The Head of the Presidential Council (PC), Fayez Al-Sarraj called on Friday for an emergency meeting with the Acting Attorney General, Head of the Administrative Control Authority, Head of the Anti-Corruption Authority and the Head of the Audit Bureau at the headquarters of the PC, on Saturday.
According to Al-Sarraj, the meeting aims to discuss matters and issues related to the conditions presently being experienced in the country at all levels.
The Board of Directors Chairman, Mustafa Sanalla, received the Ambassador of Malta to Libya, Ambassador Charles Saliba and his accompanying delegation at the headquarters of the National Oil Corporation in Tripoli.
During the meeting, the two parties discussed aspects and means of cooperation regarding the oil &gad domain and also building communications channels which serves the interest of both countries.
The attendees also discussed many issues of concern to the oil sector in Libya, including the possibility of activating the memorandum concluded between the two countries in 2013, which states the cooperation between Libya and Malta, in addition to discussing the development of the Tripoli oil clinic in several areas, such as updating the analysis laboratories. , Operating rooms, and training medical personnel in the sanatorium and elevating their efficiency.
Sanalla also assured that there are many great opportunities for cooperation between the two countries , such as contracting, logistics and communications, and other aspects required in the Libyan oil sector, and this will not occur until of stability of Libya has been restored, which we seek its occurrence as soon as possible with the assistance of friendly countries, including the Republic of Malta.
In a statement to Sada Economic Newspaper, the former Libyan Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Ali Mihirig, said that the reforms for Libya’s ailing electricity and renewable sector that have been proposed by the state’s Economic Salon are evident.
“The issue of electricity is much talked about only at the height of crises. However, officials, media outlets and citizens forget about it when the weather is mild or when load-shedding phenomenon ends,” he said
“Planning to solve the crisis of electricity and preparing for the summer peak season should be done so early. For instance, we must get ready for 2021 summer from now with highlighting all the possibilities among which power generation units going out of service,” he added.
The National Oil Corporation (NOC) said it welcomes the decision of the United States to impose financial sanctions on a network of smugglers that has contributed significantly to the destabilization of the country.
NOC added that it will continue to monitor fuel smuggling operations in the various regions of Libya, and work with the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee to hold those involved in these illegal acts accountable.
The Libyan Presidential Council (PC) issued on Thursday a new decree in order to force local people to comply with Covid-19 preventive measures in a new attempt to curb the spread of the disease in the country.
The Presidential Council extended the general country-wide curfew for 10 days effective from Friday, August 07.
In a statement, the PC said that the curfew is from 9 p.m. until 6 a.m. amid Coronavirus fears, adding that it imposed a 24–hour curfew applying to all citizens every Friday and Saturday.
Educational institutions, cafes, restaurants, events halls, clubs, entertainment centres and commercial outlets will remain closed as well.
It also bans funerals, weddings and mass transport but makes exceptions for food companies and outlets, bakeries, petrol stations – during non-curfew hours.
However, It excludes all necessary activities such as state, security and health institutions, pharmacies, environmental activities, electricity, energy, communications and transport.
State institutions that are needed for life to continue must operate with minimum staffing and prevent large gatherings of staff.
It also imposed penalties for not wearing a face mask in public places.
Shopkeepers will have to pay a 500-dinar fine if they allow people with no face masks to enter their shops.
The fine would be doubled if they committed a second violation while their shops would be closed for a month if they committed a third violation.
Shops that stay open after the curfew time (9 pm – 6 am) will be fined 1000 dinars, according to the order.
Taxi drivers will also have to comply with the Covid-19 preventive measures.
The drivers who pick up people with no face masks will be fined 250 dinars.
People who drive during the curfew time will pay a 500-dinar fine.
The US Treasury Department on Thursday imposed sanctions on three Libyans and a Malta-based company, accusing them of acting as a network of smugglers and contributing to instability in Libya.
The Treasury said that the competition for control of smuggling routes, oil facilities, and transport nodes is a key driver of conflict in Libya and deprives the Libyan people of economic resources.
It also added that Faysal al-Wadi and his associates have smuggled fuel from Libya and used Libya as a transit zone to smuggle illicit drugs.
Libya on Friday reported 404 new COVID-19 confirmed cases raising the country’s total to 4,879, according to figures from the nation’s National Center for Disease Control (NCDC).
NCDC also confirmed the recovery of 12 patients, raising the number of recoveries to 652.
The death toll of Covid-19 has risen to 107 after the registration of 8 deaths.
The National Center for Disease Control said the new positive cases are distributed as following:
Libya had managed to tame the spread of the virus early on but July saw a period in which the virus spread rapidly.
The recent increase in the number of coronavirus cases prompted the United Nations-backed government to impose strict measures to contain the spread of the virus.
The government closed the country’s borders and extended a nighttime curfew by a further 10 days. The government also made it compulsory to wear face masks in public and ordered all schools and places of worship to be closed. Moreover, mass public gatherings were banned as part of the measures.
According to the NCDC, Tripoli, the port of Misrata, and in the southern desert town of Sebha are the focal points of the pandemic in Libya.
Libya’s health system has been devastated following years of instability and war which have fragmented the state, destroyed infrastructure and left many people living in crowded conditions after fleeing their homes.
Libya’s COVID-19 response has been further complicated by a shrinking space for international aid agencies to offer assistance due to the ongoing conflict and restrictions of movement arising from the pandemic.
The international humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said the current situation in Libya “could ultimately become a humanitarian catastrophe.”
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against a network of smugglers contributing to instability in Libya. OFAC designated Libyan national Faysal al-Wadi (Wadi), operator of the vessel Maraya; two associates, Musbah Mohamad M Wadi (Musbah) and Nourddin Milood M Musbah (Nourddin); and the Malta-based company, Alwefaq Ltd, pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13726. Additionally, the vessel Maraya was identified as blocked property.
“Faysal al-Wadi and his associates have smuggled fuel from Libya and used Libya as a transit zone to smuggle illicit drugs,” said Deputy Secretary Justin G. Muzinich. “The United States is committed to exposing illicit networks exploiting Libya’s resources for their own profit while hurting the Libyan people.”
Wadi has worked with a network of contacts in North Africa and southern Europe to smuggle fuel from, and illicit drugs through, Libya to Malta.
Competition for control of smuggling routes, oil facilities, and transport nodes is a key driver of conflict in Libya and deprives the Libyan people of economic resources. Wadi’s illicit trafficking operation transported drugs between the Libyan port of Zuwarah and Hurd’s Bank, just outside Malta’s territorial waters.
Hurd’s Bank is a well-known geographic transfer location for illicit maritime transactions. Wadi also smuggled drugs and Libyan fuel into Malta itself. Wadi has kept all official documentation clear of his name, while being the primary organizer of smuggling operations using the vessel Maraya.
A source at the Libyan Presidential Council asserted to Sada Economic Newspaper that a new board of directors of the National Centre for Disease Control has been appointed.
The new board of directors includes Adam Al-Zaghid as a chairman, and Suleiman Abu Sroowil as a deputy head.
It also includes other members among which Hssine Al Isswi, Ahmed Al Hassi, Abu Al Kacem Al Jerbi and Yamen Ahmoodah.
The National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) recorded 251 new cases on Wednesday, distributed as following:
The number of COVID-19 infections in Libya has risen to 4475, with 3736 active cases.
NCDC also confirmed the recovery of 7 patients, raising the number of recoveries to 640.
The death toll of Covid-19 has risen to 99 after the registration of 3 deaths.
The death toll of Covid-19 has risen to 99 after the registration of 3 deaths.
