Lebanese banks to remain shut indefinitely after economic crises
Lebanese banks will remain shut "indefinitely" due to a lack of security protection by authorities, say their association, BBC reported.
The announcement by the Association of Lebanese Banks follows a string of raids by customers demanding access to frozen savings last week.
It said their employees faced risks which had not been mitigated.
A woman armed with a toy gun staged a hold-up at a bank on Wednesday to pay for family medical bills.
There have since been other copycat raids, with reports of at least five last Friday.
Lebanon is in a severe economic crisis, with more than 80% of the population struggling to afford food and medicine, according to BBC.
Banks have limited withdrawals of dollars since 2019, when the value of the Lebanese pound plummeted and inflation soared.
Mahsa Amini: Protests over woman’s death claim more lives in Iran
Nine people are now reported to have been killed at protests in Iran sparked by the death of a woman detained for allegedly breaking strict hijab rules, BBC reported.
Among those reported killed is a 16-year-old boy, shot dead when security forces opened fire on protesters.
The unrest has spread to more than 20 major cities, including the capital Tehran.
Videos posted online from Wednesday's unrest showed women waving their headscarves in the air or burning them.
"No to the headscarf, no to the turban, yes to freedom and equality!" protesters were heard chanting at a demonstration in Tehran.
In an address to the UN General Assembly, US President Joe Biden said Americans stood with "the brave women of Iran who right now are demonstrating to secure their basic rights".
He spoke after Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi rejected calls from Western powers to respect women's rights.
The hard-line Shia Muslim cleric accused them of "double standards", citing the discovery of unmarked graves of indigenous children in Canada and the treatment of the Palestinian people.
Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman from the north-western city of Saqez, died in hospital on Friday, after spending three days in a coma.
She was visiting the capital Tehran with her family when she was arrested by morality police, who accused her of violating the law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab and their arms and legs with loose clothing. She collapsed after being taken to a detention centre to be "educated".
There are reports that officers beat Ms Amini's head with a baton and banged her head against one of their vehicles, according to BBC.
The police have denied that she was mistreated and said she suffered "sudden heart failure". But her family has said she was fit and healthy.
Acting UN human rights chief Nada al-Nashif called on Tuesday for prompt, independent and impartial investigation into Ms Amini's death.
She noted that her office had received "numerous, and verified, videos of violent treatment of women" by morality police, who have stepped up their enforcement of hijab rules in recent months.
Ms Nashif also expressed alarm at "the reported unnecessary or disproportionate use of force" against the thousands of people who have taken in part in protests since Mahsa Amini died.
The death toll comes from Kurdish rights groups, who blamed security forces.
There has been no confirmation of the deaths from the authorities, but a prosecutor told the Tasnim news agency that two people were killed by "anti-revolutionary elements" on Tuesday.
The state-run Irna news agency said a police assistant died of injuries he sustained in violent clashes with protesters in Shiraz on Tuesday.
Internet-monitoring group NetBlocks meanwhile reported that access to Instagram, one of the last available social media platforms in Iran and one used by people to circulate pictures and footage of the protests, had been restricted. The internet service has already been disrupted in Kurdistan province, Tehran and other parts of the country for several days, BBC reported.
Fed rate hike: US interest rates hit 14-year high in inflation battle
The US central bank has pushed interest rates to the highest level in almost 15 years as it fights to rein in soaring prices in the world's largest economy, BBC reported.
The Federal Reserve announced it was raising its key rate by another 0.75 percentage points, lifting the target range to 3% to 3.25%.
Borrowing costs are expected to climb more - and remain high, the bank said.
The move comes despite mounting concern that the cost of controlling inflation could be a harsh economic downturn.
Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said the rate rises were necessary to slow demand, easing the pressures putting up prices and avoiding long-term damage to the economy. But he conceded that they will take a toll.
Trumps inflated net worth by billions, says NY state lawsuit
Donald Trump and three of his children have been hit with a fraud lawsuit after a New York investigation into their family company - the Trump Organization, BBC reported.
It alleges that they lied "by billions" about the value of real estate in order to get loans and pay less tax.
Prosecutors say the Trump Organization committed numerous acts of fraud between 2011-21.
Mr Trump has dismissed the lawsuit as "another witch hunt".
