The weekly newsletter from 16th to 22th of april 2021
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Egypt
The Egyptian senate reject the government’s amendment to the Education Act, and Parliament breaches the priority of the groups in getting the vaccine
Representative Nabil Daabs, Chairman of the Senate Education Research, Research and Communications Committee, announced that the committee rejected a bill submitted by the government to amend some provisions of the Education act promulgated by Law No. 129-1981.
the president of the parliament, Hanafi Jabali, stated that the doses of the COVID-19 vaccine received by parliament members were at their own expense.
Adding that this is not considered discrimination, but rather a necessity for members to be able to perform their monitoring tasks that require daily mixing with large numbers of citizens. The campaign to vaccinate MPs and their families began last week, and the representative of the Plan and Budget Committee, Yasser Omar, revealed to Mada Masr that the General Secretariat of Deputies will deduct the value of the vaccine from the monthly bonus of deputies, which will be directed to the state treasury. In light of the limited vaccine shots that have reached Egypt so far, that are estimated at 1.55 million doses, about 40 million vaccine doses are awaiting arrival of the remaining contracted shipments. The government has identified the priority groups for getting the vaccine which are medical personnel that are on the front lines, followed by the elderly and those suffering from Chronic diseases, in line with global standards. Therefore, MPs weren’t among the prioritized categories.
The Minister of Health, Hala Zayed, announced last January that obtaining the vaccine will be at a nominal cost, which will amount to a maximum of 100 pounds per dose, adding that those who are unable will receive the vaccine for free, and according to the Ministry of Health, the total number of those who registered on the website to obtain the vaccine reached 1.2 million citizens, according to the minister’s statement, a week ago, while the number of vaccinated persons reached 240,000, and there are currently 339 vaccination centres.
The executive branch contributes to bettering the situation of disabled persons and dismisses the head of the National Railways Authority after the Toukh train accident
The National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority has directed mobile companies to provide free use of a set of mobile apps for people with disabilities by the commencement of the holy month of Ramadan. This approach comes in a way that ensures easy access for users that are disabled to telecommunications and the Internet, as they are an integral part of the fabric of Egyptian society.
The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority initiative aims to provide free use of a set of applications for users with visual and auditory disabilities that help them facilitate various matters of their lives, so that their consumption is not deducted from the contracted Internet packages for various mobile companies, and in this context the device directed all companies Communications to provide more applications and services for users with disabilities.
The Egyptian Ministry of Transport announced the dismissal of the head of the National Railways Authority, Ashraf Raslan, from his post, and his appointment as an advisor to the minister for railway affairs, due to the “Toukh” train collision, which occurred two days ago in Egypt and killed 11 people and injured 98 others, according to the official statement of the Ministry of health.
The Public Prosecutor ordered the arrest and summoning of the Director of the Railways Engineering Department to the sport of the accident, and the engineer of Abu Ghatiss railways, because some of them mistakenly caused the death of the victims, and that was due to their negligence and their lack of observance of the laws, decisions, regulations and systems. Unintentionally causing an accident and putting passengers in danger, resulting in the death and injury to some of them. In addition to neglecting, some of the accused in the maintenance and misuse of public funds and interfering with its maintenance and use in their jurisdiction in a manner that disrupts its use and endangers its safety and the safety of persons, which resulted in the occurrence of an accident, the death and injury of more than one person, and the committing of others crimes of fraud of official documents, its use and participating in them. The Public Prosecutor also ordered summoning the head of the National Authority for Egyptian Railways to hear his statements before the operations room formed at the Technical Office of the Attorney General, and in light of the decision issued to transfer him to another position, he ordered to summon him and summon the person who currently occupies this position to question them before the operations room. Investigations are in the process of being completed.
The Ministry of Interior emphasizes the methodology and revenge tendency in dealing with terrorist groups
The Egyptian Ministry of Interior announced, on Monday, that 3 terrorists have been killed and 3 others were pursued, as part of a cell involved in the killing of a Coptic citizen named Nabil Habashi, and the targeting of Copts in North Sinai.
