CAIRO: Libya’s National Oil Corporation said on Friday that recent oilfield closures have caused the loss of approximately 63 percent of the country’s total oil production, as a conflict between rival eastern and western factions continues.
The North African country’s oil blockade has widened, with eastern leaders demanding western authorities back down over the replacement of the central bank governor, a key position in a state where control over oil revenue is the biggest prize for all factions.
The crisis over control of the Central Bank of Libya threatens a new bout of instability in a major oil producer split between eastern and western factions that have drawn backing from Turkiye and Russia.
Highlighting that the oil sector represents the backbone of the Libyan economy, NOC said restarting the halted oilfields will require huge costs and double technical efforts.
It said the reasons for the oil closure have “nothing to do” with the company, adding that its teams are assessing losses resulting from the closures.
The repeated shutdowns have resulted in the loss of a large portion of the country’s oil production, caused a deterioration of the sector’s infrastructure, and dissipated efforts to increase production, the NOC added in its statement.
Eastern factions have vowed to keep Libya’s oil output shuttered until the internationally recognized Presidency Council and Government of National Unity in Tripoli in the west return veteran central bank governor Sadiq Al-Kabir to his post.
Presidency Council chief Mohammed Al-Menfi said he was dismissing Kabir earlier this month, a move rejected by the eastern-based House of Representatives parliament and eastern commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army.
Libya’s oil production plunges 63 percent due to oilfield closures, NOC says
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Libya’s oil production plunges 63 percent due to oilfield closures, NOC says
- The crisis over control of the Central Bank of Libya threatens a new bout of instability in a major oil producer
UN appoints envoy to assess aid for Palestinians
“We will see how UNRWA can better operate and better serve the communities that rely on“
UNITED NATIONS: The UN on Tuesday appointed an envoy to complete a “strategic assessment” of the agency charged with aiding Palestinians, a spokesman said.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed Ian Martin of the United Kingdom to review the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, to gauge the “political, financial, security” constraints the agency faces.
The organization, broadly considered to be the backbone of humanitarian aid delivery for embattled Palestinians, has withstood a barrage of criticism and accusations from Israel since Hamas’s deadly October 7, 2023 attack inside Israel and the devastating war in Gaza that followed.
Israel cut all contact with UNRWA at the end of January, and has accused 19 of its 13,000 employees in Gaza of being directly involved in the October 7 attacks.
“We’re trying to see how in this very complex environment, UNRWA can best deliver for the Palestine refugees it serves. For the communities it serves, they deserve to be assisted by an organization, by an UNRWA that can work in the best possible manner,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters.
The review is being carried out as part of the UN80 initiative launched last month to address chronic financial difficulties, which are being exacerbated by US budget cuts to international aid programs.
Not all agencies will undergo a strategic assessment, but UNRWA’s operations in Gaza are unique, Dujarric said.
“We will not question UNRWA’s mandate. We will see how UNRWA can better operate and better serve the communities that rely on” it, Dujarric added.
The agency was created by a UN General Assembly resolution in 1949, in the wake of the first Israeli-Arab conflict, shortly after the creation of Israel in 1948.
Throughout decades of sporadic but ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, UNRWA has provided essential humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the occupied West Bank, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.
Educated at Cambridge and Harvard universities, Martin has previously served the UN on missions in Somalia, Libya, Timor-Leste, Nepal, Eritrea, Rwanda and Haiti.
Syrian defense minister meets Jordanian army chief in Damascus
- The Syrian defense minister affirmed the depth of the historical ties between Syria and Jordan and reiterated his country’s commitment to close cooperation
DUBAI: Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti, chairman of Jordan's Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with Syrian Defense Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra on Wednesday in Damascus, news agency Petra reported.
During the meeting, the two men discussed bilateral relations and explored ways to further develop and strengthen them. They also addressed prospects for enhanced security and military cooperation between the two countries.
Both sides emphasized the importance of continued coordination and joint efforts to confront the various challenges facing the region.
They highlighted the need to use the capabilities and resources of the Jordanian Armed Forces in multiple sectors to support regional security and stability — particularly in light of the challenges in border areas, which directly affect the national security of the two countries.
