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Saif al-Islam Gaddafi planning political comeback in Libya

A son of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi who vanished six years ago and was thought to have died has reappeared and announced his intention to re-enter politics. Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who is still wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, said he intended to unify Libya at the head of his father's “Green movement”. In his first public remarks since he was sentenced to death by a Libyan court in 2015, the 49-year-old claimed he would command widespr...

UPDATED: U.S military says it is assisting tanker that was attacked off Oman

The U.S. Navy is assisting an Israeli-managed petroleum products tanker that was fatally attacked on Thursday off the coast of Oman, the U.S. military said on Saturday, adding the ship was most likely hit by a drone strike. The Mercer Street, a Liberian-flagged, Japanese-owned vessel, is currently being escorted by the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement. "U.S. Navy explosives experts are aboard to ensure there is no additional danger t...

Massive wildfires in Sicily

A wildfire in the island of Sicily has forced hundreds of tourists to evacuate and left others trapped in the holiday spot as all flights have been cancelled. A wildfire in the surroundings of Catania Airport, in Sicily, forced the diversion of flights to other airports. The most affected area is Fossa Creta where families have been forced to leave their homes. Most roads on the island are currently closed. The fire has also destroyed part of the seafront in the town of Plaia, l...

Cyprus to vaccinate 12-15 year olds against COVID-19

Cyprus said children aged 12 to 15 would be included in a mass inoculation programme to curb the spread of COVID-19, as it tightened regulations for access to public areas. The island has been experiencing an aggressive spike caused by the highly infectious Delta variant of the virus which started manifesting in mid-June. Cyprus has recorded 416 deaths from the coronavirus since March 2020 and 100,784 infections. "The only way we can stop the emergence of new aggressive strains (of CO...

Belarus leader would ‘not hesitate’ to invite Russian troops if needed

Belarus would not hesitate to invite Russian troops if needed, President Alexander Lukashenko said, although he said there was no need for them now. Russia has maintained close military and economic ties with its ally Belarus, even as Western countries have ostracised the country since Lukashenko cracked down on mass protests following a contested presidential election last year. Lukashenko said Belarus had coped with the unrest without any external forces and could muster around 500,...

Russia blames software glitch after space station briefly thrown out of control

A software glitch, and possible lapse in human attention, were to blame for throwing the International Space Station out of control, but work was proceeding to activate a newly attached module at the centre of the mishap, Russian space officials said. Jet thrusters on the Russian research module Nauka inadvertently reignited on Thursday a few hours after it had docked to the space station, causing the entire orbital outpost to pitch out of its normal flight position some 250 miles above ...

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi planning political comeback in Libya

More countries hike climate pledges, piling pressure on major emitters

A group of mostly smaller countries submitted new, more ambitious climate pledges to the United Nations this week, raising pressure on big emitters including China to do the same ahead of a major U.N. climate summit in November. U.N. climate chief Patricia Espinosa said that as of Saturday the United Nations had received new pledges from 110 countries, out of the nearly 200 that signed the 2015 Paris climate accord. "It is still far from satisfactory, since only a little over half the...