(MENAFN) In a devastating incident, a migrant boat carrying approximately 86 people, including women and children, sank off the coast of Libya, resulting in the tragic death of 61 individuals, as reported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Saturday. The vessel departed from the Libyan city of Zwara, and survivors revealed that the high waves proved fatal for a significant number of migrants. This heartbreaking event underscores the continued peril faced by migrants attempting dangerous sea voyages in the hope of reaching Europe via Italy. The tragic event amplifies the ongoing migrant crisis in the region, with Libya and Tunisia serving as principal departure points for individuals risking perilous journeys. Italy has seen a significant influx of migrants, with over 153,000 arrivals from Tunisia and Libya in the current year, according to the United Nations refugee agency.

UN Special Envoy to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, will brief the Security Council about the situation the country today. According to the council’s agenda, Bathily and member states will also discuss report of the Secretary-General, António Guterres, on the UN Support Mission in Libya. The briefing will be followed by closed-door consultations.

Sixty-one migrants, including women and children, drowned following a shipwreck off Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya said. "The central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world's most dangerous migration routes," IOM said. 🚨 61 migrants including women and children drowned following a tragic shipwreck off Libya. The central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world's most dangerous migration routes. pic.twitter.com/RsFSUzzFYK — IOM Libya (@IOM_Libya) December 16, 2023Deadly incidents this year included one in June, when a fishing boat packed with hundreds of migrants sank off Greece after departing from Tobruk, Libya.

The Renewable Energy Authority of Libya (REAoL) and the Ministry of Industry and Minerals activated the ‘’Go Green’’ initiative to power mosques with solar generated electricity. The meeting was held to activate the memorandum of understanding concluded between REAoL and the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, which was signed at the beginning of 2023. REAoL reported that the meeting reviewed and discussed ways to activate cooperation between REAoL and the Ministry of Industry and Minerals in the field of renewable energies and energy efficiency. The project to electrify several mosques using solar energy systems, that REAoL has begun to implement, was also reviewed within the first phase of the Go Green initiative. Libya launches National Strategy for Renewable Energies and Energy Efficiency 2023-2035 (libyaherald.com)

The UN agency said in the post: ”The central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world’s most dangerous migration routesThe boat had around 86 people on board. File Pic/APListen to this article Sixty one migrants drown in shipwreck off Libya coast x 00:00As many as 61 migrants, including women and children, have drowned following a “tragic shipwreck” off the coast of Libya, said the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM), CNN reported. The UN agency said in the post: ”The central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes.”Libya is a key transit point along the Central Mediterranean route. ADVERTISEMENT2,500No of people missing at sea this yearThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

Libya, Dec 18: The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said that 61 migrants have drowned at sea off the coast of the western Libyan city of Zuwara, some 120 km west of the capital Tripoli, while trying to reach Europe. IOM Libya posted on X late Saturday that 61 migrants including women and children drowned following a tragic shipwreck off Libya. According to the survivors, the boat with around 86 people left the Libyan shores from Zwara. “The central Mediterranean continues to be one of the world’s most dangerous migration routes,” IOM noted. According to IOM, a total of 15,383 illegal migrants were rescued and returned to Libya so far this year.

Sixty-one migrants, including women and children have drowned following a shipwreck off the coast of Libya. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya said, the boat, carrying around 86 people, departed the Libyan city of Zwara, about 110 kilometers from the capital, Tripoli. Saturday’s shipwreck was the latest tragedy in this part of the Mediterranean Sea, a key but dangerous route for migrants seeking a better life in Europe. According to the IOM’s missing migrants project, at least 940 migrants were reported dead and 1,248 missing of Libya between January 1 and November 18.

