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In Belarus, currency plunges, IT giants eye exit

Issued on: 31/08/2020

A man holds a historical Belarus flag atan opposition rally in Minsk -- growing protests against President Lukashenko and resulting uncertainty have sent the local currency tumbling Sergei GAPON AFP/File

Minsk (AFP)

The Belarusian currency is tumbling in value and companies in its crucial IT sector are threatening to pull out after weeks of unprecedented protests against authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Belarusians are desperately trawling banks and bureaux de change for foreign currency to salvage at least some of the value of their savings.

"The banks don't have any foreign currency. Staff tell you to wait, that a customer might bring some," said one customer at the country's largest lender, Belarusbank, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The national currency is falling at a record rate, losing more than 10 percent of its value against the euro and the dollar in the last month due to uncertainty over the deepening political standoff and fears of an economic crisis.

Over the last year, it has fallen 27 percent against the dollar and 33 percent against the euro.

- 'Scoundrels' -

In recent days, numerous Telegram accounts widely followed by the opposition have urged people to buy foreign currency to destabilise the ruble and therefore Lukashenko's regime.

They have also encouraged people to boycott the giant state enterprises that are the bulwarks of Lukashenko's Soviet-style economy and buy from private companies.

The president, re-elected in disputed polls on August 9, on Thursday condemned "scoundrels" who are "calling for destabilising the financial market."

"We will not allow the national currency to collapse," he vowed at a meeting on state enterprises, in comments reported by his press service.

Independent analyst Alexander Vasilyev acknowledged that some people were selling rubles "as a sign of protest" but said the amount involved was not enough "to significantly affect the exchange rate."

The mood of dissatisfaction has also extended to the country's strong IT sector, one of Belarus's few success stories.

It is angry that the government has attempted to quell protests by repeatedly cutting off online access and raiding offices of internet giants, seen by Lukashenko as playing a role in the protest movement.

More than 2,000 people working in the IT sector have signed an open letter calling for new elections and an end to political violence and internet shutdowns, even threatening to move out of the country.

- Closed offices -

Russian internet giant Yandex had its Minsk offices searched by armed law enforcement officers in mid-August.

It responded by closing its work space in the capital and transferring all of its approximately 300 staff to remote working.

Yandex has said that some employees have left Minsk but has not confirmed reports that it is beginning to move staff out of the country.

The Viber messaging app said on Twitter that it temporarily closed its office in Minsk earlier in the month due to "the safety concerns of our staff" and "internet issues."

The office reopened last week, it said.

The political crisis caused by Lukashenko's re-election amid accusations of vote-rigging has also hit sectors of the economy with a high level of state intervention.

This comes as Russia has cut down on its largesse towards its smaller neighbour reliant on subsidised energy.

"Strikes in key sectors could further erode growth prospects, which were already weakened by oil supply disruptions and the pandemic," Fitch analysts said in a note.

They estimated that GDP would contract by five percent in 2020.

Workers at tractor, heavy machinery and potash plants -- seen as Lukashenko's political heartland -- have downed tools and joined protests, shaking the authorities.

The walk-outs have died down in recent days as workers have been threatened with dismissal and strike leaders have been detained.

But Fitch said last week that strikes at the potash mines of Belaruskali, the world's largest producer, could lead to a reduction in the country's exports.

© 2020 AFP

Huge protest on Belarus leader’s birthday demands he resign
By YURAS KARMANAU

1 of 8
A woman kneels in front of a riot police line as they block Belarusian opposition supporters rally in the center of Minsk, Belarus, Sunday, Aug. 30, 2020. Opposition supporters whose protests have convulsed the country for two weeks aim to hold a march in the capital of Belarus. (AP Photo)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Tens of thousands of demonstrators rallied Sunday in the Belarusian capital of Minsk to begin the fourth week of daily protests demanding that the country’s authoritarian president resign.

The protests began after an Aug. 9 presidential election that protesters say was rigged but that election officials say gave President Alexander Lukashenko a sixth term in office.

Protesters initially tried to gather at Independence Square in Minsk, but barriers and riot police blocked it off. They then streamed down one of the capital’s main avenues, past hulking olive-green prisoner transport vehicles. Police detained some marchers and forced them into the transports.


Police said 125 people were arrested, but Ales Bilyatsky of the Viasna human rights organization said more than 200 were detained.

The marchers, chanting “Freedom!” and “Resign!” eventually reached the outskirts of the presidential palace, which was blocked off by shield-bearing riot police. There were no official figures on the crowd size, but some opposition sources claimed it exceeded 100,000.


The widespread protests arose after the election that officials say gave President Alexander Lukashenko a landslide 80% win over his main challenger, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a former teacher and the wife of a popular jailed blogger.

Lukashenko, in office since 1994, has been defiant but beleaguered, unable to put down largest, most sustained wave of protests yet in this Eastern European nation of 9.5 million people. He has refused to rerun the election, which both the European Union and the United States have said was not free or fair, and also refused offers to help mediate the situation from Baltic nations.



Lukashenko says he has reached an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Russia will send in security help if asked. But Russia has appeared hesitant to get involved deeply in the Belarus unrest.

Putin and Lukashenko talked by phone on Sunday, but a Kremlin statement gave few details of the conversation, other than noting that Putin congratulated the Belarusian leader on his 66th birthday.

Tsikhanouskaya, who fled to Lithuania after the election because of concerns about her security, gave a withering acknowledgement of the birthday.

“I wish him to overcome his fears, look truth in the eye, listen to the voice of the people and go away,” she told The Associated Press by telephone from the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.



Lukashenko has consistently blamed Western countries for encouraging the protests and contends that NATO is repositioning forces along Belarus’ western border with the aim of intervening in the unrest, a claim the alliance strongly denies.

On Sunday, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said it was conducting military exercises in the Grodno region, near the borders of Poland and Lithuania, simulating defending against an invasion.

