The parts included the main drone assemblies, drone control stations, and other ancillary gear. They were reportedly disguised as wind turbine parts and packed alongside replica blades. Last weekend, Italian investigators seized three more suspicious containers that had arrived at the same port on another cargo ship, the MSC Apolline. The drones have been reported as a mixture of Chinese-made Wing Loong I and Wing Loong II. According to The War Zone (TWZ), both variants have previously been reported as being used in the ongoing Libyan Civil War.

Libyan Oil Minister Mohamed Oun tells Energy Intelligence that he has temporarily stepped down from his position but aims to return in the near future, leaving Khalifa Abdulsadek as acting oil minister. “I am not resigning as oil minister,” Oun insisted, adding that it is a temporary suspension based on “my own initiative.”Oun issued a statement in late June calling on Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh to resolve the situation whereby two oil ministers are vying for legitimacy. Leadership in FluxThe oil sector’s leadership has remained in a state of flux ever since Oun was dismissed by Tripoli in late March and his deputy, Abdulsadek, was appointed as oil minister by Dbeibeh. State National Oil Corp. (NOC) is producing around 1.2 million barrels per day of oil — “an average of 1.185 million b/d,” Oun confirmed. 2 strongly denying any involvement in a deal reported by the UK’s Times newspaper to swap Libyan oil for Chinese-made drones destined for Gen. Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army.

The head of the High Council of State, Mohammed Takala, has met with the British Ambassador to Libya, Martin Longden, to discuss Libyan-British relations and the importance of strengthening them to achieve the interests of both countries. Both sides stressed importance of the United Nations sponsoring the Libyan national dialogue, which will take place between the heads of the three councils in the coming days, and which is expected to take place in the Arab League. Ambassador Longden stressed his country's continued endeavor to support the consensual democratic path in Libya.

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A still from a video shows Guardia di Finanza personnel unwrapping the fuselage of a UAV that was found in a container at the Italian port of Gioia Tauro. (Guardia di Finanza )Italy's Guardia di Finanza has confirmed reports that it found unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in containers that were destined for Libya in contravention of the United Nations arms embargo on that country. It released a statement on 2 July saying components for two military UAVs were found in six containers that were being shipped from China to Libya via the Italian Port of Gioia Tauro. It was previously reported that Italian authorities had found containers containing suspected weapons onboard MSC Arina when it arrived in Gioia Tauro on 18 June. While the Italian authorities reportedly received US intelligence about the suspected weapons shipment, the Guardia di Finanza said the containers were identified by examining suspicious shipping routes and anomalies in accompanying customs documentation.

America is going through a cultural war right now. A debate has enraged on what defines free speech and it's implications. The matter is of great dispute between the public and politicians. The recent protests in US universities over Israel's war on Gaza have surprised many and indicate a major shift in US public opinion on Middle East conflicts. How significant are these protests and does the subsequent strong reaction by US police to show America struggling to come to terms with changing public opinion towards the Palestinian cause.

The city of Zliten has been grappling with a power outage lasting over 72 hours, prompting residents to threaten escalatory actions. Ismail Al-Jousmi, the Director of the Media Office of Zliten Municipality, attributed the responsibility for the outages in eastern Zliten to the General Electricity Company of Libya (GECOL) and, by extension, the government led by Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh. Al-Jousmi further detailed that the eastern areas of Zliten, previously supplied by Misrata, are now powered by the local Zliten station. “The power outages in these areas have extended to 72 hours,” Al-Jousmi stated, noting that this severe disruption has led residents to stage protests outside the GECOL distribution office, demanding a resolution in the coming days. Al-Jousmi warned that the situation could worsen if solutions are not implemented promptly, cautioning that the public’s frustration might escalate to the point of blocking the coastal road, reflecting their growing anger over the prolonged and repeated power outages.

Commercial banks are now trading the U.S. currency at more than 47 pounds, up from about 31 pounds. In the new Cabinet, Sherif Fathy, a former civil aviation minister, replaced Ahmed Issa as Tourism and Antiquities Minister in the new government. Badr Abdelatty, who has acted as Egypt’s envoy to European countries including Germany and Belgium, has been named Foreign and Migration Minister. The ministers, their deputies, and provincial governors took the oath in a presidential palace in Cairo before el-Sissi, elected in December for a third six-year term. A year later, constitutional amendments, passed in a general referendum, added two years to el-Sissi’s second term and allowed him to run for a third, six-year term.

Sudan is already the world's worst displacement crisis with some 12 million forced to flee their homes and more than 2 million displaced across borders. The latest expansion of the U.N. response plan brings to seven the number of African countries taking in large numbers of Sudanese refugees. It projects 55,000 for Uganda which does not share a direct border with Sudan and already hosts 1.7 million refugees and asylum seekers from other crises. At least 20,000 refugees have already arrived in Libya since last year, with arrivals accelerating in recent months and many thousands more unregistered, Watson added. At least 39,000 Sudanese refugees had arrived in Uganda since the war, he said.

Geneva: The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday it is expanding its Sudan aid plan to two new countries, Libya and Uganda, after tens of thousands of refugees arrived there in recent months. UNHCR's Ewan Watson told reporters in Geneva that at least 20,000 refugees had arrived in Libya since last year, with arrivals accelerating in recent months, while at least 39,000 Sudanese refugees had arrived in Uganda.

TRIPOLI - Libya's interior minister in Tripoli said the major border crossing at Ras Ijdir with Tunisia was fully reopened on Monday three months after being shut due to armed clashes. "Two hours after this ceremony, Libyan citizens will be able to go to Tunisia," Trabulsi told journalists at the crossing. Trabulsi called on Libyans living near the western border to support regional security forces "in order to combat smuggling and illegal migration". He said Libya would open two new border crossings with Tunisia "if capabilities are provided". Besides Ras Ijdir, the two countries have a minor crossing at Wazen-Dhehiba that has remained open.

TRIPOLI, July 1 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Monday said a total of 303 illegal migrants were deported from Libya to their countries of origin in the past week. "Last week, IOM Libya facilitated two Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) charter flights, bringing 162 migrants from Benghazi to Dhaka and 141 migrants from Tripoli to Guinea Bissau and Benin," IOM Libya said via its account on social media platform X. The migrants were deported through IOM's VHR program, which facilitates the return of migrants stranded in Libya to their countries of origin. According to IOM, 226 migrants, including 32 women and 13 children, were intercepted and returned off the coast of Libya during June 23-29. So far this year, 8,980 migrants have been intercepted, while 358 died and 513 others went missing off the Libyan coast, IOM added.

"We are now securing the Libyan border from Al-Assa to Wazen. Through this region, the Libyan economy was being drained through smuggling," he added during a press conference with his Tunisian counterpart Khaled Nouri.

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Italian authorities have seized Chinese military drones intercepted at an Italian port in a bid to stop them being shipped to a Libyan warlord. Three containers packed with the weapons were impounded on June 18 by officials at Gioia Tauro port in southern Italy after they were unloaded from a cargo vessel, the MSC Arina, sailing from China, sources told The Times. Labelled as parts for wind turbines, the Wing Loong unmanned aircraft were reportedly due to be loaded on a ship bound for Benghazi in Libya and delivered to General Khalifa Haftar, the strongman running the east of the country. Two control stations were included in the shipment, which violated a UN embargo on arms shipments to Libya. The containers have been impounded by