Below are the top five oil and gas initiatives expected to set the tone for the next year of innovation and progress. Libya Energy & Economic SummitKicking off 2024 will be the country’s premier energy event, the Libya Energy & Economic Summit (LEES) – a results-oriented platform that brings together the government and private sector to get deals and partnerships signed. Sirte Basin Exploration ProgramMultinational integrated oil, gas and petrochemical company OMV is getting ready to resume exploration in Libya’s Sirte Basin in 2024 after a ten-year hiatus. 2024 Licensing RoundsLibya’s NOC is preparing to launch an international oil and gas licensing round next year – the first in nearly twenty years. Taking place in Tripoli from January 13-14, 2024, the Libya Energy & Economic Summit takes place under the theme, A New Libya: Built on Energy.

TRIPOLI, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Libyan Ministry of Transport and the Italian Civil Aviation Authority on Sunday signed two agreements on air transport cooperation. The agreements, one air transport agreement and one memorandum on technical cooperation, were signed by Italian Civil Aviation Authority President Pierluigi Di Palma and the Libyan Undersecretary of Transportation Khaled Swesi in Tripoli, said a statement issued by the Libyan Ministry of Transportation. The air transport agreement will facilitate the resumption of flights between Europe and Libya, and the memorandum of technical cooperation between civil aviation institutions will contribute to raising the efficiency of civil aviation personnel, said the statement. Direct Flights between Libya and Italy were resumed earlier in September after a nearly 10-year halt. In December 2014, the European Commission banned all Libyan airlines from operating in EU airspace, citing security reasons.

Maltese MEPs were split on a European Parliament resolution that included clauses acknowledging media reports on how Frontex cooperated with a Libyan militia accused of human rights abuses. MEPs on Thursday voted on several amendments to a resolution concerning the operations of the EU’s border agency. Labour MEPs Josianne Cutajar and Cyrus Engerer were the only two Maltese MEPs present to vote on the resolution and its amendments. MEPs from The Left and Green political groupings proposed amendments in the operative text and recitals of the resolution acknowledging the joint investigation on Frontex, Malta and the Libyan militia. The overall amendments failed to get a majority and were not taken on in the final text of the resolution.

LONDON: More than 60 migrants are believed to have drowned in a shipwreck off the coast of Libya, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said. Citing survivors, the UN agency said on Saturday the vessel left the city of Zuwara with around 86 people on board. It said high waves swamped the boat and that 61 migrants, including children, were missing and presumed dead. Libya is among the main departure points for migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean and enter Europe. The Mediterranean crossings frequently see scores of migrants crowded onto boats too small to safely hold them.

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The ‘‘Libya Competes’’ programme is to organise a careers fair in Tripoli on 17 January. Libya Competes says it brings technical support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Libya to increase their competitiveness, so that they can grow, succeed, and generate new jobs. It offers rapid results, leading to more sales, more success, and more sustainable employment opportunities for Libyan job seekers. To ensure that growth-oriented businesses have the workforce they need to succeed, the project also trains job seekers and matches qualified talent with prospective employers. Within 18 months, Libya Competes says it expects to support at least 50 Libyan SMEs, generate 500 new jobs, and match an additional 500 job seekers to new positions.

articleA boat carrying dozens of migrants trying to reach Europe capsized off the coast of Libya, leaving more than 60 people dead, including women and children, the U.N. migration agency said. According to the IOM’s missing migrants project, at least 940 migrants were reported dead and 1,248 missing off Libya between Jan. 1 and Nov. 18. The project, which tracks migration movements, said about 14,900 migrants, including over 1,000 women and more than 530 children, were intercepted and returned to Libya this year. In 2022, the project reported 529 dead and 848 missing off Libya. The abuse often accompanies attempts to extort money from the families of the imprisoned migrants before allowing them to leave Libya on traffickers’ boats to Europe.

Cairo, Dec 17 (AP) A boat carrying dozens of Europe-bound migrants capsized off the coast of Libya, leaving more than 60 people — including women and children — dead, the U.N. migration agency said. Libya has in recent years emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. The country is a major launching point for migrants trying to reach the European shores through the deadly central Mediterranean. Human traffickers in recent years have benefited from the chaos in Libya, smuggling in migrants across the country's lengthy borders, which it shares with six nations. The abuse often accompanies attempts to extort money from the families of those held, before the imprisoned migrants are allowed to leave Libya on traffickers' boats to Europe.