UN experts: Darfur rebel groups make money in Libya
U.N. experts say rebel groups in Darfur that signed a peace agreement with the Sudanese government in 2020 continue to operate in Libya and profit from opportunities provided by the civil war and lack of government control in the oil-rich north African nation.
Muammar Gaddafi’s son ‘back from the dead’ and planning political comeback
A son of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi who vanished six years ago and was thought to have died has reappeared and announced his intention to re-enter politics. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who is still wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, said he intended to unify Libya at the head of his father's “Green movement”. In his first public remarks since he was sentenced to death by a Libyan court in 2015, the 49-year-old claimed he would command widespread support from
news.yahoo.comLibyan lawmakers confirm interim unity government
FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2021 file photo, Libyan Prime Minister-designate Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah speaks during a news conference in Tripoli, Libya. On Wednesday, March 10, 2021, Libyan lawmakers confirmed a newly appointed government to lead the war-wrecked country through elections by the end of the year. (AP Photo/Hazem Ahmed, File)BENIGHAZI – Libyan lawmakers confirmed a newly appointed interim government on Wednesday, in the hopes it will help unify the divided, war-wrecked North African country, and shepherd it through to elections at the end of the year. Ad“Congratulations on the formation of an interim unity government to set the stage for elections in December,” tweeted U.S. Dbeibah named Najla Mangoush as foreign minister — the first woman to lead the Libyan foreign ministry in modern history.
Claimed value of sleepy NY estate could come to haunt Trump
The Seven Springs, a property owned by former U.S. President Donald Trump, is covered in snow, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in Mount Kisco, N.Y. Meyer's daughter, the late Washington Post publisher Katharine Graham, was married at Seven Springs in 1940. The amount was based on a professional appraisal that valued the full Seven Springs property at $56.5 million as of Dec. 1, 2015. AdCohen testified that Trump had financial statements saying Seven Springs was worth $291 million as of 2012. Along with the mansion, Seven Springs has a Tudor-style home once owned by ketchup magnate H.J.
France's Sarkozy convicted of corruption, sentenced to jail
The verdict is expected in a landmark corruption and influence-peddling trial that has put French former President Nicolas Sarkozy at risk of a prison sentence if he is convicted. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)PARIS – A Paris court found French former President Nicolas Sarkozy guilty of corruption and influence peddling on Monday and sentenced him to a year in prison. The ruling marks the first time in France’s modern history that a former president has been convicted of corruption — and given a prison term. The court found that Sarkozy and his co-defendants sealed a “pact of corruption,” based on “consistent and serious evidence”. AdIn one phone call with Herzog, Sarkozy said of Azibert: “I’ll make him move up.
Libyan interior minister survives attack on motorcade
FILE - In this Dec. 26, 2019 file photo, Libyan Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha speaks during a news conference in Tunis, Tunisia. The motorcade of the interior minister of Libyas U.N.-backed government came under attack on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2021, in the capital, Tripoli, a government spokesman said. Bashagha survived the attack. He said the minister survived the attack and his guards chased the assailants, killing one and detaining two others. The forum also picked Mohammad Younes Menfi, a Libyan diplomat from the country’s east, to lead the Presidential Council.
Libyans mark 2011 uprising with eyes on interim government
(AP Photo/Francois Mori, File)TRIPOLI – Libyans on Wednesday marked the 10th anniversary of their 2011 uprising that led to the overthrow and killing of longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi. Many have their eyes on a recently appointed government tasked with leading Libya through elections later this year, with hopes of unifying the divided nation. Celebrations began late on Tuesday in the capital, Tripoli, where people gathered in the city's main square amid tight security. AdThere were also celebrations in the eastern city of Benghazi, once known as the birthplace of Libya’s 2011 uprising. AdLibya has become one of the most intractable conflicts, along with Yemen and Syria, left over from the 2011 uprisings.
Libya's future in balance in UN-backed leadership vote
The voting process is taking place under the mediation of the U.N. secretary-general’s acting special representative for Libya, Stephanie Williams. The prime minister is to be chosen by the candidate winning 70% of votes. Twenty-four candidates are running for the presidential council posts. Libya’s top judge, Mohammed al-Hafi's candidacy for the presidential council has stirred up controversy. The country's Judges’ Association decried the move, saying he should have retired before running,AdTwenty-one candidates are running for prime minister, including Fathi Bashaga, the powerful interior minister in Tripoli, and Ahmed Meitig, deputy prime minister of the U.N.-supported government.
US plans new charges in 1988 Lockerbie airline bombing
FILE - In this Dec. 22, 1988, file photo police and investigators look at what remains of the nose of Pan Am 103 in a field in Lockerbie, Scotland. The Justice Department expects to unseal charges in the coming days in connection with the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people, according to a person familiar with the case. (AP Photo/Martin Cleaver, File)WASHINGTON – The Justice Department plans to unseal new charges in the coming days in connection with the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people, according to a person familiar with the case. We will not rest until all those responsible are brought to justice,” Barr said at a 1991 news conference announcing the charges. The New York-bound flight exploded over Lockerbie less than an hour after takeoff from London on Dec. 21, 1988.