Belarus on Saturday cracked down hard on foreign news media that have been covering the protests, deporting at least four Russian journalists, including two from The Associated Press. The government also revoked the accreditation of many Belarusian journalists working for foreign new agencies, including journalists working for AP.

Tens of thousands march in Belarus capital despite massive police presence

Issued on: 30/08/2020 -

Opposition supporters take part in a rally against presidential election results near the Independence Palace in Minsk, Belarus August 30, 2020. Tut.

T.BYext by:FRANCE 24Follow|

Video by:FRANCE 24Follow

Tens f thousands of opposition supporters marched through the Belarusian capital of Minsk on Sunday calling for an end to strongman Alexander Lukashenko's rule, despite heavily armed police and troops blocking streets and detaining dozens of demonstrators.

Protests have now entered a third week since the disputed presidential election on August 9 in which Lukashenko claimed victory, while opposition rival Svetlana Tikhanovskaya said she was the true winner.

An AFP journalist and local media estimated that more than 100,000 people came to Sunday's protest, equalling the scale of the rallies on previous weekends, the largest demonstrations the country has seen since independence from the USSR.

Some protesters gathered around Lukashenko's official residence in the centre of Minsk, the Palace of Independence, which was guarded by a cordon of riot police and special forces with helmets and anti-riot shields, equipped with water cannons.

Sunday's rally fell on Lukashenko's 66th birthday and online opposition messages urged people to bring flowers and "creative" handmade gifts reflecting their attitude to the authoritarian leader.

Some chanted "Get out! We're coming for you on your birthday!"

Others held quirky items aloft including a cardboard model toilet with a sign urging Lukashenko to "flush" himself away. Others carried a model coffin with "Dictatorship" written on the side and a picture of a giant cockroach, the nickname used by the opposition for Lukashenko.

There were chants of "The rat is you and we're the people," reported local news site Nasha Niva, after Lukashenko referred to protesters as "rats."

Thousands also held similar rallies in other Belarusian cities, including Brest and Grodno, local media reported.

Protesters face off against riot police

The Minsk Peace March started at 2pm local time (1100 GMT) with police beginning to detain protesters minutes afterwards, as people headed for the central Independence Square.

Columns of protesters walked through the centre, carrying placards and the country's historic red-and-white flag, many with children in tow, as cars honked horns in support.

Some linked arms to march along the middle of a main street and attempted to remonstrate with black-clad riot police.

The Belarusian interior ministry said police detained 125 in the first two hours, Interfax-Zapad news agency reported. They faced a charge of taking part in illegal mass protests.

Protesters faced off against interior troops and riot police, kitted out in helmets and bullet-proof vests and armed with guns and batons, who used anti-riot shields to block people's passage.

Local media posted video of military vehicles driving towards the Independence Square

Protesters in groups moved in various directions around the city, attempting to bypass police blocks.

Machine-gun-toting troops wearing balaclavas and without identifying badges took up positions around a war memorial that has been a rallying point for the protests.

Marchers began moving there and some stood on the grass nearby. The atmosphere remained relaxed and festive, with a violinist playing a protest song and people dancing to rave music.

'Morally bankrupt'

The latest rally came amid a harsh crackdown on media freedoms.

On Saturday the Belarusian foreign ministry withdrew accreditation for numerous journalists working for international media, including AFP, the BBC and Radio Liberty / Radio Free Europe, with a government official citing "counter-terrorism" grounds.

Tikhanovskaya, who has fled to the safety of Lithuania, on Saturday said that this step was "another sign that this regime is morally bankrupt" and resorting to "fear and intimidation."

France, Germany and the United States also condemned the crackdown on journalists. "The arbitrary measures taken by the Belarusian authorities against journalists violate press freedom," French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in a statement on Sunday.

"I call on the Belarusian authorities to reverse these measures without delay," he added, saying that the crisis in Belarus requires "the establishment of an inclusive national dialogue" and that "repressive measures against journalists cannot help".

Germany will summon the Belarus ambassador after Minsk revoked accreditations of foreign media reporters covering the country's anti-government protests, a government source told AFP on Sunday.

"The Belarus ambassador will be summoned to the foreign affairs ministry," the source said. German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass has already condemned the moves against the foreign media as "unacceptable".

European leaders have urged Lukashenko to launch dialogue with the opposition and Tikhanovskaya's supporters have set up a Coordination Council to organise a peaceful transfer of power.

The Belarusian authorities have detained several members and hauled in others for questioning, including Nobel Literature Prize-winner Svetlana Alexievich.

Lukashenko spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin shortly before the protest began with the Kremlin leader wishing him a happy birthday.

The Kremlin said they agreed to meet in Moscow "in the next weeks" and on their intentions to further strengthen Belarus-Russia's alliance," after Putin this week vowed military support for Lukashenko if needed.

Putin said Russia had prepared a reserve of law enforcement officers to deploy if the situation got "out of control."

Reporters covering the protests have been detained and police have confiscated memory cards from photographers' cameras.

The authorities have also shut off Internet access repeatedly, making it harder for independent media to report from the scene.

On Sunday, more than 360 Belarusian sports figures including several Olympic athletes signed an open letter calling for new elections to be held according to international standards and condemning police violence.

Lukashenko ordered brutal police tactics following the elections that led to the death of three men while hundreds were wounded. More than 7,000 people were detained.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

UH OH
Key air monitors offline after Laura hits Louisiana gas hub

By ELLEN KNICKMEYER

1 of 6
A chemical fire burns at a facility during the aftermath of Hurricane Laura Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, near Lake Charles, La. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Hazardous emissions from a chlorine plant fire, abruptly shuttered oil and gas refineries and still-to-be assessed plant damage are seeping into the air after Hurricane Laura, regulators say, but some key state and federal monitors to alert the public of air dangers remain offline in Louisiana.

While the chlorine fire was being monitored as a potential health threat, Louisiana environmental spokesman Greg Langley says he knows of no other major industrial health risks from the storm in the state. He said restoring power and water was a bigger priority.




