CAIRO (AP) — Libya resumed oil exports Wednesday, ending a hiatus that lasted months. The resumption came after the country restarted production at oil fields following the firing of the chairman of the state-run oil corporation by one of the country’s rival governments. A Malta-flagged tanker, Matala, docked at the al-Sidra terminal to ship one million barrels of crude oil, the new leadership of the National Oil Corporation said. Production was resumed Tuesday at several fields including the Sharara, the county’s largest, after three months of closure, the NOC announced. Tribal leaders, aligned with Hifter, in April shut down oil facilities, including the country’s largest oil field and major terminals, likely to deprive Dbeibah’s from funds.

The leaders of the military institution issued on Tuesday a joint statement after their two-day meeting in Tripoli. The leaders agreed to move forward with the national reconciliation project, the return of the displaced to their homes, and the formation of a joint committee to follow up the file of detainees and missing persons, according to the statement. The leaders further agreed to start defining realistic steps to unify the military institution, stressing total rejection of fighting and violence, and vowed support a civil state. The leaders praised the efforts of the 5 + 5 Joint Military Committee and the continuation of implementing the outcomes of its previous meetings. The Chief of Staff of warlord Haftar's forces, Abdul Razzaq Al-Nadouri, arrived Monday morning at Mitiga Airport in Tripoli, accompanied by members of the Joint Military Committee 5 + 5 from the eastern region.

A fresh batch of 143 stranded Nigerian returnees from Libya, Tuesday, arrived at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos. They were received by the National Emergency Management Agency of Nigeria, NEMA, an agency set up by the Federal Government, responsible for tackling disaster-related issues through the establishment of concrete structures and measures. According to NEMA Director General, Mustapha Ahmed, “The Returnees were brought back to Nigeria through the Cargo Wing of the MMIA, with Al Buraq Air Boeing 737-800 registration number 5A – DMG at about 1518 hours“The profile of the individuals consists of 96 male adults, eight boys are eight, and one male toddler. We had a total of 36 female adults, a girl, and a female toddler. “Among them are a female and a male adult with serious medical issues.” Meanwhile, the coordinator did not disclose the nature of their sickness.

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The National Oil Corporation (NOC) is preparing to export quantities of crude oil after lifting force majeure on oil ports and fields, confirming that all arrangements have been made in order to resume production operations. According to the NOC, it is scheduled that on July 20 a tanker will arrive at the port of Zueitina to load one million barrels of Abu Al-Tifl field crude, and a tanker will arrive at the Sidra port during the period from July 19 to 20, and two tankers will arrive at Ras Lanuf port on July 20/21, in addition to another tanker to load a shipment of Brega crude of 600,000 barrels.

Rebecca EjifomaThe National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has received a batch of 143 stranded Nigerians from Libya. The returnees include 96 male adults, eight boys, and one male toddler while the female adults are 36, a girl and a female toddler. Among them are a female and a male adult with serious medical issues. This was according to the Director General of NEMA, Mustapha Ahmed represented by the Coordinator, Lagos Territorial Office of the Agency, Mr Ibrahim Farinloye. The repatriated Nigerians arrived through the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Ikeja.

Some of the returnees at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, in Ikeja, Lagos State. Photo: NEMANo fewer than 143 Nigerians stranded in Libya have been received by officials of the National Emergency Management Agency at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos State. He said, “NEMA has received another batch of 143 stranded Nigerian returnees from Libya. “The returnees arrived at the cargo wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, aboard Al Buraq Air Boeing 737-800 with registration number 5A-DMG. Among the 141 returnees, are male and female adults with serious medical issues.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, center, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose for a photo prior to their talks at the Saadabad palace, in Tehran, Iran, on Tuesday. By NASSER KARIMI and VLADIMIR ISACHENKOVRussian President Vladimir Putin won staunch support from Iran on Tuesday for his country’s military campaign in Ukraine, with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei saying the West opposes an “independent and strong” Russia. NATO allies have bolstered their military presence in Eastern Europe and provided Ukraine with weapons to help counter the Russian attack. “If the road would have been open to NATO, it will not recognize any limit and boundary,” Khamenei told Putin. Putin hailed the importance of close ties between Moscow and Tehran at his meetings with the Iranian leaders.

