Lebanon’s Media Crisis Reaches Future TV

A general view shows Beirut's Corniche, a seaside promenade(R) at sunset in Beirut, Lebanon May 3, 2016. REUTERS/Alia Haju
A general view shows Beirut's Corniche, a seaside promenade(R) at sunset in Beirut, Lebanon May 3, 2016. REUTERS/Alia Haju
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Lebanon’s Media Crisis Reaches Future TV

A general view shows Beirut's Corniche, a seaside promenade(R) at sunset in Beirut, Lebanon May 3, 2016. REUTERS/Alia Haju
A general view shows Beirut's Corniche, a seaside promenade(R) at sunset in Beirut, Lebanon May 3, 2016. REUTERS/Alia Haju

Future TV’s programs have stopped for the third consecutive day over a strike carried out by the Lebanese channel’s employees to protest the delay in the payment of their wages.

Lebanese media outlets have in recent years been suffering from financial difficulties, causing the closure of several institutions.

On Thursday, staff of Future TV, which his affiliated with Prime Minister Saad Hariri, held a strike for the third day in a row, stopping all programs, an unprecedented move since the station was established in 1993 by slain ex-PM Rafik Hariri.

"This is the first time such a wide movement of this kind has taken place," the employee, who asked not to be named, told Agence France Presse.

Future TV owes its staff "more than 16 months worth of wages" after years of irregular or incomplete payments due to a financial crisis, the employee said.

"The situation got worse around a year and a half ago, with employees being paid only a percentage of their monthly salaries in a sporadic and irregular manner," the employee said.

In January, the Hariri family's Al-Mustaqbal newspaper issued its last print version, 20 years after it was established.

Several media outlets have fired employees over lack of funding.

A series of prominent dailies have also disappeared from print over the past three years due to funding shortages.

End of 2016, As Safir daily went out of print after 42 years.



Dozens of Exotic Animals Seized at Turkish Border

A woman covers with an umbrella against the rain during a summer storm at Kadikoy ferry terminal in Istanbul, Türkiye, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A woman covers with an umbrella against the rain during a summer storm at Kadikoy ferry terminal in Istanbul, Türkiye, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
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Dozens of Exotic Animals Seized at Turkish Border

A woman covers with an umbrella against the rain during a summer storm at Kadikoy ferry terminal in Istanbul, Türkiye, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
A woman covers with an umbrella against the rain during a summer storm at Kadikoy ferry terminal in Istanbul, Türkiye, Friday, Aug. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Turkish customs officials in the northwestern city of Edirne discovered dozens of exotic animals being smuggled into Türkiye from Greece, The Associated Press said.

State-run Anadolu Agency reported that the mid-sized sedan with Greek license plates was carrying three kangaroos, three alpacas and one Patagonian mara in the trunk, and 12 parrots and 23 flying squirrels inside the vehicle. Many of the animals are juveniles.

Photos from the scene show the larger animals bound and squeezed together in tight confinement, while the smaller ones were crowded in cages.

The private Demiroren News Agency identified the driver of the vehicle as Yuksel D., who was subsequently detained by authorities.

All the animals survived and will be delivered to the Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks.