CAIRO (AP) — Libyan authorities say an international conference seeking to reconstruct one of Libya’s coastal city’s, decimated in a fatal flood in early September, has begun. The two-day conference marks a tentative step toward the rebuilding of the city of Derna, with at total of 400 participants convening there Wednesday and in Benghazi on Thursday. The government said most of the attendees were representatives from international delegations or companies. In early September, two dilapidated dams in the mountains above Derna collapsed, sending floodwaters roaring down the Wadi Derna river and through the city center, sweeping away entire city blocks. 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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Italian engineering and construction services firm, Rosetti Marino, has been awarded a $300-million contract by oilfield services company Saipem to carry out Engineering, Procurement and Construction services for a project offshore Libya. Under the contract, Rosetti Marino will be responsible for constructing a Gas Recovery Module (GRM) weighing approximately 5,000 tonnes, modifying the existing central processing platform to accommodate the new GRM and refurbishing the staff accommodation module.

The Tripoli based Libyan Ministry of Health’s Undersecretary for Hospital Affairs, Dr. Saad Al-Din Abdel-Wakeel, held a meeting at the Ministry’s Tripoli headquarters last Thursday with the President of the Private Hospital Association in Jordan, Dr. Nael Al-Masalha. The meeting discussed cooperation and partnership between the Ministry of Health and the Jordanian Private Hospital Association in the areas of specialized medical training. The visiting consultant services programme to localize advanced therapeutic specialties domestically, and the exchange of experiences and partnerships in supporting the medical field, were also discussed. The meeting also included the Director of the Human Resources Department, Mohieddin Nuwaiji, and the Director of Al-Razi Psychiatric Hospital, Dr. Muhammad Ghawar.

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The UN Security Council’s unanimous decision yesterday to extend the mandate of the UN Mission in Libya “demonstrates the international community’s strong support for [UN Envoy] Bathily’s efforts to further an inclusive political process leading to elections and a unified government in Libya,” said US Ambassador Richard Norland. “the United States remains committed to working with the UN, international partners, and Libyan leaders toward this goal,” Norland was quoted as saying by the American embassy a day after the Security Council voted in favor of extending the UN Mission’s mandate for another year.

Muna al-Muqdam, the municipal council member, said two people were killed in the initial clashes but air strikes later targeted three positions in the town bringing the total death toll to eight. Dbeibah, whose government is backed by Turkey, has previously used drones to target rival factions in fighting in western Libya. Libya has had little peace since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted Muammar Gaddafi and it split in 2014 between rival eastern and western factions, dragging in regional powers. Eastern factions demand Dbeibah steps aside before any move towards an election seen by the United Nations as the only solution to years of conflict. The situation is under control," council member Muqdam said.

Libyan Attorney-General Al-Siddiq Al-Sour has ordered the arrest of three former senior managers at Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company (LAFICO) on charges of negligence in the management of a $90 million fund. The state prosecutor said that it is also investigating seven other LAFICO in connection to the same case. The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, counts the assets of LAFICO in its portfolio. According to LIA’s portfolio valuation overview for 2019, LAFICO manages business and real-estate assets valued at $4,466 million. LAFICO is run by Moussa Alhassan Atiq, who has been serving as the company’s general manager since 13th June 2021.

It’s finally Halloween, which means it’s time for the hosts of the Today show to continue their tradition of dressing in elaborate, coordinated costumes. Last year, the anchors drew their Halloween inspiration from the city of Las Vegas. Roker dressed as the late Sammy Davis Jr., while Kotb and Guthrie wore Cirque du Soleil–inspired unitards. Earlier this month, the union released guidelines for how striking actors could celebrate Halloween without crossing the picket line. Meanwhile we’ll be working 10 hours a day — unpaid — to get basic contract earners a fair deal.”Keep scrolling for more photos of the Today hosts’ 2023 Halloween costumes:

The National Oil Corporation (NOC), the state-owned oil company of Libya, and its Algerian counterpart Sonatrach will organize a high-level meeting next Tuesday, on November 7, in Tripoli, to discuss resuming some of the Algerian company’s projects in Libya. Sonatrach announced the meeting following a telephone conversation between its chairman Rachid Hachichi and that of NOC, Farhat Bengdara. The upcoming meeting will specifically tackle “formalizing the process of resuming the execution of the Sonatrach’s contractual obligations concerning exploration in the 065 and 96/95 Blocks located in the Ghadames basin.”According to Sonatrach, the two oil executives also agreed to “discuss ways to promote bilateral partnership and strengthen cooperative relations between the two companies.”

