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Republican DA asks Wisconsin Supreme Court to decide abortion lawsuit without lower court ruling -                      ...
21/02/2024

Republican DA asks Wisconsin Supreme Court to decide abortion lawsuit without lower court ruling - .S.news - MADISON, Wis. (news agencies) — A Republican prosecutor asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday to decide whether a 174-year-old state law bans abortion in the state without waiting for a ruling from a lower appellate court.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion, reactivated an 1849 law that conservatives have interpreted as banning abortion.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, filed a lawsuit arguing that the law is too old to enforce and conflicts with a 1985 law permitting abortions before fetuses can survive outside the womb. Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper ruled in July that since the law doesn’t use the term “abortion,” it only prohibits attacking a woman in an attempt to kill her unborn child. The ruling emboldened Planned Parenthood to resume offering abortions in the state.

Sheboygan County District Attorney Joel Urmanski, a Republican who is defending the statutes as a ban, said in December that he would appeal the Dane County ruling. He filed a petition with the state Supreme Court on Tuesday asking the justices to take the case without waiting for a decision from a lower state appeals court.

Urmanski’s attorney, Matt Thome, wrote in the petition that the state Supreme Court should decide the appeal because its ruling will have a statewide impact and guide policymakers. The case will eventually end up before the high court anyway, he added.

The petition states that Kaul agrees that the state Supreme Court should take the appeal directly. State Justice Department spokesperson Melanie Conklin had no immediate comment.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin’s chief strategy officer, Michelle Velasquez, said in a statement that the organization agrees that allowing the appeal to go through lower courts would only create needless delays before the Supreme Court issues a final decision.

Urmanski faces an uphill battle if the state Supreme Court takes the case. Liberal justices control the court, and one of them, Justice Janet Protasiewicz, repeatedly stated on the campaign trail last year that she supports abortion rights.
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MADISON, Wis. (news agencies) — A Republican prosecutor asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday to decide whether a 174-year-old state law bans abortion

UK parliament speaker gives Labour Gaza ceasefire vote reprieve -           - Government and SNP condemn Speaker Lindsay...
21/02/2024

UK parliament speaker gives Labour Gaza ceasefire vote reprieve - - Government and SNP condemn Speaker Lindsay Hoyle for his handling of the Gaza ceasefire debate.
The UK’s House of Commons has descended into chaos as the government and the Scottish National Party (SNP) condemned Speaker Lindsay Hoyle for his handling of a key vote on support for a ceasefire in Gaza.

SNP members of parliament (MPs) and some Conservatives walked out of the chamber on Wednesday in an apparent protest at the speaker’s actions as the debate reached its conclusion.

Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt claimed Hoyle had “hijacked” the debate and “undermined the confidence” of the House in its longstanding rules by allowing MPs to vote on a Labour amendment to an SNP motion calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and Israel.

The initial SNP motion also called for an end to the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people” by Israel. But Labour’s motion included language that caveated calls for a ceasefire by noting that “Israel cannot be expected to cease fighting if Hamas continues with violence”.

It had been expected that Hoyle would prioritise a government amendment to the SNP motion, which sought an “immediate humanitarian pause” – and not a ceasefire – to Israel’s war on Gaza.

However, by instead prioritising the opposition Labour Party’s rival motion, Hoyle was accused of breaking precedent. More importantly, the decision allowed Labour to avoid a potentially damaging split over the SNP motion, with some Labour MPs willing to support it, but party leadership telling its parliamentarians not to vote for it without the Labour amendment.

The number of Labour MPs willing to vote against the directive from party leader Keir Starmer would likely have led to the biggest revolt against his leadership since he became leader of the opposition in 2020.

Instead, by bringing the Labour motion forward, Hoyle gave potential rebels the opportunity to support their party leadership instead of the SNP, while still backing a ceasefire – even if the motion’s language was less blunt than the Scottish party’s.

SNP MPs were understood to have headed to the voting lobby after the walkout from the chamber.

Ian Blackford, an SNP MP, told media that the day’s events in parliament had distracted from events in Gaza and made the eventual vote less impactful.

