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A Libyan coast guardsman during the rescue of 147 illegal immigrants attempting to reach Europe in June. Photograph: Taha Jawashi/AFP/Getty Images

The Italian government has hailed a fall of more than 50% in the number of migrants from Libya reaching its coastline in July as a potential turning point made possible by tougher actions against smugglers operating in the Mediterranean.

The number of migrants reaching Italy fell to 11,459 in July from 23,524 in June and 23,522 in July last year. Over the past few years the summer months have been the peak period for traffickers in the Mediterranean.

The fall in numbers making the crossing is likely to be the result of a more aggressive turnaround policy by the Libyan navy and coastguard, backed by improved boats and equipment funded by the European Union and Italian-led training. In the past few days, the Libyan coastguard has fired warning shots at one NGO ship seeking to rescue migrants. At a press conference on Thursday the Libyan navy underlined the message by telling foreign ships to stay outside Libyas search and rescue zone.

Italy, including its coalition government, is deeply divided over its response to the migrant crisis, but ministers are desperate for any sign that it is is managing to bring numbers under control as it faces attack from populist and centrist parties.

Matteo Renzi, who is likely to be the Democratic party leader in elections expected next year, welcomed the July and early August fall as significant.

However, even if the July fall is maintained through August, about 140,000 migrants are projected to reach Italy this year.

The Italian governments efforts to drive the figures down are under political attack both domestically and in Libya.

At home, the Italian government is pressing NGOs that are operating rescue ships to sign up to a 13-point code of conduct or else finds their ships barred from landing in Italian ports. So far four NGOs have agreed, with four refusing on the grounds it requires them to allow the Italian military to accompany their rescue missions, something they say is in breach of humanitarian principles.

A vociferous political campaign has claimed the NGOs are not humanitarians, but working in tandem with the smugglers to act as a taxi service for African economic migrants that want to start a more prosperous life in Europe. The allegations have not been proven, and each of the NGOs has rescued tens of thousands of migrants from drowning.

The Italian transport minister, Graziano Delrio, who is responsible for the coastguard, has privately sided with some of the NGOs, saying that while he is not opposed to the code, if there is an NGO vessel close to people who need to be rescued, I cant exclude it. He argues that even if an NGO has not signed the code, the coastguard had to cooperate if human lives were at stake, pointing out this is anyway a requirement of international humanitarian law. So far four NGOs have signed code - the Spanish NGO ProActiva, Save the Children, Moas and Sea-Eye. NGOs that have not signed include Sea-Watch, and Medicines Sans Frontiers.

But Loris De Filippi, the president of Mdecins Sans Frontires Italy which has not signed the code, claimed the Italian government was seeking to criminalise the NGOs. He said the vast majority of its rescues took place 30 miles or so off the Libyan coast and follow requests from the Italian coastguard.

In Libya, the UN-backed government of Fayez al-Sarraj is under attack for agreeing to allow Italian military ships help the Libyan coastguard combat smugglers inside Libyan coastal waters. The rival Libyan administration based in Tobruk claims the agreement violates Libyas sovereignty and the Italian flag has been burned in Benghazi in protest. The scale of the protests has forced Rome to reduce the number of ships it sends. As the former colonial power, any perceived Italian interference in Libya is highly sensitive.

The commander of the eastern forces in Libya, Khalifa Haftar, has ordered his air force and naval force troops to bomb any foreign vessels in the Libyan waters but the Libyan navy seems prepared to defy the threats and cooperate with the Italian navy.

Italys defence ministry said the plan has UN backing and its ships are merely providing logistical, technical and operational support for Libyan naval vessels, helping them and supporting them in shared and coordinated actions.

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Number of migrants arriving in Italy from Libya falls by half in July - The Guardian

The High Council for Reconciliation called on State officials and the UN envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salameh to work on lifting the siege on the people of Derna to ensure that all important supplies are accessible by the people of the city. The Council considered in its statement on Wednesday that responding to the distress call in Derna is an obligation that cannot be delayed by all Libyan citizens and by all humanitarian and moral values.

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The Tripoli Municipal Guard and the Municipal Security Coordination Office launched a campaign to reveal the state of health licensing procedures for cafs and restaurants operating on the Corniche area of Tripoli. The teams identified several violations resulting in several shops being closed, and some unauthorized kiosks being removed.

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The Libyan army celebrated the seventy-seventh anniversary of its founding on Wednesday. The speakers stressed the importance of rebuilding the military institution and activating its role and unification on all Libyan soil. The Deputy of the Minister of Defense stressed that the members of the Libyan army have a fraternal relationship, and that the military should be kept far from the political turmoil affecting the country, as he put it.

