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...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
infections.
President Michel Aoun
...president of Leb, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah...
said that 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate, used in fertilizers and bombs, had been stored for six years at the port without safety measures, and he said that was "unacceptable."
He called for an emergency cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
Officials did not say what caused the blaze that set off the blast. A security source and media said it was started by welding work being carried out on a hole in the warehouse.
"It’s like a war zone. I’m speechless," Beirut’s mayor, Jamal Itani, told Rooters while inspecting damage on Wednesday that he estimated would cost billions of dollars.
"This is a catastrophe for Beirut and Leb
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...The head of Lebanon’s Red Thingy, George Kettani, said at least 100 people had been killed.
"We are still sweeping the area. There could still be victims. I hope not," he said.
Kettani earlier told broadcaster LBCI that the Red Thingy was coordinating with the health ministry to set up morgues because hospitals were overwhelmed.
Hours after the blast, which went off shortly after 6 p.m. (1500 GMT), a fire blazed in the port district, casting an orange glow across the night sky as helicopters hovered and ambulance sirens sounded across the capital.
The blast was heard throughout Cyprus, which is about 100 miles (160 km) away.
It revived memories of a 1975-90 civil war and its aftermath, when Lebanese endured heavy shelling, boom-mobileings and Israeli air raids. Some residents thought an earthquake had struck.
Dazed, weeping and injured people walked through streets searching for relatives.
"The blast blew me meters away. I was in a daze and was all covered in blood. It brought back the vision of another explosion I witnessed against the U.S. embassy in 1983," said Huda Baroudi, a Beirut designer.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab promised there would be accountability for the blast at the "dangerous warehouse," adding "those responsible will pay the price."
The U.S. embassy in Beirut warned residents about reports of toxic gases released by the blast, urging people to stay indoors and wear masks.