Opinion: Faith, COVID-19 and the push for a healthy environment

Faith is helping many through the coronavirus pandemic — and it can also be instrumental in climate protection, say UNEP's Inger Andersen and Azza Karam of Religions for Peace in a guest commentary.


Faith provides spiritual and practical support to billions of people, especially in times of crisis. We are seeing this in action yet again as churches, mosques, temples, other places of worship and faith-based organizations around the world offer support, food, housing, donations and medical services during the pandemic. Such solidarity is sorely needed as millions suffer the physical, economic and emotional toll of COVID-19.

But faiths, and those who lead them, have a greater role to play. They can and must help prevent worse crises from happening in the future by wielding their huge influence to improve humanity's stewardship of the planet.



Inger Andersen, UNEP's executive director, says the pandemic response needs to fix our relationship with the planet

COVID-19, along with many previous diseases that were transmitted from animals to humans, is a result of how we mismanage our natural habitat and the living beings in it. Whether you look at this pandemic, the recent Australian bushfires, the hottest January on record or the worst locust outbreak in the Horn of Africa in decades, the planet is sending us an urgent message: if we do not take care of nature, we cannot take care of ourselves.

Read more: Coronavirus: European solidarity comes at a price

We would be wise to heed this call. Our long-term response to COVID-19 must be to fix our relationship with the planet. This repair job should be a whole-system response made up of many parts.

Economic recovery stimulus packages must support investments in renewable energy, smart buildings and infrastructure, green and public transport.

In the last few years, deforestation in the Amazon rainforest has surged to its highest rate in more than a decade


The worldwide animal market, where thousands of species are bought and sold every year, is a serious threat to biodiversity

We must shift our production and consumption habits — buying less, wasting less and repurposing more — as many of us are doing during lockdown restrictions. We must restore our forests and invest in protected areas. And we must tackle the illegal trade in wildlife and forest resources and improve hygiene conditions in the legal trade.

Pushing for proactive engagement

Faith leaders and communities are proving to be crucial to all of these systemic changes because they have the authority to impact the behavior and attitudes of billions of people. Their institutions are among the oldest and most long-standing and provide essential services to billions of people around the globe, making them essential partners in normal times as well as in an emergency.

Faith-based organizations own a large number of educational institutions, so they can lead on efforts to raise awareness about the linkages between human health and planetary health. In all parts of the world, they own and manage health institutions that are fighting the current pandemic by providing medical care to the hardest-to-reach communities.



Azza Karam, of Religions for Peace, says faith leaders and communities can influence how people treat the planet

One example of proactive engagement and inter-country collaboration is the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative, a global partnership that includes the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and Religions for Peace working to protect the world's remaining rainforests and the rights of the indigenous peoples that serve as their guardians.

Such initiatives are a good start, but we can do more.

Read more: Yuval Noah Harari on COVID-19: 'The biggest danger is not the virus itself'

As things stand, humanity, in its hubris, is tearing down the house that so many believe their creator provided. Faith leaders need to continue to use their considerable influence to push for a healthy planet, just as believers must heed the call to care for creation contained in the scriptures of every religion and in the tradition of every faith.

The response to COVID-19 is showing the power of faith. Now we must harness this power, together, to create a sustainable future for ourselves and for all other species that share this planet.

Inger Andersen is UN under-secretary-general and executive director of the UN Environment Program. Azza Karam is the secretary general of Religions for Peace, an international multi-religious organization, and a professor at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam.
CORONAVIRUS AND THE ENVIRONMENT: 7 CHANGES TO EXPECT

Better air quality
As the world grinds to a halt, the sudden shutdown of most industrial activities has dramatically reduced air pollution levels. Satellite images have even revealed a clear drop in global levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a gas which is primarily emitted from car engines and commercial manufacturing plants and is responsible for poor air quality in many major cities.

CO2 emissions fall

Like NO2, carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) have also been slashed in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. When economic activity stalls, so do CO2 emissions — in fact, the last time this happened was during the 2008-2009 financial crisis. In China alone, emissions have fallen by around 25% when the country entered lockdown, according to Carbon Brief. But this change is likely to only be temporary.

A new world for urban wildlife

As everyone retreats to their homes, some animals have been taking advantage of our absence. Reduced road traffic means little critters like hedgehogs emerging from hibernation are less likely to be hit by cars. Meanwhile, other species like ducks may be wondering where all the people have gone and will need to find other sources of food besides breadcrumbs in the park.

Drawing attention to the global wildlife trade

Conservationists hope the coronavirus outbreak will help curb global wildlife trade, which is responsible for pushing a number of species to the brink of extinction. COVID-19 likely originated in a Wuhan wet market, which sells live produce and is a hub for both legal and illegally trafficked wildlife. A crackdown on trading live wildlife may be one positive thing to come out of the crisis.  

