Brent crude oil price news: Oil prices extended their decline into a second session on Monday after China's economic data showed growth slowed in the second quarter, fuelling concern about demand in the world's No. 2 oil consumer as Libya resumed production over the weekend. "The GDP came in below expectations, so will do little to ease concerns over the Chinese economy," said Warren Patterson, ING's head of commodities research. "Apparent oil demand grew at a strong pace year on year, but the market seems focused on the headline (GDP) numbers," Patterson said. "They are stockpiling crude at low prices, and waiting for recession to hit the West, before going full on with stimulus," Grasso said.

July 17, 2023 04:31 UTC

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) platforms such as ChatGPT or Google’s Bard may not be able to process the personal data of Indians available in the public domain, as per the latest draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Bill, 2023, which was approved by the cabinet earlier this month. Experience Your Economic Times Newspaper, The Digital Way! (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news stock tips and expert advice on ETMarkets . For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .) Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

July 17, 2023 02:39 UTC

By Arathy SomasekharHOUSTON (Reuters) -Oil dropped by more than 1.5% on Monday after weaker than expected Chinese economic growth raised doubts over the strength of demand in the world's second biggest oil consumer, and a partial restart of halted Libyan output also pressured prices. China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 6.3% year-on-year in the second quarter, compared with analyst forecasts of 7.3%, as its post-pandemic recovery lost momentum. "The GDP came in below expectations, so will do little to ease concerns over the Chinese economy," said Warren Patterson, ING's head of commodities research. Oil briefly rose after a Reuters news alert on Saudi Arabia extending a voluntary output cut. Oil also came under pressure on Monday from the resumption of output at two of three Libyan fields shut last week.

July 17, 2023 02:27 UTC

AL ASSAH: Libyan border guards have rescued dozens of migrants who have been left in the desert by Tunisian authorities without water and food, and their numbers are “rising”, an officer said on Sunday. Hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan African countries were forcibly taken to desert and hostile areas bordering Libya and Algeria after racial unrest in early July in Sfax, Tun­isia’s second-largest city. A team at the Libyan-Tunisian border saw migrants who were visibly exhausted and dehydrated, sitting or lying on the sand and using shrubs to try and shield themselves from the scorching summer heat that topped 40 degrees Celsius. The group were in an uninhabited area close to Al-Assah, a town near the Tunisia-Libya border, nearly 150 kilometres west of Tripoli. “The number of migra­nts keep rising every day,” said Mohamad Abou Snen­ah of the border patrol unit, telling AFP they have rescued “50 to 70 migrants”.

July 17, 2023 02:12 UTC

On July 11, Libyan al-Qaeda terrorist Ziad Balaam was briefly detained by authorities in Turkey, where he was originally slated to be deported to Libyan National Army (LNA) controlled Benghazi to face trial. The Benghazi attack caused shock and outrage both within the United States and internationally. The Benghazi attack and its aftermath remain a highly debated and politically charged topic, with differing interpretations of the events and subsequent investigations. #Libya pic.twitter.com/RFQYiGGd2W — Libya Review (@LibyaReview) October 18, 2019Balaam remained in Benghazi fighting against LNA forces until 2014, where he was severely wounded in an assassination attempt. It remains unknown why Balaam was arrested by Turkish authorities as he has seemingly had unrestricted access between Turkey and Libya for medical treatment since 2014.

July 16, 2023 20:42 UTC





The leaders of Italy, the Netherlands and the European Commission made their second visit to Tunis in just over a month. They expressed hope that a memorandum newly signed with Tunisia during the trip would pave the way for a comprehensive partnership. Specific aid that von der Leyen announced included a 10-million euro ($11 million) program to boost exchanges of students and 65 million euros ($73 million) in EU funding to modernize Tunisian schools. Von der Leyen pledged 100 million euros ($112 million) for those efforts — a figure she had already announced on the leaders' previous visit. Rutte described the new memorandum as the "promising start of a comprehensive strategic partnership” between the EU and Tunisia that will aim to boost economic growth.

July 16, 2023 20:38 UTC

In recent news, oil prices experienced a decline on Friday but managed to record a third consecutive weekly gain, which hasn't been seen since April. Brent, considered the benchmark for a significant portion of global oil, concluded the week 1.83 percent lower at $79.87 per barrel. Jain, the chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board, said that, “India should establish storage facilities for natural gas to promote the use of cleaner fuel within the country. Jain emphasized the importance of having natural gas storage capabilities that enable suppliers to accumulate stocks during periods of low prices. The protests caused a significant drop in Libya's oil production.

July 16, 2023 18:47 UTC

Hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan African countries were forcibly taken to desert and hostile areas bordering Libya and Algeria after racial unrest in early July in Sfax, Tunisia's second-largest city. The Libyan border agents gave them water and took the migrants -- women and children first -- to a shelter, the correspondents said. "We found another group with children and women," added the officer, pointing towards the Tunisian border several hundred metres (yards) away. Without help from the Libyan border guards, "we would die in the desert," the man said, adding he would like to return to Tunisia where his wife and children remain. Tunisian rights groups said on Friday that between 100 and 150 migrants, including women and children, were still stuck on the border with Libya.

