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Libya

The latest news, analysis and opinion on Libya. In-depth analysis, industry insights and expert opinion.

Capital

Tripoli

Head of State

Chairman of the Presidential Council Mohamed al-Menfi

Head of Government

Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh

The JF-17 jet was jointly developed by China and Pakistan. Photo: AP

China's military weapons

China-Pakistan jet deal with Libyan group ‘may help expand Beijing’s influence’

The agreement will supply the Libyan National Army with 16 fourth-generation JF-17 fighters.

27 Dec 2025 - 10:00PMvideocam

Aviation accidents

Libya military chief and 7 others killed in jet crash in Turkey

24 Dec 2025 - 11:10AM

War and conflict

As I see it | Would the world be safer if the military were in charge of the US?

12 Dec 2025 - 8:30PM

United States

US pauses all immigration applications from 19 countries

The pause applies to people from nations that were already subjected to a partial travel ban in June.

3 Dec 2025 - 10:16AM

Women gather next to an anti-US mural in Tehran. The list of countries targeted in the US memorandum includes Iran. Photo: West Asia News Agency via Reuters

France

Ex-president Sarkozy’s conviction upheld by France’s top court

Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted for illegally overspending on his 2012 re-election bid; no further appeal possible.

27 Nov 2025 - 2:15AM

Middle East

Gaddafi’s son released on bail after 10 years in a Lebanon prison

Hannibal Gaddafi was released after a Libyan delegation paid a drastically reduced bail, ending his detention over a missing cleric.

11 Nov 2025 - 1:50PM

France

A kiss, then goodbye: France’s ex-president Sarkozy enters jail proclaiming innocence

Nicolas Sarkozy, 70, enters a Paris prison to serve a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy involving Libyan funding.

21 Oct 2025 - 4:59PM

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy kisses his wife Carla Bruni before leaving in a car to prison. Photo: Reuters

France

Sarkozy set to become France’s first ever jailed ex-president

The French former leader will report to prison on October 21 to begin a five-year prison sentence for criminal conspiracy.

14 Oct 2025 - 2:15PM

France

French ex-leader Sarkozy to serve jail time despite appeal in Libya funding case

A Paris court said Sarkozy must be jailed without delay because ‘of the seriousness of the disruption to public order caused by the offence’.

13 Oct 2025 - 10:55AM

France

French ex-president Sarkozy gets 5-year term for Gaddafi campaign funding case

A Paris court convicted the former French leader for involvement in a plot to secure funding from Libya, despite no proof that any money was used.

25 Sep 2025 - 8:14PM

Muammar Gaddafi (right) and Nicolas Sarkozy arrive at Bab Azizia Palace in Tripoli in July 2007. Photo: EPA-EFE

My Take

My Take | Kim Jong-un in Beijing shows why it is good to have nuclear bombs

The essential difference between the North Korean leader and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is that between the haves and the have-nots of the ultimate weapon.

7 Sep 2025 - 9:00PM

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping as they attend a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two, in Beijing on September 4, 2025. Photo: Reuters

United States

Trump announces new tariffs on Brazil, 6 smaller economies

‘Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal,’ letters say, adding alleged deficits are threats to US national security.

11 Jul 2025 - 1:55AMvideocam

China-Africa relations

The growing risks for Chinese companies in conflict-ridden African nations

Chinese firms admit their very survival could be threatened by geopolitical risks, unrest and security threats in unstable African countries.

23 Jun 2025 - 10:00AMvideocam

Israel-Iran conflict

If Iran’s Khamenei falls, what would replace him?

Iranian opposition is divided and there is no guarantee new rulers would be any less hardline, analysts say.

19 Jun 2025 - 10:41PMvideocam

A protester in Baghdad, Iraq holds a portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a Wednesday protest against Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran. Photo: AP

North Korea

‘Never give up nuclear weapons’: what Israel-Iran conflict tells North Korea

With lessons drawn from Ukraine and now Iran, Pyongyang’s commitment to its ‘irreversible’ nuclear status is firmer than ever, analysts say.

