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”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

“I spoke with him by phone, and he is awaiting a flight to the east” of Libya, al-Zawi told The Associated Press by phone. Bumatari was detained earlier this week by the Tripoli-based Internal Security Agency which is allied with the government of Prime Minister Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, according to local media. 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. Gift this article Gift Article

BAC Saudi Arabia officially launched following an agreement signed between Briggs Automotive Company and Veloce Life. In 2018, Faisal Binladin founded Veloce Life with the aim of becoming the fastest-growing hub for passionate car lovers. He said that through the partnership, he wants R&D facilities to develop new materials, and IP technologies, like graphene, in Saudi Arabia. The Veloce Life founder added that the new technologies developed by the cooperation go beyond motorsport, with the energy sector also expected to see benefits. BAC Saudi Arabia will operate out of regional hubs in Riyadh and Jeddah, through the partnership with Veloce Life.

Leaders of the Sudan’s Neighboring States Summit pose for a picture after the end of the summit in Cairo on July 13, 2023- press photoCAIRO – 15 July 2023: Tunisia welcomed, on Friday, the outcomes of the summit of Sudan's Neighboring Countries, which was hosted by on Thursday. Tunisia expressed its hope that Egypt’s initiative would contribute to advancing regional and international efforts aimed at reaching a peaceful and comprehensive solution to the crisis in Sudan, the statement added. Sudan’s Neighboring States Summit was hosted by the Egyptian capital on Thursday with the participation of the heads of state and governments of Egypt, the Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan. The leaders at the summit agreed to form a ministerial mechanism comprised of foreign ministers of Sudan’s neighboring states to coordinate common efforts to resolve the current conflict. They also agreed to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid provided to Sudan through the territories of neighboring states, in coordination with relevant international agencies and organizations.