Roderick Bonnici has been appointed acting Building and Construction Authority CEO. Bonnici had previously been head of the Planning Authority department which is tasked with approving permit applications. He graduated with a Bachelors in Engineering and Architecture, with a Masters degree in Project Management at the University of Malta. Maltese prime minister Robert Abela has admitted that authorities that regulate the construction industry still do not have the necessary resources needed for such a task. READ ALSO: Former planning chair denounced by NGOs appointed to Building and Construction Authority

(Bloomberg) -- Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is expected to stress her government’s commitment to ending the presence of foreign fighters in Libya as she promotes her so-called “Mattei plan” for the region during a state visit to the divided African country. Most Read from BloombergMeloni will meet officials including Khalifa Haftar, the military commander who holds sway over the oil-producing nation’s east. Migration has traditionally been a hot topic in the political debate in Italy and Meloni has attempted to control the narrative on the issue. Read more: Italy Seeks to Boost Africa Ties With €5.5 Billion Funding PlanLibya’s rival administrations also have opposing views on foreign policy. Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

The Institute of Journalists has criticised “unacceptable remarks” by the Prime Minister in accusing some journalists of being part of the so called “establishment” and implying they are enemies of the state. The comments were made by Robert Abela during a press conference held on Monday hours after criminal charges were filed against former prime minister Joseph Muscat and other senior figures of the administration. During the press conference Abela came out swinging, accusing journalists hailing from certain media houses of helping the establishment. “The IGM calls on the Prime Minister to moderate his language. The IGM expressed its full support and solidarity with journalists at this moment and urges them to continue with their work without fear or favour.

Home affairs minister Byron Camilleri met with Libyan Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar on Tuesday for talks in Benghazi on security challenges in the Mediterranean. In a press statement on Tuesday, the home affairs ministry said the two sides agreed on further cooperation between Malta and East Libya, primarily on training, education, and combatting human trafficking and criminal activity. “Collaboration between Libya and neighbouring countries like Malta can benefit the citizens of Malta and Libya, and their interests in the two countries,” Camilleri said. Last year, a Maltese diplomatic delegation met with Haftar – a diplomatic first at the time. READ ALSO: Malta provided migrant boat location to Libyan militia with human trafficking ties

Steward Health Care, the American healthcare provider whose international arm had acquired Malta’s controversial hospitals’ PPP, has filed for bankruptcy in Texas. The company said it is relying on its landlord, Medical Properties Trust, to provide sufficient funding to allow its hospitals to continue to operate through bankruptcy. Steward will seek up to $300 million in financing from Medical Properties Trust, after failing to quickly close a sale of its physician group Stewardship Health. The company is asking for $75 million to start its bankruptcy case, with up to $225 million at a later date. The company started buying up Massachusetts hospitals in 2010, with hundreds of millions of dollars in backing from private equity giant Cerberus.

I prefer number two and number three,” say Moctar of a Tuareg tea service’s successive steepings. Following the album’s recording during the band’s 2023 North American tour, a military coup erupted in its home country, Niger, stranding them stateside. The band’s Funeral for Justice was recorded during their US tour after a military coup erupted in their home country, Niger. Sonically, Moctar’s music departs from Tinariwen’s hypnotic expression of assouf. We’ll share it one day, maybe we’re gonna drink tea together.” Mdou Moctar’s Funeral for Justice is out now.

BENGHAZI - At least 107 migrants including women and children have been freed from captivity in a town in southeast Libya, a security force spokesman said on Monday. Walid Alorafi, spokesman for the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Benghazi, said according to some migrants, they were held in captivity for up to seven months and "they wanted to go to Europe." "The migrants have been all handed over to (the) illegal migration agency for completion of some procedures," Alorafi added. Other footage included shots of migrants with torture marks on their bodies. Oil-rich Libya is home to 704,369 migrants from over 43 nationalities, according to data collected in 100 Libyan municipalities in mid-2023, U.N. figures show.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced today that 265 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya from 28 April to 4 May. So far in 2024, 5207 migrants have been intercepted and returned to Libya, according to IOM. IOM statistics say that 245 migrants died and 324 went missing on the Central Mediterranean Route from 1 January to 4 May, 2024.

