Migrant workers flee capital as Bangladesh tightens Covid lockdown

Issued on: 27/06/2021 

Tens of thousands of migrant workers fled Bangladesh's capital on the eve of a tightened lockdown Munir Uz zaman AFP

Sreenagar (Bangladesh) (AFP)

Tens of thousands of migrant workers fled Bangladesh's capital Sunday on the eve of a tightened lockdown that will curtail most economic activity and confine people to their homes as coronavirus infections soar.

Restrictions on activities and movement have been in place since mid-April as cases and deaths jumped.

Infections declined in May but started to rise again this month, with just over 6,000 daily cases on Thursday and 108 deaths on Friday, according to the health ministry -- the highest in more than two months.

The resurgence has prompted the government to toughen restrictions in stages from Monday, with economic activity -- including shops, markets, transportation and offices -- to shut down by Thursday.

People will be ordered to stay at homes while only emergency services and export-oriented factories continue operations.

The coming closure has sparked an exodus from Dhaka, the capital.

With public inter-city transportation already suspended since June 22, people have squeezed into rickshaws, hopped onto motorbikes and even hired ambulances to make their way to their villages.#photo1

Ferries have been operating on overdrive, with some running services 24 hours a day and cramming more than 1,000 passengers onto each trip.

"We don't want them to overcrowd the ferry. But they don't listen," said police sub-inspector Mohammad Reza. "There is a mad rush of people."

A senior official at the state-run Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation told AFP that at least 50,000 people had crossed the river by ferries on Sunday alone.

At a river station in the rural town of Sreenagar about 70 kilometres (43 miles) south of Dhaka, thousands queued from early Sunday to cross the Padma, a tributary of the Himalayan river the Ganges.

"We did not have any choice but to leave the city," Fatema Begum, 60, told AFP while waiting for a ferry.#photo2

"During lockdown, there is no work. And if we don't work, how do we pay rent? So we packed up everything and are going back to our village."

Mohammad Masum, 30, a street vendor in Dhaka, said it was better to return home and "spend the time with family" than be confined in the capital.

Bangladesh has reported more than 880,000 infections and just over 14,000 virus deaths, but experts say the actual toll could be much higher due to possible underreporting.

© 2021 AFP

OIL WAR 

More than 100 killed in Yemen as fighting over oil-rich Marib region continues


Issued on: 27/06/2021 - 

A Yemeni government fighter backed by a Saudi-led coalition fires his weapon during clashes with Houthi rebels on the Kassara front line near Marib, Yemen on June 20, 2021. © Nariman El-Mofty, AP

Clashes between rebels and Yemeni government fighters killed at least 111 in Marib in three days, pro-government sources said, following a renewed offensive by Huthi insurgents.

The Iran-allied insurgents escalated their efforts to seize Marib, the government's last stronghold in northern Yemen, in February, and the fighting has killed hundreds on both sides.

The fighting between Thursday and Sunday killed 29 pro-government personnel and at least 82 rebels, three pro-government sources told AFP. Rebel forces have not confirmed the toll.

Yemeni government officials said that since Thursday, the Huthis had mounted intensive attacks from the north, south and west, but were unable to breach government defences which were supported by air cover from a Saudi-led military coalition.

"These areas witnessed fierce fighting amid artillery shelling from both sides and intense coalition air raids," one government military official said.

Control of the oil-rich region of Marib would strengthen the Huthis' bargaining position in peace talks, but the battle has also raised fears of a humanitarian catastrophe, as many Yemenis had fled to the area to escape fighting in other parts of the country.

Millions displaced amid conflict

Yemen's conflict flared in 2014 when the Huthis seized the capital Sanaa, prompting the Saudi-led intervention to prop up the government the following year.

While the UN and Washington are pushing for an end to the war, the Huthis have demanded the re-opening of Sanaa airport, closed under a Saudi blockade since 2016, before any ceasefire or negotiations.

As well as the bloody offensive in Marib, the Huthis have also stepped up drone and missile strikes on Saudi targets, including its oil facilities.

This month the outgoing UN envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths told the Security ouncil his own efforts over the past three years to end the war had been "in vain".

The fighting has killed tens of thousands and left some 80 percent of Yemenis dependent on aid, in what the UN calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The war has also displaced millions of people and left many on the brink of famine.

