The topic of free zones arose following the workshop on free zones held in Tunis last week (August 16-18) for the Libyan (Tripoli) Ministry of Economy and Trade’s team working on its Free Zone Strategy headed by al-Gatati. The free zones project has also been delayed due to government bureaucracy despite serious attempts to support the existing free zones, especially the Misrata Free Zone and Benghazi’s Elmreisa Free Zone. Several Free zones considered across LibyaIn this regard, Undersecretary Al-Gatati told Libya Herald that the action plan prepared by the Ministry of Economy is to activate the establishment of free zones in many Libyan cities, including Zintan and Tamanhint in the Libyan south, and border free zones with Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria, as well as other free zones in several Libyan regions. Libya behind in establishing free zonesAl-Gatati added, “Although the project of establishing free zones in Libya is not something new, and thinking about establishing them began since 2000, Libya still has not gone beyond the first steps in establishing free zones compared to other countries in the world, including Arab countries. Expertise France holds workshop on free zones for Economy Ministry (libyaherald.com)Libya and Tunisia sign MoUs on exhibitions and integration between commercial free zones (libyaherald.com)A workshop on free zones organized by Expertise France was held in Tunis 21 to 22 February (libyaherald.com)Ministry of Economy and Trade discusses mechanism of activating transit trade, free zones and Africa Transport and Transit Trade Forum (libyaherald.com)China’s Huawei makes presentation on e-gates to Misrata Free Zones (libyaherald.com)The International Forum & Exhibition for Free Zones – Misrata: 28 to 29 June at Misrata Free Zone (libyaherald.com)Activation of Elmreisa and Kufra Free Zones discussed (libyaherald.com)NOC discusses investment in Elmreisa and Kufra Free zones (libyaherald.com)Free, economic and logistics zones, and transit trade to be activated in south (libyaherald.com)Britain ready to provide strategic support in renewable energies, free zones and transit trade (libyaherald.com)

In the Libya case, he is charged with illegal campaign financing, embezzling, passive corruption and related counts. Sarkozy has been under investigation in the Libya case since 2013. Investigators examined claims that Mr Gaddafi’s government secretly gave Sarkozy 50 million euro (£42 million) for his winning 2007 campaign. After becoming president in 2007, Sarkozy welcomed Mr Gaddafi to France with high honours later that year. In an unrelated case, Sarkozy was sentenced to a year under house arrest for illegal campaign financing of his unsuccessful 2012 re-election bid.

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Russian Deputy Defense Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov met Thursday with East Libya-based strongman Khalifa Haftar. Yevkurov and his delegation met with Haftar in the city of Benghazi, said a statement from the Facebook account of the armed forces in eastern Libya. The statement did not provide further details. On Wednesday, a Russian delegation led by Yevkurov held a technical meeting with commanders and certain units affiliated with Haftar. The Russia’s Defense Ministry announced that the delegation led by Yevkurov had visited Libya at Haftar's invitation.

PARIS (AP) — French investigative magistrates have ordered former president Nicolas Sarkozy and 12 others to go on trial on charges that his 2007 presidential campaign received millions in illegal financing from the government of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. The national financial prosecutor announced that the decade-long investigation has been formally closed. The case is the biggest and most shocking of multiple corruption investigations involving Sarkozy. In the Libya case, Sarkozy is charged with illegal campaign financing, embezzling, passive corruption and related counts. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking hereIf you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

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A leader of the ISIS extremist group who allegedly planned and sponsored three deadly attacks in the Libyan capital Tripoli in 2018 has been captured, the country's prime minister ha said. On May 2, 2018, a total of 14 people were killed in a suicide attack claimed by ISIS on the headquarters of the Libyan High Electoral Commission in Tripoli. On September 10, 2018, a suicide attack by the group on the Libyan National Oil Company building in the capital killed two and wounded 10 staff. Libyan forces’ fighters rest and reload weapons during combat against ISIS militants in Sirte, Libya. APOn December 25, 2018, three people, including a Libyan diplomat, were killed in an attack claimed by ISIS at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"Wagner troops have been out of action in Ukraine since the rebellion, and their troops stationed either in Belarus, or absorbed back in to the Ministry of Defence, so the impact immediately on the Ukraine war, where the Russian forces are still holding back the Ukrainian counter-offensive, is likely to be minimal for now," she observed.

