Lebanon’s August explosion was one of the largest non-nuclear blasts ever. Survivors tell their stories using the media they recorded on their smartphones
Warning: this interactive contains audio, photos and videos that some may find distressing.
Continue reading...Trump administration moves against Gibran Bassil for alleged corruption
The Trump administration has imposed Treasury sanctions on one of Lebanon’s most influential politicians as it intensifies attempts to defang the militia and political powerhouse Hezbollah.
The move against Gibran Bassil for alleged corruption was announced on Friday as Trump’s chances of re-election continued to dip, and marks a sharp escalation of efforts to limit Hezbollah’s influence in Lebanese affairs. Crucially, it is a direct challenge to the country’s president and Bassil’s father in law, Michel Aoun, who Washington has considered an ally.
Continue reading...The president must demonstrate that the secular state – with a subtle dose of multiculturalism – works for them
As a dual citizen of France and Canada, I never cease to be amazed by the depth of misunderstanding there is about French attitudes to religion. France’s shortcomings in its management of diversity are obvious – as are everyone else’s – but it is important to recognise some basic facts before pronouncing on them.
The first is that the principle of laïcité in France – the country’s particular brand of secularism – is more than posturing: it is a lived, sociological fact.
Continue reading...Demonstrations held in Pakistan, Lebanon, Palestinian territories and Afghanistan
Tens of thousands of Muslims in Pakistan, Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and elsewhere joined protests on Friday over the French president Emmanuel Macron’s vow to protect the right to caricature the prophet Muhammad.
Demonstrations in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, turned violent as 2,000 people who tried to march towards the French embassy were pushed back by police firing teargas and using batons. Crowds of Islamist activists hanged an effigy of Macron from an overpass after pounding it with their shoes.
Continue reading...Firefighters in Lebanon have been battling fierce wildfires across the Mount Lebanon area and along the country’s border with Israel. The Lebanese Civil Defense said rising temperatures and high wind speeds were contributing to the spread of the fires.
Continue reading...A fuel tank exploded inside a Beirut building on Friday night, killing four people and injuring several others, the Lebanese Red Cross said. The explosion came two months after a massive blast at Beirut's port killed nearly 200 people, injured at least 6,500 and caused billions of dollars worth of damage.
Continue reading...Blaze erupts inside bakery shaking city, two months after a massive blast at port killed nearly 200 people
A fuel tank has exploded inside a Beirut building, killing four people and injuring several others, the Lebanese Red Cross said.
It was not immediately clear what triggered the blast in the western neighbourhood of Tariq al-Jadida on Friday night. The state-run national news agency said the blaze erupted inside a bakery in the basement of the building.
Continue reading...The acting prime minister failed to form a government from among the feuding political blocs that have led the country to ruin
Lebanon’s prime minister designate, Mustapha Adib, has stood down after failing to form a government in a month of negotiations, in a further blow to a country reeling under the weight of multiple crises.
The talks were brought down by the issue of who would nominate key cabinet ministers, particularly the finance minister. The government is made up of feuding political blocs, and the powerful Shia groups Hezbollah and Amal insisted on controlling the finance ministry, despite demands for a technocratic government that could
Continue reading...With food in short supply and prices rocketing, a wave of new farmers are growing produce on roofs, balconies and beyond
On the side of the Baanoub valley in southern Lebanon, half an hour’s drive from the coast, Yasmina Zahar stands surrounded by olive trees with thick, sturdy trunks. Planted in Roman times, once tended by monks, they are now cared for by Zahar and her husband, Jean-Pierre, who also grow vegetables, fruit and flowers.
“It’s beautiful to see the result of what you produce, to hold it in your hands and taste it,” she says.
Continue reading...State department’s Nathan Sales says group ‘represents clear and present danger to the US’ and urges Europe to take tougher line
The US has accused Hezbollah of storing caches of weapons and ammonium nitrate for use in explosives across Europe in recent years, with the alleged aim of preparing for future attacks ordered by Iran.
The allegation was made by the state department’s counterterrorism coordinator, Nathan Sales, who called on European countries to take a tougher line on the Tehran-backed Lebanese Shia political movement and militia.
Continue reading...A store of oil and tyres at Beirut port burst into flames on Thursday but there were no immediate reports of injuries.
The blaze began in the duty-free zone, sending a huge column of smoke above a city still traumatised by the explosion on 4 August that killed about 190 people and injured 6,000 others. That blast occurred in ammonium nitrate that had been stored at the port in poor condition for years
Continue reading...Blaze reportedly at warehouse where oil and tyres are kept near site of August explosion
A huge fire has broken out at Beirut’s port, triggering panic among residents traumatised by last month’s massive explosion there that killed and injured thousands of people.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fire at the facility, which was devastated by the explosion on 4 August, when nearly 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate detonated and triggered a shockwave that blasted windows, doors and walls miles away.
