Libya Presidential, Parliamentary Elections to Take Place before September

Imad al-Sayeh, head of the High National Election Commission, gestures during a news conference with Ghassan Salameh, UN special representative for Libya. (Reuters)
Imad al-Sayeh, head of the High National Election Commission, gestures during a news conference with Ghassan Salameh, UN special representative for Libya. (Reuters)
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Libya Presidential, Parliamentary Elections to Take Place before September

Imad al-Sayeh, head of the High National Election Commission, gestures during a news conference with Ghassan Salameh, UN special representative for Libya. (Reuters)
Imad al-Sayeh, head of the High National Election Commission, gestures during a news conference with Ghassan Salameh, UN special representative for Libya. (Reuters)

The upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections will be held before September 30, 2018 according to the UN proposed road map, Head of Libya's Election Commission Imad al-Sayeh confirmed on Sunday.

"The voters' registration process is going well and around one million voters have already been registered as the number is increasing," he said.

"All Libyans are entitled to participate as long as they have a national number," he told Xinuha, confirming that supporters and officials of the former regime are also entitled to take part in the upcoming elections.

"So far, there is no law that determines the conditions for candidates. We are waiting for such a law to be approved," he added.

"According to the UN-proposed action plan, everyone can participate in the elections and there are no labeling or classifications," Sayeh explained, when asked about the possibility for Seif Islam Gadhafi, son of the former leader Moammar Gadhafi, to run in the elections.

For his part, Egypt’s presidential spokesman Bassam Radi called on the need to hold presidential elections in Libya this year and limit itself to these periods of transition.

Radi said in a statement that his country supports the unity of the Libyan territories, the reunification of the Libyans and the extension of security and stability in the cuontry, referring to what he described as Egypt’s great role through its support of the Libyan institutions, starting with the military.

He also stressed that Egypt has always supported the central government and the national army of any government, and it is opposed to all armed militias as it neither recognizes nor helps them.

The Egyptian position always supports citizenship, and stands against ethnic and sectarian division, Radi stressed.

Head of UN Support Mission in Libya, Ghassan Salameh, in September proposed an action plan to end the Libyan political crisis.

The plan includes amendment of the current Libyan political agreement and holding parliamentary and presidential elections.



Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The atrocities unleashed on El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region last October were a "preventable human rights catastrophe", the United Nations said Monday, warning they now risked being repeated in the neighbouring Kordofan region.

"My office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of El-Fasher for more than a year ... but our warnings were ignored," UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

He added that he was now "extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kordofan region".


Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned decisions by Israeli occupation authorities to impose fundamental changes on the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements, SPA reported.

In a statement, the Arab League said the measures include facilitating the confiscation of private Palestinian property and transferring planning and licensing authorities in the city of Hebron and the area surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque to occupation authorities.

It warned of the serious repercussions of these actions on the rights of the Palestinian people and on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The statement reaffirmed the Arab League’s firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.


UN: 53 Migrants Dead or Missing in Shipwreck Off Libya

(FILES) Migrants sit on board a RHIB (Rigid inflatable boat) after being evacuated by crew members of the “Ocean Viking” rescue ship from the oil tanker the 'Maridive 703' in the search-and-rescue zone of the international waters between Malta and Tunisia, on December 31, 2025. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
(FILES) Migrants sit on board a RHIB (Rigid inflatable boat) after being evacuated by crew members of the “Ocean Viking” rescue ship from the oil tanker the 'Maridive 703' in the search-and-rescue zone of the international waters between Malta and Tunisia, on December 31, 2025. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
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UN: 53 Migrants Dead or Missing in Shipwreck Off Libya

(FILES) Migrants sit on board a RHIB (Rigid inflatable boat) after being evacuated by crew members of the “Ocean Viking” rescue ship from the oil tanker the 'Maridive 703' in the search-and-rescue zone of the international waters between Malta and Tunisia, on December 31, 2025. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)
(FILES) Migrants sit on board a RHIB (Rigid inflatable boat) after being evacuated by crew members of the “Ocean Viking” rescue ship from the oil tanker the 'Maridive 703' in the search-and-rescue zone of the international waters between Malta and Tunisia, on December 31, 2025. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

The UN migration agency on Monday said 53 people were dead or missing after a boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan coast. Only two survivors were rescued.

The International Organization for Migration said the boat overturned north of Zuwara on Friday.

"Only two Nigerian women were rescued during a search-and-rescue operation by Libyan authorities," the IOM said in a statement, adding that one of the survivors said she lost her husband and the other said "she lost her two babies in the tragedy.”

According to AFP, the IOM said its teams provided the two survivors with emergency medical care upon disembarkation.

"According to survivor accounts, the boat -- carrying migrants and refugees of African nationalities departed from Al-Zawiya, Libya, at around 11:00 pm on February 5. Approximately six hours later, it capsized after taking on water," the agency said.

"IOM mourns the loss of life in yet another deadly incident along the Central Mediterranean route."

The Geneva-based agency said trafficking and smuggling networks were exploiting migrants along the route from north Africa to southern Europe, profiting from dangerous crossings in unseaworthy boats while exposing people to "severe abuse.”

It called for stronger international cooperation to tackle the networks, alongside safe and regular migration pathways to reduce risks and save lives.