- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.12% | 24.784 | $ | |
NGG | -1.23% | 65.69 | $ | |
SCS | -0.49% | 12.907 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
RIO | -0.17% | 69.58 | $ | |
GSK | 0.08% | 38.85 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.17% | 24.657 | $ | |
VOD | 0.41% | 9.7 | $ | |
RELX | -0.59% | 46.02 | $ | |
BCC | 0.76% | 139.97 | $ | |
JRI | -0.23% | 13.25 | $ | |
BCE | -0.58% | 33.515 | $ | |
BP | 0.86% | 33.165 | $ | |
AZN | -0.41% | 77.15 | $ | |
BTI | -0.18% | 35.225 | $ |
West urges Libyans to keep oil firm out of politics
Five Western nations urged Libyans on Friday not to drag the National Oil Corporation into political disputes that could threaten the country's fragile peace.
The statement came with the NOC's chief and the interim oil minister in a standoff.
"All actors" should "respect the unity, integrity, and independence" of the NOC, said the statement from the French, British, German, Italian and US embassies.
They also warned against "acts that undermine" the firm or "may pose a threat to the peace, security and stability" of the North African country.
The NOC is vital to the economy of a country sitting on Africa's biggest oil reserves, and is one of the few institutions to have stayed in one piece despite a decade of violence that for several years left Libya with two governments.
Unlike many other Libyan state bodies, the NOC has also largely managed to remain neutral in the face of political wrangling.
The statement did not directly accuse anyone of trying to politicise the firm, but it came after months of tensions between NOC head Mustafa Sanalla and Mohammed Aoun, oil minister in the country's interim government.
Aoun, whose position did not exist until interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah was appointed last year, has on several occasions attempted to have Sanalla removed from his post.
Libya has seen a year and a half of relative calm since a landmark October 2020 ceasefire, but analysts have warned of renewed tensions after the country's eastern-based parliament earlier this month picked a former interior minister, Fathi Bashagha, to replace Dbeibah.
Oil and crude revenues have been key prizes in the conflict that flared with a 2011 revolt which overthrew dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
Oil output, which crashed to near zero at various points of the conflict, is at around 1.2 million barrels per day compared to about 1.5 million in 2010.
The NOC says revenues last year topped $21.5 billion -- an all-time record.
P.Martin--AMWN