The Egyptian Interior said in a statement that information was available to National Security about the presence of a group of terrorists involved in the killing of the citizen Nabil Habashi in the El-Abtal area in North Sinai, and that they undertook the preparation and planning to carry out a number of hostile operations targeting Coptic citizens, their properties, their religious places, and through setting the armed forces and the police. The statement added that : “As a result of immediate dealing with this information about the detection of the movement of 3 of that very dangerous cell in that area, the siege could be tightened on them, and as soon as they sensed that, they fired intensively towards the forces, and by dealing with them, they were killed and an explosive belt that was worn by one of them exploded and 3 automatic weapons were found also an explosive belt, a grenade, and an amount of automatic bullets.
After the investigation finally yielded conclusive evidence, the Public Prosecution office refers Doctor Michael Fahmy to the criminal court
The Public Prosecution ordered the referral of Dr. Michael Fahmy and his wife to the Criminal Court to punish them as the former is being sued for the kidnapping of six girls (children) by means of diversion, by exploiting their young age and luring them to his residence and his private clinic, and violating him by forcefully convincing them of their need for special treatment and examination through which he could complete His crime.
His wife participated with him through agreeing and assisting in the committing of crimes that she partnered with him by her presence during his meeting with some of the victims and their families to reassure them about the accused doctor and methods of treatment, thus enabling him to be alone with them and commit his crimes. The Public Prosecution had established evidence against the accused and his wife through the testimonies of 12 witnesses. What the accused acknowledged in the investigations, and what was proven by the Public Prosecution in inspecting the defendant’s residence that his descriptions correspond to what was provided by the victims and one of the witnesses in the investigations, and what the Public Prosecution found during the search of the residence from written letters by the victims, and CDs containing sex clips Of the crimes committed by the accused, to what has been proven from examining the accused’s computers and phones, conversations, audio and video recordings, and pictures, and what has been proven from the National Library and Archives’s testimony that the accused wrote a pamphlet that included the characteristics he claimed in front of the victims contrary to the truth, and the proven testimony The Medical Syndicate and the Free Treatment Administration of not to register the accused with any academic degree or private medical facility, and not inferring an authorized clinic.
MICHEAL FAHMY
— farouhita🏳️ (@farouhitaaa) September 29, 2020
HIS NAME IS MICHEAL FAHMY
He shall not remain anonymous spread this around!!!#m_f_sexual_abuser#المتحرش_م_ف pic.twitter.com/VuTrcp6cHy
Giulio Regeni’s file and human rights, an Italian and European pressure accompanied by little loosening and a lot of bridging in Cairo
- A day after the release of the journalist and the former head of the Constitution Party Khaled Daoud, the high State Security Prosecution released, at a late hour, the two journalists, Sulafa Majdi and Hussam Al-Sayyad, 17 months after they were arrested together. A police force arrested the two spouses, accompanied by the journalist Muhammad Salah on November 26, 2019, before leaving a cafe in the Dokki neighborhood. While Solafa complained more than once, during her detention, about physical assaults, psychological harm, threats and pressures.
- The Italian Senate voted to approve a proposal submitted by two council members regarding the exceptional granting of Italian citizenship to Patrick George Zaki, a researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and a graduate student at the University of Bologna in Italy, and a political prisoner detained in Egypt since February 2020 without evidence or trial.
The decision came after more than 200,000 Italians signed a petition that began in February of this year, marking the one-year anniversary of Patrick’s detention, demanding that he be granted Italian citizenship and support so that he can obtain his freedom. In addition, 208 members of the Senate voted in favour of the resolution out of 241 present members , none of whom voted against the resolution. According to the resolution, the Senate called on the Italian government: to conduct the necessary discussions to grant Patrick Italian citizenship, to continue to demand his immediate release and to follow up on the development of his case hearings as well as the conditions of his detention, to take the necessary steps at the European level to protect human rights in countries where human rights violations continue, and for the government to take The initiative in the context of the Group of Seven major countries to focus on cases of repression of political activists and human rights defenders.
In the same context, and since Patrick’s detention in the beginning of 2020, more than 50 different Italian cities have announced the granting of honorary citizenship of the city to Patrick to show their appreciation for him as a human rights defender and to demand his immediate release in a campaign called 100 Cities with Patrick launched by a group of activists to defend human rights in Italy.
- The Italian Public Prosecutor intends to present the testimony of three new witnesses in the case of the murder of the Italian PhD student, Giulio Regeni, in Cairo five years ago, at the preliminary hearing before the court scheduled to take place on April 29th. One of these witnesses, whose name has not been revealed for security reasons provided information to an Italian diplomat in Cairo, in which he said that he was a friend of the head of the Street Vendors Syndicate, Muhammad Abdullah, who informed about Regeni, according to the statement of the Egyptian Attorney General and that he had information confirming that the Egyptian security services planned, upon his death, to hold a gang of armed robbery accountable for his death.
- Ahmed Abu Al-Ela, the lawyer for Dr. Abdel Moneim Abul-Fotouh, head of the Strong Egypt Party, said that he submitted a request to the Attorney General to enable his client to obtain an anti-Coronavirus vaccine, and that the request is under examination at the Attorney General's technical office at the present time, and that the Abu al-Fotouh family has registered for him to obtain the vaccine via the Egyptian Ministry of Health’s website. Aboul Fotouh's lawyer demanded either to allow him to go to the hospital to take the vaccine or to authorize the Mabaret Maadi Hospital unit to move to the prison and administer the vaccine there.
- Press and family sources reported that Egyptian political activist and journalist Hassan Al-Banna Mubarak arrived at his home, after spending more than 24 hours detained at Cairo airport since his deportation from Jordan.
The released political activist and journalist, Hassan Al-Banna, disappeared upon his arrival at Cairo International Airport since his deportation from Jordan to Egypt, although it does not take an hour by plane. A country that accepts entry to Egyptians without a prior visa, yet the security authorities in Jordan did not accept his entry, and refused any compromise solutions that would be in the interest of his voyage to another country and later on deported and delivered him on Sunday 18th of April to Cairo.
The President of the Journalists’ Syndicate refers the violations memorandum of the midterm elections of the Syndicate Council to Public Prosecution
- Yesterday, the head of the Journalists Syndicate, Dhia Rashwan, referred a memorandum submitted by members of the Syndicate Council, Hisham Yunus and Mahmoud Kamel, regarding nine violations that tainted the midterm elections procedures which resulted in Rashwan and six other members winning seats of the president and members, to the Public Prosecution.
The referral, was considered by Youness as nothing but the absence of dialogue within the Council of Journalists, stressing that the Public Prosecution is not competent to adjudicate the administrative irregularities that tainted the elections, but rather the Administrative Court, which is already considering four lawsuits against the results and procedures of the elections at the present time.
On the other hand, the Syndicate’s lawyer, Sayed Abu Zeid, defended the president’s behaviour, saying that referring the memorandum that involves doubts and accusations affecting the integrity of the elections to the Public Prosecution is a matter that supports transparency, stressing that the Public Prosecution is scheduled to refer the memorandum to the Qasr al-Nil Prosecutor so that the latter can do its job in summoning the submitters of the memorandum and the heads of the committee supervising the elections and the judicial committee supervising the elections, to ask them to assess the seriousness of the accusations and complaints mentioned therein.
Will the vaccine stop the doctors’ martyrs-count in Egypt?
- The Doctors Syndicate addressed the Ministry of Health to expedite the completion of vaccination of medical teams as soon as possible and to stress the provision of necessary protection for them in health facilities due to the increase in the number of injured and martyrs of doctors in the recent period. According to the letter sent by the Syndicate today, the number of doctors that are victims of the Coronavirus reached 50 during the past two weeks.
Tunisia
The economic situation is risky and the Constitutional Court crisis is stuck
The parliament held 4 plenary sessions this week, two of them were allocated to consider Bills of a financial nature. Additionally, the issue of the Constitutional Court continues to be brought before the parliament during this week, as the Assembly of the Representatives of the People held a plenary session to consider the amending of the Constitutional Court law after its remanding by the President of the Republic. In accordance with the provisions of Article 81 of the Constitution, and according to this session, the implementation of the exceptional procedures was approved and the consideration of revising the Constitutional Court’s Law was postponed until after the lifting of the exceptional measures.
Al-Nahdha continues to support Al-Mechichi
The Ennahda Movement’s spokesperson, Fathi Ayadi, said that the Nahdha Movement, despite what was said about the dangerous epidemiological situation, its executive office and its committees recommended the need to search for solutions to the political crisis in the country among which we can find the activation of contacting political parties in order to build a common solution with all parties based on a dialogue around the possibility of expanding of the parliamentary and governmental belt of the Mechichi government.
