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A10 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 11 July 2019

Lebanon leaders condemn US sanctions on Hezbollah lawmakers

Associated Press Hezbollah and its allies won
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s a majority in 2018 elections
president and parlia- and the group has three
ment speaker decried on Cabinet seats, the largest
Wednesday new U.S. sanc- number it has ever con-
tions targeting two Hezbol- trolled. The group, found-
lah lawmakers, as the prime ed by Iran’s Revolution-
minister sought to reassure ary Guard in the 1980s, is
the public the fragile econ- among the most effective
omy won’t be affected. armed groups in the region
The country’s top leaders and has fought several
were reacting a day after wars with neighboring Is-
the U.S. Treasury Depart- rael. Lebanon is still techni-
ment said it is targeting two cally at war with Israel.
Hezbollah lawmakers and Hezbollah has also sent
a security official suspect- thousands of its fighters to
ed of using their positions This combination of three photo shows, from left, Wafiq Safa, a top Hezbollah security official, and Syria to fight alongside the
to further the aims of the Lebanon Parliament members Muhammad Hasan Ra’d and Amin Sherri in Beirut. troops of President Bashar
Iran-backed group as well Associated Press Assad. Lebanese groups
as bolster Tehran’s “malign sanctions from the United commitment of Lebanon The Western-backed Prime are sharply divided over
activities.” States. But Treasury officials and its banking sector to Minister Saad Hariri, one of Hezbollah’s growing re-
The new sanctions were said the latest designation, international agreements Hezbollah’s main local op- gional clout but the local
the first time Washington naming lawmakers Mo- combatting money laun- ponents, said the sanctions rivals have worked togeth-
targeted lawmakers cur- hammad Raad who leads dering, funding terrorism took a “new course” when er to preserve a delicately
rently seated in Lebanon’s the group’s parliamen- and other criminal activi- they hit elected lawmakers balanced political system.
parliament — a jab at the tary bloc and Amin Sherri, ties. but urged that the issue not The sectarian-based ar-
militant group’s growing makes clear that there is no Parliament Speaker Nabih be exaggerated to avoid rangement has survived
political role which seemed dividing line between Hez- Berri called the sanctions aggravating already tense flare ups over policy deci-
to have struck a nerve at bollah’s political and mili- an aggression against the domestic relations. sions following a 1989 po-
a time when the country is tant wings. whole country and against “This will not affect parlia- litical deal that capped 15
dealing with a major eco- Lebanon’s President Michel Lebanese democracy. He ment or the work that we years of civil war.
nomic slump. Aoun said the U.S. decision called on the Geneva- do both in parliament and “The most important thing
The widening dragnet also to target lawmakers was based Inter-Parliamentary in the Council of Ministers,” that we must work on at
comes as the U.S. increases regrettable, adding that Union to take the neces- Hariri said during a function present is to secure the
its pressure on Tehran, levy- his government will pursue sary measures to deal with in Beirut. “It is important that needs of the Lebanese citi-
ing new sanctions on Iran the matter with American “the irrational behavior.” It we preserve the banking zens and provide them with
and raising tensions across officials. is not clear what the union sector and the Lebanese a good economic situation
the region. Aoun said the decision can do. economy, and God willing, because they are fed up
Hezbollah has been un- contradicts previous U.S. Both Berri and Aoun are He- this crisis will pass sooner or of political rhetoric and slo-
der increasing financial positions vouching for the zbollah allies. later.” gans,” Hariri said.q

Ukraine: Chernobyl’s radioactive dust shelter unveiled

Associated Press exposure to radiation at el- debris and prevent further
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — evated levels while fighting crumbling of the reactor.
Ukraine’s President Volody- the fire at the plant or work- A section of the machine
myr Zelenskiy on Wednes- ing to clean up the con- hall collapsed in 2012.
day inaugurated a giant tamination. To finance the contain-
structure built to confine ra- The accident exposed ment structure, the EBRD
dioactive debris at the nu- millions in the region to managed a fund with con-
clear reactor that explod- dangerous levels of radia- tributions from 45 countries,
ed in Chernobyl in 1986. tion and forced a perma- the European Union and
The confinement structure nent evacuation of about the bank’s own resources.
for the Chernobyl nuclear 350,000 people from hun- Ukraine contributed 100
power plant’s Reactor No. dreds of towns and villages million euros (about $112
4 cost 1.5 billion euros (al- in Ukraine and Belarus. million).
most $1.7 billion) to build, The disaster’s eventual Deputy project manager
and the entire project cost death toll has been subject Victor Zalizetskyi, who has
2.2 billion euros (about $2.5 to speculation and dispute, been part of construction
billion). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, foreground, visits the but the World Health Orga- and repairs at the Cher-
The complex construction “new safe confinement” shelter that spans the remains of the nization’s cancer research nobyl plant since 1987, said
effort to secure the molten Chernobyl nuclear power plant’s Reactor No. 4, in Chernobyl, arm has estimated that he was “filled with pride”
reactor’s core and 200 tons Ukraine, Wednesday, July 10, 2019. 9,000 people were to die of that he got to work on a job
of highly radioactive mate- Associated Press exposure-related cancer “that has such a big impor-
rial took nine years to com- with a span of 257 me- spewing radioactive dust and leukemia if Chernobyl tance for all humankind.”
plete under the auspices ters (843 feet) and a total across Europe in the world’s disaster’s health effects fol- However, Zalizetskyi ex-
of the European Bank for weight of over 36,000 met- worst nuclear accident. low a similar pattern to the pressed concern in an in-
Reconstruction and De- ric tons (over 40,000 tons). Thirty workers died either Hiroshima and Nagasaki terview last week that war-
velopment. Officials have Reactor No. 4 at the plant from the explosion or from atomic bombings. torn Ukraine might struggle
described the shelter as in what was then Soviet acute radiation sickness The new confinement to cover the maintenance
the largest moveable land- Ukraine exploded and within several months. structure was designed costs for the reactor’s new
based structure ever built, burned on April 26, 1986, About 600,000 people had to safeguard radioactive enclosure. q