better and failed to take action that the scientific community has been screaming about climate change for years. for the global ecosystem, there is no going back. climate threat is now a cost of doing business. that is here to stay. zane basra b o 0 on greece's abbey island. ah, this is al jazeera and these are the headlines taliban fighters of entered the african capital campbell reports that the presidential palace has been taken over. the group is offering assurances to those who works with the government or foreign forces. i've had the sons president touches connie has left the country is reportedly on his way to educate stone, along with senior officials. 3 states that talks to form a transitional authority, u. s. embassy combo issued a security alerts us of reports. fairport is taking fire and instructing citizens

to shelter in place. symptomatic missions have been evacuating staff from bright south the latest from couple. it's all compounded have caused by the absence of president or former president ice ref gunny. we had been anticipating that he had been involved and may well have been involved earlier sunday and intense negotiations from the presidential palace with various negotiators about that here . and i've kind of done and didn't know her about some transitional agreement working toward some sort of deal where we can see a peaceful transfer of power. i think everyone at by now except that it would be some sort of deal that would not involve us ref god himself. i don't think anyone anticipated that he would have left the country completely and so quickly. people in haiti are scrambling to ball survivors from collapse buildings after a powerful earthquake, where the 700 people are known to have guides, but that number has been climbing quickly. the quakes struck around 160 kilometers

west of the capital. puerto prince canadian prime minister justin trudeau has called a snap general election for september 20th. he says, his liberal party needs a new mandates of the country. recovery from the current of ours pandemic. the votes of cold, 2 years ahead of schedule. at least 28 people have been killed in a fuel explosion in northern lebanon. that happens near serious border protest is for gathering at the scene in a car have set far as to a number of vehicles. lebanon's in the grip or severe fuel shortages to, to the economic crisis. and a coalition approach. democracy goods in hong kong is disbanding. the civil human rights front held organized values 2 years ago and said paging practice on defense had left their movements with little future. and that's your date still stay with us here on al jazeera inside story is up next. me. ah,

ah, it's a economic crisis made was by philip deadlock, 7 on the said, retracing and inevitable social exclusion. what can be done to prevent the nation collapsing altogether? and who's to blame this is inside the door. ah, ah, ah. hello, welcome to the program on kenzie no. no food, no water, no medicine. and no feel for transportation or and tricity. that's the diet station

which led on finds itself after more than 18 months of political and economic instability. most analysts put the blame on political sectarianism and corruption. lebanon's international allies say they won't help the economy, but only after a new government is formed. but that brought no hope to the millions of lebanese struggling to make ends meet. the country hasn't had a functioning government in 10 months. the situation doesn't appear to be getting any better. the world bank calls them all the economic crisis. one of the was in the world in the last 150 years. the situation is so dire that more than half of its population is now living under the poverty line. tens of thousands of people have lost their jobs, pushing the unemployment rate to 40 percent, and those who still have a salary getting little value for their money. the lebanese currency is off more than 90 percent of its value during the past 18 months. and there's also been a severe shortage of basic goods, including few and medicine. most lebanese face daily power cuts for many hours and

petrol stations are rationing fuel. we're bringing our guests in just a moment, but 1st, here's some of what liberty's people are saying. who are the fear? was it done? the situation is tragic and nobody in the country cares. none of the officials are listening to us or extending their hand. and that's why the american universities calling on the united nation to unicef, to the world health organization. these conditions are unbearable. shit, i feel we got a mile minimum of what's happening is unacceptable. especially in the car with the smuggling. that's happening. 24 hours a day in the suburbs and border areas in front of everyone's eyes. people are desperate. there's no electricity, no generators, no medicine, no life. what are we waiting for? how long will we remain this way? we're all desperate and you people pay attention to yourself. you should not use the black market. if you find someone cut off on the road, i would give fuel if i had it and fill it for him for nothing, not charge him 500000 lebanese pounds for fuel. it's a shame i live in, i'm not in