Waterways run clear

Shortly after Italy entered lockdown, images of crystal clear canals in Venice were shared around the world — the pristine blue waters are a far cry from their usual muddy appearance. And with cruise ships docked for the time being, our oceans are also experiencing a drop in noise pollution, lowering the stress levels of marine creatures like whales and making for a much more peaceful migration.

Plastic waste on the rise

But it's not all good news. One of the worst environmental side-effects of the coronavirus pandemic is the rapid increase in the use of disposable plastic — from medical equipment like disposable gloves, to plastic packaging as more people opt for prepackaged foods. Even cafes that remain open no longer accept reusable cups from customers in a bid to stop the virus from spreading.

Climate crisis goes ignored (for now)

With the coronavirus dominating, the climate crisis has been pushed to the sidelines. But that doesn't make it any less urgent. Experts are warning that important decisions regarding the climate should not be delayed — even with the UN climate conference postponed until 2021. While emissions have dropped since the pandemic began, we're unlikely to see widespread and long-term change as a result.

Author: Ineke Mules

Date 29.04.2020
Related Subjects Environment, Deforestation, Wildlife, Biodiversity, Coronavirus
Keywords COVID-19, Inger Andersen, faith, coronavirus, environment, biodiversity, deforestation, wildlife, Azza Karam, pandemic

AMERICAN PENTECOSTAL COLONIALISM
Uganda Is Using Coronavirus Rules To Raid An LGBTQ Shelter And Jail Residents

The LGBTQ shelter had more than 10 residents, so the group was charged with facilitating the spread of an infectious disease.

J. Lester Feder BuzzFeed News Reporter
Posted on April 28, 2020

Rebecca Vassie / AP Ugandans take part in an LGBTQ pride parade in April 2014.
Uganda is using social distancing rules as a reason to detain 19 people for a month without access to lawyers, following a raid on an LGBTQ shelter.

The group was arrested on March 29 on the outskirts of Kampala, after local officials raided a shelter operated by an NGO called the Children of the Sun Foundation. They were due in court on Tuesday, said their attorney, Patricia Kimera of the NGO called the Human Rights Awareness and Protection Forum (HRAPF). But officials did not bring them to court, nor did the government’s attorneys show up to the hearing. Uganda’s coronavirus restrictions have made it nearly impossible for people to travel on public roads, and courts and attorneys are not considered essential services under the order.

“We can’t access our clients. We don’t know how they are in prison,” Kimera said in a phone interview with BuzzFeed News. She received such little notice of their first appearance before a court the day after their arrest that the courthouse was shuttered by the time she arrived. “We’ve tried all we can.”

They’ve been charged with violating social distancing orders and were formally accused of committing a “negligent act likely to spread an infectious disease” because they had so many people under one roof. Thirteen of those arrested lived in the four-room shelter, but a few more people were staying temporarily because they’d been visiting the shelter when the government restricted public transportation and they had no way to get home. The shelter had tried to address coronavirus concerns by making a rule that anyone who went out would not be able to return.

It’s not uncommon for many people to live under one roof in Uganda, but there have not been widespread arrests of people in crowded houses. Kimera said she believes local government officials are just using the coronavirus restrictions to punish LGBTQ people they could not otherwise prosecute. Official harassment of LGBTQ people is a longstanding problem in Uganda, but they are almost never prosecuted for charges directly related to their sexual orientation. A sweeping “Anti-Homosexuality Act” that caused an international uproar when it was adopted in 2014 was quickly struck down by the courts on a technicality. There is a much older sodomy law on the books, but it requires so much evidence of a specific act of intercourse that it has never been successfully prosecuted in court.

The Children of the Sun Foundation shelter was actually raided two days before Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni issued a sweeping lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus that limited gatherings to no more than 10 people. But the country, which now has officially confirmed 79 coronavirus cases, began phasing in some restrictions in early March as the country shifted to a crisis mode. This gave an opening to community leaders in the town of Wakiso to call in the police to shut down a facility that has operated in the area for nine months with permission of local police.

“This gave them an opportunity to get rid of us,” said Charles, the Children of the Sun Foundation’s program director, who asked that his last name not be published out of concern for his safety.

Charles arrived at the shelter shortly after a local militia burst into the compound and rounded up the residents, and he was also immediately detained. The local mayor, Hajj Abdul Kiyimba, soon arrived on the scene and called in a local news station, which filmed him interrogating the residents and beating them with a large stick. Kiyimba demanded residents give him their parents’ phone numbers, Charles said, which the mayor then used to out the residents to their families. (Kiyimba did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent via Facebook.)

