Foreign News
Marco Rubio meets Libyan commander as US pushes to resolve Libya crisis
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has met a top official from the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), which backs the government in eastern Libya and is competing for power with the internationally recognised authorities in the capital, Tripoli.
The talks between Rubio and Deputy Commander Saddam Haftar on Monday come amid Washington’s deepening involvement in attempting to resolve the political crisis in the North African country.
The US State Department, in a statement, said Rubio and Haftar “discussed ongoing Libyan-led efforts to unify the country’s military, economic, and political institutions” and the “possible avenues for cooperation to advance unity and peace in Libya”. “The Secretary expressed appreciation for the efforts of Libyan leaders to overcome divisions and move toward unity,” the statement added.
“The United States will remain at the forefront of diplomatic efforts to support Libyan unity and create the conditions for a democratically elected government able to lead Libya forward.”
In April, the US helped broker an agreement for unified spending between the two competing governments in Libya. The deal covered wages for public sector employees and the National Oil Corporation.
The US is also pushing to establish military cooperation between the governments in eastern and western Libya. Last year, forces loyal to both governments participated in joint drills with the US military in the central coastal city of Sirte.
Libya descended into chaos and civil strife after a NATO-backed armed uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
The current fractured governance traces back to 2014, when Libyans elected a new legislative body, dubbed the House of Representatives, with a low turnout amid clashes between armed groups.
A top court in Tripoli declared the House of Representatives, which had moved to eastern Libya after armed groups took over Tripoli, invalid.
But the legislative body did not dissolve. Instead, it backed a rival government in the east, which was then supported by the LNA, formed by Khalifa Haftar, Saddam’s father.
The older Haftar had served as a senior officer in the Libyan army under Gaddafi, but he defected and moved to the US in 1990 after he was captured by Chadian forces during fighting between Chad and Libya.
He has been the de facto ruler of eastern Libya since his LNA consolidated power in the region after 2016.
In 2019, the LNA mounted a campaign to capture Tripoli. It reached the capital, but its gains were quickly rolled back by forces loyal to the internationally recognised government.
A ceasefire between the two sides was reached in 2020, but the country remained divided between the two governments and clashes continued to regularly break out across Libya.
Saddam Haftar, who is the heir apparent to lead the LNA after his father, has been meeting with top officials across the region and the world in recent weeks, including Egypt’s defence minister and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has deepened Washington’s diplomatic efforts in the oil-rich North African country, with White House adviser Massad Boulos leading an initiative to unify the two competing governments.
Boulos told Al Hadath TV on Friday that the Libyan sides would be invited to Washington, DC, to sign a final agreement in the presence of Trump, should one be reached.
“The United States will continue its efforts to support the Libyan people, who have suffered 15 years of war and division,” Boulos said in a social media post.
[Aljazeera]
US authorities have found debris from a medical transport aircraft that went missing with six people on board.
The Federal Aviation Administration told the BBC it had lost contact with the Gulfstream G-100 plane just after 01:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on Saturday, while it was travelling from Bermuda to Boston, Massachusetts.
The search for survivors continues off the coast of Nantucket, a Massachusetts island, the US Coast Guard said.
Authorities have notified the next of kin of those on the flight, four Canadian nationals and two Bermudian nationals.
“Search crews located a debris field confirmed to be from the aircraft off the coast of Nantucket,” the US Coast Guard said in an update on Saturday night. It added that ships, helicopters and planes were involved in searches that would through continue the night.
The plane departed from Bermuda’s L.F. Wade International Airport at 23:40 local time, according to flight data from FlightAware, and was due to land at Boston’s Logan International at 01:30 EDT (05:30 GMT).
According to the tail number released by the Coast Guard, the plane belonged to Latitude Air Ambulances, a company that provides international medical flights for patients returning home.
Among those on board were two pilots and two medical staff, both Canadian, Clarence Togeretz, director of flight operations at Latitude, told CBC News.
