By NAJIA HOUSSARI -- arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: Lebanon on Thursday launched an electronic platform for citizens and residents wishing to receive the coronavirus vaccine. Meanwhile, protests over the full lockdown have spread to cities in the south of Lebanon, considered as pro-Hezbollah and Amal Movement. Demonstrations in Tripoli turned violent — a protester was killed and tens of people were injured during clashes with security forces that have continued for the fifth consecutive day. In a conference on Thursday, Lebanon’s Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan hoped citizens would “respond to the national plan to inoculate over 80 percent of the population and achieve herd immunity to protect society from the virus.” Registration began as soon as the platform’s launch was announced, with an average of 2,000 people visiting the site every five minutes. The Health Ministry said that “the official vaccination platform protects the privacy of beneficiaries as well as the database and was tested under the supervision of an IT team from the World Bank to ensure it cannot be hacked.” Hassan, who has recently recovered from COVID-19, said: “The vaccination plan requires the commitment of all institutions and administration to the principle of equality and justice above any other consideration, whether political, regional or sectarian.”

Caretaker Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad said in a press conference: “The number of coronavirus cases in the productive sectors is extremely high, with 72 percent of the cases from the productive segments of society, i.e., those between 20 and 59 years old, which reflects the danger of this pandemic.” Abdel Rahman Bizri, head of the national committee for the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, told Arab News: “Lebanon needs to vaccinate between 70 and 80 percent of its population to achieve herd immunity.” “The Pfizer vaccine that Lebanon has chosen for its vaccination plan is expected to arrive to the country between Feb. 7 and 15, to be followed by more doses in in March,” he said. The first phase of the vaccination plan is expected to cover medical staff and workers in the health care sector, as well as citizens and residents who are 75 and older, to be followed by younger groups in the next phases.

by reuters -- TRIPOLI, Lebanon: Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister and its president on Friday condemned overnight violence in the city of Tripoli, where protesters angry over a strict lockdown clashed with security forces and set the municipality building on fire. Thursday was the fourth straight night of unrest in one of Lebanon’s poorest cities, after the Beirut government imposed a 24-hour curfew to curb a surge in the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed more than 2,500 people and compounded an economic crisis. “The criminals who set the municipality on fire and attempted to burn the court...represent a black hatred for Tripoli,” Prime Minister Hassan Diab said in a statement. “The challenge now is in defeating these criminals by arresting them one by one and referring them to the judicial system.” President Michel Aoun also condemned the violence. Flames engulfed the Tripoli municipal government building after it caught fire just before midnight on Thursday. Police had been firing tear gas at protesters hurling petrol bombs. A funeral for a man who died from a gunshot wound on Wednesday night had given fuel to protesters. Security forces said they had fired live rounds to disperse rioters trying to storm the government building.

Diab’s statement did not mention the killing; Human Rights Watch has called for it to be investigated. “We promise to work quickly to restore the municipality building of Tripoli so that it remains an expression of its dignity and pure heritage,” Diab said. The lockdown against the coronavirus, in effect since Jan. 11, is piling extra hardship on the poor, now more than half the Lebanese population who get little government aid. “We are demanding a state, we are demanding a country and we are demanding an improvement to the social and political conditions in Tripoli,” said Rabih Mina, a Tripoli resident who joined the anti-government protests. The financial meltdown gripping Lebanon could render people more dependent on political factions for aid and security, in a throwback to the 1975-90 civil war era of dominant militias. Some analysts have warned that security forces, their wages fast losing value, would not be able to contain rising unrest.

by middleeasteye.net -- Amnesty International urged France to halt weapons sales to Lebanon, saying French-manufactured rubber bullets, tear gas grenades and launchers had played a "shameful" role in quelling peaceful demonstrations in the country. In a report released on Thursday by Amnesty, along with the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Essex, a range of French ammunition from tear gas canisters and pepper sprays to grenade launchers, rubber bullets, and armoured vehicles were used to suppress protests between 2015 and 2020. Middle East Eye first reported in November 2019 that many of the tear gas canisters used against protesters in Lebanon were French-manufactured, with some being military-grade.

"France has for years been supplying Lebanese security forces with law enforcement equipment that they then used to commit or facilitate serious human rights violations," the rights group said in a statement on Thursday. "We call on France to ensure that there are no further sales until the Lebanese authorities have acknowledged past violations," said Aymeric Elluin, advocacy officer on arms transfers at Amnesty International France. "Lebanese security forces are operating in a climate of impunity."

By Ben Dickson - venturebeat.com -- Self-driving car startup Cruise has just gotten a $2 billion infusion from Microsoft, General Motors, Honda, and institutional investors, according to a joint statement by Cruise, its owner GM, and Microsoft on Tuesday. The investment will bring Cruise’s valuation to $30 billion and make Microsoft an official partner. Per Tuesday’s announcement: “To unlock the potential of cloud computing for self-driving vehicles, Cruise will leverage Azure, Microsoft’s cloud and edge computing platform, to commercialize its unique autonomous vehicle solutions at scale. Microsoft, as Cruise’s preferred cloud provider, will also tap into Cruise’s deep industry expertise to enhance its customer-driven product innovation and serve transportation companies across the globe through continued investment in Azure.” So Cruise will get the much-needed funds to conduct research and (possibly discounted) access to Microsoft’s cloud computing resources and move closer to its goal of launching a purpose-built self-driving car.

But in the long run, Microsoft stands to gain more from the deal. Not only will it get two very lucrative customers for its cloud business (Azure will also become GM’s preferred cloud provider, per the announcement), but when seen in the broader context of Microsoft’s self-driving car strategy, “Cruise’s deep industry expertise” will possibly give Microsoft a solid foothold in the future of the still-volatile self-driving car industry. At a time when most major tech companies are interested in acquiring self-driving car startups or launching their own initiatives, Microsoft’s hands-off approach could eventually turn it into an industry leader.

Self-driving cars from the AI business perspective