But some Louisiana residents and environmental advocates say a shortage of solid government information on the state of the air is typical. With dozens of petroleum, petrochemical and other industrial sites, Louisiana is home to communities with some of the nation’s highest cancer risks, according to Environmental Protection Agency rankings.



In the Lake Charles area, with refineries, a major natural gas project and other industrial sites, residents “generally don’t get any information except what the industry puts out,” said Carla Chrisco, a Lake Charles lawyer who evacuated the city before Laura.



The area was among the hardest hit Thursday. Laura struck parts of the Texas-Louisiana coast with up to 150-mph (240 kph) winds and a storm surge that Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards said rose as high as 15 feet (4.5 meters).

An electrical outage that deprived hundreds of thousands of people of power and is expected to last weeks has knocked offline the state’s stationary air monitors in the storm-battered communities.

Oil and gas facilities that the U.S. Department of Energy says account for 13% of U.S. refinery capacity shut down as a precaution along an industrialized roughly 60-mile stretch from Port Arthur, Texas, to Lake Charles before the hurricane.

The abrupt shutdowns, and eventual restarts, for hurricanes typically mean the emission of up to millions of pounds of additional cancer-causing soot, heavy metals and other hazards from refinery smokestacks.

A fire at a plant making swimming pool chemicals in Westlake, part of the larger Lake Charles area, since Thursday has on occasion sent enough chlorine into the air to be detected by emergency workers’ hand-held monitors, Langley said. Chlorine levels were not high enough to warrant evacuation, officials said, although residents of the industrial area around the plant were under orders to shelter inside their homes for days after Laura’s landfall.



With debris clogging roads, industry still is assessing damage along the Texas-Louisiana coast. No word of any major industrial threat other than the chlorine plant fire had emerged by three days after Laura. After Hurricane Harvey hit Houston in 2017, confirmation of more than a hundred toxic spills into the air, land and water took days, weeks and months to become public, and many were never investigated.

“In a storm of this magnitude, there’s going to be some leaks, there’s going to be some spills,” Langley said Saturday. “We’re still in the process of assessing that. I don’t know of anything personally that’s major.”

Texas has requested the EPA’s help overall looking for any so-far undiscovered hazardous air releases after the hurricane, but Louisiana, with the exception of the chlorine plant fire, has not, EPA spokesman James Hewitt said.

“EPA stands ready to assist states and local governments who need help, and have already done so following Hurricane Laura,” Hewitt said in an email.

Texas made a formal request for air-monitoring help through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Hewitt said. As a result, EPA has sent a bus-mounted mobile lab to the Houston area to start monitoring and assessing air for any hazardous emission levels, he said.

Texas also has asked the EPA to deploy a monitoring plane over Port Arthur, where the aircraft will collect infrared images and air readings to help track any damage and releases from the storm damage.

“Information will be provided to the public as it becomes available which follows our standard procedures,” the EPA spokesman said.



By Saturday, EPA contractors had left the area of the chlorine plant fire, said Langley, the Louisiana environmental spokesman. An environmental consulting firm would continue to do all air monitoring, he said.

State officials also would be flying over the damaged area to look for obvious leaks, sheens, wayward drums and any other signs of industrial threats, Langley said. “We have a lot of experience in hurricane response, looking for that,” he said.

Christina Stephens, a spokeswoman for the Louisiana governor, said Sunday that in addition to hand-held monitors, Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality also has mobile air labs, although it so far has not deployed them since the storm.

The agency “has the experienced team and the resources ... to assess and respond to environmental issues in the aftermath,” Stephens said. If the state also needs EPA resources, “we will not hesitate to call on them.”

But some environmental and public health advocates single out Louisiana for what they say is too lax vigilance over industrial threats to the public, even in the best of times.

Louisiana’s response since Laura “sounds like it’s about what it usually is. Not robust is putting it kindly,” said Anne Rolfes in New Orleans, founder of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, an environmental group.

People are worried about the possibility of toxic releases from the storm, Rolfes said. But over the years, she said, Louisiana residents have come to have “tremendously low expectations, for these institutions that are supposed to be protecting us.”

——

Knickmeyer reported from Oklahoma City. Associated Press writer Sudhin Thanawala in Atlanta contributed to this report.

___

This story has been corrected to reflect that the name of the Louisiana environmental group is the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, not The Bucket Brigades.

Lebanon to mark dismal centenary amid fears for survival

Issued on: 31/08/2020 

Though Lebanon flourished in the 1960s, its history has largely been a succession of political crises punctuated by rounds of violence. Now its worst economic crisis in decades has doubled poverty to more than half the population JOSEPH EID AFP/File

Beirut (AFP)

Mourning the Beirut blast disaster, ruined by economic meltdown and hostage to a dysfunctional political system, Lebanon marks its centenary Tuesday unsure whether it will survive as a state.

There will be no ceremony to commemorate 100 years since French mandate authorities on September 1, 1920 proclaimed the creation of Greater Lebanon incorporating mainly Muslim former Ottoman regions.

Instead, French President Emmanuel Macron will return to the same iconic Ottoman-era building where it was declared to meet representatives of a political class desperately clinging on to its privileges to convince them to accept essential reforms to save the country.


"This is the greatest crisis Lebanon has ever witnessed," said 87-year-old Rose Ghulam, whose home was destroyed by the massive August 4 explosion at Beirut's port.

"It's even worse than the war" that rocked Lebanon from 1975 to 1990, she said.

"Our leaders have no conscience. They're not honest. How can they possibly rebuild our homes? They all need to be replaced," said the former school teacher, who was born under French mandate.

The massive explosion of a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate at the port killed at least 188 people, wounded thousands and sowed destruction across large parts of the capital.

For many Lebanese who have taken to the streets since October 2019 to protest what they view as the corruption and incompetence of the political class, it was a point of no return.