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The Fuel and Gas Crisis Committee assured Tripoli residents of the availability of 68 million liters of fuel at the Berea Oil and Marketing storage tanks. The committee also called on citizens to ignore the rumors of fabricating a fuel crisis in the capital, noting that there is no need to cause long queues at gas stations.

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The Minister of Health of the UN proposed government Omar Tahir held discussions with the chairman and members of the Advisory Committee for Treatment on the best ways to deal with cases involving treatment that requires travel abroad. The Ministry of Health through their official Facebook account said that the Minister discussed with the Committee on ways of how to authenticate that there is no treatment locally and which cases that called for travel for treatment outside Libya.

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The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced that the total number of rescued illegal immigrants off the coast of Libya in 2017 amounted to 12,420 immigrants. The organization said on its Facebook account that the total amount rescued in Libyan territorial waters within just two weeks was 1298 immigrants.

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Gunmen loyal to Khalifa Hefter fired at residents of the city of Derna as they gathered on the road leading to Martouba, east of the city to enter for refueling and shopping for necessities following the announcement of the opening of the eastern road. Witnesses said that dozens of cars had parked for hours in front of what is known as the Anti Terror Branch of Hefter's army preventing citizens from entering the area. The forces of Hefter announced on Tuesday that the eastern road known as the Martouba road was open to citizens, after the closure of all land crossings 8 days ago. Civil society organizations in the city of Derna described this announcement by media as fraudulent and that the citizens of Derna are still suffering.

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The Customs of the International Airport of Matiga thwarted an attempt to smuggle ammunition for 9 mm firearms hidden inside boxes of clothing coming from Turkey through a local freight company on Wednesday. The Special Deterrent Force in Tripoli stated that customs officials at the airport inspected the goods at the electronic scanners and found an estimated 1000 pistol magazines. All those involved are under investigation in this case for bringing this shipment.

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The head of the European Union mission to Libya Bettina muscheidt said during a meeting with the government's foreign minister, Mohamed Sayala, on Wednesday that she has noticed an improvement in the level of security and stability in the areas she visited in the capital Tripoli and Janzour. The European envoy confirmed that the next period will see the resumption of work in a number of projects in the framework of bilateral cooperation between Libya and the European Union including the holding of more workshops that highlight a number of cooperation projects in the fields of banking, information and development.

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News Roundup - Thu, Aug 10, 2017 - The Libya Observer

The head of the Sirte branch of the Bank of Trade and Development, Ali Ayada, stated that equipment and maintenance work on the bank building will be completed on August 20th. Ayada added that the bank will resume transactions with bank customers after the building being closed for more than 25 months. ___________________

The media adviser for the Ministry for Education, Muad Thalib, was quoted as saying that the final results for the intermediate certificate are likely to be ready next week. Thalib said "The results are 80 percent ready, and were supposed to be announced next Thursday". ___________________

The head of the Management Committee for the Brega Oil Marketing Company Fouad Rahim, held discussions with the directors of the company on the adoption of a new statute on Tuesday. The proposal, if accepted would allow the company to open up several new opportunities in investment, which in turn would increase the national economy as Brega is a state-owned company. The meeting discussed the management of the company's daily activities in all areas of Libya and a strategic plan was put forth to solve the problems facing it's implementation according to the official Facebook page of Brega oil marketing company. ___________________ The Minister of Labor and Rehabilitation of the UN proposed government, Mahdi Wurdmi, held a broad meeting on Tuesday morning at his office in the ministry. The meeting was with the Minister of Education Othman AbdulJalil, during which the mechanisms for improving work, training and ways of developing the training sector both within Libya and abroad were discussed so that training and high quality rehabilitation could be achieved, improving Libya's human resource sector. ___________________

The Yarmouk military camp in Tripoli celebrated the graduation of the first units of the Presidential Guard on Tuesday. The ceremony was attended by the President of the UN proposed Presidential Council, Fayez Sarraj, his deputy, Ahmed Maitiq, Ahmed Hamza and the President of the High Council of State Abdulrahman Suweihli. The ceremony also included a number of MPs, members of the State Council and a number of army officers.

400 graduates conducted a military parade that included parachuting, martial arts and security techniques.

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The Ministry of Health of the Interim Government denied news of a contract with medical personnel from the Republic of Uganda. The ministry said in a statement that it did not commission any Libyan or foreign company for the purpose of medical acquisitions or medical assistance, adding that the Ministry urgently needs as many doctors as possible as well as nursing personnel in all specialties in all health facilities but the ministry has yet to contract any deals with Uganda to send any medical personnel to work in Benghazi. ___________________

The Libyan naval spokesman, Brigadier General Ayoub Qasim, announced the arrival of the Italian maintenance ship Tremetti to the Tripoli Naval Base with a crew of fifty on Tuesday. The crew included six officers. Qasim stated in a press conference that the Italian support to the naval forces and Coast Guard in development and increasing technical and combat capabilities come as part of agreements between Italy and Libya, adding that the Tremetti will begin work on the maintenance of Libyan naval vessels in accordance with the 2008 agreement on naval forces and the Coast Guard. ___________________

