Global demand for oil is expected to remain robust this year, said Haitham Al Ghais, secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on Thursday.
Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Russia, Al Ghais said there had been no signs sufficient to change existing oil demand forecasts.
He also stressed that investments in the oil industry should not be affected by one-off events occurring anywhere in the world.
In its monthly oil market report released on May 13, OPEC forecast that global oil demand would grow by 1.17 million barrels per day in 2026 compared with 2025, down from its forecast in April.
OPEC chief sees robust global oil demand this year
OPEC chief sees robust global oil demand this year
France has opened a "war crime" and "torture" investigation into Israel's treatment of French activists who were detained during a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid flotilla last month, the French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office (PNAT) said on Friday.
The probe was launched following a referral by French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.
Barrot said that he took the action after receiving a report from France's consul general in Türkiye, which detailed "sexual violence, exposure to cold, beatings, and repeated humiliation" against French citizens after Israel intercepted the flotilla on May 18.
The Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla sailed from southern Türkiye, trying to breach Israel's naval blockade of the Gaza Strip to deliver humanitarian supplies to Palestinian civilians.
In video footages, released by Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir on his social media channels on May 20, dozens of activists were in custody and brought to Israel's Ashdod Port, surrounded by heavily armed Israeli personnel.
Israel's treatment of members from the Gaza-bound aid flotilla has sparked global condemnation.
On May 23, Barrot announced that Ben-Gvir had been banned from entering France effective immediately, noting that the decision followed Ben-Gvir's "unacceptable" actions toward French and European citizens aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla.
French prosecutors open probe over Israel's treatment of French nationals on Gaza flotilla