The President of the Republic calls for looking into the economic situation and pushing for the independence of the judiciary while a war is waged against it
The President of the Republic Kais Saiid received the Governor of the Central Bank, who submitted to him a report on the financial statements for the year 2020 and the auditors ’report.
He also received Chairman of the high Judicial Council Youssef Bouzakher, who presented him with the second annual report 2018/2019 of the Supreme Judicial Council, and on the occasion, the President renewed his full support for the independence of the judiciary, and stressed that the independent judiciary is one of the pillars of the rule of law and a fundamental pillar in the fight against corruption in all fields. During this meeting, Saiid criticized the slow issuance of judicial decisions, calling for shortening deadlines whenever the law permits that.
- The Presidency of the Republic of Tunisia
- Qais Saeed performs a `` constitutional lesson '' on the Day of the Internal Security Forces ... (Video)
- Qais Saeed: The disappearance of files and supporters in Agabir Courts # InfosMosaïque
- Mechishi comments on Saeed’s statements: There is no need for individual and abnormal readings
- Ben Mubarak: The speeches of the President of the Republic are a prelude to the attack on the rule of law
- Chebbi: The President of the Republic is leading a coup d'etat, live
- Al-Maghzawi: Saeed's statements blocked major security appointments
- Nour Al-Din Al-Buhairi
The power struggle continues between the President of the Republic and the chief of government: The recent statements of the President raise concerns and controversy
The President supervised the celebration of the Internal Security Forces Day. Although this occasion is a usual presidential protocol, the president chose to include in his speech ,as usual, coded messages and send them directly to the chief of government and the president of the Assembly of the Representatives of the People who were present during this occasion. He gave a full constitutional law lesson in which he resorted both to the new constitution and the old constitutions and laws from the 1959 constitution and Law No. 70 of 1982 related to controlling the General organic Law of the Internal Security Forces, through which he tried to attribute the Ministry of Interior to himself and convince that he is responsible for it and that he is the supreme commander of the military security forces Civil and military. This was considered by the chief of government and other political parties such as the Ennahdha as a movement to seize the power of other officials and a clear violation of the constitution.
Posterior to these statements, comments came and oscillated between supporters and opponents. Among the most important of these is the comment of Hichem Mechichi, the chief of government , , who considered these statements to include peculiar and individualistic readings as well outside the context of the celebration of this occasion. In the same vein, the professor of constitutional law and political activist Jawhar bin Mbarek considered that the speech of the President is irreverent towards the constitution and legislation and a gate to prey on the state of law. Politician Ahmed Najib Chebbi considered in a Facebook post that the President, is leading LIVE soft coup which first episode resides into the disruption of the formation of the government then into obstructing the establishing of the constitutional court and lastly into announcing the presidency as per internal security forces during its 65th anniversary ceremony.
While the Secretary-General of the People’s Movement, Zouhaier Maghzeoui, stressed that the President of the Republic did not brand a weapon in their faces but rather a constitution, considering that their fear of these statements stemmed from the fact that they blocked the way to major changes in the security institution including a security agent who is resident in France called Lazhar Longo, about whom there are great suspicions of corruption. Maghzeoui said that the push towards appointing Longo as the head of the information services is frightening, and its aim is to control the Tunisian intelligence, but the President’s statement blocked the road and confused them.
As for Ennahdha movement, it denounced what was stated in the president’s speech and considered it a violation of the constitution, and reproached the president for relying on cancelled documents and the inclusion of the security administration in political conflicts.
Who is behind Kais Saiid ?! Between the illusions of the Khiari-leaks and the lacking facts!
The attack on the president of the republic was not limited to these comments, as the matter came to the point of indicting him, as MP Rached Khiari accused the head of the campaign of the President of receiving 5 million USD from the USA, and also alleged that Kais Saiid met a security official at the American embassy in Paris. In sum, Rached khiari wanted to conclude that the president won the presidency with American support and that after that he betrayed them and aligned with the French. Besides, he claimed that he had all the documents to support these allegations. Indeed, the military judiciary has opened an investigation into these accusations.
