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☆ Israel Rallies Around Netanyahu Over I.C.C. Warrant, for Now
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-22 | by ( Isabel Kershner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The more Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is cast as an international pariah, the more many Israelis appear to embrace him. The arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court on Thursday for Mr. Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, on accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip spurred a wave of outrage and condemnation across Israel’s political spectrum. “It is embarrassing to see Netanyahu and Gallant in the same place as Muammar el-Qaddafi, Slobodan Milosevic, Ratko Mladic and several African dictators,” wrote Sima Kadmon, a political columnist and longtime Netanyahu critic, in the Friday editions of the popular Yediot Ahronot newspaper. Still, she added, “the allegations of anti-Israel-ism are understandable. Perhaps even antisemitism.”Despite deep domestic polarization, analysts said, most Israelis were likely to rally around Mr. Netanyahu’s repudiation of the court’s decision, which he denounced as “antisemitic" for “falsely accusing” the democratically elected prime minister of Israel.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Gallant, Muammar el, Slobodan Milosevic, Ratko Mladic, ”, Sima Kadmon, “ Organizations: International, Mr Locations: Gaza, Israel

☆ Israel's Sinwar video shows the chilling reach of battlefield drones
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-18 | by ( Matthew Loh | Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Only 13 years ago, the world learned of what were Muammar Gaddafi's last few moments through shaky video filmed on cellphones. Small drones are a critical feature of combat in Ukraine, where they've been used for battlefield observation and attack. The hovering quality of the Sinwar video indicates it was likely filmed by a quadcopter. AdvertisementThe astounding wealth of drone-fed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance has made more of the battlefield visible than ever before. Nonetheless, technological advances mean that drones watching the battlefield will be a ubiquitous feature of future wars, a looming threat to ground troops and fleeing leaders.

Persons: Israel, Yahya Sinwar's, —, Yahya Sinwar, Sinwar, Yahya Sinwar’s, GJGDlu7bie, Nadav Shoshani, Muammar Gaddafi's, Mauro Gilli, Gilli, they've, It's, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Maria Berlinska, Guy Prives Organizations: Service, Swiss, ETH Zurich, Anadolu, Getty, Pentagon, IDF Locations: Libyan, It's, Ukraine, Russian, Moscow, Kursk, Israel

☆ China-made military drones similar to the MQ-9 Reaper were disguised as wind turbines in shipments to Libya: Italian officials
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewItaly has seized parts for two combat drones disguised as wind turbines in containers en route from China to Libya, customs and maritime authorities said on Tuesday. AdvertisementFootage of Italian authorities intercepting components of two Chinese Wing Loong II UAVs disguised as wind turbines that were heading to Libya. AdvertisementItalian officials stand next to drone parts disguised as wind turbines. Guardia di FinanzaAs a long-endurance and remotely controlled weapons platform, the Wing Loong-2 is often compared to the US-made MQ-9 Reaper, though its maximum speed and altitude are inferior to the latter. AdvertisementThe UN report and a BBC investigation found that Wing Loong-2 drones were likely supplied by the United Arab Emirates, which has long been accused of backing Haftar.

Persons: —, Gioia Tauro, Loong, ALY7IBwRaA, WeKoW0i7Rs, Khalifa Haftar, Haftar's, Muammar, he's Organizations: Service, Financial Police, Business, Investigators, MSC Arina, MSC Apolline, Libyan, Financial Guard, Guardia, Times, Guard, United Nations, Libyan National Army, UN, United Arab Emirates Locations: Italy, China, Libya, London, Benghazi, Beijing, Muammar Gaddafi's, Russia, Moscow, Tripoli, Canada

☆ Opinion | Do We Still Understand How Wars Are Won?
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-28 | by ( Bret Stephens | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the past 50 years, the United States has gotten good at losing wars. We won limited victories against Saddam Hussein in 1991 and Muammar el-Qaddafi in 2011, only to fumble the endgames. If you’re on the left, you’d probably say that most if not all these wars were unnecessary, unwinnable or unworthy. Life in America would not have materially changed if, say, Kosovo were still a part of Serbia. We know how America fought such wars.

