Nicola Orlando, Italy’s Special Envoy to Libya, was denied approval to become the next EU ambassador to the country by Prime Minister Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, Italian press revealed. Orlando was chosen by Brussels as successor to Jose Sabadell who ended today his three-year tenure as EU ambassador in Libya. However, Italian press, including news agency Nova and Il Foglio newspaper, reported yesterday that Dbeibeh rejected Orlando’s nomination. He was deputy ambassador to Tripoli from 2017 to 2019, when the Italian diplomatic mission was led by Giuseppe Perrone. He was appointed in May 2021 as Italy’s special envoy by former Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio.

Mr. Justice Aaron Bugeja heard submissions on Thursday, after Elmushraty’s lawyers, Franco Debono, Marion Camilleri and Francesca Zarb filed a bail request before the Criminal Court. “Organised crime is not an easy crime to prove. The prosecutor cited European Court judgments which found no breach of a suspect’s rights after a year of being detained under preventive arrest. But in spite of this, they are still straining themselves to bring drugs into the equation.”“Where is the evidence of organised crime?” asked the lawyer. Additionally, the charge of organised crime still had to be proven, said the lawyer.

The UNDP reported today that it had, so far, successfully engaged, guided and inspired over 1,000 youths in Tripoli, Benghazi, Sebha and Derna to start and grow businesses as part of their Deraya Entrepreneurship project. To expand on this, the UNDP are inviting entrepreneurship-focused companies operating in the South of Libya to submit proposals to scale this initiative in 9 municipalities in the South through a tailored approach that addresses the particular challenges faced by these municipalities and the youth. The project is part of its Local Peacebuilding and Resilience efforts in collaboration with the Ministry of Local Government. The UNDP had launched Deraya for Entrepreneurship at the end of May this year to increase awareness and develop positive attitudes towards entrepreneurship through campaigns, webinars, startup weekends and hackathons on municipal challenges. UNDP launches Deraya Entrepreneurship Initiative for youth (libyaherald.com)

Libya’s National Mining Corporation revealed today that a delegation from the Chinese company, Senomaly, toured the abandoned cement factory in the Mahrouga near Sebha. The cement factory has been out of operation for years and the Chinese delegation were appraising it feasibility as a going concern. Other projects consideredAccompanied by the National Mining Corporation regional managers, the delegation also visited the Nuwaibat brick factory in the Tarut area and studied the possibility of operating it. The possibility of implementing new projects was also discussed in coordination with the National Mining Corporation activating plans and studies in this regard and putting them into effect. Chinese President Xi Jinping to instruct Chinese companies to return to work in Libya (libyaherald.com)Ministry of Transport reviews sector investment opportunities for Chinese companies (libyaherald.com)Economy Minister Hwej meets Chinese companies wishing to invest in Libya (libyaherald.com)The Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Libya in China meets the Director of the Chinese Energy Company CNECC (libyaherald.com)China invites Libya to participate in the forthcoming Arab-Chinese Forum (libyaherald.com)Bashagha government signs cooperation agreement with Chinese Railways company, BFI and British consultants Arup (libyaherald.com)Libyan business leaders participate in the Arab Chinese businessmen’s conference in Riyadh (libyaherald.com)Benghazi Municipality head meets China Construction Company delegation (libyaherald.com)

New York (CNN) — Drivers hitting the roads this Labor Day weekend will be greeted by historically high gas prices for this time of the year. The good news is that gas prices are still well below the peak set in June 2022. Psychologically important pricesIt’s worth noting that while gas prices are high for this point of the calendar, these figures aren’t adjusted for inflation. Still, consumers are very sensitive to increases in gas prices, in part because of how visible they are. In fact, the Conference Board blamed the recent uptick in gas prices for driving down consumer confidence in August.

The central bank said that it bought 2 tonnes of gold last month, according to updated reserve data. According to the World Gold Council, Singapore has been the second most active gold buyer this year, behind only China. Tuesday, Gopaul announced that Qatar increased its official gold reserves by 3 tonnes last month. "This lifts YTD net purchases to nearly 5 tonnes, taking total gold reserves to 97 tonnes," he said. In a recent interview with Kitco News, George Milling-Stanley, chief gold strategist at State Street Global Advisors, said that central bank gold demand will continue to provide solid support for the gold market.

