logo
Violent Clashes Erupt in Libya After Top Official Assassinated

Violent Clashes Erupt in Libya After Top Official Assassinated

Miami Herald13-05-2025

Rival gunman exchanged fire in Libya's capital following the killing of a local militia leader in clashes which have prompted international calls for calm.
The violence followed the killing of Abdel Ghani al-Kikli, also known as "Gheniwa," who is the head of the powerful Stability Support Authority (SSA) militia.
The SSA is under the Presidential Council, which came to power in 2021 with the Government of National Unity (GNU) through a United Nations-recognized process.
The U.N. called for a de-escalation on Tuesday after heavy gunfire and explosions rocked Tripoli's southern districts on Monday evening, Al Jazeera reported.
This is a developing story and will be updated shortly.
Related Articles
Maximalism Will Doom Diplomacy With Iran | OpinionJudge Says Trump Deportations to Libya, Saudi Arabia Violate Court OrderTwo More Countries Could Take Deported U.S. Migrants: ReportItaly's Meloni Under Probe for Releasing ICC-Wanted Libyan Officer
2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Ukraine's state hydropower operator plans post-war recovery of Kakhovka hydroelectric dam
Ukraine's state hydropower operator plans post-war recovery of Kakhovka hydroelectric dam

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Ukraine's state hydropower operator plans post-war recovery of Kakhovka hydroelectric dam

Ukrhydroenergo, Ukraine's state-owned hydropower operator, is prepared to begin rebuilding the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP), destroyed by Russia, as soon as the war ends, though it is cautious about investing in projects that may not be implemented. Source: Bohdan Sukhetskyi, acting General Director of Ukrhydroenergo, as reported by Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne Quote: "We have a clear understanding of the preparatory work, including the routes for machinery, the placement of communications and the construction of a temporary dam. If feasible and in line with procedures, the company is ready to commence work." Details: He added that "we've created a 3D model of the Kakhovka reservoir and mapped its bottom and relief to the centimetre, so we know precisely how the reservoir will be filled." Sukhetskyi noted that with average inflows from the Pivdennyi Buh and Desna rivers, filling the Kakhovka reservoir to its design capacity will take over 18 months. Quote: "The company is collaborating with global firms specialising in hydroelectric power plant construction. Several partnership memoranda have been signed and partners are ready to contribute to construction and design and provide modern technologies, offer innovative solutions and even invest." Background: On the morning of 6 June 2023, Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. According to the United Nations, the damage caused amounts to US$14 billion. On 18 July 2023, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers (government) approved a resolution for an experimental project titled Construction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Complex on the Pivdennyi Buh River. It was previously reported that rebuilding the Kakhovka HPP will take at least seven years. Repairing the plant itself will require several years, with an additional 2-3 years to fill the reservoir. Further time will be needed to repair and restore canals and irrigation systems built in the 1970s and 1990s. Ukrhydroenergo estimates that the rebuilding of this complex hydroelectric facility will take at least five years. European Pravda obtained an explanatory note to the draft government decree, detailing the specific requirements for rebuilding the Kakhovka HPP. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!

Opinion - Trump is forcing US allies to cobble together a post-America world order
Opinion - Trump is forcing US allies to cobble together a post-America world order

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Opinion - Trump is forcing US allies to cobble together a post-America world order

