ALGIERS: An Algerian oil tanker set sail Thursday for power-hungry Lebanon, official media said, with 30,000 tons of fuel destined to restart turbines in the country grappling with years of economic meltdown.
Clashes in Lebanon’s south since last October has only added to the troubles of a country which is politically largely rudderless, whose economy collapsed five years ago and where power blackouts are routine.
Prime Minister Nadir Larbaoui spoke by telephone with his Lebanese counterpart, caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, “to inform him of the decision taken by President Tebboune to stand beside brother Lebanon... and immediately provide a quantity of fuel to make the power plant function and re-establish electricity,” Algeria’s official APS agency reported.
Other shipments are expected to follow the initial delivery but no details have been released.
Algeria’s President Abdelmajid Tebboune took the decision to help Lebanon after Lebanon’s state-run electricity company on Saturday said its turbines would stop due to lack of fuel.
Lebanese, long used to power cuts lasting almost an entire day, have relied on small private electricity generators.
Algeria is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
In August, 2022, another OPEC member, Iraq, said it had agreed to renew a one-year deal to provide Lebanon with one million tons of fuel for its power plants in exchange for in-kind services.
The initial deal with Iraq enabled Lebanon’s power stations to produce one to two hours of electricity per day.
Algerian fuel tanker on mercy mission to power-short Lebanon
https://arab.news/5542w
Algerian fuel tanker on mercy mission to power-short Lebanon
- Algeria’s President Abdelmajid Tebboune took the decision to help Lebanon after Lebanon’s state-run electricity company on Saturday said its turbines would stop due to lack of fuel
- Lebanese, long used to power cuts lasting almost an entire day, have relied on small private electricity generators
Iran temporarily closes airspace to most flights
WASHINGTON: Iran temporarily closed its airspace to all flights except international ones to and from Iran with official permission at 5:15 p.m. ET on Wednesday, according to a notice posted on the Federal Aviation Administration’s website.
The prohibition is set to last for more than two hours until 7:30 p.m. ET, or 0030 GMT, but could be extended, the notice said. The United States was withdrawing some personnel from bases in the Middle East, a US official said on Wednesday, after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had warned neighbors it would hit American bases if Washington strikes.
Missile and drone barrages in a growing number of conflict zones represent a high risk to airline traffic. India’s largest airline, IndiGo said some of its international flights would be impacted by Iran’s sudden airspace closure. A flight by Russia’s Aeroflot bound for Tehran returned to Moscow after the closure, according to tracking data from Flightradar24.
Earlier on Wednesday, Germany issued a new directive cautioning the country’s airlines from entering Iranian airspace, shortly after Lufthansa rejigged its flight operations across the Middle East amid escalating tensions in the region.
The United States already prohibits all US commercial flights from overflying Iran and there are no direct flights between the countries. Airline operators like flydubai and Turkish Airlines have canceled multiple flights to Iran in the past week. “Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said Safe Airspace, a website run by OPSGROUP, a membership-based organization that shares flight risk information.
“The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.” Lufthansa said on Wednesday that it would bypass Iranian and Iraqi airspace until further notice while it would only operate day flights to Tel Aviv and Amman from Wednesday until Monday next week so that crew would not have to stay overnight.
Some flights could also be canceled as a result of these actions, it added in a statement. Italian carrier ITA Airways, in which Lufthansa Group is now a major shareholder, said that it would similarly suspend night flights to Tel Aviv until Tuesday next week.