a high law. we are, the only was like the last speaker he was bringing to the area. so the pressure is almost due to us for production. we are only given a 56 funds. so the classes remains that we will not be able to go on for more than one week. i don't know what to do. i'm working with everything i have. i'm not hiding. i can flow on. ah, i let's bring in, i'll get in beirut. patrick martini an economist at leading the whole international for market solutions in paris. joe mac. wrong a fellow at the arab center in washington, d. c. and from bar tune in, nor the lebanon hoco women, head of the international crosses, groups iraq, syria, levon on project. very well, welcome to you all. i'd begin with with you if i may, jo mac roll. most recently the most recent tragedy to happen in labor on 28 people

have just died on sunday in a fuel tank or explosion lining up to get fuel fuel. which was probably smuggled men confiscated, the unraveling in lebanon, seems unstoppable. what's your sense of where things are at and where they're heading? i mean, this is all the absence of the state we had, and we still want to go for the last 2 years. basically conditional corruption and now we see the black market basically taking over over the medicine whether the fuel and their initial sources. so we see a government based she's done. she told the government, we reached a point of 400 and we see that every day that the army has to keep

getting walked in by the energy sources which is on the arm in order to deal with stretch issues or mo, dicking. in more than a day manageable or so not only if it's going to provide you the right direction, but on the other and we have not received and i'm not sure how, who sure hike of women is that your sort of take do you agree with that as well, just on the fuel front, i mean it obviously scares the fuel subsidy was meant to ease things. now that set to end because the central bank conky pop, i mean what's going to happen? yeah, i mean it's clearly it's, it's by clear that how many you've reached quit

a critical juncture, the politically lead to people in power. i've been really taking the candle the road for the past 2 years and avoiding the decisions that are required to to get out of this pen, upin, the bottomless pits and they have avoided them. and so we are getting deeper and deeper into, into the bottomless pit. so i mean, they, they remove the subsidies so that no longer there would be an incentive to, to smuggle fuel to syria, for instance. that's. so that's if people pay, pay like international prices for lindsay and diesel. and finally that would be enough of it. but of course, i mean, we think about what that means. i mean, it's really what will happen means that as of monday or tuesday,

if it's really implemented, you know, people will have to pay 4 or 5 times more. for benzine, for diesel not mean. simply, i think a huge, huge part of the population cannot afford it. it means that a lot of businesses will have to close down because they cannot afford it. and it's yet another turn in the cycle in the downward spiral towards mass poverty. let's possibly be rude. patrick, montana, you're an economist, the central bank says subsidies can continue if the government can possible to allow the use of the mandatory reserve. obviously the country doesn't have a function in government, so our monetary policy make is being held ransom here. so actually, i don't think it would be a good idea to continue in the subsidy process. so i don't think it would be a good idea for the government or the parliament to vote

a law that allows the use of the required reserve. the tragedy of to day to be explosion that happened in our car. and all the fighting that we see every day in the queues lining up at the gas station. all of that is due to subsidies, subsidies of medicine and fuel lead to shortages of medicine and if you will, in lebanon. so even if people to, they want to work to reduce, to get out of the crisis. they cannot do that because of the shortages of gas, which means that no transportation and the shortages of fuel means no electricity. and you cannot produce anything without transportation and electricity. so the problem of subsidies is that the government intention was to actually use the crisis using those subsidies. the unintended consequences of this miss guy. the policy has been catastrophic. it led to bloodshed today, but also it led to basically blocking any possibility of getting back production

and getting out of the current crisis. so i don't think it would be a good idea to continue in the subsidies. i think the subsidies should be repealed immediately. so what then, what kind of a subsidies are to blame? how do, how does one ease the suffering in the short so basically the 1st thing we need to do is to cut subsidies to repeat them. and the government did not do that yet. today the price of fuel are still at the subsidized level, and that's why we still have shortages if to morrow morning. the government issued the new prices of fuel and those new prices are not subsidized. then the crisis, the fuel prices will end immediately. right? so the 1st thing would be to ensure the availability of those would in the market, those fuel, the gas, the diesel, to the market, by investing subsidies. on the other hand, we need to allow people to regain some purchasing power. and the reason people have

been losing purchasing power is because of expansion or monetary policy we've been printing as crazy in order basically to allow the money is ation of debt and deficit. and this is the reason of hyper inflation and currency the valuation. so the solution to head to people is to actually strengthen the liberties bound because their income is independent found. and we can do that by stopping the printing of money. and this is one of the form that has been discussed today, which is to actually install a currency board. a currency board is going to be the 4 that would strengthen the lira and help people recover some purchasing power. okay, can i just ask you on that? and i'm sorry if this is, if this question comes across a little simple, but haven't gotten that all around the world been printing money to get through the corona virus crisis. what is it? what are the other factors that play in lebanon that have, you know, cause it to have such a negative impact? sure, well, lebanon has been in a crisis before the court on up and then make it kicks in, right?

