Militia groups begin leaving Libyan capital
TRIPOLI, Libya – Militias from a string of Libyan cities left the capital, Tripoli, on Thursday, nearly a week after militiamen killed more than 40 people protesting their presence in the city.
The withdrawal is a triumph for the residents of Tripoli, who on Nov. 15 held a mass protest against the militias, which have fueled lawlessness nationwide since the 2011 fall of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
The heavily armed groups, some of them led by Islamic extremists, have defied control by the weak central government, carving out fiefdoms, acting as a law unto themselves and imposing their control.
Witnesses said the militiamen gave their bases to army troops in handover ceremonies before they headed out of the city.
Activists upset by climate talk results
WARSAW, Poland – Hundreds of environmental activists walked out of U.N. climate talks on Thursday, saying they were deeply disappointed by the lack of results with just one day remaining.
Wearing “Polluters talk, we walk” T-shirts, the activists streamed out of Warsaw’s National Stadium, where rich and poor countries were arguing over who should do what to fight global warming.
The two-week session in the Polish capital was never expected to produce any big decisions or breakthroughs, but the protesters said in a statement that the talks were “on track to deliver virtually nothing.”
Companies sought to destroy Syria arms
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The global chemical weapons watchdog is inviting private companies to bid to get involved in destroying Syria’s stockpile of toxic agents and precursor chemicals.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is posting a request for “expressions of interest” from companies who want a role in “the treatment and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous organic and inorganic chemicals.”
The agency, which won the Nobel Peace Prize this year, has been directed by the United Nations to oversee the destruction of the Syrian government’s chemical weapons. The unprecedented disarmament in the midst of a civil war now in its third year was launched after an Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack on a Damascus suburb that killed hundreds of civilians.
Groups ask U.N. to OK anti-surveillance rule
UNITED NATIONS –Human rights groups are urging the U.N. General Assembly to approve a resolution to protect the right to privacy against unlawful surveillance in the digital age and criticizing the U.S. and its key allies for trying to weaken it.
Brazil and Germany, whose leaders allegedly have been targeted by U.S. eavesdropping, circulated a revised draft late Wednesday after intense negotiations. The rights organizations said Thursday the text was “relatively undamaged” despite lobbying by the U.S., Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which comprise the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing group.
Associated Press