(AFP)

UN says 400,000 are approaching starvation in Madagascar amid back-to-back droughts

Issued on: 26/06/2021 

A woman collects water from a puddle in the dried Manambovo river bed in Tsihombe, Madagascar, May 2, 2021. © Viviane Rakotoarivony/UN Handout via REUTERS


The U.N. World Food Program says southern Madagascar is in the throes of back-to-back droughts that are pushing 400,000 people toward starvation, and have already caused deaths from severe hunger.

Lola Castro, WFP’s regional director in southern Africa, told a news conference Friday that she witnessed “a very dramatic and desperate situation” during her recent visit with WFP chief David Beasley to the Indian Ocean island nation of 26 million people.

Hundreds of adults and children were “wasted,” and hundreds of kids were skin and bones and receiving nutritional support, she said.

In 28 years working for WFP on four continents, Castro said she had “never seen anything this bad” except in 1998 in Bahr el-Gazal in what is now South Sudan.

The U.N. and Madagascar’s government are launching an appeal for about $155 million in a few days to provide life-saving food and prevent a major famine, she said. Thousands of people have left their homes in rural areas and moved to more urban environments in search of food, she added.

Beasley tweeted Friday that 400,000 people are “marching towards starvation,” 14,000 are “in famine-like conditions,” and “if we do not act ASAP, the number of people facing starvation will reach 500,000 in a few short months.”

“Families have been living on raw red cactus fruits, wild leaves and locusts for months now,” he said Wednesday.

“This is not because of war or conflict, this is because of climate change,” Beasley stressed. “This is an area of the world that has contributed nothing to climate change, but now, they’re the ones paying the highest price.”

According to WFP, 1.14 million people in southern Madagascar don’t have enough food including 14,000 in “catastrophic” conditions, and this will double to 28,000 by October.

Madagascar is the only country that isn't in conflict but still has people facing “Famine-Humanitarian Catastrophe” in the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification known as the IPC, which is a global partnership of 15 U.N. agencies and international humanitarian organizations that uses five categories to measure food security, Castro said.

(AP)

Opinion: India doesn't respect sexual harassment survivors

The verdict in the Tarun Tejpal case, in which a former top magazine editor was acquitted of rape, highlights the fact that Indian courts almost always protect perpetrators. It's up to survivors to prove their innocence.



Indian women are well-aware of the consequences they face for speaking up

In May, an Indian court in the coastal state of Goa acquitted Tarun Tejpal, the former editor of a leading news magazine, of raping a young female colleague in a high-profile case that made headlines across the country.

Tanika Godbole is a DW correspondent based in Delhi

During the trail, old emails from 2013 resurfaced where he apologized to the survivor for his behavior and described the event as a "lapse of judgement" and an "unfortunate incident."

In his final court statements Tejpal, who has maintained he was falsely accused, described the incident as "drunken banter."

Tejpal was the one accused of the crime back in 2013, but it was up to the survivor to bear the burden of providing the proof. She was the one put on trial and accused of not "behaving like a victim" by Judge Kshama Joshi. The court also said she exhibited "unnatural" behavior by continuing to stay in touch with Tejpal.
Survivor on the defense

None of this is surprising. When it comes to sexual harassment cases in India the survivor is forever on the defense, forced to repeatedly relive the events of the abuse during questioning.

Unlike any other crime, the onus of proof is pushed onto the woman. She is the one who has to prove her truth, instead of the person accused of committing the crime.

Watch video 04:26 Indian girls learning self-defense

Not too long ago, we were celebrating the victory of Priya Ramani in a defamation case — a win for India's #MeToo movement. She was acquitted by a New Delhi court on charges of criminal defamation for accusing former editor-turned-politician MJ Akbar of sexual harassment in 2018, while she was a young professional working under him. While this was a good precedent, we seem to have forgotten that it was once again the woman defending her right to speak up against sexual harassment.
Basic respect for women still lacking

It is shockingly common for survivors to be questioned about their clothes, their behavior, their sexual history and so on, when such cases go to court.

In June 2020, in which a court in India's Karnataka state granted bail to the accused, the judge stated that it was "unbecoming of an Indian woman" to have gone to sleep after the crime. "That is not the way our women react when they are ravished," said Justice Krishna S Dixit, as reported by India Today.