Government action focused on advancing the economic situation and developing the regions
The Cabinet meeting was held at the Government Palace in the Kasbah via remote communication technology, under the supervision of the chief of government, to consider a number of bills and governmental decrees. After deliberation and discussion, the Council approved bills of laws related to the approval of guarantee agreements, loans and cooperation in the fields of water, electricity, natural gas, raw materials (feedstock), and maritime cooperation with various international and regional agencies and bodies, as well as draft governmental decrees related to controlling, revising and ratifying real-estate and infrastructure projects. One of the most important projects was the government decree related to the nomination of members of the National Council for Social Dialogue.
On the other hand, the chief of government presided, at the Government Palace in the Kasbah, the signing of a settlement agreement of sports associations’ debts under the paradigm of social security systems. The latter agreement was signed by the Minister of Social Affairs and the deputy Minister of Youth, Sports and Professional Integration as well as by the general director of the CNSS (the national treasury for social security in Tunisia).
On the other hand, the chief of government who is in charge of managing the affairs of the Ministry of the Interior too, visited the state of Kasserine accompanied by the Director General of National Security and the Director General of the National Guard. He commenced his visit by putting a bouquet of flowers over the grave of the martyr “ Najib alah Cherni” and later on went to the land borders centre in Foum Al Dhfa that is affiliated to the Land Border Division of the National Guard in Tala. He also monitored the progress of the work of the Land Border Unit headquarters in Kasserine.
On the occasion of this visit, he supervised at the governorate a session in which he gathered with MPs at the Assembly of the Representatives of the People, and a number of representatives of national organizations and civil society, in the presence of the governor of Kasserine, and the representatives of Kasserine governorate in the Assembly of the People’s Representatives and representatives of national organizations presented during the session a group of concerns of the people of Kasserine and a set of projects especially those with high priority including the hospital village project in Boulaaba, the project of the Training Centre in Al Chaanbi, and the free exchange area of Talabet, in addition to addressing problems in the National Company for Allied Dough and Paper, equipping the regional hospital in Kasserine, and stimulating the works of the regional hospital in Sbeitla.
During this visit, Mechichi stressed that development has been delayed for the state of Kasserine, so the government is working on activating previous decisions and pushing development projects in the region, and he also expressed his intention to prepare a ministerial council that concerns the concerns of the state of Kasserine in the coming period.
Multiple violations in different fields
Terrorism cases are emerging this week, with the martyrdom of a young man in Mghila mountains, as a result of a terrorist mine explosion.
On the other hand, the management of Radio Tunis International (RTCI) announced the suspension of the journalist Anis Morai from work until further notice, due to what happened during the radio session “Dans le vif du sujet”, where the journalist deliberately dealt in an abusive manner with his guest, Dr. Samar Samoud, which resulted into expelling her from the studio indirectly. The radio administration apologized to Dr. Samar Samoud and all the doctors, indicating that it would take the incident seriously, which led to great dissatisfaction among many social media users in Tunisia.
The enforcing of the domestic work law is delayed in light of the continuing injuries among female peasant workers who are transported in a humiliating manner and not in line with human dignity. On the morning of Friday April 16, 2021, a traffic accident occurred at the level of the road linking Bizerte and Sejnen, specifically in the Tskaria region, representing a coup A truck with workers on board, causing the injury of 30 workers, who were transferred to hospitals in Bizerte, Mater and Manzel Bourguiba, 3 of them were seriously injured.
In another context, the Tunisian Engineers Syndicate denounced exerting pressure on engineers working in the public sector, and the union confirmed that work officials are behind these pressures in order to compel them to resume work.