As President Trump and his allies dismantle the global system America once championed, the rest of the world faces a choice: either brace for chaos and kiss the ring, or forge, at least temporarily, a new order that promotes democratic principles but largely excludes the U.S. while leaving the door open for a future, less-bullying America to return. This would have been unthinkable not long ago. But Trumpism's assault on two essential pillars of the postwar global consensus — multilateralism and liberal democracy — is making it necessary. These pillars helped expand prosperity, reduce war, and uplift billions. They were indispensable in facing challenges like pandemics, cyberterrorism, and climate change. Trump and his imitators seek to replace them with something cruder, based on the reasoning that America is the strongest: economic nationalism and elected autocracy, with each country fending for itself and every man for himself. Multilateralism means sovereign nations working together, within rules-based institutions, to address problems. Trump has rejected this outright. His administration undermined the World Trade Organization, the United Nations, the Paris Climate Agreement, and NATO, the very embodiment of the alliance — not to mention the World Health Organization, from which he withdrew against all logic. Though the U.S. dominates NATO militarily, it contributes just 16 percent of the common budget — about the same per capita as Germany — and does not unilaterally control the alliance. This has irked Trump, who has declared NATO 'obsolete,' lied about the U.S. share and shown disdain for its collective commitments. With respect to world trade, Trump's tariff war rests on the notion that imports are somehow inherently harmful. The Peterson Institute for International Economics estimated his tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico would cost the average U.S. household over $1,200 per year. Historically, tariffs have caused major damage. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 worsened the Great Depression by triggering retaliation. Only after World War II, with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and later the World Trade Organization, did global trade recover. Today, international trade exceeds $25 trillion annually and average tariffs are down to 2.5 percent. Trump's unilateralism has threatened all this. These global institutions are part of a bulwark against a return to nationalist chaos. They were created after World War II to prevent World War III. One should recall the maxim about forgetting the lessons of history. Trumpism also redefines democracy as a contest of popularity: You win an election, and you rule without constraint. It dismisses civil liberties, judicial independence, and press freedom. This mirrors the ideologies of Viktor Orban in Hungary, Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Turkey, Narendra Modi in India, the Law and Justice Party in Poland, and increasingly, Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel. According to Freedom House — which Trump has undercut by slashing foreign aid — 2024 marked the 19th consecutive year of democratic decline, with rights worsening in 60 countries. This worldview sees rules as weakness and ideals as naïveté. Trump's America doesn't want to lead the world — it wants to dominate or isolate from it. That's a dereliction of the American role in promoting liberty and truth. The appeal of illiberalism is no mystery. Across the world, fascist forces have weaponized wedge issues amplified by social media and simplistic populism. Immigration, for instance, is both an economic necessity and a cultural flashpoint. Progressive overreach, inequality, and instability have fed public anger. But liberal democrats have failed to explain how autocrats actually harm the very people they rally. If Trump's America walks away from its postwar responsibilities, the world should call his bluff. Done wisely, this could help Americans recognize the strategic failures of the populist right. Trump's global strategy involves supporting anti-democratic takeovers around the world. Now, core NATO countries are boosting defense spending and cooperation, anticipating that U.S. leadership can no longer be counted on. If Trump pulls out, a new alliance may emerge. But other possibilities — economic and political — are just as vital. One idea is a broad, low-tariff economic bloc of countries committed to not weaponizing trade. They could cap tariffs at 10 percent, resolve disputes through arbitration, and signal that interdependence still matters. This bloc wouldn't need to exclude non-democracies. It might include the EU, UK, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Chile — even China or India, if they play by the rules. When Trump abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership, its remaining members formed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, now covering 15 percent of global GDP. Although the U.S. alone accounts for about 10 percent of global exports and 13 percent of imports, it is not irreplaceable. A united bloc would render bilateral extortion tactics ineffective. The message: we will not be divided and conquered. Another option is an alliance of liberal democracies committed not just to trade, but to civil liberties, press freedom, and minority rights. Think of it as an expanded EU — or what America used to represent. This would exclude countries like Hungary, Turkey, India, and Israel under its current coalition — and possibly also the U.S. under Trump. The alliance could support election security, regulate social media, encourage academic exchanges, and promote joint infrastructure and cybersecurity. It would be a sanctuary for truth in an age of disinformation. It would affirm that democracy is about values, not just elections — and that those values lead to prosperity and legitimacy. This is the fight we are in. If clarity requires sidelining the U.S. for now, so be it. Dan Perry is the former Cairo-based Middle East editor and London-based Europe-Africa editor of the Associated Press, former chairman of the Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem, and the author of two books. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Trump administration imposes sanctions on four ICC judges in unprecedented move
Trump administration imposes sanctions on four ICC judges in unprecedented move

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Trump administration imposes sanctions on four ICC judges in unprecedented move

By Humeyra Pamuk, Stephanie van den Berg WASHINGTON/THE HAGUE (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on four judges at the International Criminal Court, an unprecedented retaliation over the war tribunal's issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a past decision to open a case into alleged war crimes by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Washington designated Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Luz del Carmen Ibanez Carranza of Peru, Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou of Benin and Beti Hohler of Slovenia, according to a statement from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. "As ICC judges, these four individuals have actively engaged in the ICC's illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America or our close ally, Israel. The ICC is politicized and falsely claims unfettered discretion to investigate, charge, and prosecute nationals of the United States and our allies," Rubio said. The ICC slammed the move, saying it was an attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution that provides hope and justice to millions of victims of "unimaginable atrocities." Both judges Bossa and Ibanez Carranza have been on the ICC bench since 2018. In 2020 they were involved in an appeals chamber decision that allowed the ICC prosecutor to open a formal investigation into alleged war crimes by American troops in Afghanistan. Since 2021, the court had deprioritized the investigation into American troops in Afghanistan and focused on alleged crimes committed by the Afghan government and the Taliban forces. ICC judges also issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu, former Israeli defense chief Yoav Gallant and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri last November for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict. Alapini Gansou and Hohler ruled to authorize the arrest warrant against Netanyahu and Gallant, Rubio said. The move deepens the administration's animosity toward the court. During the first Trump administration in 2020, Washington imposed sanctions on then-prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and one of her top aides over the court's work on Afghanistan. The measures also follow a January vote at the U.S. House of Representatives to punish the ICC in protest over its Netanyahu arrest warrant. The move underscored strong support among Trump's fellow Republicans for Israel's government. DIFFICULT TIME FOR ICC The measures triggered uproar among human-rights advocates. Liz Evenson, international justice director at Human Rights Watch, said the punitive measures were a "flagrant attack on the rule of law at the same time as President Trump is working to undercut it at home." Sanctions severely hamper individuals' abilities to carry out even routine financial transactions as any banks with ties to the United States, or that conduct transactions in dollars, are expected to have to comply with the restrictions. But the Treasury Department also issued general licenses, including one allowing the wind-down of any existing transactions involving those targeted on Thursday until July 8, as long as any payment to them is made to a blocked, interest-bearing account located in the U.S. The new sanctions come at a difficult time for the ICC, which is already reeling from earlier U.S. sanctions against its chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, who last month stepped aside temporarily amid a United Nations investigation into his alleged sexual misconduct. The ICC, which was established in 2002, has international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in member states or if a situation is referred by the U.N. Security Council. The United States, China, Russia and Israel are not members. It has high-profile war crimes investigations under way into the Israel-Hamas conflict and Russia's war in Ukraine as well as in Sudan, Myanmar, the Philippines, Venezuela and Afghanistan. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for President Vladimir Putin on suspicion of deporting children from Ukraine, and for Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza. Neither country is a member of the court and both deny the accusations and reject ICC jurisdiction.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store