Page 29 - bon-dia-aruba-20200924

A29
world news Diahuebs 24 september 2020

Lebanon asks world's help 'trying to rise from its rubble'

(AP) — Facing an economic neighborhoods and facili-
meltdown and other cri- ties.”
ses, Lebanon’s president on The massive Aug. 4 explo-
Wednesday asked for the sion happened when about
world's help to rebuild the 3,000 tons of ammonium ni-
capital's main port and neigh- trates — which had been rot-
borhoods that were blown ting in a port warehouse for
away in last month’s cata- more than six years — ignit-
strophic explosion. ed. Nearly 200 people were
killed, 6,500 injured and a
President Michel Aoun made quarter of a million people
the plea in a prerecorded were left with homes that
speech to the U.N. General were not fit to live in.
Assembly’s virtual summit,
telling world leaders that The cause of the blaze that
Lebanon's many challenges ignited the chemicals still
are posing an unprecedented isn't known, but the explo-
threat to its very existence. sion is widely seen as the cul-
Most urgently, the country mination of decades of cor-
needs the international com- ruption and mismanagement
munity’s support to rebuild by Lebanon's ruling class.
its economy and its destroyed It came on top of an un-
port. Aoun suggested break- precedented economic crisis
ing up the damaged parts of which has seen the local cur-
the city into separate areas rency lose up to 80 percent of
and so that countries that its value and decimated peo- ticularly soil samples and mation of a government to be Guterres said the disastrous
wish to help can each com- ple's savings, feeding despair satellite images from the mo- followed by tangible steps to port explosion “must be a
mit to rebuilding one. among a population that has ment of the explosion. implement economic, social wake-up call.”
long ago given up on its lead- “Teams from several coun- and political reforms. “Without such action, the
“Beirut today is trying to rise ers. Poverty and unemploy- tries came for technical as- country’s ability to recover
from its rubble, and it is with ment are soaring, made worse sistance and to carry out the Lebanon’s government re- and rebuild will be jeopar-
the solidarity of all the Leba- by the coronavirus pandemic. necessary research and we signed under pressure in the dized, adding to the turmoil
nese and your support that it A local investigation into the are still waiting for their in- wake of the port explosion, and hardship of the Lebanese
will heal its wounds and rise blast is underway, but no one formation... as well as the and Prime Minister-desig- people,” Guterres added.
as it has previously risen re- has been held accountable so satellite images to clear the nate Mustapha Adib has been Guterres made his remarks
peatedly throughout history,” far. ambiguity in this part of the unable to form a new govern- during a meeting of the In-
Aoun said. “There is a great investigation,” he added. ment amid a political impasse ternational Support Group
need for the international Aroun said Lebanon had re- Earlier Wednesday, U.N. over which faction gets to for Lebanon held on the side-
community to support the quested technical assistance Secretary-General Antonio have the Finance Ministry, as lines of the U.N. General As-
reconstruction of destroyed from certain countries, par- Guterres called for swift for- well as other disputes. sembly meetings.

UK says no-deal Brexit could see 7,000-truck border queues

(AP) — There there could be lines of 7,000 trucks The government's Smart Freight system, designed the economic hit from a no-deal Brexit could be
at the English Channel and two-day waits to get to reduce the risk of cargo delays, will still be in a three times the impact of the coronavirus pan-
into France immediately after the U.K. makes testing phase in January. Work to recruit and train demic. The British economy contracted by a fifth
its economic break from the European Union at 50,000 new customs workers is nowhere near be- between March and May as the country went into
the end of the year, the British government said ing finished. lockdown, though it has since recovered some of
Wednesday, as it urged businesses to prepare for “We’ve been consistently warning the government that ground.
major change. that there will be delays at ports, but they’re just The EU and the U.K. say a deal must be struck by
not engaging with industry on coming up with so- October so it can be approved and ratified before
Michael Gove, the minister in charge of Brexit lutions," Road Haulage Association chief executive Jan. 1. But negotiators remain at loggerheads on
preparations, described the border backlog as a Richard Burnett said. key issues, especially European fishing boats’ ac-
“reasonable worst-case scenario” in a letter to lo- cess to U.K. waters and competition rules for busi-
gistics firms and an oral update to lawmakers in the Rachel Reeves, Brexit spokeswoman for Britain's nesses.
House of Commons. He said that between 30% main opposition Labour Party, said the scenario en- Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier is due to hold
and 60% of trucks wanting to cross the Channel visioned by the government would mean “concret- talks with his British counterpart, David Frost, in
might not be ready for new paperwork and regula- ing over the Garden of England,” as the agricul- London Wednesday ahead of a ninth formal round
tions that will come into effect on Jan. 1. “They'd ture-rich southeast county of Kent is known. The of negotiations next week.
therefore be turned back by the French border port of Dover is in Kent County. The climate for the talks has been further chilled
authorities, clogging the Dover to Calais cross- “Today’s warnings are based on a reasonable worst- by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s intro-
ing” Gove told lawmakers, referring to the ports case scenario, but given we have a reasonable duction of a bill that would give the U.K. the right
in southeast England and northern France. Such worst-case government, we have to assume that to override parts of the legally binding withdrawal
backups could lead to queues of up to 7,000 trucks these scenarios will play out quite soon," Reeves agreement it struck with the bloc less than a year
on the British side, he said. said. The U.K. withdrew from the EU’s political ago.
The government said the delays could last at least institutions on Jan. 31 but remains in a tariff-free
three months until companies got used to the new transition period until the end of the year while ne- The bill has infuriated the EU, which has threat-
systems and requirements. gotiators try to work out a future trade relationship. ened legal action if Britain does not reverse course
by the end of September. Johnson shows no signs
“The consequences of a lack of business prepared- Even with a deal, Britain will be leaving the bloc’s of dropping the bill, which is currently making its
ness will be not just economic opportunities missed single market and customs union, meaning some way through Parliament.
for those companies that don’t prepare, but poten- new checks and trade barriers. Without a deal there The legislation has also caused an uproar in Britain.
tially much wider disruption,” Gove said. Haulage will be much greater disruption, with the U.K. and Five former prime ministers criticized Johnson’s
and logistics companies accused the government the EU having to slap tariffs on each others’ goods. willingness to break international law, and the gov-
of trying blame them for its lack of preparation A report by political research group U.K. in a ernment’s top legal civil servant and most senior
for the changes coming in just over three months. Changing Europe estimated that, in the long run, law officer for Scotland have both resigned.