Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. Libya borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad to the south, Niger to the southwest, Algeria to the west, and Tunisia to the northwest, as well as maritime borders with Greece, Italy and Malta to the north. Libya comprises three historical regions: Tripolitania, Fezzan, and Cyrenaica. With an area of almost 1.8 million km2 (700,000 sq mi), it is the fourth-largest country in Africa and the Arab world, and the 16th-largest in the world. Libya claims 32,000 square kilometers of southeastern Algeria, south of the Libyan town of Ghat. The country's official religion is Islam, with 96.6% of the Libyan population being Sunni Muslims. The official language of Libya is Arabic, with vernacular Libyan Arabic being spoken most widely. The majority of Libya's population is Arab. The largest city and capital, Tripoli, is located in northwestern Libya and contains over a million of Libya's seven million people.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance of 32 member states—30 European and 2 North American. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949. NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. The organization's motto is animus in consulendo liber. The organization's strategic concepts include deterrence.
On 5 April 1986, three people were killed and 229 injured when La Belle discothèque was bombed in the Friedenau locality of West Berlin. The entertainment venue was commonly frequented by United States soldiers; two of the dead and 79 of the injured were Americans.
Pan Am Flight 103 (PA103/PAA103) was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via a stopover in London and another in New York City. The transatlantic leg of the route was operated by Clipper Maid of the Seas, a Boeing 747 registered N739PA. Shortly after 19:00 on 21 December 1988, while the aircraft was in flight over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, it was destroyed by a bomb, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew in what became known as the Lockerbie bombing. Large sections of the aircraft crashed in a residential street in Lockerbie, killing 11 residents. With a total of 270 fatalities, it is the deadliest terrorist attack in the history of the United Kingdom.
Jadallah Azzuz at-Talhi was a Libyan diplomat and politician who served as Secretary-General of the General People's Committee of Libya for two terms.
Saccoloma squamosum is a species of fern in the family Saccolomataceae. It is endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Al-Ittihad Sport, Cultural & Social Club famously known as 'Al-Ittihad, is a football club based in Bab Ben Gashier, Tripoli, Libya. They have won the Libyan Premier League 19 times, the Libyan Cup 7 times and the Libyan SuperCup 11 times. Al-ittihad reached the semi-finals of the CAF Confederation Cup in 2010.
Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation (LJBC) was the state-run broadcasting organization in Libya under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi. It distributed news in coordination with the Jamahiriya News Agency in accordance with state laws controlling Libya media.
Energy in Libya primarily revolves around the production, consumption, import, and export of energy, with a significant focus on the petroleum industry, which serves as the backbone of the Libyan economy. As of 2021, Libya is recognized as the seventh-largest crude oil producer in OPEC and ranks third in total petroleum liquids production in Africa. The country holds 3% of the world's proven oil reserves and 39% of Africa's, marking it as a key player in the global energy sector. Despite its abundant resources, the energy industry in Libya has faced significant challenges due to political instability following the civil war that began in 2011. These challenges have led to frequent disruptions in oil production and exports, directly impacting the national economy and its contributions to the global oil market. The sector's future is closely tied to the resolution of political conflicts and the effective management of its vast hydrocarbon resources.
The foreign relations of Libya were largely reset at the end of the Libyan Civil War, with the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi and the Second Libyan Civil War. The current Minister of Foreign Affairs since 15 March 2021 is Najla Mangoush. Although many foreign embassies in Tripoli closed down in 2014 due to the fighting, by the end of 2017 thirty diplomatic missions were reopened in the Libyan capital.
The Libyan National Army or the Libyan Arab Army is a component of Libya's military forces which were nominally a unified national force under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar when he was nominated to the role on 2 March 2015 by the House of Representatives, consisting at the time of a ground force, an air force and a navy.
The Libyan Crisis is the current humanitarian crisis and political-military instability occurring in Libya, beginning with the Arab Spring protests of 2011, which led to two civil wars, foreign military intervention, and the ousting and death of Muammar Gaddafi. The first civil war's aftermath and proliferation of armed groups led to violence and instability across the country, which erupted into renewed civil war in 2014. The second war lasted until October 23, 2020, when all parties agreed to a permanent ceasefire and negotiations.
Al-Bayan was the Islamic State's official radio station, based in Iraq, owned and operated by the Islamic State, which broadcast at 92.5 on the FM dial. The station aired a news-talk format and broadcasts in the Arabic, Kurdish, English, French, and Russian languages.
Cycloptilum squamosum, known generally as the Scudder's scaly cricket or Scudder's scaly bush cricket, is a species of scaly cricket in the family Mogoplistidae. It is found in North America.
Fathi Ali Abdul Salam Bashagha, known simply as "Fathi Bashagha" or occasionally Fathi Ali Pasha, is a Libyan politician and the former interim prime minister of Government of National Stability. He served as Minister of Interior from 2018 to 2021.
The European Union Naval Force Mediterranean Operation Irini was launched on 31 March 2020 with the primary mission to enforce the United Nations arms embargo to Libya due to the Second Libyan Civil War. Operation Irini is a European Union military operation under the umbrella of the Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP). The operation is expected to use aerial, maritime and satellite assets.
Metapion is a genus of beetles belonging to the family Brentidae. The species of this genus are distributed only in the Palearctic zone and likely originate from deserts of Central Asia. They are commonly found in Southern Europe, northern parts of the Middle East, Caucasus and in Central Asia. Some species also appear in northern zones of Africa.
