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Egypt MPs Demand Expulsion of Libya’s GNA Ambassador

A member of the GNA carries a weapon in Ain Zara, Tripoli, Libya October 14, 2019. (Reuters)
A member of the GNA carries a weapon in Ain Zara, Tripoli, Libya October 14, 2019. (Reuters)
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Egypt MPs Demand Expulsion of Libya’s GNA Ambassador

A member of the GNA carries a weapon in Ain Zara, Tripoli, Libya October 14, 2019. (Reuters)
A member of the GNA carries a weapon in Ain Zara, Tripoli, Libya October 14, 2019. (Reuters)

The United Nations on Tuesday urged Libyan authorities in the west of the country to probe allegations that forces allied with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) have detained and abused a group of Egyptian laborers.

"UNSMIL is concerned about the arrest, detention and ill-treatment of a large number of Egyptian nationals" in the city of Tarhuna, the UN mission said on Twitter.

It called on local authorities in Tripoli to "conduct a prompt investigation" into the acts which were potentially in "violation... (of) Libya's international human rights law obligations on the prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment or punishment."

A video widely circulated on social media apparently showed the Egyptian workers forced to stand on one leg with their bare feet on the sand as they raised their hands.

They were accused of allegedly supporting the Libyan National Army (LNA), reported Egyptian media.

The video drew the ire of Egyptian officials.

It "will not pass lightly and the Egyptian state does not allow assault on its citizens abroad," Egypt's immigration minister Nabila Makram was quoted as saying in local media.

The Egyptian parliament held a meeting on Tuesday to discuss a request submitted by MP Mostafa Bakri to the Foreign Ministry over “why the GNA ambassador was still in Cairo.”

The GNA is “illegitimate” and has “flagrantly” violated human rights when its militias abducted 200 Egyptian residents in Libya and went on to torture them and force them to insult the Egyptian nation and president, as well as the LNA and its commander Khalifa Haftar, he said.

“The least we can do is expel the GNA ambassador and appoint one recommended by Libyan Foreign Minister Abdul Hadi Al-Hweij, who is a member of the legitimate government that has received the vote of confidence from the legitimate Libyan parliament,” continued the MP.

Parliament Speaker Dr. Ali Abdelaal vowed that Egypt will not abandon the rights of its people and “it will determine the time and place of its response.”

On Sunday, the GNA said an investigation would be launched into the video's authenticity.

In a Tuesday statement, the Arab League "condemned the detention and mistreatment" of the Egyptian nationals.

The bloc also welcomed the GNA "interior ministry's statement on efforts to determine the Egyptian detainees' fate and to identify the perpetrators."

LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari told a private Egyptian TV channel that the workers were being held by a militia aligned with the GNA.

"We have yet to determine their exact number but those who appeared in the video are between 19-22," he said, adding that it was not clear whether others were held.

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World

UN Official to Asharq Al-Awsat: Hunger Threatening 300 Million People Around the World

Acting Executive Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP) Carl Skau. (Turky Al-Agili)
Acting Executive Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP) Carl Skau. (Turky Al-Agili)
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UN Official to Asharq Al-Awsat: Hunger Threatening 300 Million People Around the World

Acting Executive Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP) Carl Skau. (Turky Al-Agili)
Acting Executive Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP) Carl Skau. (Turky Al-Agili)

Acting Executive Director of the UN World Food Program (WFP) Carl Skau warned that severe hunger was threatening 300 million people around the world, with the figure continuing to rise.

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Skau, who is visiting Saudi Arabia, said: “The escalations and disruptions in the region have pushed up fuel costs significantly, making both our operations and the price of food globally more expensive.”

“These rising fuel costs are then reflected directly in higher food prices around the world. When the price of food goes up by 20 percent, people often eat 20 percent less. Where we work, many people are already surviving on just one meal a day to begin with, so this has an immediate and serious impact,” he explained.

“It is also becoming more expensive for us to buy and deliver food. Shipping costs have increased by around 25 percent, as we are having to use longer and more expensive routes,” he went on to say.

“These global shocks are felt the most by people already going through crises. Like Yemen, which relies heavily on imports, or Gaza, where access was already limited, infrastructure destroyed, and people are relying on what comes through the borders,” he said.

“In Sudan, this will have longer term impacts because the fertilizers they received to plant during harvest season is stuck. They will not be able to grow their own food, while we struggle to deliver aid,” he added.

“All of this is happening while we are facing a historic funding gap, which is further constraining our ability to respond. We are making impossible decisions on who to reach. We are prioritizing emergency assistance to people, but that means taking away food from the hungry to go to the starving,” Skau said.

“WFP is operating at scale across all these crises, delivering food, cash, and nutrition support to millions every month. We are keeping essential supply chains moving, supporting local food systems, and prioritizing those most at risk,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.

“However, the reality is that without urgent funding and sustained humanitarian access, we face the very real prospect of scaling back assistance at a time when needs are at their peak.”

“That is why partnerships - particularly with countries like Saudi Arabia - are absolutely critical to ensuring we can continue to deliver and prevent a further deterioration of the situation,” he stressed.

“We are very keen on strengthening this partnership. Saudi Arabia plays a critical leadership role - not only as a major donor, but as a key partner in supporting regional stability and enabling humanitarian action where it is needed most,” he said.

Sudan, Yemen, Syria, and Palestine

Asked about the food situation in Sudan, Yemen, Syria, and Palestine, he told Asharq Al-Awsat: “These are among the most severe hunger crises in the world today.”

“Having visited Gaza, Sudan, and Lebanon this year, I have seen firsthand the rapidly deteriorating situation on the ground. This level of conflict and crisis did not exist five years ago in any of these countries,” Skau noted.

