the entire goal here was to siege Turkey, corner it, keep it out and drown it. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt had assumed the role of assassin again, and were hiding behind Israel and the Wests power while fighting against Turkey.

Turkey did not backtrack in any way. Instead, it resisted and challenged. It responded to the attacks with an offensive as it did in northern Syria. It steered its drillships to the Mediterranean and started operations in accordance with its own map. It activated its fleets in the Mediterranean and Aegean. This served to deter and frighten some companies and spoiled some countries plans.

Turkeys maritime deal with Libya: We were already neighbors! Theyre all in panic

Yet, Turkeys greatest blow was the Exclusive Economic Zone deal it made with Libya. Nobody was expecting this, which is why it caused a major shock effect in opposing countries. Everyone was taking position in accordance with the Mediterranean map identified by the West, but Turkey put forth a game-changing map. Turkey and Libya became neighbors through their sea borders, leading to a significant expansion in both countries surface area. The Mediterranean plans have been destroyed. They were not ready for this. They all gathered in panic and started to threaten Turkey in unison.

Sending troops to Libya means establishing a defense shield there

The deal between Turkey and Libya was not limited to their maritime borders. Both countries signed a military cooperation agreement. Accordingly, in the case that Libya requests it, Turkey can send troops to the country, train and arm the Libyan military.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoan stated twice, We may send troops if Libya requests it. Turkey is already covertly in Libya. However, this deal enables the open deployment of land forces, fleets and air forces to Libya.

Turkey is striving to stop a great threat that is targeting it in Libya. It wants to prevent Libyas division, negate plans aimed at drowning Turkey in the Mediterranean, and establish its defense shield there. Beyond being a desire, this is, in fact, an obligation. We will not allow them to exacerbate the situation, which we experienced in northern Syria, in the Mediterranean.

So, what were we supposed to do, surrender? Turkey has never, nor will it ever.

A meticulous siege map determined to surround Turkey from the Iranian border to the East Mediterranean, from the Aegean to the Balkans is being implemented. This is a nightmare scenario aimed at stopping Turkey, confining it within Anatolia, ending its new rising era, and then suffocating it inside.

Needless to say, they simultaneously built the same front within the country. What was a country to do in such a situation? Should it have surrendered? Was it supposed to do what the U.S., Israel, France, Greece, the UAE and Egypt dictated? Is Turkey such a country? Is there any instance in its centuries-long political history? No, there never has and never will be.

Not an internal politics matter, cut the hogwash.

Clashes in Libya have immensely intensified. We may wake up to extraordinary developments any day now. If they have their way in Libya, we may have no area of maneuver left in the Mediterranean and Aegean. They will drown us, which is what they intend to do anyway. This is not a matter of internal politics; it is a matter of the region, history and the future. Hence, Turkey will be and has to be present in both Libya and the Mediterranean with all its might, including sending troops and openly going to war!

We are there today for the same reasons we were in the 1911-1912 Turco-Italian War. We are present across the entire region and will continue to be so. Otherwise, they will not allow us to exist in Anatolia. We saw this a century ago. We are not going to go through the same scenario once more as the world is being re-established and maps are being redrawn.

Deployment can start any moment. The UAE is our open enemy; everything necessary must be done.

Libya may experience significant changes within the next few days. Turkey may deploy military forces to this country at any moment. The Turkish military will go to Libya if it must. Turkey cannot be allowed to be squeezed in-between the Aegeans narrow islands. It cannot be isolated from the region. It cannot be kicked out of the Mediterranean. We have memorized this game by now.

Additionally, it should be noted that the UAE is Turkeys biggest enemy, in every corner of the region across borders, and that it is a monument of evil. A struggle must be started in all known areas against this country; whatever is necessary, whatever can be done, must be done.

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Turkey may send troops to Libya anytime now! The same front, same alliance is attacking Turkey from the Mediterranean this time. This is not a matter...

When I used to go to movies regularly, I would sometimes come across fairly explicit sex scenes in some of them. Although I am not, strictly speaking, a prude, I used to hate them. For one thing, if I had come to like the characters, they made me feel like a voyeur. But even if I didnt identify with the characters, those scenes invariably took me out of the movie. Instead of thinking about the characters, I would sit there wondering what the actors and actresses kids, friends, spouses and parents, would feel when they watched the movie. Yes, I know theyre just acting and that there are 50 members of the crew looking on, but none of that would matter when it came to the emotional response of their friends and family.

These days, I rarely go out to see a movie. But I am left having somewhat similar reactions when I see the likes of Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Jerry Nadler, Adam Schiff and Sheila Jackson Lee, devoting all their time to lying about President Trump in order to undo an election for strictly partisan reasons.

Im assuming that all their children arent as squalid and as morally bankrupt as Chelsea Clinton and Hunter Biden. Are they having as difficult a time as I would be if one of my parents or even a friend was behaving in such a contemptible way? Does it even occur to them to speak up and question the role their parent is playing in this unconstitutional farce? Do the participants themselves ever wonder how they have wound up here, dog-paddling through the muddy swamp?

