this is t w news coming to you live from berlin a long awaited verdict in the murder trial of former lebanese prime minister rafik hariri a un backed tribunals convicts hezbollah members. absentia for the 2005 a sides on ation they killed the sunni leader but 3 other defendants quit. also coming up fears grow a potential coup attempt in mali mali and soldiers detain senior military officers of an army base near the capital as protesters take to the streets to demand the country's president step down. plus germany urges

a national dialogue in belarus she tells president was his government must avoid using violence against peaceful protesters and must release political prisoners. and the us democrats launch their national convention with tough talk from me. if we have any hope of ending this chaos we have got it's a vote for joe biden like our lives. the 1st several virtual convention culminates thursday with biden's nomination as challenger in. hello i'm terry martin good to have you with us one of the men accused of murdering former lebanese prime minister rafiq hariri 15 years ago has been found guilty the u.n. . back court in the netherlands ruled that hezbollah member salim i asked was involved

in the killing according quit 3 other defendants however the former sunni leader riri was killed along with 21 other people in a bomb attack in beirut in 2005 the international court in the hague tried the 4 suspects in the censure they are members of the shiite militant group hezbollah which is now part of lebanon's government the islamist group denies any involvement the verdict was supposed to be given at the beginning of this month but was delayed because of the deadly explosion at beirut's airport. well for more on 'd the verdict let's cross over to our correspondent. who's been following developments from brussels what more can you tell us about the man who's been convicted some of . the 56 year olds terry has been convicted in absentia and the judge just said they were satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that he possessed one of the 6 mobile phones used by the

assassination team and now the interesting detail here is that the evidence also a step lish that mr ayyash had affiliations to his thought but despite the fact that he belonged to a smaller writings and despite the fact that the court also established that the assassination has been a political act the courts did not point to the people behind the assassination and so the court established that there is no evidence that the leadership of the iran backed shiite muslim group hezbollah or the syrian government are behind the attack or where even involved ok the other defendants in this trial were acquitted what was the basis for their acquittal. so that's really as for existing if you look into the details of this 6 year trial that cost almost a $1000000000.00 u.s. dollars and saw $300.00. witnesses the main trial is based on telephone data on they tell what people were at the time the so-called

assassination teams a total of 6 mobile phones 4 it can be linked to people and only one can definitely be linked to the main defendant the other 3 and this is the issue and that's why the court talks about circumstantial evidence is they can link those mobile phones not definitely to the 3 other defendants and that is why they not have not been found guilty they may have passed that form at a crucial point on to someone else. thank you very much that was. in brussels. and with us here in the studio in berlin we have a mild deaves she's from d.w. arabic and amal you're from lebanon what does this verdict mean do you think for the families of the 22 people killed in that attack and the scores of those who were injured hi terry it's definitely a turning point and levanon says to me it's a long way to trial 15 years has passed the same since the nation of if it had

$81000000000.00 cost of the trial and people are waiting to know the truth. such heavy and if it had a son and ex prime minister of lebanon has just said in a televised speech from the high from went from the hague where the you know this taking place and he said now we know the truth so for the past 15 years lebanon has been waiting to know the truth but now the truth is out i wouldn't say the truth satisfied many of the of nice people. we are we have 2 camps in lebanon one camp was waiting for a clear. pinpointing at hezbollah's involvement in the assassination of course the tribune. did not pinpoint hezbollah directly they only incriminated one person who is. close ties to hizbollah and is a member of. the whole nor the whole party. were found guilty or were found a compass and this association on the other hand the 2nd camp was waiting for this

tribunal to give it clearance and as hezbollah has previously said and has has on the soldier has said last week they were waiting for the results but they will not hand anyone who was found guilty and we all know that the main culprits found in this tribunal vanished he has. been has been arrested and he vanished and it's the 1st time that an international tribunal hold someone accountable in absentia without their presence ok this is something of a watershed moment for lebanon historically how was this new verdict in the trial being received in beirut for example or are people there simply too concerned with their other crises current crises to know. what happened 2 weeks ago in beirut shook the whole country even the final verdict was delayed by 2 weeks it was

