World leaders offer help, support to Lebanon in wake of Beirut explosion

Agencies
August 5, 2020

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Paris, Aug 5: French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday said France will deploy a civil security detachment and several tonnes of medical equipment to Lebanon, whose capital was hit by an explosion that left over 70 people dead and thousands injured.

"Emergency doctors will also reach Beirut as soon as possible to strengthen hospitals. France is already engaged," the French President said in a tweet.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, also extended his deepest condolences to all those affected by the "massive explosion at the port of Beirut."

"We are closely monitoring and stand ready to assist the people of Lebanon as they recover from this tragedy. Our team in Beirut has reported to me the extensive damage to a city and a people that I hold dear, an additional challenge in a time of already deep crisis. 

We understand that the Government of Lebanon continues to investigate its cause and look forward to the outcome of those efforts," he said in a statement.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his country is ready to provide support in any way it can.

"The pictures and videos from Beirut tonight are shocking. All of my thoughts and prayers are with those caught up in this terrible incident. The UK is ready to provide support in any way we can, including to those British nationals affected," Johnson said.

Israeli people share the pain of their Lebanese neighbours after a devastating blast in the port of Beirut and reach out to offer their aid, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said on Tuesday.

"We share the pain of the Lebanese people and sincerely reach out to offer our aid at this difficult time," Rivlin said on Twitter.

Over 70 people have been killed while thousands of others were wounded in the massive explosion on Tuesday in Beirut which shattered buildings and caused widespread damage.

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News Network
March 18,2024

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Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed a landslide victory in the just-concluded presidential polls, securing him a fifth term in power. While Putin hailed the results as an indication of "trust" and "hope" in him, critics panned the polls for its preordained nature.

As early results poured in, Putin won 87.8% of the vote, the highest-ever result in Russia's post-Soviet history, Reuters quoted Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) exit polls. The Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM) put Putin on 87%. 

If he completes the term, the 71-year-old President will also script history as Russia's longest-serving leader for more than 200 years, overtaking Josef Stalin. 

While Communist candidate Nikolai Kharitonov finished second with just under 4%, newcomer Vladislav Davankov third, and ultra-nationalist Leonid Slutsky fourth, partial results suggested.

In his victory speech, Putin said he would prioritise resolving tasks associated with Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine and would strengthen the Russian military. 

"We have many tasks ahead. But when we are consolidated - no matter who wants to intimidate us, suppress us - nobody has ever succeeded in history, they have not succeeded now, and they will not succeed ever in the future," said Putin. He was welcomed by his supporters to the stage with "Putin Putin" chants. He also hailed the results as an indication of "trust" and "hope" in him.

Later, while interacting with reporters, Putin also warned the West that a direct conflict between Russia and the U.S.-led NATO military alliance would mean the planet was one step away from World War Three but said hardly anyone wanted such a scenario. "It is clear to everyone, that this will be one step away from a full-scale World War Three. I think hardly anyone is interested in this," Putin told reporters after winning the biggest-ever landslide in post-Soviet Russian history.

Meanwhile, the Western world condemned the elections, stating the polls were neither free nor fair. While Germany called it a "pseudo-election" under an authoritarian ruler reliant on censorship, repression and violence, UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron condemned "the illegal holding of elections on Ukrainian territory".

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said, "The Russian dictator is simulating another election".

Earlier during the elections, heeding an opposition call to protest, hundreds of  Russians crowded outside polling stations at noon Sunday, on the last day of the elections. The associates of Alexei Navalny, the critic of Putin who died earlier this month in an Arctic prison, had urged people who were unhappy with Putin or the war in Ukraine to go to the polls at noon on Sunday. Many turned up and lines outside a number of polling stations both inside Russia and at its embassies around the world appeared to swell at that time.

Among those heeding the call was Yulia Navalnaya, Navalny's widow, who joined a long line in Berlin. She later told reporters that she cast her vote and wrote her late husband's name on the ballot.  Asked whether she had a message for Putin, Navalnaya replied: "Please stop asking for messages from me or from somebody for Mr. Putin. There could be no negotiations and nothing with Mr. Putin, because he's a killer, he's a gangster."

One woman in Moscow, who said her name was Yulia, told the AP that she was voting for the first time. "Even if my vote doesn't change anything, my conscience will be clear ... for the future that I want to see for our country," she said. Like others, she didn't give her full name because of security concerns.

Another Moscow voter, who also identified himself only by his first name, Vadim, said he hoped for change, but added that "unfortunately, it's unlikely".

More acts of rebellion were reported on Saturday too. Cases were filed against at least 15 people for pouring dye in ballot boxes, started fires or lobbing Molotov cocktails at polling stations. Ella Pamfilova, the head of Russia’s CEC, said 29 polling stations across 20 regions in Russia were targeted, including eight arson attempts.

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News Network
March 7,2024

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Iran has seized a US oil cargo over a lawsuit filed by patients with a rare skin disease, whose lives are at risk due to inhumane US sanctions.

The US oil cargo was carried by the Marshall Islands-flagged Advantage Sweet in the Persian Gulf.

Reports said the confiscation took place upon a court ruling in favor of the patients afflicted with epidermolysis bullosa (EB) or butterfly patients.

In their compliant, the EB patients, who are characterized by extreme fragility of the skin and mechanically induced blistering, claimed damages against the US.

They said that the Western sanctions, especially those by the US, have prevented a Swedish company from selling medicines to Iran and caused severe physical and mental harm to them.

The United States reinstated its sanctions against Iran in May 2018 after leaving a United Nations-endorsed nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic and five other countries.

Since then, Mölnlycke Health Care, a Swedish medical device company headquartered in Gothenburg, has stopped selling pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, including special bandages for EB patients, to Iranian companies, citing the unilateral US sanctions.

The move has deprived EB patients of essential medical items, killed many of them, and inflicted serious physical injuries such as amputation to some of the patients.

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