“[The Labour Party] came up with this proposition that allowed them to have a vote, and the purpose of that – particularly when the government party [the Conservatives] wouldn’t participate in it – meant that our meaningful vote … wasn’t taken,” Blackford said. “I regret that tonight we’re having to discuss this, rather than discuss the need of protecting the people in Gaza that need that ceasefire to take place.”

One Conservative MP, William Wragg, has brought forward a parliamentary motion expressing no confidence in the speaker, a sign of the anger of some parliamentarians at what is perceived to be a deviation from the speaker’s traditionally neutral role.

Speaker denies accusations

Hoyle returned to the House of Commons later in the evening and apologised.

“I have tried to do what I thought was the right thing for all sides of this House,” Hoyle said. “It is regrettable, and I apologise, that the decision didn’t end up in the place that I wished.”

“Keir Starmer [and] his Labour Party have kind of gotten out of a sticky mess, but it leaves parliament looking extremely compromised. What was a serious debate about this crucial issue about civilian life in Gaza has ended in this procedural nightmare.”
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Government and SNP condemn Speaker Lindsay Hoyle for his handling of the Gaza ceasefire debate.

Federal Reserve minutes: Officials worried that progress on inflation could stall in coming months -                    ...
21/02/2024

Federal Reserve minutes: Officials worried that progress on inflation could stall in coming months - .S.news - WASHINGTON (news agencies) — Federal Reserve officials acknowledged at their most recent meeting in January that there had been “significant progress” in reducing U.S. inflation. But some of the policymakers expressed concern that strong growth in spending and hiring could disrupt that progress.

In minutes from the Jan. 30-31 meeting released Wednesday, most Fed officials also said they were worried about moving too fast to cut their benchmark interest rate before it was clear that inflation was sustainably returning to their 2% target. Only “a couple” were worried about the opposite risk — that the Fed might keep rates too high for too long and cause the economy to significantly weaken or even slip into a recession.

Some officials “noted the risk that progress toward price stability could stall, particularly if aggregate demand strengthened” or that the progress in improving supply chains could falter.

Officials also cited the disruptions in Red Sea shipping, stemming from the conflict in the Middle East, as a trend that could accelerate prices.

The sentiments expressed in Wednesday’s minutes help explain the Fed’s decision last month to signal that its policymakers would need more confidence that inflation was in check before cutting their key rate. At the January meeting, the Fed decided to keep its key rate unchanged at about 5.4%, the highest level in 22 years, after 11 rate hikes beginning in March 2022.

At a news conference after the meeting, Chair Jerome Powell disappointed Wall Street by indicating that the Fed was not inclined to cut rates at its next meeting in March, as some investors and economists had hoped. Rate cuts by the Fed typically lower a wide range of borrowing costs, including for homes, cars and credit card purchases, as well as for business loans.

The Fed’s aggressive streak of rate hikes was intended to defeat spiking inflation. Consumer prices jumped 9.1% in June 2022 from a year earlier — a four-decade high — before falling to 3.1% in January.

Several Fed officials have said in recent speeches that they were optimistic that inflation would continue to slow. In December, the officials projected that they would cut their rate three times this year, though they have said little about when such cuts could begin. Most economists expect the first reduction in May or June.

A shift toward rate cuts could put the Fed under scrutiny in this year’s presidential race, with the likely Republican nominee, Donald Trump, declaring that if he won the election, he wouldn’t reappoint Powell when his term as chair expires in 2026. Trump has called Powell “political” for considering rate cuts that Trump said could benefit President Joe Biden and other Democrats. Powell was first nominated to be Fed chair by Trump in 2017.

Since January’s meeting, there have been signs that inflation may take longer to return sustainably to the Fed’s target than many economists had expected. A gauge of consumer prices that excludes volatile food and energy costs rose much more than expected in January. And a measure of wholesale prices also picked up in January after several months of nearly flat or declining readings.

Some Fed officials who have spoken since those reports were released have reiterated their view that inflation is still steadily declining. But they have added that upcoming economic reports will be critical in determining the Fed’s next moves.
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WASHINGTON (news agencies) — Federal Reserve officials acknowledged at their most recent meeting in January that there had been “significant progress” in

Zelenskyy invites Poland’s leaders to border to resolve farmers’ protest affecting flow of weapons -                    ...
21/02/2024

Zelenskyy invites Poland’s leaders to border to resolve farmers’ protest affecting flow of weapons - - WARSAW, Poland (news agencies) — Ukraine’s president on Wednesday invited Polish leaders to meet him at their shared border to resolve a blockade by Polish farmers protesting Ukrainian food imports, saying it’s hampering the shipment of weapons to Ukrainian soldiers.