supposed to be out only 3 or 4 days after the explosion they delayed it by 2 weeks until today so that they give time and space for people to kind of see where the situation in lebanon is going people are still we have 300000 people who are still homeless and up to the moment so knowing who needs it how do you that is not on their top priority at the moment however this security situation in the country and the political situation is very fragile and we've witnessed a huge deployment of security forces in the police and the streets of beirut to prevent any possible tensions that might arise in the streets we have seen only an hour ago there were a couple of. porters of the traffic movement the party the president. walking through to to the presidential palace to show support because there were calls for it to protest in front of the presidential palace so lebanon is boiling

already it has already a lot on his plate to deal with and this verdict only comes to stare multiple possibly multiple tensions that an area that's already boiling with a religious and sectarian conflict that many people were watching this trial carefully wondering whether hezbollah leadership would be implicated together with perhaps the syrian leadership they were not implicated in the according to the judges they did not find him guilty of being involved but the one defendant who was found guilty is considered to be a hezbollah member is this going to have any impact on hezbollah's standing in. the court from the beginning if it's for mation russia vetoed any any possibility of the court incriminating states or parties so far since the beginning there were doubts and they were really highly unlikely that this court will incriminate the whole party all the horse state so from the beginning people are analysts were

pointing fingers at responsible in the future was the only kind of get away with the murder if you wish to put it this way they always found this person guilty and good luck finding him and and making him pay for what he did but as as as the whole situation in lebanon boils at the moment it is yet expected what kind of reaction will hezbollah have to where it's this and as has on the seles said last week the leader of hezbollah they will not they will not hand hand over any person who was found guilty in the trial so we're still have to wait and see what hezbollah's the reaction what that be given they can. and of turbulent situation hezbollah is dealing with at the moment specifically at the political situation in lebanon and the european support and french supports that lebanon is receiving at the moment thank you so much for your insights that was an. arabic service thank

you. now your turn to the west african country of mali where gunfire has been reported at an army base outside the capital bamako reports say the army has arrested several top politicians it's not immediately clear who is behind the unrest but it has prompted government workers to evacuate also in the capital demonstrators who called for the resignation of president evo him a car and showed support for soldiers believed to have taken part in the suspected coup the army base was the scene of an attempted putsch 8 years ago. or more let's talk to brum possumus a journalist based in bamako but currently visiting the netherlands brown thanks for being with us tell us what you're hearing from bamako when i'm hearing is as you mentioned in the morning shots rang out the army camps. in there kathy which

is molly's principal garrison town and. it wasn't entirely clear why this was happening at this particular point in time it wasn't neither was it very clear who were behind this it's been construed as a coup now there are there is very very little to suggest that there is anything more going on than an ordinary army mutiny led by a few disgruntled offices full of men in their wake ok we have to see how far this goes then but this unrest that we're seeing does not come entirely as a surprise does it i mean there's a lot of discontent in mali over corruption and security issues for example. oh absolutely i mean this extends to the army as well which sends soldiers through the front to fight an asymmetrical war with rebels in all kinds of on militias without

actually paying them properly and proper salaries which is why it's rumored actually that they engage in $100.00 highway robbery on the roadside when they're not in uniform so yes there is an enormous. amount of trouble and problems besieging them ali and slay them ali in people corruption i should mention being one of them in security being another the nonbeliever of basic services like education healthcare water we have atrocity so the levels of disgruntlement which were also visible in the demonstrations earlier this month and last month in the central but are absolutely clear ok so there's a lot of grievances the military carried out a coup already back in 2012 has stepped been any movement towards stability since then now actually an officeholder 2012 coup ushered in a mali's isolation from the economic community of west african states and actually

just before the start of this program ecowas released a statement in saying that it will resist any anti constitutional change and wishes the constitutional order to maintain so that's just in from from the commission of ecowas the economic community of west african states so there is no question that there is going to be a change your government. this time around as there wasn't in 2012 there was a change of government they got itself isolated none of the problems that this coup were supposed to address 8 years ago was actually sold in fact instability has gotten worse and spread from the north of mali into the sense of from thank you very much for bringing us up to date there that was brown pasta most a journalist reporting on mali from amsterdam. now look at some other stories making news around the world this hour at least 10 people have been wounded in a shelling attack on the afghan capital kabul authorities said more than

