Explainer: TikTok is on the block but why has Donald Trump given Microsoft 45 days to make a bid?

A September deadline looms for the blockbuster acquisition.

 5 August, 2020

Image: SIPA USA/PA Images


TEENAGERS LOVE IT and the US authorities hate it but there’s no doubting the impact that social media platform TikTok has had during the pandemic.

Owned by Chinese company ByteDance, the app had been hot property since its international rollout in 2018 but in 2020, its popularity has soared thanks to lockdown-related boredom, idle hands and, crucially, feet.

But after US President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok last Friday, many of its most prominent users took the weekend to say goodbye to the beloved app, home of viral lockdown dance phenomena like the Blinding Lights and Think about Things challenges.

Simultaneously, it emerged last Friday that software giant Microsoft had been engaged in talks with ByteDance for a number of weeks to buy TikTok’s American and international operation, headquartered in Los Angeles.

Why does Microsoft want to buy TikTok?

Well, it’s no secret that TikTok has been one of the undisputed winners of the pandemic.

In the first quarter of the year, the app was downloaded a whopping 315 million times across Apple and Android phones, smashing records in the process.

By May, TikTok had been downloaded 2 billion times cumulatively, with 40% of users aged between 16 and 24, an incredibly valuable market segment for any would-be buyers.

That’s a lot of precious consumer data for Microsoft to sink its teeth into to help integrate and improve its product offerings.

Having moved away from consumer products in recent years towards cloud computing and enterprise software, a takeover of TikTok would also allow Microsoft to compete directly with the likes of Facebook, Twitter and, crucially, Google-owned video giant YouTube.

But it won’t come cheap.

Its parent company, ByteDance, is currently valued at between $75 and $100 billion and TikTok itself has been price-tagged at anywhere between $5 billion and $10 billion.

So what’s Trump’s issue with TikTok?

In the past few months, Trump and his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, have repeatedly painted TikTok as a threat to American national security, citing the app’s Chinese ownership and suspicions over its data processing protocols.

On 7 July, Pompeo told Fox News that the administration was considering an outright ban on the app.

This, he said, was because China’s national intelligence laws could compel TikTok’s Bejing-anchored parent company, ByteDance, to hand over user data whenever it wants.

For its part, TikTok has roundly denied ever handing American data over to the Chinese government.

In a statement released after Pompeo’s comments, the company said, “TikTok is led by an American CEO, with hundreds of employees and key leaders across safety, security, product, and public policy here in the US.



“We have no higher priority than promoting a safe and secure app experience for our users. We have never provided user data to the Chinese government, nor would we do so if asked.”

It maintains that all American data is handled and processed in the US itself.

What’s the context?

It’s worth noting that the campaign against TikTok — which, at the moment, is still based on “suspicions, not legal complaints” — is being waged against the background of a huge upsurge in anti-China sentiment in the US.

According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Centre, a US think-tank, 73% of Americans have an unfavourable opinion of China, a historically high reading and up 26 percentage points since 2018 alone.

It’s perhaps no surprise given the explosive language used by Trump about China and Chinese companies since his arrival on the political scene.

But it’s not just Trump and the Republicans who are at it.

Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has himself criticised the US president for being too soft on China in recent weeks and plenty of his party colleagues have weighed in on the TikTok debacle as well.

But US and China have been locked in a trade war for the better part of Trump’s presidency and in May, the president threatened to “cut off [America's] whole relationship” with China in order to save the US economy $500 billion.

A truce was negotiated between the two governments earlier this year but the coronavirus outbreak has done nothing to help relations.

Recently, Trump went as far as to infer that Bejing actually allowed Covid-19 to spread to damage his reelection bid.

Chinese officials have publicly stated their belief that Trump is just using rhetoric to fire up his base and that for all his bombast, the president’s ‘crackdown’ has been mostly cosmetic.

But the row over TikTok, a symptom of US political and economic enmity towards all things China at the moment, threatened to become very real last Friday with what seemed like a final threat from Trump.

“As far as TikTok is concerned,” he said, “we’re banning them from the United States.”

He added he would take action as soon as Saturday using emergency economic power or an executive order.

Can Trump actually ban TikTok?

This is a thorny issue but the short answer is that he could certainly give it a bash.

Other Chinese companies like Huawei and ZTE have been on the receiving end of punitive measures from the current US administration through the Committee on Foreign Investments (CFIU) in the United States.

The committee is also notorious for ordering a Chinese company to sell its stake in gay dating app Grindr last year.

TikTok is the subject of an ongoing investigation by the CFIU, which the Trump administration could weaponise in its fight against TikTok.

The CFIU could make life extremely difficult for TikTok by sanctioning it but to actually ban the app by placing it on the US Commerce Department’s ‘entity list’ would, according to one legal expert, be “extreme, unusual, and legally dubious“.

In fact, some Trump advisors believed that the ensuing legal and political wrangle would be so messy that instead, according to The New York Times, they convinced the US president to park his plans to ban the app.

Over the weekend, the paper reported that advisors asked Trump to consider the political fallout, particularly with younger voters, if he tried to outright prohibit TikTok.

This is where Microsoft entered the frame.

So what happened over the weekend?

Parallel to Trump’s bombastic statement on Friday, it was reported in the US that Microsoft had been involved in advanced talks to purchase TikTok for a number of weeks.

Those talks reportedly stalled after the US president’s announcement but over the weekend, they started up again.

Microsoft confirmed on Sunday that “following a conversation between Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and President Donald J Trump, Microsoft is prepared to continue discussions to explore a purchase of TikTok in the United States”.

In a statement on the company website, Microsoft said, “Among other measures, Microsoft would ensure that all private data of TikTok’s American users is transferred to and remains in the United States.

“To the extent that any such data is currently stored or backed-up outside the United States, Microsoft would ensure that this data is deleted from servers outside the country after it is transferred.”

What changed?

After being persuaded in private to pump the brakes on his plan to outlaw the app, Trump performed a very public about-turn on Monday, opening the door for the divestment of TikTok’s American business to a US company.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said TikTok would “close down on 15 September unless Microsoft or somebody else is able to buy it and work out an appropriate deal”.

“It’s got to be an American company… it’s got to be owned here,” Trump said. “We don’t want to have any problem with security.”