- 'Breaking point' -

Political leaders, who were aware the fertiliser was being stored at the port, have refused to claim responsibility and have instead been seen to be passing the buck.

Lebanon's civil society says the blast is just the latest in a long line of official failings.

The protest movement accuses the political class of having failed, in the three decades since the civil war, to build a functioning state and implement the rule of law.

"Today the political system is at the end of its tether," said Lebanese academic Karim El Mufti.

Though Lebanon flourished in the 1960s, its history has largely been a succession of political crises punctuated by rounds of violence.

Now its worst economic crisis in decades has doubled poverty to more than half the population in just several months, and is chipping away at the middle class.

"We've reached breaking point," said Mufti, a political science and international law professor.

Although he dismissed the likelihood of civil war, Mufti said he expected the country to "disintegrate".

"Everybody says that we can't continue like this, even political actors, but they are trapped. This system acts like a mouse trap."

One of the key culprits, he said, was Lebanon's deep-rooted political sectarianism, under which the top state and government posts are divided up between its myriad religious sects.

This system, inherited from the Ottoman era, was supposed to be scrapped under the 1989 Taef Accord that ended the civil war, but never was.

Instead it has been pushed to extremes, leading to political deadlock and rendering impossible even the naming of lower-ranking bureaucrats without the accord of politicians from all religious communities.

"Lebanon risks disappearing," Mufti said, echoing similar warnings from France.

- 'Minutes to midnight' -

Deeply fragmented, Lebanon has long been a proxy battleground, most recently being caught in a tug-of-war between the United States and Iran.

Lebanese historian Dima de Clerck said that throughout Lebanon's history "foreign interference has always existed, and we have a culture of heightened cronyism".

"We are not a unified people, we always need a foreign sponsor to fight the internal enemy."

As an example, she pointed to "the absence of a national collective memory to the benefit of those memories upheld by the different sectarian groups".

This explains why, until now, "we don't have unified history books" in schools, she said, and Lebanese children are educated through the lens of their community instead.

But for many, the multi-confessional street movement since last October has given birth to a national sentiment that transcends political or religious affiliations.

Mufti said Lebanon needed "a new social contract".

"But no one holds the keys to this -- not the political parties, not the various opposition movements, nor the international community," he said.

Emilie Sueur, co-editor-in-chief of Lebanese newspaper L'Orient-Le Jour, warned that action is needed before it was too late.

"It is just several minutes to midnight on the clock of the end of Lebanon. But it is not midnight yet."

© 2020 AFP

Turning 100: Lebanon, a nation branded by upheaval, crises

By BASSEM MROUE 

1 of 12FILE - In this Oct. 24,1983 file photo, rescuers continue to probe the wreckage of the U.S. Marine barracks a day after a suicide truck bomb near Beirut airport, Lebanon. It was a century ago on Sept. 1, 1920, that a French general, Henri Gouraud, stood on the porch of the French residence in Beirut surrounded by local politicians and religious leaders and declared the State of Greater Lebanon - the precursor to the modern state of Lebanon. (AP Photo/Zouki, File)

BEIRUT (AP) — It was a century ago on Sept. 1, 1920, that a French general, Henri Gouraud, stood on the porch of a Beirut palace surrounded by local politicians and religious leaders and declared the State of Greater Lebanon — the precursor of the modern state of Lebanon.

The current French president, Emmanuel Macron, is visiting Lebanon to mark the occasion, 100 years later. But the mood could not be more somber.

Lebanon has been hit by a series of catastrophes, including a financial crash. On Aug. 4, a massive explosion at Beirut’s port killed at least 190 people and injured thousands — the culmination of decades of accumulated crises, endemic corruption and mismanagement by an entrenched ruling class.

Facing potential bankruptcy and total collapse, many Lebanese are marking the centennial with a feeling that their experiment as a nation has failed and questioning their willingness to stay in the crisis-riddled country.

“I am 53 years old and I don’t feel I had one stable year in this country,” said prominent Lebanese writer Alexandre Najjar.

Like others from his generation, Najjar lived through the 1975-1990 civil war, when Beirut’s name became synonymous with hostages, car bombings and chaos.

He was a teenager when Israel invaded Beirut in the summer of 1982, imposing a suffocating siege of the capital for three months, and a young man when Christian militias turned their guns on each other in 1989. When former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in a massive Beirut truck bombing in 2005, Najjar was in his late 30s.

The following year, Israel and Hezbollah engaged in a month-long war. In between, countless other conflicts, bouts of sectarian fighting and other disasters plagued one generation after another, leading to waves of Lebanese emigration.

But the Aug. 4 explosion, says Najjar, was the “peak of a failed state” — proof that authorities cannot even provide basic public safety.

It wasn’t supposed to be that way.

Following the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Lebanon fell under the French mandate, starting in 1920. France governed for 23 years until the country gained independence as the Lebanese Republic.

Home to 18 different religious sects, it was hailed as a model of pluralism and coexistence. The nation settled on an unwritten sectarian arrangement, initially seen as the guarantee of stability but which many Lebanese now consider a curse: the president would always be Christian, the prime minister Sunni Muslim and the parliament speaker Shiite Muslim, with other posts similarly divvied up.


In the 1950s, under pro-Western President Camille Chamoun, the economy flourished thanks to booming tourism and cash from oil-rich Arab nations. But his presidency ended with the outbreak of Lebanon’s first civil war in 1958, which lasted for several months and saw U.S. troops land to help Chamoun.

Lebanon saw its heyday in the 1960s and early 1970s, when the country became a regional center for the rich and famous who flew from around the world to gamble at the Casino Du Liban, or to attend concerts in the ancient northeastern city of Baalbek by international artists such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Soviet ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, as well as famous Arab singers like Egypt’s Umm Kalthoum and Lebanon’s own Fairouz.

