World Wednesday, August 19, 2020 07

News Gaza’s only power plant shut down over fuel shortage in brief DPA of energy per day to supply The energy supply in the “Hamas should know that Gaza/Tel Aviv its 2 million inhabitants. In Strip is to be reduced to this is not a game,” said Rivlin. Lebanon issues the past it had only been able three to four hours a day, He also thanked firefighters for second arrest The only power plant in the to provide 210 megawatts, of Gaza’s energy provider said, their efforts to extinguish the warrant in port Gaza Strip shut down on Tues- which 120 came from Israel, blazes. “Terrorism using incen- blast investigation day due to a lack of fuel, Pales- 30 from Egypt and the rest was as there are some power diary kites and balloons is ter- tinian authorities said. produced by the power plant. supply lines still running rorism just like any other,” said Beirut A Lebanese judge The energy supply in the Israel suspended fuel ship- from Israel and Egypt. the Israeli president. has issued a second arrest Strip is to be reduced to three pings and closed its border Israel captured Gaza from warrant over the Beirut port to four hours a day, Gaza’s en- crossings with the Gaza Strip loon terrorism” - setting ablaze Egypt in the 1967 Six-Day War, explosion that took place on ergy provider said, as there are last week in response to Pales- agricultural fields in southern but unilaterally pulled out its August 4 and killed at least some power supply lines still tinian cross-border attacks. It Israel with incendiary balloons. army and evacuated its settle- 180 people, the state-run running from Israel and Egypt. also restricted the fishery zone During a visit to southern ments in the Strip in 2005. Israel National News Agency (NNA) The energy provider on Gaza’s coast. Israel, President Reuven Rivlin imposed a blockade on the Strip reported on Tuesday even- warned that the lack power After a coronavirus-related threatened the Hamas move- in 2007 and continues to con- ing. Judge Fadi Sawwan would affect “all aspects of life lull, Palestinians have stepped ment that rules Gaza, saying trol Gaza’s borders, along with issued an arrest warrant A picture shows a power generating facility in the middle of the Gaza in the Gaza Strip negatively.” up cross-border attacks from that “if they want war, they will Egypt, frequently closing cross- for the port director, Hasan Strip as Gaza’s electricity authority announced that more service cuts It added that the Strip Gaza this month, including get war,” in response to the se- ings in response to rocket fire Koraitem, a day after a simi- would be implemented due to lack of fuel. (AFP) needed about 500 megawatts what Israel describes as “bal- ries of incendiary balloons. and violence along the border. lar decision was made for the customs chief, Baderi Daher. The arrest warrant for Koraitem came after four hours of interrogation, NNA South Africa reported. More than 16 rolls out second Hezbollah member guilty of Rafic people have been detained pending investigations into coronavirus the Beirut port blast, a judicial source said. vaccine trial On August 7, a Bei- Hariri’s murder: UN tribunal rut judge ordered the AFP detention of Daher, his pre- Johannesburg AFP attack. decessor, Shafik Merhi, and Leidschendam, Netherlands Judges said there was suf- Koraitem. (DPA) South Africa will launch ficient evidence to show that clinical trials of a US-de- A UN-backed tribunal on Tues- Ayyash was at the centre of a Pakistan to conduct veloped coronavirus vac- day found a member of the network of mobile phone users trials of Chinese cine with 2,900 volunteers Hezbollah Shiite movement who scoped out Hariri’s move- this week, the second such guilty over the 2005 murder of ments for months before his coronavirus vaccine study in the African coun- former Lebanese prime min- assassination. Karachi Pakistan regula- try worst hit by the disease, ister Rafic Hariri but cleared The judges said evidence tors have approved final- lead investigator Shabir three other suspects after a also linked phones used in the phase testing of a Chinese- Madhi said Tuesday. years-long trial. attack to Hezbollah command- made vaccine against the Known as NVX- The long-awaited decision er Mustafa Badreddine -- who coronavirus, officials said CoV2373, the vaccine was prompted mixed reactions, was indicted by the court but Tuesday, in the country’s developed by US biotech with the late Hariri’s son Saad is believed to have been killed first ever clinical trial of its company Novavax from telling journalists outside the in the Damascus area in May kind. the genetic sequence of Special Tribunal for Lebanon 2016. According to Pakistan’s SARS?CoV?2, the virus (STL) he “accepted the tribu- The Hariri bombing trig- National Institute of Health that causes the COVID-19 nal’s verdict.” gered mass protests that drove (NIH), regulators have ap- disease. “Everybody’s expectation Syrian forces out of Lebanon proved the testing of a vac- It will be administered was much higher than what after three decades. cine under development by to the first volunteer in came out today, but I believe But the court said there CanSinoBio and the Beijing the randomised, observer- that the tribunal came out with was not enough evidence to tie Institute of Biotechnology blinded trial on Wednes- a result that is satisfying. We Former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri leaves the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) at Damascus to the crime. China. day. accept it,” said Saad Hariri, Leidschendam on Tuesday, after the expected verdict on the 2005 murder of his father former Lebanese An EU spokesperson said The medication is “It’s a two-dose sched- also a former prime minister, premier Rafic Hariri.