More than 1,300 irregular migrants have reached Italy’s Lampedusa island over the past two days, local media reported on Saturday. A total of 28 boats from Libya and Tunisia, carrying 1,397 migrants, arrived in Lampedusa over the past 48 hours, according to Rai News 24. Meanwhile, it was also reported that the Agrigento Governorate is planning to evacuate some of the migrants from Lampedusa island to the mainland. As of Feb. 17, a total of 9,254 irregular migrants have arrived in Italy this year, which is more than double compared with the same period last year, according to the Interior Ministry data. Nearly 104,000 irregular migrants arrived in Italy in 2022.

Libyan leaders and foreign parties, especially Egypt and Turkey, must understand that the solution of the Libyan crisis is in their hands, said the former United Nations envoy to Libya, Stephanie Williams. The US diplomat added, during the first session of the Libyan-American Council conference held on Thursday, that “external interference is one of the characteristics of the Libyan crisis and has become part of it: some have taken advantage of the division in Libya.”“The leaders Libyans must acknowledge their responsibilities in the superficial conflicts between them,”she said, pointing out to “the need to put pressure on all parties to hold a meeting of heads of state and government to resolve the crisis.”

Algeria has renewed its rejection of the “logic of force in resolving the Libyan crisis”, condemning the persistence of foreign interference in the internal affairs of this country and “the involvement of a number of external parties in violation of the embargo on weapons”. This was the statement of Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, read by Prime Minister Ayman Benabdelrahman at the meeting of the African Union high-level committee on Libya in Addis Ababa. In the statement, the Algerian president called on foreign parties to respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Libyan decisions. “The Libyan arena has experienced a dangerous phase of political and security instability, blockage of negotiating channels and institutional division, which jeopardizes all the gains achieved in the resolution of the crisis in this neighboring and fraternal country, due to the serious repercussions on the security and stability of neighboring countries and the entire Sahel region”, said the Algerian president.

The Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, has emphasized the importance of the agreement signed between the federations of chambers of commerce in Palestine and Libya to promote trade exchange between the two countries. In a statement published on the Palestinian Presidency Facebook account on Friday, Abbas said, “the MoU supports the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and strengthens the bonds of brotherhood between the two brotherly nations.”Last Tuesday, President Abbas received a Libyan business delegation at his office in Ramallah, headed by the Chief of the General Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture, Muhammad Al-Raedh. Al-Raedh had signed a memorandum of understanding with his Palestinian counterpart, Omar Hashem, to organize an urgent visit for Palestinian entrepreneurs to Libya. They also agreed to hold economic forums and endorse the sale of the two countries’ products, besides opening joint projects in the field of industries, with a focus on the pharmaceutical area.

Kreindler & Kreindler LLP honors its founder Lee S. Kreindler on the twentieth anniversary of his passing. NEW YORK, Feb. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Kreindler & Kreindler LLP honors our esteemed founder, Lee S. Kreindler, who passed away 20 years ago today, February 18, 2003. Kreindler & Kreindler LLP honors founder Lee S. KreindlerFor over five decades, Lee was the most highly regarding aviation plaintiff’s attorney in the world. About Kreindler & Kreindler LLPKreindler is the preeminent aviation accident law firm in the world. Related Links:www.kreindler.comwww.kreindler.com/practices/aviation-accidentswww.kreindler.com/library/aviation-accident-law-bookView original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aviation-accident-law-firm-honors-founder-lee-s-kreindler-301750347.htmlSOURCE Kreindler & Kreindler LLPThe content is by PR Newswire.

Spokesman for the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Ahmed Abu Zaid, announced the release of six Egyptians detained in Libya, where an armed group demanded paying sums of money for their release, prompting their families to appeal to the Egyptian authorities to intervene. Abu Zaid tweeted on Friday, “According to information received from our embassy in Tripoli, the six Egyptians detained in Libya have been released. We are following the safe return of the Egyptians to the homeland,” without giving details on how they were released. The Libyan who was driving the car was released, and he, in turn, contacted the family of the kidnapped in Egypt. The Egyptian embassy in Tripoli communicated with the concerned Libyan authorities to intervene in order to release the citizens.

