Worse still, most of such interests are competing with each other at the expense of the country. READ: Migrants in border region of Libya and TunisiaIn pursuing their national interests, each country has its own agenda prioritised to its own best interests, regardless of the impact such policy might have on Libya. This pattern continues even today, where foreign intelligence services still operate in Libya almost freely. They believe their own interests are better protected so long as they are loyal to foreigners, but not to Libya. It is the very unfortunate fate of a country that had been hypersensitive to foreign interference just a decade ago.

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We are dying by the minute," a Nigerian who wanted to be identified only by his first name, George, told AFP. On Tuesday Libya's interior ministry said the bodies of five African migrants had been found near Tunisia's border. The group of about 140 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa are the latest to be taken to Tunisia's borderlands with Libya or Algeria, according to border guards, migrants and NGO workers who reported previous cases. At its closest point, near Sfax, Tunisia is only about 130 kilometres from the Italian island of Lampedusa. Around the same time, Libyan border guards also said they rescued dozens of migrants left in the desert by Tunisian authorities without water and food.

The head of Libya’s Supreme Judicial Council, Counselor Miftah al-Gwey, has requested the Attorney General open an investigation into the storming of the Council’s headquarters in Tripoli earlier today. Al-Gwey made the call during a Council meeting he chaired in Tripoli Wednesday evening, according to a video statement published on the Council’s Facebook page. In the video statement, al-Gwey said the Council “registers the strongest words of condemnation, denunciation and indignation” over the incident and asks the Attorney General to take the necessary investigative measures. The law includes amendments appointing the head of the Supreme Judicial Council. The council president reiterated his call for the Attorney General to investigate the raid and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Italian and Libyan carriers have conducted services between their countries’ respective capitals, to mark a reinstatement of air links absent for a decade. ITA Airways operated the Rome Fiumicino-Tripoli route with an Airbus A320 on 24 July, while Libya’s MedSky Airways carried out a reciprocal service on the same day, also with an A320. Libyan authorities had voluntarily suspended flights by several operators to Europe in 2012, but a deterioration in the geopolitical situation in Libya resulted in the subsequent formal blacklisting. ITA states that it supports the Italian efforts to re-open air connections to Libya, and adds that it is considering operations to Libya from next winter. Italian organisations including the air navigation service ENAV have been participating in the modernisation of airport and air traffic infrastructure at Tripoli’s main airport as well as the capital’s Mitiga airport.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah met today with the German Ambassador to Libya, Michael Ohnmacht, and the Austrian Ambassador to Libya, Christoph Weidinger, to discuss the latest political developments in the country. The meeting, held at the Prime Minister’s office in Tripoli, focused on preparations for upcoming meetings of the International Follow-up Committee on Libya, especially in light of its recent recommendations to provide a secure environment for holding elections. Dbeibah reiterated to the ambassadors his government’s commitment to holding the upcoming elections according to fair and transparent laws, in an orderly process that helps end the transitional phases Libya has gone through for years. The meeting was attended by Minister of State for Communications and Political Affairs Walid El Lafi, Director of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation at the Council of Ministers Taher El Bawab, and Prime Minister’s Adviser for Youth and Civil Society Affairs Mohamed Hamouda.

Tripoli – An armed group stormed the headquarters of Libya’s Supreme Judicial Council in the capital Tripoli today in an attempt to install a new council president, witnesses say. The raid coincided with the House of Representatives appointing a rival candidate, Mohamed al-Guei, to lead the judicial body. The armed assailants sought to enable Abdallah Abuzrzaez to take over the council presidency, according to sources. The House of Representatives condemned the attack in a statement, saying it came “at a time when the country is moving towards consensus on holding elections, ending divisions and fragmentation.”“We are in dire need of judicial institution unity, while other state institutions suffer from division,” the statement added. Earlier, House Speaker Aguila Saleh said legislators had unanimously approved amendments appointing al-Guei as head of the council, noting the Speaker has the authority to select the position.

Libyan Foreign Foreign Minister Najla al-Mangoush will visit Türkiye on Wednesday for talks, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and al-Mangoush will discuss aspects of bilateral relations during the meeting, it said in a statement. Current regional and global developments will also be on the agenda, it added. Türkiye has deep-rooted relations with the Libyan people. Due to its historical and cultural ties, Türkiye attaches the utmost importance to the security and welfare of the Libyan people.