In a surprising twist, he said he had warned Microsoft that the US government would have to get its slice of the pie “because we’re making it possible for this deal to happen. Right now they don’t have any rights, unless we give it to them”.

How exactly the Trump administration plans to take its chunk of the money is unclear and the legal ramifications of the US president’s comments are still being picked over.

— Additional reporting by AFP





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The price of peace: Why Japan scrapped a $4.2bn US missile system

Washington and Tokyo have been allies for 60 years. Both agree they're spending too much

IEKO MIKI, Nikkei staff writer AUGUST 5, 2020 

Costly, often delayed armaments were part of the price Tokyo paid for its U.S. alliance -- a relationship which has also helped support decades of pacifism and low defense expenditures. © Reuters

TOKYO -- Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono was seething after a June 3 briefing in his office. "Why didn't you figure that out sooner?" he snapped.

Officials had just learned of a critical flaw in a U.S.-made missile defense system that would derail a multibillion-dollar defense deal.

Three years previously, Japan had decided to buy the $4.2 billion system, known as Aegis Ashore, amid a fusillade of missile launches by North Korea -- not to mention veiled threats by U.S. President Donald Trump that its allies should spend more on their defenses, and buy American.


But now the Department of Defense was saying it would cost 200 billion yen ($1.89 billion) and take 12 years to fix a problem with the Aegis booster rocket, the one that Japanese officials had just discovered.

It turned out these boosters could fall in a much wider arc than previous estimates suggested, potentially hitting nearby residential areas in Yamaguchi and Akita prefectures where the system was to be based. Defense Ministry officials had only learned of the defect before informing Kono, who was furious.

In a previous era, canceling the project would have been off the table. Costly, often delayed armaments were part of the price Tokyo paid for its U.S. alliance, which dates from a 1960 treaty signed by current Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's grandfather. Japan's reliance on Washington to ensure security has undergirded decades of Japanese pacifism and low defense expenditures.

But it has become clear that times have changed. The day after he was briefed, Kono went to Prime Minister Abe's office and told him, "We've just learned the system has a critical flaw. We cannot proceed with this plan."

Japan decided to buy the controversial Aegis Ashore missile defense system in 2017, in an overture of support towards the Trump administration. © Getty Images

Abe was surprised, but, persuaded by Kono's certainty, made the unusual decision to cancel the system.

Weeks later, the consequences of the decision continue to reverberate. Washington is puzzled, analysts say, seeing the booster debate as a mere pretext for a political decision the Americans do not fully understand.

Meanwhile, Japan is in the midst of an urgent debate over how to address the hole this leaves in the country's defenses. Some right-wing politicians see a long-awaited opportunity to rethink Japan's postwar stance and allow something previously unheard of: preemptive strikes against adversaries.

Amid this political tempest sits Kono, reckoned to be in contention as a future prime minister. He has seen his approval ratings steadily rise as the controversy focused attention on him, and in most recent polls he is among the top three candidates to succeed Abe, whose term ends in September 2021. Kono's rapid political ascent on the back of the Aegis decision indicates the amount of frustration seeping into the U.S.-Japan security partnership, increasingly seen by both sides as unfair.

A costly friendship

Even before his decision to cancel the program, Kono was widely considered a reformer. He has long criticized wasteful government spending. Eccentric by Japanese establishment standards, he has a penchant for wearing suspenders and carrying a small beige and violet case. He has never revealed what is inside, but aides joke that it is Japan's (nonexistent) "nuclear briefcase."

Other things set him apart from Japan's mainstream political class: his fluent English, the product of a Georgetown education and Capitol Hill internship, and his 1.6 million Twitter followers. And while he loves taking on the establishment, he himself is its embodiment in many ways, the scion of one of Japan's most formidable political dynasties.

His father was a foreign minister and president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and his grandfather was a deputy prime minister. But he has established himself as something of a maverick who has opposed traditional LDP positions on issues like nuclear power generation.

Kono has pursued what he sees as wasteful military spending with a passion. Soon after assuming the post of defense minister in 2019, he directed a broad review of purchasing U.S. hardware through special agreements known as foreign military sales, which symbolized what many Japanese see as a one-sided relationship.

Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono, flanked by aides and reporters at the 2019 G-20 Summit in Osaka. © Getty Images

FMS agreements require the buyer to accept all conditions put forward by the U.S. Buyers are not allowed to negotiate price. Defense ministry officials complain that delivery dates are "estimates," and delays, which incur no penalties, are common. All equipment required after the initial deal is an option to be paid separately, and cost overruns are endemic."

In January 2020, Kono broke what is almost an official taboo on criticizing the FMS: "Japan and the United States should speed up efforts to resolve the issue of undelivered and unsettled arms purchases." Aegis Ashore may have come into his crosshairs as part of this review, a project symbolic of the growing amount of FMS purchases in recent years. Kono asked officials to study potential outcomes if Japan were to cancel contracts for "equipment whose price has skyrocketed since its introduction was decided."

A Pentagon spokesperson said of the litany of Japanese complaints that they are "aware of concerns expressed by the Government of Japan about the FMS process" and that "The United States remains committed to addressing these and other issues, and maintaining our important and steadfast security cooperation partnership with Japan."

"We are continuously reforming the FMS process to make it more agile and effective," said Lt. Col. Uriah Orland, a Department of Defense spokesperson.

'Gold-star ally'

The decision to buy the $4.2 billion weapons system in 2017 had originally symbolized the lengths Tokyo would go to -- not just to protect itself from an unhinged Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, or an expansionist China, but from the rise of isolationism in the U.S. under the erratic presidency of Donald Trump.

Trump had campaigned for office by taking aim at Washington's world-spanning -- and expensive -- postwar alliance system. "We are spending a fortune on military in order to lose $800 billion [the U.S. trade deficit]. That doesn't sound like it's smart to me," he told The New York Times in 2016. He promised to make America's allies pay more for their own defense and stop them free-riding on the U.S.