Palestinian militants during this time had begun launching attacks against Israel from Lebanese territory, splitting the Lebanese. Disaster struck again in 1975, with the start of the 15-year civil war, eventually pitting Lebanon’s sects against each other. That conflict killed nearly 150,000 people. Syrian troops moved in, and Israel invaded twice — once in 1978, then again in 1982, in an assault that forced late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and his fighters to leave Lebanon.

U.S. interests were repeatedly attacked, most notably two bombings of the American Embassy and the 1983 Marine barracks bombing in Beirut that killed 241 U.S. service members, the deadliest attack on the Marines since the battle of Iwo Jima in 1945. On the same day, 58 French paratroopers were killed by a second attacker who struck their installation in Beirut.

The country also had two presidents and two prime ministers assassinated, in addition to dozens of other politicians, legislators, journalists and activists who were killed.

Israel’s 1982 invasion and the attacks on the Americans marked the rise of what later became the militant group Hezbollah.

After the civil war ended in 1990, the Iranian-backed Shiite militia was the only one allowed to keep its weapons because it was fighting Israeli occupation forces in southern Lebanon. When Israel withdrew from the south in 2000, Hezbollah kept its powerful fighting force, depicting itself as Lebanon’s defender. It fought Israeli forces to a draw in 2006, and tensions remain high along the border.

Today, Hezbollah and its allies, led by President Michel Aoun, dominate Lebanese politics and control a majority in parliament.

But the Lebanese are deeply divided over Hezbollah. While many in the Shiite community are fiercely loyal to the group, and many non-Shiites sympathize with its anti-Israel stance, others increasingly see it as imposing Iran’s will on the country.

Many civil war-era warlords today head political factions, holding onto posts for themselves or their families and controlling powerful local business interests. The factions pass out positions in government ministries and public institutions to followers or carve out business sectors for them, ensuring their backing.

Corruption has soared over the past two decades, and the sectarian-based patronage system has left Lebanon with crumbling infrastructure, a bloated public sector and one of the world’s highest debt ratios, at 170% of GDP — topped by a ruling class that amassed fortunes.

Last October, nationwide protests erupted over the worsening economy, and the financial juggling act that had been the basis of Lebanon’s prosperity since 1990 collapsed into the most severe economic crisis of the country’s modern history, made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.

“Lebanon is in its worst period over the past 100 years,” said legislator Marwan Hamadeh. “We are in the worst stage, economically, politically and even when it comes to national unity.”

“We are currently occupied by Iran and its missiles,” added Hamadeh, who was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt in 2004 that he blames on Hezbollah.

Historian Johnny Mezher says that to solve its problems, Lebanon could start by adopting a law that boosts national identity rather than loyalty to one’s sect and helps ensure qualifications determine who gets state posts, rather than sectarian connections.

“Religious figures should be prevented from meddling in politics,” he said.

Even after seven decades of Lebanese independence, France still wields strong influence on the tiny Mediterranean nation.

Two days after the port blast — with Lebanese leaders totally absent — Macron visited Beirut and toured one of the most heavily damaged neighborhoods to a hero’s welcome, with some chanting “Vive La France.”

More than 60,000 signed a petition to place Lebanon under French mandate for 10 years, an idea Macron firmly dismissed. “It’s up to you to write your history,” he told the crowds.

On his return trip, Macron will plant a tree in Beirut on Tuesday to mark the centenary and meet with Lebanese officials to push them toward forming a government and enacting reforms.

“There is no doubt we were expecting the 100th anniversary to be different. We did not expect this year to be catastrophic to this level,” said Najjar, who is a lawyer, poet and author of about 30 books in French, including one that tells the story of Beirut during the 20th Century.

“There is still hope,” he said. “We have hit rock bottom and things cannot get worse.”

Patriot Prayer no stranger to protests in Northwest

By GILLIAN FLACCUS
 In this June 30, 2018, file photo, Joey Gibson, left, leader of Patriot Prayer, participates in the group's rally in Portland, Ore. The man who was fatally shot in Portland on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020, as supporters of President Donald Trump skirmished with Black Lives Matter protesters was a supporter of a right-wing group called Patriot Prayer and a good friend of its founder, Gibson. (Mark Graves/The Oregonian via AP, File)


PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The man who was fatally shot in Portland, Oregon, as supporters of President Donald Trump skirmished with Black Lives Matter protesters was a supporter of a right-wing group called Patriot Prayer, which doesn’t have a big national footprint but is well known in the Pacific Northwest.

Patriot Prayer’s founder, Joey Gibson, has held pro-Trump rallies repeatedly in Portland and other cities since 2016. The events have drawn counterprotesters from around the region and had heightened tensions in Portland long before Black Lives Matter demonstrators began nearly 100 days of nightly protests over the police killing of George Floyd.

The shooting victim was identified by Gibson as Aaron “Jay” Danielson of Portland. Photos taken of the body show he was wearing a Patriot Prayer hat. Police have released few details and pleaded with the public on Sunday to come forward with any information about the shooting.

Danielson also went by the name Jay Bishop, according to a statement on Patriot Prayer’s Facebook page.

A man is treated after being shot in Portland, Oregon. He was pronounced dead and was identified as Aaron "Jay" Danielson. (AP Photo/Paula Bronstein)

Gibson, a one-time Senate candidate, founded Patriot Prayer in 2016. In past interviews with The Associated Press, Gibson has said he and his group are not a hate group and simply want to exercise their freedom of speech without interference from left-wing groups or protesters.

The group became a prominent presence in Portland in the summer of 2017, when Gibson organized a large rally in the city less than a week after a white supremacist fatally stabbed two men who had come to the defense of two Black teenagers — including one wearing a Muslim head-covering — on a light-rail train.

The defendant Jeremy Christian, who was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences earlier this year, had attended a Patriot Prayer rally several months before, but was kicked out by organizers for flashing Nazi hand signs.

Patriot Prayer held several other marches and rallies in Portland in 2017 and 2018 and Gibson was arrested for felony rioting last summer on a charge related to a brawl that broke out between the group’s supporters and left-wing activists at a pub after a May Day march in the city.

