The US, Europe and the Gulf states pledged nearly US$1 billion to help Lebanon recover from a crippling war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas, doubling the amount sought by an international donors' conference.
Organizers hailed the bigger-than-expected contributions on Thursday as a show of strength for nations seeking to counter the influence of Hezbollah in rebuilding roads, homes and lives after the 34-day war.
But critics warned the amount was a moot point, saying it was impossible to sidestep Hezbollah when delivering aid to southern Lebanon.
"I don't think this will help Lebanon in the long term," said Middle East expert Magnus Norell of the Swedish Defense Research Agency. "There is only one actor in southern Lebanon that can handle aid, and that's Hezbollah."
World donors gathered for the conference in Stockholm pledged US$940 million in early reconstruction aid -- nearly twice the US$500 million target set by organizers. The money was earmarked for rebuilding infrastructure, clearing unexploded Israeli bombs and restoring social services.
In his opening speech, Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Saniora told delegates that 15 years of postwar development had been wiped out by "Israel's deadly military machine" in a matter of days.
The direct damage of the conflict was in the "billions of dollars," while the indirect cost including lost tourism and industry revenue would cost billions more, he said.
In related news, donors pledged US$500 million in further aid to the Palestinian Territories yesterday, of which $55 million will go directly to meeting a shortfall in UN funding.
"I would say this is a fantastic result," Swedish Aid Minister Carin Jamtin told delegates at the end of a conference arranged by Sweden, Norway and Spain to help meet a revised UN appeal for further funding of US$170 million for the Palestinians, on top of an original request for US$215 million.
A missing fingertip offers a clue to Mako Nishimura’s criminal past as one of Japan’s few female yakuza, but after clawing her way out of the underworld, she now spends her days helping other retired gangsters reintegrate into society. The multibillion-dollar yakuza organized crime network has long ruled over Japan’s drug rings, illicit gambling dens and sex trade. In the past few years, the empire has started to crumble as members have dwindled and laws targeting mafia are tightened. An intensifying police crackdown has shrunk yakuza forces nationwide, with their numbers dipping below 20,000 last year for the first time since records
CAUSE UNKNOWN: Weather and runway conditions were suitable for flight operations at the time of the accident, and no distress signal was sent, authorities said A cargo aircraft skidded off the runway into the sea at Hong Kong International Airport early yesterday, killing two ground crew in a patrol car, in one of the worst accidents in the airport’s 27-year history. The incident occurred at about 3:50am, when the plane is suspected to have lost control upon landing, veering off the runway and crashing through a fence, the Airport Authority Hong Kong said. The jet hit a security patrol car on the perimeter road outside the runway zone, which then fell into the water, it said in a statement. The four crew members on the plane, which
Indonesia was to sign an agreement to repatriate two British nationals, including a grandmother languishing on death row for drug-related crimes, an Indonesian government source said yesterday. “The practical arrangement will be signed today. The transfer will be done immediately after the technical side of the transfer is agreed,” the source said, identifying Lindsay Sandiford and 35-year-old Shahab Shahabadi as the people being transferred. Sandiford, a grandmother, was sentenced to death on the island of Bali in 2013 after she was convicted of trafficking drugs. Customs officers found cocaine worth an estimated US$2.14 million hidden in a false bottom in Sandiford’s suitcase when
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its junior partner yesterday signed a coalition deal, paving the way for Sanae Takaichi to become the nation’s first female prime minister. The 11th-hour agreement with the Japan Innovation Party (JIP) came just a day before the lower house was due to vote on Takaichi’s appointment as the fifth prime minister in as many years. If she wins, she will take office the same day. “I’m very much looking forward to working with you on efforts to make Japan’s economy stronger, and to reshape Japan as a country that can be responsible for future generations,”
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