After Trump's victory, Prime Minister Abe swung into action, portraying Japan as a model U.S. ally. He raced to be the first foreign leader to meet Trump after his election. Then, in November 2017, when Trump pressed Abe during a summit in Tokyo to purchase more U.S. defense equipment, Abe saw a chance to do his counterpart a favor. The next month, the Japanese cabinet approved a plan to deploy two units of Aegis Ashore. Japan's spending on U.S. military hardware jumped under the Trump administration, hitting a record high of 701.3 billion yen in fiscal 2019.


"The purchase of the Aegis Ashore system was part of Abe's push, in the early days of the Trump administration, to really be a gold-star U.S. ally," said Mira Rapp-Hooper of the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, author of "Shields of the Republic: The Triumph and Peril of America's Alliances." "Of course, he was worried about winding up in Trump's crosshairs for Japan's relatively low defense spending."

Two years later, however, Japan's effort to be Washington's best friend in Asia has been seen to go sharply into reverse. The decision to cancel Aegis Ashore came without warning. Kono announced at a June 15 news conference that the government was ending its plans for deployment, and the National Security Council formalized the decision on June 24.

Kono's explanation left U.S. officials puzzled: If intercontinental ballistic missiles were headed to Japan, who cares if a booster rocket falls on a farmer's house? The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which oversees the FMS contracts, declined to comment on the cancellation, describing it as an "internal government decision," Lt. Col. Orland said.

Even Japanese political insiders were confused. Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the LDP, and parliamentarians tied to the defense industry were caught by surprise. At a June 17 news conference, Nikai expressed his frustration, saying, "It is hard to describe [my feelings] about the decision, which was unilaterally released without any consultation."
Band of bothers: Abe and Trump, pictured at a November 2017 summit in Tokyo (EPA/Jiji)

But Abe's decision was also an attempt to strike a political balance. In fact, officials close to Abe insist domestic politics was his primary concern. The premier, who has stayed in office thanks to high approval ratings, has started to see his support plummet because of scandals and a botched response to the coronavirus pandemic. If Abe kept pushing forward with the deployment, even after it was clear that boosters could fall in residential areas, the administration would face even more criticism, one of Abe's aides pointed out. It would also appear weak if it accepted the additional cost of 200 billion yen.

Known flaws

But there is another reason mooted by experts about the collapse of the Aegis purchase: It simply would not work.

Northeast Asia is an increasingly dangerous neighborhood, with both a nuclear-armed North Korea and an expansionist China. According to a defense white paper released by the Japanese government in July, North Korea has tested 33 missiles since May 2019. These tests have included a simulated "saturation attack" where multiple missiles swarm a target, and it has also tested a lofted-trajectory missile, a type particularly difficult to shoot down.

Meanwhile, Chinese government ships sailed into the waters surrounding the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands for the 111th straight day on Sunday, having spent weeks testing boundaries in the East China and South China seas.

China 's defense spending has increased at double digits annually for much of the past three decades, while Japan's has only increased gradually over the same period. A new generation of Chinese weapons, particularly its ballistic missiles, could almost certainly defeat Japan's defenses. Overwhelming an expensive antimissile system is fairly straightforward, given that anti-ballistic missile interceptors are many times more expensive than their targets.

"When the government said Japan needed Aegis Ashore, we already knew that missile defense was not effective in all situations," Heigo Sato at Takushoku University said. "It would eventually take nearly a decade to deploy Aegis Ashore. In the meantime, our adversaries would be developing more effective weapons aimed at weakening missile defense."


A former Japanese defense minister, who asked not to be identified, said: "I can't believe the boosters are the reason why they abandoned the deployment this far along in the process. There have been doubts about whether Aegis Ashore could handle North Korea's newest missiles for a while now. That's also likely one reason for the cancellation."

Experts point out there is a much simpler and more cost-effective defense against missile threats, however. And that would involve a new military doctrine, one that legalizes retaliatory and even preemptive strikes against an adversary. But Article 9 of the Constitution of Japan, established after World War II, renounces "war as a sovereign right of the nation." In line with this principle, Japan has stuck to a unique, strictly defensive security policy, known as senshu boei.

If an adversary launches a missile attack against Japan, Tokyo's current doctrine allows it to try to prevent the missiles from hitting its territory. But it is open to debate whether Japan is allowed to strike enemy missile sites that are believed to be about to launch attacks against Japan.

In a June 18 news conference, Abe crossed into what is largely uncharted political territory in Japan when he said, "We need to think through the question of what is deterrence." The sensitivity of the subject is clear in the difficulty Japanese officials have in even talking about it. The word "preemptive strikes" is off-limits. Instead, officials speak of "self-defense counterattack capability," "enemy-base counterattack capability" and "standoff defense." On July 31, LDP lawmakers mooted another: "The ability to head off missiles in enemy territory." On Tuesday Abe said that the government would start a formal discussion of the LDP's proposal.

China 's defense spending has increased at double digits annually for much of the past three decades, while Japan's has only increased gradually. © Getty Images

However, Abe and his conservative supporters have long sought to revise the constitution, including Article 9, with the aim of increasing Japan's international presence and responding to the security environment surrounding Japan. Following the government's move to abandon Aegis Ashore, the doctrine debate has grown louder within the LDP, and proponents of some strike capability seem to outnumber opponents. Despite no hope of altering the constitution before Abe's terms as LDP president and prime minister are due to end, Japanese conservatives appear determined to push on with the lengthy process -- even though public opinion still weighs firmly against it.

"The cancellation [of Aegis Ashore] was significant because it provoked a debate in Japan about obtaining limited offensive capabilities," said Yuka Koshino, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. "It could lead to a significant change in Japan's security policy to obtain a 'spear' for the first time."

Following the cancellation of Aegis Ashore, the debate on "enemy base attack capability" has seemed so coordinated that some observers feel the whole episode has been stage-managed.

"The cancellation of Aegis Ashore only makes sense as a stalking horse for opening the debate on Article 9," said Jack Midgley, a consultant and former academic who is an expert on Japanese security issues.

While the debate has been couched in terms of a missile threat, there is another reason it is being aired: doubts about America's reliability as an ally, sown by Trump. He has variously described NATO as "obsolete" and the U.S. as "schmucks" for guaranteeing allies' security.

"It is a problem that neighboring countries see Japan-U.S. security cooperation as stagnant and the U.S. commitment as weakening," Takushoku University's Sato said.

