The U.N. mission in Libya said Monday that the country’s warring sides had agreed to turn a shaky cease-fire into a lasting deal, stirring modest hopes after weeks of sporadic violence that derailed negotiations.

As the latest round of U.N.-mediated talks between rival military leaders wrapped up in Geneva, both sides reached a draft deal “to facilitate the safe return of civilians to their areas,” according to a U.N. statement.

The return of thousands of displaced civilians will be monitored by military representatives in Geneva with support from the U.N. mission in Libya.

The delegates negotiating on behalf of Libya’s rival administrations must now send the draft for approval to their respective leaders who have the power to halt the fighting, a prospect that faces further obstacles. The representatives promised to reconvene in Geneva next month to hammer out details of the deal’s implementation.

Monday’s apparent breakthrough came days after eastern-based forces under the command of Khalifa Hifter escalated their attacks on the capital of Tripoli. The attacks hit Tripoli’s civilian seaport, narrowly missing an explosive liquefied petroleum gas tanker and prompting the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli to pull out of talks. The negotiations resumed days later, with expectations for an agreement low.

The current cease-fire was brokered in January by Russia and Turkey, which back opposite sides in the conflict. A high-profile international summit followed in Berlin, where world powers with interests in the oil-rich North African country pledged to push for the cease-fire and uphold a widely flouted arms embargo.

Developments on the ground have repeatedly defied diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis. Foreign backers keep pouring weapons into the country, the U.N. alleges. Fighting continues around the capital, as each side accuses the other of violating the cease-fire.

The United Arab Emirates and Egypt, as well as France and Russia, support Hifter’s self-styled Libyan Arab Armed Forces. The embattled Tripoli administration, which controls just a shrinking corner of western Libya, has increasingly relied on Turkey for military aid.

The latest round of fighting in Libya started last spring, when Hifter launched his assault on the capital in a bid to wrest power from the U.N.-backed government. The siege has killed thousands of people, and displaced over 150,000, according to the U.N.
   

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South Korea’s foreign minister called on Monday for a quick resumption of stalled U.S.-North Korean nuclear talks, adding that her government stood ready to engage with Pyongyang to facilitate dialogue.

Kang Kyung-wha, addressing the U.N.-sponsored Conference on Disarmament, said the goal remained complete denuclearisation on the divided Korean peninsula.

“A speedy resumption of the U.S.-DPRK negotiations is critical so that all stakeholders maintain and build upon the hard-won momentum for dialogue. We stand ready to engage with the North in a way that facilitates and accelerates the U.S.-DPRK dialogue,” Kang told the Geneva forum.
 
South Korea was promoting projects with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, she said, using the formal name of the isolated country.

“And we will do so adhering faithfully to the international sanctions regime on the DPRK,” Kang added.

North Korea has been subjected to U.N. sanctions since 2006. They have been strengthened by the Security Council over the years in a bid to cut off funding for Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

North Korea continued to enhance its nuclear and ballistic missile programs last year in breach of United Nations sanctions, according to a confidential U.N. report seen by Reuters in New York this month.

North Korea told the Geneva talks last month that as the United States had ignored its year-end deadline for nuclear talks, it no longer felt bound by commitments, which included a halt to its nuclear testing and the firing of inter-continental ballistic missiles.

There was no immediate reaction from the North Korean or U.S. delegations on Monday as the meeting continued.

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Pope Francis has cautioned against “unfair” solutions aimed at ending the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

In a speech Sunday during a visit to the Italian southern port city of Bari to reflect on peace in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, Francis lamented the many areas of war and conflict, including in the Middle East and Northern Africa.

Francis spoke of “the still unresolved conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, with the danger of not fair solutions, and, thus, presaging new crises.”

The pope didn’t cite any specific proposals.

A new U.S. peace plan would let Israel annex all of its settlements along with the strategic Jordan Valley. It would give the Palestinians limited autonomy in several chunks of territory with a capital on the outskirts of Jerusalem, but only if they meet stringent conditions.

In the same speech, Francis took a swipe at populist politics. “It scares me when I hear some speeches by some leaders of the new forms of popularism,” he said. He also lamented that waves of refugees fleeing conflicts, climate change consequences and other adversity are “depicted as an invasion.”

Among the prelates gathered for his speech in Bari’s Pontifical Basilica of St. Nicholas were churchmen from the Balkans, Jerusalem and Algeria.

