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Escalating armed conflict, civil unrest, and political instability in Libya have adversely affected civilians and displaced populations since 2011. As of March 2017, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) had identified approximately 257,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs)more than two-thirds of whom were displaced in 2015 or laterand 228,000 IDP returnees across 100 municipalities. IOM estimated 35,000 IDP returns to areas of origin in Sirte District since February despite tensions.

The UN reports that persistent insecurity has weakened Libyas health system since 2011, as a substantial number of health facilities are either partially operational or closed. In addition, health facilities face critical staffing shortages, particularly for specialized care.

To date in FY 2017, the U.S. Government (USG) has committed nearly $7.7 million, including nearly $2.5 million from USAID/OFDA and $5.2 million from State/PRM, to support humanitarian response activities in Libya. The USG contribution supports nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations, and UN agencies addressing the health, protection, shelter, and other emergency relief needs of conflictaffected people, in addition to supporting humanitarian coordination.

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Libya - Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #1, Fiscal Year (FY) 2017 - ReliefWeb

More than 900 migrants have been rescued off the coast of Libya during the past 48 hours while trying to reach Italy, the Italian coastguard said Friday.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said that it saved 716 of the migrants, and had found one body.

Around 800 people were rescued today (Friday) during eight separate operations in the Mediterranean, said a spokesman for the coastguard, which is coordinating the operations.

The migrants were on eight boats, including two inflatables, he said.

Some 130 others were rescued on Thursday.

MSF tweeted that it had completed the 5th rescue (operation) and now have 716 people onboard. Unfortunately, for one person we arrived too late.

The UN refugee agency has said around 61,250 migrants have reached Italy since the start of the year after crossing the Mediterranean, while 1,778 more are dead or missing.

Conflict-ravaged Libya has long been a stepping stone for migrants seeking a better life in Europe.

It has urged Europe, and particularly Italy, to supply it with the equipment it needs to monitor its southern borders, through which migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, enter the country.

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More than 900 migrants rescued off Libya - Vanguard

Archaeologists have unearthed a cache of ancient Roman silver and bronze coins as well as other treasures in the ruins of a 1,700-year-old villa on the coast of Libya.

The team discovered the haul of 553 silver and bronze coins known as sterercii in the remarkably well-preserved 3rd century building in the ancient city of Ptolemais, Haaretz reported.

The settlement on the North African coast was a key trading port in the Ptolemaic Empire and lies in the eastern corner of modern day Libya just over 60 miles from the city of Benghazi.

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Read more: Egypt uncovers remains of pharaoh's daughter

Jerzy Zelazoski, an archaeologist from Warsaw University, said the coins were discovered inside a room alongside terracotta lamps, indicating they may have been the profits of local craftsmen.

They also discovered detailed mosaics built around a classical Roman courtyard inside the expansive building complex, which is roughly 600 square meters in size.

They included one depiction of the Greek god Dionysus sleeping with Ariadne, the mythical daughter of King Minos, the ruler of Crete, and another illustrating the adventures of the Greek hero Achilles.

A part of the ancient city of Ptolemais is pictured near the town of Ad Dirsiyah, about 100 km (62 miles) east of Benghazi January 27, 2012. REUTERS/Esam Al-Fetori

The villa shows signs of centuries of inhabitation in its inscriptions and different frescoes and renovations. The house was most likely destroyed by earthquakes that rocked the region relentlessly between the mid 3rd century up until 356. The horde of coins lay undiscovered for so long because they lay beneath fallen layers of the house.

While the house fell into disrepair, Ptolemais remained the capital of the Roman province of Cyrenaica which succeeded the Ptolemaic Empire, until the year 428.

Ptolemais was sacked by the Vandals as they swept across North Africa and the razed to the ground once again in the 7th century during the Arab conquest of the region.

Libya retains some of the best preserved Greek and Roman ruins because of its dry climate and low population density. However, international antiquities bodies have expressed concern over the future of the sites because of the countrys fractious civil war.

Libya holds five UNESCO world heritage sites covering thousands of years of history. They include: Cyrene, a Greek colony founded in 631 B.C.; Leptis Magna, the Roman seat of power in North Africa; Tadrart Acacus, with prehistoric rock art sites dating from 12,000 B.C. to 100 A.D.; and Ghadames, one of the oldest pre-Saharan cities still in existence.

