The president , but the challenger says the vote was rigged. The eu and the u. S. Have their doubts, too. It is the highest profile arrest in hong kong since beijing pushed through a new National Security law. Police have arrested the media tycoon, jim a, accusing him of plotting with Foreign Forces. Jim l. , accusing him of plotting with Foreign Forces. Im brent goff. To our viewers watching on pbs and around the world, welcome. In lebanon, the entire government quick almost a week after the fatal blessed in beirut. The president today announced the resignation of his government. The cabinet took office just eight months ago. Many lebanese lame the countrys political elite for years of corruption and negligence, which they say made last weeks explosion possible. Clashes continue between police and protesters in beirut tonight. In his address today, the Prime Minister said he is quitting to make possible the changes that lebanon needs. Today, we are heeding the people and their demands to hold accountable those responsible for a disaster that has been concealed for seven years. And their desire for real change. Change from the corrupt, destructive state. From a state of theft, to a state of law and justice and transparency, to a country that respects its people. In the face of this reality, we are taking a step back, to stand with the people to undergo this battle of change with them. We want to open the door towards national salvation, that the lebanese people are taking part in. This is why i am today announcing the resignation of the government. May god protect lebanon. That was a lebanese Prime Minister. Lets go to beieirut, with our correspondent staying by. The Prime Minister says the government has quit. Does that satisfy the lebanese people . Not at all. Even after t the announcement of the resignatiti of the government, the protests continued. They are not satisfied with the governments dictation. They are asking for more. They are asking now for the resignation of the president. It seems that what happened in the past days, especially after the explosion, turned everything upside down in lebanon. A week ago, two weeks ago, what was accepted by the protesters is now not acceptable at all. The political crisis caused by the government was one of the main demands. It seems that the protests will continue in the coming days. Brent we know there is going to be a caretaker goverernment untl there are new elections. Whatat does this caretaker government have to do immediately . It can do simply nothing. According to the l lebanese coconstitution, it has very minr authororities. The major issssues do not need a cabinet meeting. He can takake carare of it himsf without a governmentnt meeting. To have the formation of a new gogovernment, this is ananother question that indicates that the coming days will witness political turmoil among Political Parties s themselves, eveven those who formed the current government and where the government allies. Were the government allies. Brent if and when we see new elections in lebanon, who is going to emerge as front runners . Are there people already in the wings, waiting, whoho would like to take powower . Not quite, no. Still, the p Political Party in lebanon is the most orgrganid party. Thesee protesters protesting since the 1717th of march, they have tried to have their own agenda on politicical l life in lebanon, but they did not cceed. Unless we have individuals b ut still, they need to fight to confront the current political sectarian parties. Brent our correspondent with the latest tonight in beirut. As always, thank you. Not to belarus, where there have been fresh protests in the capital tonight against the result of sundays president ial election. The Election Commission claimed president alexander l. Had won a landslide 80 of the vote. His main challenger says the vote was rigged and has claimed victory for herself. The leaders of belarus see these demonstrations as a threat to their authority. In other cities, tens of thousands showed their support for the opposition on election night. Even though according to official figures, their main candidate won only 9. 9 of the vote. Then, the situation escalated. Security forces attempted to disperse demonstrators using Water Cannons and rubber bullets. Almost 100 people were injured in the clashes. Authorities say they made more than 3000 arrests. At first, things were peaceful. They walked in a chain. There wewere a lot of f them. Police vans started to arrest them. There were a lot of people with weapons. They started shooting at peoples arms and legs. The opposition candidate won victory and called on the president to step down. Claimed victory and called on the president to step down. So far, they have only responded with violence against peaceful citizens. And she denounced the election as a legitimatate as a legitimate as a legion of it as illegitimate. I received more votes than the other candidate. We have proof of voter fraud. We have people willingng to come forwarard about fraud and pollig stations. Evidence is allegedly circulating on the internet. This video shows a woman climbing out o of a polling station witith vans filled with ballot papers bags filled with ballot papers. The president says the protests are being organized from abroad. These sheep are being directed by people in the czech republic. The opposition understands nothing and is urging people to take to the streets in order to hold negotiations with the government so that it voluntarily hands over power. But handing over power is something the president has categorically ruled out. Brent joining me now is the larouche and the belarusian journalists and analysts journalist and analyst. The president one about 80 the president won abobout 80 of the vote. Do you think the result is credible . It is not. I would say elections stopped being elections two weeks ago, when t theovernment t did not allow any obserervation at t e stations. They did n not invite foreign observers, and they arrested almost all independent observers. The early voting, five days before the day of the voting, was extremely popular in terms of falsification. 