Libya

25 Dec 2021; MEMO: Western powers said on Friday they would continue to recognise Libya's interim government after its presidential election was delayed, but called for a new polling date to be swiftly set, Reuters reports.

The fate of the interim Government of National Unity (GNU), which was installed in March as part of a U.N.-backed peace process has become a main source of disagreement in the fallout over the collapse of the election.

TRIPOLI, Dec 24 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 160 migrants drowned in two separate shipwrecks off Libya during the past week, a United Nations migration official has said.

Safa Msehli, a spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration, said that at least 102 migrants were reported dead after their wooden boat capsized off Libya on last Friday. At least eight others were rescued and returned to shore, she said.

The fatalities were the latest disasters in the Mediterranean Sea involving migrants seeking a better life in Europe.

TRIPOLI, Dec 23 (NNN-IRIN) – The High National Elections Commission (HNEC) of Libya, yesterday announced a proposal to postpone the upcoming presidential elections, which was scheduled for tomorrow, to later Jan, 2022.

“The commission proposes, in coordination with the House of Representatives, to postpone the first round of voting in the presidential election to Jan 24, 2022, provided that, the House of Representatives takes the necessary measures to lift the state of force majeure that obstructs the electoral process,” the HNEC said in a statement.

21 Dec 2021; MEMO: Libya needs nearly one million Egyptian workers to take part in the reconstruction of the country, the Labour and Rehabilitation Minister, Ali Al-Abed, announced yesterday.

Al-Abed's remarks came during a meeting with his Egyptian counterpart, Mohamed Saafan, held in the Egyptian capital Cairo to announce the launch of a joint electronic link system that aims at regulating travel for workers between the two countries.

16 Dec 2021; MEMO: Libya's planned 24 December election cannot take place amid continued arguments and fears for electoral integrity after major security incidents, a member of the elections commission today told Al Jazeera.

Rival candidates and political factions have been exchanging recriminations, accusing each other of trying to block or manipulate the electoral process for their own advantage.

15 Dec 2021; MEMO: The Libyan Presidential Council, in its capacity as interim Commander-in-Chief of the Army, discussed with Chief of the General Staff Mohamed Al-Haddad on Tuesday ways of establishing clear mechanisms to unify the military establishment in the country, Anadolu has reported.

12 Dec 2021; MEMO: More than 7,000 Russian Wagner mercenaries are still operating in Libya, according to the head of the country's High Council of State on Sunday, Anadolu Agency reported.

In statements on audio-chat app Clubhouse, Khalid al-Mishri said the Wagner mercenaries are armed with different types of weapons, including warplanes.

TRIPOLI, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Libya's election commission said on Saturday it would not publish a list of presidential candidates until after it settles some legal issues, leaving almost no time to hold the vote as planned on Dec. 24.

While most Libyan and foreign figures involved in the process have continued to publicly call for the election to go ahead on schedule, politicians, analysts and diplomats all say in private that this would be very hard to achieve.

02 Dec 2021; MEMO: A Libyan court on Thursday allowed Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi to run for president, after accepting his appeal following a ruling that had him excluded from the 24 December presidential polls, Anadolu News Agency reports.

"The Sabha Court of Appeal accepted the appeal submitted by Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi and returned him to the presidential elections race," private Libya Al-Ahrar TV wrote on Twitter.

TRIPOLI, Dec 2 (NNN-Xinhua) — Libyan Minister of Transportation Mohamed al-Shohobi on Wednesday launched the first tourist cruise line between Libya and Turkey, the first trip of its kind in Libya in more than 20 years, the Ministry of Transportation said in a statement.

The launch of the cruise line comes within the framework of the Libyan government’s efforts to promote partnership between the public and private sectors, the ministry said.