The Syrian defense minister affirmed the depth of the historical ties between Syria and Jordan and reiterated his country’s commitment to close cooperation. He also commended the pivotal role of King Abdullah II in fostering regional security and stability.
Jordan moves to dissolve Muslim Brotherhood, enforce nationwide ban
- Membership in or affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood is now prohibited by law
- Last week, Jordan arrested 16 members of the Muslim Brotherhood
DUBAI: Jordan’s Interior Ministry has announced a sweeping set of measures against the Muslim Brotherhood, formally declaring the group dissolved and illegal.
The announcement came during a press conference on Wednesday, where the Interior Minister, Mazen Faraya, outlined the government's decisive steps aimed at safeguarding national security and public stability.
The minister confirmed that membership in or affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood is now prohibited by law, and that all of the group’s offices across the Kingdom have been permanently closed. A judicial order was issued to facilitate the closure of headquarters and branches, with security forces deployed to enforce the decision and confiscate the organization’s assets.
The Interior Minister described the Muslim Brotherhood’s continued activities as a threat to citizens, a barrier to national development, and a destabilizing force. He revealed that members of the dissolved group had planned to target sensitive sites, stored weapons and explosives in residential neighborhoods, and operated covertly to undermine public security.
“The presence of hidden agendas and divisive rhetoric from within the group is incompatible with Jordanian unity,” the minister stated, adding that “we cannot allow division among members of a single society.”
A special dissolution committee has been activated to expedite the legal and administrative process of seizing the group’s assets and ensuring full compliance with the ban.
This announcement follows the arrest of 16 members of the Muslim Brotherhood last week, an operation that Jordanian authorities say exposed plans to disrupt security and stability.
An earthquake shakes Istanbul, with no immediate reports of serious damage
- The earthquake had a shallow depth of 10 kilometers
- The quake was felt in several neighboring provinces and in the city of Izmir
ISTANBUL: An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 shook Istanbul and other areas on Wednesday, Türkiye’s disaster and emergency management agency said. There were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries in the metropolis of 16 million.
The earthquake had a shallow depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles), according to the United States Geological Survey. Its epicenter was about 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Istanbul in the Sea of Marmara.
The quake was felt in several neighboring provinces and in the city of Izmir, some 550 kilometers (340 miles) south of Istanbul. There were several aftershocks, including one measuring 5.3.
Residents rushed out of homes and buildings in panic. The disaster and emergency management agency urged people to stay away from buildings.
The quake struck at 12:49 p.m. during a public holiday when many children were out of school and celebrating in the streets. The quake forced authorities in Istanbul to cancel the events.
Türkiye’s interior minister, Ali Yerlikaya, said authorities had not received reports of collapsed buildings. He told HaberTurk television, however, there had been reports of damage to buildings.
Mayor Mehmet Ergun Turan of the historic Fatih district that houses the famed Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia told local media there was no damage or collapse reported, but one person was injured from jumping from a window in panic.
Kemal Cebi, the mayor of Kucukcekmece district in western Istanbul, told local broadcaster NTV there were “no negative developments yet” but reported traffic jams, and said many buildings were already at risk due to the area’s density.
Türkiye is crossed by two major fault lines, and earthquakes are frequent.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake on Feb. 6, 2023, and a second powerful tremor hours later, destroyed or damaged hundreds of thousands of buildings in 11 southern and southeastern provinces, leaving more than 53,000 people dead. Another 6,000 people were killed in the northern parts of neighboring Syria.
Istanbul was not impacted by that earthquake, but the devastation heightened fears of a similar quake, with experts citing the city’s proximity to fault lines.
In a bid to prevent damage from any future quake, the national government and local administrations started urban reconstruction projects to fortify buildings at risk and launched campaigns to demolish buildings at risk of collapse.
Germany, France, UK say Israel’s Gaza aid blockade ‘must end’
Berlin: Germany, France and Britain on Wednesday called on Israel to stop blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza, warning of “an acute risk of starvation, epidemic disease and death.”
“This must end,” their foreign ministers said in a joint statement. “We urge Israel to immediately re-start a rapid and unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza in order to meet the needs of all civilians.”
