What was clear was that Jordan's path to become House speaker was almost certainly lost. Republicans are upset and exhausted by the infighting, the vote for House speaker once a formality in Congress having devolved into another bitter showdown for the gavel. Ahead of the morning vote, Jordan, the combative Judiciary Committee chairman, made an unusual plea for party unity. With Republicans in majority control of the House, 221-212, Jordan must pick up most of his GOP foes to win. Photos: Scenes from the US House speaker votePhotos: Rep. Jim Jordan through the years

October 18, 2023 16:10 UTC

On the sidelines of the conference the NOC will meet with delegates to foster dialogue and dealmaking in Libya – North Africa’s energy powerhouse. The summit takes place at a critical moment in Libya’s re-emergence, under the theme – A New Libya: Built on Energy. The NOC has confirmed its strong participation in the second edition of the Libya Energy & Economic Summit, cementing the event’s standing as the most impactful event in the Libyan energy calendar. The Libya Energy & Economic Summit is where Libya’s energy future takes shape. The Libya Energy & Economic Summit 2023 will be opened by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Al-Dbeibeh and will feature top level keynotes from key investors in Libya’s energy sector.

October 18, 2023 14:02 UTC

A Greek, German and British consortium has won the 2023 Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for investigating the Adriana shipwreck, which left over 600 migrants dead off Pylos in Greece. “As every year, we honour Daphne Caruana Galizia’s memory with a prize that is a powerful reminder of her fight for truth and justice. Caruana Galizia was assassinated on 16 October, 2017 by a car bomb. While the executors of the murder are convicted, the alleged mastermind – Tumas magnate Yorgen Fenech – has yet to stand trial. The Greek coastguard denied that it attempted to tow the trawler.

October 18, 2023 06:33 UTC

(Reuters)Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinian teenagers near Ramallah in the West Bank on Wednesday during widespread protests against Israel's bombing of the Gaza Strip, Palestinian officials said. Israel's bombardment of Gaza has inflamed tensions in the West Bank, the other Palestinian territory under Israeli occupation. Earlier, hundreds of Palestinians marched in West Bank cities, a day after a deadly hospital explosion in Gaza for which Israel and Palestinian militants have traded blame. Hamas said on Wednesday that an explosion at the Al-Ahli al-Arabi hospital in Gaza killed hundreds of people and blamed Israeli strikes. The West Bank borders Jerusalem which houses sites sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews and is a flashpoint for internecine violence.

October 18, 2023 06:12 UTC

Hamas says hundreds have been killed in an airstrike on Gaza City hospital, after intensifying bombardments near towns in southern Gaza rattled civilians where Israel ordered them to take refuge

October 18, 2023 04:29 UTC





Libya's electoral commission has told the United Nations it can only start a countdown to national elections after resolution of the question of forming a new government. The United Nations' Libya envoy Abdoulaye Bathily was addressing the United Nations Security Council on Monday after the speaker of Libya's eastern-based parliament issued new electoral laws in the framework of international diplomacy aimed at resolving years of conflict at the ballot box. A standoff between Libya's rival political and armed factions over the interim government has festered since early last year, leading to brief bouts of fighting. Electoral conundrumIn his opening comments on the new electoral laws, Bathily told the Security Council, "From a technical perspective the revised laws are an improvement to the previous drafts. (with newswires)Read more on RFI EnglishRead also:Anti-torture organisation says extrajudicial killings in Libya are endemicLibya's political divide widens as rival PMs vie for powerNuclear inspectors discover tonnes of uranium missing from Libya

October 18, 2023 00:36 UTC

Nordic Monitor previously reported that the agreement aims to promote cooperation between state-owned oil and gas companies for the exploitation of hydrocarbon resources in Libya. While the recent MoU did not explicitly mention the 2019 agreement, its preamble indirectly evoked the previous accord. The 2020 agreement included areas with overlapping claims by Turkey and Libya, which were initially outlined in the 2019 deal. Following a friendly handshake between President Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November 2022, a series of significant steps were taken. The absence of a reference to the controversial 2019 maritime agreement in the 2022 MoU between Turkey and Libya could potentially prevent the emergence of a new crisis among Turkey, Greece, Egypt and the European Union.