Persons: Saddam Hussein, Muammar el, What’s, you’d, “, ” Ron Chernow, Ulysses Grant Organizations: ISIS Locations: United States, Saigon, Beirut, Mogadishu, Kabul, Baghdad, Iraq, Grenada, Panama, Kosovo, America, Serbia, Vicksburg, ”

☆ Photographer Platon sits presidents and protesters on the same wooden box
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Caitlin Chatterton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“More world leaders have sat on that box than any chair in history,” the photographer Platon, owner of that very box, told CNN in an interview conducted over Zoom. One of the girls that Platon photographed there was Esther Faraja. Vladimir Putin, photographed by Platon for Time’s Person of the Year in 2007, initially liked the image that Platon produced. Platon photographed Burmese politician and activist Aung San Suu Kyi in 2010, shortly after she was released from nearly 15 years of house arrest. Platon photographed members of the Burmese LGBTQ+ community who are living in exile and fighting against legislation that criminalizes same-sex behaviour.

Persons: CNN — Vladimir Putin, Muammar Gaddafi, Mark Zuckerberg, Platon, “, ” Platon, it’s, Platon Antoniou, George, John Kennedy Jr, Barack Obama, ”, Esther Faraja, Josue, Mukwege's, Denis Mukwege’s, you’re, ” Vladimir Putin, doesn’t, Vladimir Putin, Putin, who’s, Clinton, Platon Bill Clinton, there’s, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, “ Hillary, Aung, Suu Kyi, Platon Anastasia Smirnova, we’re Organizations: CNN, Hollywood, Royal College of Art, New Yorker, Kremlin, Downing, Mukwege's Panzi, Denis Mukwege’s Panzi, Society Locations: Greece, London, New York, George Clooney’s, Congo, Russian, Suu, Burma, Russia

☆ Opinion: ‘Civil War’ is more than a reflection on America’s divisions
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-13 | by ( Opinion Noah Berlatsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Noah Berlatsky Noah BerlatskyAlex Garland’s “Civil War” has mostly been discussed as a reflection of, and a warning about, America’s current partisan divisions. Unlike the actual US Civil War, this one doesn’t seem to have any particular racial or racist connotations. But it’s the same kind of cop out that powers most of Hollywood’s most iconic Vietnam war movies. Hollywood Vietnam war movies generally aren’t about whether America did the right thing, nor are they about how America’s choices affected people in Vietnam. Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" (1987), starring Matthew Modine as Joker, is based on the events of the Vietnam war.

Persons: Noah Berlatsky, CNN —, Viet Thanh Nguyen, Noah Berlatsky Noah Berlatsky Alex Garland’s “, ”, he’s, Garland, Nick Offerman, Lee, Kirsten Dunst, Joel, Wagner Moura, Jessie, Cailee, Sammy, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Lee Wagner, Trump, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi, Jesse Plemons, that’s, Francis Ford Coppola’s, Stanley Kubrick’s, don’t, —, Dawn ”, Stanley Kubrick's, Matthew Modine, It’s, transfixed Organizations: CNN, Union, Hollywood, America, Central, Warner Bros Locations: Chicago, Vietnam, Viet, American, Washington, California, Texas, Hollywood Vietnam, American Vietnam, Hollywood

☆ ‘A Death in Malta’ Review: Lost in a Sea of Corruption
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Tunku Varadarajan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Daphne Caruana Galizia and family. Photo: Paul Caruana GaliziaImagine the corrupt Tammany Hall of old reborn in a sovereign state in postwar Europe—a tiny archipelago, no more, in the southern Mediterranean. Meet murky little Malta, democratic Europe’s notable outlier—not just geographically and linguistically (having the only Semitic official language in the EU) but morally and ethically. And its rule of law, rickety at best, is shockingly derelict for an EU country. This isn’t just the judgment of fastidious outsiders, predisposed to look askance at Malta.

