A US court in Virginia has questioned for the first time Khalifa Haftar on charges of committing war crimes in Libya, the head of the Libyan-American coalition, Issam Omeish, has confirmed. According to Omeish, Haftar was questioned via Zoom on Sunday. "Khalifa Haftar appears before the American judiciary as a US citizen on charges of violations in Benghazi and Tripoli," Omeish explains. Haftar has to refute charges of assaulting the Karshini and Suwaid families and the storming of their homes by his forces in Benghazi in 2014, actions committed also by his forces in the Ganfouda neighbourhood of Benghazi, the aggression against Tripoli in 2019, and the mass graves.

“Italy’s efforts in the disembarkation of some 400 people, the most vulnerable on-board Humanity 1 and Geo Barents, including children traveling alone and others requiring urgent medical attention, are welcomed. However, a solution is urgently needed for all remaining survivors, on all four vessels at sea,” said a statement on UNHCR’s official website. “Despite continuous advocacy efforts, the survivors, some of whom have been at sea for up to two weeks, remain stranded on board the four NGO SAR vessels. “Those stranded need to be disembarked swiftly without any further delay,” it added. “Safe disembarkation should be followed by meaningful responsibility-sharing between all concerned states through regional, cooperative arrangements so that all coastal states can discharge their search, rescue and disembarkation responsibilities.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A Libyan military commander who once lived in Virginia sat for a deposition Sunday in a U.S. lawsuit in which he is accused of orchestrating indiscriminate attacks on civilians and torturing and killing political opponents, according to an advocacy group that supports the lawsuit. Hifter, commander of the self-styled Libyan National Army, is a defendant in three separate federal lawsuits in Virginia accusing him of killings and torture in that country’s civil war. Once a lieutenant to Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, Hifter defected to the U.S. during the 1980s and spent many years living in northern Virginia. Hifter's U.S. lawyer had asked the judge to reconsider the default judgment, saying Hifter's duties as a military commander made it difficult for him to schedule a deposition. “The false charges in this lawsuit have been used by my political opponents to undermine my candidacy and disrupt the peace process,” Khalifa said in the affidavit.

Libyan Foreign Minister, Najla Mangoush, spoke on the phone today with her Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani, during which they discussed “commitment to the stabilization” of Libya and “fight combat human trafficking”, according to brief statement by the Italian Foreign Ministry via Twitter. The Libyan Foreign Ministry also reported on the bilateral call, stating that Tajani expressed “support for the efforts of the current Government of National Unity to reach the presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible.”“The two sides also discussed the file of border guards, confronting illegal immigration, the return of Italian companies to complete the construction of pending projects, including Tripoli International Airport, and the two countries’ readiness to activate joint agreements,” as per the Libyan ministry’s statement.

The First Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Fawzi Al-Nuwairi arrived at the House headquarters in Benghazi ahead of parliamentary session today. According to a brief statement from the House, Libyan lawmakers will gather to discuss “a number of laws listed in the House agenda”.

The International Criminal Court prosecutor met with the UN envoy in Libya yesterday, Anadolu has reported. The visit is intended to boost accountability for war criminals and justice for their victims. The ICC said on Twitter that Karim Khan met with Abdallah Batili on the second day of his official visit to Tripoli. "This is the first visit of a prosecutor of the ICC to Libya in 10 years," it explained. During their meeting, the ICC official expressed his thanks to Menfi and the Libyan authorities for the support they provided to facilitate his visit.

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ANKARA: Egypt has halted its rapprochement with Turkiye because of the latter’s territorial and energy policy moves in Libya, and despite Ankara’s recent crackdown on journalists in the country affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, say analysts. Jalel Harchaoui, a Libya expert with the Royal United Services Institute, thinks that the disagreement between Egypt and Turkiye has little to do with ideology. “The hydrocarbon memorandum of understanding Ankara signed with Tripoli on Oct. 3 indicates that Turkish entities need to expand their presence in eastern Libya. Yet, the experts still believe it is possible for Cairo and Ankara to find common ground. “In return, Egypt should also reciprocate in (trust-building) steps towards Turkiye by turning into a reliable regional partner,” Telci said.

Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Shahriar Alam has said that Bangladesh supports legal migration to other countries and wants to enhance cooperation with Libya in order to curb illegal migration, according to a report by Bangladeshi news website New Age. He conveyed this to newly appointed ambassador of Libya in Bangladesh Abdulmutalib Suliman during a meeting on Sunday as the Libyan ambassador his rule. He particularly sought cooperation of Libya in contract farming of Bangladesh agro-entrepreneurs in Libya by leasing land there. Alam also proposed establishment of collaboration between Bangladesh and Libya in food security area in the backdrop of the current global food crisis. The Libyan ambassador informed that Libya wants to employ Bangladeshi doctors, nurses, technicians and engineers in Libya.

By Hope O’Rukevbe EghaghaThe political landscape of Nigeria was shaken to its foundations last week of October when news about an evacuation order from home governments of citizens of America, Australia and Britain hit the airwaves. By kidnapping and collecting ransoms, it was believed that they had amassed enough wealth challenge the Nigerian State. Others countered that it was well within the right of America to warn its citizens in Nigeria if it perceived a threat to their lives. If the Nigerian government was angry with the western powers – America, Australia and Britain – for issuing the ‘embarrassing’ security advisory, the immediate announcement and the President’s visit to London to receive medical attention indicated otherwise. But the managers of security have a fundamental role to play in protection of life and property.

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Nice guy Karmenu. But Mifsud Bonnici as PM was a fiascoNo matter what the obituaries will say, as a politician Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici was a fiasco, and he presided over a tumultuous period of political violence

The phenomenon of babies stolen from hospitals in Spain, once shrouded in secrecy, is now being spoken about. According to the birth mothers, nuns who worked in maternity wards took the infants shortly after they were delivered and told the women, who were often unwed or poor, that their children were stillborn. But the babies were not dead: They had been sold, discreetly, to well-off Catholic parents, many of whom could not have families of their own. Under piles of forged papers, the adoptive families buried the secret of the crime they committed. The children who were taken were known in Spain simply as the “stolen babies.” No one knows exactly how many were kidnapped, but estimates suggest tens of thousands.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has said Bangladesh supports legal migration to other countries and wants to enhance cooperation with Libya in order to curb illegal migration. He conveyed this to newly appointed Ambassador of the State of Libya in Bangladesh Abdulmutalib S M Suliman. State Minister Alam thanked the Libyan government for their continued support to the Bangladeshi workers working in Libya. Read more: Libya seeks joint commission with Bangladesh to expand cooperationHe particularly sought cooperation of Libya in contract farming of Bangladesh agro-entrepreneurs in Libya by leasing land there. He said Bangladesh and Libya can celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations jointly by undertaking different programmes.

Migrants disembark from the Norway-flagged Geo Barents rescue ship carrying 572 migrants, in Catania's port, Sicily, southern Italy, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli)By COLLEEN BARRY and SALVATORE CAVALLIThe captain of a charity-run migrant rescue ship refused Italian orders to leave a Sicilian port Sunday after authorities refused to let 35 of the migrants on his ship disembark — part of directives by Italy's new far-right-led government targeting foreign-flagged rescue ships. On Sunday, Italy ordered the Humanity 1 to vacate the port of Catania after disembarking 144 rescued migrants, including with children, more than 100 unaccompanied minors and people with medical emergencies. Later Sunday, a second charity ship arrived in Catania, and the vetting process was being repeated with the 572 migrants aboard the Geo Barents ship operated by Doctors Without Borders. “Free all the people, free them,'' Italian lawmaker Aboubakar Soumahoro said in an emotional appeal directed at Meloni from the Humanity 1 rescue ship.