so we had a negative growth and we have a loss of thrust in the currency in the liberties pound and we had the banking crisis. other countries don't suffer from those challenges as well. so they have some margin to print money without seeing the direct impact via inflation immediately in leather on since we did not, people did not trust their banking system, where we call the banking system actually collapsed. i mean, they had good reasons to drop that right. printing money meant that people would systematically ditch this money and try to convert it into the more safer and secure u. s. dollars. so in the specific case of lebanon, since we already had a banking crisis, and the government had already defaulted on the payment of fuel bonds. so the government is unable to pay back, that we had a big crisis and bring money in the middle of this crisis. meant systematic hyper inflation and the valuation of guidance. all right, i'll come back to you joe mac,

raul. there's been no government for war 10 months now. no functioning government. how has that happened when another picture where it can get to the government because where there's no net because isn't managed to share time or addition. there's a vertical submission to the former by mr. scott and he has support. basically it was the law and they couldn't focus government because one of the few back back and we have also the extended direction should reach inclusion where everybody was expected. so i think the election is approaching was how to get it on the residential face and have also been given lots

of dysfunction in that class every week. and you're going to not have a big issue is going to be the big question or somebody has to go with the clock at the right context, voice for the collapse. so you need to go, which would be just the case. so any level has no meaning unless you have it really, government does want to get a resource in this reason that was left to get before the big decision that might base their own

personal interest. and they have splitting the stigma very hard. and this is way with government question. moving forward, total. the difference you want to call that? i don't think the living technically politically to take home was ok. hike of him. and do you agree with that assessment once he will take on why the various prime minister designates, have been unable to form a viable government thing? i mean, i mostly agree with joe on this and i mean there is and there's has clearly been between and especially between allan and how a, a very, very strong personal dimension to personal ackerman, really. but, but i think if we, i mean, if we think about for a 2nd about the decisions that joel alluded to,

the massive big decisions that have to be taken. i think we realize that even if tomorrow the current con candidate, i mean i to may be able to pull my problem seems like you ation looked doesn't look as gleick on that front as it used to for the a few weeks ago. the question is really, i mean, can you government that is, has, that may be in state to actually take these decisions because it means moving against a very, very powerful vested interest. and it means paying a high political cost or major political players agreeing, agreeing to paying political cost. and they're like just that mean a few things you can mention. you know, so the banking system is completely functional and bankrupt. you have to allocate the losses in the banking systems that may amount to $60000000000.00, which is about 3 times up the current size of the economy. you have to, you have to distribute the losses. you have to perhaps restructure the banking

system. and that of course touches on questions of ownership and then about who's paying the price titian's linked to the banking sector. as overlap that we need, if we need an order of forensic audit of the central bank, the central bank has to be cleaned up before money comes in the country. nobody will put not dime as nobody else will put money into the system. as long as this is not clear up, i want to, i want to encourage you there and just i want to touch you there. i want to, i want to ask about the international donors because you made that point there. about money coming in. international donors have pledge to help contingent on a new government being formed and i want to put that question to patrick martini. is that fair and what difference would that international money make? well, it is clearer as your guests have already stated,

that is very hard for the liberty to form a government. let alone have the government implemented 3 forms arrived. international aid is needed in lebron on giving the size and the magnitude of the crisis, but to the international community have been very wise tending policymakers in lebanon. i won't give you any penny if you don't implement specific reform that could actually help your country. because in level on we have received a lot of aid in the past year. in the past decades i say, and a lot of loans and all this money have been used inefficient tweak and look where it levels. so this idea of conditioning money to reform, i think it's a very important idea because even if we have a government that is formed, if the government continues to do the same on policies that lead us to collapse, then you know it's a key. the government won't be very useful, you would need

