Cyprus holds talks with rival Libya administration

AFP, Benghazi, Libya

Cyprus has stepped up its campaign against the UN-recognised Libyan government’s increasingly close military ties with Turkey, hosting talks yesterday with a leading figure in the rival Libyan administration. The speaker of Libya’s eastern-based parliament, Aguila Saleh, met his Cypriot counterpart Demetris Syllouris, his adviser Hamid al-Safi told reporters in Libya’s main eastern city Benghazi.

20 bodies recovered from DR Congo river after ferry blaze

AFP, Tshikapa, Dr Congo

Twenty bodies have been recovered from a river in the Democratic Republic of Congo after a ferry blaze, local officials said yesterday. The boat, which was transporting dozens of passengers as well as goods, caught fire overnight Monday in Tshimbinda, a village near Tshikapa, the capital of the central province of Kasai.

Pompeo accuses Iran of suppressing protest memorials

AFP, Washington

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday slammed Iran for using “violence” and censorship to prevent memorials for those killed during the suppression of recent protests. Protests broke out on November 15 across Iran, whose economy has suffered under sweeping sanctions from the United States, after the government abruptly hiked fuel prices. “The Iranian people have the right to mourn 1,500 victims slaughtered by @khamenei_ir during #IranProtests,” Pompeo tweeted, directly accusing Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Ukraine rivals to swap prisoners today

AFP, Moscow

Ukrainian authorities and pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country have agreed to swap dozens of prisoners today, the self-declared rebel republic of Donetsk said. Both sides had said earlier this month they would carry out a prisoner exchange by the end of the year, following high-profile peace talks in Paris aimed at de-escalating Europe’s only active war. “Kiev and the Donbass (a term used to refer to rebel-held eastern Ukraine) have reached an accord on an exchange of prisoners... this Sunday December 29,” Donetsk government spokeswoman said.

Thai cave rescuer dies from year-long blood infection

BBC, Online

A member of the rescue team that saved 12 boys and their football coach from a flooded cave in Thailand last year has died from an infection he picked up during the operation, officials said. Petty Officer Beirut Pakbara, a Thai Navy Seal, contracted a blood infection during the rescue at Tham Luang cave. Beirut was under medical supervision but his condition worsened and he died on Friday, a statement said.