He has pleaded not guilty; a judge this week denied his motion for a change of venue at trial, according to court records.

In a video that was live-streamed on Facebook last summer after he was released on bail, Gibson urged his supporters to “show up one hundred-fold” at a rally scheduled for the following day in Portland that was organized by the Proud Boys — a group that’s been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center — and other right-wing groups such as the Three Percenters and the American Guard.

Gibson told the AP he was again present late Saturday in Portland when a caravan of about 600 Trump supporters drove through the city, sparking clashes in the streets with Black Lives Matter demonstrators.

Supporters of President Donald Trump listen to speeches before Saturday's caravan. (AP Photo/Paula Bronstein)

Gibson did not appear to have a part in organizing the caravan, however. In a video on Twitter, organizer Alex Kyzik said before the rally that those who attended should not openly carry their weapons.

The same person organized a similar rally in Boise on Aug. 22. There were no public records available for a man named Alex Kyzik in Boise, Idaho, and it was unclear if that was his real name.

Videos taken before the shooting show people squaring off for fist fights and Trump supporters firing bear spray and paintballs at counterprotesters, who in return throw objects at the trucks and attempt to block their progress by standing in intersections.

Liza Durasenko, 16, prays during a rally in support of President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Paula Bronstein)

Mayor Ted Wheeler said when Trump supporters want to come to Portland to rally, there is nothing the city can do to prevent them.

“It’s no secret to anybody that I personally am not a Trump supporter, but I will defend to the death the right of a Trump supporter to stand outside my apartment and non-violently demonstrate in support of their candidate. That’s core to American democracy,” Wheeler said.

“So when people say they want to come into the city in a caravan supporting their presidential candidate, we cannot tell them no. They have constitutional rights to be here — rights, which I embrace and support. The violence, however, is the problem.”

____

Follow Gillian Flaccus on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gflaccus

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All migrants moved off Banksy-funded rescue vessel stranded in Mediterranean

Issued on: 30/08/2020 -

The Louise Michel rescue vessel with people rescued on board after operations in the Mediterranean, 70 miles southwest Malta on August 29, 2020. © Santi Palacios, AP Photo

All of the migrants on board a rescue ship funded by British street artist Banksy have been transferred to other vessels, the team behind the mission said after their pink-and-white ship carrying more than 200 passengers sent an urgent call for help.

An Italian patrol vessel rushed to the stranded MV Louise Michel in the Mediterranean and took in 49 of the most vulnerable people on Saturday, the coastguard said.

The remaining migrants on board, around 150 people, were received by a vessel chartered by German NGO Sea Watch and medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF), according to tweets from both organisations and the Louise Michel's crew.

"For those most recently embarked, medical assessment is ongoing, with the clinic full & #MSF medics treating people for fuel burns, dehydration, hypothermia & traumatic injuries," the MSF Sea Twitter account said of the situation on board the Sea-Watch 4.

The German-flagged Louise Michel had said it needed aid after helping a boat carrying at least one dead migrant in the sea that divides Africa and Europe.

#LouiseMichel just transferred all remaining guests onto #SeaWatch4, who now have about 350 people on board. It's not over: We demand a Place of Safety for all survivors, now. pic.twitter.com/KjUEG6yp4A— LouiseMichel (@MVLouiseMichel) August 29, 2020

Its crew said the 31-metre (101-foot) ship had become overcrowded and unable to move, warning that some of the migrants had fuel burns and had been at sea for days.

"Given the danger of the situation, the coastguard sent a patrol boat to Lampedusa which took in 49 people deemed the most fragile, including 32 women, 13 children and four men," said a coastguard statement.


New Banksy-funded migrant rescue ship weathers 'very dramatic moment' in Mediterranean
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The rescued migrants later said three people had died at sea before the arrival of the Louise Michel.

Banksy, who keeps his identity a secret, explained in an online video that he had bought the boat to help migrants "because EU authorities deliberately ignore distress calls from non-Europeans".

'Lack of reaction'

Sea-Watch 4, which has a clinic on board and is itself in search of a host port, said it was now carrying 350 people after sailing for four hours to help the Louise Michel.

Its crew decided to take action "in the face of the lack of reaction" from the authorities, a Sea Watch spokesman told AFP.

The #SeaWatch4 has completed the transshipment of about 150 people rescued in recent days by the #LouiseMichel.
We now have ~350 people on board who need to disembark in a safe port as soon as possible.#DefendSolidarity pic.twitter.com/ZIMGkwBlGi— Sea-Watch International (@seawatch_intl) August 29, 2020

The Louise Michel vessel's crew of 10 had already rescued 89 people from a rubber boat in distress on Thursday.

They had tweeted that there were a total 219 people on board and that they had requested assistance from both the Italian and Maltese authorities.

The boat -- a former French customs vessel named after 19th-century French anarchist Louise Michel -- was around 90 kilometres (55 miles) southeast of Lampedusa on Saturday, according to the global ship tracking website Marine Traffic.

It features a Banksy artwork depicting a girl in a life vest holding a heart-shaped safety buoy.

Its crew is "made up of European activists with long experience in search and rescue operations" and is captained by German human rights activist Pia Klemp, who has also captained other such rescue vessels, The Guardian newspaper reported.

Thousands of people are thought to have died making the dangerous trip across the Mediterranean to flee conflict, repression and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.

According to the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, attempts by migrant boats to cross the Mediterranean into Europe have increased this year, up 91 percent from January to July over last year's figures, to 14,481 people.

'Anti-fascist fight'

Banksy's involvement in the rescue mission goes back to September 2019 when he sent Klemp an email asking how he could contribute.

Klemp, who initially thought it was a joke, told the paper she believed she was chosen because of her political stance, The Guardian said."I don't see sea rescue as a humanitarian action, but as part of an anti-fascist fight," she told the paper.

This month, humanitarian organisations said they would resume migrant rescues in the Mediterranean Sea, where none have operated since the rescue ship Ocean Viking docked in Italy in early July.