This move was made specifically to allow an oil tanker ship to carry condensate for use in power generation in the country, but the expectations were that it would presage a broader opening of Libya’s oil export infrastructure. Sanalla, highly respected by several international oil companies (IOCs) for keeping much of Libya’s oil production flowing despite extreme political pressures from all sides in the ongoing civil conflict, has rejected Prime Minister Dbeibah’s authority to sack him. This said, the NOC had plans in place before 2011 to roll out enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques to increase crude oil production at maturing oil fields. It is apposite to remember at this point that Libya still has around 48 billion barrels of proved crude oil reserves – the largest in Africa. Indeed, during the last major series of blockades of Libya’s oil infrastructure, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, urged the country’s central bank to safeguard oil revenue from misappropriation.

On its second day of meeting in Tripoli, today, in the presence of the Chief of General Staff of the Government of National Unity, Lieutenant-General Mohamed Al-Haddad, and the Chief of Staff of the General Command Forces (Hafter), Lieutenant-General Abdel Razek Al-Naduri, the 5+5 Joint Military Commission agreed on the following:The total rejection of the return to fighting, the renunciation of violence and the support of the civil stateThe commendation of the efforts of the 5 + 5 Joint Military Commission and the continuation of implementing what it concluded in its previous meetingsThe formation of a joint committee to follow up on the file of detainees and missing personsAgreement to move forward with the programme of national reconciliation and the return of the displaced from all parts of the country to their homesAgreement to begin defining the realistic steps to unify the military institution

Outgoing Libyan Prime minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh has admitted that he had made a deal to re-form the board of directors of the National Oil Corporation in exchange for solving the problem of the suspension of oil exports, in agreement with all the members of the new council who hail from different regions such as Zintan, Misrata, the South, Benghazi and the Oil Crescent region. The other reason for the deal was to liberate the Corporation from individual control that caused the crisis of closing the oil and suspending production and export, stressing that his decree was in the interest of the people, according to the Prime Minister. Dbeibeh said in a speech addressed directly to the Libyan people, describing it as the only way to convey the truth amid the chaos of rumors, lies and fabricated news, that he did not expect changing a board of directors affiliated with the government, in reference to the former National Oil Corporation board, would contribute to the collapse of the projects of the aspirants in the executive authority and the continuation of those controlling the legislative authority for 10 years.

BBC Copyright: BBC MAHMOOD YAKUBU Image caption: MAHMOOD YAKUBUChairman of di Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, don tok say di 2023 general elections go be di best ever for di kontri. E say “We bin assure una say we go kontinu to work not only hard but harder to deliver di 2023 general elections. “We bin promise say Osun go dey beta, and Osun election beta. We dey promise say 2023 general elections go be our best election ever and we dey committed to deliver di best election ever,’’ Yakubu tok. Di meeting be di first wey go shelle afta di Osun state governorship election wey happun last weekend.

President of UAE, Sheikh Mohamed, reached Paris on Monday, July 18, during his two-day state visit to strengthen the already strong relations between the UAE and France. Sheikh Mohamed chose France as the first place for his state visit since being elected as the President of the UAE marks a particular symbolic weight. Sheikh Mohamed described France as a close strategic partner of the UAE yesterday while adding that our nations enjoy longstanding partnerships in many fields. The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, was the first western leader who visited the UAE to offer his sincere condolences for the demise of former President Sheikh Khalifa. Earlier, Sheikh Mohamed visited France in September 2021 and got a warm welcome during the official ceremony in Paris on Monday.

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) on Tuesday received another batch of 143 stranded Nigerians from Libya at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos. Farinloye said that the stranded Nigerians arrived at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at about 3:18 p.m with Boeing 737-800 Al Buraq Air with registration number 5A-DMG. He said that the returnees were brought back to the country by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) through a voluntary repatriation programme. ” We advised the returnees on the need to realise that there’s no country better than Nigeria. He said that the returnees were received by NEMA, along with other sister agencies such as: Immigration Service, Refugee Commission, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the Nigerian Police.

Another batch of 143 Nigerians stranded in Libya returned to the country on Tuesday. The South-West Zonal Coordinator of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ibrahim Farinloye, confirmed the development to journalists in Lagos. At least more than 400 Nigerians stranded in the North African country had returned home under the arrangement in the last three months. Farinloye said: “The returnees include 96 male adults, 36 female adults, eight male and one female child, one female infant and one male infant. If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.