NORTH AFRICA

On Thursday , Almost 40 refugees, including at least seven children, have died while to reach Italy from Libya in the latest Mediterranean migrant tragedy, Save the Children reported  . The Organization stated that some of the 80 survivors of the crossing who were brought ashore in Augusta, Sicily, reported the deaths occurred the day  before when the  boat they …

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Wednesday said that it is heartened by the positive response to its invitation for political dialogue. “The move by the parties to identify their respective delegations to the talks is a step in the right direction. In agreeing to take part in this dialogue, all the parties have clearly signalled their …

Floods in Morocco triggered by torrential rains have left 11 people dead, a local television state reported on Monday, only a week after a storm had killed 36 people. Storms lashed the south of Morocco yet again, with resort town Agadir experiencing over 10 inches (250 millimeters) of rainfall, equivalent to a year’s worth of rain, from Friday to Sunday. …

The new Tunisian parliament on Tuesday held its inaugural session, a landmark event in the nation’s transition to democracy after the 2011 revolution in the country that fuelled the region’s Arab Spring. After singing the national anthem, the National Constituent Assembly’s (NCA) speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafar opened the parliament of 217 members elected in October. “Tunisia has managed to secure …

Tunisia will hold its first multi-candidate presidential election this coming Sunday, with twenty-seven candidates in the running for President. Former premier 87-year-old Beji Caid Essebsi, whose Nidaa Tounes party won the October 26 parliamentary election, is the favorite to win the poll. His challengers include outgoing President Moncef Marzouki, left-wing politician Hamma Hammami, businessman Slim Riahi, magistrate Kalthoum Kannou, the …

The Libyan Supreme Court on Thursday discredited the internationally recognized Libyan parliament, laying the groundwork for more political chaos in the violence-wrecked North African country. The ruling, which can’t be appealed, prompted triumphant gunfire in capital city Tripoli, which has been under rebel-militia control since August. The Tripoli court also invalidated a constitutional amendment which led to elections on June …

International human rights group Amnesty International on Thursday said that rebel and pro-government militias battling in Libya are committing war crimes, including attacking civilians and torturing detainees. According to the rights group, militias fighting in the western part of the country showed “an utter disregard” for civilians and accused them of aimlessly firing artillery into crowded neighborhoods, damaging hospitals and …

The town of Erfoud in the middle of a palm grove in Morocco’s eastern desert watches over a rare treasure – petrified skeletons of prehistoric creatures. The oasis town, home to around 30,000 people, has been called by archaeologists and geologists as “the largest open air fossil museum in the world”. According to locals, the town was under the sea …

The Libyan House of Representatives based in the city of Tobruk on Tuesday ordered the army to launch an operation to “liberate” capital city Tripoli from armed militiamen. It also called on local civilians to start a civil disobedience campaign against the fighters occupying their city. The interim parliament, whose legitimacy is being disputed, in its statement said that it …

Seventeen people, including a militia chief and several soldiers, were killed in fighting near the Benghazi airport this week, military and medical sources said on Thursday. Libya has been in turmoil since the toppling of longtime dictator Muammar Gadhafi in 2011, and the interim authorities have since been facing the powerful militiamenwho had toppledGadhafi. Salim Nabbous, commander of the Shura …