Persons: Daphne Caruana Galizia, Paul Caruana Galizia, Muammar Gaddafi, rickety, Labour Party — Organizations: Tammany Hall, European Union, Labour Party Locations: Europe, Britain, Libyan, Soviet, Malta, EU, Maltese, “

☆ The Man Who Blazed a Trail for Dictatorship in the Middle East
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Ben Hubbard | More About Ben Hubbard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

And help he did. He sent arms, military experts and advice on how to talk to the West. He encouraged the officers to assure the United States, Britain and France that the coup posed no risk to their people or interests. His long reign is but one strand of Nasser’s disastrous legacy, according to “We Are Your Soldiers,” by the Lebanon-based journalist Alex Rowell. Rowell takes the reader on a historical tour of the Middle East to illuminate how Nasser contributed to the region’s “shared curse of political repression mixed with economic misery.”

Persons: Gamal Abdel Nasser, Alex Rowell, King Idris I, Muammar el, el, ” Nasser, “, Colonel el, Qaddafi, brutalizing, kook, Rowell, Nasser, ” Organizations: Libyan Army, United Nations General Assembly Locations: Egypt, United States, Britain, France, Libya, Lebanon

☆ David Cameron, former PM and now Britain's new foreign minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - David Cameron, 57, served as British prime minister from 2010 to 2016, resigning after the outcome of the Brexit vote, when Britain voted to leave the European Union. * In 2013, his government legalised same-sex marriage, which Cameron backed strongly, saying at the time: "I don't support gay marriage in spite of being a Conservative. Britain's former Prime Minister and newly appointed Foreign Secretary David Cameron reacts outside 10 Downing Street in London, Britain November 13, 2023. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett Acquire Licensing Rights* As prime minister, Cameron ordered military intervention in Libya, when Britain and its allies led international efforts to help oust then-leader Muammar Gaddafi in early 2011. However, Britain voted for Brexit and he announced he would quit as prime minister the following day.

Persons: David Cameron, Cameron, King William IV, Suzanne Plunkett, Muammar Gaddafi, Sachin Ravikumar, Kate Holton Organizations: Britain, European, Eton College, Oxford University, Conservative, REUTERS, British, Scottish, European Union, Brexit, Greensill, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, Libya, United Kingdom

☆ Russians, Iranians, and Chinese spark security fears after taking $100,000 shortcut for citizenship in a Caribbean paradise
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Polly Thompson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The European Union may crack down on visa-free travel after revealing the scale of the passport trade. AdvertisementAdvertisementTens of thousands of passports have been obtained by Russians, Iranians, Chinese and others from Caribbean nations, granting them visa-free travel to European countries, according to a report by the European Commission. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe scale of the "golden passport" trade has sparked security concerns from the European Commission, which is proposing a crackdown on visa-free travel for people using them. Some 150,000 people have used the visa-free travel arrangements to claim asylum once in a European country, according to the EU home affairs commissioner, Ylva Johansson. Such passports became more popular after citizens of the Caribbean countries were granted visa-free travel in 2015, The Guardian reported.

Persons: —, Dominica –, Muammar Gaddafi, Ylva Johansson, Gary Kalman Organizations: European, Service, European Commission, The, St, The Guardian, Guardian, Transparency International US Locations: Caribbean, Antigua, Barbuda, Grenada, St Kitts, Nevis, St Lucia, Dominica, Afghan

☆ Egypt's cratering economy drives many to risky migrant route
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Mariam Rizk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The surge in numbers leaving Egypt in recent years coincides with Egypt's worsening economy. The pandemic hit Egypt's vital tourist industry and the Ukraine war made investors more risk averse, driving them away from Egyptian markets. MINIBUS TO LIBYAThe Egyptian authorities have largely stopped migrant boat departures from Egypt's north coast since 2016. More migrant boats now leave from eastern Libya, close to Egypt, than from the west in the divided nation. 'COUNTRIES IN CRISIS'President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and other Egyptian officials say Egypt is doing what it can to halt the migrant flow.