19 Jun 2025 - 9:27AMvideocam

North Korea test-fires a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in October last year. Photo: KCNA via KNS/AFP

Israel-Iran conflict

Another Iraq? Fears mount of US joining Israel-Iran war

As Israel’s attacks and incendiary rhetoric intensify, chilling parallels emerge to the discredited claims made before US invasion of Iraq.

19 Jun 2025 - 11:48AMvideocam

Israel-Gaza war

Convoy sets off for Gaza from North Africa to protest Israel’s blockade

Tunisian-led aid convoy seeks ‘the immediate lifting of the unjust siege’ on Gaza.

10 Jun 2025 - 10:47AM

United States

Trump’s new travel ban takes effect, citizens of 12 nations barred from US

Ban comes amid rising tensions over the US president’s escalating campaign of immigration enforcement.

9 Jun 2025 - 2:17PMvideocam

Africa

Africa warns Trump travel ban could dampen relations

Seven African nations are among 12 countries targeted by the US, with the African Union asking for ‘a more consultative approach’ and ‘constructive dialogue’.

6 Jun 2025 - 5:47PM

Donald Trump

Trump bans nationals from 12 countries entering US, citing security concerns

Afghanistan, Haiti, Myanmar among 12 nations facing outright entry ban; seven additional countries to face heightened scrutiny.

5 Jun 2025 - 5:23PM

Africa

Dozens of unidentified corpses found in Libya hospital: ministry

Discovery comes amid rising tensions in the capital following days of deadly clashes between armed groups.

20 May 2025 - 9:41AM

Libyan soldiers at a checkpoint after clashes between heavily armed militias in Tripoli. Photo: AP

My Take

My Take | The world’s biggest rogue state looks to sanction little Hong Kong

As it targets the city’s judiciary, the US has paralysed the work of the ICC while planning for the ethnic cleansing and displacement of Gazans.

18 May 2025 - 9:00PM

The Hong Kong Judicial Sanctions Act, introduced to the US Senate this week, could lead to a mandatory review on whether to impose sanctions on 45 people under American law. Photo: AFP

United States

US judge temporarily blocks deportation of Asian migrants to Libya

Sending deportees to Libya would mark a major escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to offload unwanted migrants.

8 May 2025 - 10:41AM

Africa

Libya masks migrant crisis with crackdown on humanitarian groups

War-torn Libya is a key departure point on Africa’s Mediterranean coast for migrants risking sea voyages in the hope of reaching Europe.

5 Apr 2025 - 8:21PM

Africa

Libya finds 2 mass graves with nearly 50 bodies in southeast

Last year, Libyan authorities unearthed the bodies of at least 65 migrants in the Shuayrif region, 350km south of Tripoli.

9 Feb 2025 - 4:37PM

Bodies of migrants lie in bags, after they were discovered in a mass grave in a farm in Jikharra area, some 441 km from Benghazi, in Jikharra, Libya, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

Italy

Italy’s Meloni under investigation over release of Libya war crimes suspect

Osama Elmasry Njeem was freed and sent home after being detained in Italy under an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.

29 Jan 2025 - 6:29AM

Italy

ICC seeks answers after Italy frees Libyan war crimes suspect

Italy detained a Libyan suspect on the back of an ICC arrest warrant, but he was swiftly released and flown home to Tripoli.

23 Jan 2025 - 3:05PM

European Union

France’s ex-president Sarkozy on trial over alleged Gaddafi pact

Sarkozy’s trial sees him charged with accepting illegal campaign financing as part of an alleged pact with late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

5 Jan 2025 - 7:05PM

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Libya

China-Pakistan jet deal with Libyan group ‘may help expand Beijing’s influence’

The agreement will supply the Libyan National Army with 16 fourth-generation JF-17 fighters.

Libya military chief and 7 others killed in jet crash in Turkey

.css-1m2rp1p{color:#34b8b5;}As I see it | Would the world be safer if the military were in charge of the US?

US pauses all immigration applications from 19 countries

The pause applies to people from nations that were already subjected to a partial travel ban in June.

Ex-president Sarkozy’s conviction upheld by France’s top court

Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted for illegally overspending on his 2012 re-election bid; no further appeal possible.