(Red Grandy/Stars and Stripes)Barce, Libya, February 1963: Carrying all the belongings she could save from her ruined home, a mother leads her child in search of shelter following an earthquake. Most of the ancient city of Barce was destroyed in the magnitude 5.6 earthquake on Feb. 21, 1963. Read Stars and Stripes photographer Red Grandy’s 1963 account of the aftermath here. For current news on Libya check out https://www.stripes.com/Looking for Stars and Stripes’ historic coverage? We have digitized our 1948-1999 European and Pacific editions, as well as several of our WWII editions and made them available online through https://starsandstripes.newspaperarchive.com/

Tripoli based Libyan prime minister, Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba, will open the Libya Energy and Economic Summit 2023 to be held in Tripoli from 8 to 9 November. Several heads and representatives of international oil companies, experts and specialists in the field of oil and gas, renewable energies and economics, will also participate in the event. Libya can contribute to global energy securityCommenting on the forum, the head of the Libyan Council for Oil, Gas and Renewable Energy (LCOGRE), Khaled Ben Othman, said in an exclusive statement to Libya Herald that Libya is an important producer of oil and gas, and can contribute to global energy security and its continued supply to Europe. The LCOGRE represents the private oil and gas sector in Libya. Summit underscores Libya’s important role in sectorBen Othman pointed out that this Libya Energy and Economy Summit is being organized in Tripoli for the second time, which confirms that Libya has an important role for international cooperation in energy and economic issues, as this summit brings together the entire energy sector with other areas of the economy with the aim of establishing and sustaining partnerships for energy and economic opportunities.

The Attorney General’s Office announced last Friday that, as of Friday, it has digitised 400,000 case evidence and records. The move, it explained, comes within its framework of implementing its transition strategy to a digital work model and part of its wider modernisation of the working methods of the criminal justice system. The digitisation process involved the courts of appeal in Tobruk, Gharian, Zawia, Misrata, Sebha and South Tripoli which now have access to the 400,000 digital archives. The Attorney General’s Office said this digital data will contribute to preparing accurate, classified statistics to provide an in-depth, realistic scientific reading of the data and its indicators demonstrating the state of human rights. Attorney General calls for enforcement of 8,676 old arrest warrants, including against 1,632 convicts still working for Interior Ministry (libyaherald.com)Attorney General orders pretrial detention of Health Ministry Financial Controller for contract corruption (libyaherald.com)Ministry of Health Legal Affairs official detained pending case for contract fraud (libyaherald.com)Upon Attorney General’s order, Brega stops supplying 32 petrol stations accused of fuel smuggling (libyaherald.com)Prosecutor orders fuel supply ban on 32 petrol stations accused of complicity in fuel smuggling (libyaherald.com)CBL Governor calls on Attorney General to stop continuous drain of inflated and mismanaged overseas state health costs (libyaherald.com)Attorney General evaluates first results of review into Libyan citizen’s civil status, auditing residence records and births, deaths and marriage registration (libyaherald.com)Mechanism for contentious right to free overseas education scholarship approved by Attorney General, Central Bank Governor, Ministers and others (libyaherald.com)Attorney General orders arrest of company’s representative for importing banned GM corn (libyaherald.com)Attorney General launches investigation into Derna dam failures, as aid continues to arrive by air and sea (libyaherald.com)Attorney General orders return of Illegal shipment of methyl bromide gas seized at port (libyaherald.com)Attorney General’s Office arrests 39 in Zawia area for murder, kidnapping and banditry (libyaherald.com)Attorney General takes measures to combat Zawia refinery fuel smuggling through security apparatus (libyaherald.com)

During his visit on Saturday, Josep Borrell, the EU's chief diplomat, officially presented the 105 vehicles to Ghana's armed forces. This military equipment, comprising armoured vehicles, had been confiscated from a ship destined for Libya in the previous year by an EU maritime task force. "It is imperative to understand that no single country can confront the terrorist threat on its own," Ghana's president said. According to one of the EU officials, member states collectively agreed that this approach was more favourable than destroying the vehicles. Joseph Borrell said EU investment would also target job creation and services particularly in northern Ghana where there are concerns that jihadists may attempt to exploit socio-economic discontent.

The Security Council decided today to extend until 31 October 2024 the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), as it expressed concern about the humanitarian impact of catastrophic flooding in the east of the country and urged Libyan political institutions and key stakeholders to resolve outstanding differences on the road to nationwide elections. Unanimously adopting resolution 2702 (2023) (to be issued as document S/RES/2702), the Council reiterated its support for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of UNSMIL, Abdoulaye Bathily, in his efforts to further an inclusive political process based on the Libyan Political Agreement and the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum Roadmap. Through the text, it urged the Libyan political institutions and key stakeholders to resolve outstanding politically contentious issues pertaining to elections as soon as possible. Expressing concern at the humanitarian situation, particularly after September’s flooding, the Council called on the Libyan authorities and relevant stakeholders to allow and facilitate full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to those in need. It also requested UNSMIL to facilitate confidence-building measures, dialogue and reconciliation between armed actors to prevent violence and conflict escalation through its mediation and good offices.