Charles said he and the others were forced to make a “walk of shame” down to the police station while bound together by rope. He managed to win release by convincing the authorities that he did not actually work for the foundation. A nurse working at the site was also released a short time after the arrests, along with two residents who were released for health reasons and one more who appeared to be a minor. But the group’s executive director and 18 others are still behind bars.

The coronavirus restrictions, which were put in place with little planning or notice, have caused a host of problems. Around 1 million people in Uganda rely on antiretroviral therapy for HIV, but no provisions were made to allow them to travel to clinics or get a sufficient supply of drugs in some other way, said Asia Russell, the Kampala-based executive director of Health Gap, an American NGO that advocates for global access to HIV treatment. There have also been several reports of women dying in childbirth because they could not reach a hospital.




This raid on Children of the Sun Foundation is just one example of how Uganda’s sweeping coronavirus lockdown is being used for political purposes said Nicholas Opiyo, a human rights lawyer who helped get the Anti-Homosexuality Act struck down in 2014. The pandemic arrived in Uganda when the country was already moving into campaign mode ahead of elections next year. Opposition politicians have been arrested for handing out food in their districts, Opiyo said, while members of the ruling party have made a show of distributing aid in their areas.

The lockdown, Opiyo said, “was intended to create this atmosphere of fear and have a ... plausible excuse for arresting and locking people up.”

A spokesperson for Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

TRUMP MINI ME
“So What?” How Brazil’s President’s Responded To The Record Daily Increase In Coronavirus Deaths

Brazil’s official death toll now stands at more than 5,000, and the president’s handling of it makes him a global pariah.

Karla Zabludovsky BuzzFeed News Reporter
Posted on April 29, 2020,

Ueslei Marcelino / Reuter   Jair-Jair Bolsonaro
As Brazil’s official death toll from the coronavirus surpassed China’s, where the virus first emerged, President Jair Bolsonaro did little more than shrug.

“So what?” he said to reporters who asked him about the day’s record number of deaths on Tuesday night. “What do you want me to do?”

This might seem like a strange response from the man who is in charge of Latin America’s biggest country. Bolsonaro, a right-wing former military officer, has become a global pariah, minimizing the impact of the pandemic even as most world leaders have locked their countries down, warning about the dangers of returning too soon to life as we once knew it.

Bolsonaro’s political strategy is not dissimilar to President Donald Trump’s: undermine governors who are implementing shutdowns while calling to jumpstart the economy.

“It is clearly bad policy, but it might end up being good politics,” said Brian Winter, editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly, a magazine about politics in Latin America, noting that Bolsonaro’s base continues to stand by him in large part. His approval rating grew to 33%, up from 30% in December, according to pollster Datafolha.

In Brazil, where 71,886 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and at least 5,017 have died, according to the health ministry, there is no national lockdown. Bolsonaro has repeatedly urged Brazilians to return to work rather than run from the virus “like cowards.” And he has continued to visit public places, like pharmacies and supermarkets, shaking hands with supporters.


Michael Dantas / Getty Images
Aerial view of coffins being buried in the Parque Taruma cemetery in Manaus, Amazonas state, April 21.\

Earlier this month, Bolsonaro fired his health minister, who had advocated for social distancing measures.

In a country of 210 million people, health experts predict that contagions will multiply rapidly as the virus begins to hit favelas, or impoverished neighborhoods, hard. There, families crowd together into single, small rooms, often without running water. Isolation is impossible. And already, Brazilians are growing tired of social isolation measures. Approval for these practices fell to 52% from 60% the first week of April.

Still, outrage in the country is reaching a fever pitch, with people frequently banging pots from their windows to protest Bolsonaro. On Wednesday, a local newspaper, Estado de Minas, ran a black front page with the death toll and Bolsonaro’s words from the previous day: “My name’s Messiah, but I can’t work miracles,” a reference to his middle name, Messias.



Estado de Minas@em_com

Bom dia, veja os destaques da edição impressa do Estado de Minas desta quarta-feira, 29 de abril de 2020. Leia mais: https://t.co/p3FTkGOYc8 #CapaEM #EstadoDeMinas #FrontPage #News #Notícias #PrimeiraPágina #coronavirus #coronavirusbrasil909:48 AM - 29 Apr 2020

Calls to impeach Bolsonaro have also been growing. According to Datafolha, 45% of Brazilians support his impeachment.

“Bolsonaro’s disrespect for coronavirus victims and their families shows how much we need to talk about this government’s change,” tweeted former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Wednesday. “It's serious.”



Karla Zabludovsky is the Mexico bureau chief and Latin America correspondent for BuzzFeed News and is based in Mexico City.

Google searches for malaria drug spiked after Trump, Musk endorsements

Searches for two anti-malarial drugs touted by public officials as treatment for COVID-19 shot up nearly 500 percent and 1,400 percent, researchers report.