The former president's eldest children, Donald Jr, Ivanka and Eric Trump, were also named as defendants alongside two executives at the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney.
The lawsuit has been brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who is the state's most senior lawyer, after a three-year civil investigation.
"With the help of his children and senior executives at the Trump Organization, Donald Trump falsely inflated his net worth by billions of dollars to unjustly enrich himself and cheat the system," Ms James said in a statement.
She said Mr Trump's own apartment in Trump Tower, which was valued at $327m (£288m), was among the properties whose values were allegedly misrepresented, according to BBC.
"No apartment in New York City has ever sold for close to that amount," Ms James added.
Ukraine conflict: Russia arrests hundreds at anti-war protests
Russian police are reported to have arrested hundreds of protesters rallying against the Kremlin's decision to call up thousands of extra troops to fight in Ukraine, BBC reported.
Russian human rights group OVD-Info put the total at more than 1,300. The largest numbers arrested were in St Petersburg and Moscow.
Dozens were held in Irkutsk and other Siberian cities, and Yekaterinburg.
Flights out of Russia sold out fast after Vladimir Putin's announcement.
Pictures on social media showed long queues at border posts, and on Google, the search for "how to leave Russia" skyrocketed.
Russia's president ordered a partial mobilisation, meaning some 300,000 military reservists - but not conscripts - will be drafted to bolster Russia's forces who have suffered recent battlefield reverses in Ukraine.
And in remarks condemned by Ukraine and its allies, Mr Putin stressed that he would use "all available means" to protect Russian territory - implying this could involve nuclear weapons.
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Editorial: Healthcare needs a long-term investment
Kathmandu valley is in the grips of the dengue epidemic. As of Sept 19, the Health Ministry has recorded 17,594 cases and over 20 deaths across the country since May. Over 10,000 infections have been reported in the valley. At this point, many hospitals in Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur are overstretched by dengue patients. Government hospitals in particular are being overrun as patient numbers continue to pile up with no signs of letup. By no stretch of imagination, one can come to the conclusion that dengue virus has gained the upper hand over the health authorities. Already, there are reports about a shortage of paracetamol, a common painkiller used to reduce fever of dengue patients. The situation resembles peak Covid-19 times. Then, the government had pledged to ramp up the production of paracetamol and other essential medicines. It did not and here we are, reliving the same nightmare. Public health experts and epidemiologists have already sounded alarm bells about the imminent crisis. If the government and its concerned agencies fail to act swiftly and aggressively, there will be more infections and more deaths. Dengue vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes are attacking by swarms, and they have reached almost every corner of the country. Thanks to the extreme effects of climate change, dengue-causing mosquitoes are now stalking high altitude regions, where previously they were uncommon. The government and health authorities should bear in mind that this is just the beginning. There will be more disease outbreaks in future, not just of dengue or Covid-19. Limitations of our healthcare system have already been exposed by Covid-19 and now dengue is doing the same. The vast majority of Nepalis cannot afford private hospitals. Meanwhile, government-run hospitals lack a litany of services, from basic infrastructure to medical equipment to staff strength. The situation is particularly pathetic in rural areas, where health facilities are few and far between and consequently, people are dying for want of proper care. To achieve universal health coverage, Nepal must invest around five percent of its GDP on healthcare. But the government has been spending less than two percent for the same. So long as the government chooses to remain parsimonious about spending on healthcare, our healthcare service will never improve. Nepali citizens will be scrambling to find a hospital bed and proper care, just like they have been doing now.
Nepal reports 81 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday
Nepal reported 81 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday. According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 097 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 39 returned positive. Likewise, 2, 350 people underwent antigen tests, of which 42 were tested positive. The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that 175 infected people recovered from the disease. As of today, there are 1, 483 active cases in the country.
PM Deuba summons legal experts to hold consultations on President’s move
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has summoned legal experts in Baluwatar to hold consultations after President Bidya Devi Bhandari did not authenticate the Citizenship Bill. It has been learnt that the Prime Minister called the legal experts to make further strategy. Prime Minister Deuba’s press advisor Govinda Pariyar said that they were summoned at 4 pm today. Earlier this afternoon, the ruling coalition concluded that the President’s move was unconstitutional and an attack on Constitution. Meanwhile, Janata Samajbadi Party cadres burnt the effigy of President Bhandari in Birgunj this afternoon.
