Middle East & North Africa

27 Jan 2020; MEMO: Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) said yesterday that the country’s crude oil production has decreased by 76.3 per cent, reaching nearly 284,000 barrels per day, after the forces of the Libyan National Army shut down major oil fields and ports in the east and south of the country.

NOC said in a statement that the average daily production has decreased from the 1.2 million barrels per day reported on 18 January.

27 Jan 2020; MEMO: Thousands of university and school students in Iraq joined the anti-government protests yesterday, a day after Sadr supporters withdrew and the security forces cracked down on the demonstrators.

A security source in Baghdad police told Anadolu that thousands of students joined the protesters in Tahrir Aquare and Wathba Square in Baghdad.

27 Jan 2020; MEMO: Lebanese protesters gathered yesterday to air their rejection of the newly formed government of Prime Minister of Hassan Diab.

An-Nahar newspaper said the protesters accused the new government of being “a Syrian and Iranian government”.

The Lebanese Internal Security Forces said on Twitter that “riots and attacks on members of the security forces began, so we ask the peaceful protesters to leave Riyad el-Solh Square to preserve their safety.”

27 Jan 2020; MEMO: Israeli occupation police interrogated Sheikh Ekrima Sabri, Imam of Al-Aqsa Mosque, for at least four hours, Anadolu reported yesterday.

Prior to the interrogation, Sheikh Sabri said: “I have been praying at Al-Aqsa Mosque for 70 years and have been giving sermons for 47 years. It is not acceptable that I am prevented from entering it.”

Sheikh Sabri is the head of the Islamic Supreme Commission (NGO) in Jerusalem.

27 Jan 2020; MEMO: Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif yesterday discussed bilateral cooperation regarding the Strait of Hormuz with his Omani counterpart, Yusuf Bin Alawi Bin Abdullah in Tehran, the Tasnim news agency reported.

The agency said the two ministers confirmed their countries’ intention to continue cooperation and consultation to ensure maritime and energy security for all.

27 Jan 2020; MEMO: Hundreds of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Jews protested in Jerusalem yesterday against the army draft, facing down police officers deploying water cannons spraying “skunk water” against demonstrators.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Unidentified gunmen shot dead two protesters in the southern Iraqi city of Nassiriya after security forces began a crackdown on months-long demonstrations against the country’s largely Iran-backed ruling elite.

At least 75 protesters were wounded, mainly by live bullets, in clashes in Nassiriya overnight when security forces attempted to move them away from bridges in the city, police and health source said.

On Monday morning, clashes resumed in central Baghdad as police fired tear gas at demonstrators, Reuters reporters said.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates’ Minister of Energy said on Monday the oil market should not overreact to the possible impact of an outbreak of coronavirus in China on demand.

Suhail al-Mazrouei said he was confident in the ability of China and the international community to bring the current outbreak under control.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Projected revenues in Lebanon’s 2020 budget may be unrealistic because of a contraction in the country’s economy, the chairman of the parliamentary budget committee said on Monday, as protesters hurled rocks at police near to where the draft law was under debate.

Lebanon is in the throes of a financial and economic crisis caused by decades of bad governance and state corruption twinned with a liquidity crunch that has led banks to impose informal capital controls and the currency to slump.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to present to Israeli leaders details of his long-delayed peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians on Monday.

Palestinians have already dismissed the plan, without having seen it, accusing the Trump administration of pro-Israel bias.

The initiative follows a history of peace efforts that have failed to overcome decades of distrust and violence.