Amid Gaza’s worsening fuel crisis under the Israeli blockade, Palestinians are converting plastic into diesel to try and keep essential services running. The production process is dangerous to humans and vehicles alike.
IAuthorities in Libya, a country still divided after years of civil war, have denied reports that they will receive undocumented migrants deported by the United States.
The Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday that deportation flights from the US to the North African country could begin this week, despite previous government reports raising alarm over unsafe conditions there.
The National Unity government, which controls western Libya, said in a statement that it rejected the use of its territory as a destination for deporting migrants without its knowledge or consent.
“The Government of National Unity categorically denies any agreement or coordination with US authorities regarding the deportation of migrants to Libya,” it said in a statement.
Haftar’s Libyan National Army, which controls eastern Libya, also rejected the report, saying that migrants “will not be received through airports and ports secured by the Armed Forces, and that this is completely false and we cannot accept it at all.”
The report by Reuters, which cites three anonymous US officials, says that the US military could fly migrants to Libya for detention as soon as Wednesday, but notes that those plans are subject to change. The number and nationality of the migrants who could be deported are unknown.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has sought out third countries where it can deport and detain undocumented immigrants, part of a larger push to enact the administration’s hard-right vision of immigration enforcement.
And on April 30, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced at a cabinet meeting at the White House that the US was requesting that countries take its undocumented migrants.
“We are working with other countries to say: We want to send you some of the most despicable human beings, will you do this as a favour to us?” Rubio said. “And the further away from America, the better.”
Authorities in Libya have long been willing and controversial partners in immigration enforcement, collaborating with the European Union to intercept and detain migrants and refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe.
A 2022 statement from the human rights watchdog Amnesty International says that “men, women and children returned to Libya face arbitrary detention, torture, cruel and inhuman detention conditions, rape and sexual violence, extortion, forced labour and unlawful killings”.
The US government itself has also documented unsafe conditions in Libya, with a report released last year by the Department of State noting “harsh and life-threatening prison conditions” and “arbitrary arrest and detention”.
Such conditions have not deterred the Trump administration from sending undocumented immigrants to prisons known for abusive conditions in countries like El Salvador, sometimes based on unsubstantiated allegations of gang affiliation and without due process.
The practice of third countries entering into agreements with Western nations to warehouse undocumented migrants and asylum seekers is also not entirely new.
IAuthorities in Libya, a country still divided after years of civil war, have denied reports that they will receive undocumented migrants deported by the United States.
The Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday that deportation flights from the US to the North African country could begin this week, despite previous government reports raising alarm over unsafe conditions there.
The National Unity government, which controls western Libya, said in a statement that it rejected the use of its territory as a destination for deporting migrants without its knowledge or consent.
“The Government of National Unity categorically denies any agreement or coordination with US authorities regarding the deportation of migrants to Libya,” it said in a statement.
Haftar’s Libyan National Army, which controls eastern Libya, also rejected the report, saying that migrants “will not be received through airports and ports secured by the Armed Forces, and that this is completely false and we cannot accept it at all.”
The report by Reuters, which cites three anonymous US officials, says that the US military could fly migrants to Libya for detention as soon as Wednesday, but notes that those plans are subject to change. The number and nationality of the migrants who could be deported are unknown.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has sought out third countries where it can deport and detain undocumented immigrants, part of a larger push to enact the administration’s hard-right vision of immigration enforcement.
And on April 30, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced at a cabinet meeting at the White House that the US was requesting that countries take its undocumented migrants.
“We are working with other countries to say: We want to send you some of the most despicable human beings, will you do this as a favour to us?” Rubio said. “And the further away from America, the better.”
Authorities in Libya have long been willing and controversial partners in immigration enforcement, collaborating with the European Union to intercept and detain migrants and refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe.
A 2022 statement from the human rights watchdog Amnesty International says that “men, women and children returned to Libya face arbitrary detention, torture, cruel and inhuman detention conditions, rape and sexual violence, extortion, forced labour and unlawful killings”.
The US government itself has also documented unsafe conditions in Libya, with a report released last year by the Department of State noting “harsh and life-threatening prison conditions” and “arbitrary arrest and detention”.
Such conditions have not deterred the Trump administration from sending undocumented immigrants to prisons known for abusive conditions in countries like El Salvador, sometimes based on unsubstantiated allegations of gang affiliation and without due process.
The practice of third countries entering into agreements with Western nations to warehouse undocumented migrants and asylum seekers is also not entirely new.
Wales fly-half Gareth Anscombe has joined French Top 14 club Bayonne from Gloucester.
The 33-year-old has signed a one-year deal with the club that are currently fourth in France’s top flight.
Anscombe played a season in the English Premiership after his deal with Japanese club Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath fell through because of a groin injury.
He started his career in his native New Zealand before moving to Cardiff in 2014, making his Wales debut, qualifying through his Welsh mother, a year later.
He also spent four seasons at Ospreys from 2019.
Anscombe was left out of Warren Gatland’s 2025 Six Nations squad before being re-called for the final three matches by interim head coach Matt Sherratt.
The World Snooker Championship was streamed a record-breaking 29 million times across BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport app, a 25% increase from the previous year.
The action from the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield was watched by a further 12.6 million people on TV across BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Four. There was a peak of three million on BBC Two during the final.
Zhao Xintong completed a 18-12 win over Mark Williams on Monday to become the first player from China to lift the trophy.
“This year’s World Championship has been gripping, with a phenomenal response from fans,” said director of BBC Sport, Alex Kay-Jelski.
World Snooker Tour (WST) chairman Steve Dawson said: “This has been one of the best World Championships in memory, packed with thrilling moments, fabulous matches and a remarkable standard of play.
“So we’re delighted to see that reflected in the BBC viewing figures. To set a new record for iPlayer streams shows that we have a growing audience of new fans who are tuning in to snooker’s unique capacity for drama.”
Mali’s military government has suspended the activities of political parties “until further notice”, days after a rare pro-democracy rally.
The decree signed on Wednesday by the transitional president, General Assimi Goita, cited “reasons of public order” and covered all “associations of a political character”, according to state media.
It was issued a week after authorities announced the repeal of a law governing the operation of political parties – a decision interpreted by legal experts as a step towards their dissolution.
In response, a coalition of dozens of parties formed to “demand the effective end of the political-military transition no later than December 31” as well as a return to constitutional order.
On Saturday, the new coalition mobilised several hundred people to protest in the capital, Bamako, against the military government’s move. Another protest had been expected later this week.
Cheick Oumar Doumbia, one of the leaders of the weekend demonstration, said he was “not surprised” by the decree.
“I expected this because this is their way of preventing us from carrying out our activities, but we will continue to defend democracy in Mali”, he told The Associated Press news agency. “We are a people committed to democracy”.
Goita seized power after coups in 2020 and 2021. Last week, a national political conference said he should be installed as president for a renewable five-year term.