a dozen mortars struck central kabul including the presidential compound injuring 6 guards the attack came on afghanistan's independence day as the afghan government prepares to start peace talks with the taliban. child as southwestern sichuan province has issued its highest ever flood alert for years for areas rather along the river tens of thousands of people had to flee their homes after days of heavy rain authorities say this year's rainfall has been the highest since record keeping began in 1961. german chancellor angela merkel has urged the government in better rules to avoid beilenson start a national dialogue with the opposition she made the comments in a phone call with russian president vladimir putin earlier today. tomorrow the european council will hold a video conference on ballerina i spoke with russian president putin today i once again make clear that there must be freedom of expression the freedom to protest

the prisoners must be released under house to be a national dialogue that enables the situation to be resolved peacefully and valerie's he will just does not further tomorrow. well chancellor merkel's telephone call there with russian president vladimir putin comes as the standoff between bell russian president luca shank and protesters enters a tense day the long time ruler has been resisting calls to step aside but angry citizens are showing they're not backing down. there the pressure on president alexander lukashenko is growing and the resistance is growing bolder. this they do you know shows a heated exchange with striking workers at a truck to factory young men. of. the don't. i will not be here while it is not in my interest but if somebody provokes something here we will sort it out the hard way put the phone down. tempers and by the roots are running high on

both sides and europe's embattled strongman is facing opposition he isn't used to. a nationwide strike was attended by thousands some of whom booed and heckled the president. at one event on monday lucas thank i told the worker that new elections were possible but only after the country's had the referendum on a new constitution. critics say it's a bit to buy time. more than a week after the controversial election anti government protests show no sign of letting up a good thing in the eyes of the country's exiled opposition leader he conveyed words of encouragement from her jailed husband in a new video message. my husband's our gates asks me to convey his words to you or if he and other political prisoners are in jail. he asks you to move forward. not just sit back but you do everything to live in

this country for life. the people who are filling the streets also have the support of many in the international community. tolerating dissent may have to become part of alexander lukashenko new reality. our moscow correspondent emily sure when is tracking developments in belarus and joins us now i am only we've seen 10 days of unprecedented protests against luka shake a word things stand now. well it seems that protesters are trying to keep the pressure on alex on that will go up yesterday we saw protesters gathering outside some of the main prisons in minsk calling for the release of some of the protesters who were arrested during the demonstrations we've seen in the past few days and today demonstrators gathered outside

a prison where. he is apparently being held or is likely to be being held he is the husband of course of the opposition leader. says he also had intended to run in these elections but was jailed and people were kind of chanting happy birthday to him today there is also another protest planned today and there are strikes of many state enterprises taking place across the country now there are some reports that some of one of those strikes maybe dwindling so it will be interesting to see tonight whether the protesters can keep up the momentum of these demonstrations after so many days. monday he would hold new elections after a constitutional referendum has anything to appease the protesters. well he initially said that there would only be new elections over his dead body and then the same day he said that there could be new elections but only after

constitutional reform so it does seem like he's trying to appease protesters but of course the main demand of protesters at the moment still is for him to leave and he doesn't seem willing to go anywhere even after yesterday workers kind of shouted at him during a speech to leave workers who are usually part of his kind of loyal support base or at last at least that's what he thought going running up to these protests so it doesn't seem likely that he's going to back down anytime soon. well the president there is counting on moscow's support but the leaders of germany and france have both been on the phone to president putin in moscow has this telephone diplomacy produced any results. well the press release says that the kremlin published after both of those phone calls almost were the same and both of them

contained warrants basically from the russian side telling both americal and mccraw to keep out they essentially said that meddling as they called it from the western side wouldn't be encouraged it seems like the russian side is really trying to make it clear to its western partners that they very much still see this as their sphere of influence it's seen here in russia as kind of an important buffer between russia and nato countries as well it's not clear what russia will do going forward there were of course these reports of military or assurances of military support if necessary which we saw over the weekend but i don't think that's very likely it seems likely that the kremlin is kind of perhaps looking for guarantees for luka shank oh. some kind of immunity and that they're probably also talking to the opposition after all even the opposition. isn't anti russian russia is and