The crew flew to Bermuda to collect a patient and their relative, who are not Canadian, Togeretz said.
FlightAware’s tracker shows the aircraft significantly dropped in altitude before its communications went dark, plummeting from around 7,300m (24,000ft) to 3,300m (11,000ft).
Radio transmissions shows trouble with communications between the air traffic controller and the pilot, the Boston Globe reported based on transmissions provided by LiveATC.net.
“You’re coming in blind? Is that what you said?,” the air traffic controller asked. “Are you declaring an emergency, or no?”
The pilot’s response was inaudible.
“You’re coming in a little weak so I didn’t hear what your response was, if you were declaring an emergency or not,” the air traffic controller said, according to the Globe.
The air traffic controller later confirmed the pilot had declared an emergency.
An area fire dispatcher asked emergency crews just after 01:00 EDT to prepare to meet a plane with an “electrical issue”.
The dispatcher later said “the aircraft has lost radio and radar”.
The Coast Guard said it would provide an update on Sunday morning local time.
[BBC]
A car has crashed into a crowd of rugby league supporters in the eastern Australian city of Newcastle, injuring 10 people, including three children.
New South Wales police said on Saturday that two of the injured – a five-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man – were in a critical condition and the other eight were in stable condition in hospital.
Police said they had arrested the 18-year-old man driving the vehicle and were investigating what happened. They said the crash was not believed to be related to “terrorism”.
The crowd had gathered to farewell the local rugby league side, the Newcastle Knights, ahead of their grand final against the Sydney Roosters on Sunday.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Gavin Morris said the driver, a rugby league fan, had lost control of his vehicle and had been taken into custody.
“He was revving the car, he was excited, he was a supporter, he was there for the joy of the moment,” Morris told the national broadcaster ABC.
“Somehow he lost control of the car … and he’s gone into the crowd,” he added.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “My thoughts are with everyone injured or involved in the horrible incident this morning in Newcastle.”
“Rugby league brings people together, and this should have been a weekend of excitement and pride for Newcastle fans,” he wrote in a social media post.
[Aljazeera]
Polls have opened in Latvia for an election taking place against the backdrop of perceived security threats from Russia and a nationwide cost-of-living squeeze.
Saturday’s vote is the first electoral test for Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs after coming to power in May this year when his predecessor resigned due to a backlash from stray drone incursions from Ukraine.
Kulbergs, whose right-wing United List party is currently polling at about 20 percent, is expected to hold onto his position, but the decline of two allies in his current coalition means he is set for a complicated negotiation over the makeup of any future government.
Polls opened at 05:00 GMT and will close at 17:00 GMT. The results are not expected to change Latvia’s pro-European and pro-Ukrainian course.
About 1.5 million people are eligible to vote in the country’s 11th parliamentary election since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Latvian politics are highly fragmented, with parties rarely seeing above 20 percent vote share and coalitions being the norm.
This year, 14 electoral lists are contesting the election, but polls indicate only seven are likely to enter parliament, with the rest expected to fail to meet the minimum 5 percent vote threshold.
Rising living costs, low wages, strains on the healthcare system and long-term population decline have all featured prominently in campaign debates.
Most parties in Latvia are pro-Ukraine; however, the populist Sovereign Power party – which says it wants Ukraine to win but argues money spent supporting Kyiv would be better spent at home – looks likely to become the country’s second-biggest party, with more than 9 percent of the vote. Most other parties have ruled out forming a coalition with Sovereign Power.
Latvia First, a pro-Ukraine and populist nationalist party currently polling at about 9 percent, could be a potential coalition partner for PM Kulbergs.
The Progressives, a pro-European social democratic party, are polling at 6 percent.
Ethnic Russians make up roughly one in four Latvian citizens, but their vote, which has traditionally been cast along identity-based lines, looks set to be made according to economic and social issues.
Latvia is the poorest of the Baltic states, and it has sharply increased its defence spending since Russia invaded Ukraine, now allocating nearly 5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) to defence.
[Aljazeera]
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