( AFP) “the European Union reiter- already undergoing Phase 3 ule, and they get two ei- after attending the hearing ates the need to fight impunity trials -- or large-scale test- ther vaccines or placebos... at the STL’s heavily fortified Lebanon to impose lockdown for two weeks to stop surge in virus cases and strengthen accountability ing on humans -- in China, spaced three weeks apart,” courthouse. and the rule of law at the inter- Russia, Chile and Argentina. professor Madhi of the Jo- Salim Ayyash, 56, was con- Beirut Lebanon’s Interior Ministry said on Tuesday that a general lockdown will be imposed in the national level”. Saudi Arabia will also take hannesburg-based Univer- victed in absentia by the STL country for two weeks in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus. A lawyer for Oneissi part, NIH said. sity of the Witwatersrand based in the Netherlands, over “A general lockdown will be imposed in Lebanon from Friday morning until September 7, in addi- slammed the prosecution’s “This will be the first (Wits), told AFP. a huge suicide bombing in Bei- tion to a 6 pm-to-6 am curfew,” an Interior Ministry statement said. case, saying “it was obvious ever Phase 3 clinical trial With 589,886 cases and rut that killed the Sunni bil- On Monday, Lebanon registered a record high of 456 new coronavirus cases. The total number from the start it would not for any vaccine in Pakistan,” 11,982 deaths, South Africa lionaire politician and 21 other of COVID-19 cases has reached 9,337, with 105 deaths, since the pandemic started in the country hold,” against his client. the NIH said in a statement. is fifth in global rankings people. in February. The ministry said that the lockdown will not affect the clean-up, reconstruction and aid Tuesday’s verdict came as Pakistan’s inclusion for countries with the most “The trial chamber finds efforts in areas that were hit by the Beirut port explosion on August 4. thousands of Beirut residents in the trials would help it infections. Mr Ayyash guilty beyond rea- The ministry said the sectors exempted from the lockdown are public institutions, security forces, have expressed anger at the secure “preferential vac- Since the country also sonable doubt as a co-perpe- health and medical facilities, food and essential factories, and banks and financial institutions. authorities after the port blast cine supply and pricing”, it accounts for 20 percent of trator of the assassination of It added that the airport will remain open during the lockdown. (DPA) triggered by a warehouse fire added. global HIV infections ac- Rafic Hariri,” said David Re, that set off large amounts of The coronavirus has cording to UNAIDS 2020 presiding judge of the tribunal. stored ammonium nitrate. claimed more than 6,000 data, 240 medically stable, Addressing victims of the But judges said there was bib Merhi, 54, over the blast, was no evidence to directly The disaster led to the lives in Pakistan but cases HIV-positive adults will attack, he said: “We sincerely not enough evidence to con- which changed the face of the link Syria -- the former mili- Lebanese government’s resig- have been dropping for also participate in the clini- hope the verdict today will give vict Assad Sabra, 43, Hussein Middle East. tary overlord in Lebanon -- or nation and compounded Leba- several weeks. (AFP) cal trial. you some sort of closure.” Oneissi, 46, and Hassan Ha- The judges also said there Hezbollah’s leadership to the non’s severe economic crisis. “It’s critical that we understand how these vac- cines work in populations that have HIV, especially in South Africa where they Quake in central Philippines kills one, damages COVID-19 facility constitute up to about 12 to 15 percent of the adult pop- DPA Most of the damage was in the rubble, police said. At structure.” tershocks might cause the dam- said Rino Revalo, Masbate’s ulation,” said Madhi. Manila in Cataingan, a town in Mas- least 48 residents of Cataingan Cabatana said many resi- aged houses to collapse.” provincial administrator. Wits University said bate province, about 430 kilo- were hurt after being hit by de- dents were out in the streets No tsunami alert was issued “We advised personnel in studies of the Novavax A magnitude-6.6 earthquake metres south of Manila, where bris, said town Mayor Felipe after they were warned against since the tremor struck inland our hospital and coliseum to vaccine in non-human struck the central Philippines the epicentre was located, ac- Cabatana. returning to their damaged and the fault’s movement was avoid using the buildings until primates have shown pro- on Tuesday, killing one person, cording to the Philippine Insti- “Police are going around to homes. horizontal, Solidum said. these are properly assessed,” he tection against the coro- injuring nearly 50 more, and tute of Volcanology and Seis- check on residents and deter- “We urge everyone to check The town’s district hospital added. navirus infection in nasal damaging houses and other in- mology (Phivolcs). mine if there are others who their houses and if there is and a public coliseum housing The Philippines is located passages as well as protec- frastructure, including a coro- A retired police colonel was were injured,” he said. “The damage, do not return because asymptomatic COVID-19 pa- on the Pacific Ring of Fire, tion against lung disease. navirus quarantine facility, of- killed when his three-storey engineer’s office is also assess- it’s dangerous,” said Renato tients also suffered huge cracks where about 90 percent of the ficials said. house collapsed and buried him ing the damage to public infra- Solidum, Phivolcs director. “Af- and fallen roofs and beams, world’s earthquakes take place.