Meanwhile, Polish authorities voiced concern after slogans appeared at the protests praising Russian President Vladimir Putin and his war against Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on social media he hoped the proposed border meeting for him, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and a European Union representative could happen before the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Saturday.

“This is national security,” Zelenskyy said. “I am ready to be at the border with our government.”

There was no immediate reaction from the Polish government.

Poland, a member of NATO and the European Union, has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, accepting unlimited numbers of refugees and providing Ukraine with weaponry.

Poles, with past oppression by Moscow rooted deeply in generational memory, are largely supportive of Ukraine. But tensions have been growing as Polish farmers blame imports of Ukrainian grain and other food for pushing down prices and harming their livelihoods.

Polish farmers are among farmers across Europe who have protesting competition from Ukraine as well as EU environmental policies, which they say will increase their production costs.

Earlier Wednesday, Poland’s Foreign Ministry said it believed that extreme groups were trying to take over the protest movement “perhaps under the influence of Russian agents.” It noted “with the greatest concern the appearance of anti-Ukrainian slogans and slogans praising Vladimir Putin and the war he is waging.”

On Tuesday, a tractor at a protest in the southern Polish region of Silesia carried a Soviet flag and a banner that said: “Putin, put things in order with Ukraine, Brussels, and our rulers.” A photograph was published by the Gazeta Wyborcza daily.

Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski called the banner “scandalous” and said it was immediately secured by police, and prosecutors were investigating.

“There will be no consent to such criminal activities,” he said.

The public promotion of a totalitarian system can be punished with up to three years in prison under Polish law.

The Foreign Ministry called on protest organizers “to identify and eliminate from their movement” the initiators, arguing it was necessary for Poland’s interest.

“The current situation of Polish farmers is the result of Vladimir Putin’s aggression against Ukraine and the disruption of the global economy, not because Ukrainians are defending themselves against the aggression,” the ministry said.

On Tuesday some protesting farmers at the border spilled Ukrainian grain.

Zelenskky called it “grain that our farmers grow with great difficulty despite all the difficulties associated with ruthless Russian aggression.”
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WARSAW, Poland (news agencies) — Ukraine’s president on Wednesday invited Polish leaders to meet him at their shared border to resolve a blockade by Polish

The stretch run of the NBA season has arrived. It’s time for the playoff push -                                         ...
21/02/2024

The stretch run of the NBA season has arrived. It’s time for the playoff push - - There’s no NBA player who is a bigger fan of harness racing than Denver’s Nikola Jokic. He owns horses, goes to tracks whenever he can and even accepted one of his MVP awards while riding around at his farm in Serbia.

He knows the stretch run often decides races.

And the same holds true in the NBA, which is entering its stretch run.

The All-Star break is over, games resume on Thursday and the defending champion Nuggets — along with a slew of other contenders — are hoping that this is the time when they can start hitting their best stride. Denver is coming out of the break in fourth place in the Western Conference, three games back of No. 1 Minnesota.

“We don’t try to listen to what people say,” Jokic said. “We know what we are capable of. And it’s working for us. So, I don’t know what people are saying, that we are not good. I don’t say that we are the best, but we are not bad.”

They were the best last season. This season, the best won’t be crowned until June, of course. The next couple of months are all about jostling for playoff position — or in some cases, fighting for playoff spots.

It’s not the second half — what people commonly call the period after the All-Star break — but rather the final third of the season. The league is exactly two-thirds of the way through the season, 820 games down, 410 games to go. It’s the time of year when playbooks tend to get tweaked a little and things get a little more serious.

Paul George of the Los Angeles Clippers knows the playoff push is underway. But as a veteran, he also knows that the most important game is always the next one.

“Can’t look too far ahead,” George said. “Take it one game at a time. Because that’s what you tend to do, second half of the season, start to look ahead and look forward to playoffs and just trying to get to the playoffs. But we just got to take it one game at a time.”

