TRIPOLI -- Libya began its second phase of municipal council elections on Saturday, with polling stations across the country opening from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. local time.
The elections covered 26 of the 63 municipalities initially slated for this phase, the Libyan High National Elections Commission (HNEC) said. Voting in other municipalities has been suspended due to "irregularities" and security concerns following recent attacks on HNEC offices. (Libya-Municipal Council Elections-Second Phase)
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DAMASCUS -- A car bomb exploded on Saturday night near the Golden Mezzeh Hotel on the Mezzeh highway in western Damascus, Syrian state news agency SANA reported.
The blast, which could be heard across parts of the capital, did not result in any human or material losses, SANA quoted Damascus police chief Osama Mohammad Khair Atkeh as saying. (Syria-Damascus-Car Bomb Explosion)
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KHARTOUM -- At least 31 people were killed, including seven children and a pregnant woman, and 13 others injured on Saturday in an attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the city of El Fasher, western Sudan, according to volunteer groups.
The Sudan Doctors Network, a volunteer group, said in a statement that the RSF conducted a "heinous crime" by "deliberately targeting" the Abu Shouk displacement camp with artillery shelling. (Sudan-Paramilitary Forces Attack-Casualties)
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CAIRO -- Thirty-one Arab, Islamic countries, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Gulf Cooperation Council have strongly condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statements about realizing a so-called "Greater Israel" in a joint statement.
The statement, released late Friday, condemned the Israeli prime minister's remarks as "a flagrant breach" of international law and relevant UN Security Council resolutions, affirming the invalidity of any measure or decision seeking to legitimize the occupation, including settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory. (Egypt-Greater Israel-Arab Condemnation) ■