Continue reading...Dumped on the streets after Covid-19 hit, hundreds of nannies are now starving amid the ruins of last month’s blast
It is just over a month since the Beirut port explosion, and the footage from that day remains as shocking as it was when it first began to appear on our TV screens and social media. In fragments of video, the world saw Beirut life freeze in confusion at the unfamiliar sound of the explosion, then shatter as its impact hit. Among those bits of film we saw one scene, captured on domestic CCTV, that was replicated across the city – an African nanny instinctively scooping children up out of harm’s way, and protecting them with her body.
Related: Beirut's devastating blast has not shaken the ruling class's grip on Lebanon | Gilbert Achcar
Continue reading...Business is strong for glaziers but the mood among most rescuers and residents is sombre
Working 13 hours a day for more than a month, Ghassan Awad has driven trucks carrying glass panels from Beirut’s southern suburbs to the ruins of its waterfront.
He has not been so busy since the 2006 war with Israel. Nor have all Lebanon’s other glaziers, who have been at the frontline of making the capital inhabitable in the 31 days since the massive explosion that killed 190 people, injured more than 6,000 and ripped the city apart.
Continue reading...Search renewed after pulsing signal that may be heartbeat heard under collapsed building
A pulsing signal has been detected from under the rubble of a building that collapsed in the Beirut port explosion last month, raising faint hopes that there may be a survivor there.
A sniffer dog belonging to a Chilean search and rescue team first detected something in rubble of a building that had previously been searched. The team then used audio equipment to listen for a possible heartbeat, and detected what could be a pulse of 18 to 19 beats per minute.
Continue reading...French leader meets Fairouz, 85, amid frustration with ruling class unwilling to change
The French president had tried it all before: rebuking his counterpart, cajoling ministers, withholding aid and imploring the Lebanese ruling class to change its ways in order to save the country.
This time Emmanuel Macron arrived in Beirut with a different approach – a visit to one of the country’s most unifying figures. His first port of call was to the home of the illustrious singer, Fairouz, whose songs of loss and lament have been a soundtrack to Lebanese life for more than 50 years.
Continue reading...Mustapha Adib, the ambassador to Germany, is backed by four former prime ministers as French president flies in to press for new political pact
Lebanon’s ambassador to Germany could become the crisis-stricken country’s next prime minister after getting the support of senior Sunni politicians.
Mustapha Adib was named by four former prime ministers on the eve of binding consultations between the president and parliamentary blocs on their choice for the post.
Continue reading...Local charities work constantly to support Lebanese society. It’s time they had a fair share of foreign aid
Every person in Lebanon has probably been asked: “Where were you during the Beirut port explosion?”
My response is always the same: I was here, in Beirut.
On 4 August, when the explosion ignited our skies, I was here – fighting for my life as windows, doors, and buildings collapsed around me. I was still here in the painful hours that followed, working with fellow activists to spearhead clean-up efforts, distribute food and rescue neighbours trapped under the rubble. And when it was revealed that our government’s alleged negligence led to the fatal blast, I remained here – on the streets with my sisters – to demand justice.
We were among the first to respond to this disaster. We were here before international aid workers arrived, before France hosted an international aid conference for the humanitarian response, and before the dust settled on our now devastated city.
Many Lebanese people had hoped for a silver lining to this tragedy of an independent government and new elections
The tremendous blast that shook Lebanon on 4 August will be recorded as a major turning point in the country’s history, no less so than the much less powerful explosion that killed former prime minister Rafik Hariri on 14 February 2005. Judging from the 15 years it took before a UN-appointed tribunal basically admitted its impotence on the latter event, there won’t be any official certainty about the circumstances of the terrible explosion at Beirut’s port in the foreseeable future. A few conclusions can, however. be drawn about this highly traumatic tragedy.
Related: 'Our stitches ran out': Beirut's struggle to deal with injuries from port blast
Continue reading...Cargo from the MV Rhosus caused the explosion in Lebanon’s main port – its crew say they were stranded aboard for a year
The problems began the moment Captain Boris Prokoshev set sail aboard the MV Rhosus in 2013.
He discovered that the ageing Russian-owned cargo ship, bound for Mozambique, was in “terrible” condition, including having a defunct generator. Then he learned that the previous crew had mutinied over unpaid wages. So it was no surprise when the owner told Prokoshev there was no money to pay for fees for the Suez canal, either.
Continue reading...