April 29 (UPI) -- Google searches for the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine increased by nearly 1,400 percent after high-profile endorsements of possible benefits in treating COVID-19, an analysis published Wednesday in JAMA Internal Medicine said.

Similar searches for chloroquine, another drug that treats malaria, jumped more than 440 percent, the researchers reported.

The analysis of search traffic from the beginning of February through the end of March covers the period from the start of the outbreak of the disease caused by the new coronavirus in the United States, which through Wednesday has infected more than 1 million Americans.

The two drugs were touted as possible treatments for COVID-19 by President Donald Trump and billionaire businessman Elon Musk in mid-March, despite a lack of evidence to support the claims.

RELATED FDA issues warning on side effects of malaria drug for COVID-19

"We hear a lot of talk about misinformation all the time, but it's very nebulous," study co-author Dr. John W. Ayers, a behavioral scientist at San Diego State University, told UPI on Tuesday night. Researchers at the University of California, Harvard, Johns Hopkins and the University of Oxford worked on the study.

"It's like pornography in the Supreme Court in the 1970s: We don't know it until we see it, and even then you don't agree on it," Ayers said. "But with misinformation during the pandemic, there is an acute danger. The stakes are high. We need to address it before it adds to the public health problem we're already facing."

For the study, researchers reviewed daily Google search data from Feb. 1 to March 29 of this year, comparing it to historic trends. Search terms such as "buy," "order," "Amazon," "eBay" and"Walmart," combined with the names of the drugs, were checked.

Musk endorsed chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine -- drugs used historically to treat autoimmune disorders and malaria -- on Twitter on March 16 and Trump first mentioned them in a press briefing three days later.

The researchers found that the "first and largest" spike in searches for purchasing the drugs corresponded directly with Musk's tweet, with 100,000 additional searches the next day. On March 20, the day after Trump's comments, more than 250,000 additional searches were conducted.

Overall, Google search activity for purchasing chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine increased 442 percent and 1,389 percent, respectively, researchers found. They also noted that even after news reports of a fatal poisoning in Arizona, searches to buy chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine remained 212 percent and 1,167 percent, respectively, above expected levels.
Consumers turning to the internet for health information is not a new phenomenon. Research has shown that people frequently research their symptoms online before visiting a healthcare provider for diagnosis and treatment.

A study published last month in PLOS Computational Biology found that, during the Zika pandemic in 2016, Wikipedia page-views increased as much as 10 times, and that the rise corresponded directly with media mentions of the mosquito-borne virus.

"Wikipedia represents an important source of information during the current pandemic and its editors are doing their best to provide the most up-to-date information regarding COVID-19," Michele Tizzoni, lead author on the Zika study and research leader at the ISI Foundation in Torino, Italy, told UPI on Wednesday.





"However, as is stated by Wikipedia itself, Wikipedia or other Web sites cannot substitute for the advice of a medical professional," Tizzoni said.

Tizzoni and her colleagues focused on the role of media, especially television, in shaping public opinion.

She noted that during a pandemic, "the diffusion of accurate and reliable information on TV becomes even more important," as public attention -- and fear -- can be "explained by exposure to online and TV coverage, rather than the magnitude or extent of the epidemic itself."

The researchers behind the JAMA Internal Medicine study suggested that regulatory agencies and companies like Google and Bing need to "actively mitigate the negative consequences" of misinformation.

They specifically pointed to Google's integration of educational information into search results related to the outbreak -- an approach they would like to see expanded to and embraced by other platforms.

They also advised retailers to draft warnings or even withhold products that might be linked to use for COVID-19 treatment, as online retailer eBay did when it removed chloroquine products from its site.

The FDA last Friday also imposed restrictions on prescriptions for chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine for the new coronavirus, after research indicated potential dangers associated with their use.

"We thought if we could identify the outbreak of the misinformation and learn how widespread it was, we could start to learn about ways we can correct it and stop it from spreading," Ayers, co-author of the JAMA Internal Medicine study, said.

Torment in Ecuador: virus dead piled up in bathrooms

AFP/File / Jose SANCHEZHealth ministry personnel test a woman for the novel coronavirus in northern Guayaquil, Ecuador, on April 19, 2020

Front line medics in one of Latin America's coronavirus epicenters are lifting the lid on the daily horrors they face in an Ecuadoran city whose health system has collapsed.

In one hospital in Guayaquil overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, staff have had to pile up bodies in bathrooms because the morgues are full, health workers say.

In another, a medic told AFP that doctors have been forced to wrap up and store corpses to be able to reuse the beds they died on.

