The Hungarian ambassador to Libya, Béla Marton, arrived in Misrata Tuesday and met with the mayor-designate Mustafa Kerwad and other municipal members. The ambassador and the mayor discussed mutual relations and the ambassador vowed to appoint an honorary consul for Hungary in Misrata. He also vowed to start issuing Schengen visas to Libyans starting from next February at the Tripoli-based embassy.

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The Special Deterrence Force (SDF) stated Monday it had arrested two men suspected to be members of ISIS in the capital, Tripoli. The SDF named the two men as Mohammed Bala, nicknamed Abu Ayyub and Siraj al-Jihawi, nicknamed Abu Huraira. The two men were arrested for placing a bomb near the Industrial District roundabout after preparing the bomb to explode. The SDF confirmed that the explosive device was dismantled and dealt with by the security services in the region.

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The Chairman of the Management Committee of the Zueitina Oil Company, Abdul Nasser Zumeet, has confirmed the completion of maintenance work on the liquefied natural gas plant at Zueitina port and its complete refurbishment. Zumeet announced this during his review of the security conditions at the oil fields of the company on Sunday that the end of this week will see the return of full operations at the plant, after work suspended for three and a half years. It is worth noting that the company has within its development plans for the year 2018, a study on the project of a future power generation system and the establishment of a new station in the port of Zueitina. For his part, the Chairman of the National Oil Corporation, Mustafa Sanallah, expressed his ongoing commitment to the need of paying great attention Zueitina Oil Company and its environment programs, putting them among the priorities of the proposed work program for this year.

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Libyan authorities repatriated 252 illegal immigrants from Nigeria to their country on Monday as part of the International Organization for Migration's voluntary repatriation program. This comes two days after Nigeria's foreign minister visited Libya. Nigerian Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyama said on Saturday that his country had started to fly thousands of people back home, and that the flights would continue until all those who wanted to return home to their country did so. The illegal immigrants were held in various centers in north-west Libya and were returned to Nigeria via Mitiga and Misrata airports.

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The Primary Court of South Benghazi has ruled that it is not within its jurisdiction to consider the appeal against the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA) and committed the plaintiffs to pay the due expenses. The court considered that the CDA was an entity established during the implementation of the provisions of the Constitutional Declaration, which was entrusted with the establishment of state authorities and structures. It added that the CDA was elected by the people directly, and this situation puts the CDA out of the jurisdiction of the judiciary. A number of CDA members welcomed the decision, considering it as an important step in the direction of the founding process of the Libyan state.

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The Illegal Immigration Agency stated that the Consul of Bangladesh and his assistant are continuing to register their nationals who are illegal immigrants detained at the shelters of the agency. The Agency said in a statement issued on Monday that this registration, which took place on Sunday, is in preparation for the issuance of temporary travel documents to facilitate due procedures by the People's Republic of Bangladesh for their voluntary return to their country via Mitiga Airport. The Agency announced earlier that the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th of January, is the dates set for the voluntary repatriation of Niger refugees to their country.

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The President of the High Council of State (HCS), Abdul Rahman Swaheli, has called on the Presidential Council to shoulder its responsibilities towards the latest military developments in the western region and to move away from the policy of repudiation of decisions after they are issued. Swaheli discussed with mayors of the western region on Sunday the latest military developments in the region, and his support for the government to control all vital land, air and sea port installations without exception.  According to the Information Office of Swaheli, it was agreed that the Presidential Guard will receive the orders to secure the Ras Ajdair border crossing and that the Ministry of Interior is to manage the crossing`s affairs.

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The Libyan Coast Guard rescued on Monday morning 135 migrants: 81 men, 5 children and 49 women, including 10 pregnant women, one of whom was rushed to hospital to give birth. The migrants, who were on a rubber motorboat, were from different African and Asian nationalities. The rescue operation was carried out north of Garabulli town, according to the official Facebook page of the Libyan Coast Guard, which added that humanitarian and medical assistance was provided to the migrants in the presence of representatives of the Illegal Immigration Agency, the International Organization for Migration and the International Medical Corps. The illegal immigrants were later handed over to Al- Sikka Road Shelter in Tripoli.

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Security authorities at the Imsaad border crossing with Egypt in the east of the country have imposed a new measure demanding Libyan citizens aged between 18 and 45 wishing to leave the country to obtain a security clearance.  Sources from the region said that the Passport Office at the border has already begun procedures to request the new security clearance for all Libyan passengers to Egypt, especially the age groups mentioned, both for men and women. The sources explained that the new security clearance should be obtained from the General Investigation Office according to the instructions of the military governor of the House of Representatives, Abdul-Razik Nadouri, who previously issued a decision to prevent women from traveling from airports in eastern Libya without “Mahram” (a male guardian.)

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Moroccan media outlets stated on Sunday that any doubts regarding the affiliation of some Moroccan immigrants to terrorist organizations had delayed the return of some 330 illegal immigrants from Libya to their country. Xinhua News Agency reported that Moroccan authorities sent an official delegation to verify the identities of the Moroccan migrants held at Libyan detention centers, adding that the process of identification and verification is still ongoing before being repatriated. It is worth noting that Moroccan authorities returned 439 illegal immigrants from Libya to Morocco in 2017.

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