Persons: Fatma, MIT SUHAYL, Waleed el, Degwy, Mohamed el, Muammar Gaddafi, you'd, Adel Ghannam, Mit Suhayl, Mohamed, Abdel Fattah al, Naela Gabr, Mostafa Abdel Salam, Hala, Nafisa Eltahir, Aidan Lewis, Edmund Blair Organizations: REUTERS, MIT, Reuters, European, Thomson Locations: Suhayl, Greece, Sharqia governorate, Egypt, Libya, Italy, Nile Delta, Europe, Ukraine, LIBYA, Egypt's, Libyan, Sudan

CNN —Russia is formally seeking to rejoin the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, nearly 18 months after it was suspended from the body following its invasion of Ukraine. Russia has been accused of a huge number of human rights abuses over the course of its war in Ukraine, and the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for its President Vladimir Putin over an alleged scheme to deport Ukrainian children to Russia. Russia had joined the council in January 2021, as one of 15 countries elected to serve a three-year term. Russia remains one of five permanent members of the UN’s Security Council, and no clear legal framework exists to remove it from that post. Moscow last took the presidency of that council, which rotates among the 15 members on a monthly basis, in April.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Moscow “, Muammar Gaddafi Organizations: CNN, United Nations, Human Rights Council, UN, NATO, Human Rights, Human, European States, Assembly, UN’s Security Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Albania, Bulgaria, China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Vietnam, Brazil, South Africa, Mexico, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Libya

☆ Libya says Derna mayor, other officials detained after flood
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A part of Al Sahaba Mosque is seen amid destroyed buildings in the aftermath of the deadly storm that hit Libya, in Derna, Libya September 21, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra Acquire Licensing RightsBENGHAZI, Sept 25 (Reuters) - The mayor of Libya's eastern city of Derna was detained along with other officials on suspicion of mismanagement and negligence over the collapse of dams that flooded the city two weeks ago, Libya's attorney general's office said on Monday. Those detained included the mayor and an official in charge of water resources, it said, without identifying them. Derna was controlled until 2019 by fighters from a series of groups including Islamic State. Reporting by Ayman al-Warfali Writing by Tarek Amara Editing by Peter GraffOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Zohra, Muammar Gaddafi, Derna, Abdulmenam, Ayman al, Tarek Amara, Peter Graff Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, NATO, Islamic, International, Thomson Locations: Al Sahaba, Libya, Derna, Rights BENGHAZI, Libya's, Tripoli, Islamic State

☆ Authorities try to contain anger in aftermath of Libya floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

A week after a flood wiped out much of the centre of the city, furious Derna residents demonstrated on the streets and torched the home of the mayor overnight. They accuse the authorities of failing to maintain the dams that protected the city, and failing to evacuate residents before the storm. "Haftar's forces are under pressure to show they have control of the situation, and that they can handle the fallout. A spokesperson for the state-owned Libyan Telecommunications Holding Company, Mohamed Albdairi, told Libya Alahrar television that the communications had gone down in the area because some fiber optic cables had been severed. [1/6]Volunteers carry victims of a powerful storm and heavy rainfall that hit Libya to bury them at a cemetery in Derna, Libya September 19, 2023.

Persons: Derna, Khalifa Haftar, Tim Eaton, Mohamed Albdairi, Hichem Abu Chkiouat, Zohra, Antonio Guterres, Abdulmenam, Muammar Gaddafi, Mansour, Peter Graff, Tom Perry, Alexandra Hudson, William Maclean, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: Communications, The United Nations Office, Humanitarian Affairs, Libyan Telecommunications Holding Company, Engineers, Reuters, Volunteers, REUTERS, World Health Organization, General Assembly, Libyan National Army, Islamic, Thomson Locations: Derna, Benghazi, Libya's, Libya, York, U.N, Islamic State, al Qaeda

☆ Journalists ordered out of flood-hit Libyan city after protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/6] Volunteers carry victims of a powerful storm and heavy rainfall that hit Libya to bury them at a cemetery in Derna, Libya September 19, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra Acquire Licensing RightsSept 19 (Reuters) - Journalists reported they were ordered out of the devastated eastern Libyan city of Derna on Tuesday, the day after protesters torched the home of the ousted mayor in fury over the authorities' failure to protect the city from floods. Essam Abu Zriba, interior minister in the eastern administration, told Arab TV channel al Hadath that journalists and aid workers were operating normally. Arab broadcaster Al Hurra reported that the authorities had asked all journalists to depart as soon as possible. Hichem Abu Chkiouat, minister of civil aviation in the administration that runs eastern Libya, told Reuters by phone that some journalists had been told to move, in a step unrelated to the protests there overnight.

