Author: LS
Tunisia to reopen land, air and sea borders
Tunisia will open its sea, land and air borders on June 27, authorities said on Monday, in hopes of rescuing its tourism industry as the coronavirus pandemic comes under control.
Eastern Libya reinstalls part-time curfew
A curfew has been reinstalled in eastern Libya to curb the spread of COVID-19, the Supreme Committee to Combat the Coronavirus Epidemic announced on Monday.
General Abdel Razek Al-Nadhouri, the Libyan National Army’s Chief of Staff and chairman of Coronavirus committee, explained in a statement that the decision comes after new COVID-19 cases were recorded in the west and south of the country, at an accelerated pace during the past days.
The new restrictions takes effect from 7 PM to 6 AM.
Libya confirms 12 new cases of Covid-19 overnight
Another 12 people in Libya have tested positive for the Coronavirus over the past hours, said the National Center for Disease Control in its latest update.
With these new figures, the country’s total now stands at 168 cases, among them 99 active cases and five fatalities, while the rest have been all cleared of Covid-19.
Random sampling continued in various regions of Tripoli with Janzur being the latest targeted area as the authorities seek to expand the percentage of testing.
Meanwhile, in the east of Libya, authorities have ended the curfew within cities that have no Coronavirus cases but have prohibited travel between cities.
The National Center for Disease Control urged residents in Sabha city south of the country to follow social distancing, home quarantine, and other preventive measures to avoid coronavirus transmission, after the city recorded the highest rate of infection in the country.
NOC condemns the constant tampering with oil and gas facilities
The National Oil Corporation confirmed on Monday that the armed militia under “Abdul Karim Alrounie”, is still preventing the maintenance teams of the Akakos Oil Operations Company from carrying out their work until the date of this statement.
As the National Oil Corporation still warns of the severe damage regarding the continuation of the current situation on the infrastructure of the oil sector, it demands the people responsible to back-off of site immediately and allow the maintenance teams to carry out their duty.
The National Oil Corporation added that it has addressed both the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of the Interior to take all the required and necessary legal measures against the so-called Abdul Karim Alrounie and against everyone involved with him in the above-mentioned crimeWorth-mentioned.
“As the losses due to the closure of the facilities and transmission lines to date have exceeded more than 5 billion dollars, of which 1.7 billion dollars are losses resulting of the closure of “AL-sharara” and “Elfeel” fields only, which foretells an economic disaster that will bring Libya to its knees as a result of these irresponsible acts.Therefore, the National Oil Corporation implores the honorable people in the city of Zintan once more to up-lift the social, tribal and legal cover off of the so-called Abdul Karim Alrounie and his militias, and to assist the security and judicial agencies in arresting them and bringing them to justice,” NOC stated.
The National Oil Corporation also highlighted the need to cease all oppressive closures of its facilities immediately, given the real danger it poses to the infrastructure of the oil sector and to the economic security in general for Libya
Bloomberg: Tripoli is the only entity authorised to sell Libya’s oil
The United Nations confirmed that the National Oil Corporation (NOC), based in Tripoli, is the only Libyan authority legally authorised to sell oil.
This came following reports that France had seized an oil tanker which was on its way to Libya, the vessel was thought to belong to the UAE and was heading to Libya to support the forces of Brigadier General Khalifa Haftar in his efforts to unseat the Tripoli government.
The agency added: “The Libyan National Oil Corporation, based in Tripoli, is the only sovereign institution that is legally authorized to sell or buy oil.”
Bloomberg pointed out that “there are multiple and concerted efforts by the member states of the UN and the Organization’s expert body to contact all companies and countries associated with this issue.”
The agency stated that “the United Nations Support Mission in Libya had welcomed the actions taken by France in this regard.”
UNSMIL: Haftar agrees to talks on ceasefire
Commander of the Libyan National Army Khalifa Haftar has agreed to the resumption of ceasefire talks, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said early Tuesday.
“The United Nations Mission welcomes the parties in Libya accepting the resumption of the Joint Military Commission 5+5 talks,” UNSMIL said on Twitter.
The statement went on to say that the parties agreed to talk amid “calls by Libyans who want to have a dignified and safe life as soon as possible.”
“It is hoped that all national and international parties involved in the Libyan issue will respond to the calls of the Libyan people to end the war and that the 5+5 negotiations will lay the groundwork for the final ceasefire,” the statement added.
Another 6.5 million dollars allocated to confront the Coronavirus pandemic in Libya
The United States announced the allocation of an additional 6.5 million dollars to assist Libya in responding to the Coronavirus pandemic. The US Embassy in Libya stated that this support would help many municipalities.
The object of the allocation of funds should help the various municipalities to form crisis response units, develop emergency crisis assistance and train response teams, whilst providing assistance for immigrants and refugees in Libya during the pandemic, it said.
The Embassy noted that the US has supported Libya to date with 12 million dollars within the framework of confronting the Coronavirus pandemic, providing essential aid since the outbreak began.
Dollar exchange rate continues rise in the Libyan black market
Dollar exchange rate continued to rise in the Libyan black market, reaching 6.20 dinars in Tripoli and 6.30 dinars in Benghazi (LYD), while the euro rose to record 6.88 LYD.
Libya’s Coronavirus cases shoot up to 156
Another 26 new cases of Coronavirus were reported by Libya’s National Centre for Disease Control over the last day. There has also been two new recoveries which brings the total to 52.
