Storm Daniel: Urgent Funding Scale-Up Needed Four Weeks After Libya DisasterMore than 80 IOM staff are responding to humanitarian needs in Libya in the wake of Storm Daniel, which claimed the lives of more than 4,300 lives people including 429 migrant workers. Photo: IOM/Libya Ahmed AbughulaIOM is appealing for additional donor support to its efforts to assist the tens of thousands of people displaced by Storm Daniel. “There are massive humanitarian needs in the areas devastated by the storm,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope. Storm Daniel caused catastrophic flooding when it struck northeast Libya on 10 September; 4,333 people are reported dead and approximately 8,540 others missing. IOM teams including 84 national and international staff are providing multi-sector assistance in close partnership with the other UN partners and the Libyan Red Crescent.

Nabil Fékir is as selfless on a football field as off it. As part of an auction organized this Friday by the French streamer AmineMaTué on Twitchin support of the victims of the recent earthquake which struck Morocco and Libya, the French international was indeed the author of a moving gesture. On his Twitter account, Fékir announced that he would donate his 2018 world champion ring, offered at the time on the initiative of Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann to the Blues. Made up of three carats of white diamond, the jewel was sold for €42,500 during the event. A sum which will be donated to the association seed in order to finance various projects in the two battered countries.

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives for his appeal trial on charges of corruption and influence peddling, at Paris courthouse, France, December 5, 2022. Sarkozy, due to go on trial in 2025 over the accusations he illegally accepted the Libyan funds, has always denied wrongdoing. In the latest investigation, Sarkozy is accused of interfering with a witness and criminal association with a view to committing fraud, a spokesperson for prosecutors said. Sarkozy had been questioned by a judge since Tuesday in a probe launched in May 2021, after French-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine gave media interviews retracting an earlier account that he had delivered Libyan funds to help Sarkozy. Sarkozy, who remains an important figure in French politics although he no longer holds any elected post, has always denied the accusations.

He said: "I've always had an incredible amount of sympathy for the family since it first happened. I would just shake them by the hand and say I am so sorry for all that happened to their family. Colin said there was first murmurs of a meeting being arranged a couple of months ago but it fell through. Looking back at that period of his life, Colin said it doesn't feel real. He added: "I've always been an outside person - and to stay locked away and separated from my only friend at the time - my dog - was tough.

At an expanded meeting on Tuesday at the Attorney General’s Office, headed by Attorney General, Sideeg Al-Sour, the mechanism, financial and organizational plan for the contentious issue of sending students abroad on a state-sponsored scholarship was approved. The meeting also approved the schedule for state overseas education scholarships, emphasizing that candidates must fulfil the conditions for sending candidates abroad are considered. The meeting discussed the outputs of the committee charged with developing a plan for organizing the movement of those sent abroad. There is no shame or attempt to hide this corrupt process by the political / military elite as the list is made public. The Attorney General is concerned about the legality and fairness of the process while the Central Bank wants to limit the annually awarded state-sponsored scholarships.

Sarkozy, due to go on trial in 2025 over the accusations he illegally accepted the Libyan funds, has always denied wrongdoing. His lawyers could not be immediately reached for comment. Ten years in prison if convictedSarkozy had been questioned by a judge since Tuesday in a probe launched in May 2021, after French-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine gave media interviews retracting an earlier account that he had delivered Libyan funds to help Sarkozy. Sarkozy, who remains an important figure in French politics although he no longer holds any elected post, has always denied the accusations.

While they are geographically close, Morocco and Libya are very different countries. Dams along the eastern port city of Derna broke and 39 million cubic yards of water flooded the area. Unlike Libya, Morocco is a relatively stable monarchy, and though its government has been criticized for its response to the Marrakesh-Safi earthquake, it is at least a functioning state. The United States is not as divided as Libya, but political polarization has rapidly increased since the early 2000s. The U.S. must also learn another bitter lesson from the crisis in Libya.

Geneva, Oct 7: Among the 42,000 survivors of last month’s catastrophic flash flooding in northeast Libya are people needing healthcare and mental healthcare, UN humanitarians said. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Thursday that survivors urgently need shelter, protection, water, sanitation and hygiene supplies, healthcare and mental healthcare. “Some 42,000 people are still displaced, according to the International Organisation for Migration.”The office said many people need cash to cover rent and to support shelter repairs. While water supplies are available, they are only sometimes safe or affordable. The office also added that while reliable funding for the humanitarian response is critical, the three-month Libya Flash Appeal, seeking more than $70 million to help flood survivors, is less than one-third funded.

Tripoli, Oct 7 (IANS) The UNHCR has said it has provided 35 tonne of humanitarian supplies for eastern Libya, which was hit by deadly floods last month.These supplies, shipped from UNHCR's stockpile in Dubai, the UAE, were unloaded at the Benina International Airport near the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, the UN agency said on Friday in a statement. It added that the shipment contains plastic sheets, blankets, solar lamps, kitchen sets, and other essentials, Xinhua news agency reported. On September 10, Mediterranean storm Daniel triggered Libya's worst floods in decades, resulting in the death of thousands of people and widespread damage to the region's infrastructure. --IANSint/khz

By Rim Taher:Nearly a month after floods hit Derna in eastern Libya, survivors are struggling to overcome the psychological toll, with many grieving the loss — or still without news — of loved ones. More than 4,000 people have been reported dead and thousands more remain missing in eastern Libya, according to authorities. “Some children refuse to drink water for fear of drowning,” he said, after meeting flood survivors in Derna. It says it is working with Libya’s health ministry to establish a mental health unit. International Medical Corps has announced agreements with Libyan authorities to provide medical follow-up and train medical personnel to provide psychological support to residents of Derna.

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy was on Friday charged as part of an investigation into possible witness tampering, adding to his long list of legal woes, including over illegal campaign financing. Former President of France Nicolas Sarkozy was placed under formal investigation Friday over funding for his 2007 election campaign. But in 2020 Takieddine suddenly retracted his incriminating statement, raising suspicions that Sarkozy may have put pressure on the witness to change his mind. Sarkozy, who ran France from 2007 to 2012, has appealed against both judgements. Should the case go to trial, it will be the third looming court date for Sarkozy.

Tripoli, Oct 7 (IANS) The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has said that it has received an official memorandum of the recently approved presidential and national assembly election laws from the Libyan House of Representatives, or Parliament. The Parliament unanimously approved the laws during a formal session on Monday. However, the Tripoli-based High Council of State rejected the new laws and decided to cancel its 6+6 representation on Wednesday. The 6+6 committee, a joint legislative committee composed of six members from the High Council of State and six members from the parliament, is tasked with legislating for the upcoming elections. Libya failed to hold general elections in December 2021 as previously scheduled due to disagreements over election laws among Libyan parties.

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A rescue ship operating off the coast of Libya saved 258 migrants in two separate operations in the early hours of Friday morning.

The United Nations Libya mission "will assess the implementability" of electoral laws issued by Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh, it said in a statement on Friday, adding it had received a copy of the laws on Thursday. The mission would work towards compromise "including on the formation of a unified government" and believes political solutions must be "consensual and implementable" to ensure a smooth electoral process, it said.