Persons: Zohra, Essam Abu, Al Hurra, Al, Hichem Abu Chkiouat, Abdulmenam, Ghaithi, Muammar Gaddafi, Derna, Aguila Saleh, Aguila, Mansour, Taha Miftah, Tom Perry, Peter Graff, Alexandra Hudson, William Maclean Organizations: Volunteers, REUTERS, Journalists, Reuters, Communications, Libyan National Army, Islamic, World Health Organization, Thomson Locations: Libya, Derna, Essam, Arab, Al Jazeera, Islamic State, al Qaeda

[1/10] Children's toys are seen amid rubble in the aftermath of the deadly storm that hit Libya, in Derna, Libya September 18, 2023. A week after the flood that swept the centre of the city of Derna into the sea, families are still coping with the unbearable losses of their dead - and haunted by the unknown fates of the missing. The centre of Derna is a wasteland, with stray dogs standing listlessly on muddy mounds where buildings once stood. The biggest threat to survivors may now come from contaminated water supplies. "Contaminated water can lead to the spread of waterborne diseases, putting vulnerable populations, especially women and children, at increased risk."

Persons: Zohra, Blil, Hakim, Othman Abduljaleel, Ahmed Ashour, hasn't, Muammar Gaddafi, Derna, Tom Perry, Tarek Amara, Peter Graff, Alex Richardson, William Maclean Organizations: REUTERS, World Health Organization, Authorities, Reuters, NATO, Islamic, Residents, Rescue Committee, Thomson Locations: Libya, Derna, al Qaeda, Islamic State

[1/10] Children's toys are seen amid rubble in the aftermath of the deadly storm that hit Libya, in Derna, Libya September 18, 2023. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra Acquire Licensing RightsDERNA, Libya, Sept 18 (Reuters) - "I lost my daughter. A week after the flood that swept the centre of the city of Derna into the sea, families are still coping with the unbearable losses of their dead - and haunted by the unknown fates of the missing. The centre of Derna is a wasteland, with stray dogs standing listlessly on muddy mounds where buildings once stood. "Contaminated water can lead to the spread of waterborne diseases, putting vulnerable populations, especially women and children, at increased risk."

Persons: Zohra, Ahmed Ashour, Othman Abduljaleel, Muammar Gaddafi, Derna, Tom Perry, Tarek Amara, Peter Graff, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, World Health Organization, Reuters, NATO, Islamic, Residents, Rescue Committee, Thomson Locations: Libya, Derna, al Qaeda, Islamic State

[1/5] An aerial view shows rescue teams searching for dead bodies at a beach, in the aftermath of the floods in Derna, Libya September 17, 2023. Hamad Awad sat on a blanket on an empty street with a bottle of water and bedding alongside him. "I am staying in our area trying to clean it and trying to verify who is missing," he said. Entire districts of Derna, with an estimated population of at least 120,000, were swept away or buried in brown mud. Civil protection workers from Algeria combed through the rubble of multistorey buildings with a dog to help detect any survivors.

Persons: Ayman Al, Hamad Awad, Storm Daniel, spokespeople, Osama Al, OCHA, al, Mohammad Shaheen, Abdulnabi, Muammar Gaddafi, Abdulhamid, Mohammed, Menfi, Abdelaziz Boumzar, Ayman Sahly, Adam Makary, Thomas Perry, Maya Gebeily, Philippa Fletcher, Susan Fenton Organizations: REUTERS, Volunteers, United Nations, Sunrise, Humanitarian Affairs, Crescent, Libyan Red Crescent, Reuters, NATO, Thomson Locations: Derna, Libya, DERNA, Libyan, Algeria, al Badya, Ajaylat, Tripoli

A three-storey building standing opposite had been swept 60 metres (200 feet) down the road by the floodwaters, Hasadi said. "The situation is very, very tragic," said Qais, a rescue worker from Tunisia at the seafront who only gave his first name. [1/4]A view shows the destruction, in the aftermath of the floods in Derna, Libya September 16, 2023. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-fetori Acquire Licensing Rights"The work is ongoing and is very, very, very complicated," he told Reuters. Libya's continuing political divisions, with rival administrations and parliaments in the east and west, could hamper the aid effort.