Posterior to the issuance of a memorandum by the Ministry of Health prohibiting doctors from providing medical data and broadcasting it through the media, and the adoption of financial and administrative penalties for anyone who does so, the Tunisian Organization of Young Doctors affirmed the right of all doctors to express their views, whether in the media or through social media freely, within the framework of the responsibility imposed on them by the ethics of the profession only without the need for any authorization from any party. The Tunisian Organization of Young Doctors said that if the Ministry of Health has the right to determine who speaks in its name, then it has no right to silence doctors and threaten them from the consequences. In other words, dealing with the media, as stated in the memorandum, which she described as “badly mentioned”, issued by the Minister of Health on April 16, according to the statement
In a follow-up to corruption cases this week, the misdemeanour division ruled that the President of the Heart of Tunisia, Nabil Karoui, be fined for the amount of 19,335,000 dinars. This case relates to the failure to return export crops abroad. In another context, the criminal division that as jurisdiction over financial corruption cases in the Court of First Instance in Tunisia in absentia has imprisoned for a period of 6 years with urgent enforcement against Leila Trabelsi and her daughter Nesrine Ben Ali, in a case related to suspicion of Financial corruption.
Protests by the agents of “Wat” and the Technical Agency for Land Transport
Tunisia Africa News Agency is still experiencing tension due to the appointment of Mr. Kamal Ben Younes as its director general and assuming his duties by force, an appointment that it considered a political appointment and a categorical rejection of it. The union called for his removal from this position amid confrontations between agency workers and the security forces, and after the government announced the resignation of Kamal Ben Younes from the plan of the state representative on the board of directors of the Tunis Africa News Agency, both the branch of the National syndicate of Tunisian Journalists and the main union of the agents of the Tunis Africa News Agency decided upon the sit-in that began on April 6, 2021 was lifted. The strike scheduled for April 22nd was suspended, and the union structures demanded the chief of government in charge of managing the Ministry of the Interior to apologize on behalf of the security forces for storming into agency’s headquarters and attacking journalists and employees and stopping all judicial proceedings against journalists and agents of the agency for malicious complaints against their right to freedom of expression. For the agents of the Technical Agency for Land Transport, they continued their open strike, which is still on-going since April 8th , to demand the implementation of the agreements concluded with the administration.
Health situation: Entering a dark tunnel requires changing procedures
The health situation is getting worse this week, as the number of registered cases increased daily, as Tunisia recorded 2.123 new cases on April 14th, and 84 deaths from the Coronavirus. A member of the Scientific Committee, Nissaf Ben Alaya, said that the observatory had been informed of 192 mutated strains of the Covid-19 virus, indicating that the alarming level is very high in 15 states and in 111 regions. She explained that the alarming level is high in 7 states and 62 regions, confirming that the three last weeks registered a strong comeback virus-wise, the latter is exponentially spreading.
Some regions witnessed a complication that led to its lockdown and taking new measures such as closing the city of Tebourba, imposing a curfew right after Iftar. On the other side, the situation is considered to be catastrophic in several regions as all regions of the governorate of Nabeul have been marked as red zones except for the city of Bouargoub and Takelsa.
The regional health ministry director ensures that the contamination levels in Tunis have increased majorly lately. Consequently, some measures were decided upon including the interdiction of gatherings and celebrations in all kinds, closing down Hammams, Gyms, kindergartens, Kuttabs, and allowing cafés and restaurants to work while restricting them with a 30% percentage. He insisted that punishments shall be issued to whoever breaches the health protocols.
After reviewing the measures issued beforehand by the chief of government, for the 3rd time, a press conference was held on Saturday, April 17 to announce the novel measures that are:
- Prohibition of cars and means of transportation from circulating between 7p.m and 5 a.m. while maintain a curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
- Closing all shops that do not respect the health protocol or the restriction of the curfew.
- Estopping primary, preparatory and secondary education and inviting all parties to discuss the unfolding of the rest of the school year.
- Starting online education for colleges while maintaining the dates of exams.
- Setting forth an hour gap in the group timing in the public sector and inviting private companies to resort to online working.
Heavy punishments have been set for breaches of these measures.
Libiya
The killing of the president of Tchad shows Libya’s urgent need for military unification
In light of the dangerous situation that the Tchad, a country that borders Libya, is going through, the head of the Libyan Presidency Council, Mohamed Al-Manfi, and the head of the National Unity Government, Abdel Hamid Dabaiba, have ordered immediate measures to be taken to secure the southern Libyan border with Tchad and deal with any hostile targets. Following the killing of the Chadian President, Idriss Deby The Libyan House of Representatives called on all authorities concerned with the protection of the country and its security, such as the Presidential Council in its capacity as the supreme commander of the armed forces, the General Command, and the government of national unity, to take urgent and resolute measures to secure and protect the country and its southern borders in light of the destabilizing events that may result from the events in Tchad. Displacement operations in the region, and the Council called on the “5 + 5” Joint Military Committee to accelerate the unification of the military institution to ensure the security and stability of the country, secure its borders and preserve its sovereignty. The Chadian army announced the death of President Idriss Déby Itno, who suffered from wounds sustained on the front line in battles against Rebels in the north of the country.