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The home of a key Togo opposition candidate was surrounded by security forces just hours after polls closed Saturday in elections widely expected to see President Faure Gnassingbe claim a fourth term in power. 

Troops could be seen outside the house of Agbeyome Kodjo, considered an important challenger in the electoral race, as the government confirmed the move and said it was for “his own safety.” 

“We are largely in the lead everywhere. My house is surrounded by soldiers,” Kodjo told AFP. 

Security forces were blocking all access to the property in the capitalm Lome, according to AFP journalists at the scene, while military roadblocks were being put up in the city. 

Calm during vote

Polls closed earlier Saturday in an election that was initially reported to be calm with a moderate turnout, although many voters had vowed not to take part in an election they described as neither free nor fair. 

Gnassingbe has led the West African country of 8 million people since 2005 following the death of his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled with an iron fist for 38 years. 

Kodjo, who served as prime minister under Gnassingbe’s father, is seen as a potential dark horse after winning the backing of an influential former Catholic archbishop. 

The Togo security minister, Yark Damehame, said both Kodjo’s home and that of the former archbishop had been surrounded as a precaution. 

“We have received reports that he is at risk of an attack on his house by unruly individuals, but I cannot tell you from which side,” he said. 

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Iran’s parliamentary elections Friday were marred by low voter turnout as hundreds of activists used social media to ask people to boycott the ballots in a sign of protest against the regime. Iranian authorities have reportedly barred hundreds of moderate candidates in favor of hardliners supported by the regime. 

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U.S. President Donald Trump will visit India early next week to meet his counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both sides are already managing expectations by saying they will not be signing a big trade deal. Still, the visit will be full of pomp and circumstance, with Trump already touting the massive crowds expected to turn up for him. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara takes a look at what we can expect in this meeting between leaders of the world’s two most populous democracies.

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May Lee is a certified organic farmer in Minnesota.
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The seven-day “reduction of violence” deal promised by the Taliban will begin on Friday night, a senior U.S. State Department official said, without specifying the exact time. That will start the countdown to the signing of a peace agreement between the Taliban and the United States at the end of the month.
    
That peace agreement, to be signed in Doha, Qatar, on Feb. 29, will pave the way for a withdrawal of U.S. troops and intra- Afghan negotiations. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the peace agreement will also lead to an eventual permanent cease-fire.
    
“We are preparing for the signing to take place on February 29,” Pompeo said in a statement. “Intra-Afghan negotiations will start soon thereafter, and will build on this fundamental step to deliver a comprehensive and permanent ceasefire and the future political road map for Afghanistan.”
    
The State Department official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the deal.
    
But the road ahead is fraught with difficulties.
   
It’s still not clear who will represent Kabul at the negotiation table for the intra-Afghan talks, considered a key pillar in finding a lasting peace in the war-torn country. The Afghan election commission earlier this week declared President Ashraf Ghani the winner of the presidential elections held in September but his rivals quickly denounced his win.
    
The Taliban have refused to talk to Ghani’s government and also denounced the election results, saying they will talk to government representatives but only as ordinary Afghans
    
Pompeo’s statement did not say who would participate in the intra-Afghan negotiations from Kabul, saying only that “intra-Afghan negotiations will start soon” after the signing in Doha “and will build on this fundamental step to deliver a comprehensive and permanent cease-fire and the future political road map for Afghanistan.”
    
The Taliban issued their own statement on the reduction of violence deal.
    
“Both parties will now create a suitable security situation in advance of agreement signing date, extend invitations to senior representatives of numerous countries and organizations to participate in the signing ceremony, make arrangements for the release of prisoners, structure a path for intra-Afghan negotiations with various political parties of the country and finally lay the groundwork for peace across the country with the withdrawal of all foreign forces,” the Taliban said in a statement Friday.
    
The Taliban added that they will not allow “the land of Afghanistan to be used against security of others so that our people can live a peaceful and prosperous life under the shade of an Islamic system.”

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As Nevada Democrats flock to their presidential caucuses Saturday afternoon, this Western state’s growing Latino vote could play an important factor in the outcome. According to Pew Research, more than 1 in 4 Nevadans is of Latin American descent, and roughly 328,000 of them are eligible to vote. As VOA’s Carolyn Presutti found, while all candidates hope to attract the Hispanic vote, some are more successful than others.