But on August 27, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen announced he met with Libyan Foreign Minster Najla Mangoush in Rome. The meeting was hosted and facilitated by Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani. Cohen said he “spoke with the foreign minister about the great potential for the two countries from their relations.”There is one problem with all of this. The Libyan Foreign Ministry downplayed the meeting, calling it an “unprepared” and “unofficial” rendezvous. Libya Foreign Minister Flees Country as Protests Continue Over Israel Talks pic.twitter.com/mYPNuPCnjV — VOA Africa (@VOAAfrica) August 29, 2023The protests appeared small.

The unity government neither denied nor confirmed reports that the dismissed minister arrived in Madrid, Spain, after fleeing the country. In a leaked audio message, the Interior Minister, Emad Trabelsi, informed Dbeibeh that all anti-government protests have been put to an end. The Zawiya protesters accused a Public Security force, led by Trabelsi, of blocking the road to Tripoli and assaulting them. Eyewitnesses said that late on Tuesday, government security forces blocked the road in western Tripoli on protesters coming from the city of Zawiya demanding the overthrow of the Dbeibeh government. Dbeibeh ignored the developments and appeared at a family wedding in his hometown of Misrata, along with some ministers.

Israeli youths defy conscription to protest judicial overhaulAround 220 Israeli youngsters have announced their rejection of the mandatory military draft in protest against the government's judicial overhaul planBy IANS Published Date - 10:00 AM, Thu - 31 August 23IANS PhotoJerusalem: Around 220 Israeli youngsters have announced their rejection of the mandatory military draft in protest against the government’s judicial overhaul plan, further raising concerns over the plan’s potential impact on the country’s military preparedness. The group, known as “Youths Against Dictatorship”, said in a statement on Wednesday that about 220 high school students have decided to reject the mandatory conscription due to the legal overhaul, which has sparked mass demonstrations across the country for 34 consecutive weeks, reports Xinhua news agency. “We will decline to serve a government that undermines the judicial system,” they wrote, adding that on September 3, they will release an open letter to the army, formally declaring their intent to refuse. The overhaul aims at weakening the legal system and mainly the Supreme Court. Opponents argue that it undermines the rule of law in Israel, while Netanyahu’s ultranationalist government maintains that the reform is necessary to curb the overly activist and “leftist” legal system.

This Editor’s Note was sent out on Wednesday in ToI’s weekly update email to members of the Times of Israel Community. It’s a safe bet that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu knew ahead of time that Foreign Minister Eli Cohen would be sitting down in Rome last week with the Libyan Foreign Minister Najla Mangoush. A blabbermouth foreign minister, and a prime minister unwilling to control Cohen and all his other pyromaniacal ministers, further harm the prospects, in the short-term at least, of breakthroughs with the Saudis and others. Is our rookie foreign minister, all of eight months in office, really so arrogant, headline-seeking and foolish as to have made the decision to publicize the meeting without consulting his boss? And if so, how can Netanyahu allow him to remain in so crucial a position?

The sentence, or some variation of it, has been uttered by diplomats for centuries, but here it proved incendiary. The news provoked several protests and incidents in Tripoli and elsewhere in Libya, which does not recognize Israel. This hasn’t happened, and now Libya is back to instability and potential conflict among the various armed groups. Another potentially more problematic consequence is that of the sudden resurgence of radical Islamist leaders in Libya in response to the news. Further readingImage: Demonstrators burn tires in protest against the meeting which was held last week in Italy between foreign affairs ministers of Libya and Israel, in Tripoli, Libya, August 27, 2023.

ALBAWABA- President of the Libyan High Council of State, Mohammed Takala, paid a significant visit to Turkey. He met with the Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, who welcomed him in Ankara, on Wednesday. This visit gains prominence against the backdrop of political turmoil gripping Libya, stemming from the revelation of a clandestine meeting between Libyan Foreign Minister Najla’a Al-Manqoush and her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in Rome, Italy. The disclosure of the meeting has ignited a storm of controversy, resulting in Al-Manqoush's suspension from her position and the Libyan parliament withdrawing confidence from the Ad-Dabiba Government. As tensions rise, it is reported that the suspended Al-Manqoush fled to Turkey, with her whereabouts remaining undisclosed.

His disclosure sparked protests across Libya, which has no overt ties with Israel. Opposition MP s in Israel castigated Mr Cohen for his “amateurish” decision to reveal the meeting. American officials are furious too, saying his disclosure damaged their efforts to prod Arab states to recognise Israel. Mr Dbeibeh has tried to distance himself from the Rome meeting, but it is hard to imagine Ms Mangoush met Mr Cohen without her boss’s approval. Mr Cohen erred in talking about the meeting.