As I see it, nearly every man and woman, including some very bad people, has a conscience. Of course, there will always be exceptions. There are famous psychopaths, monsters like Hitler, Stalin and Mao; and less famous ones that include serial killers, rapists and pedophiles those who are born lacking the empathy gene.

But there are no creatures so vile, so lacking in human feeling, as the typical mob. So long as theyre part of a group be it the Cossacks, the French revolutionists, the Red Guard, a lynch mob, Antifa or the U.S. Congress they will commit the vilest, cowardly, most gruesome acts with impunity.

One of the mysteries that has come out of the House impeachment hearings is the charge against President Trump of obstructing Congress. How it is even possible to obstruct a government body that has devoted three entire years to obstructing the President is a question I cant even begin to answer.

Once sideshows disappeared, the carnival freaks needed to find work elsewhere. Apparently, they all found their place in politics. If you think Im making this up, consider the dwarf (Michael Bloomberg), the former fat men who went on crash diets once their weight was no longer a means to gainful employment (Jerry Nadler and Al Sharpton), the pencil neck man (Adam Schiff), the hermaphrodite (Michelle Obama) and the wild man and woman of Borneo (Al Green and Maxine Waters).

Theres no question that the Internet has been a boon to the world, including me. But the drawback is that it has enabled lies, in the memorable words of Mark Twain, to travel around the earth while the truth is only getting on its boots.

This truism was brought home to me recently when someone passed along what appeared to be a nugget. The claim was that Adam Schiffs daughter Alexa was dating Rep. Schiffs favorite whistleblower, Eric Ciaramella.

I looked into it, so anxious to share the glad tidings that I was drooling all over my keyboard. It turns out that Ms. Schiffs boyfriend is named Eric, but its not Eric Ciaramella.

While Im at it, Ill also scotch the rumor that Adam Schiffs sister is married to one of the sons of George Soros. Someone else named Schiff, not a relative, is married to the Hungarian ghouls son.

Most rumors, Im convinced, are just lies gussied up in their Sunday best.

The bad news on the economic front is that the feds are subsidizing the pot industry and we taxpayers are subsidizing the electric car industry. Sebastian Gorka reported that virtue-signaling rich people who buy $80,000 Teslas are receiving $7,000 tax credits that you and I are paying for. Whats more, half the Teslas are sold to environmental faddists in California.

I suppose since were helping pay for it, some of that reflected virtue is rightfully ours. But, personally, Id prefer the cash.

A lady weighed in on the question whether disagreements in marriages are resolved through compromise or because, as I suggested, one sideusually the husbandfinally capitulates to the wife. My correspondent insisted that its always compromise in her home. But then she added that she always leaves the final decision up to him, concluding And I never say: I told you so.

That certainly doesnt sound like compromise to me. It also sounds a little too good to be true. I warned her that if she really never says I told you so, the pressure can build and build until one day she simply explodes. So, for a small fee, I will write to your husband and tell him She told you so, moron whenever you sense the pressure gauge is entering the red zone.

As I am often on the lookout for a way to make a little extra money, I thought I would offer this service to all you husbands and wives who have swallowed your I told you sos for so long that you are in real danger of popping your cork.

Patrick Miano let me know he has come around to my way of thinking when it comes to Chris Wallace. He wrote to say that Wallace recently accused President Trump of being the greatest threat to a free press in our countrys history.

Mr. Miano went on to say that Lincoln, Wilson and FDR, all tried their best to muffle the press. Obama tried to ban Fox News from White House press conferences. But not one of them had to deal with a press corps that was aligned against him the way they are against Trump.

Every time that Trump tries to defend himself against the Marxist propagandists, the twerps at CNN, MSNBC, the NY Times, the Washington Post and even, in the case of Chris Wallace, Fox News, pretend hes setting fire to the 1st Amendment.

Chris Wallace is as big a jerk as his father Mike was. And like his father, Chris blew his cover as an impartial journalist a long time ago. Back when I used to tune in his Sunday morning show, I couldnt help noticing Chris always stacked the deck by having kneejerk Liberals on one side and spineless RINOs like Karl The Architect Rove on the other. Not exactly fair and balanced.

Penny Alfonso sent me a meme. On the top half, theres a photo of President Trump announcing that hes signing an executive order protecting American Jews. On the bottom half of the page, it shows how the news is reported on CNN. It shows Trump in a Nazi uniform and the copy reads: Donald Trump targets Jews with executive order: He is literally Hitler.

Bob Hunt, who never takes a nap, passed along a few memes:

Bread is a lot like the sun. It rises in the yeast and sets in the waist. (Someone else pointed out that even though bread has existed for thousands of years, it wasnt until a few years ago that people suddenly woke up and discovered they were allergic to something called gluten.)

Apparently, you cant use beef stew as a password on your computer. Its not stroganoff.

A guy is shown holding a note while talking on the phone: How could you just walk out on me like this? Oh, and by the way, 'nit-picking has a hyphen.

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Burt Prelutsky: What Do Their Kids Think? - Patriot Post