And, in a 2017 case which showed a shocking lack of understanding of the rules of consent, Delhi's high court acquitted a film director accused of rape on grounds that the woman's no was too "feeble" to matter

Watch video 03:21 Promoting gender equality in India

After the 2012 Delhi gang rape that shook the entire country, India made several progressive changes to its sexual harassment and rape laws. The definitions of rape and consent were broadened and elaborated, and punishment for the crime was increased. It's undeniable that some progress has been made.

However, basic respect for consent and the woman's autonomy have yet to find a permanent place in the minds of the judiciary, which still seems to be guided by an orthodox, regressive and patriarchal understanding of sexual crimes.
99% of cases go unreported

Until courts start to see survivors of sexual crimes as the victims, there is little hope. Courts must understand the courage it takes for women to come to them to seek justice.

Indian women are well-aware of the consequences they must face for speaking up. High-profile rulings like the Tejpal verdict leave little room for respecting the survivor's basic dignity and right to privacy. Defense lawyers and courts often add false accusations as an excuse to not believe women, even though studies have repeatedly shown these are extremely rare.

It's no wonder that almost 99% of cases of sexual harassment and rape go unreported in India. If India wants its women to feel safe, it must place the onus of proof squarely where it lies: on the perpetrators.

Do India's calls for LGBTQ rights reform go far enough?

A court in India has ordered state and federal officials to plan sweeping reforms to eliminate discrimination against LGBTQ communities. But activists say a lot more needs to be done to achieve equality.


In 2018, India overturned a colonial-era law that criminalizes consensual gay sex, but members of the LGBTQ community say discrimination is still widespread

Manoj (name changed), from the southern Indian state of Karnataka, was forced to undergo the "gay conversion therapy" as a teenager. Now an adult, he lives and works in Delhi, and hasn’t spoken to his family in years.

"I was made to believe there was something wrong with me. I was given shock treatment among other methods. I escaped home as soon as I was financially able to, and have never looked back. It took me a lot of unlearning, but I have finally accepted my homosexuality," Manoj told DW.

Manoj said a ruling by the Madras High Court earlier in June had given him hope that things might get better for him and many other LGBTQ people in India.

The court issued an expansive set of new guidelines that called for the elimination of what it described as illegal discrimination against LGBTQ communities.
What does the ruling mean for LGBTQ people?

The court's recommendations include prohibiting conversion therapy, promoting acceptance of diversity, and creating awareness programs for stakeholders such as the police, judiciary, educational institutions and health care workers.

Judge Anand Venkatesh of the Madras court ordered state and federal government departments to report back with steps that they intend to take to comply.

VIDEO India: Lesbian woman recounts forced 'conversion therapy' ordeal

Medical practitioners who claim to be able to "cure" homosexuality should have their licenses revoked, the judge said. He also said schools and colleges should make gender neutral restrooms available, and gender-nonconforming or trans prisoners should be housed separately if needed to protect them from sexual assault.

Teachers should reach out to parents, to help "sensitize parents on issues of LGBTQIA+ community and gender nonconforming students, to ensure supportive families," his order read.

The court also asked the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry to publish a list of NGOs that have experience in dealing with issues faced by LGBTQ communities.
How did the court order come about?

The order took place following a case brought by a lesbian couple who reported that they had been harassed by police.

The couple had fled their homes in the city of Madurai to Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu after their relationship was met with opposition.

Their parents had filed a missing persons complaint when they fled, prompting a police search.

Venkatesh ruled in favor of the couple, who had complained that police had subjected them to harassing questioning after their parents filed the missing persons report.

The couple and their parents were ordered to attend counseling, and further orders will be passed on July 31.

The judge had also used the opportunity to issue the broader ruling to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ communities.

"Ignorance is no justification for normalizing any form of discrimination," Venkatesh wrote in his order.

"The actual problem is not the fact that the law does not recognize a relationship but that the sanction that is accorded by the society is not available. ... I strongly feel that the change must take place at a societal level and when it is complemented by a law there will be a remarkable change in the outlook of the society by recognizing same-sex relationships," the judge said in a statement.