In an inseparable context, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, called to seize the opportunity in Libya and build on it. This came during his participation in the meeting of the International Quartet on Libya, through closed communication circles, and in a press conference that conveyed the official spokesman of the United Nations, Stephan Dujarric, as saying: After years of violence and suffering, there is a window of opportunity in Libya, but there is a need to take urgent and immediate measures to seize this opportunity, and the committee was formed based on the initiative of the Arab League, and in its membership, in addition to the League, includes the United Nations and the European Union And the African Union.
In a statement, the committee called for respecting the United Nations resolution banning arms supplies to Libya and withdrawing all foreign forces from the country, saying that keeping these forces on Libyan territory is unacceptable, and its members expressed their support for the efforts made by unified Libyan national institutions to complete the democratic transformation process. They also noted the importance of holding the elections on the upcoming December 24, as they discussed how to provide support to the Supreme National Elections Commission throughout all stages of the investigation for the upcoming constitutional entitlements, especially the deployment of monitoring missions belonging to the Quartet
The visit of the Egyptian prime minister, political recognition of official parties, security and economic interests, and the start of coordination with Sudan
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly arrived on an official visit to Libya at the head of a high-level Egyptian delegation to discuss economic and political cooperation with the Interim Government of National Unity.
The two sides affirmed that the Presidency Council and the Government of National Unity are the only legitimate executive authority in Libya, which resulted from the election results in the Libyan political dialogue meeting, and the joint statement included the announcement of the two sides’ determination to work in coordination and cooperation, and the exchange of experience and opinion to conduct the political process, which will lead to the elections. The general elections will be held on December 24th in a smooth and specific manner, with the assurance that the solution to political problems can only be achieved through peaceful political methods approved by the relevant international and local political conventions.
The two sides also condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and called for the establishment of a joint information system and database for combating terrorism, monitoring, follow-up and exchange of information on terrorist activities, enumerating terrorist elements in the two countries, in addition to preparing a unified guide for the wanted and suspected elements, conducting joint border patrols, and establishing Security and observation points along the land and sea borders, and general mobilization against terrorist financing.
They also agreed to exchange experiences between the two countries in this field, and to form a joint force between the two countries to combat terrorism intellectually, and in the media, in addition to setting up a database and monitoring financial transactions and financing associations charity, and work to establish a joint body to combat money laundering, as well as to combat organized crime and illegal immigration. That is in addition to establishing broad cooperation in the field of training and rehabilitation in various fields, according to the need for it, and what the interest requires in particular.
Emphasis was placed on the role of Egypt and its constructive contributions in controlling joint security with Libya and stability in a manner that guarantees the territorial integrity of the two sides. It was also agreed to set a formula for relations between the two countries according to a new vision from the perspective of development in regional and international relations, and the political, economic and social transformations imposed by it, and in a manner that would lead the two countries to spare any regional or international external interference. The two sides also called for the acceleration of the exit of foreign armed and mercenary formations from the Libyan lands. They also urged both sides to encourage trade and economic exchange between the two brotherly countries through businessmen and investors, and to facilitate the movement of goods and merchandises between them. The two sides agreed on the formation of a specialized joint-working group entrusted with working to update the legal framework signed between the two brotherly countries in line with the changes and developments that have taken place in their realities, and to ensure the common interest of both sides, and calling for the meetings of the eleventh session of the Egyptian-Libyan Joint Higher Committee and the sectoral committees emanating from it in The framework for developing and strengthening joint cooperation relations between the two countries, and exchanging information related to combating smuggling from the authorities Competent in this field.