On July 29, Lt. Gen. Kevin Schneider, the highest-ranking U.S. military officer in Japan, sought to calm fears that the U.S. would leave Japan in the lurch. "The United States is 100% absolutely steadfast in its commitment to help the government of Japan with the situation. ... That's 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, seven days a week," he told an online news conference.


Uncomfortably for proponents of the alliance, politicians in both countries seem to be finding resonance with voters in questioning the status quo. Trump in July announced plans to withdraw 12,000 troops from Germany and has ordered South Korea to quintuple the amount it pays for the basing of U.S. troops, casually threatening to withdraw forces there too if this demand is not met. The latter exercise appears to be aimed at intimidating Japan.

"Probably the demands made to the South Koreans were intended to have a demonstration effect on the Japanese," Rapp-Hooper said. "But the Japanese do not traditionally spend more than 1% of [gross domestic product] on defense."

"If Trump tries to drive as hard a bargain with Japan as he has with the South Koreans, and if he is still in office, then this will be a negotiation set up to fail. And he could, in fact, be using it as a pretext to draw down troops from Japan."

Japanese officials are eager to point out that the burden-sharing math is on their side -- there are 78 U.S. military facilities for which Japan paid $3.67 billion in fiscal 2019. Japan covered 86.4% of the cost of hosting U.S. troops in fiscal 2015, according to the Defense Ministry's most recent estimate. That means the U.S. took on slightly over 10% of the burden.
Japan has persevered with weapons purchases apart from the Aegis, such as Lockheed Martin's F-35 stealth fighter, another controversial piece of equipment. © Reuters

Meanwhile, Japan is going forward with other large weapons purchases, such as paying $23 billion for 105 F-35 state-of-the-art stealth fighters. It is also possible Japan will buy the SPY-7 radars for the Aegis system, meaning they would not cancel the entire purchase, according to Tom Karako of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"Today, what is needed is not just protection against ballistic missiles but Integrated Air and Missile Defense, which protects from ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and other aerial threats," Karako said. "So, from a capability standpoint I think Japan had very good reasons to rethink its plans."

But Japan has also mirrored the debate in Washington, almost symmetrically discussing whether it needs to learn get along without the U.S. The discussion of preemptive strikes is often couched in terms of greater autonomy. "Now is the time for Japan to rethink its excessive dependence on the U.S. for its defense and help itself," said Yuichi Hosoya, a professor of international politics at Keio University who has served on key government defense panels, in an interview with Nikkei in July. "It should have the ability to strike enemy missile bases itself when an attack is imminent, within constitutional limits."

Year of change

In July, the defense ministry announced Japan would lead the development of its next-generation fighter, which raises the question of whether Japan plans to develop its own capabilities as a hedge against a failure of will on the part of the U.S.

This could lead to changes in the alliance, though experts point out that the U.S. might actually welcome Tokyo taking on more offensive capabilities. "While the Aegis Ashore decision involves some reassertion of Japanese defense autonomy, I don't think it should be viewed as a deep alliance crisis," Rapp-Hooper said. "Instead, if properly handled by both Washington and Tokyo, this could be an opportunity to move in a different and more constructive direction, emphasizing strike capabilities that, frankly, could be very much in the interest of both parties."

The rest of the year is packed with chances to highlight military reforms. Japan will revise its National Defense Program Guidelines and the Midterm Defense Program, review the National Security Strategy for the first time, choose a partner for the Air Self-Defense Force's next-generation fighter and negotiate spending arrangements for U.S. troops in Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe surveys forces at the 2018 Self-Defense Forces Day. (Photo by Kei Higuchi)

With the end of Abe's term in power next year, Fumio Kishida and Shigeru Ishiba, former ministers and front-runners to replace Abe, are positioning themselves to take over, but neither has a decisive lead. But following the cancellation of Aegis Ashore, Kono has vaulted into contention, portrayed as a decisive politician on difficult political issues, political experts say. They add he is not challenging the fundamental structure of the Japan-US alliance but has become the first defense minister to try to change the way US weapons contracts are handled.

He also continues to be a gadfly with his efforts to reform military procurement. In July, he highlighted the need to cut the cost of increasing military spending by holding the first public "auction" of unnecessary, and nonlethal, military equipment.

Kono is thought to want to stay on as defense minister through a cabinet shuffle set for this fall. If he keeps his position, he may aim to further distinguish himself as a "post-Abe" candidate and make more decisions that break with past convention. He does not hide his ambitions. "As a politician, it's natural for me to aim to be prime minister," he has said.

While Japan began the Trump presidency seeking to ingratiate itself with Washington, the Aegis Ashore decision symbolizes a more transactional approach to the alliance. Kono's success is quietly being noticed throughout Japan's political establishment and may encourage more political challenges to the status quo. In this way, it has launched a debate about Japan's security that mirrors the one in the U.S. regarding the price of peace and whether allies are worth the effort.

Additional reporting by Yuri Momoi in Tokyo and Ken Moriyasu in New York.

Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation

John Lewis
07.31.20

AP photo/Common Dreams


While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.

That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.

Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars.


Though I was surrounded by two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters and cousins, their love could not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just outside that family circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare. If we are to survive as one unified nation, we must discover what so readily takes root in our hearts that could rob Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest and best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the hopes and dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.

Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.

You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.

Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.

When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.

Mr. Lewis, the civil rights leader who died on July 17, wrote this essay shortly before his death, to be published upon the day of his funeral.

This article first appeared on Common Dreams. You can read it here.

A major new investigation into Trump's taxes could send him to prison after he leaves office

Jon Queally
08.04.20

Court filings by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. on Monday led to renewed speculation that prosecutors in New York have targeted President Donald Trump with a wider probe into possible fraud or other financial crimes than was previously known—demanding eight years of personal as well as business tax documents just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled a subpoena for such material must be honored.

According to the New York Times, the first news outlet to report the new developments:
The prosecutors did not directly identify the focus of their inquiry but said that "undisputed" news reports last year about Mr. Trump's business practices make it clear that the office had a legal basis for the subpoena.
The reports, including investigations into the president's wealth and an article on the congressional testimony of his former lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, said that the president may have illegally inflated his net worth and the value of his properties to lenders and insurers. Lawyers for Mr. Trump have said he did nothing wrong.
The clash over the subpoena comes less than a month after the Supreme Court, in a major ruling on the limits of presidential power, cleared the way for Mr. Vance's prosecutors to seek Mr. Trump's financial records.






