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.



France's Macron Will Travel to Lebanon Very Soon

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his speech to French ambassadors posted around the world, on January 6, 2025 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard / POOL / AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his speech to French ambassadors posted around the world, on January 6, 2025 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard / POOL / AFP)
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France's Macron Will Travel to Lebanon Very Soon

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his speech to French ambassadors posted around the world, on January 6, 2025 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard / POOL / AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers his speech to French ambassadors posted around the world, on January 6, 2025 at the Elysee Palace in Paris. (Photo by Aurelien Morissard / POOL / AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Lebanon very soon, the French presidency said on Thursday, after Macron spoke with Joseph Aoun, the Lebanese army chief who was elected president, to congratulate him.
The Elysee said in a statement that it would support Aoun's efforts to form a new government, underlining that it must be capable of carrying out reforms necessary for Lebanon's economic recovery and stability.
Lebanon’s parliament voted Thursday to elect Aoun, as head of state, filling a more than two-year-long presidential vacuum.
The vote came weeks after a tenuous ceasefire agreement halted a 14-month conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah and at a time when Lebanon’s leaders are seeking international assistance for reconstruction.