Ecuador has recorded close to 23,000 coronavirus cases and nearly 600 deaths, with Guayaquil by far its worst affected city. But the real toll is thought to be far higher.

A 35-year-old nurse at the first hospital who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the trauma of what he saw had affected him professionally and personally.

When the health emergency broke out in March, every nurse went from caring for 15 patients to 30 in the space of just 24 hours, he added.

"So many people arrived that... they were practically dying in our hands," said the nurse.

Patients were discharged or referred to other facilities "to free up all these beds" for coronavirus patients, he told AFP.

"They took out anesthesia machines from operating rooms to replace them with ventilators.

"People are alone, sad, the treatment wreaks havoc on the gastrointestinal tract, some defecate; they feel bad and think they will always feel that way, and they see that the person next to them starts to suffocate and scream that they need oxygen."

It isn't just hospitals that have been overwhelmed, but morgues too.

"The morgue staff wouldn't take any more, so many times we had to wrap up bodies and store them in the bathrooms," the nurse said.

Only when the bodies were "stacked up six or seven high did they come to collect them."

A 26-year-old colleague, also a nurse, confirmed the chaotic scenes.

"There were many dead in the bathrooms, many lying on the floors, many dead in armchairs," she told AFP.

- 'Sanitary disaster' -

Guayaquil's health system has collapsed under the pressure of the coronavirus, and it seems to be having catastrophic knock-on effects.

In the first half of April, the province of Guayas, whose capital is Guayaquil, recorded 6,700 deaths, more than three times the monthly average.

AFP/File / Jose SánchezWorkers make coffins at the Angel Maria Canals cemetery in Guayaquil, Ecuador, on April 9, 2020

The disparity suggests that the real COVID-19 death toll is far greater than the official nationwide tally of fewer than 600.

President Lenin Moreno has acknowledged that Ecuador's official coronavirus tallies "are short" of the true figures.

A 28-year-old doctor at a second Guayaquil hospital, who also insisted on anonymity, conjured a similarly grim picture of health services in crisis.

"Bodies were in the corridors of the emergency ward because the morgue was full," the medic told AFP, describing "20 to 25 corpses" waiting to be taken away.

"It was up to us to collect and wrap the corpse and store it so we could disinfect the bed for the next patient," he added.

At the first hospital, refrigerated containers were brought in to store bodies, some of which remained for up to 10 days.

Some family members "break the covers... so the fluids come out. It's a sanitary disaster," said the 35-year-old male nurse.

- 'It kills you psychologically' -

The number of daily deaths fell last week but that was scant consolation for this nurse, who says he is tormented by what he has experienced.

AFP/File / RODRIGO BUENDIAA paramedic enters the disinfection booth outside the emergency room of the IESS Sur Hospital in Quito on April 18, 2020

When he goes home, after a 24-hour shift, his feet hurting, he tries to rest but then the "nightmare" strikes.

He dreams of running until he falls and knocks "open the bathroom door with the number of bodies... and you can't go back to sleep."

His home life has also changed. He is following strict isolation so cannot see his parents or brother.

When he goes home he begins his ritual of disinfecting his car and shoes, hosing himself down on the patio before washing his clothes in hot water.

"I eat on a plastic table away from everyone. I leave my home with a mask, I can't hug anyone, not even the pets," he said.

Every now and then he thinks about the psychological mark left on him every time he has to make do with hooking them up to cannula tubes when what they really need is a ventilator.

"They tell you, 'It's okay -- give them oxygen and a slow drip serum and leave them,'" he told AFP.

"But what if that was my mom? What if it was my dad? That kills you. It kills you psychologically."

AFP sought comment from health authorities in Guayaquil but did not get a reply.

A national public health authority official said he had been in an emergency unit in Guayaquil where bodies were piled up.

"A morgue for eight deceased persons and you have to manage 150 bodies, what can you do? You have to put them anywhere nearby that you have space," he told AFP.

The official said the number of cases in Guayaquil rose dramatically and rapidly in a matter of days, overwhelming an inadequate emergency healthcare system.

"There was such a speed of contagion that it reflected a large number of seriously ill and a large number of deaths at a specific time," he said.

WESTERN CANADA CRUDE WAS HEDGED TO JUNE PRICES

Oil rebounds above $14 after massive sell-off

AFP/File / Frederic J. BROWNOil prices have fallen to historic lows this month as governments worldwide shut down businesses and air travel ground to a halt

US oil prices rebounded above $14 a barrel Wednesday, a day after a sell-off sparked by a major fund selling its short-term holdings of the commodity amid virus-triggered storage concerns.

West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, for June delivery jumped 14.5 percent to $14.13 a barrel in Asian morning trade.

It had plunged by more than 21 percent at one point Tuesday after the United States Oil Fund -- a major US exchange-traded fund (ETF) -- started selling its short-term contracts of the commodity.

Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading 3.27 percent higher at $21.13 a barrel.

Traders "are bargain hunting after a couple of days of massive sell-offs", OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley told AFP.

ANZ Bank said in a note that the market was hit by volatility Tuesday "as ETFs and index funds moved contract positions amid renewed concerns of negative prices" in short-term holdings.

The Oil Fund had sold its contracts due to expire in June to move into longer-dated holdings amid fears about storage space running out in the short term.

Following the US ETF's move, Standard & Poor's also told clients to sell their stakes in the June contracts and move them into July, ANZ said.

S&P operates the GSCI commodity index, which is tracked by pension funds and other big investors.

Other indices, including the Bloomberg Commodity Index, took similar steps.

Oil prices have fallen to historic lows this month, with WTI crashing deep below zero for the first time as governments worldwide shut down businesses and air travel grinds to a halt due to the virus.

An agreement by top crude-producing nations to cut output by 10 million barrels a day from May 1 has done little to calm the market.

The production cuts "will probably take weeks to show up in the physical market, hence we are still stuck with the inventories issues that will continue to curb any semblance of bullish appetite", said AxiCorp global market strategist Stephen Innes.

Lebanese protesters back on the streets as economy crumbles

AFP / Fathi AL-MASRI

Lebanese anti-government protesters burn tyres amid overnight

 clashes with security forces in the northern city of Tripoli
Lebanese protesters confronted soldiers for a second day Tuesday as anger over a spiraling economic crisis re-energised a months-old anti-government movement despite a coronavirus lockdown.

In second city Tripoli, protesters hurled rocks at security forces, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets.

The violence came after a protester died on Tuesday from a bullet wound he had sustained during overnight confrontations between troops and hundreds of demonstrators in Tripoli.

Following the funeral of 26-year-old Fawaz al-Samman in the city's central Al-Nour Square, demonstrators went on the rampage, torching and vandalising banks and military vehicles.

AFP / Fathi AL-MASRI

Lebanese anti-government protesters smash the facade of a bank

Troops fired live rounds into the air to try to disperse stone-throwing protesters under clouds of tear gas.

Tuesday's confrontations were the latest in a string of anti-government protests fuelled by unprecedented inflation and a plummeting Lebanese pound.

Angered by the financial collapse, demonstrators have rallied across Lebanon, blocking roads and attacking banks, re-energising a protest movement launched in October against a political class the activists deem inept and corrupt.

"I came down to raise my voice against hunger, poverty and rising prices," Khaled, 41, told AFP, saying he had lost his job selling motorcycle parts and could no longer support his three children.

- 'Increasingly desperate' -

AFP / Ibrahim CHALHOUB

People inspect a bank set ablaze by protesters in Tripoli

After a few hours of calm in Tripoli on Tuesday evening, protesters again hit the streets, vandalising the facade of a bank in the al-Mina district.

A demonstration was also held outside the home of former prime minister Najib Mikati, who has been accused of wrongly receiving millions in subsidised housing loans -- charges he denies.

More than 20 protesters were injured in the Tuesday night clashes, including four who were hospitalised, according to the Lebanese Red Cross.

Sixty people, including some 40 soldiers, were injured during the clashes on Monday night.

In the capital Beirut, an AFP reporter saw dozens of protesters chanting slogans against the governor of the central bank.

In the southern city of Sidon, demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at the bank's local headquarters.

Lebanon is mired in its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, now compounded by a nationwide lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus that has killed 24 people in the country and infected almost 700 others.

The Lebanese pound has lost more than half of its value against the dollar on the black market, hitting record lows of 4,000 pounds to the dollar this week.

Economy Minister Raoul Nehme on Tuesday said that prices have risen by 55 percent, while the government estimates that 45 percent of the population now lives below the poverty line.

This has unleashed a public outcry against a government that has yet to deliver a long-awaited rescue plan to shore up the country's finances more than three months since it was nominated to address the crisis.

On Tuesday evening, Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni tweeted that his French counterpart Bruno Le Maire had given his backing to a rescue plan, but had stressed the need for long-overdue structural reforms.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab acknowledged that living conditions have "deteriorated at a record speed" but said on Tuesday he would not tolerate "riots" and that perpetrators would be held accountable.

UN envoy to Lebanon Jan Kubis said that the "tragic" events in Tripoli send a "warning signal."

"This is the time to provide material support to increasingly desperate, impoverished and hungry majority of Lebanese," he said on Twitter.

- 'Social explosion' -

Lebanon's economic crisis has forced large chunks of the population into unemployment.