Watch video Lesbian marriage raises eyebrows in Indian town

'A long road ahead'

Psychologist Ganga Nair lauded the court's decision. Education is "one of the powerful tools to reduce prejudice," she told DW.

"The Madras HC judgment, with its slew of interventional and protective measures, has not only foregrounded individual choice, agency, rights and autonomy, but also epitomized 'education' as a powerful tool for social reform," Nair said.

"When we think of psychological resources for individuals identifying as queer, it cannot be limited to therapeutic interventions such as psychotherapy and/or counseling at the individual and family level," she added.

Nair stressed that interventions must be "broad in scope" and "include psycho-education and sensitization of the aforementioned social and legal structures, as well as policymakers."

Chandani, a 22-year-old student from Mumbai, identifies as bisexual and is an activist for LGBTQ rights. She told DW that, even though India overturned a colonial-era law that criminalizes consensual gay sex in 2017, many people are still grappling with LGBTQ rights, especially same-sex marriage.

"We have a long road ahead of us. We are far from social acceptance, but the new generation is more aware. I came out of the closet and was accepted by my immediate family, but life is still difficult in India," Chandani said.

Thousands turn out for Paris Pride march



Issued on: 26/06/2021 

People taking part in the Pride march waved rainbow flags and placards THOMAS COEX AFP

Pantin (France) (AFP)

Around 30,000 people turned out for the annual Pride march in Paris Saturday, police said, starting for the first time in one of the capital's working class suburbs.

Carrying rainbow flags and a range of placards, the march headed from Pantin, on the edge of the city, into to Place de la Republique in the centre, a meeting point for many political gatherings.

The march was deliberately started outside the fashionable centre of the capital to make it more inclusive, said Matthieu Gatipon-Bachette, spokesman for the Inter-LGBT.

The Paris gay community knows these suburbs very little, said 34-year-old Romain, a Pride regular.

"To bring Pride here, it's to show that it belongs to everybody," he added, walking hand in hand with his partner.

This weekend's Pride marches in cities around the world come in the wake of a row in Europe over different countries approach to the LGBTQ rights.

The leaders of more than half of the EU's member states on Thursday declared their support for defending the rights of LGBTQ people after a controversial law passed in Hungary.

While they did not directly mention Hungary, this was a cloaked reference to the law, which bans LGBTQ educational content for children and is due to come into effect in Hungary soon.

© 2021 AFP

© Sarah Meyssonnier, REUTERS

‘Less talk, more rights’: Paris Pride clamours for change as Macron term nears end


Issued on: 26/06/2021 -

Text by: Lara BULLENS

The last pride march before France’s 2022 presidential election took place in Paris on Saturday. Organisations and marchers took to the streets to both celebrate diversity and decry anger over French President Emmanuel Macron’s “inaction” for their rights.

Aside from its habitual celebratory spirit, this year’s Paris Pride was tinged with a sense of political urgency. Marchers, volunteers, performers and a handful of LGBTQI+ associations gathered on June 26 under the slogan: “Less talk, more rights! Too many promises, we’re going backwards!” They were referring to the political promises made to improve LGBTQI+ rights during President Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term, which will soon come to an end.

The march is the last of its kind to take place before the country heads to the polls to vote in the April 2022 presidential election. Rainbow flags and glitter swarmed Pantin, a suburb of Paris, while marchers headed towards the city centre under grey skies.


The organisers of the event, Inter-LGBT, published a call to action outlining their specific political demands regarding LGBTQI+ rights. Often citing the “inaction” of the French government, the text focused on issues such as medically assisted procreation (MAP) and transphobia in schools.


MAP: a long road ahead?

As it stands, MAP is still illegal for single women and lesbian couples under French law. Those who wish to conceive are forced to go abroad or wait for years to start the process, and all transgender men are excluded. Making MAP available to single women and lesbian couples was one of Macron’s campaign promises in 2017.

>> IVF for single women: Not yet legal in France

Legislation was initially approved by the lower house of parliament but rejected by the Senate, where the right-wing opposition has a majority. It has made its way to the Senate yet again, however, and will be returned to the Assembly on June 29 where it could finally be adopted.

