Beirut explosion: Lebanon in mourning as France's Macron visits capital

Umar here from MEE's US team. Here's a wrap-up of the latest updates.

• France's Emmanuel Macron announced an international donors conference for Lebanon "in the coming days" to secure aid from the United States and Europe. He concluded his remarks by saying "I love you, Lebanon".
• Amid the aftermath of the blast, the country's health ministry reported 255 new cases of the novel coronavirus.
• So to not cause a repeat of the explosion in Beirut, Iraq announced it would do an inventory of all hazardous materials in its ports and airports.
• The Lebanese ambassador to Jordan resigned, citing "total negligence" by the country's authorities.
• Lebanese authorities have detained 16 individuals as part of an investigation into the explosion that shook the capital.

We’ll be bringing you updates on the latest developments. For the latest up to date information on the fallout from Tuesday's port blast, follow us on Twitter at @MiddleEastEye and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MiddleEastEye/.

The Lebanese ambassador to Jordan has announced her resignation following the seismic blast that ravaged Beirut, and said that "total negligence" by the country's authorities signalled the need for a leadership change.

Tracy Chamoun's resignation is the second by a Lebanese official since the explosion that killed more than 130 people, wounded at least 5,000 and destroyed entire districts of the capital.

Lebanese MP Marwan Hamade resigned on Wednesday, saying that Lebanon has an "ineffective government".

In order to "avoid any repetition of what happened in Lebanon", Iraq announced on Thursday it will create an inventory of all hazardous materials at ports and airports.

An emergency committee led by the head of Iraq's border agency said it had been tasked with carrying out the job and had given itself 72 hours to complete it. 

Iraq also said it would deliver shipments of oil and wheat to Lebanon after the blast had destroyed the port's silos, where some 15,000 tonnes of wheat were stored.

Lebanon has witnessed a record increase in new confirmed coronavirus infections in a single day with 255 new cases reported on Thursday.

A health ministry statement said the new tally brings the total number of reported cases to 5,672 and 70 deaths.

The pandemic had deepened the country's financial woes, with lockdown orders to prevent the spread of the virus plunging the country further into economic depression.

Health Minister Hamad Hassan had warned that coronavirus cases will rise after the port blast, which left thousands homeless.

"Due to the emergency and panic, I am worried that treating the wounded in hospitals and the loss of personal protection equipment supplies may have an impact on the number of coronavirus patients in the next 10 days," Hassan said earlier on Thursday.

President Emanuel Macron said there will be an international donors conference for Lebanon "in the coming days" to secure aid from the United States and Europe in order to help Lebanon deal with the aftermath of the port blast.

Speaking at a news conference after meeting the country's leaders, Macron warned, however, that the world will not hand a "blank check" to Lebanese politicians whom he said have lost their popular legitimacy.

"The money is there for Lebanon; it's just waiting for the internal reforms to be implemented," he said.

The french president concluded his remarks by saying "I love you Lebanon" [bhebak ya Lobnan] in Arabic.

Areeb here from MEE's London bureau. Here's the latest summary from Thursday.

- French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a new political pact in Lebanon as he told protesters that any aid that comes from France will not go to the 'corrupt'.

- Angry crowds met Macron during his tour of areas near the Beirut port, as they chanted for the fall of Lebanon's political leadership and dubbed Lebanese President Michel Aoun a "terrorist"

- Lebanon's central bank has ordered local banks to give individuals and local businesses impacted by the Beirut bomb blast cheap US dollar loans at zero interest, but those loans will be paid back over five years.

- Lebanon's health minister said he anticipated an increase in covid-19 cases following the blast. 

For the latest and up to date information on the fallout from Tuesday's port blast check Middle East Eye's website and social pages

Lebanon's central bank has told local banks to offer cheap dollar loans at zero interest to people and businesses impacted by the Beirut port explosion.

The Banque du Liban said loans should be made available to individuals, private businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises and corporations - except real estate developers - to carry out essential repairs to homes and businesses.

The bank added that the loans should carry no interest and should be repaid over five years. In a separate statement, it also instructed money transfer houses to distribute transfers from abroad to Lebanon in dollars.

Over a hundred volunteers from different local charities and ad hoc community groups have thronged the streets of Beirut's Gemmayze neighbourhood, MEE correspondent Kareem Chehayeb reports.

Carrying spades and wearing hard hats, they cleared broken glass and piles of debris off the streets, while others distributed water and food to the volunteers.

A handful of municipality workers were there as well. "We're heading to a demolished hospital a few blocks away," one of the volunteers told MEE. "We all connected with each other on Facebook."

You could almost see the Beirut Port from the volunteers' destination -  Sisters of the Rosary Hospital. Dozens of people had already started to clear rubble in that hospital, which is one of several medical facilities in Beirut now out of commission following the explosion. 

France's President Emanuel Macron told angry protesters that French aid will not go to "corrupt hands" while announcing that he would seek a new political pact in Lebanon.

"I guarantee you this - aid will not go to corrupt hands," Macron told protesters in central Beirut.

"I will talk to all political forces to ask them for a new pact. I am here today to propose a new political pact to them."

Social media has been awash with speculation and conspiracy theories over the source of the huge blast in Beirut.

MEE's Rayhan Uddin looked at five of the most common theories that have emerged, and what we know so far about their likelihood.

French President Emmanuel Macron is in the neighbourhood of Gemmayze, which has been completely devastated by the Beirut blast. 

MEE correspondent Kareem Chehayeb is at the scene and says that volunteers who had been clearing up the debris have gathered around Macron, chanting "the people want the fall of the regime" and calling Lebanese President Michel Aoun a terrorist. 

Macron, responding to them, vowed to present a new political pact for Lebanon this afternoon, when he meets senior officials.

The World Bank Group said on Wednesday it stands ready to assess Lebanon's damage and needs after a devastating Beirut port explosion and will work to help mobilise public and private financing for reconstruction and recovery.

The World Bank said in a statement that it "would be also willing to reprogram existing resources and explore additional financing to support rebuilding lives and livelihoods of people impacted by this disaster".

The bank did not indicate which resources could be diverted to a blast recovery effort, Reuters reported.
 
In June, the multilateral development lender announced that it would reallocate $40 million from an existing $120m health programme for Lebanon to help the country fight the coronavirus pandemic.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that nobody can say whether a devastating explosion in Beirut could have been caused by an attack, casting doubt on investigators who have blamed negligence for the warehouse blast that killed at least 135 people.

More than 5,000 other people were injured in Tuesday's explosion at Beirut port and up to 250,000 were left without homes fit to live in after shockwaves smashed building facades, sucked furniture out into streets and shattered windows miles inland.

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said on Wednesday that the devastating explosion was an "accident".

"Most believe that it was an accident, as reported, and beyond that, I have nothing further to report on. It's obviously a tragedy," Esper said during a virtual interview at the Aspen Security Forum on Wednesday.