The Emergency Medicine and Support Centre (EMSC) announced today that a Belarusian team of specialist eye surgeons will visit Libya from the beginning of September. The EMSC says the visit is part of its ongoing programme of visiting specialists which is in turn part of the Tripoli government’s localisation of medical treatment programme to bring treatment to Libyans at home as opposed to Libyans having to travel for it abroad. The visiting medical specialists also provide training programmes for Libyan medical personnel to benefit from their expertise. The Belarusian team’s visit follows on from the recent visits this month by Egyptian and Spanish visiting medical teams. Egyptian medical team arrives in Tripoli to treat security forces wounded in recent Tripoli clashes (libyaherald.com)Five Spanish medical specialists arrive in Tripoli to treat wounded from recent security clashes (libyaherald.com)Twenty-three dead and 106 injured in Tripoli’s security forces clashes (libyaherald.com)State recognized security forces clash in civilian areas after arrest of one of their commanders (libyaherald.com)Committee formed to monitor standards and prices in public and private healthcare (libyaherald.com)After a ten-year hiatus, Al-Khadra hospital’s Eye Clinic reopens (libyaherald.com)fter a ten-year stoppage, Al-Khadra hospital resumes keyhole knee surgery (libyaherald.com)After a 10-year hiatus: Al-Hadba Al-Khadra General Hospital resumes artificial joints operations (libyaherald.com)At the ‘‘localisation of healthcare’’ conference Aldabaiba inaugurates several new services (libyaherald.com)Conference on Localisation of Medical Treatment – Tripoli 12 to 13 June (libyaherald.com)First ever brain and nerve surgery conducted in Al-Khadra Hospital: Health Ministry (libyaherald.com)Tripoli’s Al-Khadra Hospital succeeds in implanting an aortic valve using latest TAVI technology (libyaherald.com)Operations Department of Tripoli Eye Hospital reopened after 13-year closure (libyaherald.com)Visiting Italian medical team touring Libyan hospitals across the country (libyaherald.com)Visiting Egyptian eye surgeon conducts 20 cornea operations in Beida (libyaherald.com)Visiting Jordanian specialists perform 18 infertility and delayed childbearing operations in Zintan Hospital (libyaherald.com)Tripoli Eye Hospital unprecedented medical convoy to south to conduct 40 corneal transplants (libyaherald.com)Health Ministry to launch the 2023-2028 national strategy and 2023 sector plan (libyaherald.com)Libya discusses cooperation with Jordan on localizing autism treatment (libyaherald.com)Libyan Turkish Hospital in Misrata opens: to set new healthcare standard in Libya (libyaherald.com)National Centre for Health System Reform (NCHSR) holds workshop on developing the Libyan health system (libyaherald.com)Serraj government’s catastrophic failure to reform Libya’s healthcare: Analysis (libyaherald.com)Tripoli University Hospital struggling with no budget and huge debts – continuing through private donations | (libyaherald.com)Tripoli University Hospital’s Orthopaedic Department launches remote educational service | (libyaherald.com)Italian company signs contract to maintain infrastructure of Tripoli University Hospital | (libyaherald.com)Libya to recruit 150 Filipino first phase nurses for Tripoli University Hospital | (libyaherald.com)Tripoli University Hospital to recruit 850 foreign nurses | (libyaherald.com)Tripoli Medical Centre converted into a independent university hospital under direct control of PC | (libyaherald.com)New head of TMC appointed – part of continued health reform programme | (libyaherald.com)Austrian medical services company Vamed signs maintenance contract with Tripoli Medical Centre | (libyaherald.com)Serraj spells out reforms needed by Libyan healthcare system | (libyaherald.com)

Libya’s state-owned Arabian Gulf Oil Company (AGOCO) announced today that it had succeeded in reactivating an old well that had stopped any output to return to a production of 1,200 barrels per day. The well, AGOCO reported, had been naturally producing during 2022 an amount of oil not exceeding 200 barrels of oil per day. The well then stopped producing since the beginning of this year. This process resulted in the return of the well’s production to about 1,200 barrels per day. AGOCO said the work on the old well and its return to production comes as part of its policy, set by the National Oil Corporation, to increase overall production rates.