Gaddafi’s son released on bail after 10 years in a Lebanon prison

Hannibal Gaddafi was released after a Libyan delegation paid a drastically reduced bail, ending his detention over a missing cleric.

A kiss, then goodbye: France’s ex-president Sarkozy enters jail proclaiming innocence

Nicolas Sarkozy, 70, enters a Paris prison to serve a five-year sentence for criminal conspiracy involving Libyan funding.

Sarkozy set to become France’s first ever jailed ex-president

The French former leader will report to prison on October 21 to begin a five-year prison sentence for criminal conspiracy.

French ex-leader Sarkozy to serve jail time despite appeal in Libya funding case

A Paris court said Sarkozy must be jailed without delay because ‘of the seriousness of the disruption to public order caused by the offence’.

French ex-president Sarkozy gets 5-year term for Gaddafi campaign funding case

A Paris court convicted the former French leader for involvement in a plot to secure funding from Libya, despite no proof that any money was used.

My Take | Kim Jong-un in Beijing shows why it is good to have nuclear bombs

The essential difference between the North Korean leader and Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is that between the haves and the have-nots of the ultimate weapon.

Trump announces new tariffs on Brazil, 6 smaller economies

‘Our relationship has been, unfortunately, far from reciprocal,’ letters say, adding alleged deficits are threats to US national security.

The growing risks for Chinese companies in conflict-ridden African nations

Chinese firms admit their very survival could be threatened by geopolitical risks, unrest and security threats in unstable African countries.

If Iran’s Khamenei falls, what would replace him?

Iranian opposition is divided and there is no guarantee new rulers would be any less hardline, analysts say.

‘Never give up nuclear weapons’: what Israel-Iran conflict tells North Korea

With lessons drawn from Ukraine and now Iran, Pyongyang’s commitment to its ‘irreversible’ nuclear status is firmer than ever, analysts say.

Another Iraq? Fears mount of US joining Israel-Iran war

As Israel’s attacks and incendiary rhetoric intensify, chilling parallels emerge to the discredited claims made before US invasion of Iraq.

Convoy sets off for Gaza from North Africa to protest Israel’s blockade

Tunisian-led aid convoy seeks ‘the immediate lifting of the unjust siege’ on Gaza.

Trump’s new travel ban takes effect, citizens of 12 nations barred from US

Ban comes amid rising tensions over the US president’s escalating campaign of immigration enforcement.

Africa warns Trump travel ban could dampen relations

Seven African nations are among 12 countries targeted by the US, with the African Union asking for ‘a more consultative approach’ and ‘constructive dialogue’.

Trump bans nationals from 12 countries entering US, citing security concerns

Afghanistan, Haiti, Myanmar among 12 nations facing outright entry ban; seven additional countries to face heightened scrutiny.

Dozens of unidentified corpses found in Libya hospital: ministry

Discovery comes amid rising tensions in the capital following days of deadly clashes between armed groups.

My Take | The world’s biggest rogue state looks to sanction little Hong Kong

As it targets the city’s judiciary, the US has paralysed the work of the ICC while planning for the ethnic cleansing and displacement of Gazans.

US judge temporarily blocks deportation of Asian migrants to Libya

Sending deportees to Libya would mark a major escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to offload unwanted migrants.

Libya masks migrant crisis with crackdown on humanitarian groups

War-torn Libya is a key departure point on Africa’s Mediterranean coast for migrants risking sea voyages in the hope of reaching Europe.

Libya finds 2 mass graves with nearly 50 bodies in southeast

Last year, Libyan authorities unearthed the bodies of at least 65 migrants in the Shuayrif region, 350km south of Tripoli.

Italy’s Meloni under investigation over release of Libya war crimes suspect

Osama Elmasry Njeem was freed and sent home after being detained in Italy under an International Criminal Court arrest warrant.

ICC seeks answers after Italy frees Libyan war crimes suspect

Italy detained a Libyan suspect on the back of an ICC arrest warrant, but he was swiftly released and flown home to Tripoli.

France’s ex-president Sarkozy on trial over alleged Gaddafi pact

Sarkozy’s trial sees him charged with accepting illegal campaign financing as part of an alleged pact with late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

As I see it | Would the world be safer if the military were in charge of the US?