Libya PM Vows to End Militias As Protests, Violence Rock Capital
Libya's prime minister vowed to rid the North African nation of militias as deadly clashes and anti-government protests sparked fears of a widening conflict.
Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, the United Nations-backed premier, urged Libyans to support the government's efforts for a country 'free of militias,' which have become 'more powerful than the state' and are 'dominating political, financial, economic, and even social landscape.'
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CNN
25 minutes ago
- CNN
Dozens of Palestinians killed near Gaza aid distribution point, health officials say, in third day of shooting
Palestinians on their way to receive aid from a distribution site in southern Gaza have come under fire for a third consecutive day, with nearly 30 people killed and dozens wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and Nasser hospital. The ministry said Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians as they made their way to the distribution site in Tel al-Sultan in Rafah early Tuesday. The Israeli military said its forces opened fire multiple times after identifying 'several suspects moving toward them, deviating from the designated access routes.' 'The troops carried out warning fire, and after the suspects failed to retreat, additional shots were directed near a few individual suspects who advanced toward the troops,' the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement, which also said they are looking into reports of casualties. At least 27 people were killed and dozens injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry and the director of Nasser hospital in Gaza. Footage obtained by CNN showed people arriving at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, many on stretchers. The firing occurred west of Rafah in the area surrounding the Al-Alam roundabout, according to paramedics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, near the same location as shooting incidents the last two days. Early Tuesday morning, a Facebook page which the controversial US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has used to publicize information about the opening of distribution sites said one location would be open in southern Gaza and warned residents to adhere to a designated corridor starting at 5 a.m. 'The IDF will be in the area to secure the safe passage,' the statement said. But approximately one hour later, the page said the site will be closed. CNN has reached out to the GHF for comment. CNN's Eleni Giokos speaks to the Secretary General of Medecins Sans Frontieres about the victims his team treated on the ground in Gaza following a mass casualty incident at an aid distribution site. The incident marks the third day in a row that people have been killed on their way to the GHF distribution point west of Rafah while attempting to secure food as famine conditions worsen in Gaza following an 11-week blockade by Israel. Three Palestinians were shot dead and dozens wounded as they were on their way to access aid from the site on Monday morning, Palestinian and hospital authorities said. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that Israeli forces fired warning shots approximately a kilometer from the aid distribution site and that it was looking into the details of the incident. On Sunday, dozens of Palestinians were shot dead by the Israeli military in the same area, according to Palestinian officials and eyewitnesses. Israel's military denied that its troops fired 'within or near' the aid distribution site. Palestinian officials said 31 people had been killed and scores wounded in Sunday's incident. An Israeli military source acknowledged that Israeli forces fired toward individuals about one kilometer (1093 yards) away before the aid site opened. This is a developing story and will be updated.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mother of jailed British Egyptian activist vows to continue hunger strike despite risk of death
Laila Soueif's body is becoming weaker and weaker. Doctors have warned her that - after eight months on hunger strike - she's now at risk of sudden death. But the strength of her resolve has not diminished at all. Speaking to the BBC from St Thomas' hospital in London, the 69-year-old British-Egyptian maths professor says that she "passionately" wants to live. But she told the Today programme that she was prepared to die if that was what it took to get her son Alaa Abdel Fattah - Egypt's most prominent political prisoner - out of jail in Cairo. Calling on UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his government to find a way to get Egypt to release him, she says she believes she has "no other choice" but to continue to refuse calories. Jailed activist's mother in hospital after resuming hunger strike Mother on hunger strike asks PM for help to free her son Mother of British-Egyptian political prisoner goes on hunger strike Alaa Abdel Fattah - who is also a British-Egyptian dual national - played a prominent role in pro-democracy protests in Egypt in 2011 and has been in prison almost continuously since 2014. His latest five-year sentence was imposed after he shared a Facebook post about a prisoner dying after torture. Laila Soueif went on hunger strike in September 2024 - when her son's sentence should have ended. The Egyptian authorities refused to count the more than two years he spent in pre-trial detention towards his time served. And his family fear he is being used to set an example, and will never be freed. "He finished his sentence for God's sake. It was an unfair sentence rendered by a kangaroo court," his mother says. "He should have been out of that jail on 29 September." For months, she consumed only herbal tea, black coffee and rehydration salts. Hospitalised in February, she agreed to consume 300 liquid calories a day, after the prime minister called on Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to free her son. But on 20 May, she resumed her full hunger strike, saying that no progress had been made. Laila Soueif was hospitalised last Thursday and given glucagon, a hormone used to treat severe hypoglycaemia. She's taking intravenous electrolytes. But she's currently refusing glucose treatment. And over the weekend, her glucose levels dropped so low that they couldn't be detected, according to her family. "No-one understands how she's still conscious," her daughter, Sanaa Seif, told me. "It's very scary." She says that her mother now feels like she's dying. "She's talking to us about life after she's gone. She's started to do her farewells." Last week, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention - a panel of independent human rights - said Alaa Abdel Fattah had been arrested for exercising his right to freedom of expression and called for his immediate release. But Egypt - an important ally of the UK - has not even allowed the British embassy to visit him. Appeals from his family for the UK government to do more to put pressure on Egypt have been joined by MPs from the All Party Parliamentary Group on Arbitrary Detention and Hostage Affairs and by the former British ambassador to Egypt, John Casson. While in opposition, the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, had called for Egypt to face "serious diplomatic consequences" if it did not grant the UK immediate consular access, and free Alaa Abdel Fattah. "I don't think the government is being forceful enough," Sanaa Seif says. "Alaa needs to be out of prison and out of the country. He needs to be in Brighton with his son, Khaled." She says she is inspired by her mother's strength and pleased that her hunger strike has drawn attention to the plight of the tens of thousands of political prisoners estimated to be held in Egypt - as well as the problems that British nationals face when detained abroad. "I'm really, really proud of my mum. I'm scared for her. And I'm angry at the government, especially the Foreign Office, because they've wasted so much time." The Foreign Office says it is committed to securing Alaa Abdel Fattah's release. "The foreign secretary stressed the urgency of the situation in a call with his counterpart on Sunday morning, and further engagement at the highest levels of the Egyptian government continues," a spokesperson said. Officials say the prime minister spoke to President Sisi on 22 May and again pressed for his release. Asked what her message would be if she didn't survive, Laila Soueif replied: "My message is: use my death as leverage to get Alaa out."
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Divisions persist in Bulgaria hours before the EU decides whether country should adopt euro currency
Bulgaria is close to realizing its decades-old goal of joining the euro currency union and deepening ties with the more prosperous countries of Western Europe. But the government faces a populist backlash against the shared currency on the eve of a key decision by European Union authorities. (AP Video by Valentina Petrova)