Persons: Tarek Faheem al, Hasadi, Qais, Kamal Al, Omran, Storm Daniel, Hayder Al, Muammar Gaddafi, Khalifa Haftar's, Derna, Ayman al, Ahmed Elumami, Omar Abdel, Emma Farge, Aidan Lewis, Helen Popper, Alex Richardson Organizations: Organization for, REUTERS, Reuters, Health Organization, Italy's, United Nations, Libya's National, for Disease, NATO, Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army, Thomson Locations: DERNA, Libya, Derna, Derna's, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Italian, Italy's Embassy, Infrastructure, Razek, Cairo, Geneva

☆ Libya flood: fury that warnings went unheeded
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

[1/4] A view shows the damaged areas, in the aftermath of the floods in Derna, Libya, September 13, 2023, in this picture obtained from social media. In his report, hydrologist Ashour cites an unpublished 2006 study from the Water Resources Ministry on "the danger of the situation." The Turkish company, Arsel, lists a project on its website to repair the Derna dams as having begun in 2007 and been completed in 2012. Even as the catastrophe was unfolding on Sunday night, the Water Resources Ministry issued a post on its Facebook page telling residents not to worry. "When the water started flowing into the house, me and my two sons with their wives escaped to the roof.

Persons: Marwan Alfaituri, hydrologist Abdul Wanis Ashour, Ashour, Abdulqader Mohamed Alfakhakhri, Alwad Alshawly, hydrologist Ashour, Muammar Gaddafi, Derna, Al Qaeda, Omar al, Moghairbi, Abdulmenam, Ghaithi, Petteri Taalas, Gaddafi, Khalifa Hafter, Abdulhamid, Aguila Saleh, Yousef Alfkakhri, Tom Perry, Angus McDowall, Maya Gebeily, Laila Bassam, Tarek Amara, Emma Farge, Mariana Sandoval, Peter Graff, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Reuters, Public Water Commission, Sebha University, of, Applied Sciences, Water Resources Ministry, NATO, Islamic, Gaddafi's, Libya's, Derna, Sunday, World Meteorological Organization, Libyan National Army, Thomson Locations: Derna, Libya, Tripoli, Turkish, Islamic State, Geneva, Libyan, Benghazi

☆ 'They knew' - Libyans express fury that warnings went unheeded before catastrophic flood
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

"The Libyan government knew what was going on in the Derna River Valley and the danger of the situation for a very long time." In his report, hydrologist Ashour cites an unpublished 2006 study from the Water Resources Ministry on "the danger of the situation." The Turkish company, Arsel, lists a project on its website to repair the Derna dams as having begun in 2007 and been completed in 2012. Even as the catastrophe was unfolding on Sunday night, the Water Resources Ministry issued a post on its Facebook page telling residents not to worry. "When the water started flowing into the house, me and my two sons with their wives escaped to the roof.

Persons: hydrologist Abdul Wanis Ashour, Ashour, Abdulqader Mohamed Alfakhakhri, Alwad Alshawly, hydrologist Ashour, Muammar Gaddafi, Derna, Al Qaeda, Omar al, Moghairbi, Marwan Alfaituri, Abdulmenam, Ghaithi, Petteri Taalas, Gaddafi, Khalifa Hafter, Abdulhamid, Aguila Saleh, Yousef Alfkakhri, Tom Perry, Angus McDowall, Maya Gebeily, Laila Bassam, Tarek Amara, Emma Farge, Mariana Sandoval, Peter Graff, Frank Jack Daniel Our Organizations: Reuters, Public Water Commission, Sebha University, of, Applied Sciences, Water Resources Ministry, NATO, Islamic, Gaddafi's, Libya's, Derna, Sunday, World Meteorological Organization, Libyan National Army, Thomson Locations: Libya, Derna, Tripoli, Turkish, Islamic State, Geneva, Libyan, Benghazi

