BEIRUT: Dozens of Lebanese protesters tried to storm the Ministry of Energy on Tuesday, angered by prolonged power cuts as the country grapples with a crippling economic crisis.
Security forces pushed back against the angry protesters, chasing away some who breached the ministry perimeter. Scuffles ensued as protesters pushed the metal barricade and said they plan to set up a sit-in at the ministry.
“We came today and we will stay" said an unnamed protester who read a statement to the media, adding that they will liberate the ministry “from corruption ... and the management that plunged this country into darkness.”
Lebanon's economic and financial crisis poses the most significant threat to the country since a devastating 15-year civil war ended in 1990. The highly-indebted government is facing a rapid inflation, soaring unemployment and poverty, made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.
Amid the crisis, recurrent power outage worsened as the government failed to secure essential energy sources.
Lebanon has largely relied on fuel shipped in from neighboring countries and imported diesel for the powerful generators cartel that provides for the incomplete national grid, in shambles since the end of the war. For decades, the country struggled with power cuts and a huge public debt for the national electricity company that racks up a deficit of nearly $2 billion a year.
But the rationing increased since June, and became so severe that residents reported only a couple of hours of electricity per day in some areas. Generator providers shut down their machines to ration existing fuel and raised prices because of a plunging national currency. Lebanese turned to traditional kerosene lamps and candles while hospitals warned their fuel stock was running out.
Lebanon's problems are rooted in years of mismanagement and corruption. Nationwide protests that erupted last October subsided amid restrictions over the coronavirus pandemic and widening troubles.
But limited protests have recently returned, particularly since prolonged power cuts in the summer heat.
“We want to send a message that we are not leaving here until there is electricity" all day, said Ali Daher, another protester.
Lebanese try to storm energy ministry amid power cuts
https://arab.news/jkh8w
Lebanese try to storm energy ministry amid power cuts
- Security forces pushed back against the angry protesters, as they chased away some others
- Lebanon's economic and financial crisis poses the most significant threat to the country since a the end of a 15-year civil war
Syria monitor reports 134 Alawite civilians killed by security forces
BEIRUT: Syrian security forces “executed” 134 civilians on Friday in the Mediterranean heartland of ousted president Bashar Assad’s Alawite minority, a war monitor said.
Some “134 Alawite civilians, including at least 13 women and five children, were executed by security forces in the regions of Banyas, Latakia and Jableh,” Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP, bringing the overall toll to 229 since the outbreak of violence on Thursday, when authorities began a vast security operation following clashes.
Yemen’s Houthis give Israel four-day deadline to lift Gaza aid blockage
- The Iran-aligned movement staged more than 100 attacks on shipping from November 2023
- “We will give a deadline for four days. This deadline is for the (Gaza ceasefire) mediators for their efforts,” Al-Houthi said
CAIRO: The leader of Yemen’s Houthis, Abdul Malik Al-Houthi, said on Friday the group would resume its naval operations against Israel if Israel did not lift a blockage of aid into Gaza within four days.
The Iran-aligned movement staged more than 100 attacks on shipping from November 2023, saying they were in solidarity with Palestinians over Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza — and the assaults tailed off in January after a ceasefire there.
Over that period, it sank two vessels, seized another and killed at least four seafarers in an offensive that disrupted global shipping, forcing firms to re-route to longer and more expensive journeys around southern Africa.
“We will give a deadline for four days. This deadline is for the (Gaza ceasefire) mediators for their efforts,” Al-Houthi said.
“If the Israeli enemy after four days continues to prevent the humanitarian aid into Gaza and continues to completely close the crossings, we will resume our naval operations against the Israeli enemy.”
On March 2, Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza as a standoff over the truce escalated, with Hamas calling on Egyptian and Qatari mediators to intervene.
The Houthis, who control most of Yemen, also said in February they will take military action if the US and Israel try to displace Palestinians from Gaza forcibly.
UN envoy ‘deeply alarmed’ by clashes, killings in Syria
- Geir Pedersen insisted there was “clearly an immediate need for restraint from all parties”
GENEVA: The UN envoy for the Syrian Arab Republic voiced alarm Friday at reports of clashes and killings in coastal areas between Syrian caretaker authority forces and elements loyal to toppled president Bashar Assad’s regime.
Decrying “very troubling reports of civilian casualties,” Geir Pedersen insisted there was “clearly an immediate need for restraint from all parties, and full respect for the protection of civilians in accordance with international law.”
UN chopper hit in South Sudan, killing one crew member and some soldiers
- The UN crew was trying to airlift soldiers following heavy clashes in Nasir
- “The attack... is utterly abhorrent and may constitute a war crime under international law,” said Haysom
NAIROBI: A United Nations helicopter attempting to evacuate South Sudanese troops came under fire in the northern town of Nasir on Friday, the UN mission there said, resulting in the death of a crew member and several soldiers including a general.
The UN crew was trying to airlift soldiers following heavy clashes in Nasir between national forces and the White Army militia, a group which President Salva Kiir’s government has linked to forces loyal to his rival and First Vice President Riek Machar.
“The attack... is utterly abhorrent and may constitute a war crime under international law,” said the head of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Nicholas Haysom.
“We also regret the killing of those that we were attempting to extract, particularly when assurances of safe passage had been received. UNMISS urges an investigation to determine those responsible and hold them accountable.”
Calls to the government’s spokesperson, Information Minister Michael Makuei, were not answered. But Kiir’s office said the president would make an address to the nation on Friday afternoon.
The White Army, mostly from the Nuer ethnic group, fought alongside Machar’s forces in the 2013-2018 civil war that pitted them against predominantly ethnic Dinka troops loyal to Kiir.
Machar’s spokesperson this week said security forces had arrested the petroleum minister, the peacebuilding minister, the deputy head of the army and other senior military officials allied with Machar, raising fears for the country’s fragile peace process.
The government has not commented on the detentions and Machar’s party has denied involvement in the fighting in Nasir.
French loan to help Morocco buy 18 fast trains ahead of World Cup
- The trains are part of a plan to extend the high-speed rail network
- Alstom will supply Moroccan state-owned rail operator ONCF, with Avelia Horizon double-decker trains
RABAT: France will lend Morocco 781 million euros to finance the purchase of 18 high-speed trains made by Alstom, the French embassy in Rabat said on Friday.
The trains are part of a plan to extend the high-speed rail network from Kenitra on the western coast to Marrakech before the 2030 World Cup that Morocco will co-host with Spain and Portugal.
Alstom will supply Moroccan state-owned rail operator ONCF, with Avelia Horizon double-decker trains that can carry 640 passengers with a speed of 320 km/h, the embassy said in a statement.
ONCF also aims to expand its network to double the number of cities it serves to 43, or 87 percent of the Moroccan population, by 2040.
In February, ONCF said it will also buy 150 trains under concessional loans from Spain and South Korea as it expands urban, intercity and high-speed rail networks.
South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem will supply 110 urban trains worth $1.5 billion, while Spain’s CAF will build 40 intercity trains for $813 million.
The deals include investments in the country’s nascent rail industry, ONCF said last month.
