Libya

EU to curb rubber boat sales to Libya

The restrictions will not apply to legitimate Libyan businesses such as fishing crews, an EU statement said.

It is not clear how the EU will check that such exports do not end up in the wrong hands in the lawless country.

Meanwhile Luxembourg has warned that EU funds may be helping to drive refugees and migrants into Libyan "concentration camps".

Many of those exploited by people-smuggling gangs in Libya have suffered brutality, including sexual abuse. The country is plagued by violence and lawlessness.

Migrant crisis: Italy threatens to shut ports

The warning came as Italy's EU representative, Maurizio Massari, warned in a letter to the bloc the situation had become "unsustainable".

Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has accused other European nations of "looking the other way".

An estimated 10,000 people are believed to have attempted the journey from North Africa in the past four days.

More than 73,000 migrants have landed in Italy this year, an increase of 14% on the same period last year.

Libya exposed as an epicentre for migrant child abuse

Unicef says almost 26,000 children - most of them unaccompanied - crossed the Mediterranean last year.

In its new report, Unicef says many children suffer from violence and sexual abuse at the hands of smugglers and traffickers.

But they rarely report their abuse, for fear of arrest and deportation.

The agency also says there is a lack of food, water and medical care in Libya's detention centres.

The plight of children, many of them unaccompanied by parents, has become a tragically familiar part of the wider story of mass migration over the past two years.

Libya's eastern authority bans women travelling solo

The ban is said to be for "national security reasons" and not driven by religious ideology.

BBC North Africa correspondent Rana Jawad says it will affect all passengers transiting through the east.

Libya is divided between two authorities - one in the east and an internationally recognised one based in the capital, Tripoli.

The eastern government is based in al-Beyda and the ban was first enforced in the city's Labraq international airport.

Syria at UN summit as Russian bombing causes tensions

The Kremlin says it is acting on request of the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad. The United States opposes Assad and has questioned Moscow's assertion that it is targeting Islamic terrorists, saying the areas hit close to Homs are strongholds of the moderate opposition to Assad.

World leaders also tried to address the crises in Libya and Yemen with high-level meetings on Friday.

EU urges Libya parties to grasp peace deal

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Wednesday that the parties "are now really in the last mile" and must take their responsibilities and bring an end to a year of crisis.

She said the EU stands "ready from day zero to support, financially and in all possible ways they would wish."

Libya is divided between an Islamist-backed government in Tripoli and an internationally recognized leadership based in the east.

Libyan government recalls its team from talks in Morocco

A statement from the parliament based in eastern Libya says Tuesday's development came after their rivals from an Islamist-backed government, based in Tripoli, insisted on re-opening and adjusting the "near-final" text of the agreement without consulting the eastern Libyan team.

U.N. officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

UN Libya envoy says rival governments reach 'consensus'

Bernardino Leon told reporters in Skhirat, Morocco early Sunday that the two sides were able to "overcome their differences" on major outstanding issues.

Since the 2011 overthrow and killing of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, Libya has slid into chaos. The country is divided between an Islamist-backed government in Tripoli and the internationally recognized government in Tobruk.

VIDEO: Fighting continues in Benghazi after peace talks

Libya's internationally recognised government is urging fellow Arab countries to prepare its military to face the expanding Islamic State group affiliate in the country.

As the central government is faced with many challenges to meet the local demands as well as the war expenses, armed local residents are determined to defeat the Islamist backed militias and IS allied group in Benghazi and the East of Libya.

Libya government calls for Arab airstrikes against IS

The statement late Saturday came after the IS affiliate seized control of a new neighbourhood in Sirte. The militants shelled the area, killed a senior cleric and hung the bodies of prisoners over bridges.