BEIRUT — Massive explosions rocked downtown Beirut on Tuesday, flattening much of the port, damaging buildings and blowing out windows and doors as a giant mushroom cloud rose above the capital. Witnesses saw many people injured by flying glass and debris.
An Associated Press photographer near the port saw people lying injured on the ground, and hospitals called for blood donations, but exact casualties were not immediately known.
Video of the explosion that rocked #Beirut not long ago
— Intel Air & Sea (@air_intel) August 4, 2020
Miles from the scene of the blast, balconies were knocked down, ceiling collapsed and windows were shattered.
The cause of the blast was not immediately clear. It came at a time when Lebanon is passing through its worst economic and financial crisis in decades.
It also comes amid rising tensions between Israel and the militant Hezbollah group along Lebanon's southern border.
Online video showed a column of smoke rising from the port area from what appeared to be an initial explosion, followed by a massive blast that sent up a mushroom cloud and a shock wave racing over the city.
Some local TV stations reported the blast was at Beirut's port inside an area where fireworks were stored.
DETROIT (AP) — A six-week United Auto Workers strike at Ford cut sales by about 100,000 vehicles and cost the company $1.
FALMOUTH, MA – The police in Falmouth have identified the victim in an accident involving a car plunging into the ocean on February 20, NBC10 Boston reported.
PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — Rosalynn Carter received her final farewells Wednesday in the same tiny town where she and Jimmy Carter were born, forever their home base as they climbed to the White House and traveled the world for humanitarian causes.
LONDON (AP) — Shane MacGowan, the singer-songwriter and frontman of “Celtic Punk” band The Pogues, best known for the Christmas ballad “Fairytale of New York,” died Thursday, his family said.
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel and Hamas agreed at the last minute Thursday to extend their cease-fire in Gaza by another day.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The world just took a big step toward compensating countries hit by deadly floods, heat and droughts.
Hanukkah — also spelled Chanukah or other transliterations from Hebrew — is Judaism’s “festival of lights.
Explore articles from the past and connect to your heritage!
Discover the benefits of a subscription including access to exclusive content, events, and more!
Have an idea for a story, or know of an event we should cover? We want to hear about it!
The National Herald is the paper of record of the Greek Diaspora community. Through independent journalism, we bring news to generations of Greek-Americans, with stories on the individual, community and international level. Visit and support our 106 year-old sister publication Εθνικός Κήρυξ.
To purchase a gift subscription, please log out of your account, and purchase the subscription with a new email ID.
Sign up to receive our daily email news briefing.
Sign up for a subscription to The National Herald,
starting as low as $1/week.
and receive more access to The National Herald
View our Terms of Service + Privacy Policy.
and receive more access to The National Herald
View our Terms of Service + Privacy Policy.
We use cookies on our site to personalize your experience, bring you the most relevant content, show you the most useful ads, and to help report any issues with our site. You can update your preferences at any time by visiting preferences. By selecting Accept, you consent to our use of cookies. To learn more about how your data is used, visit our cookie policy.
$1.09 USD