a new government that is willing to engage in hard reforms. and those are the for, after the clear, you need to lift subsidies and it has a political cost because people be much like that. you need to set a currency also, you need to stop printing get money and some bankers won't like that because they would love to reimburse or the dollar deposit and live. and he's found, you know, used to live and he's found, you need to open some sectors to competition. the electricity for the government is unable to run the sector. and those are all hard actually form. was the government be able to do those in the form? if for me, that's the real question. ok, don't call. is there something inherently wrong or perhaps in need of an overhaul about the countries power sharing, struct. this inability to energy this or corruption on every level? the sure the way it's imported. i think it was less

i'm not usually big files, transition slow way to get this but just wo cutting a bunch of government. so i think carol should be priority more forward. it's not possible that the, the, the new just they just it's not one of us will be the one our, just the private. should they want to pick a job with some sort of government at a low risk point or what the legend. i don't see that we ok. how call them in?

does the public do you think have any faith any more in the political class? and if not, how do they get that confidence back? well, i mean i'm, i'm not the best person to speak for the 70 public or such, but i think, i mean it's, it's, it's quite clear that that the leaders have failed their constituents. and i mean, i mean, we received these like a moments of anger. the protest, rioting, and violence that happened time. and again, at the same time, i think, also realistic. i mean this, this country is, is entering into a vortex of, of poverty. right? so the latest figures are like 80 percent of the population. i'm all poor according

to the world bank, and it's going to get even worse. i mean, in this situation, people may loath those leaders, but they may still be dependent on them to get whatever is left of public service services or public resources. let's not forget to security situation has also been deteriorating and we'll continue to hear it. so nowadays, soldiers, policemen earn $5060.00 a month rule is going to put his life on the line to guarantee security for that amount of money. so i mean, so very soon it will also become a criteria for not necessarily trust, but for dependency over that people have a political leader where whether display, chiquita cabinets, you and sure physical security in an area. so we, we are looking at a situation with a steady roads and the population will rally behind anybody who can

replace even a very perfunctorily those services that the states mr. proverbs to provide. ok. patrick, were they allowed to come back to you? you will always joke and bring talking about these hard decisions that in the future government needs to make your advocating for the lifting of subsidies while the short term impacts would that have on people who are suffering. because, according to the united nations, 77 percent of households in lebanon, can't afford to buy enough food. i mean, where does that leave those people who are already going hungry? absolutely, so the main reason why we're in lebanon today is hyper inflation and the currency, the valuation, right? that's the real reason of the problem today. and the high for inflation is due to printing money. that's why we need to do monetary re for, to ease the suffering of people and to strengthen their liberties. now,

about subsidies. today people are unable to find fuel gas and medicine at the subsidized price. they are already being the mum subsidized price at the black markets. so we are actually living this situation already. the only difference is that when we live subsidies, we want to have to go and buy our fuel on the black market and we are not. we are uncertain about the quality of this fuel and there is physical danger associated to it, as we have seen in our garden earlier this morning. right. so actually getting those commodities back to the market, illegal way back to the gas station where they will stop competing on serving people instead of kicking people out and then said, and then trying to sell them those fuel on the black market. that's what, that's what is happening today, right? so basically you, we, we should go back to normal where those normal suppliers of fuel and mexicans are

able to operate really and for the population. this solution, i mean, is the international community, specifically, the french initiative had some ideas to help the population by starting a currency board in level. and the currency board today is able to reduce the exchange rate to, to scan them. the era by like around 50 percent. so basically you are able to increase the purchasing power of the population by more or, i mean by, by quite, quite a lot. if we do 1234, this city form is independent from the fact that subsidies shouldn't be lifted in all for people to be able to get back to work. as you say, a lot of difficult decisions lay ahead. we'll leave it there for time. thank you very much to all of i guess patrick martini, jerome, mackerel, and women. and thank you to for watching. you can see the program again any time by visiting our website onto sarah dot com. and for further discussion, go to facebook page at facebook dot com forward slash

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