It was reporting about Trump's financial maneuvers in the past—including indications of a vast effort to mislead both banks and the government over the value of certain assets or earnings—that formed the basis of an explosive Times exposé published in October of 2018. At the center of that reporting were documents provided to the newspaper by Trump's niece, Mary Trump, who recently published a tell-all book about her powerful uncle and the family dynamics in which both he and she grew up.

As the 2018 Times exposé alleges:
Much of [his inherited] money came to Mr. Trump because he helped his parents dodge taxes. He and his siblings set up a sham corporation to disguise millions of dollars in gifts from their parents, records and interviews show. Records indicate that Mr. Trump helped his father take improper tax deductions worth millions more. He also helped formulate a strategy to undervalue his parents' real estate holdings by hundreds of millions of dollars on tax returns, sharply reducing the tax bill when those properties were transferred to him and his siblings.

Monday's filings in Manhattan, notes Axios, "suggests that Vance's investigation, which was believed to be examining hush money payments made by Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen during the 2016 election, is much broader in scope."

Responding to the developments on social media, veteran political journalist Dan Froomkin said: "This has to be how the story ends, right? With Trump going down for 'illegally inflating his net worth'? Otherwise it's just sadism by the Writers." To which Eric Gelman, editor of Bloomberg's Businessweek, retorted:

That's how they got Capone https://t.co/gpqbqadfa2— Eric Gelman (@Eric Gelman)1596478107.0Other observers noted that it was the demand by Trump's own lawyers, in addition to aspects of how the Supreme Court ruled on the previous challenge, that likely compelled the District Attorney's office in New York to make it more clear that their ongoing investigation is much broader in scope and potentially must more serious.

"No citizen, not even the president, is categorically above the common duty to produce evidence when called upon in a criminal proceeding," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the court's majority opinion last month.

Shanlon Wu, a legal analyst for CNN, noted it was a "great example of Trump strategy back-firing—by forcing Manhattan DA's office to further detail/justify reasons for their subpoena they also forced disclosure of fact that Trump and his company under a live criminal investigation. Oops."

This article originally appeared on Common Dreams. You can read it here.

Obesity not defined by weight, says new Canada guideline

NO MORE FAT SHAMING BY DOCTORS

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Obesity should be defined by a person's health - not just their weight, says a new Canadian clinical guideline.

It also advises doctors to go beyond simply recommending diet and exercise.

Instead, they should focus on the root causes of weight gain and take a holistic approach to health.

The guideline, which was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Tuesday, specifically admonished weight-related stigma against patients in the health system.

"The dominant cultural narrative regarding obesity fuels assumptions about personal irresponsibility and lack of willpower and casts blame and shame upon people living with obesity," the guideline, which is intended to be used by primary care physicians in diagnosing and treating obesity in their daily practice, states.

Ximena Ramos-Salas, the director of research and policy at Obesity Canada and one of the guideline's authors, said research shows many doctors discriminate against obese patients, and that can lead to worse health outcomes irrespective of their weight.

"Weight bias is not just about believing the wrong thing about obesity," she told the BBC. "Weight bias actually has an effect on the behaviour of healthcare practitioners."

• Obesity not caused by lack of willpower - psychologists
• Obesity: Have 20 years of policies had any effect?

The rate of obesity has tripled over the past three decades in Canada, and now about one in four Canadians is obese according to Statistics Canada.

The guideline had not been updated since 2006. The new version was funded by Obesity Canada, the Canadian Association of Bariatric Physicians and Surgeons and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research through a Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research grant.

Although the latest advice still recommends using diagnostic criteria like the body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, it acknowledges their clinical limitations and says doctors should focus more on how weight impacts a person's health.

Small reductions in weight, of about 3-5%, can lead to health improvements and an obese person's "best weight" might not be their "ideal weight" according to BMI, the guideline says.

It emphasises that obesity is a complex, chronic condition that needs lifelong management.

"For a long time we've associated obesity as a lifestyle behaviour... It's been a lot of shame and blame before," Ms Ramos-Salas says.

"People living with obesity need support like people living with any other chronic disease."

But instead of simply advising patients to "eat less, move more", the guideline encourages doctors to provide supports along the lines of psychological therapy, medication and bariatric surgery like gastric-bypass surgery.

The guideline doesn't completely do away with standard weight-loss advice.

"All individuals, regardless of body size or composition, would benefit from adopting a healthy, well-balanced eating pattern and engaging in regular physical activity," it says.

However, it notes that keeping the weight off is often difficult because the brain will compensate by feeling more hungry, thus encouraging people to eat more.

Many studies have shown that most people who lose weight on a diet gain it back.

"Diets don't work," Ms Ramos-Salas says.

Physicians should also ask permission before discussing a patient's weight, and work with them to focus on health goals that matter to them, instead of just telling them to cut calories.

UPDATED Offers of assistance pour in for Lebanon after deadly Beirut explosions
Issued on: 04/08/2020

A general view of the scene of after blasts at the port of Lebanon's capital Beirut on August 4, 2020. © STR, AFP

Text by:FRANCE 24
5

Countries around the world have been paying tribute to victims of two deadly blasts in Beirut on Tuesday and sending offers of assistance to Lebanon, a country already reeling from the effects of overlapping crises before disaster struck its capital.

"France stands and will always stand by the side of Lebanon and the Lebanese. It is ready to provide assistance according to the needs expressed by the Lebanese authorities," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a tweet after the incident in Beirut which left scores dead and wounded thousands more.

French President Emmanuel Macron said French aid and resources were being sent to Lebanon.


❝I express my fraternal solidarity with the Lebanese people after the explosion which claimed so many victims and caused so much damage this evening in Beirut. France stands alongside Lebanon. And always will. French assistance and resources are on their way❞

➖@EmmanuelMacron https://t.co/ErPdFObpV2— France Diplomacy🇫🇷 (@francediplo_EN) August 4, 2020

In Britain, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his country stood ready to provide any support it could to help.

