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Libya repatriates 369 Nigeria and Mali migrants

Libya repatriated Tuesday 369 irregular migrants to their home countries Nigeria and Mali, including more than one hundred women and children, an official told AFP.

Mohammed Baredaa, head of the Libyan interior ministry organisation tasked with halting irregular migration, said two repatriations flights took place transporting 204 Nigerians and 165 Malians.

Nine babies, 18 minors, and 108 women were among the Nigerian irregular migrants, said Baredaa.

He said that the flights were carried out "in coordination with the International Organization for Migration (IOM)".

A group of Nigerian migrants being repatriated to their home country from Libya in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration get ready to board a plane at Tripoli airport

'Little Olympian': fencer says competed in Paris heavily pregnant

Egyptian fencer Nada Hafez has revealed she competed at the Paris Olympics, reaching the last 16 in her event and defeating a higher-ranked rival on the way, while seven months pregnant.

Hafez, a three-time Olympian from Cairo, ranked 26th, beat American fencer Elizabeth Tartakovsky in the sabre event before succumbing to Hayoung Jeon of South Korea in the quarter finals on Monday.

"Three times *Olympian* but this time carrying a little Olympian!" the 26-year-old said on Instagram late Monday.

Egypt's Nada Hafez, on the right in 2016, says she competed in 2024 while pregnant

Tunisia's upcoming presidential race marred by candidacy constraints

Tunisia has kicked off candidacy submissions for its upcoming presidential election on October 6, amid what experts say are significant constraints on hopefuls challenging incumbent President Kais Saied.

A number of conditions and requirements to run for office have changed under Saied, 66, who was democratically elected in 2019 but orchestrated a sweeping power grab in 2021.

To qualify to appear on the ballot, candidates are required to gather "an enormous number" of signatures, said Amine Kharrat, a political analyst at independent observatory Al Bawsala.

Supporters of Tunisian President Kais Saied hold his image during a rally along the Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis, on July 25

Druze in Golan reject Israeli threats to retaliate for rocket strike

Druze residents of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights distanced themselves Tuesday from Israeli threats to retaliate against Lebanon's Hezbollah group for a deadly rocket strike on a Druze Arab town in the territory.

Most of Majdal Shams's around 11,000 residents still identify as Syrian more than half a century after Israel seized the Golan Heights from Syria and later annexed it in a move not recognised by the international community.

Druze pallbearers carry the coffin of Guevara Ibrahim, 11, one of 12 children killed in a rocket strike in the Druze Arab town of Majdal Shams in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on Saturday

How might Israel retaliate against Hezbollah for Golan strike?

For months, Israel has vowed to put an end to the frequent cross-border fire from Hezbollah which has led authorities to evacuate tens of thousands of citizens from areas near the border with Lebanon.

The situation has grown more tense this week following a rocket strike on the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights which killed 12 children, raising fears of a further escalation in Israel's conflict with Hezbollah.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant is among the Israeli leaders to have pledged to retaliate against Hezbollah for the rocket strike in the annexed Golan Heights

What we know about Hezbollah's weapons arsenal

After a deadly strike on civilians in the annexed Golan Heights, Israel has threatened retaliation against Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, accusing it of perpetrating the attack with an Iranian-made Falaq-1 rocket -- part of its wide-ranging arsenal.

Hezbollah has traded near-daily cross-border fire with Israel in support of Hamas since the Palestinian militant group's October 7 attack on southern Israel triggered war in the Gaza Strip.

Smoke rises on November 20, 2023 from an Israeli military base near the border with Lebanon after Hezbollah missile fire

Israel army says 9 soldiers held over suspected abuse of detainee

The Israeli military said Monday nine soldiers were being held in a case of suspected abuse of a Palestinian detainee at a facility holding Palestinians arrested from Gaza during the war.

Israeli civilians protested outside a military base where the nine soldiers were being held, while several others -- also in an attempt to show support -- broke into a detention facility where the alleged abuse occurred.

A military spokesman confirmed to AFP that nine soldiers had been held and they "were taken for questioning" on the case.

Israelis demonstrate next to the Sde Teiman military base near Beersheba, after nine soldiers were held for questioning, the army said, in a case of suspected abuse of a detainee

Dolphin cruises help Istanbul treasure its Bosphorus bottlenoses

As the first dolphin fin surfaced from the Bosphorus, a ripple of excitement went round passengers on a free boat ride to see one of Istanbul's most graceful sights.

Whether they live there or are just passing through, dolphins and porpoises feel very much at home in the busy strait that bisects the Turkish megapolis of some 16 million people.

Istanbul city council organises free summer dolphin spotting trips with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to raise awareness of the dangers facing the sea mammals.

A dolphin swims in the Bosphorus strait that cuts through Istanbul

Lebanon on alert as Israel vows 'severe' response to rocket deaths

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday vowed a "severe" response to a deadly strike that killed 12 youths in the annexed Golan Heights, as diplomats raced to contain escalation between Israel and Hezbollah.

On a visit to the site of the deadly rocket strike in the town of Majdal Shams, Netanyahu said: "The State of Israel will not, and cannot, let this pass. Our response will come and it will be severe."

He was greeted by protests during the visit, which came after mourners gathered in the Druze Arab town to bury the last victim, 11-year-old Guevara Ibrahim.

Portraits of the children and teens hang on the football stadium fence where a rocket landed and killed them, in the Druze Arab village of Majdal Shams, in the Israel annexed Golan Heights

Yemen port damage estimated at $20 mn after Israel strike: official

An Israeli strike on Yemen's rebel-held Hodeida port has caused at least $20 million in damage, adding to losses due to the destruction of fuel storage facilities, a port official has said.

The July 20 attack on Hodeida, the main harbour under the control of the Iran-backed Huthi rebels, destroyed most of the port's oil storage capacity and triggered a massive inferno that burned for days.

Nine people were killed in the strike, according to the rebels, the first attack ever claimed by Israel on Yemen which came a day after a deadly Huthi attack on Israel.

Yemen's rebel-held Hodeida port has resumed operations after a lull following the Israeli strike