Russian Delegation, Libya’s GNA Discuss Investment Opportunities

The visit aimed to review the economic and investment potential offered by the free zone and the opportunities available for cooperation and partnership. Photo: Misurata Free Zone
The visit aimed to review the economic and investment potential offered by the free zone and the opportunities available for cooperation and partnership. Photo: Misurata Free Zone
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Russian Delegation, Libya’s GNA Discuss Investment Opportunities

The visit aimed to review the economic and investment potential offered by the free zone and the opportunities available for cooperation and partnership. Photo: Misurata Free Zone
The visit aimed to review the economic and investment potential offered by the free zone and the opportunities available for cooperation and partnership. Photo: Misurata Free Zone

Libyan officials have discussed with a high-ranking Russian economic delegation mechanisms to strengthen investment and trade cooperation, as well as the reactivation of the Libyan-Russian joint committee.

Chairman of the Management Committee of the Misurata Free Zone (MFZ) in Libya Mohsen Al-Suqutri met on Monday with Russia’s Ambassador to Libya, Aydar Aganin, in the presence of Libya’s ambassador to Moscow, Emhemed Almaghrawi.

The visit aimed to review the economic and investment potential offered by the free zone and the opportunities available for cooperation and partnership.

The Russian delegation included several businessmen, as well as heads and representatives of companies and institutions active in industrial, commercial, investment, and scientific research sectors.

The Russian ambassador praised the strategic geographic location of the Misurata Free Zone, considering it an important hub connecting regional and international markets, and highlighting its attractiveness for investment in light and heavy industries and other sectors.

Both sides discussed opportunities for economic and investment cooperation and the possibility of establishing partnerships and projects that would contribute to boosting economic development and expanding areas of collaboration between the two countries.

The Minister of Transport and financial adviser to the prime minister in the Government of National Unity (GNA), Mohamed Al-Shahoubi, met with the Russian economic delegation in Tripoli.

The meeting was attended by several ministry officials, the Libyan and Russian ambassadors, as well as representatives from the ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation.

The meeting addressed several issues of mutual interest, particularly in the sectors of transportation, infrastructure, and logistics services. It also explored opportunities for economic and investment cooperation that would serve shared interests and strengthen the partnership between the two countries.

The two sides also discussed mechanisms for reviving the Libyan-Russian joint committee, in a way that would help advance cooperation and activate agreements and memoranda of understanding previously signed between Libya and Russia.

The conferees stressed the importance of continued coordination, consultation, and exchange of expertise in support of development efforts, and to enhance the transport sector and economic relations between the two states.



Israeli Strikes Kill Three People in Gaza, Medics Say

The sun sets over the ruins of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City on October 31, 2026. (AFP)
The sun sets over the ruins of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City on October 31, 2026. (AFP)
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Israeli Strikes Kill Three People in Gaza, Medics Say

The sun sets over the ruins of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City on October 31, 2026. (AFP)
The sun sets over the ruins of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City on October 31, 2026. (AFP)

Israeli strikes ‌killed at least three Palestinians and wounded several others in the Gaza Strip on Monday, the territory's health officials said.

Medics said two people were killed and six others wounded in two separate airstrikes in Khan Younis, south of the enclave, while a third person was killed in an Israeli airstrike in the town of Al-Mussadar.

The Israeli military didn't immediately ‌comment on ‌any of the attacks.

Israel, which says ‌the ⁠Hamas group ⁠has been rearming and launching attacks in violation of a year-old ceasefire, has stepped up strikes on the group in recent weeks.

Hamas has denied trying to carry out attacks or rebuild its arsenal and accuses Israel of ⁠undermining the Gaza peace deal.

Last year's ‌US-brokered ceasefire calls ‌for eventual reconstruction of the territory. But little progress ‌has been made as negotiators have failed ‌to agree on terms for Hamas to disarm or Israel to withdraw its troops, who control about two-thirds of the territory where they have ordered ‌residents out.

Nearly all of the more than 2 million residents live in ⁠the remaining ⁠third of the enclave among war ruins, mostly in makeshift tents and damaged buildings, still under effective control of Hamas.

At least 1,580 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since the ceasefire, according to the territory's health officials, while Israel says four soldiers have been killed.

Palestinian authorities say more than 74,000 people have been killed in Israel's assault on Gaza, launched after Hamas-led fighters killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7, 2023.


Syrian Intelligence Thwarts Terrorist Plot Targeting Homs Refinery

A view of the Homs refinery. (SANA)
A view of the Homs refinery. (SANA)
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Syrian Intelligence Thwarts Terrorist Plot Targeting Homs Refinery

A view of the Homs refinery. (SANA)
A view of the Homs refinery. (SANA)

A source in Syria’s intelligence revealed to SANA on Sunday that a terrorist plot targeting the Homs refinery in central Syria has been thwarted.

The Homs refinery, along with the Baniyas refinery, plays a crucial role in securing petroleum derivatives for the domestic market. Last October, atmospheric distillation unit "10" was rehabilitated and maintained, with a design capacity of one million tons of crude oil annually. This boosts the refinery's capacity to produce petroleum derivatives and supports the availability of diesel, fuel oil, and kerosene in the local market.

Authorities did not reveal who was behind the plot.

The current refinery comprises four production units based on atmospheric distillation, alongside a naphtha upgrading project to produce high-octane gasoline that meets domestic market needs.

Some units are currently operational, while maintenance and commissioning work are being finalized on two other units in preparation for launch. This will bring the refinery's operational capacity to approximately 60,000 to 70,000 barrels per day of petroleum derivatives.

Established in 1959, the Homs Refinery General Company is one of the oldest oil facilities in Syria, though its efficiency has declined over time. Yousef Qablawi, CEO of the Syrian Petroleum Company, said last year that the company is currently working on constructing a new refinery 51 kilometers away from the city of Homs.


Syria Arrests Two ISIS Militants Involved in Assassinations

A member of the security forces walks through a checkpoint operated by Syria's Interior Ministry on the outskirts of Sawara Sughra, in the northern countryside of Sweida, Syria, September 15, 2026. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
A member of the security forces walks through a checkpoint operated by Syria's Interior Ministry on the outskirts of Sawara Sughra, in the northern countryside of Sweida, Syria, September 15, 2026. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
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Syria Arrests Two ISIS Militants Involved in Assassinations

A member of the security forces walks through a checkpoint operated by Syria's Interior Ministry on the outskirts of Sawara Sughra, in the northern countryside of Sweida, Syria, September 15, 2026. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
A member of the security forces walks through a checkpoint operated by Syria's Interior Ministry on the outskirts of Sawara Sughra, in the northern countryside of Sweida, Syria, September 15, 2026. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

Syrian authorities said on Sunday they arrested two ISIS members in the east of the country, blaming them for targeted killings including that of a defense ministry official.

In a statement, the internal security forces announced the arrest of "two individuals following close intelligence surveillance" in Deir Ezzor.

They are accused of "carrying out a series of assassinations in the governorate, the latest of which was targeting Ministry of Defense member Ibrahim al-Jassem" in the city of Mayadin.

Syrian authorities blamed the group for a bombing in Damascus while French President Emmanuel Macron was visiting the country in July, and said they had dismantled the cell responsible.

According to a report presented to the United Nations Security Council that same month, the group counts some 3,000 combatants in Syria.