Thousands of people are confirmed dead and thousands more missing, with the mayor saying the toll could reach 20,000. Usama Al Husadi, a 52-year-old driver, had been searching for his wife and five children since the disaster. Husadi, who had been working the night of the storm, dialled his wife's phone number once again. "We lost at least 50 members from my father’s family, between missing and dead," he said. Confirmed death tolls given by officials so far have varied, but all are in the thousands, with thousands more on lists of the missing.

Persons: Hassan El Salheen, Aly, Storm Daniel, Mohamed Abd El Ghany, Usama Al Husadi, Husadi, Wali Eddin Mohamed Adam, Abdulmenam, Ghaithi, Mohamed Mohsen Bujmila, Khadija, Bujmila, Muammar Gaddafi, Peter Graff, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Derna, Saudi, Al, Rescue, United Arab, NATO, of National Unity, Thomson Locations: Libya, Al Sharief, Bani Swief, Egypt, DERNA, Libyan, Al Arabiya, Derna, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Qatar, Tripoli

☆ Devastation in Derna
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Swathes of Derna, a city of 125,000 residents, were obliterated by the flood on Sunday night, bringing down multi-storey buildings while families were asleep. Map showing the footprint of buildings in Derna, highlighting those which appear to be completely washed away. Drone shots of Derna, Libya. REUTERS Drone shots of Derna, Libya. A view shows the damaged cars, after a powerful storm and heavy rainfall hit Libya, in Derna, Libya.

Persons: Abdulmenam, Ghaithi, Hichem Abu Chkiouat, Mustafa Salem, “, hydrologist, Omar Al, Mukhtar, Storm Daniel, ”, Suzanne Gray, Muammar Gaddafi, Omran Organizations: Planet Labs PBC, Reuters, REUTERS, Plant Labs, Mukhtar University, Britain's University of Reading, Al, National Meteorological Centre, NATO, of National Unity, Fetori Locations: Libya, Derna, Greece, Tripoli

☆ Libya floods: what caused them and why are they so bad?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Aerial view of Derna city, in the aftermath of the floods in Derna, Libya September 14, 2023. After pummelling other Mediterranean countries, the powerful Storm Daniel swept into Libya at the weekend, unleashing record amounts of rain as it made landfall. The rain dumped by the storm filled a normally dry riverbed, or wadi, in the hills south of Derna. The pressure was too much for two dams built to protect the city from floods. He cited five floods since 1942, and called for immediate steps to ensure regular maintenance of the dams.

Persons: Ayman Al, Storm Daniel, hydrologist, Omar Al, Mukhtar, Abdulmenam Ghaithi, Hichem Abu Chkiouat, OCHA, Ghaithi, Muammar Gaddafi, Derna, Tom Perry, Christina Fincher Organizations: REUTERS, World Meteorological Organization, Mukhtar University, Infrastructure, Humanitarian Affairs, Reuters, International Federation of, Red Crescent Societies, United Arab, Rescuers, Derna, Thomson Locations: Derna, Libya, Libyan, Egypt, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Qatar, Tripoli

☆ Opinion | The Unimaginable Has Happened in Libya
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-13 | by ( Ethan Chorin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

This week, the worst storm in recent memory pounded the Green Mountains in eastern Libya with rain, pushing two poorly maintained, half-century-old dams to their limit. Many people in Libya are calling what happened a tsunami, not a flood, to attempt to capture the physics and power of the devastation. For Libya it will be impossible, given the disaster zone’s sudden isolation, lack of equipment and depth of the country’s political dysfunction. But it’s the United States’ unique and tragic history in Libya, its technical expertise and depth of resources in the region, that create a moral obligation for America to step into this breach. The United States left most of the rebuilding to its European allies.

Persons: Libya’s, Muammar Gaddafi, Gaddafi’s Organizations: United Locations: Libya, Derna, Derna’s, Italy, United States, Benghazi, NATO

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