Colonel Muammar Qaddafi was to pitch his tent in Paris yesterday for an official visit that marks the Libyan leader's return to grace, after shedding his rogue image for that of trusted statesman ready to sign off on deals worth billions.
In keeping with Qaddafi's flamboyant persona, his visit is likely to be extravagant -- featuring deals to buy a fleet of Airbus passenger jets and possibly defense equipment, too.
But most symbolic for Libya's new status is France's plan to sell a civilian nuclear reactor to the country, once ostracized as a sponsor of terrorism.
It will be Qaddafi's first trip to France since 1973, though he traveled to Brussels in 2004 to extend an olive branch in a first step toward ending years of isolation.
For French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has made bold symbolism his leadership style, the gains could be multi-fold, from securing the hefty contracts to establishing a firm foothold in what some see as a new El Dorado.
A boost in French-Libyan relations, and a reactor sale, could also send a message to countries such as Iran, in a standoff over its nuclear program, that benefits await those that abide by international rules.
French officials are uncertain of the full program of the man whose official title is "guide of the revolution."
Sarkozy and Qaddafi are to meet twice for talks that are likely to focus on terrorism, and bilateral and strategic ties.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) greetings with what appeared to be restrained rhetoric that comes as Pyongyang moves closer to Russia and depends less on its long-time Asian ally. Kim wished “the Chinese people greater success in building a modern socialist country,” in a reply message to Xi for his congratulations on North Korea’s birthday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported yesterday. The 190-word dispatch had little of the florid language that had been a staple of their correspondence, which has declined significantly this year, an analysis by Seoul-based specialist service NK Pro showed. It said
On an island of windswept tundra in the Bering Sea, hundreds of miles from mainland Alaska, a resident sitting outside their home saw — well, did they see it? They were pretty sure they saw it — a rat. The purported sighting would not have gotten attention in many places around the world, but it caused a stir on Saint Paul Island, which is part of the Pribilof Islands, a birding haven sometimes called the “Galapagos of the north” for its diversity of life. That is because rats that stow away on vessels can quickly populate and overrun remote islands, devastating bird
‘CLOSER TO THE END’: The Ukrainian leader said in an interview that only from a ‘strong position’ can Ukraine push Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘to stop the war’ Decisive actions by the US now could hasten the end of the Russian war against Ukraine next year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday after telling ABC News that his nation was “closer to the end of the war.” “Now, at the end of the year, we have a real opportunity to strengthen cooperation between Ukraine and the United States,” Zelenskiy said in a post on Telegram after meeting with a bipartisan delegation from the US Congress. “Decisive action now could hasten the just end of Russian aggression against Ukraine next year,” he wrote. Zelenskiy is in the US for the UN
A 64-year-old US woman took her own life inside a controversial suicide capsule at a Swiss woodland retreat, with Swiss police on Tuesday saying several people had been arrested. The space-age looking Sarco capsule, which fills with nitrogen and causes death by hypoxia, was used on Monday outside a village near the German border. The portable human-sized pod, self-operated by a button inside, has raised a host of legal and ethical questions in Switzerland. Active euthanasia is banned in the country, but assisted dying has been legal for decades. On the same day it was used, Swiss Department of Home