It is now, it seems, a matter of formalities before Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States of America on 20 January. It is a good time, therefore, to try to preview what his foreign policy towards the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region …

The Libyan and Qatari Defense Ministries have signed a cooperation protocol for training and building capabilities as well as exchange of expertise to benefit from the experience of the Qatari ministry, the media office of the Libyan Defense Ministry said Thursday.

Tunisia is opening its land border with Libya in accordance with the bilateral sanitary protocol signed on Wednesday, which envisions measures to combat the spread of COVID-19, the Tunisian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Libyans agreed in UN-led talks on Wednesday a plan to hold elections within 18 months, as diplomatic efforts grow to end a decade of violence in the North African country.

The Libyan Supreme Judicial Council has reiterated that the judicial authority should be fully autonomous as per the legislations organizing its work, excluding Article 15 of the Libyan Political Agreement.

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensoda, has said that her office received credible information confirming that Haftar’s militias committed criminal acts during their attack on Tripoli, stressing that any agreement between the parties to the crisis would not prevent the arrest of those involved in crimes.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi unveiled the Cairo Declaration initiative June 6 to end nine years of civil war in neighboring Libya. The plan calls for a cease-fire, an elected presidential council with representatives from Libya’s three regions and an 18-month transition period until elections are held.

Mohamed Omar Baiyu, Head of the Tripoli-based Libyan Media Organization, was released yesterday. In a social media post, he said his arrest was ‘‘a misunderstanding’’.

A group of senators pressed the State Department on Tuesday to take action to curb widespread violations of a United Nations arms embargo on Libya and ensure that U.S.-manufactured weaponry and equipment are not used in the country’s prolonged conflict.

At least 13 Europe-bound African migrants, including three women and one child, drowned in the Mediterranean Sea when their rubber boat capsised Tuesday off the coast of Libya, the U.N. migration agency said.