Smoke rises from the site of an explosion in Beirut’s port area on Aug. 4, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Azakir)

Who owned the chemicals that blew up Beirut? No one will say

The fertilizer's Georgian producer has since been dissolved; the ship that brought it to Lebanon sank in 2018

Moscow/Dubai/London | Reuters — In the murky story of how a cache of highly explosive ammonium nitrate ended up on the Beirut waterfront, one thing is clear — no one has ever publicly come forward to claim it. There are many unanswered questions surrounding last week’s huge, deadly blast in the Lebanese capital, but ownership […] Read more



A general view of damage at the site of Tuesday’s blast in Beirut’s port area on Aug. 5, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Azakir)

After blast, Lebanon has less than a month’s grain reserves

Beirut port silos had capacity for 120,000 tonnes; about 15,000 tonnes were stored at time of blast

Beirut/Dubai | Reuters — Lebanon’s main grain silo at Beirut port was destroyed in a blast, leaving the nation with less than a month’s reserves of the grain but enough flour to avoid a crisis, the economy minister said on Wednesday. Raoul Nehme told Reuters a day after Tuesday’s devastating explosion that Lebanon needed reserves […] Read more


Smoke rises from the site of an explosion in Beirut’s port area on Aug. 4, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Azakir)

Wheat in Beirut’s port granaries not usable

Lebanon will import wheat, economy minister says

Cairo | Reuters — Lebanon’s economy minister, Raoul Nehme, told local media on Tuesday that the wheat in Beirut’s port granaries cannot be used and that the ministry lost track of seven employees in the granaries. The minister also told local media that Lebanon will import wheat and added that the country currently has enough […] Read more

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, built in Norway in 2008, is the world’s largest secure seed storage site. (Matthias Heyde photo courtesy Government of Norway via Flickr)

Syrian war spurs first withdrawal from doomsday seed vault

Oslo | Reuters –– Syria’s civil war has prompted the first withdrawal of seeds from a “doomsday” vault built in an Arctic mountainside to safeguard global food supplies, officials said Monday. The seeds, including samples of wheat, barley and grasses suited to dry regions, have been requested by researchers elsewhere in the Middle East to […] Read more