Beirut port blast: three years on, victims still await accountability
Beirut, LebanonReuters Lebanon on Friday marks the third anniversary of the Beirut port explosion which killed at least 220 people, wounded thousands, and damaged swathes of the city. Despite the devastation, an investigation has brought no senior official to account. Here is a summary of what happened and how the investigation has been stymied: Smoke […]
Beirut silo collapses, reviving trauma ahead of blast anniversary
Beirut, LebanonReuters Part of the grain silos at Beirut Port collapsed on Sunday just days before the second anniversary of the massive explosion that damaged them, sending a cloud of dust over the capital and reviving traumatic memories of the blast that killed more than 215 people. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Dust […]
Beirut blast: A year on, vulnerable residents struggle to rebuild
TIMOUR AZHARI, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports the plight of those impacted by the massive blast in Beirut’s port last August…
Essay: One year after Beirut explosion, failing state struggles amid poverty and sectarianism
JOHN NAGLE, professor in sociology at Queen’s University Belfast, looks – in an article first published on The Conversation, at the “growing humanitarian disaster” in Lebanon…
Lebanese demand justice on port blast anniversary
Beirut, LebanonReuters Lebanon’s leading Christian cleric said there could be no immunity from prosecution over the catastrophic Beirut port blast and that officials were evading investigation, as many Lebanese marked the first anniversary by demanding justice. As Lebanon suffers a crippling economic collapse, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Al-Rai also criticised the ruling class for failing […]
Six months after Beirut blast, Syrian refugees battle for survival
Beirut, LebanonThomson Reuters Foundation As Syrian refugees, Moayad Obeid and his family had it hard even before the massive explosion that tore through Beirut last August, killing his 26-year-old brother Ayman. In the six months since, life has become all but impossible. As well as supporting his own family, Obeid, who makes the equivalent of […]
In blast-hit Beirut, “invisible” elderly women face destitution
Amman, JordanThomson Reuters Foundation Thousands of elderly women in Beirut whose lives were upended by a huge blast in August now face destitution, as Lebanon buckles under financial crisis and a COVID-19 lockdown, charities said. The United Nations and aid agencies said older women living alone made up almost one in 10 households in […]
Community oven serves up meals, and dignity, in blast-hit Beirut
Amman, JordanThomson Reuters Foundation When a huge blast tore through Beirut on 4th August, Rawda Mazloum decided to move the giant oven she was using to cook for refugees in the Bekaa Valley to assist residents of the devastated capital. Today, the stove that has helped feed thousands of refugees and rehabilitate former fighters as […]
Beirut blast adds to women’s money and health worries in Lebanon
Amman, JordanThomson Reuters Foundation Almost six weeks after the Beirut port blast nearly blinded her in one eye, Kawthar Halabi has been unable to return to work as she is still having fragments of glass picked out of her flesh. After eight days in hospital, more than 50 stitches, eye surgery and with lingering trauma, […]
Pope Francis calls for a day of fasting and prayer for Lebanon
Vatican CityRNS Standing beside a waving Lebanese flag, Pope Francis paid homage to the troubled population of Beirut on Wednesday and implored its residents to “take courage” as they begin the reconstruction of their city. “I encourage all Lebanese to continue hoping and finding the strength and energy that are necessary to restart,” Francis said […]