A source in the Security Department for the Protection of Bani Walid stated that members of their unit seized an amount totaling to 2.5 million Dollars during a raid on a criminal gang on Monday. The department indicated that the amount seized was in $100 Dollar bills but after careful examination of the bills it was determined that it was counterfeit currency. The department called on Bani Walid residents to take caution when buying foreign currency and to report any activity contrary to the law on this matter. ___________________

UNICEF organized a workshop in Tunis under the title Strengthening the Management of Immunizations in Libya, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and the National Center for Combating Communicable Diseases, in which it agreed to vaccinate 1.8 million Libyan children against polio and measles in October.

During the workshop, UNICEF disclosed the results of a recent study that had examined the situation of water and sanitation in schools, which included 140 schools in Libya. It was found that the situation is almost dangerous with 67% of schools not having enough water to cater for the pupils, and 48% not having proper health facilities.

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News Roundup - Wed, Aug 9, 2017 - The Libya Observer

Massive deportation of Nigerians from other parts of the world, especially from African countries, frightening, says NAPTIP DG.

Five hundred and forty Nigerians are set for deportation from Libya, beginning from Aug. 10, Mrs. Julie Okah-Donli, Director-General, National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons(NAPTIP), has said.

Okah-Donli disclosed this on Wednesday in Osogbo, at the inauguration of the North-West Zonal Command Office of the agency.

She said that the deportees would be brought back to Nigeria in three batches of 180 each.

The NAPTIP boss said that more than 2000 Nigerians were deported from various part of the world from February till date, over various migration offences, including human trafficking.

Okah-Doni disclosed that the agency had rescued and supported more than 12,000 victims of human trafficking, and also secured 325 convictions since its inception in 2003.

She decried the rising trend of deportation of Nigerians from different parts of the world, especially in Africa, and described the situation as frightening.

Such massive deportations are not good for us as a people. Government at all levels must take steps to halt it by initiating measures that will reduce the vulnerability of our people to being trafficked.

We must also strive to enlighten our people to resist the temptation to leave the country at all cost, she said.

Okah-Donli, who described human trafficking as a modern day slavery, urged stern measures to end it.

She reaffirmed NAPTIPs commitment to implementing the Trafficking in Persons(Prohibition) Enforcement and Administration Act of 2015, and declared that there would be no sacred cows.

Okah-Donli identified Osun, Ekiti and Ondo among the endemic states in trafficking in persons in Nigeria, saying that all hands must be on deck to change the trend.

Nigeria is a source, transit and destination country. Women and young girls are recruited for sexual and labour exploitation in parts of Europe, the Middle East and even within the African continent.

This calls for concerted action by all as Nigerians cannot make meaningful progress in its human capital development index, with a sustained depletion of her young and brightest stars.

Gov. Rauf Aregbesola, who was represented by his Special Adviser on Security Matters, Mr Tope Adejumo, promised that the state government would collaborate with the agency to minimise human trafficking.

In his remarks, a former governor of the state, Mr Olagunsoye Oyinlola, who is also the royal ambassador of the agency, said that he was ready to support the agency in its war against human trafficking.

Oyinlola urged the agency to take the campaign against human trafficking to the grassroots, using the native language as a means of communication.

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Frightening as world massively deporting Nigerians, 540 more from Libya in August - Vanguard

The Central Bank of Libya (CBL) OKed importation of 750.000 sheep for 54 companies worth $100.000.000 in a move that aims at reducing the prices of the Eid Al-Adha sacrifices (mainly sheep).

Some businessmen criticized the move for the short period of importation process.

In a statement, the CBL conditioned the transaction to the fact that importation of the sheep must be before August 20, adding that the Ministries of Economy and Industry should coordinate with importers to place a mechanism for distributing the sheep in affordable prices before the coming of Eid Al-Adha on September 01.

According to economists, importing 750.000 sheep will definitely solve the problem of high prices in the market, adding that the problem remains with the short period of importation, which might not lead to a considerable drop in the prices though.

Prices of sheep in Libya took a leap reaching between 800 Libyan dinars and 2000 amid acute shortages of cash and deteriorated living conditions.

According to businessmen, the high prices resulted from the UN-proposed government's measures that were intended to bring in some revenue as it slapped a customs tariff of 30% in addition to service fees leading to a hike in meat and commodities' prices.

Libya imports cattle from Spain, Turkey, and Romania and they make up 60% of the local market's demand for Al-Adha sacrifices in a country that uses up to 1.000.000 cattle every Eid Al-Adha.

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Libya imports Eid Al-Adha sheep to help reduce high prices - The Libya Observer