Iran backs Putin’s call for Mali president and prime minister arrested by mutinous soldiers Security Council summit DPA during a parliamentary elec- parts of [the capital] Bamako. Bamako tion in April, which gave his We advise Australian citizens on arms embargo administration a firm majority. in Mali to seek shelter, remain Malian President Ibrahim Soldiers started to mutiny indoors and monitor local me- DPA rity Council members - the US, Boubacar Keita and Prime early Tuesday in the garrison dia,” Australia’s ambassador to Tehran Britain, France and China - as Minister Boubou Cisse have town of Kati, 15 kilometres Mali said on Twitter. well as Germany and Iran’s been arrested by the military in north-west of Bamako. Gunfire The US embassy also told Iran threw its backing be- leaders. an apparent mutiny, army of- was heard in the capital. A pho- citizens in Bamako to “shelter hind a suggestion by Russian The meeting would aim to ficer Sidi Gakou told dpa Tues- tographer told dpa there had in place.” “The US Embassy President Vladimir Putin to prevent a confrontation in the day. been several thousand protest- is aware of gunfire and unrest hold a videoconference sum- council, according to the state- “The president and his ers on the streets, with people in the area of Kati, as well as mit of the UN Security Coun- ment. prime minister have been ar- firing into the air. ongoing police/military opera- cil on the decision to extend a The UN Security Council rested,” Gakou said by phone. Earlier in the day, the Eco- tions in Bamako,” it said in a weapons embargo. had on Friday resoundingly “They are being taken to Kati nomic Community of West Af- statement. “We are aware of Mr Pu- rejected a US bid to indefinite- military camp.” rican States (ECOWAS) said it The warnings come after tin’s good will, as well as his ly extend an arms embargo The African Union Com- was “greatly concerned” about several weeks of political ten- intent to reduce tensions with on Iran, a move US Secretary mission condemned the arrests a mutiny taking place. sions and repeated anti-gov- this summit,” government of State Mike Pompeo called and called for the immediate Soldiers should return to ernment protests. spokesman Ali Rabiei said on “inexcusable.” US President release of both leaders. barracks, refrain from “uncon- Talks between the gov- Tuesday. However, he added Donald Trump now wants to Earlier on Tuesday, the stitutional action” and instead ernment and the opposition, that such a summit was not trigger the “snapback” mecha- government had released a try to resolve political differ- which is led by popular cleric feasible at this time due to the nism in the Iranian nuclear statement calling for calm, ences through dialogue, ECO- Mahmoud Dicko, a former ally Washington’s “insincere” at- deal to impose sanctions on admitting that soldiers might WAS said in a statement. Malian soldiers are celebrated as they arrive at the Independence of Keita, have so far failed. titude. Iran. have legitimate frustrations France, a former colonial square in Bamako on Tuesday. Malian president and prime minister “This remains a fast-mov- “But as soon as we receive The arms embargo on Iran and saying they were prepared power in Mali, also condemned have both been arrested by the military after months of unrest. (AFP) ing situation, but initial indica- an official invitation, we will is set to end in October, under to engage in a dialogue. the mutiny. tions point to the mutiny being answer it,” Rabiei said, accord- a provision of UN Resolution Mali has been struggling to “France has learned with eign Ministry said in a state- in the volatile West African na- within the national guard,” said ing to the ISNA news agency. 2231, in which the Security maintain stability since tens of concern of the mutiny that has ment. tion, urging their citizens to Alexandre Raymakers, a senior Putin called last week for Council backed the nuclear thousands of opposition sup- started today in Kati, Mali. It The US, Austral- stay at home. Africa analyst at risk manage- a videoconference summit deal between Tehran and six porters accused Keita of gross condemns this serious event in ian, and Swedish embassies in “There are reports of gun- ment consultancy Verisk Ma- between the permanent Secu- world powers signed in 2015. intimidation and vote-buying the strongest terms,” the For- Mali warned of possible unrest fire and civil disturbance in plecroft.