"The pictures and videos from Beirut tonight are shocking," Johnson wrote on Twitter. "All of my thoughts and prayers are with those caught up in this terrible incident.


"The UK is ready to provide support in any way we can, including to those British nationals affected."

In the United States, the State Department was closely following reports of an explosion in Beirut and stands ready to offer 'all possible assistance', a spokesperson for the agency said

The State Department has no information about the cause of the explosion, the spokesperson said and added that the agency is working closely with local authorities to determine if any US citizens were affected in the incident.



We share the pain of the Lebanese people and sincerely reach out to offer our aid at this difficult time.— Reuven Rivlin (@PresidentRuvi) August 4, 2020

Israel offered humanitarian aid to Lebanon, with which it is still technically at war, after Tuesday's explosions.

"Following the explosion in Beirut, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi, on behalf of the State of Israel, have offered the Lebanese government -- via international intermediaries -- medical and humanitarian aid, as well as immediate emergency assistance," said a joint statement from the two ministries.

Meanwhile, Iran's top diplomat expressed Tehran's support for the "resilient" people of Lebanon after the blasts.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the great and resilient people of Lebanon," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted.

"As always, Iran is fully prepared to render assistance in any way necessary," he said. "Stay strong, Lebanon."


Our thoughts and prayers are with the great and resilient people of Lebanon.

As always, Iran is fully prepared to render assistance in any way necessary.

Stay strong, Lebanon.

🖤🇱🇧— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) August 4, 2020

Countries in the Gulf paid tribute to victims as well, with Qatar saying it would send field hospitals to support Lebanon's medical response.

Qatar's ruler Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani called President Michel Aoun to offer condolences, according to the state-run Qatar News Agency.

Sheikh Tamim wished "a speedy recovery for the injured", QNA reported, adding that he "expressed Qatar's solidarity with brotherly Lebanon and its willingness to provide all kinds of assistance".

Field hospitals would be dispatched, the report added.

Elsewhere in the Gulf, the United Arab Emirates' Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash tweeted that "our hearts are with Beirut and its people".

He posted the tribute alongside an image of Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, illuminated in the colours of the Lebanese flag.

"Our prayers during these difficult hours are that God... protects brotherly Lebanon and the Lebanese to reduce their affliction and heal their wounds," he wrote.

Gulf countries including Qatar and the UAE maintain close ties with Beirut and have long provided financial aid and diplomatic assistance to mediate Lebanon's political and sectarian divisions.

Bahrain's foreign ministry urged its nationals in Lebanon to contact the ministry's operations centre or Manama's representative in Beirut, while Kuwait ordered its citizens to take extreme caution and stay indoors.

It also asked those in need of assistance to contact their embassy.


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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees extended his best wishes after the tragedy in Beirut.



With my many Lebanese friends and colleagues tonight, and with all the people of Lebanon — in solidarity, wishing them renewed strength and much courage. pic.twitter.com/C5ORnOovTu— Filippo Grandi (@FilippoGrandi) August 4, 2020

"With my many Lebanese friends and colleagues tonight, and with all the people of Lebanon — in solidarity, wishing them renewed strength and much courage," UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi tweeted Tuesday. Lebanon, a country of around 4.5 million people has been disproportionately affected by the war in neighbouring Syria with an influx of an estimated 1.5 million refugees.

"My thoughts and heart are with people in Beirut, Lebanon, who lost loved ones or were injured in the explosion this afternoon," World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus tweeted Tuesday, expressing his support for a country already reeling from the coronavirus pandemic among other crises.

The WHO's director-general added that his organization "stands ready to support the government and healthworkers in saving lives".

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)
Scores dead, thousands wounded as massive explosions rock Beirut


Issued on: 04/08/2020 - 17:54

Text by:FRANCE 24Follow|

Video by:Nadia MASSIH AT END OF ARTICLE

Two huge explosions rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, shaking buildings and sending huge plumes of smoke billowing into the sky. The country's health minister said at least 50 people had been killed and more than 2,750 injured.

Lebanese LBC television channel had earlier quoted Health Minister Hamad Hasan saying an explosion in central Beirut had caused a "very high number of injuries" and extensive damage.

Lebanese media carried images of people trapped under rubble, some bloodied, after the massive explosions, the cause of which was not immediately known.

Powerful blasts rocked the Lebanese capital on August 4, 2020. © FMM Graphic Studio

A security source confirmed that two explosions shook the port area of the city, Lebanon's largest urban area.

Lebanon's internal security chief Abbas Ibrahim said that a massive blast in Beirut's port area occurred in a section housing highly-explosive materials, and not explosive as had been reported earlier by the official state news agency NNA.

Stunning video shows explosions just minutes ago at Beirut port pic.twitter.com/ZjltF0VcTr— Borzou Daragahi 🖊🗒 (@borzou) August 4, 2020

An AFP correspondent at the scene said every shop in the Hamra commercial district had sustained damage, with entire shopfronts destroyed, windows shattered and many cars wrecked.

Injured people were walking in the street, while outside the Clemenceau Medical Centre, dozens of wounded people, many covered in blood, were rushing to be admitted to the centre including children.

Destroyed cars had been abandoned in the street with their airbags inflated.

pic.twitter.com/IWMjT2jYWW— Lebanese Red Cross (@RedCrossLebanon) August 4, 2020

A huge cloud of black smoke was engulfing the entire port area, the AFP correspondent said.

The loud blasts in Beirut's port area were felt across the city and beyond and some districts lost electricity.

"Buildings are shaking," tweeted one resident, while another wrote: "An enormous, deafening explosion just engulfed Beirut. Heard it from miles away."

Online footage from a Lebanese newspaper office showed blown out windows, scattered furniture and demolished interior panelling.



BREAKING: Massive explosion in Beirut. Footage from the daily star office now in Lebanon pic.twitter.com/2uBsKP5wCH— Ghada Alsharif (@GhadaaSharif) August 4, 2020

The explosions came at a time when Lebanon is suffering its worst economic crisis in decades, which has left nearly half of the population in poverty.

Lebanon's economy has collapsed in recent months, with the local currency plummeting against the dollar, businesses closing en masse and poverty soaring at the same alarming rate as unemployment.

