LIBYA’S MOST POWERFUL GENERAL, A U.S. CITIZEN, IS TAKING OVER WITH OR WITHOUT THE WORLD’S SUPPORT

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by newsweek.com --A powerful Libyan general in charge of much of the country has set out to claim the capital, potentially overthrowing a United Nations-backed government and allied militias. Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army, ordered his troops on Thursday via an audio message to begin a new bid to take Tripoli just as U.N. General Secretary António Guterres paid a visit to the disputed city. The military leader said "the time has come" for his forces to "advance," but would do so in "peace" as he'd ordered his forces to not "shoot civilians waving a white flag." As Haftar's men took the town of Gharyan, located about 31 miles south of Tripoli, a joint statement by France, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States warned that "military posturing and threats of unilateral action only risk propelling Libya back toward chaos." The country has been beset by frequent bouts of civil unrest since the U.S.-led NATO Western military alliance helped to overthrow Muammar el-Qaddafi in 2011 by backing an insurgency against his 42-year rule.

By Friday, the Libyan National Army had entered the capital's outskirts, taking the nearby town of Al-Aziziyah. Spokesperson Ahmed al-Mismari announced that Tripoli's international airport was "fully under the control" of the faction as part of an operation now officially named Flood of Dignity During a press conference Friday, Mismari outlined the operation, displaying graphics and a cross-country push from nearly 620 miles away, including positions such as the Al-Jufra desert air base. He vowed that the Libyan National Army "has not stopped and will not stop until the completion of the task." Awaiting Haftar in Tripoli was his rival Fayez al-Sarraj, the U.N.-backed chairman of the Presidential Council and prime minister of the Government of National Accord. Both men previously worked for Qaddafi's government—Sarraj as a housing minister and Haftar as a leading military officer who ultimately turned on the longtime leader with support from the U.S., where he later fled and gained citizenship.

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IBM CEO Ginni Rometty: AI will change 100 percent of jobs over the next decade

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by cnbc -- Lori Ioannou -- IBM's Chair, CEO and President Ginni Rometty has a powerful message for workers and employers in all strata of society: The Fourth Industrial Revolution is underway and it is shaping up to be one of the most significant challenges and opportunities of our lifetime. We are already seeing jobs, policies, industries and entire economies shifting as our digital and physical worlds merge. According to the World Economic Forum, the value of digital transformations in the Fourth Industrial Revolution is estimated at $100 trillion in the next 10 years alone, across all sectors, industries and geographies. "As a result, we face an imminent and profound transformation of the workforce over the next five to 10 years as analytics and artificial intelligence change job roles at companies in all industries," Rometty said while giving a keynote address at the CNBC's At Work Talent & HR: Building the Workforce of the Future Conference in New York on Tuesday, April 2. In February, the executive was appointed to Trump's American Workforce Policy Advisory Board along with 24 other leaders.

While only a minority of jobs will disappear, the majority of roles that remain will require people to work with the aid of analytics and some form of AI and this will require skills training on a large scale, Rometty said. "I expect AI to change 100 percent of jobs within the next five to 10 years," the IBM CEO said. Rometty's call to action comes at a time when the AI skills gap and the future of work exhibit a growing sense of urgency. The technology sector accounts for 10 percent of U.S. GDP and is the fastest part of the American economy but there are not enough skilled workers to fill the 500,000 open high-tech jobs in the U.S., according to the Consumer Technology Association's Future of Work survey. Yet the tech industry is concerned that school systems and universities have not moved fast enough to adjust their curriculum to delve more into data science and machine learning. As a result, companies will struggle to fill jobs in software development, data analytics and engineering. "To get ready for this paradigm shift companies have to focus on three things: retraining, hiring workers that don't necessarily have a four-year college degree and rethinking how their pool of recruits may fit new job roles," Rometty said.

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Algeria protests: Tycoon Ali Haddad 'arrested at Tunisia border

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by bbc.com --A top Algerian businessman has been arrested while trying to cross into neighbouring Tunisia, local media say. Ali Haddad is one of the country's richest men and a long-time backer of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who is under intense pressure to quit. Demonstrators have been demanding that Mr Bouteflika and those close to him step aside. On Tuesday Algeria's powerful army chief, Gen Ahmed Gaed Salah, urged the ailing leader to stand down. Algerian media say Mr Haddad, 54, was carrying a British passport and large sums of money when he was arrested trying to cross the Tunisian border by car in the early hours of Sunday. The reason for the reported arrest is not clear. Mr Haddad recently resigned as head of Algeria's employers' organisation, FCE He went from managing his family's small hotel to commanding a vast business empire with interests in construction, sports, media and healthcare, among others. Analysts say he was much part of Mr Bouteflika's inner circle. Under his tenure, the FCE backed the president's bid for a fifth term - a position it later retracted as his popularity waned.

