Bar Crobar

Endless traffic jams at open petrol stations in Lebanon

The price of petrol in Lebanon has almost tripled in the space of two months.

LEBANON - Lebanon, in the throes of economic collapse, increased fuel prices by almost 70% on Sunday 22 August, marking a further reduction in subsidies in a country deprived of foreign currency and plagued by shortages. With this latest increase, fuel prices have almost tripled in the two months since the Central Bank began cutting import subsidies in June.

The increase will have repercussions throughout the economy, driving up prices in a country hit by hyperinflation. With the crisis, prices in supermarkets are rising almost week by week, due to a depreciation of the Lebanese pound that nothing seems to be stopping. According to the new price list published on Sunday by the National Information Agency (ANI), the price of unleaded 98 and 95 petrol has risen by 67% and 66% compared with the last prices announced on 11 August. The price of household gas has risen by 50%.

Because of the shortages, many petrol stations are not opening and long queues are forming in front of those that are accepting customers, as you can see in the video above. To clear their name, the authorities are pointing the finger at smuggling into neighbouring Syria, where fuel is sold at a much higher price than on the Lebanese market. The army launched searches and seized tonnes of fuel from service stations and suppliers accused of stockpiling it for speculative purposes. On 15 August, before dawn, a petrol tanker exploded in the Akkar region (north), killing around thirty people, according to a new report from the Ministry of Health, with some of the injured dying from their injuries.

One of the worst economic crises

Since autumn 2019, Lebanon has been going through one of the worst economic crises in the world since the middle of the 19th century, according to the World Bank. A Central Bank (BDL) mechanism used to provide importers with dollars at the official rate of 1,507 Lebanese pounds, which was cheaper than the market rate, thereby curbing the price of certain products. But short of foreign currency, the BDL began gradually rationing its dollars. At the end of June, it announced the adoption of a rate of 3900 pounds to the dollar for fuel imports.

On Saturday, at a meeting between the President, the outgoing Prime Minister and the Governor of the Central Bank, a new rate of 8,000 pounds was adopted. The Central Bank had first announced on August 11 that it would no longer finance fuel subsidies, causing panic.

For several weeks, the exhausted population has been living for long hours without electricity, and even hospitals are threatened by the energy crisis. Some 78% of the Lebanese population now live below the poverty line, according to the UN.

text by Le HuffPost with AFP

Faced with the Taliban, Afghan women are torn between fear and resignation

As a sad symbol, burqa sellers achieved record sales in Kabul on Tuesday, where women are anticipating restrictions on their freedoms.

AFGHANISTAN - Women were in short supply on the streets of Afghanistan on Tuesday 17 August, the day after the Taliban took power.

Women fear a return to the same type of fundamentalist regime that they experienced under the Taliban from 1996 to 2001. At that time, women were forbidden to go out without a male chaperone and to work, while girls were forbidden to go to school.

Women accused of crimes such as adultery were whipped and stoned to death. Games, music, photography and television were banned. Thieves had their hands cut off, murderers were publicly executed and homosexuals were killed.

As a sad symbol, burqa vendors in Kabul on Tuesday posted record sales, as CNN journalist Clarissa Ward saw for herself. Women are already anticipating the new restrictions on their freedom.

Yet on Tuesday, there was no sign that the Taliban had reintroduced or intended to impose the same ultra-rigorist version of Islamic law as twenty years ago. But no one seemed willing to take the risk. "People are afraid of the unknown", said one shopkeeper, who wished to remain anonymous. "The Taliban patrol the town in small convoys. They don't bother anyone, but of course people are afraid", he added.

A brief demonstration in Kabul

In the Afghan capital, a handful of women demonstrated their opposition to the new regime on Tuesday. Images posted on social networks showed a brief gathering outside the entrance to the Green Zone to demand the right to return to work there as cooks or cleaners. Taliban in lorries tried in vain to disperse them before they were persuaded by civilians to leave.

In Herat, women also fear for their freedoms. In the country's third largest city, a school for women has been able to reopen, but all the pupils now wear the hijab and wonder how much longer they will be able to continue studying.

The Taliban have tried to reassure the population through various media appearances. On Sky News, insurgent spokesman Suhail Shaheen said on Monday evening that women need not fear any threats.