43 of voters participated in early voting. We cannot say that the official results announced by the commission have anything in common with true numbers. Alexander l. Can get 40 , 30 of support, but not more. 20 , 30 of support, but not more. The protests are sparked by these results. Brent people are taking to the streets tonight. A second night to protest the Election Results. What do you make of the heavy handedness we are seeing by the police . Extxtreme violence. Absolute disproportional violence. Many people wounded. Today, police used grenades, but also the used rubber bullets. Some journalists are wounded. Summer in the hospital some are in the hospital. We know some people are in critical condition. Unfortununately, we do n not haa connnnection with h many citize. We d do not know w what is happg there. In s some cities, the clashes se mo violelent. Some cities, police do not attacked protesters. Do not attack protesters. Brent what does this mean for the opposition in belarus . Does the opposition have any choice but to accept the Election Results as s its s ben annound d by the goverernment . Alexander l. Wanants to show the oppoposition is nothing and does not have any influence. That is why he g gave the poposition sucuch a low number. That is white he says he will never give why he says he will never give her power. The protests happening right now can become much broader and bigger. They can also become much more violent. This is a very imporortant m mot of what will be her position to go to streets or to continue protesting by legal means. I think all legal means are over already. Brent it will be interesting to see what happens moving forward. We appppreciate your t time and ininsights. Thank you. We will hear some of the other stories making headlines around the world. Afghanistans president has approved the release of 400 taliban prisoners after an assembly of tribal leaders agreed to let them go. Patella been made the prisoner release a precondition for entering talks with the Afghan Government on ending the countrys civil war. Officials say new cracks have appeared in the whole of a Japanese Oil Tanker which ran ashore the island late last month. Oil has been leaking from the vessel. The government says nearly 2000 tons are still on board. The u. S. Healthh sececretary has met the taiwanese president in taipei. It is the highest level u. S. Visit to taiwan in four decades. He was therere to convey a strog message of support for u. S. President , donald trump. The visit hasas been ststngly condememned by china, which clas taiwan has its own territory. China is ramping up its crackdown on prodemocracy activists in hong kong. Police say they carried out in National Security operation that has seen several people detained. Among those arrested, the activist and media tycoon, jimmy lai. Jimmy lai is an outspoken critic of beijings policies in the territory. He was being held for suspected collusion with Foreign Forces under the National Security law just introduced in june. This was the moment of arrest. Jimmy lai, put into a police van outside his home in hong kong. Then driven away. Police raided the Publishers Office late in the morning. He was then later brought to the offices of his media company, next media. Paper lf released these pictures. Mr. Lai being escorted around the office by police officers. Police said they were looking for evidence, but did not specify what exactly. The 71yearold Jimmy Lai Jimmy Lai i is among several arrested. In a statement, police said seven people have been detned on suspicion of fraud and colluding with Foreign Forces. Part of f the new securityty la. This morning around 9 45, together with h our colleagues,e got a warrant t to conduct an opoperation to search for evidence. Ourr operations were smooth and we hope to finish soon and not disturb the operation of the media. It is not the first time jimmy lai has been arrested. Chinas state media has portrayed him as a traitor and accused him of being one of the masterminds behind the recentnt protests in the city. He is a wellknown and outstspon prodemocracy figure in hong kong, who regularly criticized chinas authoritarian rule. Many here in hong kong see him as an unlikely hero. I dont think the police should be doing this. This is a media organization. Hong kong claims to have freedom of the press. I do not think they should be reading the reading reading the medias preferences. He has beeeen the only highprofile person to suffer criticized beijing. The arrest comes days after the u. S. Government announced sanctions on hong kong and chinese mainland officials. A clear signal china is determined to enforce the new security law despite growing international pressure. Brent todays arrest is highlighting the climate of fear and uncertainty taking hold in hong kong in the weeks since the National Security law came into effect. Situation is forcing lifelong hong kongers to make a difficult choice, stay put, or leave their homes for good. Ga and his fianceery gary and his fiancee have a few months in hong kong beforee they emigre e to australalia. When he fililed t the applicatin fifive years agogo, leaving wawy a backckup plan. Since then, hong kong has been through massive social and political upheaval. But it was the unprecedented antigovernment protests last year that t finally pushed him over the edge. This is not the hong kong i grew up with any more. Freedom has been restricted. Hong kong wiwill soon n be no different from the rest of china. I feel even more unsafe under the new National Security law. We have lost hope here. So we hahave to find it elsewhe. To fight or to flee that is a tough q question for many hong kongers like gary. Starting a life of rock will likely be a rockcky path. Even in his job as an engineer. He and his fiancee did not want to be interviewed, b because thy fear for their jobs. It is a press a are willing to pay in exchange for liberty. It is tough to abandon are well paid jobs to my friends, everything we have established jobs, friends, everything we have established year. We struggled to make this