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Libya flood relief hampered by 'turf wars' and division

More than three weeks after Libya's deadly flood disaster, the divided country's two rival administrations remain bitterly at odds on how to manage the massive aid and reconstruction effort.

The aftermath of the disaster on September 10-11 has seen the rival camps in the east and west of the war-scarred country both announce their own plans for a reconstruction conference.

The United Nations, Western governments and international observers warn that Libya's dysfunctional politics are hampering efforts to help the tens of thousands of displaced survivors rebuild their lives.

'The death toll is huge and might reach thousands,' Tamer Ramadan of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies told reporters

For Iranian refugees, French wine harvest part of anti-government 'struggle'

Swapping their state-enforced veils for T-shirts reading "life" and "liberty", a group of Iranian women who have fled to France now help make wine that traces its roots back to ancient Persia.

"We won't stop, we will keep fighting. The struggle against the mullahs, the Islamic republic, is going on here in a different way," said Marjan Jangjoo, her head bared to the rain in a vineyard in France's western Dordogne region.

"The revolution won't be done in a day, but it's on the move," she added.

Marjan Jangjoo was a yoga and snowboarding instructor before fleeing Iran

Yemen economy tanks as talks fail to restore truce: NGOs

Food shortages, power cuts and a collapsing currency are upending daily life in Yemen as peace talks make no headway in restoring a ceasefire that lapsed one year ago, around 50 NGOs said late Monday.

"While economic challenges are rife across the country, rising inflation and the deterioration of public services are making life unbearable," said a statement signed by 35 Yemeni groups and 13 international aid organisations including the Danish Refugee Council and Save the Children.

The World Food Programme warned in August that more than four million Yemenis would receive less food assistance from the end of September as a result of funding shortages

Oil industry 'central' to climate solutions: COP28 head

The president of the upcoming COP28 climate talks told an Abu Dhabi oil conference on Monday that the fossil fuel industry would play an essential role in addressing the climate crisis.

"For too long, this industry has been viewed as part of the problem, that it's not doing enough and in some cases even blocking progress," said Sultan Al Jaber, the president-designate of the COP28 talks, who is also the head of UAE state-owned oil firm ADNOC.

The president of the COP28 climate talks, Sultan Al Jaber, urged industry figures at the ADIPEC oil  conference to curb emissions and expand use of renewables

Egypt's Sisi announces run for third term to 'complete the dream'

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced Monday his candidacy for a third term in office, ahead of December elections he is widely expected to win.

"As I have responded to the people's call before, I heed the call now and announce my intention to run and complete the dream in a new presidential term," Sisi, 68, told a cheering crowd in Egypt's new capital -- the crowning jewel of a megaproject in the desert east of Cairo.

State-aligned television showed thousands of people celebrating the announcement in ready-built stages across the country.

While Egypt's Sisi has yet to announced his intention to run, crowds gathered in Cairo to show support

'No one better': Egyptians rally for Sisi third term

Thousands of Egyptians rallied Monday in Cairo, calling for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to declare his candidacy in upcoming elections, as convoys of buses carrying his image blocked major streets.

Egyptians will head to the polls on December 10-12 for a vote the 68-year-old former army chief is widely expected to win.

While Sisi has not yet announced his intention to run for a third term, crowds gathered in the capital to show their support.

While Egypt's Sisi has yet to announced his intention to run, crowds gathered in Cairo to show support

Taxi bomber angry over asylum rejection, say UK police

An Iraqi-born man who detonated a bomb outside a UK hospital two years ago held a grievance against the British state for rejecting his asylum claim, police said Monday.

Emad Al Swealmeen, 32, was killed when he set off the homemade device in a taxi outside Liverpool Women's Hospital in northwest England in November 2021.

No one else died in the botched attack, with the taxi driver managing to escape with minor injuries.

The explosion outside a Liverpool hospital in 2021 was declared a terrorist incident by police

Coup-hit Niger set for Algerian mediation

Niger's coup leaders have accepted Algerian mediation to resolve a political crisis following the toppling of the president who is filing a legal case against the putschists.

Military leaders in the West African state have agreed to "a six-month transition plan" to restore "the constitutional order", Algeria's foreign ministry announced Monday.

They ousted Niger's democratically elected, pro-Western president Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 and had proposed a three-year transition back to democracy.

Niger's ousted president Mohamed Bazoum has been held in his residence since the coup on July 26

World champion Yavi takes charge in Hangzhou as Hadadi's long reign ends

Bahrain's untouchable world title holder Winfred Yavi surged to the Asian Games 3,000m steeplechase gold medal on Monday, as Iranian veteran Ehsan Hadadi's 17-year reign as discus champion came to an end.

Yavi was in a league of her own at the Hangzhou Olympic Stadium, defending her title in a new Games record 9min 18.28sec to back up the 1,500m gold she won on Sunday.

It was the highlight of a night where the titles were split between six nations, including China's Li Ling claiming a third straight women's pole vault gold, clearing a new Games record 4.63m.

Bahrain world champion Winfred Yavi celebrates winning the Asian Games 3,000m steeplechase

New UN migration chief to visit Africa on first trip

The new head of the UN's migration agency will visit Africa on her first official trip from Sunday to highlight the scale of migration happening around the continent.

Amy Pope, the first woman elected to lead the International Organization for Migration, will then head to Brussels as the 27-member EU bloc deals with a recent influx of migrant arrivals in Italy.

The American, who took office on October 1, will visit the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa, before meeting Ethiopian officials.

She will then travel to Kenya and Djibouti.