July 16, 2023 17:41 UTC

On Sunday, a United Nations-owned super-tanker arrived for a delicate operation to pump the oil from the abandoned ship, the FSO Safer. Here are some key facts:The 47-year-old Safer, long used as a floating oil storage platform, is moored off Yemen’s western port of Hodeida in the Red Sea, a key shipping route. Earlier this month, the UN said that SMIT had declared the vessel stable enough for a ship-to-ship transfer. The Nautica, a super-tanker the UN purchased for the oil transfer, arrived from Djibouti on Sunday and was due to moor alongside the Safer. The Nautica will be renamed Yemen, and will stay in the area as talks continue about who controls the ship and the oil.

July 16, 2023 17:01 UTC

Khaled Al-Mishri, chairman of Libya’s High Council of State, held talks on Saturday with Turkish Ambassador Kenan Yilmaz in Tripoli. According to a brief statement by the council, the two discussed “the efforts of the High Council of State to achieve elections in Libya, and the attempts of some actors to obstruct and disrupt this path.”“The Turkish ambassador appreciated the efforts of the High Council of State in implementing the electoral laws, expressing his country’s support for the Libyan-Libyan solution path.”

July 16, 2023 13:12 UTC

Cairo, Jul 16 (AP) Security authorities in the Libyan capital of Tripoli released a former minister less than a week after his detention which had prompted his tribesmen to shut down crucial oil fields, a tribal elder said. Former Finance Minister Faraj Bumatari, who hails from the al-Zawi tribe in southeastern Libya, walked free on Saturday afternoon from detention in Tripoli, said al-Senussi al-Zawi, one of the tribe's elders. “I spoke with him by phone, and he is awaiting a flight to the east” of Libya, al-Zawi said. His detention was prompted by his bid to replace Sadiq al-Kabir as governor of the Central Bank of Libya, according to al-Zawi. To force his release, Bumatari's tribe shut down crucial oil fields, which produce hundreds of thousands of barrels per day.

July 16, 2023 10:43 UTC

At least 15 migrants have been found dead off Tunisia’s coast and on its border with Algeria this week, authorities said on Friday. The deaths come as sub-Saharan Africans face increasing tensions in Tunisia and more and more people seek to leave or transit through the country en route to Europe. The Tunisian coast guard retrieved the bodies of 13 migrants on Wednesday night and rescued 25 others off the port city of Sfax, according to a statement from the Interior Ministry. Two migrants were found dead on theTunisian-Algerian border in the Hazoua region, according to a regional court spokesperson. The International Organization for Migration says 1,895 people have died or gone missing en route from northern Africa across the central Mediterranean this year, compared with 2,406 in all of 2022.

July 16, 2023 08:39 UTC

CAIRO (AP) – One of Libya’s two rival administrations has accused the country’s security agency of abducting a former finance minister, and a tribal leader said that the abduction prompted the shutdown of four southern oilfields. It said Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah – an ally of the security agency’s chief – is now responsible for Bumatari’s safety. In response to the abduction, Libya’s southern al-Zawi tribe – from which Bumatari hails – led the shutdown of four inland oil fields on Thursday, one of the group’s leaders, al-Senussi al-Zawi, told the AP. “Our main demand is the release of the minister,” the tribal leader said, who spoke on the phone from the eastern city of Benghazi on Friday. The three other sites purported to have stopped production are the El-Feel field, the Ibn Tufal field, and the 108 field, he said.

July 16, 2023 04:14 UTC

BENGHAZI (Reuters) -Production at Libya's Sharara and El Feel oilfields, which were shut on Thursday following the abduction of a former finance minister, has resumed on Saturday evening, four oil engineers and oil ministry said. Sharara has partially resumed at 30,000 barrels per day out of its usual 290,000, two engineers said. Sharara and El Feel oilfields, as well as the 108 field, were all closed in a protest by al-Zawi tribe in response to the kidnapping of former finance minister Faraj Bumatari. Libya's oil minister Mohamed Aoun told Dubai-based Asharq TV on Saturday that the oilfields' closure had cost the North African country the production of 340,000 barrels. The oil ministry also said the closures could lead to the declaration of force majeure.

July 15, 2023 21:33 UTC

Idea Generation: RapsodyOn this week's episode of Idea Generation, rapper Rapsody takes us on a journey from her early days in a college hip hop collective, to rising through the underground rap scene and landing major collaborations with Mac Miller and Kendrick Lamar, to the release of her critically acclaimed debut album, "Laila's Wisdom." From rapping for fun to signing to Jay-Z's Roc Nation and getting nominated for Grammy Awards, Rapsody's career traces an incredible arc.

July 15, 2023 21:21 UTC