NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
NATIONAL POLITICS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
- The Libyan National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has warned of an increase in cases of Coronavirus infection during the coming period as a result of the spread of new variant of COVID-19. The Center explained in a statement that this matter may cause an increase in hospitalization cases, especially for vulnerable groups such as (the elderly – those with chronic diseases – those with low immunity, etc.).
- The National Accord Bloc of the High Council of State (HCS) announced its denunciation of the statements of US Ambassador Richard Norlad on National Independence Day. The bloc expressed – in a statement – its condemnation of “the crude statements of the American ambassador, which are outside diplomatic decorum, and which express arrogance in dealing with Libyan sovereign institutions.”
- US authorities have set a date for the trial against the man suspected of building the bomb that downed Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie in 1988. The court in Washington DC fixed a date of May 12, 2025, for the prosecution of Abu Agila Masud. He is alleged to have helped make the bomb which killed 259 passengers and crew on board the jumbo jet bound for New York from London on December 21, 1988.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
- Iraq has announced reopening its embassy in Libya, naming Ahmed al-Sahhaf as head of the Iraqi mission in Tripoli. The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that this step “comes in the context of activating the components of the government program, and under the directive of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fouad Hussein on the necessity of providing services to the Iraqi community residing in the State of Libya, and the embassy’s role in overcoming all obstacles they face.”
- US envoy to Libya, ambassador Richard Norland, has congratulated Libya on its Independence Day, noting “with regret that two years have passed since the postponement of elections scheduled for 24 December 2021.” Norland said his country “shares the disappointment of the Libyan people that key Libyan actors have not yet found a way to heed popular demands and reach a compromise to enable free and fair elections giving the entire nation the right to choose its own leaders.”
