in-cyprus 13 August 2020 - by Maria Bitar
The destroyed port of Beirut lays covered in debris on Thursday, over a week on since a deadly blast ripped through the city.
The August 4 blast at a warehouse storing highly explosive material killed at least 172 people, injured some 6,000, left around 300,000 without habitable housing and wrecked swathes of the Mediterranean city, compounding a deep economic and financial crisis.
Some 30-40 people are still missing more than a week after the blast.
The Lebanese army said on Wednesday that rescue teams pulled another body from the wreckage of a silo in the port.
The resignation of Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government has deepened uncertainty. His cabinet’s talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout had already stalled over internal differences about the scale of financial losses.
Lebanon may be in line for $298 million in emergency aid but more than $30 billion, that some estimate it may need to rebuild its shattered economy, will not be forthcoming without reform.
(Source: Reuters London)