Boston has the NBA’s best record and sits high atop the Eastern Conference, Minnesota and Oklahoma City — a pair of surprises — are first and second, respectively, in the West and some teams with championship pedigrees like Golden State and the Los Angeles Lakers are hoping their pre-All-Star momentum carries over now.

The Warriors were 8-2 in their last 10 games before the break, the Lakers 7-3.

“The most important thing for me is definitely my health, where I’m at right now, where our team is leaning,” Lakers forward LeBron James said. “We’re trending in the right direction. Obviously, with our Laker team, it’s been about health all year. Trying to do what’s best for me for the betterment of the team.”

He’s been dealing with an ankle issue that limited him in the All-Star Game but didn’t prevent him from playing. Other teams have far bigger concerns — primarily the Philadelphia 76ers, who spent a bit of time in November atop the East but have dropped nine of their last 12 games with reigning MVP Joel Embiid out with a knee injury.

They’re sliding and so are the Milwaukee Bucks, who have gone 3-7 since Doc Rivers took over as coach. Rivers said at All-Star weekend that he knew that taking over a team just before a long road trip would be a mistake; it seems like he was right. But he also believes there’s time to figure things out.

“If you look statistically over the last 20 years, the same teams win it: the teams that are in the top five or 10 in offense and the teams that are in the top five or 10 in defense,” Rivers said. “That’s not going away. So you can score all you want. But you better be able to defend, too, if you want to win.”

Boston has a six-game lead over second-place Cleveland in the East; that would suggest it’s safe to go ahead and put the Celtics down for a 10th consecutive playoff berth, extending the longest current streak of postseason appearances in the league.

Detroit, Washington, Charlotte, San Antonio, Portland and Memphis all are alive mathematically but not realistically. Take them out of the mix, and it’s 24 teams left in the race for 20 spots when including the play-in tournament.

The Thunder had 100-1 odds to win the NBA title when the season started. They’re at 25-1 now, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

“I think we’re starting to kind of see others take notice of us,” Thunder guard and MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander said. “We knew that was going to happen once we started winning games. It comes with the territory.”

Every team has between 26 and 29 games left to play. In terms of combined remaining opponent winning percentage, Orlando, Miami and Boston are among the teams with the easiest — on paper, anyway — schedules the rest of the way. Phoenix would have the toughest, including two games left to play against Boston and a 10-game stretch to end the season all against likely playoff teams.
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There’s no NBA player who is a bigger fan of harness racing than Denver’s Nikola Jokic. He owns horses, goes to tracks whenever he can and even accepted one

Faris Shafi’s ‘Kong’ packs a trap-enfused punch in 58 seconds -                           - Rapper dropped his latest tr...
21/02/2024

Faris Shafi’s ‘Kong’ packs a trap-enfused punch in 58 seconds - - Rapper dropped his latest track on IG, amassing over 14,000 likes

Faris Shafi, known for his no-holds-barred yet deeply relatable lyricism, takes a sharp turn in his latest track, Kong, offering listeners a bite-sized experience that leaves a lasting impression. Interestingly, the rapper-songwriter dropped the track on his Instagram handle with little preamble.

Clocking in at just one minute, the song embarks with an intro beat reminiscent of his iconic track The Body Bhench*d Aisi. The reversed sounds in the introduction and quirky trap elements contribute to an enticing musical landscape.

However, what stands out prominently in Kong is Faris’ refined flow of the English verse, showcasing growth and fluency that contrasts with his earlier work like Lafz. This evolution adds a layer of sophistication to his already diverse linguistic repertoire of Urdu, English and Punjabi.

On the lyrical front, the track passes in all the familiar ways with Faris not only schooling fans and competitors with a confident declaration of his prowess, stating, “the incredible, jaante sabhi hain, Faris Shafi,” but also adopting a confrontational tone, urging listeners to “kha lein, ap nigal lein is ko aur nikal idhar se.”

That said, the incorporation of an autotuned background voice for ad libs introduces a novel, albeit divisive, element. While some may appreciate the trap-enfused technique, others might feel it diminishes the raw authenticity that defines Faris’ earlier works.

Kong marks a departure from the singer’s usual stripped-down and DIY style, opting for a heavily produced sound akin to Muaziz Saarif from the 2022 PSL. The track, both in terms of production and its accompanying music video, exudes a sense of grandeur, featuring CGI elements not previously explored by the artist.

