High Turnout to Receive Vaccines in Libya

A man receives a vaccine shot in Libya. (Reuters)
A man receives a vaccine shot in Libya. (Reuters)
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High Turnout to Receive Vaccines in Libya

A man receives a vaccine shot in Libya. (Reuters)
A man receives a vaccine shot in Libya. (Reuters)

Authorities in Libya have announced a high turnout by citizens to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, just days after launching the national inoculation campaign.

Libya received 160,000 doses in April, and the prime minister received his first shot live on television.

Head of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) Bader Al-Din Al-Najjar told Reuters that as more people receive the jab, the number of deaths and severe cases would drop.

Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibeh launched the vaccination program last week, calling it a "blessed day" in the fight against COVID-19 after he received his first shot.

Libya received around 100,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik. It also received shipments from Turkey.

Health Minister Ali Al-Zanati said previously the government has so far ordered enough doses to inoculate 1.4 million of the country's more than seven million people.

The Libyan National Center for Disease Control said that more than 400,000 registered to receive the vaccine in more than 400 centers across the country.

Libya has reported more than 170,000 cases and almost 3,000 deaths.

However, UN envoys believe the figures to be higher.



UN Chief Urges Yemen's Houthis to Release Aid Workers

(FILES) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech at the opening of the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on February 24, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
(FILES) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech at the opening of the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on February 24, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
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UN Chief Urges Yemen's Houthis to Release Aid Workers

(FILES) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech at the opening of the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on February 24, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
(FILES) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a speech at the opening of the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, on February 24, 2025. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday demanded Yemen's Houthis to release dozens of aid workers, including UN staff, a year after their arrest.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who control much of the war-torn country, detained 13 UN personnel and more than 50 employees of aid groups last June, AFP reported.

"I renew my call for their immediate and unconditional release," Guterres said in a statement issued by the office of his special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg.

"The UN and its humanitarian partners should never be targeted, arrested or detained while carrying out their mandates for the benefit of the people they serve," he added.

The Houthis at the time claimed an "American-Israeli spy cell" was operating under the cover of aid groups -- an accusation firmly rejected by the UN.

Guterres also lamented the "deplorable tragedy" of the death in detention of a World Food Program staffer in February.