decision, but a thihird of my frfriends are also considering leaving are sending their children abroad. Official figures show the number of hong kong residents leaving is at its highest in seven years. Around 3 30,000 peoplee left in 2019. A 4040 surge in just a year. That is expected to keep grgrowing. Sisince the newew chinese secury lalaw was enacted last monthth,a number o of cotries h have pledd toto make itit easier for hong kongers to emigrate. The u. K. Government will even allow 3 million hong kongers with british overseas passporor, a document t from the cololonial era, toto settle t t. There. Sosome probation heavyweigights advocate revoking the permananet residencnces of those who have u. K. Citizenship, which means they could lose the righght to vote in several elections in hong kong. Gary has recenently been travelg around hong kong to capture the iconic scenery. These pipictures will soonon jue memories of the place he will no longer call home. It isis a sad phill roe sd farerell. I t treasure the remaining chchs to be together with my friends. I hope i can still contribute to my hometown by other means in the future. Brent lets take a look now at headlines around the world. An explosion and the city of baltimore has killed one person and injured several others. The blast l leveled several houses, what caused the explosion is not wellknown is not yet known. A night of looting and clashes in the city of chicago. 13 officers were injured during the violence. The unrest began after police shot a man during a pursuit in a black neighborhood. Here in germany, the center Left Social Democratic Party has announced its candidate for the german chancellor in the next years election, when Angela Merkel will head into retirement after her final term. Olaf schulz, currently the finance minister, is a candidate. Does he have what it takes . That this man be sitting in Angela Merkels Office Next Year . The current vice chancellor and finance minister has seen his popularity rise over the past months. His handndli of the cocoronavirs pandemic and his grafting of germanys multibillion Euro Recovery Fund have been hailed by his colleagues. To be able to handle a crisis , that is a v very impoportant quality that a german chancellor must have. No one has proven more that he is capable of Decisive Action in a country during the coronavirus crisis, he can also lead the country out of the crisis. With his nomination, they are trying to fill the gap left by Angela Merkel. A new era is beginning. Not only in the sense of the time after corona, but also that the next decade will be about how we can manage the future of our country. How we manage the future of europe. And who has s the best plan. We are firmly convinced this is the social d Democratic Party. For now, he seems confident, but he will have his work cut out, reversing his partys poor showing in the polls. Brent lets go to simon young. Lets talk politics. Why is the spd party convinced he is the best person to fight the next election . I think it is because he is the best man they have got. He is the only man or woman that theyve got of this kind of format who could look like a chancellor. He is a popular politician. He has been around for a long time. He was formally mayor in hamburg. He has been finance minister since 2018. By common consent, he has done that job well. He has had a safe pair of hands. He stood for financial and physical property. And stability. That strict line on public debt, for instance. At the moment, he is in the headlines for handing out public money with his bazooka to fight off the negative economic effects of the pandemic. Hes won praise for doing that, as well. He is popular. In many ways, he is the only plausible candidate the social democrats think they have got. They are hoping to get the momentum and the initiative as a result. Brent he has been firing off that bazooka a lot the past couple of months. Not so long ago, his own party did not even one him as their leader. How is this going to work . Indeed. He is hugely controversial in his own party. Many of the left within the social democrats him as the face of grand coalition. Standing up for that tough financial discipline we used to associate with the previous finance minister. A measure of the unpopularity of scholz came last year. He failed in that attempt. You can see that he has got problems. I should also point out he has been running the finance ministry, the ministry that has had oversight over financial matters here in germany, when we have just had this huge scacandl with a wire Card Financial Services provider that collapsed. That happened on his watch. He is vulnerable to attacks. Brent the social Democratic Party as the first party to announce their candidate. The election is more than a year away. Is this not a bit too early in the game to be talking about candidates . It could be seen as going early, but you get the initiative, they could think they are putting the conservatives on the pressure under pressure. They have not chosen their candidate. Angela merkel will not be in the next election. That gives all challengers a new sense of hope. Brent simon, as always, thank you. You are watching dw news. Lebanesthe lebanese prime miniss announced his resignation the lebanese Prime Minister has announced his resignation after the aftermath of the devastating explosion in beirut which triggered antigovernment protests. He acknowledged corruption was to blame for the blast. You are watching dw news, live from berlin. Stick around, we will take you through the day. Be right back. The government of lebanon resigns promised a house on the apps and dammit corruption is the root cause of the explosion the roadway forces. Demonstrations continue amid the chaos front says the lebanese peoples aspirations must be heard. Phone calls pro democracy its hard to be live arrested in a sweeping crackdown on dissent this latest Police Operation against dissidents since china imposed. Security low over the city. Cool to come internationally as the images from minsk show a forceful reaio
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