In this brief musical journey, Faris demonstrates a willingness to experiment with contemporary sounds, showcasing his versatility and adaptability within the ever-evolving landscape of Pakistani rap. Kong may be short-lived, but its impact is undeniable, leaving fans eager to witness where this musical exploration will lead Faris in the future.
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Rapper dropped his latest track on IG, amassing over 14,000 likes

Prosthetic Limb Centre opens at UAE Field Hospital in Gaza -               - This initiative comes in response to the ur...
21/02/2024

Prosthetic Limb Centre opens at UAE Field Hospital in Gaza - - This initiative comes in response to the urgent need to support the injured and assist them with a comprehensive set of the latest medical devices in the field of orthopedics, to provide and manufacture high-quality prosthetics, and to rehabilitate patients and enable them to lead normal lives.The centre will operate in several stages, starting with the first stage of taking measurements to manufacture the prosthetic limb, followed by the manufacturing stage, and the physical therapy and rehabilitation of the injuredOn the first day, measurements were taken for 36 cases in preparation for the manufacture of their prosthetics. The number of cases is expected to reach more than 100 within a few days.
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This initiative comes in response to the urgent need to support the injured and assist them with a comprehensive set of the latest medical devices in the

Brazil’s G20 presidency kicks off in Rio with foreign ministers meeting -                             - RIO DE JANEIRO (...
21/02/2024

Brazil’s G20 presidency kicks off in Rio with foreign ministers meeting - - RIO DE JANEIRO (news agencies) — Foreign ministers of the Group of 20 nations gathered Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro to discuss poverty, climate change and heightened global tensions as Brazil takes on the annual presidency of the bloc.

The ministers and other representatives of the 20 leading rich and developing nations planned to spend two days setting a roadmap for work to accomplish ahead of a Nov. 18-19 summit in Rio.

One of Brazil’s key proposals, set by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is a reform of global governance institutions such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and multilateral banks, where he wants to push for stronger representation of developing nations.

Brazil’s Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira said Wednesday during opening remarks that the discussions would focus on the role that the bloc can play in “addressing ongoing international tensions.”

“Brazil is deeply concerned about the current international situation, regarding peace and security,” Vieira told fellow foreign ministers, citing a proliferation of conflicts around the world – not just in Ukraine and Gaza, but in more than 170 locations, according to some studies.

Vieira said more than $2 trillion a year is spent on military budgets globally and that more of that money should go toward development aid programs.

“If inequalities and climate change do, in fact, constitute existential threats, I cannot avoid the feeling that we lack concrete actions on these issues,” Vieira said. “These are the wars we must fight in 2024.”

Earlier Wednesday, Lula met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the capital, Brasilia, for about two hours to discuss global governance and other issues. Blinken, who is on a three-day trip to Brazil and Argentina, later headed to Rio for the G20 meeting.

The pair also discussed the conflict in Gaza, including working urgently to facilitate the release of all hostages and to increase humanitarian assistance and improve protections for Palestinian civilians, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of State.

They made no public comments on the diplomatic row between key U.S. ally Israel and Brazil following Lula’s controversial comments comparing Israel’s military offensive in Gaza to the Holocaust.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday at the African Union summit in Ethiopia, Lula said that “what is happening in the Gaza Strip and to the Palestinian people hasn’t been seen in any other moment in history. Actually, it did when Hi**er decided to kill the Jews.”

In response, Israel declared Lula a “persona non grata”, summoned Brazil’s ambassador to Israel and demanded an apology. In retaliation, Lula recalled Brazil’s ambassador for consultations.

After years of diplomatic isolation under former President Jair Bolsonaro, Lula has sought to reinsert Brazil on the center stage of global diplomacy since returning to power in January of 2023.

G20 finance ministers and central bank presidents are set to meet next week in Sao Paulo, and a second meeting of foreign ministers is scheduled for September.
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RIO DE JANEIRO (news agencies) — Foreign ministers of the Group of 20 nations gathered Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro to discuss poverty, climate change and

Dubai: Damac chief sees influx of Chinese investors driving next rally in property market -         - Property in the em...
21/02/2024

Dubai: Damac chief sees influx of Chinese investors driving next rally in property market - - Property in the emirate has witnessed unprecedented growth since 2021, with transactions and prices reaching all-time highs

Dubai property market has a long way to go and the next major growth driver would be Chinese investors, said Hussain Sajwani, chairman of Damac Properties.

