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Worldnews

UN Rights Chief Worried By Fundamental Shift In US Direction Under Trump

Volker Turk tells the UN Human Rights Council that policies meant to protect marginalised people are being called ‘discriminatory’. The United Nations human rights chief has expressed deep concern about a “fundamental shift in direction” by the United States under President Donald Trump, warning that divisive rhetoric is being used to deceive and polarise people. “We have enjoyed bipartisan support from the US on human rights over many decades. … I am now deeply worried by the fundamental shift in direction that is taking place domestically and internationally,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told the UN Human Rights Council on Monday in Geneva, Switzerland, during a speech that did not mention Trump by name. “Policies intended to protect people from discrimination are now labelled as discriminatory. … Divisive rhetoric is being used to distort, deceive and polarise. This is generating fear and anxiety among many,” he added in his strongest remarks so far on the impact of the new US administration’s policies. Since taking office on January 20, Trump has issued a series of executive orders aimed at dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion programmes across the federal government. Many private US companies have followed suit. Trump also paused US Agency for International Development (USAID) programmes for 90 days while his administration reviews if they align with his “America first” policy. Last week, the Trump administration announced it was cancelling nearly 10,000 foreign aid grants and contracts worth almost $60bn, accounting for nearly 90 percent of USAID’s work internationally. The president has also disengaged the US from several international bodies and agreements, including the Human Rights Council, World Health Organization and the Paris climate agreement. Turk condemned Trump’s appointment of tech billionaire Elon Musk as head of his Department of Government Efficiency. Without referring to him by name, Turk expressed concern over the growing influence wielded by “a handful of unelected tech oligarchs” who are privy to people’s data. Turk warned that those tech tycoons “know where we live, what we do, our genes and our health conditions, our thoughts, our habits, our desires and our fears”. “They know us better than we know ourselves, and they know how to manipulate us,” he said, warning that unregulated power can lead to “oppression, subjugation and even tyranny: the playbook of the autocrat”. The UN rights chief urged countries to protect their citizens from unchecked power and “work together”. Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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Just In: FG Declares Tuesday, October 1st, A Public Holiday To Mark Nigerias 64th Independence Anniversary

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Worldnews

Is Lebanons New Central Bank Governor Another Riad Salameh?

