Travellers arrive at the Mitiga International Airport after its reopening on September 7, 2018, in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. AFP
Travellers arrive at the Mitiga International Airport after its reopening on September 7, 2018, in the Libyan capital of Tripoli. AFP

Rockets fired at Libya capital's only working airport



Rockets were fired at the only working airport in the Libyan capital Tripoli overnight, with no reports of casualties or damage, an airport source said early on Wednesday.

It came within days of Mitiga International Airport's reopening after it was forced to close for a week because of deadly clashes between rival militias in and around Tripoli.

A Libyan Airlines flight was diverted to Misrata airport, some 200 kilometres east of the capital, the source said, adding that preparations were also underway to move planes on the tarmac in Tripoli to Misrata.

The airport had reopened on Friday after a ceasefire overseen by the UN was signed between the armed groups waging a bloody conflict mostly in Tripoli's southern suburbs.

The agreement has largely been respected but witnesses reported brief clashes in the south of the capital on Tuesday night.

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Read more:

Salvini slams French interference in Libya as Tripoli fighting rages

Notorious militia leader returns to ignite Libya conflict 

Libya's Haftar accuses Tripoli of funding Muslim Brotherhood militias

ISIS claims Libyan oil headquarters attack

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The fighting has killed at least 50 people and wounded 138 others - most of them civilians - since August 27, according to the health ministry.

Thousands of families have fled the violence to nearby towns or have had to seek shelter in other districts of Tripoli, authorities have said.

During heavy clashes last month, at least three rockets landed in the airport's vicinity, forcing staff to reroute all flights to Misrata.

Tripoli has been at the centre of a battle for influence between armed groups since the fall of dictator Muanmar Gaddafi in 2011.

Mitiga, a former military airport in the east of the city, was first opened to civil air traffic after the destruction of Tripoli's international airport in the capital's south during unrest in 2014.

Since then only Libyan airlines have operated in the country, running internal flights and regular connections to a handful of countries, including Tunisia and Turkey.

Libyan airlines are banned from European Union airspace for "security reasons".

Separately in the capital, the ISIS claimed responsibility on Tuesday for a suicide attack a day earlier against the headquarters of Libya's National Oil Corporation which killed two employees.

Three attackers died in the assault on the NOC's offices, ISIS said in a statement published by the US-based SITE Intelligence Group which tracks extremists.

That attack came four months after the headquarters of the country's electoral commission in the capital was hit by suicide bombers, killing 14 people and also claimed by ISIS.

The group gained ground in Libya in the chaos following Gaddafi's ousting and despite being driven in December 2016 from its main fiefdom of Sirte, east of the capital, it continues to carry out deadly attacks.

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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Match info

Costa Rica 0

Serbia 1
Kolarov (56')

Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

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Dhadak

Director: Shashank Khaitan

Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana

Stars: 3

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

RESULTS

5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner: Yas Xmnsor, Sean Kirrane (jockey), Khalifa Al Neyadi (trainer)

5.30pm: Falaj Hazza – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Arim W’Rsan, Dane O’Neill, Jaci Wickham

6pm: Al Basrah – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Kalifano De Ghazal, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi, Helal Al Alawi

6.30pm: Oud Al Touba – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Pharitz Oubai, Sean Kirrane, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

7pm: Sieh bin Amaar – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Oxord, Richard Mullen, Abdalla Al Hammadi

7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: AF Ramz, Sean Kirrane, Khalifa Al Neyadi

8pm: Al Saad – Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Sea Skimmer, Gabriele Malune, Kareem Ramadan