"Their right to education is also protected", he said. However, the Taliban remain vague about how they intend to govern Afghanistan.

Text by Le HuffPost with AFP

LIGA - WHY LIONEL MESSI COULDN'T STAY AT BARÇA, EVEN FOR FREE

LIGA - Lionel Messi confirmed his departure from Barça at a press conference on Sunday. The Argentinian explained that he wanted to stay, even at the cost of a drastic pay cut, but that the rules of La Liga prevented him from doing so. In fact, he would not have been able to re-sign with Barcelona, even for free.

"I offered to lower my salary by 50%. I tried everything." Lionel Messi has, he says, tried everything to stay at FC Barcelona. But the six-time Ballon d'Or winner, after 21 years in Catalonia, bid farewell to his beloved club at a press conference on Sunday. He explained that he had done his utmost, as had the club and its president Joan Laporta, to continue in the Blaugrana shirt. But due to the rules of La Liga, this was not possible. Even if Messi had, hypothetically, decided to play for free for the club he was playing for, he would have been unable to do so. "likes.

Messi: "PSG is a possibility

La Liga regulations impose a sort of salary cap. A club's wage bill must not exceed 70% of its turnover. In Barça's case, however, and according to the figures given by president Joan Laporta himself on Friday, the sum of Barcelona's wages currently represents... 95% of the club's turnover. Add Messi, and the figure rises to 110%!

BARCELONA PAYS FOR ITS DISASTROUS MANAGEMENT

The Blaugrana are therefore banned from registering any new players. According to several Spanish sources, they have still not validated the contracts of their summer recruits Memphis Depay, Eric Garcia, Emerson Royal and Sergio Agüero. As Messi's lease expired this summer, he would also have been considered a new player. It would therefore be impossible for the Argentinian to renew his contract, unless Barça had cut almost 200 million euros from their wage bill this summer. Mission impossible.

Barcelona are paying for their disastrous management in recent years. Messi's most recent contract, worth almost €575 million, was obviously a factor. So did the club's recent spending spree (Coutinho at €145 million, Dembélé at €130 million, Griezmann at €120 million). According to Laporta, Barça lost nearly €475 million last year and are now just over €1 billion in debt. An untenable situation that precipitated the loss of the best player in the club's history - or in history, for that matter.

Text BY EUROSPORT

Tokyo Olympics: surprise winner of the 100 metres, Jacobs thinks he "needs four or five years to achieve".

A new European record holder in the 100 metres, Italian sprinter Lamont Marcell Jacobs did not expect to win the final of the showpiece event at the Tokyo Olympics.

"I really didn't know anything about him". Silver medallist in the 100m, Fred Kerley himself admits that Lamont Marcell Jaccobs' triumph in the world's most prestigious event came as a huge surprise. The first time I ran at the same time as him was at the Monaco meeting in July," said the American after the race. He did a fantastic job. I ran really well and I got a medal, so I can't complain. It was a great race and I set a personal best. I'm blessed to be here, at the peak of my career.

If there's one runner who can say as much, it's his Italian counterpart. In the 100m final, Lamont Marcell Jacobs beat the continental record, which he had already lowered in the semi-final, with a time of 9′80. Speaking in the mixed zone, the Italian runner made no secret of his delight and his own surprise at his resounding performance.

Were you expecting this title?

LAMONT MARCELL JACOBS No, no, my only dream when I arrived here was to reach the final. It's incredible, I don't have the words to describe this moment. I think I'll need four or five years to realise, to understand what's happened, it's incredible. I've worked really hard to get here in the best possible shape.

Italy has won two titles, including the height title. What does this represent?

It's incredible. Last night we were playing PlayStation in my room with Gianmarco (Tamberi) and we were thinking: "Imagine if we won? Nooo... It's impossible, don't think about it". But tonight I saw him win 5 minutes before me and I said to myself: "I'll do it". He's a really good guy, incredible, I love him. He's been through some bad times and now we're both Olympic champions.

You had never gone under 10 seconds this year, what did you change?

I've built up a very good team around me and I've worked hard on my mental state. Because before, when the important moments came, my legs weren't good. Now my legs respond well at the right moment. I'd like to thank my team. In training we changed the start, but above all we worked mentally. With a good diet, physiotherapy...

Text by Le Parisien with AFP