The greatest fears of possible destruction concern the town of Sabratha, home to an almost perfectly preserved 3rd century Roman theater where the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) made inroads in 2015.

In response to the threat, the International Council of Museums (ICOM), a U.N. body backed by the U.S. state department, issued an emergency catalogue of Libyan cultural items that could fall victim to ISISs brand of destructive iconoclasm or be sold on the black market.

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Archaeologists Find Ancient Treasure in Beautifully Preserved Roman Ruins in Libya - Newsweek

A Libyan counterterrorism official said Thursday that the brother of the Manchester arena suicide bomber knew he was planning something, and that his radicalization took root when he was living in the city in 2015.

Libyan official Ahmed bin Salem said that Salman Abedi's brother Hashim was still being held for questioning in Libya. Abedi's father, who allegedly belonged to an al-Qaida-backed extremist group, is also being held there.

Abedi blew himself up at the Manchester arena last month, killing 22 people.

Manchester police said Thursday that a 20-year-old man had been arrested in connection to the investigation of the concert attack. Police said he "voluntarily presented" himself to police Wednesday night and was arrested on suspicion of violating the Terrorism Act.

He has not been charged or identified. Police have nine people in custody for questioning.

Libyan officials say there is no connection between Abedi and the attackers in the more recent deadly assault in the London Bridge area.

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Manchester bomber's brother knew of plans: Libya official - ABC News

CAIRO France's foreign minister said on Thursday he had firmed up security ties with Egypt, which was the "central element" to ensuring regional stability as the two countries seek to break the political impasse in neighboring Libya.

Paris and Cairo have nurtured closer economic and military ties in recent years and with the rise to power of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that relationship has improved with both sides concerned by the ongoing political vacuum in Libya and the rise of jihadist groups in Egypt.

Speaking after a day of meetings in Cairo, including with Sisi, Jean-Yves Le Drian, who in his previous role as defense minister had developed a personal relationship with Sisi, said the two allies had a "common vision" on how to tackle Islamist militants.

"We had meetings on fighting terrorism and the stabilization of Libya," Le Drian said during a meeting with Pope Tawadros II, head of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church.

An attack at the end of May on the Coptic community in the southern city of Menya by Islamist militants killed 29 people.

"Egypt is the central element for regional stability and when it sways the whole region sways," Le Drian said.

Le Drian's visit was the second by a French minister this week. Defence Minister Sylvie Goulard held talks with her Egyptian counterpart on Monday on how to reinforce security cooperation including the best way to enhance monitoring of Egypt's borders.

Diplomats have said that Paris is reviewing its position on the Libyan conflict, with new President Emmanuel Macron deciding to push the issue to the top of his foreign policy agenda.

"Libya is a priority for France," a French diplomat said.

Libya is split between a U.N.-backed government in Tripoli, which is loosely supported by militias in the west that includes Islamist groups backed by Turkey and Qatar, and eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar, which the United Arab Emirates and Egypt support.

The UAE sees Egypt's leadership as a firewall against militants and has given Cairo financial and military support, Western and Arab diplomats say.

"We cannot let the situation of instability that is benefiting terrorists and traffickers continue on Egypt's borders and at the gates of Europe continue," Le Drian told reporters.

Some Western states, including France, have also given Haftar military support to help fight Islamists in Libya's east, but diplomats say that he will ultimately have to sit down and negotiate with the U.N.-backed government of Fayez al-Seraj and militias in the west.

French officials said there was now a growing convergence of views with Egypt and the UAE to push all sides back to the negotiating table, which would see a round of shuttle diplomacy in the coming weeks to form a consensus among the outside players to first push Haftar and Seraj together.

The diplomatic row between Qatar and major Arab states including Saudi Arabia and Egypt may also provide an opportunity to pressure western militias, officials said.

(This version of the story was corrected to show attack on Coptic Christians was in Menya in paragraph 5)

(Editing by Andrew Roche)

BRASILIA Brazil's top electoral court dismissed a case on Friday that threatened to unseat President Michel Temer for alleged illegal campaign funding in the 2014 election, when he was the running mate of impeached President Dilma Rousseff.

SEOUL/WASHINGTON South Korea does not aim to change its agreement on the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system to protect against North Korea, in spite of a decision to delay its full installation, Seoul's top national security adviser said on Friday.

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With eyes on Libya, France cements Egypt security ties - Reuters