October 17, 2023 22:53 UTC

He called on Libya’s leaders to engage with the Special Representative, attend UN-convened meetings and make concessions to move forward to elections. He went on to call for domestic and international support for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Libya, including protection against human rights violations. Reconstruction efforts must be unified across eastern and western Libya — and coordinated with local, national, and international partners — to be effective. He also stressed the need to hold national elections at the earliest. He went on to call for domestic and international support for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Libya, including protection against human rights violations.

October 17, 2023 19:10 UTC

For the people of Gaza, this war is nothing new, Sanaa El-Nahhal told MaltaToday on Tuesday afternoon. Carrying a huge Palestinian flag, and a banner of children who died in the conflict, El-Nahhal chanted ‘Hurriyeh’ (the Arabic word for freedom) and sang before speakers addressed the crowd. The ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict has spanned 75 years, and the woman believes that the suffering is immeasurable. The woman called for the international community, including the people of Malta, to comprehend the depth of their pain. The woman came to Malta in 2019 to study foreign politics at the University of Malta.

October 17, 2023 17:59 UTC

WASHINGTON — Republicans rejected Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker on Tuesday on the first ballot, as holdouts denied the hard-charging ally of Donald Trump the majority needed to seize the gavel. More voting is expected as Jordan works to shore up support to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy for the job and the leader of the GOP's hard-right flank moves to take a central seat of U.S. power. But after two weeks of angry Republican infighting since McCarthy was removed by hard-liners, the House vote quickly has become a showdown for the gavel. Some 20 reluctant Republicans are refusing to give Jordan their votes, viewing the Ohio congressman as too extreme for the powerful position of House speaker, second in line to the presidency. Photos: Rep. Jim Jordan through the years

October 17, 2023 16:14 UTC

Bathily told ambassadors that despite the sense of national unity and compassion shown by ordinary Libyans, the disaster had revealed “severe governance deficits” across the divided nation. “I saw first-hand the magnitude of the disaster and heard from families about their losses, including individuals who lost all their loved ones”, said Bathily. “I saw an apocalyptic scene where large portions of the city were literally swallowed up by the water,” he shared with the Council. The UN, along with local and international partners, swiftly responded to the crisis, providing life-saving aid and leading search and rescue operations. The focus now is on early recovery and reconstruction.

October 17, 2023 16:09 UTC

A plane carrying 71,630 kilograms of humanitarian aid arrived yesterday from Belgrade, Serbia arrived at Tripoli’s Mitiga airport. The aid was sent by the Serbian government to the Tripoli Government’s Emergency and Rapid Response Team Committee in Libya. The aid consisted of medical sterilizers, water bottles, protective suits, and coats. The humanitarian aid is part of the international aid effort sent to Libya by several countries to help those affected by the Storm Daniel disaster that hit eastern Libya generally and Derna specifically. Sixteen Libyan exporting companies at today’s Libyan-Serbian Friendship Exhibition – 18 to 23 July (libyaherald.com)

October 17, 2023 14:40 UTC

The Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said last Sunday that it has dispatched 850 tons of humanitarian aid to assist flood-affected areas in Libya. In an official statement, the AFAD declared its unwavering commitment to aiding the recovery efforts for Libyans who endured the devastating consequences of the disaster that struck on Sept. 11. The agency noted that humanitarian aid shipments had been transported via air and sea routes, with the most recent consignment being loaded from Izmir's Alsancak Port. The catastrophe was triggered by floodwaters unleashed by Storm Daniel, causing extensive destruction in northeastern Libya. Türkiye's response in sending significant aid to Libya showcases its commitment to providing essential support to a nation reeling from the consequences of this natural disaster, focusing on alleviating the suffering of the affected population.

October 17, 2023 12:00 UTC

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October 17, 2023 10:42 UTC

“I saw an apocalyptic scene where large portions of the city were literally swallowed up by the water," he shared with the Council. However, he expressed concern over the clear divisions among Libya's leaders regarding the reconstruction of Derna and the affected areas. Electoral progressIn the bid to finally hold national elections towards a new unity government the UNSMIL chief noted some progress. Earlier this month, a committee of representatives from rival administrations tasked to produce laws for the upcoming elections, completed its work. The “backbone of that will be a unified government to lead Libya to elections” he said, assuring of UNSMIL’s readiness to help.

October 17, 2023 09:03 UTC