‎The Minister of Health, Mohamed Al-Ghouj, along with the WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Hanan Al-Balkhi, and the WHO Country Director in Libya, Ahmed Zweiten, chaired a technical meeting that brought together the directors of the Ministry’s technical departments and their counterparts from the WHO technical team. The meeting was dedicated to reviewing […] The post Health Ministry signs Strategic Cooperation Agreement 2026-2027 with WHO – announces results of the 100-Day Initiative appeared first on LibyaHerald.

Armed clashes and exchanges of fire broke out in the city of Zawia overnight, intensifying rapidly as the morning went on. The city clashes included in the early hours of this morning the areas near the Zawia Oil Refinery complex. No injuries or deaths have been officially reported at the time of publication. Zawia Refinery […] The post Zawia clashes lead to Zawia Refinery shutdown and evacuation of Zawia Port appeared first on LibyaHerald.

The pollution spreading across southern Russia exposes environmental collapse under Putin's system.

State TV releases a video of IRGC forces boarding and detaining the Barbados-flagged vessel, Ocean Koi.

The Constitutional Court says MPs were was wrong to block impeachment proceedings against Cyril Ramaphosa.

Fear and uncertainty linger for Somali migrants in Minnesota despite a legal reprieve.

Iran accuses the US of violating the truce, alleging it targeted an oil tanker and carried out attacks on coastal areas.

Mediator Pakistan says it is "endeavouring to convert this ceasefire into a permanent end to this war".

Head of Jewish National Fund UK loses council seat in UK local elections Submitted by MEE staff on Fri, 05/08/2026 - 12:59 Alan Mendoza, whose charity donated £1m to 'Israel's largest militia', fails to be re-elected as Reform UK councillor Alan Mendoza is the executive director of the right-wing think tank the Henry Jackson Society and head of the Jewish National Fund UK (Screengrab) Off The president of the UK branch of the Jewish National Fund (JNF), an organisation involved in the displacement of Palestinians, has failed to be re-elected as a councillor for the right-wing Reform UK party. Alan Mendoza was a Conservative councillor in Westminster before defecting to Reform UK last year. He is reportedly a chief adviser to the party on global affairs.  In Thursday’s local elections, he lost in the Abbey Road ward in Westminster to Conservative candidates.  Mendoza is the executive director of the right-wing think tank the Henry Jackson Society and the head of the JNF UK.  The British charity has donated £1m ($1.36m) to "Israel's largest militia" and has Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court, as an honorary patron.  (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The UK branch has also supported Israeli settlements, which are illegal under international law. As a registered charity, JNF UK receives tax relief on donations. The organisation's accounts show that between 2015 and 2018 it paid over £1m to Hashomer Hachadash (HH), a Zionist militia that operates in the occupied West Bank. Reform's Farage urges entry into war after UK bases not used in strikes on Iran Read More » Israeli newspaper Haaretz described the organisation as having gone from being a "fringe right-wing organisation" to "Israel's largest militia". Several Reform candidates and lawmakers have expressed support for Israel.  One of those candidates, evangelical pastor John Quintanilla, said the existence “of the land of Palestine” was a “media lie started by Yasser Arafat”, Byline Times reported earlier this week. In a November 2025 sermon, Quintanilla said: “There is no land called Palestine… It is a media lie started by Yasser Arafat, an Egyptian." Later in the sermon, he said: “If you look at the history of Islam, where it has conquered and warred and colonised, all you will see is poverty, war and darkness.” Reform UK made huge gains in the local elections, winning more than 440 councils by Friday afternoon, with more results still to be announced. Labour lost hundreds of councillors, with its tally standing just over 260 at the time of publishing.  UK Politics News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