“Dubai property market has a bright future and a long way to go, especially in the luxury segment where lands are scarce. Luxury property prices are skyrocketing because demand is there, but the biggest challenge is the supply of the land is very limited,” Sajwani said.

The billionaire added that Dubai is benefiting from regional and global safety and security and low taxes, hence, there has been` an influx of top talent and businessmen from Europe, the US and other countries after Covid-19.

“Europe has a lot of talent and wealth and a large number of people are moving to Dubai. We haven’t seen the influx of Chinese as they were under the Covid-19 lockdown for a couple of years and they start coming now. They have not been a strong wave last year but I expect there is going to be a much stronger wave next year and the year after. The reason is that most of the brokers have been busy (selling properties) with European, and Russians and other nationalities,” Damac chairman said during the launch of a project by AHS Properties on Tuesday.

Dubai property has been witnessed unprecedented since 2021, with transactions and prices reaching all-time highs. The demand was driven by the influx of high-net-worth individuals, professionals and businessmen from around the world.

Of late, there has been a strong influx of investors and buyers from Western Europe, the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent. But Covid-19 induced lockdown foreign travel restrictions were in place in China to contain the pandemic.

“The time will come when we’ll see an influx of Chinese top business people coming here to invest. Due to conflict with the US and to a certain extent with Europe, Chinese investments in the US are going down drastically, and even in Europe also. But they have the liberty to go and invest in Dubai. I met Chinese and they want to come and invest in UAE,” said the Dubai-based billionaire and chairman of the largest private developer in Dubai.

Citing a discussion with a US businessman, he said that businessmen told him that “moving people from Europe was easy, but relocating people from North America to Dubai was a challenge prior to Covid-19 as employees demanded salary should be doubled. But now, people are queuing and willing to move to Dubai at the same salary.”
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Dubai property market has a long way to go and the next major growth driver would be Chinese investors, said Hussain Sajwani, chairman of Damac Properties.

Libya armed groups agree to leave Tripoli after deadly fighting: Minister -           - Libya’s Interior Minister Imad T...
21/02/2024

Libya armed groups agree to leave Tripoli after deadly fighting: Minister - - Libya’s Interior Minister Imad Trabelsi says the groups will leave capital after 10 people were killed over the weekend.
Armed groups in Tripoli have agreed to leave the Libyan capital and to be replaced with regular forces, the country’s interior minister said, after a spate of deadly clashes.

“After a month of consultations, we came to an agreement with the security groups that they will leave the capital soon,” said Imad Trabelsi, a member of Libya’s internationally recognised government, on Wednesday.

“There will only be city police officers, emergency police, and those who do criminal investigations,” he told a news conference.

The deal will see the General Security Force, the Special Deterrence Force which controls the east of Tripoli, Brigade 444 in southern Tripoli, and Brigade 111, attached to the general staff, quit the capital.

The decision also concerns the Stability Support Authority (SSA), a group based in the neighbourhood of Abu Salim, where 10 people were killed at the weekend, including SSA members.

These “security groups” evolved from the myriad of militias that filled a security vacuum after the 2011 revolution that overthrew longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

Heavily armed and equipped, they are not under the direct authority of the Ministries of Interior or Defence, though they receive public funds.

They operate independently and were granted a special status by the prime minister and the presidential council in 2021.

“From now on, their place is in their headquarters,” Trabelsi said.

“We will use them only in exceptional circumstances for specific missions,” he said, adding that the leaders of the groups “have all shown that they understand”.

“After Tripoli, it will be time for the other cities, where there will be no more checkpoints and no more armed groups” on public roads, he said.

Libya has been battered by armed conflict and political chaos since the 2011 uprising.

The country is divided between the internationally recognised Tripoli-based government led by interim Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah in the west and an administration in the east backed by renegade general Khalifa Haftar.

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Libya’s Interior Minister Imad Trabelsi says the groups will leave capital after 10 people were killed over the weekend.

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