Libya's cabinet has a sent letter to parliament asking for more power and a longer mandate, but denies reports it has resigned, a government spokesman said on Tuesday, April 8, according to Reuters.

Television stations in Libya and across the Arab world ran reports earlier on Tuesday that the cabinet had stepped down.

"The government is working normally but there was a letter sent to the General National Congress saying the government needs more authority to work," the spokesman said.

Parliament gave Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni a temporary mandate which needs to be renewed every two weeks after it sacked Ali Zeidan as head of the government last month.