Lebanon has a new central bank governor. But critics say he’s too close to traditional powers who created the crisis. Beirut, Lebanon – Lebanon’s council of ministers has elected Karim Souaid as central bank governor – a candidate backed by the country’s bank lobby and a businessman who many say is emblematic of the malaise Lebanon is suffering. Just out of a brutal war with Israel, Lebanon is in dire need of reconstruction and recovery money. Since 2019, Lebanon has suffered through one of modern history’s worst economic crises. State services have been battered, including the electricity sector, leaving those who can afford the cost to rely on private generators. The World Bank estimates $11bn is needed for the job, and the next governor is crucial for unlocking funds from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that will encourage more support from the international community. On Wednesday, Lebanese media reports marked Souaid, the founder of Bahrain-based private investment firm Growthgate Partners, as the frontrunner. Sources told Al Jazeera that while the IMF did not comment on candidates, Souaid’s proposed policies do not match the required reforms. Two camps had emerged in response to Souaid’s candidacy. On one side were the banks, banking lobby, most of the significant traditional parties – including ideological adversaries like Hezbollah and the Lebanese forces – and President Joseph Aoun, whose economic adviser, Varouj Nerguizian, is a board member of Souaid’s investment firm. On the other side were some reformist ministers, independent MPs, reform-minded NGOs, and sceptics, including Prime Minister Nawaf Salam. After Souaid was voted in, Salam delivered a speech admitting he and other ministers had reservations about the new appointment. “Any governor must abide by the financial policy of our reformist government as expressed by the ministerial statement [that includes] a new programme with the International Monetary Fund, restructuring banks, and devising a complete plan according to the best international standards to preserve depositors’ rights,” Salam said. Souaid has yet to comment on what his plan for the central bank would be. But those opposed to Souaid say he is too close to power and his policies overwhelmingly favour the banking lobby. Former Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s son Maher is also a board member of Souaid’s investment firm. “They’re trying to bring in another Riad Salameh,” said Mohammad Farida, economic adviser for the Depositors Union, an NGO that argues that banks and not depositors should be held accountable for the 2019 financial crisis. Salameh is the former central bank governor who was arrested in September for financial crimes in Lebanon and is the subject of numerous financial investigations in five different European countries. Lebanon is entering the sixth year of a devastating economic crisis and badly needs relief funds from the IMF, which has laid out several reforms Lebanon needs to apply to receive those funds. A parallel battle for accountability for the tens of billions in economic losses has been at an impasse for five years as the political class, backed by the banking lobby, focused on scuttling any effort at passing reforms the IMF deems critical to unlock $3bn in relief funds. The fight essentially comes down to who should bear responsibility for the 2019 economic collapse and bear the losses. The pro-banker side believes the state is primarily responsible for the collapse after defaulting on eurobonds. To recover depositors’ money, they say, the state should pay the banks back through actions like selling off state assets. This is the side supporting Souaid. Souaid’s ideas for the state are thought to be outlined in a 2023 paper, financed by his investment firm, that recommends haircuts of up to 90 percent, which would fall on depositors. Critics say this would allow bankers and the politicians who backed and profited from them to escape accountability. “It would basically incentivise them to take the same behaviour [that caused the economic and banking crisis] with the same risks,” Walid Marrouch, an economics professor at the Lebanese American University, said. The pro-reform side, which includes the Depositors Union, says piling the losses on the state will bankrupt it and hurt citizens who did nothing wrong, so the commercial banks should foot the losses to repay depositors. These reforms would hit bank owners the hardest, forcing some banks to merge or close entirely. At an emergency news conference called by the Depositors’ Union on Wednesday to oppose Souaid’s selection, Halime Kaakour, one of 13 Lebanese MPs elected in 2022 on a post-revolution sentiment demanding reform, stated: “We will hold each minister accountable who nominates a central bank governor that will burden the state with $76bn in losses.” The $76bn figure is an estimate, as the exact figure is unknown. During the crisis, many depositors withdrew their money while the Lebanese lira was plummeting, while some of the country’s wealthiest moved their money abroad. In 2020, the Hassan Diab government proposed a solution that experts told Al Jazeera would have met the IMF’s specifications. But the solution was derailed by political deadlock, and depositors suffered. As banks locked down and citizens were unable to withdraw their money, the exchange rate devalued by more than 95 percent. Before the crisis, the lira stood at 1,500 to the US dollar – today, $1 is equal to 89,000 lira. With many of the country’s former middle class thrust into poverty, some citizens were forced to hold up banks to withdraw their money. After the vast destruction caused by Israel’s latest war on Lebanon, the need for reconstruction money is increasingly pressing. As this pressure increased, so too did the battle over who would lead Lebanon’s central bank since this figure will deeply affect Lebanon’s economic and banking agenda over the coming years. The banks’ side, which supports Souaid, has been spearheaded by Antoun Sehnaoui, the chairman of the board of the SGBL Group. Sehnaoui also funds Lebanese media outlets and is believed to be close to many politicians. He is widely believed to back the Soldiers of God (Jnoud el-Rab), a gang of men who quote Christian scripture and gained notoriety for targeting Lebanon’s LGBTQ community with violence. In the run-up to the vote for central bank governor, media outlets Megaphone and Daraj reported that Sehnaoui had filed lawsuits against them. The deeply rooted influence bankers like Sehnaoui have over the Lebanese system is largely why the state struggles to serve its citizens, critics say. “It’s a mafia and [the bankers] are the oligarchs,” Fouad Debs, a lawyer and member of the Depositors Union, told Al Jazeera. Debs said Souaid’s confirmation was a setback for a just solution to Lebanon’s economic crisis and it will deeply affect depositors and the state. “The appointment of Souaid is disastrous,” he said, adding that the state is likely to take on the tens of billions of dollars in debt instead of the banks. Critics like Debs say, because many politicians are funded by bankers or are shareholders in banks themselves, they try to bring Lebanon’s economic policy in line with the banks’ interests even if it contradicts the public interest. For years, the banks have benefitted from banking secrecy laws that reformists and the IMF say need to change. Opponents to the new central bank governor will now push to try and come up with a recovery plan they feel is fair to depositors, but it will be an uphill battle after Souaid’s appointment. “They are turning the country into a private company for maybe a few thousand individuals who will literally have control over most of the wealth in the country,” Debs said. “It’s very dangerous and the country will change completely.” Follow Al Jazeera English:...

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Police Rescue Newborn Baby, Arrest Traffickers In Akwa Ibom

The Police Command in Akwa Ibom said it has rescued a two-day-old baby and apprehended two traffickers who attempted to sell the baby for ₦800,000. The Police Public Relations Officer, Timfon John, disclosed this in a statement released in Uyo on Monday. John said the operatives of the command intercepted a vehicle along Nsit Atai-Oron Road driven by a male and two female occupants with a newborn baby. She said the rescued baby had been taken to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Welfare in Uyo for care and custody, pending the conclusion of the investigation. John said, “The Akwa Ibom State Police Command, in its effort to protect lives and property, has intercepted a suspected child trafficking syndicate. “Operatives of the command, while on patrol along the Nsit Atai-Oron Road, intercepted a Mazda vehicle with registration number YAB 454 AA. “The vehicle was driven by one Bethel Anyanwu, a male, and had two female occupants along with a two-day-old baby. “Upon interrogation, the occupants could not provide a satisfactory explanation regarding the infant. “Following a series of interrogations, one Nasikpo Sonia Labere, a female, and Inemesit Okin Akpan, a female, confessed to being sent from Port Harcourt, Rivers. ”(They were allegedly sent) by one Waazor Godwin, a female, and one Lilian Duru, a female, to collect the baby from one Miss Grace Inyang in Oron.” The police spokesperson said the investigation had revealed that one Alison Eduno facilitated the connection between the buyer and the seller. She added that the police apprehended the grandmother and the mother of the baby, identified as Grace Walter, 55 years old, and Blessing Walter, 20 years old, both residing in Oti Oron. According to her, they confessed to selling the baby for the sum of ₦800,000. The PPRO added that all the suspects were in police custody and would be arraigned in court after investigations had been concluded. NAN