China launches new initiatives to boost ties with Lebanon

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BEIRUT, (Xinhua) -- Gao Yan, chairwoman of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), announced on Saturday the opening of an office for CCPIT in Lebanon. "CCPIT in Lebanon will cooperate with Lebanese chambers to improve commercial and trade ties between Lebanon and China," Gao said. She added that China is Lebanon's largest trade partner and her country is keen on maintaining this position in the coming years. Gao's remarks came during the China Lebanon Investment Forum which aimed at drawing a roadmap for the future of cooperation between Lebanon and China on various levels. The event, which took place at Adnan Kassar Edifice for Arab Economy in Beirut, saw the participation of Lebanese officials, the Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Wang Kejian and representatives of the economic sectors in Lebanon and China. Gao also signed two memorandums of understanding with Lebanese officials for promotion of Chinese investment and collaboration on Lebanon's industrial zones and the creation of the China Arab Arbitration Center.

Rayan Kouatly, secretary general of the Lebanese Arbitration Center, emphasized the importance of the establishment of an arbitration center to solve legal disputes to boost business cooperation. Union of Arab Chambers Honorary Chairman Adnan Kassar described the initiatives taken during the event as a new official beginning for building strong Lebanese-Chinese relations. "CCPIT chairwoman chose Lebanon as the first official visit's destination in the Arab world which is a great honor for our country ... Lebanon plays an important and strategic role in the Belt and Road Initiative," Kassar said. Proposed by China in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa through the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road. Lebanese and Chinese officials emphasized during the event the importance of boosting ties between the two countries in various areas. "We have to be committed to increasing ties between the two countries in different areas which will have a positive impact on the peoples of China and Lebanon," Gao said.

Gao emphasized the need to increase mutual investments while inviting Lebanese companies to take part in exhibitions in China. She also called upon Chinese companies to invest in Lebanon's industrial zones which will increase the country's exports while expanding Middle East markets. Meanwhile, Lebanese Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Choucair, representing Prime Minister Saad Hariri, said that Lebanon hopes to create trade balance with China. Choucair added that Lebanon is preparing to launch a set of new projects within the framework of CEDRE, an international conference supporting Lebanon with 11 U.S. billion dollars in loans and donations to revamp the country's ailing infrastructure and bolster its economy. "We call upon Chinese companies to partner with Lebanese businesses to implement these projects. We, from our side, promise to offer all the needed facilities for this purpose," he said

Lebanon, Bulgaria to establish permanent direct flights

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by dailystar.com.lb --BEIRUT: Lebanon and Bulgaria agreed Friday to establish permanent direct flights between Beirut and Sofia, following Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil’s meeting with Bulgarian officials in Sofia to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries. Bassil met with Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, Speaker of the Bulgarian National Assembly Tsveta Karayancheva and his Bulgarian counterpart Ekaterina Zakharieva, according to a statement from the Lebanese Foreign Ministry. During the meeting, the officials also agreed to form a joint committee to develop the two countries’ ties in commerce, agriculture, industry and technology. "We have many shared areas of interest that we have not explored sufficiently, and the time has come to do this in the fields of economy, tourism and culture,” Bassil said. “[Bulgaria offers] opportunities for investment and we provide high-quality services in medicine, engineering, law and banking,” he added.

The talks also touched on the issue of refugees. Zakharieva and Radev expressed support for the safe and dignified return of Syrian refugees to their home country - which Bassil has called for - with Radev further criticizing Europe for what he described as its failure on the issue. The Bulgarian president also described Lebanon as a stabilizing factor in the Middle East, and said he was looking forward to his trip to Lebanon, slated for next week. General Security announced earlier in March that over 170,000 Syrian refugees had returned to their country from Lebanon since December 2017. The total number - 172,046 - includes those who returned on their own as well as those who took part in voluntary trips organized by the agency.

Nissan executives allegedly orchestrated Carlos Ghosn's arrest to kill merger with Renault

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by CNBC - Robert Ferris - Nissan executives took steps to have former Chairman Carlos Ghosn jailed in the hopes the arrest would stall or kill any attempts to merge the Japanese automaker with its French counterpart Renault, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter. Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa, who had in the past been close with Ghosn, said at a Jan. 31 meeting that he believed Nissan executives had gone digging for evidence and presented their findings to Japanese authorities with the purpose of removing Ghosn from power, the paper reported. Ghosn had reportedly been trying to merge the two automakers, who had formed an alliance in 1999.

Theories that Nissan executives might have had a role in Ghosn's arrest have abounded in the automotive world. Ghosn had become something of a national hero in Japan for his role in helping to turn around Nissan, but many who follow the industry say the Japanese would have balked at the idea of a foreign automaker such as Renault owning such an important company in Japan. Ghosn spent more than 100 days in jail in Japan for an array of alleged financial misdeeds before he was released on bail. He has been stripped of his roles at the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, which he had formerly chaired. If found guilty he could face up to 15 years in prison. He has denied the accusations. Nissan was not immediately available for comment to CNBC, but company spokesman Nicholas Maxfield told the Journal that the motives of company executives is not relevant, and that Nissan found "substantial evidence of blatantly unethical conduct. The sole cause of this chain of events is the misconduct led by Ghosn."