Libya dissolves electoral committees

The move effectively postpones presidential elections scheduled for this week. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- What The World is following Libya dissolves electoral committees [Demonstrators protest in Tripoli, Libya, in opposition to parliament passing a vote of no-confidence in the transitional government, Sept. 24, 2021.] Yousef Murad/AP/File photo Libya The head of Libya’s High National Electoral Commission (HNEC) has [dissolved the electoral committees]( across the country, effectively postponing presidential elections that were set for Dec 24. The list of candidates authorized to run has also not been published. The United Nations is now scrambling to deal with the latest development, over [fears of renewed violence]( and economic instability that could result from a political vacuum. A ceasefire in October 2020 brought some relative calm to the country after a decade of conflict since the start of Libya’s revolution in 2011 and the overthrow of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi. Egypt Three human rights activists have been sentenced to up to five years in prison, with verdicts that cannot be appealed. Political dissident Alaa Abdel-Fattah, rights lawyer Mohamed el-Baqer and blogger Mohamed Ibrahim have been charged with [joining a terrorist group]( and spreading false news. They’ve been in prison since 2019 when authorities detained thousands of people who took to the streets calling for the removal of President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, even though they weren’t a part of those protests. The move comes despite international pressure, with rights groups calling the charges [politically motivated](. United States The Pentagon has [issued new rules]( that prohibit service members in the US military from engaging in extremist activities, after citing a rise of extremism in its ranks. The Defense Department began a review after finding that some current and former service members had participated in the US Capitol riot on Jan. 6. Possible offenses that could [result in disciplinary action]( range from advocating terrorism, supporting the overthrow of the government, fundraising or rallying on behalf of an extremist group or even expressing or “liking” extremist views on social media. --------------------------------------------------------------- Time is running out to support The World before Dec 31. There are just a few days left before our fundraiser ends, but we’re still short of our goal. We need just 107 listeners to donate $130 or pledge $11 monthly in order to sustain our nonprofit newsroom for another year. If you rely on The World to keep you connected and informed, please join the hundreds of listeners who have already donated and [make your gift today](. We can’t do it without you. --------------------------------------------------------------- From The World [Iraqi mothers risk it all to bring justice for their slain activist sons]( [Samira Abbas, whose activist son Ehab al-Wazni was assassinated in May, attends a demonstration in Karbala on Nov. 18, 2021, with other women protesting the impunity Iraqi activists face.]( Ahmed al-Turfe/The World Since the murder of a prominent activist in the Iraqi city of Karbala, his mother, Samira Abbas, has become the public face of a youth-led protest movement. She is inspiring a new [movement of mothers]( in the country seeking justice and demanding change. [This Ghanaian chef quit his job to fight hunger in vulnerable African communities]( [Chef Elijah Amoo Addo (right) prepares food to distribute as part of Food for All Africa.]( Ridwan Karim Dini-Osman/The World Chef Elijah Amoo Addo has been collecting discarded food from suppliers, farmers and restaurants since 2012 to feed Ghana’s poor through his nongovernmental organization, Food for All Africa. “I lost my parents at the tender age of 12. So, after secondary school without any support, I picked up the passion for cooking,” [Amoo Addo said](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Double take Bugs that eat plastic? A new study, published in the journal Microbial Ecology, shows that microbes in oceans and soils around the world have [evolved to eat plastic](. 🦠It found that 30,000 different types of enzymes are able to degrade 10 different types of plastic. Researchers say that microbes have had the time to learn how to deal with the material, as plastic production drastically increased from 2 million to 380 million tons annually over the past 70 years. [Screenshot of Guardian tweet]( Credit: Twitter --------------------------------------------------------------- [In case you missed it from The World]( --------------------------------------------------------------- - [Rudolph toppled]( - [Chef leaves restaurant track to feed hundreds a day in Ghana]( - [A Saami singer croons a yoik, or spirit song]( - [Water crisis driving up electricity prices in Brazil]( - [Energy politics are changing but are no less fraught]( - [The heavy toll of Sudan’s pro-democracy revolution]( - [Chinese tennis star denies making assault accusation]( - [Election upset in Chile]( - [US family still stuck in China]( - [Responding to omicron with a ‘vaccine-plus’ approach]( Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. 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