“Sudan is now the largest humanitarian emergency in the world, more than 19 million people in Sudan face acute hunger, and famine has been confirmed in parts of the country, and others at risk,” he warned.

“In both Yemen and Syria, more than half the population are unable to meet their basic food needs due to conflict, economic decline, and high prices,” he revealed.

“In Gaza, it has been seven months into the ceasefire, but families remain highly vulnerable, struggling to rebuild after two years of war. Many families are only eating once a day. Food items are not affordable. It’s a very fragile situation.”

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Timmy, Germany's Humpback Whale, Likely Lived for Only 5 Days after Rescue Effort

FILED - 30 May 2026, Denmark, Anholt: Two people sit in the sand near the carcass of "Timmy," a famous humpback whale washed ashore on the Danish island of Anholt. Photo: Marcus Golejewski/dpa
FILED - 30 May 2026, Denmark, Anholt: Two people sit in the sand near the carcass of "Timmy," a famous humpback whale washed ashore on the Danish island of Anholt. Photo: Marcus Golejewski/dpa
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Timmy, Germany's Humpback Whale, Likely Lived for Only 5 Days after Rescue Effort

FILED - 30 May 2026, Denmark, Anholt: Two people sit in the sand near the carcass of "Timmy," a famous humpback whale washed ashore on the Danish island of Anholt. Photo: Marcus Golejewski/dpa
FILED - 30 May 2026, Denmark, Anholt: Two people sit in the sand near the carcass of "Timmy," a famous humpback whale washed ashore on the Danish island of Anholt. Photo: Marcus Golejewski/dpa

The humpback whale that kept Germany spellbound for months likely lived for roughly five days after the final controversial rescue attempt failed to guide it back to its natural habitat in the Atlantic Ocean, officials said Friday.

The whale, nicknamed “Timmy” and “Hope” by German media, was found dead on May 14, stranded just off the small island of Anholt in the Kattegat, the broad strait between Denmark and Sweden that connects the Baltic Sea to the North Sea.

The discovery of the body ended months of a spectacular and contentious rescue effort that culminated May 2, when the mammal was transported toward the North Sea in a barge in the final rescue attempt.

Scientists, government officials, the public and a private initiative sparred over whether it was more humane to let the weakened and sick animal die on its own or continue the rescue efforts.

Data from a tracking transmitter attached to its dorsal fin shows that the whale’s death likely occurred on May 6 or 7, according to Till Backhaus, the environment minister for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

It had swum roughly 215 kilometers (134 miles) over the five days and was heading back toward the Baltic Sea, which is the wrong direction for it to reach the Atlantic Ocean.

The data shows that the whale likely drifted aimlessly after that — or the transmitter's signal was lost, Backhaus said Friday during a news conference.

Timmy was first spotted off the German coast on March 3, prompting a media frenzy that included push alerts and updated live blogs with the status of its health.

It’s not clear why it swam into the Baltic Sea, which it wasn’t suited to, although some experts said it may have lost its way while swimming after a shoal of herring or during migration, The Associated Press reported.

An autopsy of the carcass has not yet determined the cause of death, Backhaus said, though officials were able to figure out that “Timmy” was a female whale, after months of assumptions that it was male.

The minister said no serious injuries were discovered during the autopsy, as well as no indication of violence or any items that would have caused its death.

“Did it have any nets or other foreign objects on its body, in its mouth or on its body?” Backhaus said. "Nothing was found.”

Some of the remains will be turned into biodiesel in Denmark, according to German news agency dpa. Some of the bones will go to a Danish museum.

World

Two Ebola-related Deaths Confirmed in Eastern Congo Displacement Camp

TOPSHOT - Volunteers of the Democratic Republic of Congo Red Cross wearing personal protective equipment carry the body of an Ebola virus disease victim from the morgue of the Rwampara health center, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, on June 8, 2026 before loading it into a vehicle for transfer to a cemetery as part of safe and dignified burial operations aimed at preventing the spread of the virus. (Photo by Jospin Mwisha / AFP)
TOPSHOT - Volunteers of the Democratic Republic of Congo Red Cross wearing personal protective equipment carry the body of an Ebola virus disease victim from the morgue of the Rwampara health center, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, on June 8, 2026 before loading it into a vehicle for transfer to a cemetery as part of safe and dignified burial operations aimed at preventing the spread of the virus. (Photo by Jospin Mwisha / AFP)
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Two Ebola-related Deaths Confirmed in Eastern Congo Displacement Camp

TOPSHOT - Volunteers of the Democratic Republic of Congo Red Cross wearing personal protective equipment carry the body of an Ebola virus disease victim from the morgue of the Rwampara health center, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, on June 8, 2026 before loading it into a vehicle for transfer to a cemetery as part of safe and dignified burial operations aimed at preventing the spread of the virus. (Photo by Jospin Mwisha / AFP)
TOPSHOT - Volunteers of the Democratic Republic of Congo Red Cross wearing personal protective equipment carry the body of an Ebola virus disease victim from the morgue of the Rwampara health center, Ituri Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, on June 8, 2026 before loading it into a vehicle for transfer to a cemetery as part of safe and dignified burial operations aimed at preventing the spread of the virus. (Photo by Jospin Mwisha / AFP)

Two Ebola-related deaths have been confirmed in a displacement camp in eastern ‌Congo, ‌the United Nations ‌refugee ⁠agency (UNHCR) said in ⁠a report.

The two victims were internally ⁠displaced people ‌living in the ‌Kpangba camp, ‌which ‌hosts 30,000 refugees, UNHCR said in ‌the report published on Thursday, ⁠adding that ⁠the high risks of transmission required strengthened prevention and response measures, said Reuters.