probably will be going forward an important economic partner for valorous so a tense situation remains the standoff continues and only sure when in moscow thank you so much. now the united states for the democratic party convention has kicked off with a rousing speech from michelle obama the wife of former president barack obama of course this year's convention is unlike any other be because of the coronavirus pandemic the event is being held online without crowds or confetti the democrats will formally nominate joe biden as their candidate for president to take on republican incumbent donald trump in the november election. did obvious pay to go to is following the democratic convention for us and joins us now in studio peter what did day one tell us about how the democrats are approaching this election well you know they were facing incredibly tough challenge

going into this election this is the most conventional convention possibly in american history. they basically had to try to unite the party at a point in time where the country's politically physically when asked by the us that they've been in generations and i think to a great extent actually manage to get that they they attack trump they sent a very strong message of unity and it was kind of a mix of highly choreographed mix of you know big profile speeches voter testimony modi's short emotional clips that really sought to cement the democratic party asked the you know proverbial big tent home to every american of every color creed religion. they also had republicans disenchanted with trump who were kind of making strong appealed emotional appeal to conservatives saying you know what you know it's come across the aisle maybe vote democrat this time what really stood out to me though were the overtures to minority voters especially black voters and not

suggest that that is going to continue to be the strategy of the democratic party turn out black voters energize them and maybe that will help put by a process initially come november ok for many watching this convention the highlight was definitely michelle obama's speech here's what a sample of what she had to say when we close out the noise and the fear and truly open our hearts we know that what's going on in this country is just not right and if we want to survive we've got to find a way to live together and work together across our differences so if you take one thing from my words tonight it is this if you think things cannot possibly get worse trust me they can and they will if we don't make a change in this election. former 1st lady michelle obama they're trying to fire up

the democrats will peter the former 1st lady was using pretty dramatic language there she was talking about the nation's survival being at stake what do you make of her speech yeah i mean it was it was a mix of you know obama's signature message of hope and change but also a deep sense of sadness in and almost sense of desperation or urgency about where the country is right now the country that you know they handed over the keys to trump 4 years ago and this is what happened within those 4 years after obama she is famous for lines like when they go low we go high and there were no blows but the gloves definitely came off she went directly after trump something that's very unusual for a 1st lady called him out by his name saying that he was the wrong president for the u.s. that he was clearly in over his head i think all in all a very powerful message that will resonate with many voters including this in janet

republicans and a lot of people watching this will probably come away feeling really fired up and ready to go as obama used to say on the campaign trail bernie sanders one of joe biden's biggest rivals during the primaries he also spoke at the convention let's take a listen to what he had to say. joe biden will end the hate and the vision trump has created he will stop the demonization of immigrants the coddling of white nationalists the races whistling the religious bigotry and the ugly attacks on women. bernie sanders there well of course he represents the left wing of the democratic party his supporters are they likely to throw their weight behind a more centrist joe biden well i think sanders backing has definitely helped you know if he did it to take a lot of time for sanders to come around to bite and to really you know concede

defeat during the primary season. he has since become a vocal backer his team has been working closely with the biden team to you know create a more progressive platform one that center supports crowd behind and by and has turned return that favor by nominating. harris as his vice president pick who is well to the left of by and she's no sanders but definitely something that i think a lot of center supporters can live with ok peter thank you so much peter from our news desk. and just a reminder the top story we're following for you here today there's the u.n. back tribunals has convicted hezbollah member salim and absentia of the murder of former lebanese prime minister rafi career e 15 years ago of course another once acquitted 3 other defendants the former sunni leader hariri was killed in a bomb attack in beirut in 2000 folks. you're

watching the news don't forget you can always get all the latest news information around the clock on our web site that's t w dot com can also follow us on twitter instagram d w news i'm terry martin find me on instagram t.l. news stream let's watch this.

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