Latest Libya News

UN nuclear watchdog: 2.5 tons of uranium missing in Libya

Mar. 16, 2023 22:13 PM EDT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Some 2.5 tons of natural uranium stored in a site in war-torn Libya have gone missing, the United Nations nuclear watchdog said Thursday, raising safety and proliferation concerns. However, forces allied to a warlord battling the Libyan...

Italy's leaders, attacked on migrant tragedy, blame Russians

Mar. 14, 2023 13:26 PM EDT

ROME (AP) — On the defensive after a deadly migrant boat shipwreck near an Italian beach, Italy's right-wing government is contending that Russian mercenaries in Libya are behind an uptick in migrant arrivals in alleged retaliation for Western support for Ukraine. On Monday...

Activists: Slow response led to 30 migrant deaths off Libya

Mar. 13, 2023 11:03 AM EDT

MILAN (AP) — An activist network that supports rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea is accusing Italy of failing to offer timely assistance to a smugglers’ boat in distress, resulting in a deadly shipwreck that left at least 30 migrants missing and presumed dead in Libya’s...

Italy estimates 680K migrants might cross sea from Libya

Mar. 12, 2023 15:17 PM EDT

ROME (AP) — Intelligence reports indicate nearly 700,000 migrants are in Libya awaiting an opportunity to set out by sea toward Italy, a lawmaker from Premier Giorgia Meloni’s far-right party said Sunday, but a U.N. migration official called the number not credible. Tommaso...

MI5 lost chance to stop Grande concert attack, inquiry finds

Mar. 02, 2023 13:20 PM EST

LONDON (AP) — Britain's domestic intelligence agency didn't act swiftly enough on key information and missed a significant opportunity to prevent the suicide bombing that killed 22 people at a 2017 Ariana Grande concert in northwest England, an inquiry found Thursday. Retired judge...

UN will struggle to unify Libya with elections this year

Feb. 27, 2023 18:54 PM EST

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A new push to convince chaos-stricken Libya's rival factions to hold presidential and legislative elections this year was announced by the top United Nations diplomat in the country on Monday, but any optimism was dampened by a lack of details and continued disputes. ...

Group: 22 Syrian migrants on hunger strike in Libyan prison

Feb. 26, 2023 12:37 PM EST

CAIRO (AP) — At least 22 Syrian migrants detained for more than five months in Libya began a hunger strike Monday to demand their release, a Libyan rights group said. The group of migrants included three minors and have been held in a prison in the western town of Zawiya in...

Hundreds of protesters denounce racism in Tunisia

Feb. 25, 2023 15:26 PM EST

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Hundreds of protesters in Tunisia's capital took to the streets on Saturday to denounce racism and express solidarity towards migrants after the country's increasingly authoritarian leader claimed there’s a plot to erase his country’s identity by bringing in sub-Saharan...

UN says 73 migrants presumed dead in vessel mishap off Libya

Feb. 15, 2023 10:13 AM EST

GENEVA (AP) — An inflatable rubber boat carrying migrants wrecked off the coast of Libya and 73 people were missing and presumed dead, the U.N. migration agency said Wednesday. It was the latest tragedy involving migrants seeking better lives in Europe. The U.N. International...

Rise in Horn of Africa migration a worry, says UN official

Feb. 15, 2023 09:02 AM EST

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The numbers of women and children migrating from the Horn of Africa to Gulf countries through Yemen has significantly increased and is a cause of concern, according to the head of the International Organization for Migration. The treacherous journey from...