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U.S. sanctions 3 firms owned by Libyan government

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States Thursday sought to increase pressure on the Libyan government by imposing financial sanctions on three companies owned by Muammar Gaddafi’s government.

London-based Dalia Advisory Ltd, Libya’s state broadcasting company and Lafico Algeria Holdings, an Algeria-based subsidiary of the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company, were added to the U.S. sanctions blacklist.

The sanctions prohibit U.S. transactions with the firms and seek to freeze any assets they may have under U.S. jurisdiction. Dalia is owned by the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), which was established in 2006 to manage the country’s oil revenues.

The headline here means exactly the opposite of what’s intended. To sanction something means to certify or approve it. “Sanctions imposed” is more along the lines of what you want.

Relfyh

To problem wasn’t that it was incorrect, it was just too ambiguous, in my opinion.

Definitions for “sanction” range from “to authorize, approve, or allow,” to “to impose a sanction on; penalize, especially by way of discipline.”

It’s a good word to avoid in headlines; GBU Editor

A holding tank damaged by a tank shell burns at the oil refinery in Zuietina near the northeastern Libyan town of Ajdabiyah, March 22, 2011. REUTERS/Finbarr O’Reilly

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