One more video of downtown Beirut. The reconstruction of this area symbolized Lebanon’s emergence from the civil war. pic.twitter.com/jMEWc8Kfuw— DavidKenner (@DavidKenner) August 4, 2020

The explosions also come as Lebanon awaits the verdict on Friday on the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafic Hariri, killed in a huge truck bomb attack.

Four alleged members of the Shiite Muslim fundamentalist group Hezbollah are on trial in absentia at the court in the Netherlands over the huge Beirut suicide bombing that killed Sunni billionaire Hariri and 21 other people.

A woman in the city centre told AFP: "It felt like an earthquake ... I felt it was bigger than the explosion in the assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005".

Tensions have also been high with neighbouring Israel, after Israel said it thwarted an infiltration attempt by up to five Hezbollah gunmen, a claim denied by the Iran-backed group.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)

Two explosions rock Beirut, dozens wounded
Issued on: 04/08/2020 - 18:14 
VIDEO AT THE END 

The blast in Beirut's port area sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky Anwar AMRO AFP

Beirut (AFP)

Two huge explosion rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, wounding dozens of people, shaking buildings and sending huge plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.

Lebanese media carried images of people trapped under rubble, some bloodied, after the massive explosions, the cause of which was not immediately known.

A security source confirmed that two explosions shook the port area of the city, Lebanon's largest urban area, leaving dozens wounded.


An AFP correspondent at the scene said every shop in the Hamra commercial district had sustained damage, with entire shopfronts destroyed, windows shattered and many cars wrecked.

Injured people were walking in the street, while outside the Clemenceau Medical Centre, dozens of wounded people, many covered in blood, were rushing to be admitted to the centre including children.

Destroyed cars had been abandoned in the street with their airbags inflated.

A huge cloud of black smoke was engulfing the entire port area, the AFP correspondent said.

The loud blasts in Beirut's port area were felt across the city and beyond and some districts lost electricity.

"Buildings are shaking," tweeted one resident, while another wrote: "An enormous, deafening explosion just engulfed Beirut. Heard it from miles away."

Online footage from a Lebanese newspaper office showed blown out windows, scattered furniture and demolished interior panelling.

The explosions came at a time when Lebanon is suffering its worst economic crisis in decades, which has left nearly half of the population in poverty.

Lebanon's economy has collapsed in recent months, with the local currency plummeting against the dollar, businesses closing en masse and poverty soaring at the same alarming rate as unemployment.

The explosions also come as Lebanon awaits the verdict on Friday on the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafic Hariri, killed in a huge truck bomb attack.

Four alleged members of the Shiite Muslim fundamentalist group Hezbollah are on trial in absentia at the court in the Netherlands over the huge Beirut suicide bombing that killed Sunni billionaire Hariri and 21 other people.

A woman in the city centre told AFP: "It felt like an earthquake ... I felt it was bigger than the explosion in the assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005".

Tensions have also been high with neighbouring Israel, after Israel said it thwarted an infiltration attempt by up to five Hezbollah gunmen, a claim denied by the Iran-backed group.

© 2020 AFP

Two deadly massive explosions rock Lebanese capital Beirut
Issued on: 04/08/2020 - 17:54

Text by:FRANCE 24Follow

Two huge explosions rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, wounding dozens of people, shaking buildings and sending huge plumes of smoke billowing into the sky.

Lebanese LBC television channel quoted Health Minister Hamad Hasan saying an explosion in central Beirut had caused a "very high number of injuries" and extensive damage.

At least 10 bodies were taken to hospitals, a security source and a medical source told Reuters. The Lebanese Red Cross said hundreds of people were taken hospitals for treatment.

Lebanese media carried images of people trapped under rubble, some bloodied, after the massive explosions, the cause of which was not immediately known.

A security source confirmed that two explosions shook the port area of the city, Lebanon's largest urban area, leaving dozens wounded.

Lebanon's internal security chief Abbas Ibrahim said that a massive blast in Beirut's port area occurred in a section housing highly-explosive materials, and not explosive as had been reported earlier by the official state news agency NNA.

Stunning video shows explosions just minutes ago at Beirut port pic.twitter.com/ZjltF0VcTr— Borzou Daragahi 🖊🗒 (@borzou) August 4, 2020

An AFP correspondent at the scene said every shop in the Hamra commercial district had sustained damage, with entire shopfronts destroyed, windows shattered and many cars wrecked.

Injured people were walking in the street, while outside the Clemenceau Medical Centre, dozens of wounded people, many covered in blood, were rushing to be admitted to the centre including children.

Destroyed cars had been abandoned in the street with their airbags inflated.

A huge cloud of black smoke was engulfing the entire port area, the AFP correspondent said.

The loud blasts in Beirut's port area were felt across the city and beyond and some districts lost electricity.

"Buildings are shaking," tweeted one resident, while another wrote: "An enormous, deafening explosion just engulfed Beirut. Heard it from miles away."

Online footage from a Lebanese newspaper office showed blown out windows, scattered furniture and demolished interior panelling.

BREAKING: Massive explosion in Beirut. Footage from the daily star office now in Lebanon pic.twitter.com/2uBsKP5wCH— Ghada Alsharif (@GhadaaSharif) August 4, 2020

The explosions came at a time when Lebanon is suffering its worst economic crisis in decades, which has left nearly half of the population in poverty.

Lebanon's economy has collapsed in recent months, with the local currency plummeting against the dollar, businesses closing en masse and poverty soaring at the same alarming rate as unemployment.

One more video of downtown Beirut. The reconstruction of this area symbolized Lebanon’s emergence from the civil war. pic.twitter.com/jMEWc8Kfuw— DavidKenner (@DavidKenner) August 4, 2020

The explosions also come as Lebanon awaits the verdict on Friday on the 2005 murder of former Lebanese premier Rafic Hariri, killed in a huge truck bomb attack.

Four alleged members of the Shiite Muslim fundamentalist group Hezbollah are on trial in absentia at the court in the Netherlands over the huge Beirut suicide bombing that killed Sunni billionaire Hariri and 21 other people.

A woman in the city centre told AFP: "It felt like an earthquake ... I felt it was bigger than the explosion in the assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005".