Virginie, 40, is a board member of Inter-LGBT and has been a MAP activist since 2010. Working at the Paris Pride, she spoke to FRANCE 24 about her experiences as a single woman. “I went to the meeting with ex-President François Hollande when we asked why he never passed the law at the end of his mandate,” she said. “At the time, I didn’t believe it would happen and to be honest I still feel the same. As long as the law hasn’t been adopted, I won’t believe it will.”

Virginie, 40, has been a MAP activist since 2010. © Lara Bullens, FRANCE 24

After being in a relationship with a man but not having children, Virginie decided she would put some money aside in case she would one day want to have a child. She went through several intrauterine insemination (IUI) procedures over the years, importing sperm from foreign sperm banks and working with gynaecologists who risk their jobs to help women like her. “Unfortunately I ended up spending all of my savings and it never worked out,” she said.

Hopeful that the law may pass in the Assembly next week, Virginie has been in touch with a fertility centre that has agreed to put in a MAP request without a paternal figure. Just in case.

Blue, pink and white inclusivity

Blue, pink and white transgender flags were waved all throughout the march, condemning transphobia as one of the core issues to be resolved. Inter-LGBT’s call to action referred to a document by the French Ministry of Education that was supposed to be published on May 17, aimed at improving the lives of trans students. “We are still waiting for the full text to come out of the Ministry of Education,” they wrote, “and for concrete measures to be put in place.”

>> The ongoing fight for transgender rights in France

Shortly after a transgender pupil took her own life in northern France in December 2020, associations and researchers went through many hearings to ensure that this document would be published. The goal was to provide schools with educational resources on transgender identity in the hopes of curtailing transphobia.

“Many trans youth are trying to assert themselves in their educational settings, and this document could teach staff how to create safe spaces in which they can do so,” said Alix, a 21-year-old member of MAG Jeunes LGBT, an organisation aimed at helping LGBTQI+ youth present at the pride march.

Alix is a member of MAG Jeunes LGBT, an organisation aimed at helping LGBTQI+ youth. © Lara Bullens, FRANCE 24

“I only realised I was trans coming out of high school, thanks to YouTube videos,” he said. “I realised that I was quite lucky because I had never been faced with harsh transphobia then, despite being in a Catholic high school.”

Alix had, however, been harassed during his Bachelor’s degree in sports event management, a “pretty masculine” domain.

He believes that, if the document passes and school staff are sensitised to the issue, a lot could change. “It really has to do with knowledge and education, in the end,” he said. “That’s why MAG intervenes in schools, because educating people is the first step in combatting transphobia.”

New horizons

For the first time since its creation in 1977, Paris Pride moved east of the city to Pantin, a working-class and more diverse commune. The aim was for “the march to reflect its volunteers and organisers, who don’t all live in duplexes in the Marais but in the suburbs,” said Matthieu Gatipon, a spokesperson of Inter-LGBT, in a tweet.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, no floats were present and organisers were unable to place a podium near the march’s finish line at Place de la République in Paris. But this didn’t stop the crowds from marching in large numbers from the rainy periphery to inner-city Paris, in high spirits.

“Discriminations still exist in France and that’s why pride still exists! There are so many important issues to address,” said Alix, waving his hand at the marchers surrounding MAG’s stand.

Protesters in Ramallah call for Palestinian leader Abbas to resign following activist’s death

Issued on: 27/06/2021 - 

Palestinians gather to protest the violent arrest and death of activist Nizar Banat in the West Bank city of Ramallah in the Palestinian Territories on June 26, 2021. © Abbas Momani, AFP

Palestinian protesters clashed with Palestinian security forces in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday, AFP reporters said, the third day of demonstrations sparked by an activist's death in custody.

Nizar Banat, a 43-year-old from Hebron known for social media videos denouncing alleged corruption within the Palestinian Authority (PA), died on Thursday shortly after security forces stormed his house and violently arrested him, his family said.

On Saturday, hundreds took to the streets of Ramallah, the seat of the PA in the occupied West Bank, calling for Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas to quit.

Protester Ismat Mansour said the death of Banat was just "the tip of the iceberg" while accusing the PA of "a mountain of corruption" and demanding that elections be held.

Others held up placards directed at Abbas' PA that simply said "leave".

Security officers in riot gear blocked off streets.

An AFP photographer said protesters hurled rocks at security forces, who responded by launching a barrage of tear gas canisters to break up the crowds.