Egyptian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu-Zeid announced on Friday that six Egyptian citizens held in western Libya have been released. “According to the information received from our embassy in Tripoli, thank God, the six Egyptians have been released…. We are following their safe return to the homeland, God willing.”The Egyptian embassy in Tripoli is in contact with the concerned Libyan authorities regarding the release, the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Guterres In Africa: End Political Stalemate In Libya Now, UN Chief Urges LeadersOvercoming the current political impasse in Libya can unleash much-needed progress in tackling myriad crises there, the UN chief said on Friday at a high-level meeting of the African Union in the Ethiopian capital. Progress is sorely needed towards holding elections and advancing gains in security, national reconciliation and human rights, he said, adding that the UN continues to be committed to Libyan-owned and Libyan-led solutions. A UN human rights fact-finding probe in late January included testimony of extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, human trafficking, internal displacement, and the existence of mass burial sites. ‘No alternative to elections’In December 2021, legal disputes and other challenges forced the cancellation of historic presidential and parliamentary elections. Human rights concernsOutlining serious human rights concerns, he said migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers continue to suffer abuses with impunity.

SG/SM/21690Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, as prepared for delivery, at the African Union High-Level Committee on Libya, in Addis Ababa today:I welcome the opportunity to address this African Union High-Level Committee. Allow me at the outset to make a fundamental point in relation to the United Nations’ position on Libya. This is a priority for both the United Nations and the African Union. The United Nations continues to be committed to a Libyan-owned and Libyan-led solution. But, without agreement, the United Nations, in close collaboration with key Libyan stakeholders, the African Union and international partners should propose and pursue alternative mechanisms.

By KWIYEON HA and MARI YAMAGUCHIFormer leaders from Australia, Britain and Belgium called Friday for a tougher international approach to China to reduce the possibility of war over Taiwan and respond to human rights violations. Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison linked human rights violations in China with security in the Indo-Pacific as he spoke at an Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China conference in Tokyo. “My reason for highlighting these broader initiatives is to highlight that any attempts to address human rights violations in China will never be achieved in a region where China enjoys strategic hegemony,” Morrison said. Our governments must signal to (China) that military aggression towards Taiwan would be a strategic mistake," Truss said. China claims Taiwan as its territory and has threatened to retake it by force if necessary.

CAIRO – 17 February 2023: Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Ambassador Ahmed Abu Zaid announced that the six Egyptian citizens, who were held in Libya, have been released according to the information received from the Egyptian embassy in Tripoli. On his Twitter account, the spokesman said the Foreign Ministry is following the safe return of the six Egyptians to homeland. Earlier on Friday, Foreign Ministry said it is following closely all updates regarding, the status of six Egyptians who have been detained at an illegal migration center in western Libya that is not under the control of the Libyan authorities. The Ministry said the Egyptian Embassy in Tripoli has contacted the authorities concerned in Libya to intervene to release the six Egyptians. The statement noted that the six travelled to Libya with visas allowing them only to stay in east of the country.

Egypt’s government said Friday it was “working around the clock” to secure the release of six Egyptian Coptic Christians who were kidnapped in conflict-ravaged Libya. “The six Egyptians are detained in an illegal immigration centre in western Libya,” the foreign ministry said in a statement. They had travelled to Libya across the border from Egypt “with work permits stipulating their presence only in the east of Libya”, it added. Media outlets close to the Coptic Orthodox Church said the men had been abducted while travelling between Benghazi and Tripoli. Egypt’s foreign ministry said it had met with the families of the abducted more than once as part of its efforts to gain their release.

Cairo, Feb 17 (AP) Egypt's foreign ministry said Friday that six Christian Egyptians who were kidnapped and then illegally detained earlier this month in western Libya have been released. In western Libya, militia groups have amassed great wealth and power from kidnappings and their involvement in the country's lucrative human trafficking trade. In a statement issued earlier Friday, the Egyptian foreign ministry called on the Libyan authorities to help release the six Christian Egyptians. Migrants have reported being tortured, forcefully detained, and held for ransom by militia groups running similar facilities in western Libya. In a tweet posted Thursday, lawmaker Mostafa Bakry suggested Egypt's foreign ministry should be doing more to secure the release of the men.

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(AP Photo) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s foreign ministry said Friday that six Christian Egyptians who were kidnapped and then illegally detained earlier this month in western Libya have been released. In western Libya, militia groups have amassed great wealth and power from kidnappings and their involvement in the country’s lucrative human trafficking trade. In a statement issued earlier Friday, the Egyptian foreign ministry called on the Libyan authorities to help release the six Christian Egyptians. Migrants have reported being tortured, forcefully detained, and held for ransom by militia groups running similar facilities in western Libya. In a tweet posted Thursday, lawmaker Mostafa Bakry suggested Egypt's foreign ministry should be doing more to secure the release of the men.