AFP/File / ANWAR AMROLebanese protesters chant slogans in front

 of the building of the central bank in Beirut on April 23, 2020

Meanwhile, a kilo of meat -- which used to sell for 18,000 Lebanese pounds ($12 at the official rate) -- now costs 32,000 (around $22), while the price of vegetables has doubled.

With no clear government plan to exit the crisis, Lebanon is heading "towards an inevitable social explosion," Sami Nader, director of the Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs, told AFP.

Public anger has been increasingly directed at banks, accused by protesters of helping a corrupt political class drive the country towards bankruptcy.

Lebanese banks, many of them owned by prominent politicians, have since September imposed restrictions on dollar withdrawals and transfers, forcing the public to deal in the nose-diving Lebanese pound.

Since March, banks have stopped dollar withdrawals altogether, further fuelling public anger.

In Tripoli, the army accused demonstrators overnight of torching three banks, destroying several automated teller machines and attacking an army patrol and military vehicle.

The Association of Lebanese Banks said that commercial banks would be closed in the city on Tuesday because of "attacks and acts of vandalism."

The renewed protests came after Diab said Lebanese bank deposits had plunged $5.7 billion in the first two months of the year, despite curbs on withdrawals and a ban on transfers abroad.

Brazil judge orders probe into accusations against Bolsonaro 

AFP/File / EVARISTO SAA Brazilian judge has ordered an investigation of allegations that President Jair Bolsonaro sought to interfere in police investigations

A Brazilian supreme court judge on Monday ordered a probe into accusations by former justice and security minister Sergio Moro that President Jair Bolsonaro sought to "interfere" with police investigations.

In his decision, obtained by AFP, Judge Celso de Mello gave the federal police 60 days to question Moro about his explosive allegations against the right-wing president.

The findings, which will be handed over to the attorney general, could result in either a request for a political trial against Bolsonaro or an indictment against Moro for false testimony.

According to the judge, the alleged crimes seem to have "an intimate connection with the exercise of the presidential mandate," thus allowing for an investigation of the leader.

Moro, a former anti-corruption judge, resigned on Friday after clashing with Bolsonaro over the sacking of the federal police chief, accusing the president of political interference.

The judge's document lists seven accusations against Bolsonaro, including malfeasance and obstruction of justice.

Should the investigation confirm the allegations, it will be up to the lower house of the National Congress to initiate impeachment proceedings against Bolsonaro and potentially remove him from office.

AFP/File / EVARISTO SASergio Moro resigned as justice minister over the sacking of the head of the federal police, accusing the president of political interference

In 2017, the prosecutor general's office asked to open two investigations against then-president Michel Temer, and in both cases the request was rejected by the Chamber of Deputies.

The tensions come at the height of the global coronavirus crisis.

Bolsonaro has repeatedly downplayed the danger of COVID-19 and earlier this month fired his health minister, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, who supported isolation as a tool to contain the spread of the pandemic.

A poll published Monday night shows divided opinions about Bolsonaro's future, with 45 percent of Brazilians saying Congress should open an impeachment process against him.

In comparison, 48 percent think Bolsonaro should not be impeached, according to the Datafolha poll, which ran in the Folha de S. Paulo daily.

- Other investigations -

Behind the scenes, changing the head of the federal police, an investigative body that reports to the justice ministry, is seen as an attempt by Bolsonaro to control investigations that surround his family and political allies.

AFP/File / EVARISTO SAPresident Jair Bolsonaro (pictured with supporters protesting against quarantine measures) has repeatedly downplayed the danger of the coronavirus and fired his health minister who supported isolation

One probe, opened in March 2019, is investigating false news campaigns to threaten or slander supreme court judges who opposed Bolsonaro's projects, such as liberalizing the carrying of arms.

Another, initiated by the attorney general last week, is investigating a demonstration outside the army headquarters in Brasilia by Bolsonaro supporters who called for military intervention in handling the coronavirus pandemic while protesting against stay-at-home orders.

Bolsonaro, a former army captain who has been criticized for previously praising Brazil's brutal 1964-85 military dictatorship, also attended the protest.

Moro, who made his name leading the corruption investigation that saw former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva jailed for accepting a bribe, resigned after Bolsonaro dismissed the federal police chief, who was a close ally of the minister.

"The change at the head of the federal police without a genuine reason is political interference that harms my credibility and that of the government," Moro said Friday.

Moro said Bolsonaro had told him he was replacing the federal police chief for someone with whom he had "personal contact, whom he could call, ask for information, intelligence reports."

"Providing this type of information is not the job of the federal police," Moro said, insisting on independence for investigations.

That night, he presented on television a WhatsApp exchange with Bolsonaro in which the president appears to exert pressure for the replacement of the federal police chief.

According to Brazilian media, the former judge has recordings of discussions with the president.

Bolsonaro hit back at Moro, accusing him of being motivated by "ego" and making "unfounded accusations."