Before the Ocean Viking's last mission, rescue operations in the Mediterranean had been suspended for months because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Meanwhile in the French port city of Marseille, 30 protesters called on Italian authorities to release the Ocean Viking, which was detained by the Italian coastguard over technical irregularities.

(AFP)

French magazine’s depiction of lawmaker as a slave in chains sparks outrage

Issued on: 30/08/2020 - 09:38

Lawmaker Danielle Obono at the National Assembly in Paris on March 3, 2020.

 © Ludovic Marin, AFP/Archives

Text by:FRANCE 24Follow|

Video by:Solange MOUGIN BELOW

An ultra-conservative French magazine prompted outrage on Saturday by portrayed a Black female lawmaker as a slave in chains, earning condemnation nationwide as well as from French President Emmanuel Macron.

The French presidency said Macron called Danielle Obono from the far-left party France Unbowed and "expressed his clear condemnation of any form of racism".

The magazine Valeurs Actuelles (roughly translated as Current Values), which caters to readers on the right and far right, showed Obono in chains with an iron collar on her neck to illustrate a seven-page story.

Obono tweeted in response that apparently people can still write "racist sh*t" illustrated by images of a French MP depicted as a slave.

"The extreme right – odious, stupid and cruel. In brief, like itself," she added.

Il paraît 'Qu'on-Peut-Pu-Rien-Dire' #BienPensance. Heureusement on peut encore écrire de la merde raciste dans un torchon illustrée par les images d'une députée française noire africaine repeinte en esclave...
L'extrême-droite, odieuse, bête et cruelle. Bref, égale à elle-même. pic.twitter.com/EupKSXZ207— Députée Obono (@Deputee_Obono) August 28, 2020

Prime Minister Jean Castex said it was a "revolting publication that deserves clear condemnation" and told Obono that she had the government's support.

"I share the indignation of lawmaker Obono," he said.

Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti noted that even hateful speech is legal, although worthy of condemnation. "One is free to write a putrid novel within the limits fixed by the law. One is free to hate it. I hate it."

The anti-racism body SOS Racisme deplored a rise in hate speech against African and Arab politicians and said it was mulling what legal measures could be taken to counter this.

The magazine, however, denied it was racist, saying the story concerning Obono was "a work of fiction ... but never nasty".

An official from France's far-right National Rally party (formerly the National Front), Wallerand de Saint-Just, said the story was "in absolute bad taste".

France saw a series of anti-racism protests in June and July – including demonstrations against its history of colonialism and police brutality – in part inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and George Floyd's death in the United States.

France has also had its own high-profile cases of Black and Arab men who have died in police custody, notably Cedric Chouviat and Adama Traoré. Traoré, 24, died in July 2016 following his arrest in circumstances that remain unclear. Chouviat, 42, died two days after he was stopped by police in January for a traffic violation, an incident that quickly escalated. Three officers have since been charged.


Chouviat could be heard in video footage saying, "I'm suffocating" seven times as police hold him down

>> ‘Black and treated as such’: France’s anti-racism protests expose myth of colour-blind Republic

Macron, seen as a political centrist, raised eyebrows last year when he gave an interview to Valeurs Actuelles and praised it as a "good magazine".

He has pledged to root out racism but also said France would not take down statues of figures linked to the colonial era or the slave trade despite recent calls from protesters and anti-racism activists to do so.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Iranian women go online to break silence over sexual abuse
Issued on: 29/08/2020

Iranian women riding a bus in Tehran. © AFP file photo
Text by:Bahar MAKOOI

Dozens of Iranian women have taken to social media to share their stories of sexual harassment and rape, breaking years of silence and shedding light on a legal system that is weighted against the victims


For 14 years, Sara Omatali kept her personal trauma under wraps, unable to speak out about the ordeal she suffered in Tehran in the summer of 2006. The former journalist, who now lives in the United States, was sexually assaulted while interviewing a prominent artist in the Iranian capital. A week ago, she finally decided to break her silence on Twitter.

Omatali is among dozens of Iranian women who have recently taken to social media to denounce the sexual harassment and abuse they suffered. Some have used the #MeToo hashtag, coined in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.


نوشتن این چند سطر از سخت‌ترین کارهایی است که کرده‌ام. قرار است ماجرایی را بخوانید که ممکن است آدمی را که نزد خیلی‌هایتان فردی خردمند و فرهیخته و داناست و از روشنفکرهای محبوب، به کل زیر سؤال ببرد. این روایت را سال‌ها حمل کرده‌ام و دیگر دلیلی برای حمل مصلحت‌اندیشانه‌شان نمی‌بینم/— Sara Omatali (@SOmatali) August 22, 2020

Omatali was encouraged to speak out after reading the account of another young woman who said she was raped three years ago by a Tehran socialite. In her account posted on Instagram in mid-August, the woman said she woke up naked after her assailant had drugged and raped her. Her post soon went viral and more than a dozen women have since come forward to claim they were attacked by the same man.

Faced with the backlash, Tehran police arrested the suspect on August 25. In a rare twist, Iranian authorities have encouraged women to come forward and press charges.

"We assure the anonymity of all complaints," said Hossein Rahimi, Tehran's police chief, in remarks carried by the IRNA state news agency.

In recent weeks, other Iranian women have taken to Instagram and Twitter to name their alleged assailants. The accused include a university professor as well as prominent artists, actors and writers.

Several of the victims said they were minors at the time of the abuse. Some, mostly journalists, have dared to speak out without using a pseudonym.

Their accounts have elicited a wave of support on social media. In some cases, lawyers have offered legal advice, mindful that the accusations could turn against the plaintiffs. Some have offered to counsel victims pro bono.

“If you have been raped, you should tell the police you were a virgin before the assault,” read one comment on a victims’ post, according to French daily Le Monde.

Under Iranian law, sexual intercourse before marriage is punishable by 99 lashes and alcohol consumption is also banned.