Tensions have also been high with neighbouring Israel, after Israel said it thwarted an infiltration attempt by up to five Hezbollah gunmen, a claim denied by the Iran-backed group.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)

Massive explosion rocks Lebanese capital Beirut

Published August 4, 2020 By Agence France-Presse

A huge explosion rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, shaking buildings, shattering windows and sending a huge plume of smoke into the sky, AFP correspondents said.

Lebanese media carried images of people trapped under rubble, some bloodied, after the massive explosion, the cause of which was not immediately known.

The loud blast in Beirut‘s port area was felt across large parts of the city and some districts lost electricity.

Preliminary reports by local Lebanese media said the blast may have been the result of an incident at Beirut port.



BREAKING: Massive explosion in Beirut. Footage from the daily star office now in Lebanon pic.twitter.com/2uBsKP5wCH
— Ghada Alsharif (@GhadaaSharif) August 4, 2020

“Buildings are shaking,” tweeted one resident, while another wrote: “An enormous, deafening explosion just engulfed Beirut. Heard it from miles away”.

Online footage from a Lebanese newspaper office showed blown out windows, scattered furniture and demolished interior panelling.

BBC UPDATES
The blast struck Beirut's port district and beyond
Beirut blast: Dozens dead and thousands injured, health minister says



The moment a huge explosion rocked Beirut has been captured from many angles

A large blast in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, has killed at least 70 people and injured more than 4,000 others, the health minister says.

Videos show smoke billowing from a fire, then a mushroom cloud following the blast at the city's port.

Officials are blaming highly explosive materials stored in a warehouse for six years.

President Michel Aoun tweeted it was "unacceptable" that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate was stored unsafely.

An investigation is under way to find the exact trigger for the explosion. Lebanon's Supreme Defence Council said those responsible would face the "maximum punishment" possible.

Hospitals are said to be overwhelmed and many buildings have been destroyed.

President Aoun declared a three-day mourning period, and said the government would release 100 billion lira (£50.5m; $66m) of emergency funds.

A BBC journalist at the scene reported dead bodies and severe damage, enough to put the port of Beirut out of action.
In pictures: Chaos and destruction in Beirut after blast
Lebanon: Why the country is in crisis

Prime Minister Hassan Diab called it a catastrophe and said those responsible must be held to account.

He spoke of a "dangerous warehouse" which had been there since 2014, but said he would not pre-empt the investigation.

Local media showed people trapped beneath rubble. A witness described the first explosion as deafening, and video footage showed wrecked cars and blast-damaged buildings.

"All the buildings around here have collapsed. I'm walking through glass and debris everywhere, in the dark," one witness near the port told AFP news agency.

The blast was heard 240km (150 miles) away on the island of Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean.

The explosion comes at a sensitive time for Lebanon, with an economic crisis reigniting old divisions. Tensions are also high ahead of Friday's verdict in a trial over the killing of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005.
'Glass going down from all over the building'

Hadi Nasrallah, eyewitness speaking to the BBC

I saw the fire, but I didn't yet know there was going to be an explosion. We went inside. Suddenly I lost my hearing because apparently I was too close. I lost my hearing for a few seconds, I knew something was wrong.

And then suddenly the glass just shattered all over the car, the cars around us, the shops, the stores, the buildings. Just glass going down from all over the building.

Literally all over Beirut, people were calling each other from different areas kilometres away and they were experiencing the same thing: broken glass, buildings shaking, a loud explosion.

Actually we were shocked because usually when it happens, just one area will experience those happenings after an explosion, but this time it was all of Beirut, even areas outside of Beirut.

Sunniva Rose, journalist

"Driving into Beirut early evening when it was still light, it was absolute chaos. The streets were literally covered in glass. It's hard for ambulances to go through - there's bricks, cement slabs. Houses have collapsed.

"When I got to the port it had been closed off by the army. The army said to stay away in case there was a second explosion.

"There was still smoke going up into the sky late into the evening. The whole city was black. It was very hard to walk around, people were covered in blood. I saw an 86-year-old woman being treated by a doctor who had just run out of his home with a first aid kit. Cars were entirely smashed by rocks. These old-style houses with big cuts of rock had just fallen down on the street.

"It's pandemonium in my own flat, all the glass is shattered. The extent of the damage is extreme. Even in a mall 2km away - the whole facade was shattered."
How have other countries reacted?

Lebanon's prime minister also called for international help: "I make an urgent appeal to friendly and brotherly countries... to stand by Lebanon and to help us heal our deep wounds," Hassan Diab said.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted: "The pictures and videos from Beirut tonight are shocking. All of my thoughts and prayers are with those caught up in this terrible incident.

"The UK is ready to provide support in any way we can, including to those British nationals affected."

US President Donald Trump sent his deepest sympathies after what he called "a terrible attack", and his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo offered assistance, tweeting: "We are monitoring and stand ready to assist the people of Lebanon as they recover from this horrible tragedy." 

EPA Buildings were shattered, balconies ripped off

France said it was sending aid and resources to Lebanon.

Iran would "render assistance in any way necessary" Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted, while Saudi Arabia expressed its full solidarity with Lebanon.

Israel said in a statement that it had "approached Lebanon through international security and diplomatic channels and has offered the Lebanese government medical and humanitarian assistance".

The German foreign ministry said the blast had been felt at its embassy in the city.

"We cannot for the moment exclude German nationals figuring among the dead and wounded," it said in a statement.

REUTERS A massive recovery effort is under way

What's the situation in Lebanon?

Lebanon is experiencing political turmoil, with street demonstrations against the government's handling of the worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Many blame the ruling elite who have dominated politics for years and amassed their own wealth while failing to carry out the sweeping reforms necessary to solve the country's problems. People have to deal with daily power cuts, a lack of safe drinking water and limited public healthcare.

There has also been tension on the border with Israel, which said last week that it had thwarted an attempt by Hezbollah to infiltrate Israeli territory. But a senior Israeli official has told the BBC that "Israel has no connection" to the Beirut blast.

The blast happened close to the scene of the huge car bombing which killed ex-PM Hariri. Tuesday's blast also came days before the long-awaited verdict in the trial at a special court in the Netherlands of four men accused of orchestrating the attack.