The Libyan side registered its request to assist the Renewable Energy Agency to delegate experts from Egypt to raise the efficiency of the Libyan Renewable Energies Authority staff, and it also announced the resumption of flights between the two countries, similar to the airlines of other countries, which operate flights to Egypt. It should facilitate the movement of citizens between the two countries, and the opening of the lines of the sea for passengers and freight between the ports of the two countries, and it was agreed to form a joint-working group of specialists from the two countries in the fields of agriculture, maritime wealth to develop cooperation in this frame. They also agreed on supporting participation in cultural events that take place in both countries and cooperate in the fields of health care as well as forming a joint committee in the areas of the borders to fight diseases and the pandemic situation.
The head of the Interim Government of National Unity, Abdul Hamid Dabaiba, said that he discussed with the Prime Minister of Sudan, Abdullah Hamdok, the latest developments in the bilateral relations of the two brotherly countries, confirming the existence of many common challenges. Dabaiba wrote in a post on his Twitter account, on Monday, about looking forward to an upcoming meeting at the leadership level of the two countries, pointing out that Libya shares many challenges and opportunities with Sudan.
Sudan welcomed the positive steps in Libya following the election of the new Presidential Council and the head of the transitional government and ensured that it is looking forward to cooperating with them to enhance regional stability.
The House of Representatives voted in its session, which was held in Tobruk, by a majority of the attending deputies to approve Assadiq Assour as Public Prosecutor. Assour was elected from among 8 members of the judicial bodies nominated by the Supreme Judicial Council for this position. Assadiq Assour expressed his pride in the confidence granted by the House of Representatives by choosing him as Deputy General, and expressed his aspiration to perform this trust with all sincerity and dedication for the sake of the elevation of the homeland and the sovereignty of the rule of law.
Italy strengthens to provide European support for Libya through resistance to irregular migration
The Italian Minister of the Interior, Luciana Lamorgese, pledged that her country would seek to mobilize support from European institutions for the efforts of the Libyan government, especially with regard to the phenomenon of irregular migration, and said that Italy is ready to assist Libya in comprehensive cooperation projects, and also to request European institutions to provide the maximum tangible support to the Libyan government, And that during her visit to Tripoli.
Lamorgese met with the head of the Presidency Council Mohamed Al-Manfi, Head of the Interim Government of National Unity, Abdel Hamid Al-Dabaiba, and Minister of Interior Khaled Mazen. The Minister is confident in Libya’s ability to exploit the unique (current) moment by moving forward towards achieving its full stability.
After the emergence of the South African strain, Tunisia intends to reclose all borders with Libya
The Tunisian Ministry of Health has revealed its intention to close the borders with Libya to prevent the spread of the South African strain of Coronavirus in the country. The Director of the “Pasteur Institute” and the head of the vaccination committee at the Tunisian Ministry of Health Hachemi Louzir announced that Tunisia intends to close its borders with Libya and France after the appearance of the South African strain of Coronavirus in Libya and the Brazilian strain In France, referring to the deliberation of this point in the Scientific Council two days ago. He also affirmed that they will take this decision based on the development of the situation, as Tunisian Minister of Health Faouzi Mehdi confirmed that the imposition of tests at all border-crossings is due to the spread of the South African strain in Libya. In Tunisia, it was decided to suspend the use of the British “Astra-zenica” vaccine for the time being, due to the side effects that could occur which mainly related to blood clotting.
Last November, Tunisia and Libya reopened their common borders after a seven-month closure due to the outbreak of the Coronavirus, with the implementation of a joint health protocol, at a time when flights onboard Tunisian Airlines are expected to resume from Carthage Airport to Tripoli next week.
The health authorities in Libya announced the registration of 594 new COVID19 infections in addition to 5 deaths within 24 hours. In this sense, the National Centre for Disease Control in Libya said that the capital, Tripoli, witnessed the largest number of new infections, with 282 contaminations and 317 healings while no deaths were registered.
He added that the total number of people infected with the Coronavirus in Libya rose to 173,683 persons, including 11,868 active cases, and 2924 deaths. The health authorities in Libya announced the discovery of cases of the British strain of Coronavirus in the country, after random samples were taken. It indicated that the new strain that appeared for the first time in Libya is characterized by rapid transmission and spread of infection in society, warning of dire consequences in light of the laxity and lack of commitment to implementing measures and procedures that the country is witnessing and the non-respect of precautionary measures.
Last update : 16/22/2021 - 15:00
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