Flooding in eastern Libya leaves 2,000 people feared dead, prime minister says

CAIRO (AP) — Mediterranean storm Daniel caused devastating floods in Libya that swept away entire neighborhoods and wrecked homes in multiple coastal towns in the east of the North African nation. As many as 2,000 people were feared dead, one of the country’s leaders said Monday. The destruction appears greatest in Derna, a city formerly held by Islamic extremists in the chaos that has gripped Libya for more than a decade and left it with crumbling and inadequate infrastructure. Libya remains divided between two rival administrations, one in the east and one in the west, each backed by militias and foreign governments.

Protests against Israel’s judicial overhaul kick off at Supreme Court

JERUSALEM (AP) — Thousands of Israeli protesters flooded the streets outside Israel’s Supreme Court in Jerusalem on Monday, a day before it hears a pivotal case against the curbing of the high court’s powers by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government. Beating drums, waving blue-and-white Israeli flags and brandishing signs saying “Freedom” and “Hands off our Supreme Court!,” thousands of protesters from cities nationwide swarmed the main intersection outside the high court in a mass rally against the government’s deeply contentious judicial overhaul that has triggered one of the biggest domestic crises in Israeli history. The sea of protesters hoisted up a giant banner that read “The court is supreme.”

Cease-fire declared n Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp

SIDON, Lebanon (AP) — An “immediate and lasting cease-fire” was declared Monday after a top Lebanese general met with officials from rival Palestinian factions, following days of fighting in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp, which left several people dead and dozens wounded. It was the latest in a series of cease-fires that only lasted for hours before fighting erupted again. It was not clear if this truce will hold and whether rival groups will abide by it. The announcement was made in Beirut by the General Security Directorate. Gunfire and explosions were heard throughout the day inside the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, claiming the life of one person.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit Russia, both countries said Monday, and he is expected to hold a highly anticipated meeting with President Vladimir Putin that has sparked Western concerns about a potential arms deal for Moscow’s war in Ukraine. A brief statement on the Kremlin’s website said the visit is at Putin’s invitation and would take place “in the coming days.” It also was reported by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency, which said the leaders would meet — without specifying when and where.