A delegation of military officials from throughout Libya participated last week in the African Land Forces Summit (ALFS) in Zambia, according to U.S. Embassy in Libya. Sponsored by the U.S. Army Chief of Staff and co-hosted by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa and the Zambian Army, this event brought together 750 representatives from across Africa and other partner nations, the Embassy said in a statement today.

The Libya Africa Investment Portfolio (LAIP) opened its Prime Atlantic Hotel in the Gambian capital Banjul last Saturday after the completion of the first phase of its maintenance, LAIP’s Media Department informed Libya Herald. LAIP, created under the Qaddafi regime, is Libya’s sovereign investment fund specialised in investments in Africa. It owns and manages the Prime Atlantic Hotel. The opening ceremony was led by LAIP’s Chairman, Mustafa Abu Funas, the Chairman of the Union of Turkish Companies Investing in Africa, Emin Çakmak, and the Chairman of the Turkish Arsi Company, Saruhan. On the Gambian side, the opening ceremony of the hotel was attended by the Gambian Ministers of Tourism, Economy, Investment and Youth, the Mayor of Banjul Municipality, and the Chairman of the Gambian Tourism Board.

Royal Jordanian and Qatar Airways will resume flights to and from Libya this month and discussions are ongoing with Saudi Airlines to resume their flights, Transport Minister Mohamed Shahoubi confirmed. Implementing terminal at Tripoli International AirportThe meeting also discussed the timetable for implementing the passenger terminal at Tripoli International Airport, additional work for operation, and an inventory of the work carried out in the main project for implementing the airport. He directed the need to focus on completing the passenger terminal at Tripoli International Airport according to the approved schedule. After reviewing the designs and technical studies, he directed the start of contractual procedures to implement the main project to implement Tripoli International Airport, which has been stalled since. At the Tripoli International Airport construction site of the AENEAS Consortium, the Italian embassy in Tripoli reported that the ambassador ‘‘verified the encouraging progress of the works begun last February’’.

Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres and the U.N. Envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salame, durring a meeting in Tunis, Tunisia, March 30,2019. REUTERS/Zoubeir SouissiTUNIS (Reuters) - There are signs that Libya's two rival leaders may for the first time solve a key dispute over control of the army, amid efforts to overcome the country's eight-year-long conflict, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Saturday. One key obstacle has been whether Haftar can head a unified Libyan army under civilian command, which would form part of a new national government. He spoke after a meeting with officials of the Arab League, European Union and African Union ahead of an Arab leaders' summit in Tunis on Sunday.

The site of suicide attack on Libyan electoral commission is seen in Tripoli, Libya, May 2, 2018 in this still picture obtained from social media video. Since December the electoral commission has registered nearly one million new voters across Libya, though no date has been set for polls. "A suicide bomber blew up himself inside the commission and the others set a part of the building on fire." Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on Amaq, its news agency. The fire blackened the commission building, though HNEC head Emad al-Sayah said the electoral database was safe.

Japan's estimated child population shrank for the 43rd consecutive year to renew its record low, government data showed Saturday, while Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government scrambles to address the issue through "unprecedented" measures. The ratio of children to the overall population fell 0.2 percentage point to 11.3 percent, also the lowest since comparable data became available in 1950. According to U.N. data, Japan has the second lowest ratio of children among 37 nations with a population of at least 40 million, only behind South Korea with 11.2 percent. By age, 3.17 million children were in the 12 to 14 age group compared with 2.35 million in the 0 to 2 age group, indicating a continuing trend of fewer children being born. Japan's child population has fallen since 1982, having peaked in 1954 at 29.89 million, with a second baby boom observed between 1971 and 1974.

1NATO spy planes today launched a 24-hour air space surveillance over Libya, with British defence secretary Liam Fox hinting that a no-fly zone could be enforced without elimination of the North African nation's air defences. The surveillance was activated around noon today and came in the wake of Libyan air force fighters carrying out the heaviest bombing of rebel positions at Ras Lanuf in the east. As indications of a 'no fly zone' being enforced by US and NATO combine military action grew stronger, the British defence secretary said that a no-fly zone over Libya was possible without hitting at Libyan air force bases and air defence systems. This contrasted with comments by US defence secretary Robert Gates. According to Fox a no-fly zone like the one enforced over Iraq between 1991-2003, could also be imposed over Libya.