Libya

The U.N. special envoy for Libya warned Friday that signs of partition are already evident in the troubled North African nation and urged influential nations to pressure Libya's rival leaders to urgently finalize the constitutional basis for elections. The first anniversary of the vote's postponement is coming up later in December, said Abdoulaye Bathily, who stressed that if there is no resolution, an alternative way should be found to hold elections. Oil-rich Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In the chaos that followed, the county split into two rival administrations, each backed by different rogue militias and foreign governments. Bathily told the U.N. Security Council that the continuing disagreement between the two rivals specifically, the speaker of Libya's east-based parliament, Aguila Saleh, and Khaled al-Mashri, the president of the High Council of State based in the country's west, in the .

India on Monday at the UNSC meeting on Libya said there is no military or armed solution to Libya's issues and this point needs to be emphasized by the international community

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has nominated Abdoulaye Bathily to be the new UN envoy to Libya, and France's UN ambassador said he thinks the Security Council will approve the former Senegalese minister and UN diplomat, which would end a contentious nine-month search. The last UN special representative, Jan Kubis, resigned last November 23 after 10 months on the job, and a number of candidates proposed by Guterres were rejected by council members, Libya or neighboring countries. In December, Guterres appointed veteran American diplomat Stephanie Williams, a former UN deputy special representative in Libya, as his special adviser a job that did not require council approval. She left at the end of July. So, the mission has had no leader as Libyans grapple with a constitutional and political crisis. UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo warned Tuesday that failure to resolve Libya's political crisis and hold delayed elections poses a growing threat in the country, pointing to viole

Militias patrolled nearly deserted streets in Libya's capital Sunday, a day after clashes killed over 30 people and ended Tripoli's months-long stretch of relative calm. The fighting broke out early Saturday and pitted militias loyal to the Tripoli-based government against other armed groups allied with a rival administration that has for months sought to be seated in the capital. Residents fear the fighting that capped a months-long political deadlock could explode into a wider war and a return to the peaks of Libya's long-running conflict. Libya has plunged into chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The oil-rich county has for years been split between rival administrations, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments. The current stalemate grew out of the failure to hold elections in December and Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah's refusal to step down. In response, the country's east-based parliament appoint

The United States on Monday called for immediate de-escalation of violence in Libya and expressed concern over renewed threats of violent confrontation in Tripoli. The vast majority of Libyans seek to choose their leadership peacefully through elections, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said, calling on those who risk once again being dragged into violence to put down their arms. He in particular urged Libya's leaders to recommit themselves without delay to identifying a constitutional basis for presidential and parliamentary elections. The United States is deeply concerned by renewed threats of violent confrontation in Tripoli and calls for immediate de-escalation by all sides, Price said in a statement. The ongoing instability is a reminder of the urgent need for the appointment of a new UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Libya to resume mediation efforts, with unified support from the international community, he said. The United States will amplify ou

By Julia Payne

Oil prices were roughly unchanged in early trading on Friday after sliding around 3% in the previous session on weakened demand in the United States and a pick-up in supply from Libya

Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said in the absence of a new envoy, the UN mission has been unable to provide substantial support for the political process in Libya for more than six months

Buyers also reacted to ongoing interruptions in Libya, which is losing more than 550,000 barrels per day of oil output due to blockades at major fields and export terminals

Analysts said market volatility is likely to pick up again soon, with the EU still weighing a ban on Russian oil for its invasion of Ukraine

Brent crude futures rose 21 cents, or 0.2%, to $113.37 a barrel at 0020 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slipped 2 cents to $108.19 a barrel

Adding to supply pressures from sanctions on Russia, Libya's National Oil Corp on Monday warned 'a painful wave of closures' had begun hitting its facilities

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for calm in libya amid the political strife during a phone call with Fathi Bashagha, one of the two competing Prime Ministers in the country.

R. Madhu Sudan, Counsellor at Permanent Mission of India to the UN reiterated the imperative for holding the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in Libya

The closure of the two fields caused Libya's daily oil production to drop by 330,000 barrels, the NOC said

A Libyan court has ruled Moammar Gadhafi's son can compete in upcoming presidential elections, overturning a decision by the country's top electoral body to disqualify him

Libya's top electoral body disqualified the son and onetime heir apparent of the late dictator Moammar Gadhafi from running for president in elections to be held next month

Fifty-seven people have been presumed dead as boat carrying migrants has capsized off Libya, as per United Nations migration official.Safa Msehli, a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration, said the boat left the western coastal town of Khums on Sunday. There were at least 75 people on board, reported Al Jazeera.Eighteen people from the vessel were rescued and returned to shore on Monday, Msehli said.The survivors, who are from Nigeria, Ghana and Gambia, reported the vessel had stopped due to an engine problem, then capsized amid bad weather, Msehli said."According to survivors brought to shore by fishermen and the coast guard, at least 20 women and two children were among those who drowned," Msehli wrote on Twitter.The capsizing is the latest disaster in the Mediterranean Sea involving migrants and refugees seeking a better life in Europe, said Al Jazeera further.Monday's deaths came less than a week after some 20 people also drowned in the Mediterranean Sea, ...

Germany and UN plan to host a conference on Libya in Berlin on June 23, a gathering that aims to bring together powers with interests in the North African country and its transitional government

U.S. crude stockpiles are expected to drop by 2.9 million barrels in weekly reports.