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“Looking back, I realise that the risk I took was not worth it,” Butt told AFP. Butt is one of several men from Khuiratta who told AFP the disaster prompted them to give up on the journey after reaching Libya. “They were brutal people.”While he was in jail, news reached his hometown of the migrant boat sinking off Greece, causing heartbreak and distress. “I can’t explain the pain and anguish I went through for a week,” Butt’s wife Mehwish Matloob told AFP. “I believed that life in Europe would be more vibrant and colourful compared to my experience in Saudi Arabia,” the 29-year-old told AFP.

The Maltese and Libyan home affairs ministers have had talks in Malta on security cooperation and, the training of the Libyan coastguard in search and rescue and combatting human trafficking. The talks were held at the maritime base of the Armed Forces of Malta at Haywharf, Floriana. Byron Camilleri said security cooperation between the two countries was bearing fruit, as was the training of the Libyan coastguard by the AFM. The purpose of the training, he said, was to save life at sea and also to combat people traffickers. Camilleri and the Libyan minister, Emad Al-Trabelsi boarded a Maltese patrol boat to watch joint training with the Libyan coast guard at sea.

This has effectively changed the nature of the Israeli occupation from a de facto situation to one that is considered de jure, or legally recognized, they added. The term “occupation,” which reflects the reality, is a legal term defined under international law that accurately conveys certain concepts, rights and status for occupied territories and their residents, he added. This direct-negotiation approach ultimately favors the Israeli side given the asymmetrical balance of power between the two sides, Miller said. “This is serving to perpetuate the illegal settlement-building” in the Occupied Territories, Ahmad said. Dahlia Scheindlin, a Tel Aviv-based policy fellow at the Century Foundation and an expert on public opinion, said the recent shift in control of the Occupied Territories was only partly administrative.

Mohamed Hwej, the Minister of Economy and Trade in the Tripoli-based Libyan government, met several businessmen and owners of Algerian companies specialized in the fields of industrial engineering and oil at his Tripoli office yesterday. The meeting was also attended by the Undersecretary for Economic Affairs, Saad Al-Haneish, the Undersecretary for Free Zones Affairs, Nouri Al-Gatati, and the Director of the Foreign Trade and International Cooperation Department in the Ministry. This is since Algeria possesses economic potential, great resources, and good experience in several fields. Reopen border crossingsAl-Gatati Emphasized Libya’s desire to reopen the land ports between the two countries to increase the volume of trade exchange, activate free zones and transit trade towards the African market, especially. He said the Ministry of Economy and Trade is keen to provide all necessary facilities in the investment and trade sectors and support the private sector to contribute to the diversification of the Libyan economy.

Libyan border guards have recovered the bodies of several migrants from a desert area where many have reportedly been forcibly taken by Tunisian authorities, Tripoli's interior ministry said Tuesday. The border agents "have discovered five unidentified bodies of irregular migrants of African origin during a patrol in the Dahr al-Khass area" near the Tunisian boundary, the interior ministry said in a statement. Since mid-July, Libyan border guards have rescued dozens of migrants who said Tunisian authorities had taken them to an uninhabited area near Al-Assah, 150 kilometres (93 miles) west of Tripoli and around 15 kilometres inside Libyan territory. Online videos published by border agents show migrants arriving by foot across the Tunisian border. On July 18, independent UN experts urged Tunisia to stop the "collective expulsions" of migrants, following reports that dozens had been left by Tunisian police in the desert near Libya.

France is not competing with Italy nor does it rivalry with the country when it comes to energy investment in Libya, said French ambassador in Tripoli Mostafa Mihraje. During an interview with Libyan TV channel Al-Wasat, which aired today, Mihraje pointed out that French company TotalEnergies has been present in Libya “for more than fifty years”, conducting various projects including a solar energy project in east of Misurata. He also recalled a meeting organized by Paris last June between Libyan officials and institutions in the field of energy and French companies to “get acquainted and build bridges of cooperation.”Speaking in reference to upcoming French activities in Libya, the French ambassador confirmed his team’s work to finalize a French Cultural Center in Libya, and arranging the start of issuing visas from Tripoli as soon as possible.