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The Nina and Pinta have arrived along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, sailing into a Biloxi harbor as spectators lined a pier, aiming their phones out to the horizon.

Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic on the Nina on his three voyages of discovery to the New World beginning in 1492.

The original Nina was last heard from in 1501, but this replica, which was finished in 1991, serves as a floating museum. It was built entirely by hand, without the use of power tools, and is considered to be the most historically accurate Columbus ship replica ever built.

The Pinta replica was built in Brazil and launched in 2005 to accompany the Nina on travels. It’s a larger version of the archetypal “caravel,” the term for a Portuguese ship used by Columbus and many early explorers.

While in port, the ships will be open for public tours, beginning Thursday. They are scheduled to leave Biloxi on Monday, March 2.

After a week-long stop in Gulf Shores, Alabama, beginning March 4, the ships will head to Florida, where they have scheduled stops in Fort Walton Beach, Venice, Vero Beach and Fernandina Beach.

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Victoria Coates, a top official on the National Security Council, is being reassigned amid fallout over the identity of the author of the inside-the-White House tell-all book by “Anonymous.”
    
Coates, who serves as national security adviser for the Middle East and North Africa, will be joining the Department of Energy as a senior adviser to Secretary Dan Brouillette, the NSC announced Thursday.
    
The move comes amid renewed speculation about the author of the book, “A Warning,” and a New York Times essay that were deeply critical of President Donald Trump, written under the pen name “Anonymous.”
    
But a senior administration official insisted the move had nothing to do with the speculation, saying top White House officials reject rumors that have circulated in recent weeks suggesting Coates is the author. The move, they said, has been in the works for several weeks.
   
“We are enthusiastic about adding Dr. Coates to DOE, where her expertise on the Middle East and national security policy will be helpful,” Brouillette said in a statement. “She will play an important role on our team.”
   
“While I’m sad to lose an important member of our team, Victoria will be a big asset to Secretary Brouillette as he executes the President’s energy security policy priorities,” Robert C. O’Brien, who leads the NSC, added.
    
The move also comes as the president has been working to rid the administration of those he deems insufficiently loyal in the wake of his acquittal on impeachment charges. Since then, Trump has ousted staffers at the National Security Council and State Department and pulled the nomination of a top Treasury Department pick who had overseen cases involving Trump’s former aides as a U.S. attorney.
    
At the same time, Trump has been bringing back longtime aides he believes he can trust as he heads into what is expected to be a bruising general election campaign.
    
Trump this week renewed questions about the identity of “Anonymous” when he told reporters that he knew who it was. Asked whether he believes the person still works at the White House, Trump responded: “We know a lot. In fact, when I want to get something out to the press, I tell certain people. And it’s amazing, it gets out there. But, so far, I’m leaving it that way.”
    
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley declined to say Wednesday why, if Trump knows the person’s identity, they would still be working in his administration.
    
In the book, published by the Hachette Book Group in November, the writer claims senior administration officials considered resigning as a group in 2018 in a “midnight self-massacre” to protest Trump’s conduct, but ultimately decided such an act would do more harm than good.

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The soon-to-be acting chief of the United States’ intelligence agencies says he won’t be on the job for long.

In a tweet Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell confirmed he is taking the post only on a temporary basis and that, “The President will announce the Nominee (not me) sometime soon.”

Correct. Acting. The President will announce the Nominee (not me) sometime soon. https://t.co/9ShqB2eXea

— Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) February 20, 2020

The U.S. has been without a permanent director of national intelligence since mid-August of 2019, when  Dan Coats officially stepped down following a series of public clashes with President Donald Trump over intelligence assessments.

But so far there is no word from the White House on just when a permanent replacement will be nominated.

In the meantime, Grenell is set to take over from current acting Director Joseph Maguire, who by law cannot continue in an acting capacity beyond March 12.

Trump first announced the move to Grenell in a tweet late Wednesday.

I am pleased to announce that our highly respected Ambassador to Germany, @RichardGrenell, will become the Acting Director of National Intelligence. Rick has represented our Country exceedingly well and I look forward to working with him. I would like to thank Joe Maguire….

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 20, 2020

In a statement Thursday, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham praised Grenell and his qualifications for the role.