French ex-President Sarkozy stands trial for corruption
Sarkozy is being accused of having tried to illegally obtain information from a magistrate about an investigation involving him in 2014. He stands trial in a Paris court along with his lawyer Thierry Herzog, 65, and the magistrate, Gilbert Azibert, 73. They face a prison sentence of up to 10 years and a maximum fine of 1 million euros ($1.2 million). Sarkozy and Herzog explained that they bought the phones to avoid being targeted by illegal phone tapping. Sarkozy was handled preliminary charges including “illegal campaign financing” in the Libyan investigation, which has been underway since 2013 — and prompted the wiretapping of his phones.
UN: 74 migrants drown after boat breaks down off Libya coast
In these photos taken Nov. 12, 2020, life jackets litter the beach off the coast of Libya near the port of al-Khums. The boat was carrying over 120 migrants, including women and children, when it capsized off the coast of the Libyan port of al-Khums, said the International Organization for Migration. Only 47 people were rescued by the Libyan coast guard and fishermen and brought to shore. Smugglers often pack desperate families into ill-equipped rubber boats that stall and founder along the perilous Central Mediterranean route. On Tuesday, 13 African migrants including three women and one child had drowned in a similar shipwreck off the Libyan coast.
France's Sarkozy seeks closure of Libyan corruption case
Sarkozy, who denies wrongdoing, has been given preliminary corruption charges in the case, under investigation since 2013. Investigators are examining claims that Gadhafi’s regime secretly gave Sarkozy 50 million euros overall for his winning 2007 French campaign. In 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Gadhafi to France with high honors. Sarkozy then put France at the forefront of NATO-led airstrikes that helped rebel fighters topple Gadhafi’s regime in 2011. Sarkozy and Takieddine have faced other legal troubles in France.
Libyan factions sign countrywide UN-brokered cease-fire
The United Nations said Friday, Oct. 23, 2020, that the two sides in Libyan military talks had reached a "historic achievement" with a permanent cease-fire agreement across the war-torn North African country. The agreement also involves the formation of a joint military force and a way to monitor violations, Williams said. “I appeal to all Libya: Be one hand,” he added, warning of polarization by factions. To maintain the cease-fire, the two sides agreed to establish a “joint police operations room” that will help secure areas following the withdrawal of armed groups. The rivals also agreed to form a “joint limited military force" of personnel who report to the U.N.'s Joint Military Commission.
UN chief urges Libya cease-fire, warns its future at stake
“The violations of the embargo are a scandal and call into question the basic commitment to peace of all involved,” he told the closed meeting. “There are nine countries that are intervening in the Libyan conflict,” Williams said, without giving any names. The country has since split between rival east- and west-based administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments. Military commander Khalifa Hifter and his self-styled army launched an offensive in April 2019, trying to capture Tripoli, the capital. The virtual meeting came amid international pressure on both sides to avert an attack on the strategic city of Sirte.
Russia, China block release of UN report criticizing Russia
TANZANIA – Russia and China blocked the official release of a report by U.N. experts on Libya that accused its warring parties and their international backers -- including Russia -- of violating a U.N. arms embargo on the conflict-wracked country, U.N. diplomats said Friday. Germany’s deputy U.N. ambassador, Günter Sautter, said he brought the issue to the Security Council after the two countries blocked the report’s release by the committee monitoring sanctions on Libya, which Germany heads. “Many delegations have asked for the publication of the panel of experts’ interim report,” he said. But finding a replacement acceptable to all Security Council diplomats has proven exceedingly difficult. Germany's Sautter said the Security Council has agreed that there will be a special envoy “and we need an agreement urgently on who that is going to be."
Amnesty: Migrants face 'vicious cycle of cruelty' in Libya
Amnesty said about 8,500 migrants, including women and children, were intercepted and brought back to Libya between Jan. 1 and Sep. 14. Since 2016, an estimated 60,000 men, women and children have been captured at sea and taken to Libya where they disembarked, it said. There, the migrants and refuges face a “constant risk” of being abducted by militias, armed groups and traffickers. They are “trapped in a vicious cycle of cruelty with little to no hope of finding safe and legal pathways out," the report said. Amnesty cited an incident, without saying when it happened, in which eastern Libyan forces blocked a bus from entering the southeastern city of Kufra unless three Chadian nationals got off.
Top lawmaker denies that Russia sent warplanes to Libya
MOSCOW A senior Russian lawmaker on Wednesday strongly rejected the U.S. military's claim that Russia has deployed fighter jets to Libya to support east-based forces in their offensive on the capital, Tripoli. Viktor Bondarev, the former Russian air force chief who heads the defense committee in the upper house of parliament, dismissed the claim by the U.S. Africa Command as "stupidity." If the warplanes are in Libya, they are Soviet, not Russian, he said. The U.S. Africa Command said Tuesday the Russian military aircraft arrived in Libya recently from an airbase in Russia via Syria, where they were repainted to hide their Russian origin. Hifter is backed by the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Russia, while the Tripoli-allied militias are aided by Turkey, Qatar and Italy.
Trump on Libya: "I was never for strong intervention"
Donald Trump says he supported the "surgical" removal of Gaddafi, but never backed "strong intervention" in Libya. The presumptive GOP nominee notes he made a "fortune" off of Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi when he needed a place to stay in the U.S.
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