IN DEPTH

Where could Brazil's criminal 

investigation of Jair Bolsonaro lead?

Brazil's Supreme Court has approved an investigation into whether President Bolsonaro meddled with federal police to protect allies. The results could trigger a dramatic chain of events that hinge largely on one person.

As world leaders focus on fighting the coronavirus pandemic in their countries, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro faces another major battle — potentially his biggest political crisis since taking office.

The Supreme Court on Monday authorized an investigation of claims that Bolsonaro interfered with federal law enforcement. Former Justice Minister Sergio Moro, a highly popular politician, made the bombshell accusation during his resignation speech Friday, the same day Bolsonaro announced he had fired the federal police chief.

"I told the president that [changing the police chief] would be political interference. He said that it would be, too," Moro said.

Moro alleges that Bolsonaro wanted to replace the police head with someone who would give him access to information and reports and would shield his relatives and allies from investigations.

Federal police are currently investigating Bolsonaro's son Carlos for allegedly having organized a fake news scheme, according to major newspaper Folha de S. Paulo.

On Tuesday the president tried to name a family friend to head the police, but a Supreme Court justice halted the nomination the next day.

From investigation to charges to trial?
Authorities will now look into whether Bolsonaro obstructed justice and meddled with federal police work, among other crimes.

Meanwhile, if Moro doesn't show proof of Bolsonaro's alleged interference, he could be charged for making a false accusation. He could also be charged for not doing his obligation as justice minister and failing to report Bolsonaro's possible crimes when he knew about them.

A key figure in the proceedings is Augusto Aras, the attorney general. According to the Brazilian Constitution, the attorney general is the only person who can press charges against the president for a common crime, which under Brazilian law doesn't require either legal party to have any specific characteristics. In contrast, a crime of responsibility requires the alleged perpetrator to be a public official.

If after the investigation Aras does press common crime charges, approval by two thirds of the lower house of Congress — at least 342 of the 513 deputies — would be needed to open a criminal trial before the Supreme Court. Without approval, the issue would be archived.

In a Supreme Court trial, Bolsonaro would become the defendant and would have to give up office for 180 days.

However, Bolsonaro could also be charged with a crime of responsibility, the Brazilian equivalent of high crimes and misdemeanors associated with the presidential office. Any Brazilian citizen can accuse the president of this crime. If the lower house accepts an accusation and a two-thirds majority votes to pass it on, Bolsonaro would face impeachment proceedings in the Senate.


Attorney General Aras could press charges depending on the result of the investigation into Bolsonaro

Attorney general plays it safe

Aras, whom Bolsonaro nominated in September 2019, has been criticized for siding too much with the president. He refused to break with the government when Bolsonaro supported protests against social distancing measures during the coronavirus pandemic, when government measures threatened indigenous communities' rights and when decrees made it easier to buy guns and ammunition.

Read more: Brazilian President Bolsonaro sides with anti-democracy protesters

Aras asked the Supreme Court to greenlight investigations into both Bolsonaro and Moro the same day the latter made the meddling accusations. However, Rubens Glezer, a law professor with the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Sao Paulo, said the attorney general was "ambiguous" and left enough leeway to maneuver depending on how the case develops.

"If [after the investigation] things look bad for Bolsonaro, Aras can say he did his part and no one can accuse him of having stayed silent," Glezer said. "If Bolsonaro continues stable and the investigation turns against Moro, [Aras] can show that he was a 'good soldier' [to the government] and pave his way to a vacancy on the Supreme Court."

Deputies' decision uncertain

If Aras presses charges against Bolsonaro, the political context and the level of support for the government will determine the reaction of the lower house.

Maria Paula Dallari Bucci, a law professor at the University of São Paulo, is uncertain that two thirds of the deputies would want to open a criminal trial against Bolsonaro.

"According to the data that we have, the lower house will only be convinced if there is definitive proof," she said.

She added that some parties are looking into starting a parliamentary inquiry committee, which would run parallel to the criminal investigation. It would also look into Moro's allegations and could change the deputies' opinions. Such a committee was started in the case of Fernando Collor, a former president who resigned in 1992 during an impeachment trial that eventually found him guilty of corruption.

"A committee was installed and information, and details were disclosed that made it clearer to the public opinion that the president was incapable of continuing his mandate," Bucci said.

If Aras presses charges against Bolsonaro, the president's only chance to save himself would be to block the process in the lower house, according to Juliano Zaiden Benvindo, a constitutional law professor at University of Brasilia. If the case were to reach the Supreme Court, he believes the justices would side against the president unanimously.

"Bolsonaro is so explicit in his madness from an institutional point of view that, in the Supreme Court, both sides would unite against him," Benvindo said.

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