A biased legal system

The flurry of accounts on social media has helped to crack a long-standing taboo and raise awareness of rampant sexual abuse, Omatali said in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

“In the absence of systematic education about sexual issues in Iran, this group movement improves the atmosphere for a public discussion and creates a precious opportunity for education,” she said.

"All these years I remained silent, as I was afraid of those who would tell me I had no evidence to prove my claim ... but now, I feel that it is below my dignity to stay silent out of fear," the Washington-based educator added on Twitter.

It is not only the personal trauma and the fear of social stigma that force victims into silence. The laws of the Islamic Republic also act as a deterrent for many victims, according to lawyer Mohammad Oliaeifard.

In remarks carried by Persian-language website IranWire, Oliaeifard stressed the difficulty of proving rape in an Iranian court. To be recognised as such, a rape must be confirmed by multiple eyewitnesses and involve penile penetration.

The severity of punishments meted out can also dissuade victims from pressing charges, with convicted rapists in Iran likely to be sentenced to capital punishment.

Le Monde spoke to one accuser of the alleged serial rapist who was arrested in late August and recounted her qualms about the possible consequences of a lawsuit.

“It troubles me that he might end up being executed,” she told the French daily. “I’m against the death penalty, even in cases of rape.”

Iran’s vice-president for women and family affairs, Masoumeh Ebtekar, praised women on Friday for speaking out on sexual assault and called on the judiciary to “forcefully confront” rapists.

“The fact that our girls talk seriously and with intensity about the issue is very valuable, even if it is painful,” Ebtekar was quoted as saying by Borna news agency. The government is currently working on new legislation against sexual violence to present to parliament, she added.

The article was translated from the original in French.

Yes, Hurricane Laura Really Did Tear Down A Confederate Monument

Calcasieu Parish voted to keep the South's Defenders monument in August. Nature disagreed.

Jane LytvynenkoBuzzFeed News Reporter
Posted on August 27, 2020

Ellie Cherryhomes / Getty Images

In Lake Charles, Louisiana, the fate of a Confederate monument was decided by nature.

Hurricane Laura destroyed the South's Defenders monument, which stood on the grounds of a courthouse in Lake Charles.

This summer, amid a national reckoning on Confederate monuments, protesters called for the statue to be moved to a museum, a point of view shared by Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter. The statue was dedicated in 1915, part of a wave of monuments honoring the Confederacy during the Jim Crow era.

"When we think about this Confederate monument, it literally symbolizes white supremacy and enslaved African Americans,” Cary Chavis, who started one of three petitions to remove the statue, told local TV station KPLC in June. “So we have this monument out in front of our courthouse, which is to be a place where people can see justice and fairness and we have a monument that represents slavery in front of it, and that's not something we should ever support."

But on Aug. 13, the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury voted to keep the statue, the Lafayette Daily Advertiser reported.

On Aug. 27, Hurricane Laura reversed that decision.

News of the statue’s destruction spread quickly online, much to the joy of people supporting the removal of the monument.

“The Confederate general has fallen,” tweeted Davante Lewis, a director at Louisiana Budget Project, a watchdog organization.



Davante Lewis@davantelewis
The confederate general has fallen02:13 PM - 27 Aug 2020
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“One might say it's God's Will,” local lawyer Donald Carl Hodge Jr. said on Facebook.

“Really scary images coming out of Louisiana after Laura. But this - where the hurricane took down a confederate statue that elected officials wouldn't - this is almost enough to make you believe in the arc of the moral universe,” tweeted Johns Hopkins assistant professor Christy Thornton.

Hurricane Laura is a Category 4 storm that began tearing through the Gulf Coast overnight, and observers fear it could spell an environmental disaster because of the over 60 refineries and petrochemical plants present in the region.

The hurricane didn’t spare the rest of Lake Charles. The city was hit hard this morning and a chemical fire erupted on the outskirts.


Jane Lytvynenko is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in Toronto, Canada. PGP fingerprint: A088 89E6 2500 AD3C 8081 BAFB 23BA 21F3 81E0 101C.

FDA expands emergency use authorization for remdesivir


Gilead Sciences manufactures remdesivir under the name Veklury. File Photo by Terry Schmitt/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 28 (UPI) -- The Food and Drug Administration on Friday expanded its emergency use authorization for antiviral remdesivir to allow it to be used on all hospitalized patients.

The FDA's previous EUA in May allowed doctors to use the drug on only hospitalized adult and pediatric patients with "severe" COVID-19. Now, all hospitalized patients with suspected or laboratory confirmed coronavirus may receive the drug regardless of the severity of the disease

"The FDA continues to make safe and potentially helpful treatments for COVID-19 available as quickly as possible in order to help patients," FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn said. "The data to support today's action are encouraging. The data show that this treatment has the potential to help even more hospitalized patients who are suffering from the effects of this devastating virus."

Clinic results on the antiviral have been mixed, with one study last week showing the drug doesn't improve outcomes in people hospitalized with moderate pneumonia caused by COVID-19.

RELATED Study: Targeting COVID-19 virus reproduction could halt infections

But research published in May suggested the drug might be effective in people with severe COVID-19.

A study published by the New England Journal of Medicine found that seriously ill patients infected with the new coronavirus had an average recovery time of 11 days after receiving the drug, compared to 15 days for those given a placebo.

Originally developed to treat Ebola virus, remdesivir works by slowing the production of enzymes that play a key role in the replication of viruses, including coronaviruses, according to Gilead Sciences.

RELATED COVID-19 clinical trials lack diversity, researchers say


Gilead manufactures remdesivir under the brand name Veklury.

"As we learn more about COVID-19 and we further establish the efficacy and safety profile of Veklury, we see benefit to making the drug available to patients at earlier stages of the disease," said Merdad Parsey, chief medical officer at Gilead Sciences.

"Today's action by the FDA enables physicians to consider a broader range of eligible patients to potentially receive Veklury."