UAE's ruling al-Nayhan family receives tens of millions in EU farming subsidies Submitted by MEE staff on Fri, 05/08/2026 - 11:22 The world's second-richest family has acquired vast swathes of European farmland and is taking EU subsidies, DeSmog reveals Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed AI Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi, attends a meeting with China's President Xi Jinping, 14 April 2026 (Reuters/Haruna Furuhashi) Off The United Arab Emirates’ ruling al-Nahyan family is benefiting from tens of millions in European Union subsidies to grow crops destined for the Gulf, according to a new investigation by DeSmog.  The independent investigative journalism organisation found that subsidiaries controlled by Abu Dhabi's royal family collected more than €71m ($84) over six years for farmland it controls in Romania, Italy and Spain. The Al Nahyan family is the second richest in the world, with an estimated wealth of more than $320bn, mostly derived from the Emirates’ vast oil and gas reserves. The EU pays out about $64bn each year to farmers and rural areas under its common agricultural policy (Cap). This accounts for a third of the union's entire budget, but an unknown amount of it ends up in the hands of foreign investors. DeSmog, in partnership with El Diario and G4Media, said it reviewed data for thousands of Cap beneficiaries between 2019 and 2024, tracing 110 European subsidy payments to a network of companies and subsidiaries controlled by the Al Nahyans and Abu Dhabi's investment and holding company, ADQ. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The largest payment uncovered by the investigation came through the Romanian agricultural company Agricost, which owns the EU’s single largest farm, measuring 57,000 hectares, five times the size of Paris. EU farm subsidies disproportionately benefit large landowners, DeSmog said. In 2024 alone, Agricost received over $10m in direct payments, which was more than 1,600 times the amount collected by the average EU farm. The Al Nahyans and companies named in the investigation did not respond to multiple requests for comment from DeSmog. ADQ declined to respond.  UAE buys up farmland worldwide In just over 15 years, the UAE has bought up vast swathes of land and agribusiness companies across Africa, South America and Europe. It now controls around 960,000 hectares of farmland worldwide. This expansion forms part of the Emirates’ wider food security strategy, which aims to secure supplies for a country where high temperatures, water scarcity, and sandy soil make growing crops a major challenge. The UAE currently imports up to 90 percent of its food. How the UAE benefits from European farming subsidies (DeSmog/ European Commission data) (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The desire to acquire more farmland has also been cited as a reason behind the UAE's involvement in the Sudan war, where Abu Dhabi backs the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary, which has been widely accused of genocide. The UAE controls several land and farming operations in Sudan. International Holding Company (IHC), the UAE’s largest listed corporation, and Jenaan Investment are farming more than 50,000 hectares in Sudan. Abu Hamad’s farming project covers another 162,000 hectares of cultivated land.  Abu Hamad is a massive farming project led by IHC in partnership with Dal Group, Sudan’s largest private company. This project will link the agricultural area to a new Red Sea port, Abu Amama port, constructed and operated by AD Ports Group, which is based in Abu Dhabi. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The DeSmog investigation found that in the EU, the expansion has been channelled through three main companies, based in Spain, Italy and Romania.  Sudan's Burhan confronts UAE and Ethiopia over Khartoum airport drone strikes Read More » Agricost, Romania’s vast farm, was bought by the Al Nahyans in 2018 for an estimated €230m ($270m) through Al Dahra, the UAE agribusiness group. Al Dahra was founded by President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan's brother Hamdan, before Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, ADQ, purchased 50 percent of the firm in 2020. No information on Al Dahra’s current ownership structure is publicly available, but DeSmog said it understood that it remains linked to individuals on the board, which is chaired by Hamdan, and his son, Zayed bin Hamdan, who is married to Mohammed bin Zayed's daughter. Since 2012, Al Dahra has also acquired multiple farm companies in Spain, DeSmog reported. These are responsible for over 8,000 hectares of land and together received more than €5m (£5.9m) in Cap subsidies between 2015 and 2024. According to the investigation, the UAE’s Spanish and Romanian farms both cultivate alfalfa and other crops for animal feed, with the majority of produce designed for export, including to the Gulf. Al Dahra holds a long-term contract with the UAE government to supply animal feed for the country, partly used for its rapidly growing dairy sector. In 2022, sovereign wealth fund ADQ also purchased Unifrutti, a fruit producer with an estimated worth of $830m ($976m). According to DeSmog’s analysis, Unifrutti’s Italian farms received at least €186,000 in Cap subsidies in the three years following the sale.  Inside UAE News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0

The unilateral ceasefire declared by Russia on the eve of its national World War II commemorations crumbled right after it took effect. Ukraine and Russia launched major attacks against each other, forcing Russia to scale down its victory parade for the first time in almost 20 years. Story by Shirli Sitbon.

The World Health Organization on Friday reiterated that a hantavirus outbreak risk to the general public is "absolutely low". Three passengers from the MV Hondius have died while others have fallen sick with the rare disease, which usually spreads among rodents. The vessel has around 150 people on board and is expected to arrive in the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife on Sunday.

CAIRO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said Thursday his country was in an economic “state of near-emergency” as a result of the Middle East war, warning of runaway inflation. The Arab world’s most populous nation has not been physically impacted by the US and Israeli war with Iran, which has seen strikes on Egypt’s wealthy Gulf allies and paralyzed trade through the vital Strait of Hormuz.

BEIRUT: Lebanon faces what officials described as “one of the most dangerous moments in recent memory” after Hezbollah launched attacks on Israeli forces from areas both south and north of the Litani River, triggering a renewed Israeli air and ground campaign. Announcing its ground incursion into southern Lebanon, Israel said it aims to establish what it called a permanent “security zone” along the border.

Pix of the Day, 8 May 2026

Shakira shared a minute-long teaser clip on Thursday of a new song, writing on social media, “From Maracaná Stadium, here is “Dai Dai,” the FIFA World Cup Official Song 2026."