It was not immediately possible to confirm if there were any injuries following the protests on Saturday.

Banat had registered as a candidate in Palestinian parliamentary elections, which had been set for May until Abbas postponed them indefinitely.

Banat's family said the forces used pepper spray on him, beat him badly and dragged him away in a vehicle.

Samir Abu Zarzour, the doctor who carried out the autopsy, said injuries on Banat's body indicated he had been beaten on the head, chest, neck, legs and hands, with less than an hour elapsing between his arrest and his death.

Gatherings in Ramallah and Hebron

On Thursday, after news spread of his death, some 300 people gathered in Ramallah, as well as in Banat's hometown of Hebron.

On Friday, thousands of mourners attended his funeral in Hebron, with crowds there chanting angry slogans against the PA, as well as at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem.

Banat's death also sparked condemnation from the United States, United Nations and European Union.

Palestinian prime minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said an investigation had been launched.

The PA exercises limited powers over some 40 percent of the West Bank, occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967.

Israel, which controls all access to the territory and coordinates with the PA, directly administers the remaining 60 percent.

(AFP)

Protesters bemoan 'police violence' at Dusseldorf rally

As many as 8,000 people gathered on Saturday against plans to tighten rules on protesting in the western German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. According to organizers, the police response was "disproportionate."



Organizers said police repression hurt 100 demonstrators

Police in western Germany "violently dispersed" a large protest against plans to tighten rules on demonstrations, organizers complained on Sunday.

The AFP news agency reported that some 8,000 people gathered a day earlier in Dusseldorf, the capital of the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), which has proposed the new assembly law.

What have the organizers alleged?

"Stop the Assembly Law NRW - Preserve Basic Rights," an alliance of mainly left-wing organizations, said in a statement that officers surrounded the protesters in downtown Dusseldorf. They were left for several hours without access to refreshments or toilets.

Organizers claimed the protesters were held under the pretext of using banners that were higher than was allowed during demonstrations.


They labeled the police response an abuse of power and said 100 participants had been hurt as a result of "disproportionate police violence" during a "calm, colorful demonstration."

Local media reported that some protesters attacked officers, who resorted to using batons and pepper spray to quell the violence.
Journalist attacked

The German news agency DPA said one of its photojournalists was attacked by police.

The journalist said he had been beaten several times with a baton by an officer. At least one other colleague was hurt.

DPA's Editor-in-Chief Sven Gösmann said it was an "unacceptable attack on the freedom of press," and demanded a full investigation.

The chairman of the center-left Social Democratic Party in NRW, Thomas Kutschaty, called for a "complete clarification."

How have the police responded?

Police took several hours to respond to reports about the attack on the journalist, local media reported.

Officials said later that the reporter had gotten "between the emergency services and an aggressive group of troublemakers."

A police spokeswoman said a complaint of suspected bodily harm had been filed against the officer who allegedly harmed the journalist.

Giving a further update on Sunday, police said that fireworks and smoke bombs were used by demonstrators.

A police statement said a subgroup of 300 protesters was surrounded as they were "permanently uncooperative and repeatedly committed crimes."

Measures were then taken to establish their identities and several people have been charged.
What about the proposed law?

Although Germany has a federal assembly law, states are allowed to enact their own laws if they wish.

The proposed assembly law in NRW aims to regulate demonstrations, for example banning uniform or uniform-like clothing, to prevent violent behavior.

Critics, however, see it as encroaching on the basic right to assembly.

rm/mm (dpa, AFP)

Lebanon protesters clash with security forces as currency plunges


Issued on: 26/06/2021 - 

Demonstrators burn tyres in central Beirut on June 26, 2021, as they protest against dire living conditions ANWAR AMRO AFP

Beirut (AFP)

Lebanese protesters tried to storm central bank offices in two major cities on Saturday, state media reported, after the national currency plunged to a new record low on the black market.

The pound has been pegged to the dollar at 1,507 since 1997, but the country's worst economic crisis in decades has seen its unofficial value plummet.

On Saturday, money changers told AFP it was trading at 17,300-17,500 to the greenback on the black market, while some social media users said it had fallen as low as 18,000.

Dozens of angry Lebanese took to the streets of the northern city of Tripoli to denounce the depreciation and "difficult living conditions", the National News Agency reported.