The Tripoli-based Libyan government media site reported that meeting was held today at the Prime Minister Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba’s Office Wednesday, to discuss ways to adopt a service affiliated with the ‘‘Our Government’’ (Hakomitna) Facebook page, which is concerned with organizing an electronic poll to conduct a package of questionnaires. The meeting reviewed the proposed mechanisms for introducing the new service, believing in the importance of taking into account the views of Libyan citizens on a number of issues. The meeting also discussed ways for the electronic questionnaire feature to conform to modern technical specifications and for polling services to be suitable for all segments and groups of society in a smooth and high-quality manner. The meeting was attended by the head of the General Authority for Information, Abdel Baset Al-Baour, the election file official, member and rapporteur of the ministerial committee to support the implementation of the elections, Nadira Aoun, the head of the Office of Relations, Media and Cooperation in the Passports, Nationality and Foreigners Affairs Department, Dean Nasr Eddin Ghallab, the head of the Government Communication Centre, Muhammad Abu Halqa, and the head of the editorial unit in the Media and Government Communication Department, Ola. Al-Shuwaidi, representatives of the Telecommunications Holding Company, several academic figures, and the technical file official at the Media and Government Communication Department, Ahmed Nasr.

Doctors Without Borders, formally known as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), announced today “it will end medical activities in Tripoli”, where it has been providing healthcare to migrants, asylum seekers and refugees held in detention centres. MSF explained that its decision to close medical activities in Tripoli “follows an extensive review of our humanitarian responses globally and a process of financial reprioritisation.”“The announcement is made against the backdrop of access issues that have affected our medical activities in Tripoli along with an increasingly challenging environment for international organisations in the country,” it said. The closure of our medical activities will end assistance to people in detention centres in Tripoli. Djoen Besselink, MSF operations manager, said he and his team “had to take the difficult decision to end our medical activities in Tripoli, knowing that this will have an impact on people’s access to medical care. While MSF’s activities in Tripoli ends today, Besselink pointed out that the organization will continue to work in Misrata and Zuwara.

Several Chinese companies specialized in the manufacture of heavy equipment, machinery and tower cranes for ports, contracting and infrastructure related to marine facilities, operating and developing logistics services for ports, visited Misrata Free Zone (MFZ) Monday to review investment opportunities. Chinese expressed full readiness to work in Libya in all fieldsSpeaking exclusively to Libya Herald the Director of the MFZ Media Department, Aladdin Baba, said “This visit comes within the framework of opening the doors of cooperation, investment and partnership with Chinese companies that have expressed their full readiness to work in Libya in several fields’’. These include, he continued, logistical services in ports, especially the MFZ port, by providing advanced technical equipment for handling containers, goods and various commodities, and advanced machines that save effort and time and ensure the safety of workers and the safety of goods. He said these encouraged the visiting Chinese companies to take steps towards forming partnerships with Libyan companies and readiness to conclude contracts and deals to provide their services from within Libya and present them to its customers in the Mediterranean and Africa. Increasing visits to MFZ by potential foreign investorsBaba referred to the increasing activity of visits that the MFZ is witnessing during this period from several foreign companies, with the aim of reviewing the available investment opportunities, and discussing opportunities to participate in the development of the port, and the supply of advanced and modern equipment.

Libya’s stability is at greater risk following recent militia clashes and amid turmoil in neighbouring Sudan and Niger, the country's special UN envoy said Tuesday. Abdoulaye Bathily told the UN Security Council that political divisions in Libya were "fraught with risks of violence and disintegration". “It is fundamental to restore Libya’s stability, to preserve regional security,” Bathily said. In response, Libya’s east-based parliament appointed a rival prime minister, Fathy Bashagha, but suspended him in May. “I am optimistic,” Bathily told reporters.

Libya’s Attorney-General has ordered the arrest of the general manager of Al-Rafi Bank due to alleged embezzlement of nearly four million Libyan dinars from the bank. According to a statement by the Attoreny-General’s office today, the criminal case was brought up following “examination and review of administrative and financial work” inside the bank. The prosecution is also looking into the involvement of other officials in the corruption allegations. Al-Rafi Bank’s manager will remain in custody while the investigation is ongoing, as per the Attoreny-General’s statement.

Our decision to close medical activities in Tripoli follows an extensive review of our humanitarian responses globally and a process of financial reprioritisation. ''We regret that we have had to take the difficult decision to end our medical activities in Tripoli... We have not taken this decision lightly.'' “We regret that we have had to take the difficult decision to end our medical activities in Tripoli, knowing that this will have an impact on people’s access to medical care. *MSF began working in Libya in 2011, providing assistance to people affected by the conflict and supporting public health facilities in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MoH). *In 2022, we provided medical care to more than 50,000 people in Tripoli, Misrata, Az-Zawya, Zuwara, Bani Walid, Nesma, Zletan and Khoms.