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Italy Pledges €400,000 for Covid-19 Response in Libya

Head of National Center for Disease Control- Libya, Badreddine al-Najjar during meeting with Deputy Ambassador to Libya Walter De Martino (National Center for Disease Control)
Head of National Center for Disease Control- Libya, Badreddine al-Najjar during meeting with Deputy Ambassador to Libya Walter De Martino (National Center for Disease Control)
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Italy Pledges €400,000 for Covid-19 Response in Libya

Head of National Center for Disease Control- Libya, Badreddine al-Najjar during meeting with Deputy Ambassador to Libya Walter De Martino (National Center for Disease Control)
Head of National Center for Disease Control- Libya, Badreddine al-Najjar during meeting with Deputy Ambassador to Libya Walter De Martino (National Center for Disease Control)

The Italian government pledged to provide Libya a financial grant to help the country combat the COVID-19 pandemic in the southern region.

Deputy Chief of Mission at the Italian Embassy in Tripoli Walter De Martino said his country allocated €400,000 to support programs to combat the coronavirus in the affected areas in Libya. This came during his visit to the National Center for Disease Control.

The official also vowed to provide an adequate shipment of medical masks as part of the aid provided by the Italian government.

Martino praised the humanitarian medical mission team at the National Center on their successful performance at the COVID-19 hospital in Rome, where they worked and trained with medics to contain the pandemic.

Badreddine al-Najjar, the head of Libya's center for disease control, discussed with De Martino the local epidemiological situation and the efforts made to contain the spread of the virus.

Najjar reported that Martino praised the center’s efforts in combating the coronavirus in cooperation with international bodies and organizations.

Meanwhile, Libya reported 801 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 34,014.

The National Center for Disease Control also announced 384 new recoveries and 13 more deaths, raising the total recoveries in Libya to 18,902. The death toll stands at 540.

Despite the campaigns organized by local and international organizations, especially in western cities, Tripoli recorded the highest number of infections with 471 cases recorded in the past twenty-four hours.

A source at the National Center told Asharq Al-Awsat that some infected persons continue to transmit the virus widely, given that they do not follow the precautionary measures recommended by the Center.

The National Center for Disease Control launched training courses for medical personnel, in cooperation with the Arab Experts, at the center’s headquarters in Gorje.

The two-days course addressed diagnosing and treating the coronavirus, as well as implementing the infection control program in medical facilities.

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Sudan’s Paramilitary Unleashes Drones on Key Targets in Port Sudan

Smoke billows after a drone strike on the port of Port Sudan on May 6, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after a drone strike on the port of Port Sudan on May 6, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Sudan’s Paramilitary Unleashes Drones on Key Targets in Port Sudan

Smoke billows after a drone strike on the port of Port Sudan on May 6, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Smoke billows after a drone strike on the port of Port Sudan on May 6, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

Sudan’s paramilitary unleashed drones on the Red Sea city of Port Sudan early Tuesday, hitting key targets there, including the airport, the port and a hotel, military officials said. The barrage was the second such attack this week on a city that had been a hub for people fleeing Sudan's two-year war.

There was no immediate word on casualties or the extent of damage. Local media reported loud sounds of explosions and fires at the port and the airport. Footage circulating online showed thick smoke rising over the area.

The attack on Port Sudan, which also serves as an interim seat for Sudan's military-allied government, underscores that after two years of fighting, the military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are still capable of threatening each other’s territory.

The RSF drones struck early in the morning, said two Sudanese military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

Abdel-Rahman al-Nour, a Port Sudan resident, said he woke up to strong explosions, and saw fires and plumes of black smoke rising over the port. Msha’ashir Ahmed, a local journalist living in Port Sudan, said fires were still burning late Tuesday morning in the southern vicinity of the maritime port.

The RSF did not release any statements on the attack. On Sunday, the paramilitary force struck Port Sudan for the first time in the war, disrupting air traffic in the city’s airport, which has been the main entry point for the county in the last two years.

A military ammunition warehouse in the Othman Daqna airbase in the city was also hit, setting off a fire that burned for two days.

When the fighting in Sudan broke out, the focus of the battles initially was the country's capital, Khartoum, which turned into a war zone. Within weeks, Port Sudan, about 800 kilometers (500 miles) to the east of Khartoum, turned into a safe haven for the displaced and those fleeing the war. Many aid missions and UN agencies moved their offices there.

The attacks on Port Sudan are also seen as retaliation after the Sudanese military earlier this month struck the Nyala airport in South Darfur, which the paramilitary RSF has turned into a base and where it gets shipments of arms, including drones.