Some protesters managed to break through the gates of a branch of the central bank and enter the courtyard, the NNA said, but the army prevented them from reaching the building.

Demonstrators also set fire to the entrance of a government office, an AFP correspondent said.

Others were seen trying to force their way into the homes of two lawmakers but were stopped by security forces.

The NNA said gunshots were heard outside the house of lawmaker Mohammed Kabbara and the army intervened to disperse protesters.

In the southern city of Sidon, protesters tried to storm another branch of the central bank only to be pushed back by security forces, the NNA reported.

Scattered protests also took place in the capital Beirut, where a small number of protesters took to the streets and burned tyres, an AFP correspondent said.

Lebanon has been roiled since autumn 2019 by an economic crisis the World Bank says is likely to rank among the world's worst financial crises since the mid-19th century.

The collapse has sparked outrage at Lebanon's political class, seen as woefully corrupt and unable to tackle the country's many difficulties.

The pound's dizzying depreciation comes as the eastern Mediterranean country grapples with shortages of medicine and fuel which are imported from abroad using foreign currency.

The country has been without a fully functioning government since a massive blast in Beirut last summer that killed more than 200 people and ravaged swathes of the capital.

The government stepped down after the disaster, but a deeply divided political class has since failed to agree on a new cabinet to replace it.

© 2021 AFP

Johnson & Johnson to stop selling opioids in US: NY attorney general

Issued on: 26/06/2021 - 

The opioids crisis is believed to have claimed more than 500,000 lives since 1999

Patrick T. FALLON AFP/File

Washington (AFP)

Johnson & Johnson, one of the pharmaceutical giants accused of fueling the deadly opioid crisis in the United States, will stop making or selling the drugs in the US under a $230 million settlement with New York state.

The agreement allows Johnson & Johnson to resolve litigation over its role in the epidemic, which has killed more than half a million people since 1999, according to a statement from New York attorney general Letitia James.

For its part, J&J announced in a separate statement that the settlement allowed it to avoid a trial that was scheduled to begin Monday.


The settlement "is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing by the company," it said, noting that other nationwide legal proceedings are underway, including a trial in California.

The prosecutor's statement said the company would spread the payments over nine years.

J&J could also pay an additional $30 million in the first year if the state enacts new legislation creating an opioid settlement fund.

"The opioid epidemic has wreaked havoc on countless communities across New York state and the rest of the nation, leaving millions still addicted to dangerous and deadly opioids," James said in the statement.

"Johnson & Johnson helped fuel this fire, but today they're committing to leaving the opioid business -- not only in New York, but across the entire country," she added.

That includes both manufacturing and selling opioids, the statement said.

The $230 million will be aimed at prevention, treatment and education efforts on the dangers of the substances in New York state.

Johnson & Johnson, Purdue Pharma and other pharmaceutical companies and distributors are accused of encouraging doctors to overprescribe opioids -- initially reserved for patients with particularly serious cancers -- even though they knew they were highly addictive.

Since 1999, this dependence has pushed many users of the drugs to higher and higher doses and to illicit substances such as heroin or fentanyl, an extremely powerful synthetic opiate with a high risk of fatal overdose.

About 500,000 people have died of drug overdoses in the United States since then.

- Cost of billions -

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the country's main public health agency, estimates that about 90,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2020, the majority of which involved opioids.

The US Department of Health estimates that the crisis was responsible for four years of declining life expectancy in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Then-president Donald Trump declared it a national public health emergency in October 2017.

The CDC estimated in 2019 that the economic burden of the crisis, including health care costs, lost productivity and costs to the criminal justice system, was about $78.5 billion per year.

A study published by the American Society of Actuaries estimated the cost for the four years 2015-2018 at $631 billion.

The crisis seemed to be easing before the pandemic, thanks in particular to tighter controls on prescriptions, but the CDC recently reported an acceleration of deaths from drug overdoses, including from opioids.

While legal proceedings have increased in the country, many companies are trying to reach settlements.

In February, the prestigious consulting firm McKinsey announced that it had agreed to pay $573 million to settle lawsuits filed by some 40 US states accusing it of contributing to the opioid crisis through its advice to pharmaceutical companies, including Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of Oxycontin.

© 2021 AFP