“He has years of experience working with our Intelligence Community in a number of additional positions, including as Special Envoy for Serbia-Kosovo Negotiations and as United States spokesman to the United Nations,” Grisham said, adding, “He is committed to a non-political, non-partisan approach as head of the Intelligence Community, on which our safety and security depend.”

An administration official also confirmed to VOA that Grenell will keep his job as ambassador to Germany and continue to serve as special envoy for peace negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo as he leads national intelligence efforts.

Grenell, known as a staunch Trump loyalist, caused a stir in Germany upon assuming his diplomatic post, saying that he wanted to “empower other conservatives throughout Europe, other leaders.”

Some German lawmakers viewed the comments as unusually interventionist and Germany’s Foreign Ministry demanded an explanation.

Germany Asks US Envoy to Explain Comment on ‘Empowering’ Conservatives

Germany is asking the new U.S. ambassador to Berlin, an outspoken supporter of President Donald Trump, for an explanation of his comment that he wants to “empower” European conservatives.

The German Foreign Ministry says it plans to question Ambassador Richard Grenell when he makes his inaugural visit to the ministry on Wednesday, asking him to “explain how he wants his statements to be understood.”

On Sunday, the Breitbart.com website, a right-wing U.S.

Grenell has also been especially outspoken about what he says are the dangers of doing business with the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, urging Germany not to become a Huawei customer because of suspicions the company installs spyware in its products at the bidding of Beijing.

Despite White House accolades, the move is not sitting well with some former intelligence officials or with some key lawmakers, who cite Grenell’s lack of intelligence experience and the president’s refusal to name a permanent director.

“The president is marginalizing the position by refusing to nominate someone to be confirmed,” said James Clapper, who served as director of national intelligence under President Barack Obama.

“It is bad for continuity and stability,” Clapper told VOA. “The over-arching message is the president simply doesn’t care, and simply wants a hood ornament loyalist sitting in the chair.”

The vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Democrat Mark Warner, also criticized the selection of Grenell on Twitter.

“It appears the President has selected an individual *without any intelligence experience* to serve as the leader of the nation’s intelligence community in an acting capacity,” Warner wrote, further accusing Trump of engaging in “an effort to sidestep the Senate’s constitutional authority to advise & consent on such critical positions.”

It appears the President has selected an individual *without any intelligence experience* to serve as the leader of the nation’s intelligence community in an acting capacity… https://t.co/Yvq5UVSPpA

— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) February 20, 2020

Initially, following Dan Coats’ resignation almost eight months ago, Trump announced he would nominate Republican Congressman John Ratcliffe, one of the newer members of the House Intelligence Committee, to serve in a permanent capacity; but, Ratcliffe withdrew from consideration following questions about his credentials and experience.  

Instead, Trump turned to Joseph Maguire, a former Navy SEAL who had been serving as director of the National Counterterrorism Center.

US Intelligence in Transition, Remains Focused for Now on Facts

New, acting director of national intelligence promises US intelligence agencies will continue to provide policymakers with factual, unbiased assessments — amid fears of politicization

Maguire won praise from lawmakers and former intelligence officials for his stated commitment to avoid politics and “speak truth to power,” long seen as a critical function of the U.S. intelligence community. “

I think Joseph Maguire did as well as he could, under difficult circumstances, to stave off corruption of the intelligence community’s mission,” said Paul Pillar, a former senior CIA officer now with Georgetown University.

But with Grenell stepping in, Pillar is voicing concern.

“Grenell not only has no intelligence experience, which is a negative, but is very much a partisan fighter and ideologue,” he said. “Having Grenell as acting DNI promises to politicize the intelligence community more than it has been to date so far under Trump.”

President Trump has had a rocky relationship with the U.S. intelligence community after it concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.    

On several occasions, he publicly clashed with his intelligence chiefs, once lambasting them on Twitter for being “extremely passive and naïve.”

Trump Takes Aim at Intelligence Chiefs Via Tweet-Storm

U.S. President Donald Trump took to Twitter Wednesday, appearing to reignite his long-standing feud with the country’s intelligence agencies by belittling their assessments on Islamic State, North Korea and Iran.In a series of posts, Trump claimed responsibility for key improvements while calling out his intelligence chiefs for being “extremely passive and naïve.”“When I became President, ISIS was out of control in Syria & running rampant. Since then tremendous progress made, especially over last…

VOA’s White House Bureau Chief Steve Herman and White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report

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