TRIPOLI: The European Union’s foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini visited Libya’s capital Tripoli on Saturday to reopen the bloc’s diplomatic presence and border assistance mission.
“The return of the diplomatic presence of the EU in Libya will further strengthen co-operation with the government, local authorities and the United Nations,” the EU said in a statement.
The EU relocated its Libya delegation to Tunisia’s capital Tunis in 2014, as the country was mired into chaos after the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed dictator Muammar Qaddafi.
Mogherini met the head of Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Accord Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj and Foreign Minister Mohamed Al-Taher Siala, alongside the UN’s envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame, the EU said.
Europe is keen to see stability return to Libya to help stem the flow of migrants making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean from North Africa.
Rival Libyan leaders agreed to a French-brokered deal in May to hold elections by the end of this year, but skepticism remains high over whether a vote can take place.
Mogherini “restated the European Union’s support for the Libyan political process, in the framework provided by the United Nations, including preparations for elections,” the EU said.
Together with Sarraj she also discussed training Libya’s coast guard and securing the country’s land borders, the EU statement added.
Libya is a key transit point for thousands of African migrants trying to reach European shores.
The internationally backed government in Tripoli is opposed by a rival administration in the east supported by strongman Khalifa Haftar.
Mogherini told Sarraj that she was “relieved” a recent oil crisis had been resolved, the GNA said in a statement.
Libya on Wednesday resumed exports from its eastern Oil Crescent, after shipments had been suspended for over two weeks, due to a standoff between the rival administrations.
EU foreign policy chief visits Libya to reopen mission
EU foreign policy chief visits Libya to reopen mission
- “The return of the diplomatic presence of the EU in Libya will further strengthen co-operation with the government," said the EU
- Europe is keen to see stability return to Libya to help stem the flow of migrants
Fledgling radio station aims to be ‘voice of the people’ in Gaza
- The electricity crisis is one of the most serious and difficult problems in the Gaza Strip, says Shereen Khalifa Broadcaster
DEIR EL-BALAH: From a small studio in the central city of Deir El-Balah, Sylvia Hassan’s voice echoes across the Gaza Strip, broadcast on one of the Palestinian territory’s first radio stations to hit the airwaves after two years of war.
Hassan, a radio host on fledgling station “Here Gaza,” delivers her broadcast from a well-lit room, as members of the technical team check levels and mix backing tracks on a sound deck. “This radio station was a dream we worked to achieve for many long months and sometimes without sleep,” Hassan said.
“It was a challenge for us, and a story of resilience.”
Hassan said the station would focus on social issues and the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which remains grave in the territory despite a US-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas since October.
“The radio station’s goal is to be the voice of the people in the Gaza Strip and to express their problems and suffering, especially after the war,” said Shereen Khalifa, part of the broadcasting team.
“There are many issues that people need to voice.” Most of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million people were displaced at least once during the gruelling war.
Many still live in tents with little or no sanitation.
The war also decimated Gaza’s telecommunications and electricity infrastructure, compounding the challenges in reviving the territory’s local media landscape. “The electricity problem is one of the most serious and difficult problems in the Gaza Strip,” said Khalifa.
“We have solar power, but sometimes it doesn’t work well, so we have to rely on an external generator,” she added.
The station’s launch is funded by the EU and overseen by Filastiniyat, an organization that supports Palestinian women journalists, and the media center at the An-Najah National University in Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.
The station plans to broadcast for two hours per day from Gaza and for longer from Nablus. It is available on FM and online.
Khalifa said that stable internet access had been one of the biggest obstacles in setting up the station, but that it was now broadcasting uninterrupted audio.
The Gaza Strip, a tiny territory surrounded by Israel, Egypt, and the Mediterranean Sea, has been under Israeli blockade even before the attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which sparked the war. Despite the ceasefire, Israel continues to strictly control the entry of all goods and people to the territory.
“Under the siege, it is natural that modern equipment necessary for radio broadcasting cannot enter, so we have made the most of what is available,” she said.
