Beirut explosion leaves migrant domestic workers without income or way home

Beirut, Lebanon: Migrant domestic workers protested outside the Kenyan Consulate in the Lebanese capital on Monday and Tuesday after being expelled by their employers without documents and no way to return home.

On the top of an economic crisis that has suffocated the income of one of the most vulnerable sectors of Lebanese society, the massive blast that rocked Beirut on August 4 has brought with it a new obstacle for migrant workers. According to Amnesty International, Lebanon is home to approximately 250,000 migrant domestic workers, mostly women, who come from African and Asian countries.

"These women are among the most marginalised people in society, and are bearing the brunt of the economic crisis exacerbated by COVID-19," said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International's MENA Regional Director in a press release.

During the pandemic, some of these women have been abandoned in front of the Ethiopian Consulate after their employers were not able to provide their regular income. Some of them have even been denied their own passports, which remain in the hands of their former bosses.

Physical abuse has also increased during the lockdown, according to Al Jazeera which documented the case of 23-year-old Faustina Tay who was found dead after she contacted an activist group for domestic abuse in March. The port explosion has now pushed many migrant domestic workers into homelessness.

"Even if they get enough money to buy a ticket back home, they will not be allowed to leave the country as the Lebanese government refuses to let them go," activist Dara Foi Elle told Reuters. "The Nigerian Embassy is trying to get laissez-passer papers to let them go, but we need help from the Lebanese government."

World powers promised not to fail the Lebanese people as the capital, Beirut, recovers from the blast that killed 158 people and destroyed swathes of the city last Tuesday. But foreign countries demanded transparency over how the aid is used, wary of writing blank checks to a government viewed by its own people as deeply corrupt. Some are concerned about the influence of Iran through the Shi'ite group Hezbollah.

Samsung launches Galaxy Note Z Fold 2, foldable smart phone as pandemic shrinks market

Seoul, South Korea: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd unveiled its latest Galaxy Note smartphone and new version of its foldable phone, the Z Fold 2, on Wednesday, hoping to regain ground against rivals Huawei and Apple Inc as the smartphone market begins to recover from its COVID-19 slump.

Samsung launched its previous premium model, the S20, in February at the start of the pandemic but since then has ceded its top ranking in the smartphone market to China's Huawei, as people opt for cheaper models in tough times. The Z Fold 2 has a 6.2-inch (15.75-cm) screen when folded to provide a full smartphone experience even when it is closed, Samsung announced during a livestreamed event. Its unfolded display measures 7.6 inches (19.3 cm).

The new iteration is thinner than the first Fold, and the hinge is improved to be more resilient, Samsung said. Samsung did not disclose the phone's price, but said more details and preorders will be available on Sept. 1. The new Note 20 boasts a larger screen at 6.7 inches (17 cm), 5G connectivity, enhanced writing features with its S-Pen stylus, and access to more than 100 console and PC games via a tie-up with Microsoft Corp's Xbox cloud service.

It will go on sale on Aug. 21 in about 70 countries, including the United States, where the basic version will retail for $999 (USD), compared with its predecessor's $949. Apple fans are unlikely to jump ship to the new Samsung model as the 5G iPhone is likely to be launched later this year, analysts say.

Samsung posted a 29% on-year drop in shipments in the June quarter, the biggest fall among top vendors, according to researcher IDC. Apple, which launched the budget-friendly SE during the period, remained resilient with 11% on-year shipment growth, while Huawei posted only a 5% fall.

The global smartphone market shrank about 16% on-year in the April-June quarter due to COVID-19 lockdowns and consumer caution, a larger contraction than in the first quarter, and is expected to improve only slightly in the second half, IDC said.

US President Donald Trump said he would be in favour of helping US airlines

Washington, DC: US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would be in favour of helping U.S. airlines financially when he was asked about a group of Senate Republicans backing $25 billion payroll assistance for companies financially devastated by the coronavirus pandemic.

"We don't want to lose our airlines so if they're looking at that, whether they're Republican or Democrat, I'd be certainly in favor," Trump said at a White House briefing. He also defended his suggestion of giving a speech from the White House accepting the Republican Party's presidential nomination, after lawmakers and ethicists said it was inappropriate and possibly illegal to use a nonpartisan, public site as a venue for a political address.

"Well, it is legal," Trump said when asked about his speech plans, arguing that the Hatch Act prohibiting leaders from trading on public goods for political gains does not apply to him. "If I use the White House, we save tremendous amounts of money for the government in terms of security, traveling."

Pizza restaurant launches Spain's first virtual waiter app as COVID-19 bites

Palafrugell, Spain: A restaurant on Spain's northeastern Mediterranean coast is pioneering a dining experience that allows customers to avoid most face-to-face contact with staff and minimise the risk of coronavirus contagion.

Customers at Funky Pizza, in Palafrugell on the Costa Brava popular with tourists, can browse the menu, order and pay via the "Funky Pay" app on their phones - the first time a purpose-designed app has been integrated into a restaurant's ordering system in Spain. A waiter does bring the order to the table. "Through this system we have tried to keep physical distance with our clients, which is what people are looking for during COVID," said restaurant owner Carlos Manich. Staff manage the orders from screens behind the bar.

The restaurant has had to adapt to social distancing rules by becoming table service only and reminding customers on entry they must wear face masks at all times when not at their tables. "The application is very user-friendly ... and you can also track your order and see when it is in the kitchen or when it will be arriving," said Claudia Medina, 26, eating at the restaurant. But some customers disagreed. "I think we lose the feeling with the waiter, for example when you order you can't ask about different preferences or quantities," said customer Javier Comas, 26.

Corona Crisis: Philippines capital returning to lockdown as COVID-19 virus surges

Manila: The Philippine president has agreed to place the capital and outlying provinces back under a lockdown after medical groups warned that the country was waging a losing battle against the coronavirus amid an alarming surge in infections.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said Monday that metropolitan Manila, the capital region of more than 12 million people, and five densely populated provinces will revert to stricter quarantine restrictions for two weeks starting Tuesday. The move, which finance and economic officials oppose, will again prohibit non-essential travel outside of homes. President Rodrigo Duterte relaxed the country's lockdown on June 1 in a bid to restart the stagnant economy.

Under the new restrictions, police checkpoints will return to ensure only authorized people, including medical personnel and workers in vital companies, venture out of their homes, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said. Other businesses previously allowed to partly reopen, including barbershops, internet cafes, gyms, dine-in restaurants, massage and tattoo shops, drive-in cinemas and tourist destinations, will again be closed.

Authorised companies, including banks, health and food processing firms, can operate partly but need to shuttle their employees from home and work. Workers can travel by bike, motorcycles and private cars, but mass transit will be closed. Businesses in the capital and outlying regions comprise about 67 per cent of the national economy and the Duterte administration has walked a tightrope between public health and economic revival.

The economy contracted slightly in the first quarter but is likely facing a deep recession from the massive business closures that started when Duterte declared a strict lockdown in mid-March. Leaders of nearly 100 medical organizations held a rare online news conference Saturday and warned that the health system has been overwhelmed by infection spikes and may collapse as health workers fall ill or resign from exhaustion and fear.

They asked Duterte to reimpose a tight lockdown in the capital to allow the government to give health workers a time out and allow the government to recalibrate its response to the pandemic. We are waging a losing battle against COVID-19 and we need to draw up a consolidated, definitive plan of action, the groups said in a letter to Duterte that they read publicly.

They expressed fears to Duterte that the Philippine coronavirus crisis may worsen like in the United States. The Department of Health reported a record-high daily tally of 5,032 confirmed coronavirus cases Sunday, bringing the country's total to 103,185, including more than 2,000 deaths.

The Philippines has the second-highest number of confirmed cases in Southeast Asia after Indonesia, and has had more reported infections than China, where the pandemic began late last year. While he granted the demand, Duterte appeared irritated after the medical groups went public with critical remarks, saying they could have talked to him first.

If you will stage a revolution, you will give me the free ticket to stage a counter-revolution. How I wish you would do it, Duterte said in televised remarks Sunday night.You yourself don't have any solution. What are you babbling about?" Duterte asked.
He floated the idea of tapping civilian reservists to be placed under military control, including his daughter who is a city mayor and police nurses and medics, if exhausted doctors and nurses leave their anti-pandemic work.

Trump said he will ban Chinese-owned short-video app Tik Tok in the US

Maryland: U.S. President Donald trump said on Friday, July 31 that he was planning to sign an executive order as soon as Saturday, August 1 banning Chinese-owned short-video app TikTok from the United States.

The move would be the culmination of U.S. national security concerns over the safety of the personal data that TikTok handles. It would represent a major blow for TikTok's owner, Beijing-based ByteDance, which became one of only a handful of truly global Chinese conglomerates thanks to the app's commercial success. "As far as TikTok is concerned, we are banning them from the United States... I will sign the document tomorrow," Trump told reporters on Air Force One.

Trump's announcement followed frantic negotiations on Friday between the White House, ByteDance and potential buyers of TikTok, including Microsoft Corp. They failed to produce a deal that would result in the Chinese company shedding the app's U.S. operations, according to people familiar with the matter. The talks are expected to continue in the coming days.